Scenes from the Road

I'm not sure what to make of this sign at the edge of the village of Bellflower, Illinois. I love the fact that it says "Home of" and then there's sort of a fill-in-the-blank section below. At the other side of town, there's the same sign, but with a different name. What do they do? Have a silent auction fundraiser each year to sell the right to have your name inserted there? Or, maybe, Ashley Miller is a famous bronze medalist in synchronized skating.

Scenes from the Road

So, there I was on Monday, cruising along through central Indiana, minding my own business, and I must have dozed off or something because all of the sudden I saw these signs ahead and realized I was in Panama.

A Quick Trip to the Neighborhood Park

Scenes from the Road

Yesterday, I had lunch in Lincoln with Chris Simpson, one of the professors at the college. When he found out that my weekly commute takes me through Logansport, Indiana, about two hours from Fort Wayne, he told me I need to stop at Mr. Happy Burger sometime. He told me that all of their meat is locally grown.

Mr. Happy Burger. Sounds like something you would name your restaurant if you live in Bangkok or Tokyo and English was not your first language.

So when I left campus about 4:00, it was with my sights set on waiting until I arrived in metropolitan Logansport before braking for dinner. Between the time zone change and the need for a short nap somewhere in Western Indiana, it was 8:50 by the time I arrived at the much ballyhooed Mr. Happy Burger. As you can see from the sign below, the restaurant's hours are 10:45 AM to 9:00 PM.

So I strolled in at 8:50. It was clear that they were not planning on serving any more customers that evening, with bags of trash on the floor and closing clean-up in full swing. Gotta love it. I said, "I drove 200 miles just to eat here" and one of the employees told me that I could still visit the other half of the Mr. Happy Burger empire by driving another 4.1 miles to Mr. Happy Burger East, so that's what I did.

Ironically, Mr. Happy Burger East is located directly between a Burger King and a McDonald's. All three were advertising their Angus burgers. In any other situation, I can assure you I would have walked into the McDonald's. Or the Burger King. Not Mr. Happy Burger East. (As it turned out, it was good to have Mickey D's right next door. Mr. Happy Burger East only sells caffeine-free Diet Coke, so I grabbed my sandwich and fries then went through McDonald's to get a drink . . . I'm a very big fan of the "Any Size for One Dollar" promotion.)

So . . . was it worth the effort? Kind of. The hamburger was pretty good, but I chalk that up primarily to the fact that it had mayo, which is clearly one of my two favorite condoments. The fries were basically the same as McDonald's fries, which is not a criticism in my book. And the food was not overpriced ($1.75 for a quarter pounder). But I'm not sure that it merited a slow cruise through downtown Logansport. All-in-all, I'm glad I took a walk on the wild side and experienced a piece of Americana. Maybe I'll try Mr. Happy Burger East again sometime when I'm driving by with Phillip and we can sample their pizza and salad buffet or try the pork tenderloin burger.

Quote of the Week

“All you phonies got it wrong
Double lives take half as long”

- Steve Taylor

An Amazing New Product for Life on the Road

This is an AMAZING product! Every week I spend almost six hours driving from Lincoln to Fort Wayne and then turn around to repeat the journey. I generally go through a couple of 32 ounce Diet Cokes each way . . . which translates into at least two stops at rest areas, gas stations or even the Wal-Mart in Wabash, Indiana. to go to the bathroom. But, thanks to this new product, which I found at a Kroger's two days ago, these pit stops will no longer be necessary! I haven't figured out how to use it yet--do I spray it around the car or drink it or what?--but I'm going to find out. This is gonna trim at least 20 minutes off of each trip.

Scenes from the Road

Both when driving home last Friday afternoon and returning to Lincoln yesterday evening, I was blessed with beautiful weather. It's hard to be in a bad mood--even midway through a 270 mile drive--when you're surrounded by pristine blue skies and white clouds. It's a small thing. Then again, it's not.

What Adoption Means

Cydil, friend and former Asbury student, posted this on her blog yesterday and I thought it was worth reposting here. Great stuff . . .

What Adoption Means...
via Waggoner News and World Report by The Waggoners on 7/10/09

About a year or so ago I became aware of a teenage girl who was wanting to be adopted. At the time, she was just a photograph, but she had a truly sweet-looking face. From her name, I knew she was Albanian, even though her country wasn't listed next to her posting on Bethany's Children of Promise. Last winter my bloggy friend, Melissa, visited Albania and met her. She reported that her personality was as sweet and genuine as her photograph implied.

Around the same time, I met via the internet a woman, Christa, who with her husband had stepped forward and wanted to adopt this waiting girl. They faced great odds, though. The biggest being this teenager's looming 16th birthday in July. If my new friend Christa and her husband could not complete their homestudy AND get immigration approval in time, this girl would turn 16 and forever remain an orphan. She would be turned out onto the streets without a home, without a family or social network, without a job, without food stamps, welfare, job-training program, you name it. The statistics are quite grim (have you seen the movie "Taken"?).

One by one, each deadline was met. Christa and her husband traveled to Albania, met their daughter-to-be and fell in love. Unfortunately, they had a few 'hiccups' in court. Pray-ers were rallied. Two more court appearances and everything became official...one day before her 16th birthday.

I'm borrowing this list from the Bethany rep in Albania who e-mailed us the good news this morning. From now on, this girl will have:

• a place to call home
• parents
• a brother
• people to help her negotiate her way
• people who can introduce her to Jesus
• someone to celebrate holidays with
• a place to go when hard times come
• a place to go back to
• someone to walk her down the aisle
• people to love
• a place she can walk in and just open the refrigerator without asking
• her own room
• her own clothes
• things that won't be stolen when she looks the other way
• a photoalbum with her pictures in it
• an address
• a family vacation
• her picture on the wall
• someone to celebrate her accomplishments with
• a mom to care for her when she's sick
• people to cheer her on
• a father's protection
• a mother's love
• someone to celebrate mother's and father's day with
• people who will make her birthdays special
• a living example of the love of Christ that calls us into His family......

Quote of the Week

“Kings demand obedience, usually based on the consequences of disobedience. Jesus, in contrast, demands submission. There is a difference. Obedience is when we act the way someone wants us to or forces us to. Submission goes beyond just actions. It’s more a matter of attitude—a genuine desire to submit ourselves to someone. We can obey on the outside but still not submit on the inside. We can obey through our actions but not submit in our hearts. Jesus as king deserves submission, not just obedience.”

- Robert Zwier, Roberts Wesleyan College Convocation, 9/7/07

Keep It Clean, Boys

This is where I live. Phillip lives with me most weeks until school starts. In fact, that's his bedroom window there, as well the deck outside his room. The building is called Titus Hall. Until a month ago, the sign on the side of the building read "Titus Hall." Then some kids stole the "U" off the wall. Hmmm. Funny prank, I suppose. Rather than replace the "U," though, our Facilities Services staff removed the rest of the name, leaving only the "Hall." Well, I guess that was one solution, right?

"Titus Hall" is dead; long live the "Hall."

Jordan . . . Serbia Bound

Ten days from now, Jordan and eleven others from our church will get on a plane bound for Chicago then Germany then Belgrade to spend two weeks working with Serbian youth, primarily in a camp setting where they help the teens with their conversational English. This morning, our pastor led a time of prayer for the team, which is led by the mother of one of Jordan's good friends from high school.

After church, the team held a potluck for family members and supporters and shared some information about the trip as well as some prayer requests. They do still need to raise a little more support, though they're not especially worried about it, and of course hope for a successful and safe trip. Jordan specifically requested prayer that he would be able to do well as an assistant in the English classes, that he would understand others' hardships and know how to help, and that he would set a good example for the Serb youth without having a "better than you" attitude.

I'm also going to try to post a video of Pastor Kelly Byrd praying for the team during the morning service but I've been having some difficulty.

Happy Independence Day from MelodyJoy, US Citizen

Minor League

We gave MelodyJoy baseball equipment for her birthday and today I took her out back for some batting practice.

Some swings were more productive than others . . .

She wasn't willing to play catch because she thought the ball would hurt her, so we played throw instead . . . her goal was to hit me or the camera with the ball, a challenge she took to heart.