#231 A Different Brew

My beloved Milwaukee Brewers clinched a division title on Sunday. I was ecstatic, bouncing around in celebration before picking up Lanie and Mia and Tess and kissing them one-by-one. In the first twenty seasons of my life, the Brewers did not win the division even once. Now they've won three times in the last eleven seasons, including twice in the last four years. It has been absolutely wonderful. The Brewers are more than just a sports team to me. They're my favorites. Their success brings me joy in a way that my teams in sports can't quite match. I often internally refer to the members of the team by their first names—Corbin, Willy, Josh, and so on—almost like they're members of my own family. After six months of games, the players pretty well feel like family.

This year's Brew Crew has worked differently than the other successful Milwaukee teams in my lifetime. Previous good Brewers teams have batted very well and used offense to cover up less intimidating starting pitching (though the 2011 squad boasted a few high quality starters as well). This year's offense hasn't been much better than decent on its best days, but the starting pitching is phenomenal. Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and Freddy Peralta all looked like Cy Young contenders for a while, and Burnes still has an extremely good case to take home the trophy. Meanwhile Adrian Houser and Eric Lauer have been sneakily good since the All-Star Break. (Poor Brett Anderson has battled minor injuries quite often and hasn't been as dependable as the others, but he's still been far from terrible.) The Brewers aren't World Series favorites, but with an elite starting rotation—plus a formidable bullpen—they certainly have a chance to go where no Brewers team has gone before. So when our postseason starts in ten days, I'll be watching when I can and rotating through all my Brewers gear for as long as the ride lasts. Claws up, Milwaukee. October is coming.

Grace and peace,

BMH

P.S. Lanie and I crossed off another ice cream cone statue:

#230 Starting Again

I am just under a month into my time as pastor at Calvin Christian Reformed Church. In some ways, beginning ministry in a second congregation is much less intimidating than starting up the first time around. I have five years of experience now. I've learned a lot about who I am as a pastor and what my strengths and weaknesses are. I've developed some rhythms and learned how to handle a pretty good number of situations—sometimes learning the hard way, sometimes learning from conversations with fellow church leaders. So while my context is different, I have a better idea of what to expect and what to look out for this time around.

But again and again over the past few weeks I've found myself thinking of one thing that I can't bring with me from my previous work: my knowledge of the congregation. Starting up at Calvin has helped me realize just how much I knew about the people in Kanawha. I knew basic things like names and jobs of course. But I also knew about family trees and personal histories. I'd learned what was important to different church members, the things they cared about and worried about. I knew who liked to be visited and who didn't really like to sit and visit, which people were big talkers and which people needed a little more prompting to settle into a conversation. When I stepped into the pulpit and looked out at the congregation, I saw a group of people I really knew. Hopefully that knowledge helped me do a better job of preaching to them specifically. Lately when I get up to preach, I almost feel like I'm preaching to a group of strangers. Someday I'll really know the people I regularly preach to again, but this kind of knowledge takes time. So I'm back to work, making visits, listening to stories, taking mental notes during brief conversations after the service and around town. Remembering how good things can be gives me a little extra incentive to gather information and learn about these new people. I'm looking forward to knowing them, too.

Grace and peace,

BMH

P.S. Lanie and I tracked down one more ice cream cone sculpture:

#229 Lanie's First Day of School

Lanie started preschool last week. After months and months of eagerly talking about going to school, she finally got her chance. Preschool must have lived up to Lanie's expectations, because one of the first things she said to Tess was, "Mom, I get to go to school tomorrow!" She's been playing with all sorts of new things, listening to stories, learning songs, and finding out how to get along with other kids.

As Lanie's dad, I'm excited for her. I look forward to watching her learn and develop. I'm eager for her to make new friends. I want her to continue to develop her own personality. Lanie starting preschool is a little bittersweet, however. Up to this point, Lanie's always been at home; she never went to daycare or anything like that. Now she's off away from home, having all sorts of adventures and making memories without Mom and Dad. I'm happy for her. I want her to grow up. But I am a little sad that I won't get to witness all the fun she's having. She'll just have to fill me in when she gets home.

Grace and peace,

BMH

P.S. Lanie and I found some more ice cream cone sculptures: