Friday, May 27, 2005

10:16 AM Here are the latest entries in the Crosswalk weblog: Looking for an Outlet Mall Carrie and Kendra and Tana and Bo 9:52 AM Joanne Hale heard that we were in Wisconsin this weekend and wrote back to say, “Party on, I bet you won’t have very good BBQ ribs or Texas Toast!” She’s referring to the incredible Memorial Day BBQ that we sponsored for several years when I pastored Redeemer Covenant Church in Downey, CA 25 years ago. The church was fairly small and I was right out of seminary and full of big dreams. The Memorial Day BBQ was one of my finest ideas. I remember the very first one when I helped cook the ribs and burned a bunch of them. Art Hendriksen shook his head and Carl and Rick Hale and Bill Petch encouraged me to work the crowd while they saved the day. Frank Lazos just laughed. Those were good days. 9:51 Phil Newton writes from Memphis with a penetrating question: What exactly are cheese curds and why do you fry them? I don’t know exactly what cheese curds are. If someone has an answer, I’ll be glad to post it here. 9:49 AM I am writing these notes from a hotel room in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. That means we are near the middle of the state. We arrived here shortly after 7 PM yesterday. This afternoon we have about a two-hour drive to Camp Forest Springs in Westboro, an aptly-named camp located deep in the woods on the shores of James Lake. I’m speaking for the Memorial Weekend Family Camp Saturday-Monday. Marlene and I decided to come up a day early for a mini-vacation. We’re off to a good start because we stopped at Culver’s for dinner. Besides their incredible “concrete” ice cream desserts, they make the best fried cheese curds in the world. I’m speaking five times this weekend—twice on Saturday, twice on Sunday, and once on Monday morning. I enjoyed speaking at their Pastor’s Conference in 2003, and we’re looking forward to spending a few days in a peaceful setting far removed from the hustle and bustle of Chicago. 9:42 AM A big Friday shout-out to Grant and Fern Brown in Westboro, WI, Wayne and Ruthie Lewis in Pottersville, NY, Pastor Dwayne Norman of Derby Baptist Church in Poplarville, MS, Kent and Linda Ragsdale in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and a special shout-out to Shirley Banta, beloved church secretary emeritus who now lives in Quncy, IL, to fellow blogger Mark Daniels in PA, Dave and Esther Claus who are currently in WI not far from where we are at the moment, Jennifer Smith in LA (I think), Pat Getz, Rick and Joanne Hale in Whitter, CA, and to Chris Eaton who has just become a senior at VMI.