SA Councils in Champaign, IL

I was so honored and blessed this week to speak to a gathering of Salvation Army officers (ministers) from parts of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana at the Hilton Garden Inn in Champaign, Illinois.

The accommodations were first-rate, but the company was even better! I shared rich fellowship and (I hope) a teeny bit of wisdom and perspective with the fine men and women of two Salvation Army divisions (Heartland and Indiana).

I couldn't have felt more welcomed and better treated. They even gave me some parting gifts, including a couple coffee mugs. How did they know? (Oh, maybe it had something to do with the ferocity with which I hogged the coffee pitcher at the breakfast table every morning. Yeah, that was probably it).

Asheville Christian Writers Conference 2016

What a joy it was once again last weekend to gather with fellow writers at the Billy Graham Training Center at The Cove, in Asheville, North Carolina, for the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Located in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, this is my kind of place. 

The setting is absolutely spectacular. 

The speakers (with maybe one exception) are inspirational. 

The meals are of the highest quality.  

The discussions and consultations with other writers are stimulating and energizing. 

And, as if that wasn't enough, conference director Cindy Sproles (above) asked the gathering of 100+ faculty and conferees to support my efforts on behalf of my grandchildren, Calleigh and Ryder, to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, to find a cure for cystic fibrosis (more here). The photo above, taken at the end of the conference, turned out to be premature; my friends there gave $900 toward a healthy future for Calleigh and Ryder! How wonderful is that? 

Thank you, Cindy Sproles, Eddie Jones, and all the great minds behind Christian Devotions!

Book World, Chillicothe, OH

The lovely Robin and I made a whirlwind trip to her childhood hometown of Chillicothe, Ohio, last weekend with her parents. For part of the quick family outing, I slipped away to spend some time on the phone with my son and then duck into the locally owned Book World, at 16 W. Water Street in Chillicothe.

Book World is small unique shop in the historical district of downtown Chillicothe. It has an old fashioned flavor and thousands of used and new books to choose from.

While I could have wished for a little more organization, Book World is the kind of spot I love (if I lived nearby, I'd apply for a job there): Local. Independent. Books in every nook and cranny. They didn't have enough of my books (I only stumbled upon one), but otherwise it is a place I could spend the day--especially since there is a candy shop just two doors down.

Coffee Beans and Brew, West Chester

On Yankee Road just off Cin-Day.

Cincinnati Art Museum

Last Sunday after church, having finished a huge writing project at 2015's end and preparing to start an important rewrite this week, I took advantage of a rare lull in my schedule to pay a visit to Cincinnati's excellent art museum in Eden Park.

I got there in time for a free guided tour of the "Cincinnati" collection--that is, pieces that have a connection to Cincinnati. Among them was Hiram Powers's Eve Disconsolate, above, depicting her in the moment after she succumbed to temptation in the Garden of Eden. Powers lived, studied, and worked in the Cincinnati area from the age of fourteen to twenty-nine, I think.

I learned that Cincinnati was a center of furniture making and manufacture (among other things, such as Rookwood Pottery and Tiffany glass, of course). I put in a bid on the above piece, but I'm guessing it's out of my price range. 

The tour ended on the second floor, after which I took my time roaming through the galleries. There is, of course, far too much to see in a few hours. But I did my best. 

I am always drawn to biblical and religious art, and so spent some time pondering the above statue of David (with his foot on Goliath's head). 

But, as a Shakespeare nut (and since the book I just finished had me pondering Shakespeare daily for the last seven or eight months), the above scene from Hamlet, of Laertes and Ophelia before Claudius and Gertrude caught my attention. 

And, before you make a snide remark (you know you were about to), I followed the museum's easy-to-see signage indicating pieces that were not allowed to be photographed. So there. All these--like the Flight into Egypt by Henry Ossawa Tanner, above--are permissible pics. 

It was a wonderful afternoon, filled with so much beauty--including a visiting work of art that was not allowed to be photographed: Raphael's c. 1505 Portrait of a Lady with a Unicorn. Wow. What a story. 

The Cincinnati Art Museum, which I remember visiting as a schoolboy, boasts a collection of more than 65,000 works spanning 6,000 years. I was blessed to see a fraction of those, including works by van Dyck, Picasso, Modigliani, Chagall, Van Gogh, Manet, Wood, Hopper, as well as a few of my favorites (Cole, Church, Duncanson, Wyeth). 

I love that admission to the museum is free (parking is only $4). I wish they had more evening hours, but do plan to take the lovely Robin back for one of their Friday evening events, held the last Friday of each month. 

Cincinnati Children's Museum

The lovely Robin and I sure had a blast taking our four oldest grandkids (two of whom were visiting from California) to the Cincinnati Museum Center for an afternoon last week.

They had a blast. And we had a blast watching them have a blast.

They spent most of their time running around in the enchanted forest space (whatever it's called), which doesn't really lend itself to photos. But Robin managed to get a picture of them in the delightful little aquarium tunnel thingy (below) where they could watch fish and turtles and other critters from an underwater vantage point.

There is always so much to do and see at the Children's Museum and never enough time to squeeze it all in. As it was, we closed down the joint.

The Art of the Brick

With our two oldest grandkids visiting from California, the lovely Robin and I took on the challenge of taking them and their two oldest cousins (one-year-old Avery stayed home with her Daddy) to "The Art of the Brick" display at Cincinnati Museum Center. We didn't tell them where we were going, so when we pulled into the museum center drive, they all recognized the spot and cheered! So fun.

The Art of the Brick is a unique art display made up entirely of LEGO® pieces and the artist Nathan Sawaya's imagination. It features over 100 works of art and millions of LEGO bricks.

The Art of the Brick is the first major museum exhibition to use LEGO bricks as the sole art medium. Numerous classic works such as the Mona Lisa, Starry Night, The Scream, and American Gothic are reproduced in LEGOs, along with a massive Easter Island head, life-size human figures, and a twenty-foot-long T-Rex skeleton.

I love the photo above because it not only gave the kids a chance to enter into a piece of art but it also captures their personalities pretty well.

The display route empties into an activity room, where the kids played with LEGO pieces and made their own works of art--and action. Though it wasn't cheap, even with our family museum membership discount, it was a joy to do with the grandkids.