The continuing saga begins to reveal.....

Yesterday was a banner day in family history! First, my grandma [Mom's side, who is 96] went searching for family info since she too is excited about my efforts and found,
BELIEVE THIS, a book from her mom, giving family lineage details in over 300 pgs.Now I alredy have almost 8 generations from that line recorded but it will be good to confirm those names and maybe find some others on the McLain side. I do know they go back to Ireland and England; and they are fighters. Relatives on that family branch fought in the Ten Years Indian War, The French-Indian War, The Revolutionary War, and many fought in the Civil War. [This is all on my mothers side]

My father's side was Amish-Mennonite [both grandpa and grandma] and originated with the Anabaptists in Switzerland. They eventually came to settle in France and migrate to the U.S.. Now Amish-Mennonite's are pacifists, and as far as I know [back at the very least, 6 generations] my father is the only member to have served in the Military. Although there are appearing hints that some stray ancient members may have served in French Army under Napoleon, even though the roots are German. Go figure. Anyway back to my story of the AM-MEN being pacifists. They migrated to the United States around the early 1830's and so far NO evidence has appeared that any of them fought in the civil war - they were conscientous objectors. So what is beginning to appear on the horizons is a great story of pro-war verses anti-war forces in my roots .... for someone who can write a good story, I think this might be one. So last night I was vigorously looking for some family history that I knew existed somewhere, even a copy of an original shipping manifest with my ancestors names, and with God's help I'm sure, I happened to think of the good wife and my family Bible ............ and there it was!

More FAmily Genealogy

Yesterday I had a great time in Ohio with Mom and Grandma. Grandma was able to set me straight on a couple family ancestors and told me stories for over an hour about relatives I didn't even know we had. She has even started me on a new line of ancestry; she was really into talking about family history. If anyone has any advice on how I can pursue family history through any kinds of records, I'm open to them.

Who Framed Jesus? - God, maybe!

This past Sunday night, while at a convention, before I went to sleep I decided to watch a little of the Discovery channel program, 'Who Framed Jesus?' Now I will admit I got so frustrated in the 20-30minutes I watched it, that some of my complaints may have been addressed and I didn't know it. All these Ivy League theologians spoke about the possibilities of Judas, and Pilate, Caiaphas, etc. framing Jesus so he was crucified. They were so adamant about their positions I began to wonder if they had really read the gospels. What part about Jesus declaring to Pilate, [Jn.18:11] 'You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above....'did they just not understand? I became so frustrated I found myself yelling at the tv - Jesus didn't need to be framed, it was part of the plan! Then I began to realize it wasn't about who framed Jesus, it was about the fact that Jesus wasn't perceived as divine. Then I began to realize that I was getting all stressed up needlessly, yet I agonize for those who may have watched the program and believed what they were hearing. The bottom line is that Jesus was in total control at every step of the way. Of course to find a scape goat would be helpful, then everyone could point their finger at him and feel free of guilt. Lent is doing a job on me this year.

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Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby

This past Saturday, the Cub Scouts who use our church facilities, invited me to be one of the judges of their pinewood cars. I really enjoyed myself. We had to vote for categories such as: most unusual car, fastest looking car, best block of wood, best use of color, best use of props on car, best driver in the car, best use of imagination and overall best of show. All the cars were set on tracks labeled with their 'pack name.' It was easy to see that the two youngest packs, the tigers and bears, had the youngest boys. Their cars were colored somewhat outside the lines, and not as racy looking; and I was tempted to just chose cars from these two classes because I knew the boys had done most of the work. In the older packs, the wolfes and webelos [for the life of me I don't know what a webelos is, if there is such an animal] you could see the more detailed cars, the smoother edges and better racing designs - the dads were progressing in their racing models, yet the boys get to race them. Before the voting, I talked with a good number of the dads and almost everyone of them admitted to doing more work on the cars than their sons, but most of also said that their sons worked with them, they of course couldn't let their sons run the ban saws, etc.. After speaking with these fathers, my prejudices began to be tempered, and I thought even though I hated to see some of that childhood originality disappear it was replaced with father - son working together, and that's a good thing. I suppose I still tended to vote a little prejudicially, but thank goodness there were two other, more experienced judges, that put me in my place! It was a great experience for me, and they even gave a ribbon and medal for judging.

A Little Chapel on the River - just an opinion

Little Chapel on the River. [A pub, a town and search for what matters most] by Gwendolyn Bounds; N.Y,New York, HarperCollins Publishers, 2005
I'm not sure if its the surreal small town setting or the ordinariness of its characters, but something from the very start of this story reaches out and grabs you. From the beginning the author initiates this tugging. There is something more than small town charm that begins to stake a claim on her soul, and eventually persuades her to purchase a home in their community. As she is drawn into the center of their lives the same mystical force begins to reel us in. I think Wendy [thats the authors name] does this effectively because she challenges us to remember events in our past, that though they are not exactly the same and sometimes not even similar, still echo those times in our life that never lose meaning. However, never once does the author elaborate, hardly even giving us a hint, except perhaps in the short personal notes at the end of every chapter, as to what the link is in her past that causes this story to be so captivating in her life to cause her to write a book about it. Perhaps its a sacred connection as alluded to in the title, 'little chapel,' for rarely do we equate, or link, a bar or pub in the same context as a church. The author doesn't romanticize her story and skip over conflicts, rather she integrates them as not only a part of their story but stresses them a necessary part of all of our lives. There are also those magical moments when a grumpy neighbor is transformed into a dear and helpful mentor and friend; moments when a stranger unknowningly invites a secret from a regular patron to be revealed and offers peace and compassion to the painful disclosure; moments when true friendship chooses to focus on loving caring acts rather than on human faults. Though it is a story about certain lifestyles I don't share, and in most cases ever promote, I did often connect with the illustrations of human character both positive and negative.

I spent this past Monday evening and Tuesday back home visiting my mom. In the wee hours of TuesdayAM I was awakened by the sound of a train going through town. My hometown used to be a major railroad hub for Wabash Railroad between St.Louis and Detroit. We had a roundhouse and usually there were at least a half dozen trains waiting in town; and my mom's dad worked on the trains as a conductor and often took family members for train rides. The sound of trains became so second nature to us that we got to where we didn't even hear them. That morning almost immediately after I heard that train I fell back asleep enriched bause of the memories it brought me, rather than feeling I'd been disturbed. At breakfast I asked my mom if she had heard the train [actually there had been two]and she said, 'no.' I hope that the sound of those train [and train sounds everywhere] never lose their 'magic' in my life, maybe in a way they are my 'chapel on the rails' ... for they take with them a part of my past that I hope never dims. So I feel it safe to suppose that a major reason for my enjoying this story is that I also was drawn into it by a force that has staked a claim on my soul!

Superswarm

Last night [Sunday] while relaxing after a rather full day of worship, I turned to the Discovery Channel and there was a program called 'Superswarms' in progress. It was about anything that swims, flys or runs and lives as a swarm. Some of them are harmful in that they devour crops, and certain ones can cause great pain and even death. Many of them make it exceptionally difficult for predators, and usually its only the dying and diseased that get eaten, and provide a plentiful crop of mates so that the species can survive. The narrator also talked about the 'intelligence' of swarms where the combined wisdom exceeds the sum of the parts, and how simple touch directs individuals directions. So I've made a few elementary inquiries into the subject. I know I'm years behind in this field but it intrigues me, especially what we as a human culture, particularly Christians, can learn from swarm behavior. In my beginning to more deeply learn about swarm theory I came across an article entitled: 'The Weak Can Lead the Strong,' that title grabbed my attention. Another article: 'Swarm Theory/Modern Human Communities and the Power of Influence' was also interesting, and I would like to quote a paragraph from it by Chuck Brymer: 'Make no mistake about it, the rising digital swarm combined with high levels of trust in family and friends is changing the nature of what we as marketers do to build brands and sell products because human swarms, our modern day communities are formed out of common interest and shared demographics, will not be told what to do. They seek out long-term conversations in engaged relationships, and they shrink from anything that smacks of intruSion.' [www.contagiousmagazine.com] In this high tech, information age I love the whole concept of 'building high levels of trust in family and friends.' .......... its about relationships!

Take Me Back to Egypt Moses!

Reuters news has published an article that talks about Russians, largely elderly people who remember WWII. In a recent russian tv poll Stalin was considered the third most important historical figure in Russian history .. he certainly is one of its most controversial. There are those who see him as the great liberator, who kept Hitler from conquering Russia, and putting the first spacecraft in space and keeping the peace; however on the other side are those who suffered greatly from his iron-fisted rule and those who remember 27million Soviet citizens died because of him. Let me say that this article reminded me of Exodus 16:3 'The Israelites said to them, 'If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.' It is sometimes easier to remember the 'good old days,' [for we are prone to romanticize them and forget the struggles] than it is to have faith in the future. Perhaps those who remember Stalin as a hero never suffered because of him or his policies? Make me wonder what I've romanticized about the past that also bit me, and I'm comparing my present circumstances by the past rather than faith in what the future holds? Our presence economical, social and religious climate certainly point me more towards the past than the future.