Palmer's World

The New Homestead

2011-06-23T13:03:00.004-04:00

A lot of people have asked about our new home in Vancouver so I thought I'd post some photos, some from the multiple listing service and some taken by our realtor. The house has about 2400 square feet and appears to be in a very nice neighborhood. Since all we really know is what we've seen from about 40 pictures and an aerial view on Google maps, we're kind of anxious to see it for ourselves, too.

We are still working through some things related to the inspection, which we hope will be resolved soon to our satisfaction. The house is 14 years old and is about two miles from King's Way Christian School, where we plan to enroll Jameson and MelodyJoy. My commute to Multnomah University should be around 25 minutes. It only has three bedrooms but there's a "bonus room" that we'll put Jordan and Phil in . . . at least until we kick 'em out of the house.

They Grow Up So Fast

2011-06-18T22:47:00.001-04:00

All Together Now for Mother's Day

2011-05-08T21:16:00.004-04:00

Jordan and I picked up Phil in Chicago last night and brought him home from college, arriving in Fort Wayne around 4:30 AM. This meant that Jeannette didn't get to go to church with all her kids this morning but we tried to make up for it by taking her to Red Robin for lunch. It was the first time we've all been together since January. Melody exclaimed, "We're a family again!"

Phil gave her some silk pajamas . . . I have her some dark chocolate and the final season of 24 on DVD . . .

Jordan gave her a certificate for dinner and a movie . . .

Melody got her a new toe ring . . .

Fifteen soon

2011-05-01T21:57:00.006-04:00

Jameson's 15th birthday is just days away so we had a mini-celebration today. Jameson had to make do with Pizza Hut and chocolate cake and a t-shirt about how awesome he is . . .

Jordan brought in one of his old longboards and told Jameson that it was his gift from us so that he could learn to ride. Jameson wasn't sure what to make of that and tried to act like it was a good gift.

When they brought out the big Nerf gun we bought him, though, he knew he had been punked . . .

And, of course, he and Jordan put it to good use right away . . .

(I'm not sure what to make of Jordan wearing a full motorcycle helmet for a Nerf gun war!)

Good Witch?

2011-05-01T21:51:00.000-04:00

Teddy Bear Tea Party

2011-05-01T19:59:00.003-04:00

Last week, Melody's kindergarten class held a Teddy Bear Tea Party. Each student brought a teddy bear to school for the week and it all culminated in a special lunch where they learned about good manners.

What made the biggest impression on Melody was when the boys were instructed to pull the girls' chairs out for them and then push the chairs in after they sat down. She thought that was quite interesting.

A toast . . .

The girls took the challenge of dressing up for the tea party a bit more seriously than the boys did . . .

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T22:34:00.007-04:00

After a great Easter morning service at Blackhawk Ministries, we came home for dinner--can you say ham, scalloped potatoes, broccoli, green beans, croissants, fruit salad, deviled eggs, juice with raspberry sherbet and some sort of great ice cream cake for dessert?--with Jordan's girlfriend and her family. But before we could eat, we had to get a little Easter egg hunt out of the way for Miss Melody . . .

Finally, a Day that Feels Like Spring

2011-04-23T15:43:00.000-04:00

Ready for the NFL Draft

2011-04-19T15:42:00.002-04:00

The Wonderlic is a test given to NFL draft prospects. I took this sample Wonderlic test online . . . wonder how much better I would have done if I'd quickly skipped the one question that was totally impossible for me to figure out right away.

Quiz Concept by Nicholas Creative

My Dad Would Have Loved This

2011-04-18T23:27:00.001-04:00

On April 1, Multnomah University released photos of its new NASCAR sponsorship . . .

Almost Six

2011-04-17T21:55:00.004-04:00

Since I'll be back in Lincoln on Tuesday--Melody's actual sixth birthday--and Jeannette will be working that night, we decided to give her a little head start on the day.

Shut Up and Kiss Me

2011-04-16T21:41:00.002-04:00

A few days ago, Melody got her hands on the camera and decided to use it to teach herself how to kiss . . .

Fixin' up the Ritz

2011-04-16T21:39:00.002-04:00

We decided that in order to sell the house we needed to add some hand rails going down to the basement so last weekend Jeannette's dad came and did the work for us . . .

Out with the Old, In with the Old

2011-04-16T21:31:00.004-04:00

Last weekend, Jeannette's dad came to do some work on the house. While here, he repaired my grandmother's old rocking chair, which we've had since we got married about 26 years ago. A long time ago, Jeannette had stripped the paint off it and restained the wood, but a number of layers of fabric had been added over the years, including a couple by Jeannette. She and Dad decided to peel off the old fabric and as they did, layer by layer, here are some of the results:

For Sale

2011-04-02T15:57:00.006-04:00

Open House

Sunday, April 17 ▪ 2:00-4:00

In Arlington Park, just south of St. Joe Center Road, west of Wheelock

5606 Chiswell Run, Fort Wayne Indiana

$190,000

• Neighborhood walkways, tennis courts, racquetball

courts, golf, outdoor pools, clubhouse.

• 4 bedrooms, with master bedroom on main floor and three upstairs

• 2 ½ baths

• Vaulted ceiling in living room; open floor plan

• Formal dining room plus dining area in kitchen

• Study (can be used as 5th bedroom)

• 2294 square feet plus 950 finished square feet in the

basement with family room & rec area.

Call Jeannette or Palmer for More Info

485-2197 ▪ 515-9645

Princesses Everywhere

2011-03-15T20:51:00.002-04:00

Last Friday night, I took MelodyJoy to the Disney Princesses on Ice show. It was quite the production and I suspect there were at least 1,500 little girls under the age of 8 in attendance, princesses all. Here is a photo of our princess in front of the staging part of the ice rink. The castle behind the screen was rotated throughout the show to fit different stories, from Cinderella to Aladdin.
Thanks to a great coupon we got from Kraft, our tickets were just $5.50 each. With parking I spent just $15 for the evening. Until I decided to buy Melody the snow cone below. Yep, it was 15 bucks all by itself.

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T15:52:00.002-05:00

Just saw this photo, taken by Michael Evans, in Time magazine and it really spoke to me. I love the image of Ronald Reagan, then on the presidential campaign trail in 1980, reading through paperwork while Nancy rests on his lap. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. There are a lot of words encompassed in this one.

MonetJoy's Latest Artwork

2011-02-06T19:43:00.000-05:00

One Hundred Bucks From Daddy

2011-01-22T17:32:00.005-05:00

For about two weeks, MelodyJoy has had a very loose front tooth. We've played with it but without any luck. Last night, I wiggled it and thought, "It's getting close enough that if Jeannette and I pinned her down, we could probably yank it out," but it didn't seem likely to come out easily.

A little while later, Melody was goofing around, putting on a show for me, and she put one of her baby doll carriers on her head and it slipped down and banged her mouth. She got a funny look on her face and started rubbing her lips. I asked her, "Did that hurt?" and she just opened her mouth to show me that the tooth was gone!

After we showed Jeannette, she had to call her brothers and Hillary to share the news. I tried to get her to call her grandparents, too, but after three calls I guess she was all talked out. She told Jordan she thought the reward for her tooth should be "one hundred bucks from Daddy."

Christmas Season Snaps

2011-01-11T21:34:00.005-05:00

I just have not had time to keep this blog up . . . I doubt too many people are even checking it any more! Nonetheless, here is a collection of photos, in somewhat random order, from the last few weeks.

With my new friend, Craig Crook. I was surprised at how few people at the party had ever heard of the town of Palmer, Alaska. Surprised? Devastated is a more accurate word for it.

Melody enjoyed holding Craig's new baby, William . . .

Jameson, warming his toes by the fire . . .

Our gift from my mom, sister and her husband . . .

Jeannette's new sweater . . .

Jameson got a couple of Nerf swords for Christmas. I was shocked at how much fun they were!

The gift Melody really wanted . . . swimming pool Barbie, with the pool and dogs, from cousin Alexia . . .

This shot is especially for Aunt Laura, to show off Melody's new outfit . . .

Melody Loves Her Some Snow

2010-12-22T14:31:00.000-05:00

Unlike her father, MelodyJoy enjoys playing outside in the snow . . .

Our 2010 Christmas Letter

2010-12-21T22:29:00.007-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Gonna go with just an e-letter this Christmas, partly because it was impossible to get a family photo until a few days ago, when Phillip came home from his first semester of college. The bad news for you? Since I don’t have to make this all fit on one sheet of paper, I can ramble on and on as long as I wish . . .

Phil flew in last Friday from Oregon. He’s attending our alma mater, Corban University, where he’s surprised us by majoring in psychology. What doesn’t surprise us is that he’s working as a techie, doing sound, lights, and other types of technical support for chapel, classes, student activities, etc.

During his senior year at Blackhawk Christian High School, Phil had one of the lead roles—Prof. Dante—in the fall play, Get Smart, and the smallest part available in the spring musical, Peter Pan . . . he ran the laser light that flitted around the stage as Tinkerbell. He was glad to have his grandparents, my sister and her husband, and our friend, Ellen Zarfas, travel to Fort Wayne for his graduation.

While Phil was finishing high school, MelodyJoy was graduating from preschool at Blackhawk and now she’s a big kindergartner. As she looked ahead to kindergarten—having seen two brothers go off to college—she was quite concerned about what she would pack and where she might live. Now that she has a better handle on what kindergarten is all about, she is proud of the fact that she has a student body ID card that gets her into the high school basketball games for free and that she fills up her “Bee Chart” regularly. She loves learning to read and she’s very aware of everyone in her class, keeping Jeannette informed of all the social goings on in her class.

Melody lost her first two teeth in August and now her top two are starting to wiggle, too. She and I like playing The Lady Bug Game and “monkey-in-the-middle,” and she still loves being Jeannette’s omnipresent sidekick around the house.

This is Jeannette’s third year teaching preschool at Blackhawk and she’s now teaching three full days a week rather than just half days. She does a great job with the kids (and their parents). She also has been involved in a Bible study this fall. Because of my strange job situation, Jeannette has really had to be a single parent much of the time over the last 18 months and there’s no doubt it’s been wearing on her, but she’s hanging in there and we’re all surviving despite the challenges. I also have to mention that we bought a new garage door this year and Jeannette, with a little help from Jordan, proceeded to repaint the front of the house to match. It looks awesome!

Jordan never sits still—unless he’s asleep—so his latest hobby is building and riding his own longboards. For those who don’t know (as I didn’t) longboards are sort of like skateboards. He’s designed and made some pretty sweet rides and now every incline he sees leads to a conversation about how much he’d like to ride down it.

Jordan started this year as a freshman at Cedarville University in Ohio. You remember the old song, “I fought the law and the law won.” Well, Jordan fought mechanical engineering and mechanical engineering won. Since leaving CU, he’s been working in a shop that fixes up cars for resale and he’s learned a lot from this. We’ve also been working on trying to get him into a good aviation mechanics program because of his interest in a career in missionary aviation. We thought we had things all lined up for this January but, in the end, some of the details couldn’t be worked out and so Jordan didn’t feel peace about it right now.

Instead, believe it or not, Jordan is going to be joining me at Lincoln Christian University for the spring semester to take some classes in missions and Bible! He’s actually going to share my apartment on campus with me, which I’m sure will prove to be interesting on many different levels for both of us.

I continue to work at LCU, about 300 miles away from Fort Wayne, four days a week generally, “commuting” on Thursday or Friday nights for three days at home. I’ve listened to a lot of good books on CD during my drives. At LCU, we’ve had some solid success in our enrollment efforts and I get to work with some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. Jeannette and I aren’t sure what the future holds for us, except that we’re fairly certain that we won’t keep up this long distance thing past this coming summer. We’ve been really blessed to have this job and to be able to keep our home in Fort Wayne, but it’s time for a change.

One big consideration as we weigh our options is what might be best for Jameson, since he’s now in 9th grade and would prefer not to have to change schools. Jameson’s favorite activities primarily involve computer games, the Wii and watching Myth Busters on TV, but he did surprise us this year by choosing to take a drama class at Blackhawk. While he’s enjoyed it, he hasn’t yet pulled the trigger on actually trying out for a school play. It was also kind of fun that he won a school-wide super hero costume contest during February’s homecoming week, for his portrayal of Link, a video game character.

This has been an interesting year for Jameson, as he’s been questioning his beliefs. We’ve had some fascinating conversations with him and he’s read some pretty heavy books—such as CS Lewis’ Mere Christianity . . . twice—along the way. We’re just trusting that he’ll continue to think and dialogue with us and others.

If you’re still reading this, thank you. If not, I forgive you. In any case, we all send you our best wishes for a great Christmas.

One Last Christmas

2010-12-15T18:13:00.001-05:00

After going to his Fort Wayne concert last month and listening to his new album, Matthew West is high on my list of favorite musicians. I bought his The Story of Your Life CD for everyone on my staff and my boss for Christmas.

I just watched this video of his new Christmas song. A very moving story and song. I was kind of snuffling by the time it was over.

You Are So Dumb

2010-12-12T22:13:00.003-05:00

The other day, Jordan's girlfriend posted a video on YouTube. Before I had a chance to watch it, Jordan gave me a little background. First, he showed me this newsclip . . .

Then Jordan showed me this video, called The Bed Intruder Song, of how the news story was remixed . . .

And, finally, we watched the video that Hillary posted. The one below is not Hillary's, but of the several versions posted on YouTube, it's the one that had the clearest sound. It is from a Christmas talent show at, of all places, Liberty University . . .

Melody Recites the Christmas Story

2010-12-11T12:15:00.003-05:00

(You'll want to turn your sound up.)

MonetJoy

2010-11-14T22:53:00.003-05:00

Gettin' Out of the House

2010-10-30T23:04:00.003-04:00

Melody can be just a little bit high maintenance at times and since Jeannette wasn't feeling good yesterday, I needed to keep her busy after she got home from school. It was a beautiful fall day so we went for a short walk to the park. We never made it there but we did pause along the way for a few fun pictures.

Grandparents Day

2010-10-30T20:22:00.010-04:00

Blackhawk Christian School's elementary classes celebrate Grandparents Day. This year's was yesterday. It's a really big deal as each of the kids are supposed to bring their grandparents to school, there's a musical performance in the morning and then the kids get the rest of the day off to go to lunch with them or whatever. In MelodyJoy's case, though, all the grandma and grandpa types are 300 miles . . . or 2300 miles as the case may be . . . away.

As it turns out, I was able to come home a day early from Lincoln this week, because I needed to help Jeannette at home, and so Jeannette and I got to both attend Grandparents Day. Which I guess is appropriate since we are old enough to actually be grandparents (er, I am old enough).

We started out in Melody's classroom and she read me (sang to me) all of the little books about colors . .

She showed me their smartboard. A smart board. In a kindergarten classroom. Three years ago you seldom saw these in a college classroom and now we have 5-year-olds using them . . .

From there, the kindergarten classes performed several musical numbers, including a couple with handbells . . .

After it was all over, we made a trip to McDonalds for a little ice cream . . .

Collaborative Planning

2010-10-28T13:00:00.000-04:00

I laughed out loud several times while watching this. I'm so glad I don't have to work in an environment like this. Maybe it wouldn't seem so funny if I did.

Life with Melody

2010-10-22T23:12:00.003-04:00

What's it like living with MelodyJoy? Let us give you a small taste . . .

Donations to the "Save Jeannette's Sanity Fund" are being solicited currently.

MelodyJoy's Kindergarten Picture

2010-10-15T18:50:00.001-04:00

This week, Melody got her school pictures, including one of the entire class. (I was curious to know if the photographer even tried to get all the kids to look at the camera.) Anyway, we asked Melody if she could name the kids in her class. She know the first name of each one and the last name of most of them. Reminded us of when we would ask our boys who else was in their class in school and they couldn't tell us. When they were in junior high.

MonetJoy

2010-10-15T15:52:00.000-04:00

Zootopia

2010-10-09T16:10:00.004-04:00

The weather right now is phenomenal so MelodyJoy and I decided to visit the Fort Wayne zoo today before it closes for the season tomorrow.

Melody's top priority was to see the penguins . . .

We bought some duck food so that Melody could feed the ducks. She insisted that we couldn't give them our popcorn.

Skapples to Skapples

2010-09-26T23:10:00.002-04:00

This evening, we decided to play Apples to Apples. Since Jordan was using Skype to talk to Hillary out at Liberty University, we asked if she would like to play, too. So she did. And she won.

MonetJoy

2010-09-23T19:58:00.003-04:00

MelodyJoy--er, MonetJoy--has become quite the little artist. The first picture is one she drew last month of Arthur from the PBS show. She gave me the ice cream cone picture this past weekend while I was at home.

Photo Shoot

2010-09-19T19:15:00.003-04:00

Melody and I decided to take some pictures today near our house . . .

Unclear on the Concept of "Clearance"

2010-09-18T23:21:00.004-04:00

Today, Jeannette and I spent quite a bit of time at our nearby Kohl's store because they were having a sale and I had an "additional 30% off" coupon. My kind of shopping. I spent most of my time working the clearance racks, where prices were marked 60% to 85% off. Even if you figure the original prices were never "real," by the time you mark them down 70% and then take another 30% off, you have some pretty good deals.

Let me contrast this with something Jameson and I noticed yesterday at Walmart (right next door to Kohl's). We checked out the clearance aisle there. On a shelf, we spotted one lonely Balderdash game. We were pretty tempted . . . it was clearance priced for just $23! How could we pass it up? This was a savings of--hmmm, according to the shelf tag--a whopping 50 cents. On second thought, we didn't have any trouble passing it by. It appears that Walmart doesn't really grasp the concept of "clearance" sales. Walk next door, guys, and take a lesson from your friends at Kohl's.

Magnificent Obsession II

2010-09-18T23:03:00.006-04:00

Jordan asked me to go out with him today and take some more photos of him as he rode his longboard. We visited the clubhouse in our neighborhood and then hit a parking garage at IPFW. He's riding one of the boards he built himself over the last week or so.

(He's not falling . . . that's called sliding.)

Not All Ironic T-Shirts Are Humorous

2010-09-14T23:39:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I threw on this t-shirt and, for the first time, realized it was more than a little ironic. This was a t-shirt I ordered as a give-away for the Summer Honors College we hosted at Taylor University Fort Wayne in the summer of 2008. I bought the shirts from my friends at Church Art Works in Salem, Oregon.

I chose the theme “Start Strong to Finish Strong,” with the idea that getting an early start on college studies can help students be successful in college. Only yesterday, more than a year after Taylor University closed the doors of the Fort Wayne campus, did I realize that this shirt summed up the life cycle of TUFW.

From its very beginning, as Summit Christian College was “acquired by” or “merged into” Taylor or whatever, TU didn’t help the Fort Wayne campus start strong. At times, it seemed that the main campus was even hindering the efforts in Fort Wayne. And indeed, eventually, the campus did not finish strong. Sad and ironic.

Start strong to finish strong. Shoulda tried that, Taylor University.

Labor of Love

2010-09-13T22:41:00.002-04:00

Two weekends ago, we had a new garage door installed, because our old one was no longer waterproof and so its insulation was soaked and the door weighed much more than normal, even breaking its springs. With a new brown door to replace the old blue one, Jeannette (and Jordan) had to go on a painting rampage.
I know it sounds silly but I think my favorite part of the whole thing is the way she repainted the sign by our door, which Guy Kampstra made for us back around 1986.

Surprises in the Dark

2010-09-13T22:34:00.003-04:00

Last night, I drove back to Lincoln and when I got to campus, this is what greeted me at the door to Titus Hall . . . Kinda made me jump at first. Those two little frogs never moved as I went in and out of the building about six times. This morning they were gone.

Skypin' With Phillip

2010-09-03T22:19:00.004-04:00

It may not be easy to send your kid off to college for four months or a year, but things have changed a lot due to technology. Tonight, we connected with Phil via Skype and got to talk with him and his roommate for about 40 minutes. We got a tour of their spartan dorm room and caught up a little on how things are going for him at Corban.

It's a Dad's Life

2010-09-03T14:09:00.001-04:00

Painfully close to home. But I'm stickin' with my sweet goatee and rockin' my Dockers . . .

Where Admissions Meet Faith: At Lincoln Christian U., enrollment decisions are a matter of dollars and devotion

2010-08-31T21:30:00.000-04:00

(In late July, Eric Hoover from The Chronicle of Higher Education spent most of a day with me. The article he produced came out several days ago. A photographer from Peoria, Adam Gerik, came to campus on LCU's move-in day and took the pictures that accompanied the article.)

They've come from towns near and far, taking I-55 to back roads that run beneath green spires of corn. On a Monday in late July, three dozen new students have arrived at Lincoln Christian University to register for classes, shake hands, and look around. At noon everyone gathers in Henderson Hall, known as the "preacher dome."

Standing in the doorway, Palmer H. Muntz watches the crowd of families. As director of undergraduate admissions, he's in charge of reversing this small university's enrollment fortunes. Over the past five years, applications have dipped, and last year the number of freshmen and transfer students fell to 112—100 fewer than in 2005.

The recession digs deeply into this rural region in central Illinois. Sometimes people gape when Mr. Muntz mentions the university's annual sticker price—just under $20,000.

At some colleges, May 1 marks the final phase of the admissions cycle; here, it's just another day. Lincoln Christian admits applicants throughout the summer, right up until classes start. Lincoln had hoped to enroll 175 new students this fall. As of this afternoon, the university has 121 "commits," and admissions officials expect the number to grow to about 140.

Each year the university receives applications from students who don't think about college until graduating from high school. Some are first-generation students. Some apply after hearing a call to pursue a Christian education.

On this campus, admissions and financial aid entwine with faith. So it is for Nick VanMeter, who plans to attend this fall. A singer and guitar player, he has already attended two other colleges. Recently he decided to major in worship ministry. "He wants to tell people about Jesus through music," says his mother, Susan Lutz.

Money is a concern, however. Around a table in Mr. Muntz's office, Nick and his parents discuss the possibility of his living at home, at least for the first year. Room and board here run about $6,000. The university has offered Nick a $3,000 scholarship, but he can use it only if he resides on the campus.

Mr. Muntz describes the benefits of being here day and night. For one thing, he says, it's fun: "What would I have to do to convince you to live on the campus?"

Nick sighs and says, "I would need, like, $3,000." He makes $10 an hour cooking at a restaurant near his home, in Sherman, about an hour away. To live at the university, he would have to give up his job. Not a good idea right now, he and his parents agree. Mr. Muntz promises to hold the scholarship for him until next year.

Nick's parents asks about payment plans. Later, Mr. Muntz passes the family a brochure describing a loan-repayment-assistance program for graduates of Christian colleges. "You're looking at a career field that has the potential to pay very poorly," he says.

Nick nods. This isn't discouragement—just the truth. He knows that he can expect to make about $30,000 a year. He knows that a local church just laid off its music minister. And he knows there's nothing else he would rather do for a living.

The Sacred and the Secular
When Lincoln Christian opened, in 1944, its founders proclaimed, "The preachers are coming." It was a rallying cry and a statement of purpose: The institution was built to fill the region's churches with strong leaders.

Lincoln Christian now offers nearly 30 academic programs, including biblical exposition, business administration, and early-childhood education. It grants associate and bachelor's degrees and has a school of graduate and adult studies as well as a seminary. A new dorm for women stands near the chapel.

These days many students come here to prepare for careers other than ministry. They talk about finding a way to serve God in their chosen professions, a way to meld the sacred and the secular. Mr. Muntz recalls what the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. said about how one should pursue his or her chosen profession: "Set out to do it as if God Almighty called you at this particular moment in history to do it.".

Mr. Muntz, who has worked at four other colleges, has changed many things since arriving last year. New publications. Expanded scholarships. Revamped letters. Recently the university created "Red," a branding campaign that ties the school color to a simple phrase: "Live your mission."

This year, for the first time, the admissions office bought the names of rising high-school seniors—about 11,000 of them— who had expressed an interest in Christian colleges. And Mr. Muntz and his staff have increased their visits to high schools, churches, and college fairs within a four-hour drive.

Despite those changes, Lincoln Christian continues to rely on word-of-mouth marketing. Over the years, alumni and church leaders have guided many applicants to the university, which is affiliated with the independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ, a nondenominational fellowship of 6,000 congregations. Applicants must sign a statement that they accept Christ as their savior.

Like many Bible colleges, Lincoln Christian also reaches out to teenagers before they're old enough to apply. Each summer the university pays some of its students to work as counselors in church-run youth camps. Four teams of four students each fan out across the Midwest, spending their days with different groups of middle- and high-school students each week.

Counselors from various colleges are there to discuss faith, above all, but they talk up their respective institutions, too. "It's good to have a ninth grader say, 'That guy from Lincoln Christian is cool,'" Mr. Muntz says.

Brian D. Mills agrees. This afternoon Mr. Mills, vice president for student development, will drive four hours to Carbondale, Ill. There he will attend a weeklong meeting sponsored by Christ In Youth, a national organization. The event will draw about 1,200 high-school students. "It can be a pipeline builder," he says.

Lincoln Christian doesn't recruit students who have already committed to other colleges. Still, sometimes students enrolled elsewhere approach Mr. Mills with questions about the university. So he answers them.

He plans to encourage the teenagers he meets this week to think hard about their futures, to question their culture. On the last day, he will talk about Lincoln Christian. He's packed a box full of red lanyards, each bearing the university's name. He will hand out every one.

As the summer winds down, the enrollment cycles here have overlapped. Inside a building known as "the warehouse," Mary K. Davis, who manages the admissions office, tallies applications on the back of her door. The original goal for freshmen and transfer applicants this fall was 320. After a fast start, the university raised that goal to 365. By late July, the university has received 322.

Lincoln Christian does not require deposits. Accepted students state their intention to enroll by either completing a form or registering for classes. This year many accepted students were slow to do either, so the university mailed them a reminder letter, along with a T-shirt.

Mr. Muntz stops by to ask Ms. Davis for updates. One application arrived this morning, she tells him.

As they discuss a student from China who wants to enroll in the fall, Mr. Muntz's cellphone buzzes. It's a text message from a student who is working at a summer camp in Indiana. "We're in trouble here," it begins.

It's only sarcasm. The student reports that counselors from another Christian college have just given a presentation about their campus. During their talk, they cracked an egg on someone's head. The young campers roared.

How could the Lincoln Christian students top that routine? Mr. Muntz writes back: "Take the high road."

'Whatever It Takes'
At 2 o'clock, Mr. Muntz meets with Collin Mattingly and his parents. This morning Collin, a transfer student from Indiana, showed up to register for classes, but there was one problem—the university had not admitted him. Mr. Muntz had already reviewed his application, but a copy of his transcript from Vincennes University had yet to arrive.

As it happened, the transcript was delivered to the admissions office while the family was touring the campus. After reviewing the document, Mr. Muntz saw the Mattinglys walk by the office. "Are you Collin?" he called out. "Congratulations, you've been admitted."

The family is happy but worried about costs. In the admissions office, Collin and his parents huddle with Mr. Muntz, who asks the student a question: "Why are you coming here?"

Two weeks ago, Collin attended a youth-ministry conference at Hope College, in Michigan. After returning home, he sat down for dinner, where his father saw that he was crying. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Dad," Collin said, "has God ever spoken to you? Because he spoke to me."

With that, Collin, who'd planned on a teaching career, told his parents that he wanted to transfer to Lincoln Christian and become a preacher. He knew this would cost more than attending Vincennes. We will find a way to pay for it, his parents told him.

But finding a way will not be easy. Lincoln Christian has offered a financial-aid package that puts the Mattinglys' out-of-pocket costs at about $10,000 a year. It's a stretch, especially because Collin's younger sister plans to start college next year.

Talk turns to loans. Mr. Muntz explains interest rates. He describes the loan-repayment program but cautions the family about borrowing too much. "If I were looking at an engineering major here, I wouldn't care if he graduated with $30,000 in debt," Mr. Muntz says. "But you know preachers don't make a lot of money, and you would still need to go to seminary."

Collin's mother says a member of their church has offered to help pay for his education.

"Do you know how much?" Mr. Muntz asks. "We're probably talking hundreds and not thousands, right?"

They aren't sure. Mr. Muntz studies their financial-aid sheet. He notes that Collin's grade-point average is .04 away from qualifying him for an academic scholarship. He tells the family that he will see what he can do.

"It looks like you're about $3,000 short," Mr. Muntz says. "Can you afford to commit $7,000 a year?"

For a moment, there's silence. Ms. Mattingly looks down at the numbers. "Whatever it takes, it's gonna happen, because it's in God's hands," she says. "But seeing it is hard."

The tension between faith and finances has long fascinated Mr. Muntz. Ten years ago, he wrote an article for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities called "What Does the Bible Say About Student Loans?" In a revised version, he cites Romans 14:23: "Everything that does not come from faith is sin." Loans are not inherently wrong, he concludes, but students should think carefully before borrowing—and borrow only "in faith."

Some families would carry any burden to send a son or daughter to Lincoln Christian. "If God's your admissions counselor, you listen," Mr. Muntz says.

Still, God doesn't pay back Parent PLUS Loans. So Mr. Muntz tries to balance his counsel. "It's important to recognize how faith plays a serious role in this process," he says, "but it's important not to use that against someone."

Later he discusses the Mattinglys' situation with the financial-aid director. They decide to offer Collin an additional $3,000 in grants.

The family is grateful. Money is money, and sometimes it's also an answer.

Magnificent Obsession

2010-08-28T21:24:00.006-04:00

Jordan's latest obsession, along with the Pontiac Fiero (red, I believe) and disc golf, is his new longboard.

Apparently, in order to do anything very cool on a longboard, such as turn really tight corners, you need to have extremely tough gloves that you can drag along the ground so he spent the last two nights carving up one of Jeannette's old cutting boards and then gluing the pieces to a pair of old gloves to create a homemade version of the gloves the pro's use. He was out testing the gloves on our street today.

He is unhappy that we live in Fort Wayne where there are no hills. I told him he should live in Lincoln with me. He said that was dumb, because Lincoln is even flatter than Fort Wayne. I agreed but noted that after being in Lincoln, he would not complain so much about Fort Wayne.

Hittin' the Links

2010-08-28T20:31:00.004-04:00

We all made a short trip to Shoaff Park this afternoon to play a little disc golf, one of Jordan's latest obsessions. We only played nine holes and Jordan and I were the only ones who actually played all nine and kept score. He beat me by one stroke.

Afterwards, we went to McDonald's, where there was much lively conversation. Read one entertaining exchange on Jordan's blog at http://downhillcarver.tumblr.com/post/1028064849/enter-evil.

Move-In Day

2010-08-28T20:18:00.003-04:00

Phillip moved into his residence hall yesterday, with help from Aunt Laura and Grammie Joyce. He met his roommate, Jason, who went to high school in Jakarta, Indonesia. They had had no contact at all--hard to believe in this modern age--but seem to be off to a good start.
Grandma was hard at work trying to make a home away from home out of his sparse belongings. Phillip traveled with just two suitcases and a carry-on, though our Northwest family worked to supplement that with treasures from Target, Walmart and Bed, Bath & Beyond.

Phillip lives in Van Gilder Hall . . . but not the same Van Gilder that I lived in when I was a student. My dorm, a converted tuberculosis hospital, was long ago turned into offices and classrooms. The dorm Phil is in is split into halves, with women on one side and men on the other. The full name is Prewitt-Van Gilder, or PVG for short.

Out with the Old

2010-08-28T20:02:00.004-04:00

This past week was in with the new as Melody started Kindergarten and out with the old as Phillip took off for Oregon and his new adventure at Corban University. He flew out through Chicago and Seattle to Portland where Aunt Laura and Uncle Jamey picked him up. These are Jeannette's last shots of Son #2 before he disappeared from sight . . . until Christmas break.

We're excited for him to be at Corban, our alma mater. We received a magazine called "Corban Parent" and I finally got to read through it today. First, I was pretty impressed with the publication but also it surprised me to see how many of the featured staff were people I knew (and, in some cases, had recruited to Corban many years ago).

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-28T18:37:00.012-04:00

There haven't been any blog posts lately because [a] I have not been in Fort Wayne for the past two weeks and [b] my life is boring. However, life in my absence in Fort Wayne was not boring, highlighted first by the arrival of Miss Melody in kindergarten on August 19.

The fact that the only photos to document this momentous occasion were taken on Mom's cell phone at the last second is evidence of her existence as a fourth child. The fact that there are no photos at all to document Jameson's first day of high school that same morning points to the fact that being the third boy in a family makes you even more of an afterthought than being the youngest child. Oh well.

I think this next photo is of Melody before school a few days ago.

MelodyJoy is enjoying kindergarten, especially the "hot lunch" on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. She woke me up yesterday before school and I asked her if she was excited about school.

"Yes, hot lunch today!" she replied.

What was your hot lunch on Wednesday?

"Peas!"

I imagine she was the only child in her class to see peas on that tray.

Scenes from the Road

2010-08-22T22:37:00.002-04:00

Atlanta is just up the road from Lincoln, Illinois,and today as I returned from church in Bloomington, I decided just to take a quick side trip to see what's in town.

According to the sign near this statue, giant figures like this one used to be arrayed all along old Route 66 to promote various businesses. This particular Paul Bunyan had his ax replaced with a hot dog and was used outside a restaurant named Bunyon's (purposely misspelled to avoid trademark issues with another restaurant).

My Article about Christian College Alumni

2010-08-18T22:22:00.006-04:00

Since about 1995, I've been collecting examples of successful Christian college alumni. I did this initially in response to one prospective Asbury College student's suspicions that attending Asbury would not prepare his daughter for "real life" after college. I now have 39 pages of alumni from more than 50 Christian liberal arts and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada. And I've purposely collected only examples of those not working in vocational ministry, knowing that many people would assume that careers in missions or ministry are readily available to Christian college graduates . . . or even that those are the only fields open to them.

I recently was asked to write an article on this topic for the Christian College Guide to be published by the North American Coalition for Christian Admissions Professionals, which will be distributed at Christian college fairs across the US. Jordan's girlfriend, Hillary, helped me put the article together. Today, I found the article online at

http://www.nccf.us/media/docs/pdfs/ChristianEducation.pdf

If I may say so myself, I think there are some impressive and interesting examples of what a degree from a Christian college or university can lead to. Hope you enjoy it.

And a Pinch to Grow On

2010-08-10T22:30:00.001-04:00

Melody helps hold Jordan down so Jeannette can finish giving him his 20 birthday swats on Sunday . . .

Best Skittles Commercial Ever!

2010-08-09T16:34:00.001-04:00

The person who posted this on YouTube called it "The Worst Skittles Commercial Ever!" I didn't realize there was a ratings service for Skittles commercials and I don't know if this really does qualify as the best one, but it certainly can't be the worst.

August 8, 1990

2010-08-08T23:08:00.004-04:00

Today was Jordan's big 2-0. Wow. Anyway, we were at Grandpa Phil and Grandma Debbie's house and Jordan opened his gifts before lunch and cake. These were a few of them . . . a Batman shirt from Jameson, new shoes from Jeannette and an autobiography by a missionary pilot, Harold Amstutz. What he really wanted, though, was to be back in Fort Wayne with Hillary! Ha!

Family Reunion

2010-08-07T23:33:00.007-04:00

This morning we drove about three hours northwest of Janesville to Jeannette's Uncle Gordy and Aunt Judy's house, where a number of her relatives on her dad's side were gathered for a quasi-family reunion. We all enjoyed connecting with aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and so on, but probably no on more than Melody. She and Marissa even turned "fighting" with blades of grass into a game . . .

I beat Jordan at cornhole and then he took Jeannette on in Ladder Ball . . .

We had the most amazing birthday cake ever . . . though I never figured out whose birthday it was . . .

Melody was finally convinced to try one of the bugs . . .

Uncle Gordy showed us their horses, which Melody enjoyed . . .

Uncle Gordy offered Melody a ride on his four-wheeler so I went along . . .

Sightseeing in Madison

2010-08-06T22:59:00.005-04:00

We're in Janesville for a few days visiting Jeannette's dad and his wife. Today we left Jordan with Grandpa to work on the house and the rest of us went up to Madison to visit the capitol and zoo. After we made a quick visit to the Indiana capitol last month, we discovered that Jameson enjoys seeing these buildings, so we're probably going to try to hit more of them in the future. In the Wisconsin court of appeals . . .

In the conference room by the governor's office . . .

Jeannette and I were both very impressed by this capitol. Very ornate and fully of rich details. One very neat feature is the way that they designed the capitol to use natural light as much as possible, even putting glass blocks in the marble floors of some hallways to allow light from above to shine into lower levels.

We had lunch at Qdoba--rapidly becoming one of our standby places to eat--and went to the Henry Vilas Zoo. Admission is free and it's a very nice little zoo.

The weather was extremely pleasant today but still a bit warm for the polor bears, who hid inside their cave . . .

Me to Melody: Man, that bear's head is ginormous!

Melody's Response: Yeah, it's even bigger than yours, Dad.

Someday I Want to be Director of Admissions at Beck U

2010-08-04T10:11:00.000-04:00

How Much Do You Have to Hate Someone Not to Proselytize?

2010-08-02T16:39:00.002-04:00

From Penn Jillette, of Penn & Teller. Just a little bit thought-provoking . . .

Scenes from the Road

2010-07-30T18:19:00.003-04:00

On Wednesday, as I drove from Lincoln to Carbondale, I passed a sign for the "Mother Jones Memorial" in Mount Olive, Illinois. I probably wouldn't even have noticed it if not for exposure I'd had to Mother Jones Magazine. So I took a short detour from I-55 to a cemetary in town and found the memorial. She is buried near victims of the 1898 mine riot in the Virden coalfields.

If you're not familiar with Mother Jones, she was a socialist and early leader of the labor moment. You can read one account of her life at the Illinois Labor History Society website.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

2010-07-24T15:07:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, I got to head into Chicago where several of us were meeting to celebrate our friend Dan's 60th birthday. We met at Salt & Pepper Diner in Wrigleyville for lunch and then walked up the street to Wrigley Field for the Cubs-Cardinals game.

Here's the crew . . . Tom Shaw from Moody Bible Institute, me, Steve Mortland from Taylor University, Roger Kieffer from Trinity International University, Dan Crabtree from Wheaton Academy and Chant Thompson from NACCAP . . .

Here's a shot of Dan singing Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the Seventh Inning Stretch . . .

I've been taking pictures of our LCU mascot in different locales so I got this photo after the game . . .

After the game, four of us went to Carson's for Ribs (Dan's favorite meal) and had just a great time. Haven't laughed that hard in a long time. By the time we were done, Dan's rock history trivia convinced me that he is Rainman and I discovered that Chant's life story is better than Forrest Gump's.

The Decision: LePhil "Prince" Muntz

2010-07-17T18:03:00.004-04:00

An imaginary interview, only slightly less boring than the real thing . . .

Jim Gray: Thank you very much. Everybody is on pins and needles across the country, particularly those colleges who are in the running for LePhil Muntz.

Are you ready to go LePhil? Where is the razor?

LePhil Muntz: Left it at home.

Gray: What's new? What's been going on with you this summer?

LePhil: Man, this whole free agent experience, looking forward to it. Trying to choose a college, trying to avoid getting a job.

Gray: What have you thought about this process?

LePhil: This process has been everything I've thought and more. And that's what I did a few years ago; I put myself in a position to have this process where I can hear colleges’ pitches and figure out what was the best possible chance for me to ultimately attend and to ultimately be happy. Where I can make friends, earn a degree, have fun and grow.

Gray: You weren't able to be recruited because you went straight high school from junior high. Have you enjoyed this recruiting process now?

LePhil: Actually, I think I was pretty much in denial about the whole thing.

Gray: How many people know your decision right now?

LePhil: Not many. It's a very, very small number. Just you and my 369 friends on Facebook.

Gray: Your 369 friends or your 369 friends and all their friends?

LePhil: I’m not sure. I’ll have to check my privacy settings.

Gray: When did you decide?

LePhil: I think I decided a few days ago. I had a great conversation with my mom. Once I had that conversation with her, I think I was set. Oh, and when we got the financial aid offer.

Gray: So does the college that you're going to, that you'll announce in a few minutes, do they know your decision?

LePhil: They just found out.

Gray: They just found out?

LePhil: Yeah. Yesterday when my dad called and gave them $300 in deposits.

Gray: So the other colleges, on pins and needles, they don't know; they'll be listening to this?

Gray: No, they know. Or at least the ones I remember applying to know. I think I only applied three places.

Gray: Who in this process, LePhil, have you taken advice from and who has had the biggest influence?

LePhil: I've taken a lot of advice from my friends and family. My agent, Ellen Zarfas, has been great. A lot of people that I look towards in a time of need or for advice, and ultimately they looked at me and said you ultimately have to live with your decision that you're going to make, and you have to do what's best for you, for your family and for you to ultimately be happy.

Gray: What was the major factor, the major reason in your decision?

LePhil: I think the major factor and the major reason in my decision was the best opportunity for me to live where I want to live. I also thought the environment of the campus might fit me well. And maybe I’ll play basketball, too. I have a lot of pent up hoops talent just waiting to break out.

Gray: Do you have any doubts about your decision?

LePhil: No. I don't have any doubts at all.

Gray: Are you still a nail biter?

LePhil: No, I never was. You really need to do your research a little better.

Gray: You've had everybody else biting their nails. So I guess it's time for them to stop chewing. The answer to the question everybody wants to know: LePhil, what's your decision?

LePhil: In this fall, this is very tough, in this fall I'm going to take my talents to Salem, Oregon and join Corban University.

Gray: Why?

LePhil: Um, weren’t you paying attention? I just told you why. Plus, it’s pretty out there.

Gray: What did your mother have to say about all this?

LePhil: Well, I mean, she did cry just a little and called all her friends in Oregon. So I think she’s pretty happy about my decision. She’s also looking forward to meeting Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

Gray: Thanks for joining us this evening, LePhil, and good luck in Oregon. Now to Charles Barkley for analysis . . .

Indy

2010-07-09T17:40:00.003-04:00

This past week, I was in Indianapolis for the North American Christian Convention for three days. Jeannette, Jameson and Melody came along for a change of scenery. It was pretty hot out but they spent a few hours at the Indianapolis Zoo . . .

They also visited the children's museum . . .

On our way out of town, we made a quick stop at the state capitol . . .

A Reminder of Why Screenwriters are Needed

2010-07-09T17:37:00.001-04:00

Fourth of July Fireworks - Two Kinds

2010-07-05T17:44:00.009-04:00

In a roundabout way, I was able to get six front row tickets from our orthodontist to the Fort Wayne TinCaps game last night. I bought an extra SRO ticket and Hillary came along. As it turned out, the seats next to ours were empty so we didn't even have to hold Melody on our laps, though that's where she ended up for most of the game.

The TinCaps were playing the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Those poor guys had just finished a series against each other on Saturday night in Kentucky and then had to come up here to play again! I'm sure they were exhausted. Between that and the fact that this is low A ball played by some pretty young guys, the game was wild. The ball was flying everywhere and there were plenty of errors. In the second inning, Bowling Green scored eight runs and it looked like the game would be pretty mundane.

The TinCaps came back to some extent, though they still managed to leave the bases loaded at the end of the 6th. For the 7th inning stretch, Johnny Appleseed came down by us for the singing of God Bless America.

Note that Jeannette made sure Johnny's hands didn't wander at all . . .

MelodyJoy enjoyed Dippin' Dots at the game, celebrating her fifth Fourth of July as a US citizen.

In the ninth inning, we were down by four runs so I decided to go shopping for a TinCaps hat. From inside the store, I could tell there was a lot of noise in the crowd but when I glanced out the windows, it just looked like they were responding to a contest on the scoreboard. I finally made my way back to our seats and saw that the TinCaps had the bases loaded and were now down by just two runs with one out!

Bowling Green's pitcher, Alex Koronis, was in the process of throwing twelve straight balls, walking in three runs. (An aside: One interesting thing about going to a Single A game is watching young players completely implode and wondering if you've just seen the end of their MLB dreams.)

I was almost afraid to return to my seat for fear I might jinx Fort Wayne. After all, the rally started while I was modeling different caps and ignoring the game.

Fort Wayne's lead-off batter came to the plate and, rather than waiting to see if the pitcher might finally find home plate, he swung and missed on the first pitch. Moments later, he swung again and hit a weak little pop-up to the side of the plate. I've been on the receiving end of these little bloops while playing catcher in church league softball but it still was shocking to see the ball squirt out of the catcher's glove and hit the ground. I'm sure it must have been spinning like mad. Well, Jeudy Valdez didn't let this reprieve go to waste as he smacked the next pitch, I think, past the shortstop and two runs scored to give Fort Wayne the win, 12-11. It was a wild scene, with a couple of dozen young players, all dressed in red-white-and-blue uniforms for the 4th, leap into a dogpile on the field.

After the game, while we waited for the fireworks, they threw Taco Bell t-shirts and balls into the crowd. MelodyJoy said she would share her ball with Jameson.

The fireworks, shot from a cart in center field, were surprisingly spectacular and we really enjoyed the end to the evening.

Showing Off

2010-07-04T16:42:00.000-04:00

Showing off her new dress . . .
Showing off her tan lines . . .

Alex Wong on So You Think You Can Dance

2010-07-03T17:38:00.004-04:00

I don't watch So You Think You Can Dance. Frankly, it just doesn't appeal to me at all. But a friend on Facebook mentioned the following routine, so I watched it online and "wow!" Alex Wong, according to the Facebook post, is trained in ballet, but adapts to hip hop well here. Very entertaining . . .

alex 9 @ Yahoo! Video

Field Trip

2010-07-03T14:56:00.004-04:00

This morning, we decided to take Calvin, Jameson's tortoise, out for a walk in the backyard. Poor Calvin spends 99.9% of this life in the terrarium in Jameson's room so a field trip seemed a good idea.

Calvin liked the area around our tree, filled with woodchips and lilacs, more than he did the grass. We also discovered that he has an impressive bladder capacity. Fortunately, he demonstrated this just as I got him out to the back porch, not while I was carrying him through the house. And I used antibacterial soap to wash off my leg and foot.

Palmer's Snobbish Review of One Small Business

2010-07-03T12:53:00.003-04:00

A couple of months ago, as I drove to the IACAC conference near Chicago, I stopped for dinner at a Burger King in Pontiac, Illinois. While I waited (and waited) for my order, I noticed a sign on the wall that outlined their corporate values. Since you can’t read them very well from this photo, let me restate them here for you, exactly as they appeared on the certificate.

OUR VALUES
• We hire new people who believe in our six values and live them personally
• The responsibility belongs to everyone at every level
• With theses values in places, our success will be long-term and unparalleled
• We reward those who go above and beyond to demonstrate the value

GET IT DONE
BELIEVING THAT ACHIEVING POSITIVE RESULTS, IS THE KEY TO CONTINUING SUCCESS FOR EVERYONE

PLAY FAIR
EXAMPLE IS NOT THE MAIN THING IN INFLUENCING OTHER, IT IS THE ONLY THING

HAVE FUN
TO LOVE WHAT YOUR DOING AND FEEL THAT IT MATTERS, COULD ANYTHING BE MORE FUN

DREAM BIG
WHEN YOU AFFIRM BIG, BELIEVE BIG AND PRAY BIG, BIG THINGS HAPPEN

MAKE A DIFFERENCE
YOU CAN GET ANYTHING YOU WANT IF YOU HELP ENOUGH PEOPLE GET WHAT THEY WANT

WORK HARD
IF YOU WILL DO MORE WORK THAN YOU ARE PAID FOR, YOU WILL ULTIMATELY BE PAID FOR MORE WORK THEN YOU DO

Inspirational, no? It takes a lot of money to buy a fast food franchise, let alone an entire district full of them (though I have no idea what a Burger King district consists of). How could someone achieve the level of success necessary to own multiple Burger King restaurants and not [a] know better than to resort to these clichés and [b] have a clue about spelling, punctuation and grammar? And don't get me started on the cheesy clip art. Perhaps I’ve overestimated how much intelligence it takes to be successful in business.

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani

2010-07-01T00:21:00.005-04:00

On Sunday, we got to hear our friend Josh Rang speak. He made a comment that struck me in a new way and led me to a new awareness. Let me set the stage by explaining two things first . . .

Thing One: For most of my life, I’ve heard about how, while he was hanging on the cross, Jesus Christ took on the sins of the world—paid the price for our sins—and that God the Father turned away from his son. Matthew 27:45-46 says “From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ - which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’” (NIV)

On one level, I’ve certainly realized that this must have been most painful for Christ and have been grateful for his sacrifice. On another level, I really couldn’t understand what this meant.

Thing Two: Josh talked about how a loving father doesn’t discipline his children in anger, and commented if you are angry when you are disciplining a child, something is wrong. He added that God is never angry at us, as his children, because he poured out all of his anger on Jesus that day on the cross. He still may be disappointed with us and does discipline us when we fall short but he is no longer angry with us.

From there, my mind began to wander. I have four kids. I have to discipline them sometimes. But what if I disciplined Jameson every time MelodyJoy disobeyed? What if I took privileges away from Jameson whenever Jordan left his clothes in the bathroom? (Not that Jordan would ever do that.) What if I made Jameson mow the lawn any time Phillip didn’t get it done when I asked him to?

Furthermore, what if each time this type of thing came up, I was furious with Jameson? What if I screamed at him? Physically got in his face? Grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward me? Sometimes I have disciplined the kids in anger, usually with some small bit of justification. Boy, did my anger create heat, but without any benefit!

So now, as I play this out in my mind, I’m punishing one of my kids for wrongs he didn’t commit. And I’m in a rage as I do it. Don’t you think he would find that unfair? That he would resent it? What kind of separation would that put between him and me? How abused would he feel? I bet he quickly would have an unmanageable anger in response to me and our relationship would be destroyed.

Now, think about Jesus Christ’s situation. He accepted the punishment not for the sins of just two brothers and a sister, but for all of mankind. Further, the Father poured his wrath out on the Son, severing--at least for awhile--what had been the perfect relationship for time immemorial. If I think it’s unbearable for one sibling to suffer unjustly for another, how much more would it be so for Christ? But he took on the punishment and accepted the anger of God for a season in order to shield us as Christians for all eternity.

This is all a bit too verbose and I’m guessing my analogy is flawed in some respects, but it helped me better understand, especially at an emotional level, what took place on the cross 2000 years ago. I plan to send an email to Josh and ask him what he makes of my thought process here.

Daddy Phone Video

2010-06-16T14:43:00.000-04:00

Hillary Sets the Tone for the Relationship, Take 2

2010-06-15T22:09:00.000-04:00

Tramp Kids

2010-06-14T21:58:00.001-04:00

Melody, Jordan, Hillary and Jameson hit the neighbor's trampoline on Sunday afternoon . . .

Graduation Day

2010-06-07T15:17:00.000-04:00

I don't have any pictures from graduation itself--some may be coming if other family members forward photos along to me--but here are a few from Sunday.

Before graduation, we did gifts with Phillip. Jameson felt the need to present his gift with proper deference and respect . . .
Phillip wore the suit that my mom bought him. Here is he showing off the watch that we gave him . . .

My mom was able to come out from Oregon for the week, which is something we never would have expected a year ago or six months ago.

Jeannette's good friend Ellen made the trip with Mom to help her just survive all the details of life on the road. It was great to have her around and get to show her a little of our life in Indiana . . .

Here MelodyJoy is admiring Grandma's necklace . . .

Because Jeannette's dad was around, we made sure to get some family pictures. Rest assured that his pictures will be better than this one, but this can serve as an appetizer . . .

We also got a picture of Phillip with his namesake, Grandpa Phil, as well as Grandma Debbie, Grammie (or is it Grammy? I never know) and Grandma Muntz . . .

After graduation, we tried to get some pictures of Phillip with his friends and with family . . .

We're proud of Phil and his good work in school. We're not sure what's next on his agenda. He's deposited at Cedarville University and that seems like a good option for him but Ellen works at Corban University out in Oregon and talking with her kind of reignited his interest in going there. He really misses Oregon and going to Corban would get him back to his old stompin' grounds. He's applied for admission now and we're waiting to see whether he's admitted and what his financial aid looks like. Be praying!

Hillary Sets the Tone for the Relationship

2010-06-05T11:45:00.000-04:00

Random Photos from Phil's Graduation Party

2010-06-05T11:24:00.009-04:00

Yesterday was Phil's last day of high school and last night was his graduation open house. Since he thought Jordan's party went well last year, he wanted to do the same thing: coffee and chocolate with games in the basement and lots of seating around the tiki torches in the backyard. Most of the Blackhawk open houses ended by 9:00 so we scheduled ours from 9:00 to 11:00 to end the day.

We decided to reuse some of the coffee cups from Jordan's party last year so Uncle Jamey, Jeannette and Aunt Laura crossed out the 2009 on them and wrote in 2010. If there's one word that comes to mind when you hear the name "Muntz," it should be "frugal."

Phillip works the front door . . .

Playing around-the-world down in the basement . . .

Hillary's mom and Jeannette's mom . . .

Lots of chocolate treats to be had . . .

The weather was supposed to be terrible but we prayed and there were just some sprinkles in the first few minutes, then it dried up. Just a few minutes past 11:00, when the party was supposed to end, there was a downpour, but during the main two hours of the party, the weather was beautiful. Jordan's boss and his wife enjoyed our swing and said they felt like they were in Hawaii . . .

Time Traveling

2010-06-05T10:58:00.002-04:00

My mother is in town for Phillip's graduation on Sunday and she asked if we could drive over to Richwood, Ohio, about 130 miles from Fort Wayne, to visit the cemetery where my Grandma and Grandpa Hayden are buried. So we drove about two and a half hours through the farm land of Ohio to the Claibourne Cemetery on the edge of the little town of Richwood (population: 2300).

The first three pictures are of Grandma and Grandpa's plot and the fourth is of Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Hayden's marker.

While we were in town, we also visited Mom's cousin and he showed us the house where my grandparent's lived in retirement until Grandpa's death in 1964. I think I can remember a little about the interior of this house from when I was a toddler, though I'm not sure (it could be home movies that I remember).

All in all, it was a pleasant day . . . filled with roughly seven hours of conversation about family history. ;-)

Birthdays and Mother's Day

2010-05-24T23:19:00.004-04:00

May is a busy month . . .

Double Trouble at the Zoo

2010-05-24T23:10:00.002-04:00

Pictures from earlier this month of MelodyJoy and her friend Bianca at the Fort Wayne Zoo.

First Photos

2010-05-01T17:52:00.002-04:00

Hillary and Jordan just left for the Blackhawk Junior-Senior Banquet, and these are the first photos from the evening.

Kite Flyin'

2010-05-01T15:51:00.002-04:00

MelodyJoy has been wanting to fly a kite recently and yesterday was a breezy day so we went down to the park. Jameson's friend Matt gave him a fancy kite as a going-away present when we left Klamath Falls and so we put it together for the occasion.

Four Years, 364 Days Old

2010-04-18T17:06:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow is MelodyJoy's fifth birthday but since I have to be in Illinois, we had a family party for her today.

One of our students at LCU, Kevin, came home with me for the weekend and enjoyed Jeannette's home cooking and the cherry birthday cake . . .

No, that isn't a second birthday cake. My sister Laura sent Melody this unusual little cupcake that actually is like a block of bath salts and can float in the tub. It had a real candle on top so Jeannette lit it for Melody.

Mr. Mom

2010-04-12T16:58:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, Phillip was in Oregon visiting George Fox University and Jeannette was in Indianapolis for an education conference, so it was just Jameson, MelodyJoy and me for Friday and Saturday. We managed to tear Jameson away from the computer for a trip to the park (as well as to do some shopping, a game of miniature golf and pizza at Sam's Club, but I don't have photos of that venture).

Tiger Woods Conspiracy Theory

2010-04-08T20:49:00.000-04:00

Here's my Augusta National Conspiracy Theory: At his press conference, Billy Payne ripped Tiger Woods in order to make Tiger a sympathetic figure so more people would root for him. How much did Nike pay Payne to do this?

(Oh, and by the way: New Nike commercial . . . simply horrendous, but it did get every sports talk show in America to say the word "Nike" at least ten times today.)

As the Easters Go By

2010-04-04T22:59:00.002-04:00

In 2007, MelodyJoy celebrated her second Easter with us (her first one was just weeks after she joined our family). This is one of my favorite photos of her . . .
It's hard to believe that today was her fifth Easter with us!

Easter '10

2010-04-04T22:24:00.006-04:00

While MelodyJoy was in Sunday School this morning, her brothers hid Easter eggs around the house for her hunt after church. When we got home she made quick work of them . . .

Here are a couple of videos of her treasure hunt . . .

Jordan came home Friday evening for the weekend so, as Melody would say, our family was complete, and we were able to get a photo of all four kids . . .
Despite the fact that she was dressed in her Easter best, Jeannette insisted that we needed to witness Melody's new proficiency with a bat and ball . . .

A Message about Beauty in the Media

2010-03-31T23:15:00.001-04:00

Tink

2010-03-29T00:10:00.002-04:00

A few months ago, Phillip tried out for a role in the school musical, Peter Pan. He came home later and Jeannette asked him which part he'd gotten. "Tinkerbell," he told her. Tinkerbell? Tinkerbell??

Fortunately, he didn't actually have to appear on stage as a fairy in little green tights. No, as would be appropriate for a techie, it was his job to run a fancy little laser light, making it dance around the stage whenever Tinkerbell was part of the script.

I didn't get any photos of the play Saturday night but here are a couple from afterwards. Phil enjoyed wearing a set of MelodyJoy's fairy wings during intermission and after the play, just to make sure everyone knew who was responsible for the world's most famous fairy that night.
MelodyJoy also had to say hi to Hillary, who played one of the Indians. All the kids did a great job putting the production of Peter Pan together.

Happy Gotcha Day

2010-03-28T08:57:00.001-04:00

Four years ago, Jeannette, Jameson and I were in Guangzhou, China, along with my sister, Laura, to meet MelodyJoy for the very first time. There's some confusion on our part as to when "Gotcha Day," as many call it, was for us, because China is so far away that it's a half day different on the calendar. We've decided just to celebrate March 27th. Here's a photo of us just a few minutes after receiving Melody . . .
And a picture that Phillip took yesterday on the fourth anniversary of Gotcha Day . . .

Phillip and Jameson were feeling under the weather yesterday so just Jeannette and I took Melody out for lunch at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants. We had a little gift for her . . .

It was a little Mulan doll set that she picked out during our trip to Disney World last summer.

MelodyJoy brought up the idea a few weeks ago of adopting a sister to join our family and, honestly, we're open to that thought. Unfortunately, our lives are just too unstable to allow us to pursue an adoption. Until we're actually all living under one roof, there's no way we could pass a home study. The fact that we're not getting any younger is a factor, too. For instance, under normal circumstances, we would be considered to be too old to adopt from India. If God opens the doors, we're willing to walk through them, but for now, I think Melody will just have to be content with being the center of attention.

Gymnastics with a Short Attention Span

2010-03-21T17:54:00.004-04:00

A few minutes ago, Melody told me she was going to do a gymnastics show for me so I got the camera out and started filming. As you'll see, she got a bit distracted, even giving a weather report in the middle of it all. As I type this, she's now preparing a magic show for me. The entertainment never ends. Never.

By the way, she's wearing one of my t-shirts. She always uses "a Daddy's shirt" as a blanket at night or when she's feeling tired.

Eating Well

2010-03-17T00:14:00.003-04:00

I was very proud of myself tonight. Look at what a well balanced meal I made for myself! In case you can't tell, that's chicken, toast with garlic salt and butter, Kroger brand alfredo and noodles, corn and Diet Coke with Lime. See how independent I've become, Jeannette? And the chicken was a little bland so I added some spice. Which, of course, just means salt.
I had three Girl Scout cookies for dessert. I also washed the sheets and made my bed and ironed eight shirts. I'm so domesticated.

Dad's Night at Blackhawk Christian Preschool

2010-03-16T23:55:00.008-04:00

Last night, I delayed my return to Lincoln in order to attend Dad's Night at MelodyJoy's preschool. We dined on pizza and grapes and tangerines and cookies and milk and Capri Sun. We sat at little tiny tables in little tiny chairs.

It was fun to walk into the classroom and hear all of the children clamor "Melody! Melody! Hi, Melody!" We sat with her good friend Bianca and her dad. At each place at the table had a place mat that included a description of what each child would do if he or she could do anything at all.

Melody's said, "If I could go anywhere in the world with you, I would like to go to the park. I would take Jasper and Sparky. Mom says I can bring Sparky 'cuz he's a pretend dog. I would like to swing high but not too high. Dad would give me a tickle kiss."

I loved reading the place mat from one of her buddies, Aubrey:

"If I could go anywhere in the world with you, I would like to go to Indiana at MelodyJoy's house. I would take some hair things and clips and babies and my baby bed and my baby car seat. You would talk to her mom, and I would play with MelodyJoy."

If there's a camera, Melody has to take some pictures, of course . . .

At the end of the evening, Miss Laurie read us all from a book that the children had written and we sang the tootie tah song.

I didn't get back to Lincoln until about 2:00 AM Eastern (1:00 Central) but it was worth it.

I Had a Dream

2010-03-14T21:52:00.004-04:00

Last night, I had a dream that I was working the security detail for President George W. Bush. He was at a reception of sorts, meeting and greeting guests. My job appeared to consist primarily of putting antibacterial hand sanitizer on the President's hands before he shook hands with anyone. I'm not sure why I was giving him the hand sanitizer before rather than after.

I Had a Dream

2010-03-07T19:13:00.002-05:00

I had a dream Friday night. In it, I had lots of hair, even a little more than you see in this photo. I remember thinking, "Why did I start shaving my head? This isn't that bad of a comb over. I should have grown my hair back out long ago."

Four Eyes

2010-03-07T19:08:00.003-05:00

For Christmas, we gave Jameson the promise of contacts, since he had been interested in trying them for several months now. Well, he made a valiant attempt at wearing them but just could not get used to sticking his finger in his eye, so we ended up going back to glasses. This time, though, we were able to order him adult frames. Sam's Club has a good selection to choose from (I kind of wish I had gone there for my glasses, too). So, anyway, here's the new and improved Jameson and his four eyes:

Descending a Staircase

2010-03-07T16:00:00.002-05:00

MelodyJoy wore a new outfit to church this morning so I thought I'd snap a photo of her on our stairs . . .

Flying Ivy

2010-03-02T23:18:00.004-05:00

Today's field trip was to the aviation mechanics program at Ivy Tech Community College in Fort Wayne. We had a great meeting with Bill Terhune and he gave Jordan some good advice on how to evaluate some of his options for preparing for a career in aviation, especially related to missions aviation. We were pretty impressed with what he showed us in the program, enough so that we cancelled our appointment at IPFW afterwards, because Jordan is pretty sure that an aviation mechanics program is the direction he wants to try.

The Ivy Tech program is less expensive than the other two schools we're looking at but takes longer to finish. Nothing's ever simple, is it?

Get SMAT

2010-03-01T22:25:00.003-05:00

Early this morning, Jordan and I drove about two and a half hours north to Ionia, Michigan, to visit the School of Missionary Aviation Technology (SMAT). It's a tiny little school with a primary purpose of training students to repair, build and fly planes on the mission field, though graduates can work for a variety of aeronautics employers.

Jordan's been interested in possibly going into missionary work for a few years and in flying. What we're exploring right now is the idea of Jordan getting licensed to do airframe and powerplant mechanical work, knowing he might be able to later get a pilot's license.
Jordan enjoyed talking with one of the instructors for almost an hour. Below, they're looking at a wing that students can work on to learn how to reconstruct wings. I'll admit that most of their conversation didn't interest me a whole lot, but it was fun to see Jordan talk mechanics and engines and fabrication.

Tomorrow at noon, we have an appointment to check out the aviation mechanics program at Ivy Tech here in Fort Wayne.

I Had a Dream

2010-02-25T10:51:00.003-05:00

I had a dream last night that our family had one of the TLC network reality shows--like "Little People, Big World" or "19 and Counting"--but I only got to see part of the intro to our premier episode on TV because I was at work at the factory I owned and we don't have TiVo.

Let Us Continually Come

2010-02-23T19:56:00.002-05:00

Hebrews 4:16 – So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. (New Living Translation)

The footnote in my NLT Study Bible says that the phrase “let us come” can also be translated as “let us continually come,” indicating ongoing action, not just a onetime event. This is a real encouragement: God knows we will continue to sin, perhaps repeatedly and willfully. He also knows that he will continue to show mercy to us. I can’t imagine how hopeless I’d feel if his mercy was offered just once and that if I screwed up again, I couldn’t go to “the mercy well” again. What a gift. Now I just need to remember to come to his throne.

Jeannette's Fourth Son

2010-02-22T22:41:00.004-05:00

Jeannette wanted to see a photo of her new son . . .

This is Kevin. He's new at LCU this term. He is very bad news. Okay, not really. We've been hanging out together a fair amount. He's eating me out of house and home. Seriously, I'm glad he's at LCU . . . he brings good things to campus.

The first time we met, Kevin was joking around, asking why white people always give each other nicknames like Champ or Sport. So now I try to call him "Sport" whenever possible. He tells me that "Palmer" is the whitest name possible. I tell him that "Kevin" is even whiter.