Easter 2011

Union Rejects WEEK/WHOI Offer, Plans Rally

The WEEK/WHOI contract struggle continues in Peoria/Bloomington... Please read the following Pantagraph story on recent happenings with the contract talks.

Union rejects WEEK/WHOI offer, plans rally

Please let your voice be heard by contacting those listed in my previous post (link is above).

Who's Fault Is It???

Comments made by Franklin Graham this weekend on ABC's This Week have really frustrated me. I don't have the energy or the vocabulary to address everything he said, but one item REALLY got me upset.

...the government has undermined the traditional church function of assisting the poor because it took this mission "away from the church, and...had more money to give and more programs to give, and pretty soon, the churches just backed off." (taken from "Mother Jones")

Really??? So Mr. Graham is stating that it's our government's fault that the Church isn't doing it's job? Really??? God forbid he would turn to the Church (the "church" in the larger sense, not singularly and/or denominationally), look it in the eye and make the correct statement... The Church has failed the poor, the needy, the sick, the underprivileged. The government, in my pea-sized-brain opinion, has been trying for decades to do what the Church (again, I'm referring in larger terms) has not done.

However, I'm not going to make my statement a general one about all churches (small "c" - singularly). Many churches have made great attempts, and had great success, in reaching those in need.

The church we attend in Bloomington/Normal, Illinois Eastview Christian Church, has shown great compassion and a deep desire to help those with little... I've been very impressed with the way they have desired to minister through the food pantry, benevolence, help ministries, counseling services, Imagine (distribution of thousands of toys, coats and boxes of food at Christmas). And they are looking for more and more ways to reach out, and especially through small groups.

But, many churches do... NOTHING. NOT by the fault of our government (sorry Mr. Graham), but because they just don't want to and/or they have forgotten what ALL the Church should be doing.

Here's an idea for all churches... Read and study the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) & the book of Acts... And learn how the Church can "take back" social responsibility by doing what they're suppose to do.

Ok... I'm off my soapbox and I'll get back to gardening and photography. Thanks for "listening" to this pea brain.

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Saturday After The Crucifixion

The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.”

Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.”

So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

Matthew 27:62-66 NLT

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Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

I get so excited about seeing green this time of year... and flowers... and warmer weather... and... BIRDS (hence the "nickname" that I use for Twitter, email, my blog and other various places: strouthion (στρουθίον - stroo-thee'-on), which is greek meaning "a little bird, esp. of the sparrow sort").

Migration is in full force and I love to see our colorful winged friends arriving daily in central Illinois from locations far far away to the south. Whether they're staying local until fall or the many that are just stopping on their way to Canada for the summer... It's so awesome to see them starting to arrive. And though I haven't had the chance to see any warblers in my backyard yet, I did have a sweet ruby-crowned kinglet stop by and cheer up my day this past Wednesday... and he even waited patiently for me to run back inside and grab my camera...

"Memory" Coconut Palm

In the winter of 2008/2009 a gardening customer of mine came across a coconut laying on the beach with a small sprout working it's way out. He brought the coconut back to his oceanside condo in Boca Raton, FL, potted it up and brought it back with him to Illinois for the summer.

I babied the "nut" during the summer of 2009... seeing very little growth during that cooler-than-normal summer. I assumed it wouldn't make it through the winter, even though it was headed to a greenhouse at a local high school.

But, to my surprise... the coconut palm did live and started to look even more like a palm with the hot summer we enjoyed during 2010.

But, then... my customer died suddenly in August of 2010. The family said I could have any and all plants that I wanted, which meant I had many plants to choose from... several palm varieties of many sizes, red and green bananas large and small, large leaf philodendrons, bromeliads, anthuriums, aglaonemas (chinese evergreens), and more. I did keep many of the plants for my personal use, to use at other customer's houses, and at BCC. But, I ended up keeping only one palm... the coconut palm.

It's still living Scott... and I miss my Monday afternoon stops at your house.

New Life

It was so awesome to see all of the growth this weekend in plants... Irises and peoneas are just jumping out of the ground right now!

How can anyone not like spring and the new life it brings to us. :-)


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A Text Conversation With A Cubs Fan

Had a good text "conversation" with a gardening customer today who is also a diehard Cubs fan...

Him: Ahhhhh. That's one in the win column for the boys in blue!
Me: ONE
Me: FYI... That's two in the win column for the men in black
Him: Cleveland only counts as half of a win
Me: So do the Cubs :-)
Him: Ouch

I'm not sure there's anything more fun than giving Cubs fans a hard time.



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