Bits & Baulderdash

Supper at Wasabi … Got the opportunity to have supper with my sister and her husband along with the lovely and gracious Miss Lynn at a restaurant called Wasabi in Johnston. Lynn had the teriyaki chicken and I had the Angry Dragon sushi roll. I really enjoyed it! For a appetizer we had roasted Brussel Sprouts. The food was good but the conversation was so much better! Great time to catch up!

Labor Day Vacation 2022! We made a long weekend of the Labor Day holiday by taking off on Friday and going down to Florence Kentucky to visit my niece and nephew and their family but most of all to celebrate our granddaughter's 7th birthday! We made the return trip on Tuesday and made it home around 6 PM! We had so much fun, food fellowship and general frivolity! 

September is Birthday Month September is the month of the anniversary of my entrance into this life! I usually look forward to this annual event and this year will be no different. Always looking for new ideas to celebrate ... any ideas???

Pastor Steve

The Great Iowa State Fair Part 2

 So, in my last post I was considering a couple more stories dealing with the Iowa State Fair ... after further consideration I've opted to just serve up one more post!

After milling around the fair grounds, Lynn and I, ended up on the very east end of the grand concourse. from that perspective I could literally look to the West all the way down the Grand Ave. to the Grand Ave. gate! 

It happened right at 10 AM, a young lady began to sing over the fair-wide PA system ... She began singing the National Anthem and I saw the most astounding site ... Every person, man, woman, and child stopped dead in their tracks! Men removed their hats, children remained almost still and almost everyone placed their hand over their heart.

Standing there, listening to the silence that fell upon the fairgrounds that morning, with only the woman singing was amazing! It brought me to tears! To see the respect for our nation, the respect for the singer and all of the people stopping what they were ding we just incredible ... a moment I will remember and cherish for a very long time!

Pastor Steve

The Great Iowa State Fair

One of my favorite late summer activities is attending the Iowa State Fair! This is something I literally grew up doing ... my parents worked at the fair every night at the society horse show in the livestock pavilion and I had somewhat the run of the grounds in those years. I have for the most part always enjoyed going to the fair!

This year was no different! Lynn and I got to attend twice this year. I'm not a "midway" guy, I never have been. I guess they call it the "Thrill Park" these days ... but I'm old enough to remember the old midway.

I have always been a fan of the livestock barns, the agriculture building, the Iowa DNR building, the Mountain Man camp, Pioneer Hall and of course the Varied Industries building. the key to all of those places is that they are all free!!! Free is one of my favorite things! 

However, food at the State Fair is a whole different story! There are places we go on the grounds that are can't miss, every year must haves! In no particular order here are Lynn and I top fav's ... turkey tenderloin, smoked turkey drumstick, honey lemonade, salt water taffy, pork chop on a stick, Italian sausage grinder, a lamb burger, root beer, "shake-up" lemonade, once in a while a corn dog and a foot-long hotdog. This year Lynn tried the "Hot Beef Sundae" at the Cattlemen' s Beef Headquarters ... it consists of roast beef on a bowl with mashed potatoes on top and covered in gravy with a cheery tomato on top. She thought is was just OK. One of the local restaurants in Des Moines had a wrap (that was really good) the past few years but they were not at the Fair this year, 

Over all, this was a stellar year especially considering the weather. One of the best years for State Fair weather. We had a great time at the Fair and I'll have a couple more posts coming soon!

What are your favorite Iowa State Fair memories? Feel free to share them, I would love to read them!

Pastor Steve

 

(All Photo's Are Stock)

 

                                 

Bits & Balderdash

 

Time for a couple of quick bits ...

Still bike riding with the lovely and gracious Miss Lynn! The latest was a Monday night ride from Pleasant Hill area to the Altoona area. Total distance was 11.22 miles and it took 1:15 minutes.

Been enjoying sweet corn and BLT’s ... a family favorite this time of year! Always reminds my of my Mom & Dad who  raised a garden every year. Dad had a propensity for huge tomatoes, “Best Boy” and “Beefsteak” were the best! One slice would be all you needed for a great BLT!

The Iowa State Fair begins Thursday (8/11/22)! One of my favorite times of year going back to my childhood. My parents worked at the State Fair for years and I grew up loving the time spent at the fair. As an adult, the midway or thrill park hold no draw for me but I do so enjoy the “free” stuff available throughout the fair. The livestock barns, the varied industries building, the agriculture building and of course … fair food! I do have my favorites! 

Pastor Steve

A Tribute To A Great Aurthor ...

 I have always tried to be an avid reader.  From my time in college, I have tried to cultivate reading as a way of not only reading for message preparation but also for the shear enjoyment of a good book. In so many areas of my life I really enjoy variety in what I like ... for example, musically I enjoy everything from Jazz to Swing to Oldies to the 70's to Classical Music ... As for authors, I really enjoy John Grisham, Lee Child, Agatha Christie (mainly the Poirot books), and many others.

Having developed a love for history in high school, even giving thought at one time of being a secondary grade school teacher with a major emphasis in history. I spent some years doing 1840's rendezvous reenactment and my favorite time period was the time of Lewis and Clark exposition. 

All of that being said, this past week we saw the passing if the prolific author David McCullough. I first came across McCullough's work when my daughter in law was reading "Mornings on Horseback", a book on the early life of Theodore Roosevelt. What an incredible book and story! I loved it!

Since then, here is a list of the McCullough books I read:(Not in any particular order)

Mornings on Horseback

The Great Bridge

Truman

John Adams

1776

The Wright Brothers

American Spirit

The Pioneers  

 

My favorite, hands down is The Wright Brothers ... What an incredible story!

I'm very thankful that I've gotten to enjoy reading David McCullough's works. I would highly recommend and of these books to you for your reading enjoyment!

Pastor Steve

What A Ride!

 Lynn and I have been doing some bike riding this summer. We started by purchasing a very nice trailer hitch bike rack. As the time has progressed we have been doing longer and longer trips on our bikes. 

The trail system in the greater Des Moines area is incredible! We've ridden on the Clive Greenbelt Trail, Great Western & Bill Riley Bike Trail, High Trestle Trail, Jordan Creek Trail, Great Western Trail (In Part), all through the Water Works & Grey's Lake area, But today was the biggest one of all!

We set out from near the Des Moines Botanical Center on Robert D. Ray Drive and headed north. Our goal was to reach the Saylorville Dam area. We ended up just south of the Dam Visitors Center ... By the way, "if you have any Dam questions, ask your Dam tour guide!" (If you know ... you know!) We needed to make a restroom stop which required a stop at the Bob Shelter Campground, with that out of the way we set off for the return trip. 

Overall, it was a great trip ... here are the stats: Total Time: 2:26:50; Distance: 23.58 miles; Elevation Gain: 296 feet; Average Speed 9.6 MPH.

Not too bad for a guy two years out from a stroke and a gal one year out from open hearty surgery! 

What next??? Lynn and I are putting together a ride from somewhere north of the Des Moines area and ending in Martinsdale, Iowa. This will involve a number of difference trails but will focus on the Great Western Trail that runs from Water Works Park and ends in Martinsdale. We shall see ...

I Remain, Pastor Steve

Here are some pictures:

Stock photo of our bike carrier

Our Bikes on our carrier

Stock photo of trail

Stock Photo of our turn around point

Bob Shelter Campground ... Stopped for a "Break"

Great Western Trail ... Our Next Long Ride?????

Central Iowa Bike Trails

One of the really cool opportunities that Lynn and I have been taking advantage of now that we’re living in the Des Moines area is the plethora of bike trails. 

One of the very first rides we took was a quick trip from Madrid Ia. to the High Trestle trial/bridge. not the longest trip in the world but we really enjoyed getting out on this trail. The view from the bridge were incredible and the distance covered was just about perfect that morning. Here are a couple of stock photos: 

Day time look ...

Night time look ...

That same day we ventured down to the Greenwood - Ashworth Park trail head where we set out to reach the Bill Riley Trail through the Des Moines Water Works Park on to Grey’s Lake Park and back. More stock photos: 

Greenwood - Ashworth Park Trailhead ...

Bill Riley Trail ...

Foot Bridge Connecting WaterWorks Park and Grey’s Lake ...

Grey’s Lake Park ...

More rides to Come!

I Remain, 

Pastor Steve

Transitions ...

                        

One thing we know is that life is constantly changing! Transitions are always happening. 

On October 24, 2021 I resigned my ministry in Oskaloosa and have been on a whirlwind adventure ever since!

We moved from Osky at the end of December and moved in with my daughter and her husband for a total of 4 months. We were able to find a condo on the Southside of Des Moines which seems to fit us well.

We are members at Soteria Church in WDM and are getting involved in the ministry there. We are working in Ankeny (Lynn and I both at the same business). We really enjoy our time together driving to and from our work. 

Some have asked “what does the future look like for us?’ honestly, we’re not sure yet, waiting on the Lord for direction. Not saying no but seeking to discern the will of God!

More to come!

I Remain, 

Pastor Steve

A Gospel Primer for Christians By: Milton Vincent

"Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my God, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God's own Son in my place."

Great powerful little book! Highly recommend this as a great resource for devotion and contemplation in your daily walk with God.

Just Back From Vacation! (8/2020)

 Lynn and I were able to get away for a "week" of vacation this past week. 

We left for Decorah, Iowa and stayed at the Pulpit Rock Campground from Sunday night thru Wednesday morning. We had a great time camping with my son, Daniel and his family. We were able to go for an extended bike ride, hiking, trout fishing, canoeing and tubing the Upper Iowa river ... it was a jam packed couple of days! 

On Wednesday we returned home to attend a visitation and funeral on Thursday for a dear lady in our church. 

Following our time back home we set out for Red Haw State Past in the Chairiton, Iowa. It was a good campground and it was just the two of us so we enjoyed some much needed alone time together! We were able to get the kayaks out on the lake for a while on Friday evening and we walked 4.8 mile around the lake on Friday morning ... but overall the weather was so blasted hot that we just worked at staying cool thorough out the day!

Saturday we drove home - unloaded all of our camping gear - showered - packed another bag and headed off to the Hotel Pattee in Perry! On the way we had lunch at Cool Basil in Clive with Susan, Jared and Asa! The hotel was very nice and was a gift from our church family for which we were very thankful for the opportunity to have stayed there. Saturday evening we enjoyed and great meal and a stroll around Perry. 

Sunday we attended church with Pastor Jeriah Shank and the good folks at Slater Baptist Church. Followed by a driving tour of Big Creek, Jester Park and everyone of the recreational areas surrounding Saylorville lake! It was a very hot and humid day so Lynn and I opted for just cruising around in the truck and enjoying the sights!

Before we headed home I dropped in to see my sister and brother-in-law is the Norwalk area! We had a wonderful time of visioning and enjoying some iced tea!

We got home Sunday night around 7:30 or 8 and just got unloaded and ready for bed! We were exhausted!

Here are a few photo's: 

View from Pulpit Rock

THE Pulpit Rock

View from Pulpit Rock

Campfire @ Pulpit Rock

On the Upper Iowa

Our Camp site @ Pulpit Rock

Camp Fire @ Red Haw

Pulpit Rock Camp Site

Breakfast

Hello? Any One Out There?

 Test ... Test ... 1,2,3 ... 1,2,3 ... Testing ... Testing

                

Well, I'm not sure anybody is reading my blog anymore but I'm still here! 

When I've restarted my blog in the past I've never known how long it would remain. To say that I'm not committed wholeheartedly to it is an incredible understatement. So you never know how long I'll endeavor to hang with this restart.

In my personal life so much has changed within the last year, I will try to fill in the gaps as I move forward. 

As for now, I hope to do a bit more blogging ...  I'm thinking that I will do some personal/family stuff but also some theological things and many book reviews!

Until Then ...

I Remain, 

Pastor Steve

Books I'm Currently Reading ...

Bits & Balderdash

Early in February I began to try and eat better, exercise more and generally just take better care of my health.

I used to refer to my self as pre-diabetic but the reality is that I am a diabetic! Last fall I scored an A1C of 7.0 for which I was very happy considering I've had A1C's as high as 11+! That is not good! I had a recheck of my A1C in March and it was 7.3 for which my doctor was very happy. But in reality I knew the real truth.

With my daily blood glucose number a total mess, in early February some good friends I know were just beginning a new healthy eating regimen. So Lynn and I thought what would it hurt.

After just a few weeks my morning fasting blood glucose reading were down into the 90-110 range. While not perfect ... GREAT for me!

As a bonus, in early February my weight was at 208, at of today, April 9th I'm down 23 pounds to 185! I'm super stoked! My new milestone if to reach 170 which is only another 25 pounds!

I'll keep you posted!

Pastor Steve   

What An Adventure!

Five ears ago, Lynn and I bought our first home i n Oskaloosa. For all the years
before that in ministry, we'd always lived in a parsonage in both Pittsfield and Clear Lake. (A parsonage is a home provided, owned and up-kept by the church.)

After buying our home we began renovations! One of the things I've always wanted was a wood burning stove, so we installed one in what we now call the fireside room, which was a three-season room we converted to a four-season, with a wood burning stove!!!

One of the men of our church (Jerry) helped me (did all the work as I watch) with the stone work around the wood burner. He did a wonderful job!

While he was working on the stonework we made plans to cut a couple of truckloads of firewood and then split it at his place in the country. We had a wonderful day in the timber and I loved hanging out with him. However, shortly after our day in the timber and splitting wood, my friend Jerry was called home to heaven. Words cannot express how thankful I am for the opportunity that I had to spend time with Jerry!

Sometime after the funeral, I called his wife and asked if I could use the wood splitter to which she responded "No". My heart sank. When she continued "my daughter and I think that Jerry would have wanted you to have it!" I was floored!

That is where this blog post is headed ... Servicing the Wood Splitter!

This spring I put in fresh fuel, changed the oil and the last thing I wanted to do was replace the filter for the hydraulic fluid system. Now that was an adventure!You see, Jerry built this splitter from the ground up and I had no real idea where to get a replacement filter.

The only information I could find was the brand: CROSS. The only other writing that I could make out was "25 MICRON". So the search and the phone calls began!

Long post longer, it became a 4 day process that included either phone call or visits to businesses in Des Moines, Pella, Ottumwa and Oskaloosa! The search ended when a guy at an Auto Parts store in Oskaloosa said he was not willing to give up until WE figured it our ... and he did! In the meanwhile I smoothly drained over 2 gallons of hydraulic fluid all over my garage flood! So I go buy 100 pound of oil dry and start cleaning ... But the wood splitter is fully serviced and ready for another season for splitting fire wood!

What an adventure!

Pastor Steve

Note from Pastor Steve: I've had this article written for a week waiting for some pictures of the wood splitter ... have not gotten that done yet for I'm posting this now and maybe someday I get some pics of my splitter and get them posted as well. 

Encouragement ...

I so enjoy the moments in ministry when you are encouraged beyond your own belief!

Often in the life of a Pastor or minister, so much of the work is done in a way where visible fruit and or progress are difficult to see, but there are times that your heart is encouraged!

One of the areas that can be somewhat discouraging is the are of counseling. Specifically when counseling someone who you're not really sure wants your help. Counseling, or more specifically Biblical Counseling, is the act of intensive discipleship. If that doesn't help, discipleship is the act whereby one believer comes alongside another believer to help them to learn to walk, love, serve and grow in their RELATIONSHIP with Jesus!

Part of the problem is (and we are all guilty of this) waiting until the issue, problem or situation is almost to, if not past, the point of salvage. We, in our own wisdom, skill and ability had done all we know to do  ... so ... we turn to others for help and when that fails we turn to God! Many times as what seems to be a last resort.

For the Biblical counselor, often we are that last resort! Presented with daunting problems that had they been handled differently in the beginning would not now be so very difficult to walk through.

I have the privilege to attend, be apart of, a group of Biblical counselors that gather once a month and walk through different aspects of the Biblical counseling ministry, common issues that the counselor  will encounter and just a time of prayer for one another.   

Today was the monthly meeting of the Eastern Iowa Biblical Counseling Coalition (EIBCC). a group that I have come to fellowship with and be encouraged by as well! Thankful for our presenter today who spoke on the topic of "Knowing When We Don't Have A Counselee" ... in other word, when someone is in the counseling room but not really interested in getting help. Sometimes it is the counselee that is the issue and sometimes it is the counselor who is at fault! (Ouch)

What an incredible time of learning, fellowship and encouragement! Already looking forward to our meeting next month!

Pastor Steve

Morning Thoughts w/ Dr. Paul Tripp

1. The cross tells us the extent to which the Lord will go to win the great spiritual war that rages in us and around us. 

2. The is no spiritual danger that you face alone, there is no spiritual deceit that you must defend yourself from alone, there is no spiritual battle that you fight alone, because the Lord Almighty is with you. 

3. Know that in those moments when you are weak and discouraged and don’t want to fight spiritual battles anymore, your Savior still fights for you.

Book Review: "What Is Reformed Theology?" By; R.C. Sproul

In moving to the South Central Iowa area 4.5 years ago I was introduced to a theology that I was very unfamiliar with in many ways ... Reformed or Covenant Theology.

Having grown up Roman Catholic and being converted to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in 1981, I began attending a Baptist church in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Long story short, I graduated from Faith Baptist Bible College in 1989 and began pastoring in a Baptist church in Illinois in 1991. In 1995, I accepted the call to the Baptist church in Clear Lake, Iowa and enjoyed almost 18 years of ministry there until my call to Bethel Baptist in Oskaloosa.

Theologically, my experience in Illinois was a hodge-podge of mostly main-line denominations. While ministering in CL, the predominant influence was Lutheran theology. As I mentioned, upon arriving in Oskaloosa, I found myself in the midst of the Reformed community.

Not being well verse in this area of theological study, I set myself to learning! I chose to read Dr. R.C. Sproul - whom I consider to be a leading voice in the Covenant theology camp. I have read a number of his books, but, by far this was the most explanatory in the important topic at hand!

The book is set up in two parts, part one lays out the "Foundations of Reformed Theology" and part two lays out the "Five Points of Reformed Theology" or as many will recognize the "Five Points of Calvinism" or the acrostic "TULIP".

My purpose in this review is not to debate the validity of Covenant Theology in any way, I simply want my readers to understand that this book, by far, does the best job if defining, explaining and clarifying this area of theology. While many in this theological camp just refer to it as "Reformed" one of the chapters in Dr. Sproul's book is entitled "Nicknamed Covenant Theology". I'm convinced that the proper title for this theology is Covenant, not because of the covenants God made with Adam, Noah or even David so clearly brought forth in scripture but  this theology is based on three overriding covenants of Redemption, Works and Grace. That is the one of the main keys to understanding Covenant Theology!

In my opinion, if you are looking for a succinct description and or explanation of Covenant Theology, this book will cover that need.

Closing Notes:

Dr. R.C. Sproul passed away in early December 2017.

Just because I have reviewed a book on this blog is not in any way a carte blanche approval of any author or their writings.

Pastor Steve   

You Know You're A Bad Speller When ...

I am and always have been a horrendous speller! I struggled with spelling in my formative years and frankly have never really master the "Art of Spelling"!

My Mom & I

Actual Cover

When I was in High School my mom, bless her heart, even bought me a copy of the "Bad Spellers Dictionary"! She knew that I spelled everything phonically, so she buys me a book that I could really use!

So often, in grade school I was told to look up in the dictionary words I could not spell, However, I never understood how I was to look up a work if I already did not know how to spell itt to begin with in the first place!!!

Kept Close at Hand

Then, in college I happened across a book titled "20,000 Words Spelled and Divided for Quick Reference".  Literally, this book is kept in the lower left hand drawer of my desk in my office and I still reference it often!

By the way, the greatest thing to happen for us bad spellers was the invention of the Word Processor and the program that we know and love as "Spell Check"!

All of this now brings me to the reason for this particular blog post ... This morning as I was composing an email, I try to spell a word (NO, I will not tell you what word) and recognized my good friend Spell Check flagged it a being miss-spelled ... I selected the options for a list of possible words only to find my computer has no idea, not a clue of what I was trying to spell!

I reached into my lower left hand drawer and retrieved my "20,000 Words" book and promptly found the word I was needing!

Someone has said "Life is hard and it is even harder if your stupid" ... That is no doubt true, but, it helps to have a few "helps" & "cheaters" located in your lower left hand desk drawer!

I positive I'm not the only one who struggles with the simple task of spelling, so tell me what tricks and cheaters you use to make up for this deficit in your learning curve!!!

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

An Incredible Honor ...

I had the opportunity to speak at at college chapel at Faith Baptist Bible College on Wednesday March 6.

I really struggled with what to speak on, what to challenge the students with from the Word of God.

I settled on walking through the 4 Goals of my Life:

1. Be Pleasing to God - 2 Cor. 5:9
2. Be Christ-like/Project Christ-likeness - Rom. 8:28-29
3. Bring Glory to God - 1 Cor. 10:31
4. Diligently Seeking After God - Hebrews 11:6

I'm told that many thought it was pretty good. If you're really interested, you could go to Faith Baptist Bible College, go to "Resources", select "Chapel Messages and Archives", look for a message titled "Being a Better Disciple"

Let me know if you listen to it and what you think!

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

Over A Year - - Are you Kidding Me!!!

Wow, Where does the time go?

Randomly, I visited my own blog site today. I looked at the date on my last post, only to realize that that it was not January 2019 but January 2018!

Now as far as I know, my brother "Big Bro", is the only person who regularly checks my blog site and at least lets me know every now and again. It has been a long drought since I last heard from him. So I know that it HAS been a long time since I've stopped by and left a note.

Last year I read 60 books, so I have plenty of material in just Book Reviews!

I gained a new passion for kayaking this past summer after vacationing on the Lake of the Ozarks!

I'm working on living a healthier lifestyle, being a diabetic, I'm working through a Keto diet, increased exercise and incredible support from my wife. I have great recipes, some I'm even willing to share!

Looking forward to more regular posts ...

I Remain,
Pastor Steve