Life is Like a Rubik's Cube

My column for the local paper this week. Here's a copy for those of you that live far away.

Life Is Like A Rubik’s Cube

Rubik’s Cubes are making a comeback.

I don’t know if that’s true nationwide, but I see a lot of kids with Rubik’s Cubes when I substitute at our High School. There are the classic ones that I remember from the early 80s as well as new variations, from small, 4x4 Cubes to all kinds of different sizes and shapes (Rubik’s Octagons? Tetrahedrons? I’m not sure what they’re called.)

I remember playing with a Rubik’s Cube when I was a kid and trying to figure out how to solve it. There were books written to help guide you into trying to understand the algorithms needed to get all of the colors together. I never could figure out how to do it, short of peeling off the stickers and putting them back on - which wrecks the cube, but by that point you’re too frustrated with the stupid thing to care!

My good friend Evan Olson, who is in seventh grade, is a pro at solving them. He even demonstrated for me solving a Rubik’s Cube with his eyes closed! How he did that still baffles me. All I know is that if I get my hands on a Cube and need help – which I no doubt will – he is the first person I’ll go to for guidance.

It strikes me that our lives are, at least in some ways, like a Rubik’s Cubes. It’s easy to get twisted around and messed up. So you try to back up and retrace your steps to put everything back into order, but you just end up more twisted up and confused. You keep trying and trying to solve the mess you’ve gotten yourself into, but you end up just getting more and more frustrated and more and more messed up. You might even try to cheat, which only ends up wrecking your life more.

We’ve all been there.

It’s not until we’re willing to admit that we need help and that we are unable to solve our problems ourselves that we can get the guidance we need. It’s only when we allow others to come alongside that we finally begin to get our lives back into some type of order.

We resist that for some reason. There’s a spirit of fierce independence in us that, unfortunately, often leads to isolation. But that’s not the way we were created to operate. God says that “It is not good for a person to be alone.” We were created for community – to journey together and to help each other.

That’s one of the brilliant things about the Church. Going to church is not about having to go in order to fulfill some religious duty. A big part of what the church is about is finding other people who can walk with us and help us out when we need it. Because we all have times when our lives feel like a messed-up Rubik’s Cube.

Rob's Review: Coffee-Mate Pop-tart Brown Sugar Cinnamon

While I'm still waiting for Coffee-Mate to resume production on my favorite Creme Brule flavor, I've been trying different flavors, and even tried creating my own version of Creme Brule. Currently my default flavor is Coffee-Mate's Kahlua, which I reviewed a few months ago. Coffee-Mate just released a new "Pop-Tarts" inspired Brown Sugar Cinnamon flavor, and I got my hands on a bottle at our local Walmart yesterday.

I was very excited by this as Brown Sugar Cinnamon is my favorite Pop-Tarts flavor, and it's pretty awesome everywhere else, so I had high hopes for this combo, in spite of the fact that it's being touted as a limited time only offering. And I do have to say that it's pretty good, if maybe not the best ever flavor. The flavor of the creamer alone is quite good, but it doesn't compliment the coffee flavor as well as it might. I'm thinking it might need a stronger brown sugar flavoring or something. Maybe I just need to get used to it. It's not bad, though, and I'll definitely be adding it to my rotation until I can restock on Creme Brule, and maybe keep it for a change-of-pace flavor as long as it's being offered. 

Overall grade: A-

Rob's Review: Treason

There's a new 5-episode limited series on Netflix right now called Treason that Rosalie and I watched over the last week. I'm always up for a good spy story and it stars Charlie Cox who plays Daredevil, so I was predisposed to be interested and to like the series.

I liked a lot of the series. It all takes place in Britain so it's a nice change-of-pace to a lot of the political spy stories I'm used to seeing that are set in the US. Cox does a great job and is always enjoyable to watch. The supporting cast seems strong, as well, and the plot is decent, if a little convenient, but not that deep or compelling. It did have a nice twist at the end, courtesy of being a limited series.

Overall it's fairly enjoyable (although it wasn't Rosalie's cup of tea, as the British might say). I don't know that it was something I would necessarily watch again, and I don't know that if it had been longer that I would have stuck with it, but at five episodes I figured I'd give it a shot. Overall it was okay, but there's probably more compelling shows you can spend your time on, unless you are a big fan of Charlie Cox, in which case you'll like it.

My grade: B

Practicing the Art of Showing Up

“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”

    - James Clear, Atomic Habits

You don't have to do everything... just do something.

What are you doing?

Media Tracking for the Year

I've often wished that I had recorded every time I finished a book or a movie in my life. It would be fascinating to see the list. And based on the graphic I found above, I'm not the first to have this idea.

A few years ago I started doing something like that with movies that I watched and the date I saw them if I knew what it was. I would then make a little notation on the movie - maybe what it was about - and give it a grade. Here's a very few I ran across in my file: 

1 Mile to You B (Netflix) 7/4/19

A Quiet Place A

A Quiet Place 2 A 6/11/21

A Week Away C (Netflix) 4/17/21

Aquaman C

ARQ B- (Netflix) 11/19/16 time loop

Parallel (Amazon) 6/5/21. B - Like an episode of Black Mirror with a nice Twilight Zone twist at the end. Plot a bit predictable but decent ride.

            ...and so on

I started this because with the plethora of movies available on streaming services I would sometimes have trouble remembering what I had watched. Then I'd start a movie and go, "Hey, this seems familiar..." This would be super helpful to have also for them it's been a number of years since you've seen the movie and you can't remember if it might be worth watching again. The movie ARQ listed above I have no recollection of, but with my B- grade I am pretty sure I won't be watching it again. (I also look at Aquaman and think I might have been generous with my C grade, but that's a discussion for another time.)

I think this would be just as interesting for books that I've read. I thought about going through and making a list, but I've literally read thousands of books in my life and there's no way I could ever complete the list. And forget about TV shows! That list would be overwhelming and, potentially, depressing. (But maybe a list of series?)

I think this would be a good project throughout each year from now on - just list when you've seen a movie and read a book or finished a TV series. Then you could go back at the end of the year and review. Of course, with my blog, I pretty much report on every major movie or book I've seen, so there's that. But a summary list would be helpful as well. 

Stay tuned and at the end of the year I'll post mine here. If you have one of your own you to share, you can post in the comments.

Labels and Identity

How do you identify? 

There are so many labels that we use to categorize and distinguish ourselves - our job, nationality, region of origin, favorite sports team, hobbies or interests, religion, denomination, birth order, type of food you eat, political affiliation, sexual preference, school you attended, graduating year, physical abilities,... pretty much anything you can think of.

What is your primary identity? What's most important?

Do the labels we use help us understand ourselves and others better? Do they serve us in that they help us identify others who share the same traits? Or do they just serve to divide us ("You're different. You're not X like me!")? 

For a Jesus-follower this has huge implications. Paul addressed this in his letter to the Christians in the region of Galatia when he wrote, "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:28)

For a believer, our primary identity is "forgiven and beloved child of God." That is the most important distinguishing factor in our lives, not any of the other labels we so often use.

Looking back on 2023

[This is from part of my challenge at church this morning.]

I think it's interesting how we characterize and categorize years - like they have their own personality and are good or bad years. 

I was trying to think of years that stand out to me personally. 

1966. That was the year Star Trek came out and the year I was born. Both very memorable and important to me. Good year!

1984. I graduated high school and headed off to college. We had economic prosperity in our country and great 80s music and styles. For me, I would say that was a good year.

2001. We had 9/11 happen, so we tend to characterize the whole year by that and say it was bad year. 

2013. That was the year I started out as a full-time pastor at First Presbyterian Pine City. It was a good year for me. Hopefully my congregation would agree.

2020. I don’t even need to talk about it. Bad year.

What about last year, 2022? There were lots of global and national challenges, but a lot of individuals still had a good year. A mix of good and bad. Pretty typical for a year. 

One thing all of those years have in common – they’re all in the past. You can’t change them now.

But 2023 is just starting. It’s full of potential and possibility.

So my question is: How will you categorize 2023 in 12 months when you look back on it?

We can’t control most of the circumstances of our lives. Good and bad things are going to happen to us throughout the year. But one of the things we do have some control over is the person we are becoming. 

At the end of 2023, you will not be the same person you are today. You will have had experiences and relationships that will shape you, for better or for worse. Maybe you will have developed some new practices that will develop into habits.

There are a lot of areas where we can grow and improve this year: physically, intellectually, relationally and so on. But I hope you don't neglect of think about your spiritual growth. 

Spend some time reflecting on how you want to grow spiritually this year. If you are a Jesus-follower, your goal is to draw closer to Jesus and to become more like him. How can you do that this year? What is a step you might take this week? Today?

Hopefully in 12 months you can look back and say 2023 was a great year.

Whew! A Whole Year of Blogging

I made it! I set out last year to write a new blog post every day this year, and (with just a couple of exceptions) I was successful. It's been an interesting experiment and it's fascinating to see how the posts have evolved over the year. I look back on them and I'm pretty proud of the whole of what I was able to accomplish. 

I learned a lot over the year. For one thing, I think having some sort of image to go with each post is helpful in drawing attention to the post, as well as in finding past posts. I also learned that my best blog posts happen in the morning. By evening my brain is done and I just want to chill and not think a bunch.

I don't plan on stopping blogging next year, but I may not be as diligent on making sure that there is something new published every day. There are days when I just don't have anything new, helpful, or interesting to blog about, and trying to come up with something relevant is sometimes a little stressful. So I will continue to update this, but there may be days where I don't necessarily post anything. 

I hope this has been and will continue to be interesting for you. Maybe more people will be impacted as this blog floats out there on the net in the years to come.

Here's to a great 2022 and hoping for a wonderful 2023! Happy new year.

Rob's Review: Avatar - The Way of Water

I finally had the opportunity to see Avatar: The Way of Water today with my sons, Jordan and Jonah. We ended up seeing the movie in 3D down near the Cities. Here are my initial impressions.

The movie is obviously a spectacle and special effects masterpiece. It should definitely be viewed in the theater for the full impact. I don't know that 3D is necessary (especially given the premium prices 3D commands), although it was excellently done and not distracting at all. I would also be interested in seeing it in standard 2D for comparison, but I'm not sure I'm up for another 3 hour 10 minute movie experience real soon.

The movie will do well partly because there's nothing else out right now that's especially compelling as far as movies go. And it's a greatly-made movie, if not a great movie. It's certainly enjoyable enough, especially as I went in with low expectations. 

I enjoyed the characters and the rudimentary plot, but I wish they had spent as much time on the story as they did on the special effects. The acting was top notch, but I wish the characters were developed a little better or at least had more to do. There was a lot of time spent "sightseeing" and showing off the special effects, but it did little to add to the actual story being told. The run time could have easily been pared down to 2.5 hours or less with some judicious editing. I imagine they didn't want to cut costly effects, but the movie suffers as a result. 

Would I recommend it? Sure. It's fun to watch - good eye candy - and a great way to kill several hours. But I doubt if I'll be watching it again any time soon. 

My grade: B+

What do you want to be when you grow up?

What do you want to be when you grow up? 

For a younger child, that's a fun question because you get to hear their imagination run wild and you hear about things that are interesting to them. I remember when I was a young kid thinking that I wanted to be an astronaut, which I still think would be cool if you didn't have to worry about all the science and math stuff. You know, all the stuff that real astronauts have to do. My other thought was that I would love to be an actor on TV. 

What do you want to be when you grow up is an interesting question for a teenager, as well. Usually that person has had time to consider it in a more realistic way than when they were a child. 

Many times, a person's choice of career is informed by their own experiences. For example, if a parent is employed in a certain industry, the chances are much higher that they will be drawn to the same or similar jobs. My parents were teachers and I ended up in a field where I do a lot of educating, both as a pastor and as a substitute. I have friends whose parents were in the military who ended up going into the military, and so on. It's not a guarantee, but I think the familiarity with their parent's job can be a strong influencing factor.

For those who are in the middle of their vocational career or have retired, a good question to help you get to know someone better is "What did you want to be? And why?" Or maybe, "If you weren't doing what you are doing right now, what would you like to do?" What if money weren't an issue? What would you do? 

For me, if I weren't doing what I do now (which I love), I still think I might pursue acting. 

Maybe I could play an astronaut.

Finally - More Broomball!

Today we finally got time to play some broomball - the first time this winter. It was a beautiful morning and we had about 20 people who up to play. The ice was very slick, which is great for broomball because it helps level the playing field in that the fast, athletic students don't have a big advantage over the slower students. We had a fourth-grade girl facing off against a twelfth-grade guy and they were evenly matched.

Looking forward to scheduling some more games. Broomball - the one nice thing about winter!

Conversation Monopolists

Why is it so hard for some people to have a normal conversation?

The art of conversation seems to be lost. A good conversation will have some give and take, where all parties to the conversation have an opportunity to contribute. There should be natural pauses to allow input, and the occasional "What do you think?" or "How are things going with you?"

When it's a little kid, it's understandable. But when adults are involved, there ought to be a level of emotional intelligence. Of course, that requires all the parties to have an interest in the other people. When you get a narcissist involved, all bets are off. Especially if they are a bigger and better person ("Oh yeah, well you should hear what happened to me.") 

So, how was your Christmas?

A Very Star Trek Christmas

What did you get for Christmas?

That's always a good conversation starter, especially if you don't know the other person well or you just want to get to know them better. I use it frequently when working for teens and it works for a couple weeks after school is back in session.

You can tell a lot about a person by the gifts they get. (Or, at least you can tell a lot about what the people around them think of that person, I guess.) My Christmas this year was an all Star Trek Christmas. My boys got me some Star Trek beverage containers (a mug, and water bottles), and a cool Starfleet Academy sweatshirt. 

Rosalie surprised me with tickets to the Star Trek convention in Las Vegas this August, including plane tickets and arranging a place to stay at a condo of a good friend. She got some very good tickets to the convention which includes early registration, dealers rooms (Star Trek, not drug), and autographs from the celebrities. In addition to the main event rooms which will feature all of the remaining cast of the original Star Trek series, there are a lot of ancillary events. Last year the Inglorious Treksperts were there from my favorite Star Trek podcast and I'm hoping they will be again.

The only problem with this gift is that I will have to wait until August to enjoy it!!!! Oh, well, the anticipation is part of the enjoyment, I suppose.

So what can you tell about me from my gifts? I'm a big geeky kid at heart. Not that this is a surprise to anybody who knows me at all.  

Christmas Traditions

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We actually celebrated Christmas at our home this year instead of heading directly to Ripon to visit with Rosalie's family. (We'll be doing that tomorrow, instead.)

Other than Christmas Eve service at church, our family Christmas traditions revolve primarily around food. We had our traditional Christmas meal on Christmas Eve, which is typical for us as we're usually traveling on Christmas day. This year our Christmas day meal was chili during the Packer game, during which we were treated to a Packers victory, which was a nice Christmas present for us. This morning we had monkey bread for breakfast, which is something my mom used to make on Christmas when I was growing up. This is our 27th year of this tradition and it shows no signs of being broken anytime soon. 

Fortunately, I was able to get a run in this morning, which is something I try to enjoy most Sundays. The weather cooperated today as it was only -7 with no wind instead of the -34 degree windchills of the past few days. I cranked the Christmas music (I have one with the most upbeat songs in a running playlist) and took off. This is probably the last day I'll do that for the next 11 months because, as much as I love Christmas music, by the day after Christmas I'm pretty much done with it - other than possibly sneaking one into the worship set this next Sunday. I usually do Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee, which seems Christmasy to me because it was used so heavily in the best Christmas movie ever. If you don't know which one I'm talking about, how are we even friends? 

Christmas won't be on a Sunday again until 2033. I don't know why you would need to know that, but it might give you something interesting to talk about at the dinner table. 

Christmas Eve Candlelight

I think one of my favorite gatherings of the year at our church is our Christmas Eve candlelight service (in spite of the challenges I chronicled yesterday with coming up with fresh message ideas). We have the perfect venue for a traditional service like that, with the real candles everyone gets to light at the end and finish the service with the lights off, singing Silent Night. 

Each year I remember similar services growing up. The church we attended in Florida wasn't quite as picturesque and historic as my current church, but we did have a candlelight service. That one was at 11 p.m. and ended at midnight with everyone singing Silent Night, but then they finished by singing "Happy Birthday Dear Jesus". Ugh! What a way to break the mood. Apparently, I was the only one who really hated it - or at least the only one who complained. The nice thing about being the service planner is that I can make sure that never happens at our church!

It was kind of fun when I was a kid being up that late, but we were used to later nights in Florida. It seems like everything winds down earlier here. Maybe it's the weather. Here, I can't imagine getting ready to head out into the cold for an 11 p.m. service! I expect I'll be fast asleep tonight by that point. 

What's your favorite Christmas tradition? 

Christmas Eve Challenges

Christmas Eve services are always a challenge for me, especially the longer I serve in ministry. How many different ways can you find to preach on the same passages and the same topic?

The tendency, of course, is to try to get creative and do something out of the box. There's a real limit to how effective that is. After all, people come to hear the Christmas story, not some random obscure passage from 2 Ezekiel (which is not a real book, just making a point). The other temptation is to try to cram every piece of theology in knowing that there are people who only show up once or twice a year that will be there.

I think the trick is to keep it simple. And especially keep it short. My typical Sunday morning messages run about 27 minutes, give or take. Christmas Eve is more a meditation and a challenge than a typcial sermon. I shoot for 20 minutes max on Christmas Eve. Add in special music, a video, several Christmas carols, and time for lighting candles and you end up with about 45 minutes for the evening. Which seems to be about right, especially when you have extended family visiting and so on and everyone is anxious to get home and finish preparations for Christmas morning.

All that to say, if you don't have a place to celebrate Christmas Eve, we'd love to have you join us at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow!

Recommended Winter Running Shoes

Out for a run this morning in the cold. I waited until it was -7 (about -25 with wind chill). 

Truthfully, I'd rather run in the bitter cold than when it's hot and humid. At least with this kind of weather you can add layers and prepare for it (to an extent). As long as the wind isn't too bad, neither is the run.

Along those lines, let me recommend Saucony's Endorphin Speed RUNSHIELD shoes. These are a water-resistant shoe from Saucony and they do a great job at keeping moisture away from your feet. I've literally never had cold feet running in these, even at the crazy temperatures it gets to in Minnesota. I believe they have RUNSHIELD tech in a number of their different shoes, I just happen to be a fan of the Endorphin Speeds. 

Rob's Recommendations: Timothy Zahn

I've mentioned Timothy Zahn before, but I wanted to highlight him here. He is one of my favorite science fiction authors and one of his classic Star Wars books, Heir to the Empire, is on sale right now at Amazon for only $3.99 in the Kindle ebook format (possibly elsewhere, as well.) This book, which was published in 1991, introduced Grand Admiral Thrawn and launched the Expanded Universe (which later became the Legends imprint.)

In addition to a number of Star Wars novels, he has written a ton of other standalone novels and book series, as well as some collaborations. If you like Star Wars, you owe it to yourself to read the Thrawn Trilogy, which was far better than any of the other sequels or prequels. If you like hard science fiction, any of his other works are excellent and highly recommended.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Podcasts

I love listening to podcasts and I've collected thousands of episodes over the years from all the various ones I've come across. Some are no longer in production. Others I'll download episodes depending on the guest, but I don't listen to all. The ones in this list are top podcasts that I listen to regularly and I listen to every episode. 

Many of these I've blogged about before, but here for the first time is my current list of favorites. There are others I enjoy and subscribe to, but they didn't make the cut.

Most of my Top 10 lists are in order of preference, but this one was very difficult to prioritize as it's really hard to compare some as my tastes are so eclectic. Try them out if you'd like. I bet you'll enjoy them.

10. The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast - Pastor Andy Stanley of North Point Community Church interviews various leaders.

9. The Simple Reminder with Pat Lencioni - This is focused on spiritual growth for ordinary people, with devotional thoughts and discussion by organizational health expert Patrick Lencioni and his friends.

8. Hollywood & Levine - This podcast features comedy writer Ken Levine, who wrote and/or was a showrunner for a ton of great, classic sitcoms like M*A*S*H*, Cheers, Frasier, and many more. Sometimes he hosts alone and sometimes he interviews various entertainment personalities or behind-the-scenes people. Always interesting, but sometimes the language can be a little PG. 

7. North Point Community Church - featuring Pastor Andy Stanley's weekly sermons.

6. No Worries If Not! - This is a podcast by two friends who also happen to be comedians, Aaron Chewning and Andrew Stanley (son of Andy). It's wide-ranging and always funny. 

5. The Working Genius Podcast - This features Patrick Lencioni discussing the Working Genius personality model. Hard for me to explain here in a few words, but it's wonderful and highly recommended. (Here's a link to my earlier post about The Working Genius.)

4. Laugh More: The Skit Guys Podcast - Tommy Woodard and Eddie James are The Skit Guys and this is their podcast. Very entertaining. 

3. At The Table with Patrick Lencioni - This is Patrick Lencioni's flagship podcast (and his third appearance on this list!) As you can tell, I'm a big fan of his. Listen to a few of these and you will be, as well.

2. Inglorious Treksperts - The best podcast for Star Trek fans, bar none. Tons of great interviews and content for the true Trek fans.

1. The Way I Heard It with Mike Rowe - My absolute favorite. Mike has great and very interesting guests. But sometimes he and his co-host/high school buddy Chuck talk, and it's just as great. 

The Butterfly Effect

It's fun to look at old pictures of the town you grew up in or the town you live in now (maybe it's the same for you!) I wish there was a way to go back and drive through your town or watch a video of that town from ten or twenty or however many years ago. You would be going, "Oh, I remember that store." or "I had forgotten how that looked."

What you notice is how much everything has changed so much in the last however many years. Even in the last five or ten years, the difference is striking. It pretty astounding when you view it like that, but when you're in the middle of the transformation, you don't tend to notice it, other than a few things here or there that change or get updated or improved.

I think that's the way it is with our spiritual lives. When you're in the middle of the transformation it seems like things aren't changing very quickly, but when you step back and view it from a distance, the transformation is substantial. 

It's the little changes day by day that make the biggest difference.

So what little change are you going to work on today?

(pictured above: Small town Pine City in the 1940s looking south from 3rd Ave. One of the round stained glass windows from the old court house (white building on the right) is hanging in the public library window now. Pletschel’s is currently Nicoll’s Café.)

Cold but Beautiful

I'm not a fan of winter, which makes it ironic that God brought me to Pine City to minister. If it weren't for broomball, I would pretty much have no use for winter, especially the bitter cold. 

And then there's the snow. I always said that if it just wouldn't snow on the roads or my driveway, I wouldn't mind the snow at all, but that seem unlikely to happen.

The one redeeming quality of winter is that it's often quite pretty. Not always, but sometimes. Like this morning. I went out on my Sunday morning pre-worship service sunrise run and the scenery was stunning. And the run was wonderful, in spite of the fact that it was about 2 degrees out. At least there wasn't any wind, and on Sundays at that time there's hardly any traffic, which makes for a wonderful, beautiful run. Add some great worship music in my earbuds (actually Christmas music this time of year) and it was a pretty great run.

I guess I can tough it out for a few months each year, even if I wish it was fewer few months of winter.

Putting His Word in Our Words

I love that there are so many translations of the Bible readily available online or through the YouVersion Bible App. (If you are a Jesus-follower with a smartphone, you really owe it to yourself to download this app!) 

Growing up we were pretty much stuck with the King James Version. In middle school I discovered The Living Bible and used it for several years, and it was a great tool for middle-school me, but it was a paraphrase and not as helpful when doing Bible study. My youth pastor, Carey Olson, challenged me in high school to move to something more faithful to the original text. For several years I enjoyed using my parallel New Testament which has the KJV, NIV, Living Bible paraphrase, and the Amplified Bible (which is kind of a cross between a translation and a thesaurus. Eventually I settled on the New International Version, which is my primary one to this day. 

When I'm teaching the Bible, I stick almost exclusively to the New International Version (2011 edition) because of its popularity, ubiquity, and familiarity. But occasionally I enjoy reading a different translation devotionally to keep it fresh. Recently I've enjoying reading using the New Living Translation (NLT). It's in the spirit of The Living Bible but an entirely new translation. It's a little more contemporary than the New International Version and easily accessible by all ages. It's uses a "thought-for-thought" methodology for translating Scripture rather than a word-for-word. That means it may not be as helpful for detailed study, but is excellent for devotional use. 

The Message Bible is similar in this regard, although even though it's a translation, more like a paraphrase because it uses more contemporary idioms and slang. For some reason I find it difficult to use for devotional reading because it's so wildly different, but it's great for someone who is newer to the Bible or is just looking for a fresh take on the text. There are plenty of other great translations available, like the New English Translation (NET), which has a ton of translation notes. 

My recommendation for teens and adults newer to reading Scripture is the New Living Translation or the New International Version. But it's nice to switch it up now and then to help keep God's Word from becoming something you skim through because you are so familiar with a particular translation. The great thing is that you don't have to go buy a ton of books, just download the YouVersion app! Try several until you find one that you enjoy.

Colors, Mood, and SAD

I saw an interesting study today that said wearing bright clothes can make you happier, so if you're struggling with the blues (no pun intended) just wear yellow or something like that. (I actually would love to have the shirt pictured above, but somehow I doubt it would be that vibrant in real life, as it's an obvious computer-generated image.)

I was just thinking about color and specifically light and how the lack of sunlight this time of year (at least for those of us in the upper Midwest) has such an impact on our moods. It hasn't gotten too bad for us, yet, but eventually the lack of sunlight will begin to wear on us. Seasonal Affective Disorder is very real, whether it affects you a little or a lot. Maybe wearing bright colored clothes will help counteract that a little bit?

It's worth a shot.

Who Will Tell You the Truth?

Oftentimes when high-profile people like celebrities, athletes, or even well-known pastors fail morally, it's because they have isolated themselves or surrounded themselves with yes-men (or women). 

Those are the ones who make the news, but it's not just that type of person at risk. We all have a tendency to insulate ourselves from honest feedback because it can be difficult or even painful, and we are all pain averse. The truth is that we all need someone who can speak truth into our lives, no matter who we are or what we do or how well we are known.

Paul, in Ephesians, tells us to "speak the truth in love." 

So who do you have that can tell you the hard truths?

If you can't think of anyone, who could you invite to have that role in your life? 

You need someone to do that. We all do. That's the only way we grow and the only way to avoid a fall.

I saw a quote that said, "A best friend is someone who tells you the truth even when you don't want to hear it." I would say that a real friend will tell you the truth especially when you don't want to hear it. 

Rob's Recommendation: The Codex Alera Chronicles

Jim Butcher is probably best known for his urban fantasy series, The Dresden Files, which is maybe my all-time favorite series. But he has another fantastic series called The Codex Alera Chronicles. And I got a note that the first book in this series, Furies of Calderon, is currently on sale in e-book format for only $1.99. 

If you are an e-book reader at all, I'd highly recommend this. It's a great introduction to the six-volume Codex Alera series and sets up plot threads that get paid off in later novels while still standing on its own as a great novel. Butcher writes lively and compelling characters and plots that are interesting and intricate while still being eminently understandable. I can't recommend the series enough. 

Here's the blurb from Amazon's site: 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dresden Files series: The people of Alera have always battled their enemies by relying on their bond with the furies. But with the lord of the land weakening, Alera’s future rests with Tavi, an unsuspecting boy who may possess powers far greater than he realizes.

The e-book is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Google. You can also pick up a paperback for only $7.99 if you're not the e-book type.

My grade: A+

Finding Friends

I’ve often wondered if there’s someone who would be a good friend, but I never know about it because I never meet them. Maybe they live too far away and our paths never cross, or – and this may be worse –our paths do cross, but I never have the opportunity or take the time to get to know them and connect? Maybe you have a potential best friend who lives nearby, but not close enough that your paths will naturally cross.

I’ve often thought it’d be cool to have an app or website that would be like the dating apps but just for helping match up friends. You put in your likes, hobbies, and maybe a personality profile or something. Then the computer algorithm would match you with a potential friend. 

I wonder if we would be more likely to begin friendships with people who are a different age, race, socio-economic class, etc. 

I also wonder if people would take advantage of it, or if they would just be like, “I have enough friends already. I don’t have time for any more friends.”

Maybe if you don’t have time for more friends, you need to adjust how you are spending your time.

Rob's Recommendations: Upside app

There's a great app out called Upside that I've been hesitant to post about for a few reasons. 

First, they really want you to share it with your friends and are always urging you to do that - which always makes me leery. It's not just my natural contrariness, where I don't want to do something that someone else urges me to do, although that maybe a part of it. But I was kind of cautious about sharing something where there might be a catch later on. (Kind of like, "Hey, free vacation. Just one thing. You have to sit through a two-day sales pitch for a timeshare...")

Second, I wanted to be sure it really worked first, so I wanted to test it for myself for a bit.

Third, it might seem self-serving, because if you download and use the app, and you use my referral code, I get some type of bonus. Don't worry, it's not a multi-level marketing kind of deal, just a few extra cents off gasoline or something - the bonus changes.

Anyway, in spite of all of my initial concerns, I am happy to report that there don't seem to be any catches and this app really works and saves you all kinds of money. It's kind of like an electronic coupon where they refund you the money. I've used it for the last six months or so and have earned/saved $58.33 so far. You can save money on gas purchases, at restaurants, and on groceries, depending on where you shop. 

The savings vary depending on the location. For example, right now I can save 22 cents/gallon on gas at the Holiday station in the middle of Pine City, but if I go to the Holiday station by the interstate, I only get 17 cents a gallon back. And the savings amount changes all the time. 

There aren't any restaurants near Pine City that are currently using this app, but I saved about $15 on a couple of different visits to a Mexican restaurant near my son, Jordan, down in Monticello. You can also save at grocery stores. I saved at Cub Foods in the Cities before, and the Coborn's in Mora is currently offering 10% cash back on groceries. 

You can try it for yourself. If you would like, please use my referral code: ROB2427 when you sign up. Right now, they are offering you an extra $7 cash back the first time you use the app and another $7 for me! But that could change, depending on when you read this and use the app for the first time.

Give it a shot and let me know what you think. After using it for a while now, though, I can wholeheartedly recommend it.

Rob's Review: Ms. Marvel

I finally got around to watching Ms. Marvel. I had put it off for a while because I had heard some mixed reviews from various sources. So I went in with some low expectations and was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it. 

The casting is great, and the writing is sharp and funny. The plot is interesting enough although a little too much time is spent exploring the main character's culture. At times it felt almost like an infomercial for an idealized Disneyesque Pakastani American family culture. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable series and at only six episodes the action moved along nicely.

I'm only peripherally familiar with the source material comic books, so I wasn't thrown by the change in origin stories or powers. Instead, I just decided to enjoy it for what it is and that was a good move. It's only six episodes and while it seems to skew toward teens, it's something an adult can easily enjoy as well. 

The one challenge I had with this show was understanding all of the dialogue. Many of the words used were unfamiliar and often spoken so quickly that it was impossible for me to understand without the close captioning enabled, so I ended up with that on the entire series.

Overall, if you're interested in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at all, you should check it out. Even if you're not, you still may enjoy it, as Rosalie did.

My grade: B+

Donuts are my Kryptonite

I've often bemoaned the fact that there are no Krispy Kreme stores in the upper Midwest. The closest one is down in Iowa, a couple hundred miles away. It's probably a good thing for my waistline, because donuts are my kryptonite when it comes to eating healthy. It's incredibly difficult for me to resist a good donut, and Krispy Kreme has some of the best.

But I've got another donut that gives Krispy Kreme a run for its money, and it's available all over the upper Midwest at any Kwik Trip. It's their Persian donut with cinnamon roll frosting. These are incredible. I'd highly recommend them if you live near a Kwik Trip. 

Fortunately (for my waistline), we don't have any Kwik Trips in Pine City... yet. I'm hopeful that we'll get some someday, because these are better than any other place I know for great fresh donuts. For now they remain special treats for Rosalie and myself when we travel or for a particular celebration. They get my highest recommendation.

Rob's Recommendations: Justified

I usually wait until I've seen an entire TV series before recommending it, however I'm going to make an exception this time and commend to you the wonderful series, Justified, starring Timothy Olyphant as Deputy U.S. Marshal Rayland Givens. 

Justified originally ran on FX from 2010 to 2015. I was made aware of this series a few weeks ago when it was referenced in Mike Rowe's excellent podcast, The Way I Heard It, and I thought I'd check it out. I'm so glad I did because it is wonderful. It has great acting and wonderful writing. It's gritty and unexpected and a lot of fun. Rosalie and I have enjoyed it quite a bit and we are currently toward the end of the fourth season (out of six, 13-episode seasons), although at the rate we are consuming episodes we'll likely be done by Christmas in a few weeks. 

If you're looking for a great series to watch, I'd highly recommend it. (It is a little PG-13 at times with content, so be aware of that.) 

My grade: A