My corner of the world

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-116659652011-11-09T00:18:09.578-06:00My corner of the worldPersonal thoughts and observations about the life I live.C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.comBlogger311100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-63503771938759880162011-02-07T11:30:00.000-06:002011-02-07T11:30:29.845-06:00Untouchable. Unlovable.

Several months ago I started carrying a small journal book in my hip pocket. I use it to record my thoughts during my Bible reading time. I often use it to jot people's phone numbers or the occasional mind jogger to get something done. It is very useful. It keeps me focused each day and often encourages me during lunch when I am "out and about." Today I looked through a previous book and

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-79787420983271157712011-01-22T23:49:00.000-06:002011-01-22T23:49:11.646-06:00I Like Trains

If you are looking for secrets hidden away in a man’s private life, you won’t find one this time. It is no secret. I like trains. I like all sizes. Long ones. Short ones. Double stacks. Coal trains. Mixed freights. Through freights and local switch jobs. I even like the bland, “pablumesque” Amtrak passenger trains. It doesn’t make any difference. I like trains. My childhood Texas home was

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-52436917033294582032011-01-05T09:56:00.000-06:002011-01-05T09:56:13.793-06:00New Video from Minnesota Cowboy Ministries

Minnesota Cowboy Ministries has produced our first new video. The photos and video portions were taken on a trip back to my hometown of Bay City, Texas in December, 2008. One day mom and I decided to do a bit of sightseeing. Neither of us had been to the beach in several years so we decided that would be a great place to start. After crossing the Intercoastal Canal, we followed the Colorado River

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-19153660510711322992011-01-02T12:02:00.000-06:002011-01-02T12:02:29.932-06:00Blessings for a New Year. Blessed by a Promised Ministry

Viki and I are letting our friends in on some exciting news. For nearly ten years we waited for the Father to tell us what He had in store for us. We explored ministry to minorities, ethnic groups and fellowship groups in our church family to name a few. We explored restarting our music ministry through The Sounds of Praise. Often we saw the Lord do great things. Opportunities to fill the

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1913241772928638122010-11-19T07:27:00.000-06:002010-11-19T07:27:32.393-06:00When All Is Said and Done, Occasionaly More Is Said Than Done

It has happened to all of us. Someone made a commitment. We depended on them to come through. It was probably unavoidable. An emergency interrupted their plans. Traffic patterns, changed by construction, caused them to miss a deadline. They didn’t break the promise. They were just unable to fulfill it. Better planning could have helped, but all things considered, they were trying to keep their

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-69492918907657302732010-11-10T16:55:00.000-06:002010-11-10T16:55:27.282-06:00Such Unusual Bedfellows

Mom was aghast. “One day they will start advertising Christmas before Thanksgiving.” Dad responded, “They will have trees up by Halloween.” Someone laughed at the ludicrous prophesy Alfred Schaal uttered in our church one fall morning in 1960. In the early 1960s, stores made the most out of Christmas. The mercantile machine roared from its Indy-style start each Friday after Thanksgiving. Macy’s

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-16696101070470222682010-11-05T08:53:00.006-05:002010-11-05T09:55:56.872-05:00Tell me a story

This last election taught me one thing. We don't need more politicians. We need more story-tellers.Story-tellers have a long history. Since the first person sat with another at the end of a long day and recounted what happened at the watering hole or during the hunt, stories have worked their stuff.They reconnect people. "You weren't there, but...", "I wish you could have seen..." and "It was

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-38043059058188914282008-10-04T19:40:00.002-05:002008-10-04T19:53:16.414-05:00Covenants are Opportunities

When God reveals Himself, we are compelled to change the way we see Him and respond to Him. No one can look at God and remain the same. We either welcome Him or we reject Him. There is no middle ground.In Jeremiah chapter 31: 33, God says, "I will make a covenant with Israel." He revealed Himself to Israel in the covenant. Israel could not remain the same. When God made a promise to his people,

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-47096536936395077372008-09-13T09:14:00.004-05:002008-09-13T10:18:10.099-05:00A Writer's Distasteful Marinade

The past couple of years I marinated in the thick goo of self-indulgence. The sauce of convenient indecision gradually displaced my passion for writing and its creative juices in my spirit with the sap of laziness, expediency and task-based tunnel vision.Maybe all writers have to muddle through that at one time or another. Some may do it periodically. I do not know about them and how they handled

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-37000457865791779862008-09-01T13:55:00.003-05:002008-09-01T14:17:47.279-05:00Lessons From A Schooling Show

Martini and I have grown as a team since he became apart of our family. Recently he and our grandaughter completed a week of intro to jumping at our barn, Turncrest Stables ( http://www.turncreststable.com/ ). Last Sunday both were in their first "off the farm" show. They did well for a 5-year-old horse with a 10-year-old rider.Martini and I spent much of the day together. He was handled,

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-38335105918282400432007-11-19T09:57:00.000-06:002007-11-19T11:18:01.766-06:00

I enjoy working with our horse. Martini, a registered paint gelding (http://www.apha.com/), makes me appreciate that there are various ways to deal with the challenges in life.There are two basic approaches to life's challenges. Depending on the situation, I suppose that neither of these are wrong. One approach says, "Destiny determines. Enjoy the ride." This proponent may be a dried up old

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-68257142235594427772007-09-20T22:58:00.000-05:002007-09-21T07:35:34.405-05:00The Lofty Heights Of Disappointment

I am a child born on the cusp of the Boomer Generation. Birthed in the final year of the '40s, my decade saw the sacrifice of the Depression, unselfish commitment of WWII and the birthing of suburbia. Though eclipsed in later years by moon landings, supersonic flight and the fulfillment of Dick Tracy's wrist watch telephone, my generation has been all about success, productivity and

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-66104264031969474972007-02-11T20:08:00.000-06:002007-02-11T19:55:59.570-06:00Horse Poor - Experience Rich

We recently experienced the joys of being "horse poor." For thirty days we assumed the care, custody and control of a horse that was intended to move us into the equine-enabled community.We learned some things. Others we relearned. Still other lessons we transfered from former pets.On the internet I identified a horse that appeared to possess our needed qualities. After a trip with our stable

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1166805285260461982006-12-22T09:54:00.000-06:002006-12-22T14:34:02.163-06:00How does it feel?

In the Biblical record of Ephesians 4: 17 - 19, Paul states the world has lost its sensitivity and is given over to sensuality. What a timeless observation. The juxtaposition of these words calls attention to their differing approach to life.The world is given to sensuality. How does it feel? This is a critical question, regardless of the overwhelming issue at hand. How do you feel about your job

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1163340044143939842006-11-12T07:31:00.000-06:002006-11-12T08:00:46.420-06:00The Critical Question

There are many questions a person must answer in the course of their three score and ten. A first grader is asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Whether firefighter or ballerina, professional athlete or nurse, our children are primed to make life-defining decisions from those earliest of days.The need for relationship and significance in the eyes of another drive us to search for

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1162782498390940412006-11-05T19:30:00.000-06:002006-11-05T21:08:18.470-06:00Football may be war, but War isn't football.

(Big disclaimer: I am a citizen of the United States of America. I support my government. I would normally wear the moniker of conservative without shame. I have to say this to the people who would not agree with what is to follow.)There is some discussion about the original quote being correctly recorded that says, "War is hell." Having never carried a weapon into battle nor spending even one

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1162569010367408882006-11-03T08:55:00.000-06:002006-11-03T09:50:10.666-06:00Scratching The Itch

I am not, it appears, a committed blogger. I don't live and die by the words I spout on this site. I suppose I am afraid I will be discovered to be like the boyfriend on "Designing Women" who was rejected because, "After all, you can only go so shallow before you hit rock bottom." Another way to discribe it is to be found to be "a mile wide and a foot deep."So how important are these blog site

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1146968299032951122006-05-06T21:09:00.000-05:002006-05-06T21:18:19.053-05:00It’s not babysitting. It’s grand-parenting.

Eyes flashed as her tongue snapped a response worthy of the steamy August Missouri evening.I asked a male acquaintance to accompany me to the local golf course. He said he was to be with his children while his wife completed certain tasks and activities. In a moment of dubious humor, I responded, “Oh, are you baby-sitting today?”She answered for him. Quickly. “It’s not baby-sitting. It’s called

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1146280348895938812006-04-28T22:08:00.000-05:002006-04-28T22:12:28.906-05:00A Chameleon in Disguise

A chameleon can’t help itself. It changes colors. Unlike the horse pulling the carriage in Oz, it can’t celebrate glorious colors and flattering hues. It must adapt or die. In the life of the scampering changeling, there is little room for celebrating colors. They are for managing, using, manipulating and life saving.Adaptation to survive is a handy skill, I would think. I doubt the chameleon

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1145165061479313622006-04-16T00:19:00.000-05:002006-04-16T00:24:21.490-05:00In A Moment Of Pristine Clarity

In a moment of pristine clarity, my wife of 35 years observed I was a “high maintenance person.” I knew exactly what she meant owing to the atmosphere of our conversation.We were discussing the ebb and flow of my obsessions, projects and life goals. As a part of the discussion, we reflected on whether communities understood, or even cared for that matter, what another individual valued as a life

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1140605364202442832006-02-22T04:43:00.000-06:002006-02-22T04:51:30.623-06:00If it doesn't make sense, it makes a mess.

"What's good for the goose is good for the gander.""What goes around comes around.""You get what you pay for."Life is all about balance. One of the first things a child learns is you have to balance front to back and left to right or you will surely fall every time you try to stand. The very act of walking employs controlling your balance. You can't go forward if your vertical baseline is

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1139639343978958242006-02-10T23:45:00.000-06:002006-02-11T06:58:47.870-06:00Vision With Depth and Perspective

Is there a time you deeply desired to complete a task or shoulder a challenge? Has the call weighed so heavy that you spent each spare moment resetting priorities and adjusting schedules so as to insure no hindrance to your engagement? Has a vision so focused your sight that everything else dissolves into a mist?How is it that one person looks a vacant lot and sees an office building? Another

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1126349086335913222005-09-10T05:42:00.000-05:002005-09-10T05:44:46.343-05:00Back in the saddle again

Several months ago I put my blog down. I feared I overstayed my welcome. I worried friends tired of my ramblings. With compassion, they allowed me to think what I had to say mattered.In the interim, an occasional reader asked me what happened to my corner of the world. I often told them I did not have the time or energy to pour into this exercise of cerebral athletics. The time usually spent on

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1115350019315268202005-05-05T22:16:00.000-05:002005-05-06T07:01:13.120-05:00Her Chronometer Is Becoming Her Speedometer

With this post I am moving to a monthly submission. I appreciate the support so many give. I believe readership is high for such a narrow cast as this blog provides (Nearly 400 page views in the first month). The slightly slower tempo allows more time to sharpen my work. At the same time it will give me the opportunity to continue constructing "Sandy's Castle." I will email updates as they

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1115029441102451852005-05-02T05:19:00.000-05:002005-05-02T05:24:01.106-05:00The New Stuff

The forty-two voice “Hallelujah! Kids Choir” presented their spring musical this evening. The production, “Who is like the Lord,” featured contemporary praise music and custom-crafted dialogue for our children and our church. The voices of youth and optimism filled the building as they sang and quoted scripture.As usual, they made the leadership look stronger than we really are.There were a few

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1114426846308663032005-04-25T05:54:00.000-05:002005-04-25T06:00:46.310-05:00I Was Just Having A Ball

When our daughters were twelve and nine, my enthusiasm got the best of me. Our small community risked not fielding two girl’s softball teams. The coach for the teams would be at college all summer. No one wanted the job. I knew if someone didn’t do it, my daughters would miss out on a great summer of activity.I stood up and said, “I’ll coach the teams.” How dumb was that?I played little league

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1113792346940241552005-04-17T21:38:00.000-05:002005-04-17T21:45:46.946-05:00You Can Win All the Battles and Still Lose the War

It began in the early 90’s. I couldn’t put my finger on it. There just wasn’t a sense of physical wholeness.I pastored a church in northeastern Missouri at the time. Hospital visitation was a major part of my work. One stressful day, after climbing a set of stairs while making my hospital rounds, I had difficulty catching my breath.My wife, ever the diligent one, encouraged me to see a physician.

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1113188734807361622005-04-10T21:37:00.000-05:002005-04-10T22:12:09.996-05:00Abstinence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

Thanks to Erica Vetsch, member of my writer's group that meets under the mentorship of Joy DeKok, for serving as my editor this week.--------I love titles. In fact, I think I get as much enjoyment out of writing titles as I do writing the stuff that goes after them.Take the title for this submission.The play on words is obvious. The familiar platitude reminds us of two absent lovers’ hopes

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1112590903426957612005-04-03T23:46:00.000-05:002005-04-04T00:09:22.686-05:00A Room Full of Student Teachers

Directing a children’s choir never made my short list. No one was more surprised when after talking to our Minister of Worship and Arts I found myself staring back at 25 pairs of eyes that first Sunday evening.I struggled the first few weeks. My leadership was not good but the choir responded even when I did a bad job.I began the year committed to working the children into my schedule. I made

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1112009101222387172005-03-28T05:13:00.000-06:002005-03-28T05:30:48.463-06:00Not All Pickles Are Gherkins

This, the second of my posts, initiates a regular posting schedule. I plan on publishing each Monday. If all goes well I will increase it to twice a week.Thanks for all of the encouragement I received after my first effort. I hope those to follow will be worth the time it takes to write them.----------The humorist Will Rogers said, “I have never met a man I didn’t like.” Well, I’ve never met a

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11665965.post-1111665877967928822005-03-24T05:56:00.000-06:002005-03-24T06:57:45.806-06:00Unfinished Business

My father’s workshop was never a neat and tidy place. It was not because he was untidy. He simply had more tools, supplies and resources than room to store them.While it wasn’t a tidy place, it also wasn’t a graveyard of half-baked ideas, DIY kit-bash projects or one-off inventions. When my father began a repair job or started a task, he finished it. It also worked. Well.He was great at creating

C Schaalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07891988274252222208noreply@blogger.com8