Tale of the Tape

When you grow up in the Dakotas, you treasure summer. When you endure the weather we do in the winter time, you soak up all you can when it is nice outside. Which is why in the Dakotas summer wreaks havoc on television ratings, consistent bedtime for children, and church attendance.


And now that I've spent about as much time in Sioux Falls as I have in North Dakota, I've learned that while both groups equally value their summers, they do so in different ways. Growing up in Grand Forks, and more so in Fargo, you spent your summer at the lake (or desperately hoped you knew someone who did!). In Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas, you spend your summer camping in the numerous state parks around the area. And while the differences between the two aren't a right/wrong thing and more of a different strokes for different folks things, I thought I'd offer a novice comparison between the two ways to spend a summer.


Mascot

• The lake mascot is the Loon, the official bird of Minnesota, with its distinct call.
• The camping mascot is the Park Ranger, with the rounds its makes around the park making sure you abide by quiet hours and don't have more than 6 vehicles at your campsite.

Vehicle

• The lake vehicle isn't really a vehicle, it's a boat- be it a speedboat, fishing boat, pontoon, or jet ski. If you have no lake vehicle or know someone that does, your fun at the lake is significantly diminshed.
• The camping vehicle is either a pop up, 5th wheel, or travel trailer, though my friends say sleeping in a pop up during a storm will convince you to make the move up. You can certainly tent camp or stay in a camping cabin (as I do!), but the camping pros seem to avoid these options and opt for the camping vehicle.

The Role of Wind

• For the lake, wind is a major downer. Even a 10 mph breeze can delay any lake fun.
• For camping, a little wind isn't a big deal, and in fact might be welcome as it cools you off as you sit in one of those zero gravity chairs.

Theme Song

• For the lake, Brad Paisley's "Water"
• Sorry, can't think of one for campers

Role of the Campfire

• For the lake, to warm you up after an evening of boating.
• For the camper, provides light as I found out that there are few outdoor lights at state parks.

Insider tip

• For the lake, if it is a windy day, you can ususally find a bay or the other side of the lake where you can still boat.
• For the camper, set up camp on Thursday to either save your spot at places where you can't reserve them or to maximize camping enjoyment on the weekend.

Cruel irony

• For the lake, you can almost guarantee that the nicest day will be the day that you are heading home
• For the camper, you can almost guarantee that you will forget something, at least if you're not an expert camper. We forgot towels last weekend- seriously! I guess we just expected the camping cabin to also have a linen service.

Summer Service

Our Wednesday Night Service, like many church programs, takes a bit of attendance hit during the summer, and that's actually a good thing, but more on that later. Last night a fun group of Hillcresters had a fun time packing backpacks for the Food Bank's summer backpack program.

Sunday's a Comin'

Transcrip of a call to the Hillcrest office this week:

• Me: Hillcrest, this is Brian.
• Caller: Yes, I just want to know if you know what is on your sign?
• Me: Yep.
• Caller: Are you sure?
• Me: Yep.
• Caller: Ok, just wanted to check.
• Me: Thanks for calling!

Now, each week we put the message title on our sign, and this week's is 'free circumcisions'! We're continuing our Galatians series and looking at the first part of Galatians 5. The real question, though, is what the over/under is on the caller attending service on Sunday?!?

Diners Club

We have had the opportunity to be on some different vacations this summer and I think one of the best parts about vacations is the food. it's no surprise to those that know me that I am big fan of food and of eating and this summer we've gotten the opportunity to partake in some spots that aren't chains and that they don't have at home. Tarina often thinks that one of my other callings could have been a food critic- the one that visits different spots and then writes about them- so keeping in that spirit I'll give you a pro and con of each spot:

Zorbaz on the Lake- we went to the ones on Lake Detroit and Pelican Lake.

• Pros- great loaded nachos, good pizza, and you can't beat the atmosphere- especially the one on Lake Detroit on Memorial Day Weekend
• Cons- no kids' menu or kids' cups so I spent like $20 just on sodas. Oh well, it's vacation.

Wall Drug- yes, we ate at the Wall Drug and though I've been to the Hills several times, never ate at the cafe.

• Pros- with their famous $.05 coffee and a little brown box you put the money in, I treated the entire dining room to coffee! Kids liked their meals and the free ice water was well, free.
• Cons- pricey, but it's a tourist spot, and the coffee tasted like it cost $.05 to make.

Spearfish Canyon Lodge- we did brunch here on July 4th with Tarina's family.

• Pros- it's tough to beat the location and the scenery of Spearfish Canyon and the service was excellent. Sidenote- Wesley really wanted a pizza- but since it was brunch time, the server and I convinced him that the breakfast quesadilla was really a breakfast pizza. He bought it.
• Cons- pretty weak coffee considering the setting. Maybe fly fishers and all those people on 4 wheelers don't need coffee.

Maple Beach Grill- probably my favorite spot of the summer, the Stroh family does this at least once a summer. It's a burger joint on the other side of the lake where my parents have a spot.

• Pros: there are so many that make this spot unique- they are only open from 11-2 and 5-8. If you don't get there early, you'll wait awhile for your food. You can boat right up to the shore, walk across the highway, and be there. Big portions, a great burger, bottled root beer and cream soda, and you pay at the end of your meal. They give you a ticket and then they bang on the window, hold up a whiteboard with a number, and that's how you know your order is done!
• Cons- hard to think of any, but there is no kids' menu (we end up taking an adult meal and splitting it) and while the outdoor seating is great, it's right next to a fairly busy state highway.

So there you go- next time you're up by Pelican Rapids, MN, or the Black Hills you'll have some local options!

Heading to Ethiopia

No not me, but a family from Hillcrest who's headed there today to bring home their recently adopted son. This will mark Hillcrest's 5th sponsored adoption since 2008. While most adoptive families are remarkable, this family adopting from Ethiopia is truly special. They have two biological college-aged children and a biological son in high school. They'v epreviously adopted twice from India- those girls are now in elementary school. And their calling and passion to adopt has taken them to Ethiopia to adopt a newborn baby boy. Please pray for their travels and for everyone's adjustment once back in the states.

Updates

Some happenings in the Stroh fam to pass along:

• My oldest son Riley learned to water ski at nana and papa's lake on the last weekend in June. So cool. We'll see if he remembers how to do it when we're there next. We were also able to take in Zorbaz (quickly becoming my favorite lake restaurant) and also be there for my grandparents' 60th anniversary. Very good times.
• We were out in the Black Hills with Tarina's family the weekend of the 4th. Very fun time. Took in Mt. Rushmore, 1880 Train, Cosmos (I got a little sick here), and Tarina even managed to squeeze in an old time photo of the kiddos in Deadwood.
• At Mt. Rushmore, we looked up from one of the 'cave' opening where a woman tells Riley that if he looks out the cave, he can see Thomas Jefferson. Riley does, and then says, 'actually, I see George Washington'. Wanna know who was right? Hint- bet on the 7 year old.
• Took in a Sioux Falls Pheasants' game as Riley's baseball team was the little league team of the night. We got great seats for a lwo price, the team got to warm up on the field, got introduced on the big screen, and got to stand next to players during the national anthem. Very fun. To top it off, since it was 'ladies' night Kinsley got to yell 'play ball' over the PA system.
• Wes and Riley head off to 'nana and papa camp' this week for a few days of grandparent spoling and where they will rarely heard a word that they often hear in our home- 'no'.

Save the Cat

One of the more recent books I read was Save the Cat which is a book on how to write a screenplay, you know, scripts that they turn into movies. I've always had this great idea for a movie and have longed for a way to get it on paper and turn it into a Hollywood blockbuster. Right. But I seriously read the book with a couple of thoughts. The first one is how can I better the times I do preach, the times I do teach, the times I do give presentations? While this book is for screen writers, there's lot of nuggets for those who have to speak in public venues. Does my message contain enough of a story? Or I am simply lecturing on some principles and then illustrating it every now and again with a story? Does my message contain conflict, change in the central characters, some sort of resolution, and other dimensions that make for screen plays and not conincenentally, great movies? The last time I preached I tried some of these elements- included more use of story and the text already set itself up well for the conflict piece. While my transitions were rougher than normal, I thought the additional use of stories seemed to connect more with the church.

The second thought is the similarities between real life and the elements that make for great movies. I think the best stories are the ones we're living right now- in our workplaces, our communities, our schools, our friends, and our families. Sometimes we discount our stories- we're too normal, too average, too this or too that. And yet if we are following the Savior who changed the world, our stories are nothing but normal or average. For those who lead in churches the challenge is to help people understand the life of faith as something far greater, far riskier and far more impactful than what happens on Sunday mornings, Wednesday nights, or even on the big screen.

Paid to Read

My kids are particpating in the local library's summer reading program. For every 30 minutes of reading, they get to mark off some fish until they finally swim to reach their goal. If they reach their goal, I think they get one of those prizes that you can get for lile $.40 from Oriental Trading, but it's the thought that counts.

I thought back to one of my summers growing up as a kid when my mom paid me for every book I read that summer. I don't remember the amount per book, but it was enough to motivate me to read something like 8 books that summer. I still remember one that I read about a journalist who spent the summer attending minor league baseball games across the country- a very insightful read. I think at the time I was a bit taken back as if it wasn't possible to make money while reading. But my mom was a genius. It didn't cost her too much- well maybe at the time, it did, but looking back the sum couldn't be that great- and it inspired me to continue to read and learn.

I think successful people in some ways are those who are paid to read. Now, I don't mean that successful people actually show up at an office or punch a time clock and start reading. I spend very little, if any, of my office time actually reading a book. But I think those make an impact, those who lead in their schools, businesses, organizations, homes, etc are paid to read. They might actually spend very little of their 'work' time reading, but no doubt they read. They read when at the gym, on a trip or an airplane, in the morning and before bed. I believe the time and investment one makes in reading always pays off, whether you're paid to do it or not.

Can I See Some ID?

Last summer, we learned that one of Sioux Falls' downtown festival, Hot Summer Nites, took place on a Wednesday night. In hindsight, we wished we would have planned better and could have merged our Wednesday Night Service with this event and provided Downtown Sioux Falls with some volunteers for the party. So this year, upon learning that the event would again take place on a Wednesday night, we volunteered some Hillcresters to participate in this event that really attracts quite a few folks to downtown Sioux Falls.

Last week Downtown Sioux Falls notified us of our potential volunteer locations- we would either be working at the beverage tents or checking IDs on potential beverage tent patrons (which clues you in to what beverages the tents are serving!). Of course. Now, there's nothing wrong with alcohol or partaking in it, but churches (and by churches, the people who make up those churches) probably handle something such as this in very different ways, so too would they handle the propsect of volunteering in such an environment. So we checked on other service options. None matched the time we could do it. So we sent out an email to everyone who had expressed interest in the service opportunity letting them know what they would be doing and that if they were uncomfortable or uninterested, they could bow out with no worries. A few gracioulsy did bow out while a few agreed to the opportunity.

So this coming Wednesday, myself, my wife, and a couple other Hillcresters will be carding people at the beverage tents (I'm hoping they aren't expecting me to be a bouncer because then I am toast!). What's even more interesting is that when I saw the roster of who's all serving at the beverage tents and ID stations, there was another church, Mercy Church, who had also volunteered folks for similar serving options. I think it's great that churches volunteer to serve where people are already going to be. I think it's great that churches communicate care for the community by helping in events and festivals that people are already going to be part of. If the folks at Downtown Sioux Falls or the patrons of Hot Summer Nites think better of churches as a result of the serving, that's a great outcome as well.

Pastor Ben's Ordination

Hillcrest ordains Pastor Ben this Sunday morning at one combined service at 10:30 AM. It's been a pleasure to serve alongside Pastor Ben the last few years and particpate in this time of affirmation and confirmation and to see how God continues to use him for ministry and bringing other closer to Him. Hillcresters and Sioux Falls folks, please don't miss this special service this Sunday at 10:30 AM.

I love it when . . .

an idea comes together quick and with contributions from different folks. Here's the timeline on one such recent idea:

• Last Thursday morning get an email from a Hillcrester with an idea for a service project Hillcrest could do in the community.
• Later that morning get a call from a Hillcrester (who's actually married to the first Hillcrester!) who says we should check and see if the Powerhouse would qualify for a service project- the same one his spouse had emailed on earlier (unknown to him!).
• Now, when that happens, you've got to think you're onto a good idea!
• Email other Hillcresters to see if they too are interested in this project.
• Meanwhile, send a facebook message to a contact at Norberg Paints to see if Powerhouse would qualify for this project.
• Receive a facebook message- yes, the house qualifies!
• Now on Friday, onto another circle of communication- email/text outreach elder to see if project works for September where we need a mission focus project. It does! Also, email lead pastor to get him in on the loop.
• Meanwhile, hear back from other Hillcresters who are interested in the project, and update them as to the developments.
• Finally, update the volunteer crew who's been tirelessly and wonderfully working on the Powerhouse on Wednesday evenings and let them know the developments.

I love it when this happens! There's movement, progress, a good idea being fleshed out. Now, here's hoping for no rain the 2nd weekend September . . .