The United Church of Christ in the U.S.

Please click here to see some of the advertisements that the UCC has been using in the states to spread their message. Apparently, the major networks (other than ABC) refused to run them. I think they are rather clever.

Interestingly, the last one was one of two that first appeared. The "Steeple" (which seemed to hang up once it began the summary message - don't worry, the "ejector" summary is the same) one was analyzed and it appeared to only appeal to those who already go to church. So the second one was the "bouncer." It, too only included a small group of people who were not already church-goers. It was not until they did the "ejector" that the message reached a wide audience. So much for subtlety!

So another Christian vs. Christ Follower Dittie

I just find these fun. Anybody else?

Try this one

Christian vs Christ Follower

Tis is one of a series that I found on the net. It is not only funny, but has an interesting message.

Try it.

Being a dog owner

It's always fun to be able to think of various situations when you might find yourself completely misunderstood. A friend sent me a video today that I could truly see as possible. What do you think?

I wonder how I do this

I am now doing two blogs and I wonder if I can really manage this. I am doing one at work where I try to explore my own spiritual growth and development. I am hoping to get some interest in doing this with others. However, no one ever reads that blog. Literally - NO ONE! Or at least they never comment on it.

So I have this one that I've neglected for over a year, and I want to resurrect it to do some other types of ramblings.

I also want to note both blogs on each site, but I can't seem to add this to the other one or vice versa. It likely has to do with two different email addresses. I shall see. Anyway, more later!

Welcome to my new blog

This is a place where I hope to reflect on various changes I am going through at this wonderful stage of life. As a man in his mid fifties, I am anticipating retiring from public education and exploring what I shall do with the rest of my life.

One of the most imminent changes is one of residence. My partner and I have been living in a house for the last 12 years that we purchased when we had on adolescent and a pre-adolescent. We needed the space - a fact that became very clear when my partner's parents came for a three week visit. Now, both daughters have become wonderful young adults and have moved away from home. This leaves us with a four bedroom home for the two of us and our two little dogs. We are moving into an inner-city high rise condominium. A huge change for me and a change for my change adverse partner. I have never lived in an apartment other than my first year of marriage when we lived in an apartment in a converted older home. We also lived for a year in a walk-up before renting a house. For the last 30 years, I have lived in houses.

The change is actually intriguing me. I have, at times, fantasized about what it would be like to live in a high rise. I think that I imagined I would wind up in one since seeing the movie "Making Love" way back in the early 80's. The gay character in that movie wound up living with his partner in a trendy New York apartment. When we were raising children, it did not make sense to live in an apartment. I have always believed that children need space and a yard. I also convinced myself that I liked gardening and planting stuff. I really have to say that after 30 years in houses, I am really sick of gardening. I like the results, however, I hate weeding.

So we are buying a condo in the inner city. Fortunately for us, we have found one that is fairly large and will not be a total shock to us. We are used to lots of space. To try to move into the new condos of 800 square feet would be a larger shock than we are prepared to experience. We shall see what the future brings, however, I am hoping this is the last stop before the "home."

Downsizing means lightening our load considerably. I have been a bit of a pack rat for my entire career. Getting rid of my teaching materials, my "souvenirs" and many of the little knick nacks gathered over the career will be a task of conflicting emotions - I look forward to being "free" of the stuff, but I will have a hard time "releasing" it. Once we have done this, we are going to try to initiate a policy of zero accumulation: before we bring something new into our home, something has to go. We shall see.

Any advice for us? We are open to feedback!