Years back, one of my students got me hooked. On Sudoku. During study hall he pulled out a puzzle book and I wandered over, and that's all it took. The pic above shows a puzzle, and for those not aware of Sudoku requirements, you enter the numbers 1-9 in each box of 9 spaces, in each row and column, without any duplicates. You begin with some numbers filled in and you do the rest. Every possible number candidate gets placed in a box, then you ...
Read More
image from clipartpanda.com
Nice News About the Blog
After months of faithful readers and a semi-disfunctional blog, Zak Erving of Spark Punk fixed the non-working subscribe feature. So now, if you'd like an email notice of each new blog post, just hit the subscribe button and enter your email address. And, feel free to pass the news on!
image from en.wikipedia.com
Changes and Mistakes
Funny how some changes and mistakes can benefit us. Although a regular at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers conference near Santa Cruz, I missed the last seven years. However, my confidence never dimmed regarding directions, so I left the map at home. Never even glanced at it. A well-worn route. But Palm Sunday came early this year, right at the switch to Daylight Savings Time, and the conference changed its close from lunch to a 7:15 breakfast, so I left in the darkness at 6 AM, hoping to beat the metro LA afternoon traffic. Those changes led to my mistake...
Read More
image from youramazingplaces.com
Morning Devotions
On a late June morning we fired up the bikes and rode out of Kalispell, Montana, expecting great things at Glacier National Park. Early indications didn’t encourage us. The chill cut deep, even through our leathers and layers of clothing, and we had to endure 30 miles of mostly urban traffic before approaching the park. So far, the shivers from cold and the frustrations from traffic seemed like a typical day. Nothing awesome, just unpleasant conditions. Then we entered Glacier...
Read More
Perpetual Tinkering
Many have followed the Facebook progress of transforming our neglected, dead, and dated back yard into a relaxing retreat. OK, I'm retired, so I have less stress to retreat from, but I still need it. Building the waterfall provides a metaphor not just for the entire job, but more so for the spiritual life. We'd built one at our previous house and had an idea of what we wanted, then a friend ...
Read More
image from gatewaypundit.com
Super Bowl 50
Superbowl 50: a marvelous defensive game, particularly by the Denver Broncos. Close fought, except for the final score. Two dueling quarterbacks with different styles, one a rising star who moves well, the other the veteran epitome of a pocket passer. Blend in a bit of controversy, with the losing quarterback giving a short, curt postgame interview, one that garnered a load of comments, mostly negative, prompting him to explain his conduct. But lost in the resulting discussion was ...
Read More
image by wesaveland.org
Purpose and Productivity
Two months ago, Sheila and I enjoyed God's creativity in Park City UT, while exploring the history of my dad's family up there. One day we headed to the Olympic Park in hopes of riding a bobsled (no luck, we were in between the summer and winter seasons, but we did see the top 5 US luge drivers practicing!). Next to the road, the McPolin barn above entranced me. The largest I'd ever seen at 8969 sq. ft., it enclosed the milking operation, hay storage, and a lot more. But the largest impact came when...
Read More
Saying No to the Good
Today taught me something about myself--I may be more prone to some addictions than I imagined. Here's the story. If you've read Unconventional enough, you likely realize I'm not much of a legalist. Yes, let's follow biblical commands, not as the way into faith but to express faith. BUT. I appreciate Sunday's focus on God and worship and rest. And I have no problems with doing some stuff on these days. But...
Read More