Living under the guidance of Proverbs 3:6
January 25, 2011 Leave a Comment
Putting all partisanship aside, I think it would be good for elected officials at all levels to note these words from Proverbs 17:26:
It’s wrong to penalize good behavior, or make good citizens pay for the crimes of others. (http://read.ly/Prov17.26.MSG)
January 11, 2011 4 Comments
Well, hopes of creating one family memory this summer have been dashed. It’s looking like this summer’s family vacation will find us heading to western South Dakota, and I was really hoping that our plans would be able to include a visit to the Passion Play in Spearfish, South Dakota. It’s one of my own earliest family vacation memories, I was looking forward to providing that experience to our kids as well. But it’s not to be.
I searched the Internet, and my searches hit dead ends. Uh Oh. Is it not in production any longer? My next step: an e-mail to someone at VisitSpearfish.com:
Hello, We are just starting to plan our summer vacation and I looked for info on the Passion Play. I remember going to that production when I was a kid, I was hoping to find info about it online, but I’m not finding anything. Is the Passion Play still in production?
The reply (in part):
Thank you for contacting Visit Spearfish, Inc. with your visitor inquiry. We regret to inform you that the Black Hills Passion Play retired August 31, 2008.
Bummer. I was really looking forward to sharing that experience.
Well, now the best I can do is use the Internet to take a stroll down memory lane. In doing so, I uncovered at least part of “the rest of the story” that I would have never known as a kid. Here are some of the interesting things I found:
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passion_play
The Black Hills Passion Play was performed every summer for almost seventy years in Spearfish, South Dakota; this production was an American version of the Lünen Passion Play that was brought over in 1932 by immigrants who claimed that it had been produced since 1242.[7] The production was Americanized by seventh-generation Passion Player Josef Meier, who toured it around the country before bringing it to Spearfish in the 1930s; until its last performance on August 31, 2008, the show was produced under the auspices of Meier’s daughter Johanna, a world-famous opera singer who had her debut in the play at the age of five weeks.
An article from Time magazine, published during World War II, gives an interesting historical perspective on the production: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,777543,00.html
And here’s a wonderful writeup of the play’s history and purpose: http://www.catholicdigest.com/articles/travel/no_sub_ministry/2009/03-31/passion-for-the-passion. This article revives some of my more vivid memories of the Passion Play:
With Lookout Mountain as a backdrop, the play’s magnificent three-block-long stage readily transports viewers back to the days of Christ. All the characters and animals of ancient Jerusalem are here: donkeys, water girls filling jugs, flocks of sheep, Roman soldiers on white horses, unscrupulous merchants, and cages of doves.
Portrayed by an interdenominational cast of more than 150 people, the play’s imagery is both simple and profound. As the Last Supper fades to black, the Lord’s chalice begins to glow, the symbol of his blood illuminating the very essence of Christianity. Each of the 22 scenes — triumphal entry to Resurrection — unfolds into the next, with no intermissions or set changes.
When the Christus is carried into the tomb, the shrouded body imparts a personal revelation for many playgoers. “The Bible was no longer words; it became flesh for me,” one viewer said.
I had really hoped to personally experience this production one more time as an adult, to fully appreciate it from both an artistic and spiritual perspective. Time moves on, but it’s a disappointment to me that this is one event that will no longer be experienced.
December 11, 2010 1 Comment
Earlier today I learned of the passing of my aunt Ann Hultin. My reactions to death have really become moreintrospective since my father’s passing earlier this year (see A Day to Remember Reverend Irvin Hultin and Memories of Dad). Ann’s passing is particularly meaningful to me because her passing marks the end of that particular generation of the Hultin family. There has no doubt been a lot of history created since the early 1900′s which marked the starting point for Dad’s generation. I wish I had the opportunity to know and enjoy more of the history Dad’s generation created … but it’s all memories now, at least on this side of eternity. For now I’m stuck waiting until I get to their side of eternity—then the stories will really begin!
November 22, 2010 1 Comment
Our office is near a busy intersection in Fargo, and that means every so often we have the opportunity to do some rubbernecking and see a traffic accident unfold. That happened last week, and I keep finding myself thinking about that accident and the “North Dakota Nice” that I observed afterwards. First, the accident details: the accident appeared to have involved an older gentleman whose car was pulling a trailer and somehow ended up in a left-turn lane on the wrong side of the median, and two other vehicles (ironically, they were courtesy vehicles from two different auto dealers here in town).
While the cleanup was underway I noticed the “North Dakota Nice” traffic pattern … or what one of my coworkers called the zipper pattern. One lane of traffic could move forward with no obstructions, the other lane was blocked by the accident. Of course many people in the blocked lane didn’t notice the reason for their sudden stop until they were upon the accident. So the drivers in the free-moving lane of traffic would, without fail, work the zipper pattern: the person in front would let one person in from the blocked lane and then moves on, and the pattern repeats itself with the new leader at the front of the line. (It’s so much easier to see that traffic pattern in action than it is to write about it!) And with that pattern in play the traffic kept moving at a somewhat normal pace.
That’s part of what makes living in North Dakota such a pleasurable experience. I don’t know if courtesies like that are commonly extended in other parts of the country. I suppose they are, but it just seems like it would happen here in North Dakota more than other places.
What do you think? Do any of you out-of-staters care to comment?
November 9, 2010 Leave a Comment
We’re in the middle of this big huge shift to put all our products under the MarketingIdeasForPrinters.com banner, and at the moment just about everything else has to wait in the wings to move forward. However, we were able to get a project through on the fast track … WebsitesForPrinters.com clients now have the ability to easily export job data from the website. It’s excel-ready and will allow our clients to use the job data in some very meaningful ways.
There was a lot of bang for the buck in this release. It was a pretty straightforward development effort, and it should prove to be a pretty good tool for our client base.
October 29, 2010 Leave a Comment
Normally I take nothing more than a quick glance (if even a glance at all!) at the “casual friends” e-mails. You know the kind: funny pictures, jokes, pass this on to 30 of your friends … all those emails. But the email I received today really caught my attention. In fact, it brought tears to my eyes. I did a quick search to find a posting from the original author, but didn’t find it … so I’m republishing the e-mail I received from Ed Pierce. (Thanks Ed!)
I saw America today.
I was among more that 200 people gathered on the tarmac at the Meridian Air Navel Station to welcome Sgt. Eric C. Newman, 30, of Waynesboro , Miss. home from Afghanistan.
He did not exit to cheers and hugs but was greeted by respectful silence. Military men and women, bikers, policemen, firemen, all in formation riveted their attention as Sgt. Newman disembarked from the plane carrying him.
He exited in a flag draped coffin, killed in action in Afghanistan .
The family stood near the hearse and as Sgt. Newman’s casket approached he was greeted by his new wife and his mother as they draped their arms around the casket where their beloved husband and son lay. There would be no married life for the newly married couple and another mother had given her son in the name of freedom.
I saw America today.
The procession formed with a police escort in front leading the hearse carrying Sgt. Newman which was followed by his family, more than 100 bikers, including the Patriot Guard Riders, scores of police officers, firemen, and friends. I rode near the front and I never could see the end of the procession as we rolled over the hills from Meridian to Waynesboro .
I saw America today.
On the 60 mile journey truckers, the big rigs, pulled to the side of the road, exited their trucks and put hand over heart in honor of Sgt. Newman and the American flag. Down the road from one big shiny rig was a humble logging truck, driver standing on the ground, hand over heart.
For sixty miles a mixture of people stood by the side of the road, flag in hand as we rolled past. At every junction where a side road entered there were people. At the overpasses there was always a fire truck displaying a large American flag. Every fire department along the way had their fire truck standing by to honor this young American who gave his life for us.
There was a young Boy Scout, in uniform, proudly saluting Sgt. Newman and the American flags that passed him.
A man in bib overalls stood by a ragged old pickup truck giving honor. Just down the road was a man dressed in suit and tie by his expensive SUV.
Something in the bright blue sky above caught my eye. It was two jet fighter planes flying over the procession, the thoughtful action of fellow soldiers.
I could see a woman kneeling, holding something out in her hands. At first I thought it must be a camera but as I passed I could clearly see it was a folded American flag. Just like the one that was given to my mother when my father died. Yes, it was her way of saying, “I lost a loved one as well.”
I saw America today.
As we left the main road and entered Waynesboro two fire trucks were parked in such a way as to form an arch with a giant American flag suspended between the two.
The streets were lined solid with people. No cars were moving. I observed someone in a wheel chair on the side of the road. When we drew closer I saw several in wheel chairs, some on crutches. They were old, and fragile. They were residents of a nursing home. On down the road there was another group from yet another nursing home, all waving tiny American flags.
As we wound our way through town hundreds of people lined the sides of the streets. We passed an elementary school. The children lined the fence three deep, most with flags, some with red, white, and blue balloons which were later released.
Next we passed the high school. Again the students respectfully lined the streets adjacent to the school. All were standing respectfully in honor of Sgt. Newman.
And did I mention the yellow ribbons? They were on trees, mailboxes, fences, and anywhere people could place them.
I saw America today.
When we had finished the escort all the bikers were asked to meet at the First Baptist Church of Waynesboro. There they gathered us up and escorted us to the Western Sizzlen ’ where the people of the town treated us to lunch for doing something of which we were proud to be a part.
Today, I saw America and I’m proud to be an American. God bless America .
Rod Smith, Patriot Guard Rider
October 21, 2010, Laurel , Mississippi
These videos makes it even more real:
To Sgt. Newman and all others past and present that have fought for our country … Thank You for your service. I sincerely hope the citizens of our country are worthy of the sacrifice you’ve offered which allows us to enjoy this great nation.
October 5, 2010 6 Comments
This year WebsitesForPrinters.com decided not to exhibit at GraphExpo in Chicago. I have really come to love Chicago and GraphExpo, I really wanted to be there, but it just wasn’t meant to be this year. It was a tough decision, but I’m certain it was the right decision.
Our decision to not attend has found many of our clients asking, “Why not?” This blog entry is for you … here are the two main reasons.
Reason #1: Last year’s show (Print 09) was OK, but from the exhibitors’ perspectives it certainly didn’t have the excitement of other shows. Learning that Heidelberg, Komori, and others would not be attending GraphExpo 2010 made this year’s investment seem even more ominous.
Reason #2: This is the biggie. There are big positive changes coming around the corner for clients of WebsitesForPrinters.com! These improvements are taking a lot of resources … much of which (if handled correctly) will be invisible to our clients and prospects. It really came down to this choice: Do we put all this positive change momentum on hold for a few months in order to chase down new prospects at GraphExpo, or do we keep our focus on the positive change so we can build a more powerful solution for our existing clients? No contest. We’ll choose to honor the loyalty of our existing clients.
So what are these big changes? You can get a feel for what’s coming by visiting MarketingIdeasForPrinters.com. All our individual companies and product lines will be doing away with their autonomy to create one new, powerful company. Everything that everyone already knows about WebsitesForPrinters.com and Ink Inc. will continue to be there, but it will be there better under the MarketingIdeasForPrinters.com banner.
It’s really coming together. Joining WebsitesForPrinters.com and Ink Inc. is The Buzz, which is a service designed to allow printers to reach out to their prospects and clients through social media channels. It’s worth a look: SocialMarketingForPrinters.com.
I miss the hustle and bustle of Chicago … but at the same time I’m glad we decided to stay here in Fargo, keeping our focus on our existing customer base. It’s a tough time for a lot of printers, we’ll continue to do everything we can to help them … even if that means skipping our annual trip to Chicago and GraphExpo this year.
September 30, 2010 Leave a Comment
First dot: This excellent editorial titled Nothing Left to Covet. You can see the first bit of the article at www.worldmag.com, here’s the important part:
Fact No. 1 is that only 3 percent of all the taxpayers in the United States pay more in income taxes than the other 97 percent combined. Fact No. 2 is that even if you taxed that 3 percent of our population at a rate of 100 percent of their income, you wouldn’t produce enough additional revenue to cover the deficits our federal government is now incurring each year.
One more powerful point made in the editorial:
…at the end of the day, even if the tax law gets changed so that rich people have to pay 40 percent of their income instead of just 30 percent, the coveters end up with virtually none of that difference.
Second dot: Last Sunday’s sermon about Envy was very powerful and ties in very nicely with the editorial mentioned above. The sermon not only resonates on a personal level, but also on the larger national level when combined with the editorial.
It’s worth a listen, and a good reminder about how destructive envy can be. Pastor Matthew’s blog compliments the sermon and has more on the subject too.
Third dot: There will be no vote before election day to extend the tax cuts enacted by President Bush. I really dislike the way the term “tax cuts” is being thrown around. It makes it seem as though the high-income earners are being unfairly taxed by not paying enough … when in reality the percentage they pay is much more than us “common folk.” The higher tax rates for larger incomes is “politically correct” envy.
Fourth dot: Election day. This is when it all comes together. All the cowardly members of Congress who are too afraid to take a vote on extending the Bush tax cuts equalizations will need to answer to “We the People.” They’re willing to put what’s best for the country aside in favor of their own personal political agendas (called “reelection campaigns”). I can only hope “We the People” have enough spine to offset their cowardice.
September 28, 2010 Leave a Comment
Recently, I ran across an interesting experiment put together by Gary Hayes, a web programmer and blogger. Using Flash, Gary created a social media “counter” that tracks, among other things, how many Facebook postings, tweets, and YouTube uploads are taking place in “real time,” based on the most recent growth rate data available for social media.
The application itself is pretty remarkable, and so are the numbers Gary uses to run his calculations. For example, every minute, 20 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube. Every day, 50 million tweets are sent via Twitter. An incredible 900,000 blog posts are created daily. And 2.5 billion photos are added to Facebook every month.
See more at http://www.personalizemedia.com/garys-social-media-count/.
September 26, 2010 Leave a Comment
Lately when I get thinking about the Bible I find my thoughts drifting to Nicodemus. I would like to learn more about him beyond the snapshots presented in the Bible. As I’ve attempted to dig deeper in the Bible to find out more about what made him tick I found myself reading John 8 in a way I’ve never read it before.
Anyone who’s done just a little bit of Bible study is probably familiar with the story: An adulterous woman gets dragged to Jesus by the religious leaders of Jesus’s day and they try to trap Jesus by asking him for his thoughts on stoning her. Jesus replied that whoever is without sin should throw the first stone. The religious elite responded by walking away.
In reading the story, the application of the lesson to be learned most often drifts to the religious scholars and Pharisees, and to the woman. But reading it lately I’ve found my attention focused on this thought. Jesus clearly said (as translated in The Message version of the Bible), “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.” Who’s the sinless one? Jesus, of course! Did he throw a stone? No, even though he had every right to!
This story ties in nicely with Romans 8:1 which says, “…there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
I find myself regretting throwing stones in the past, and will do my best to replace stones of condemnation with gentle nudges based in the love of Jesus.
