Author Archives: Chuck Spindler

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About Chuck Spindler

I am a retired pastor after serving in the same church for 30 years in Creston, Iowa. Adjusting to widowhood and retirement in the same year has been rough, but I'm traveling more, visiting my kids and grandchildren, and enjoying my photography hobby (www.cspindlerphoto.com).

Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon

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As one of my daughters said, “We live from October to October.” This month is when our family meets in Florida for our annual vacation. Since most of our activities are centered around the beach, the horizon is sort of constant companion. Whether scanning for passing dolphins and taking in the last rays of the day, the line between sea and sky is always there.

October Sunrise from the condo balcony
Corn Hole at Sunset
Grandmother and granddaughter beach combing
Sunset Rainbow
Passing Dolphin

The “genesis” of our horizons:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. (Genesis 1:1-5 NASB)

To find out about this week’s challenge and link to more entries, click HERE

Weekly Photo Challenge: Good Morning!

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My wife and I have a regular morning practice of rising early to have a spiritual devotional time together. The tools we use are the Bible, a devotional guide or book (my favorite is Daily with the King – W. Glyn Evans) and a cup of coffee. After reading, we spend some time in prayer for our church, family and ourselves. Because we believe Christianity is relational, this is always a special time with the Lord, Jesus Christ and each other as we seek to hear from God and spend time talking to Him through prayer. It is our way of having a “Good Morning!”

Good morning, Son!

Good morning, Son!

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.                                Mark 1:35 (NIV)

Just for fun, here is another “Good Morning” picture to amend a comment I made about Vladimir Brezina’s post Travel Theme: Relaxing. His first photo showed Johna having a cup of coffee on a sandbar. Occasionally, a few brave souls join us for sunrise on the beach during our vacation time. Since the end of October is a little chilly even on the Gulf Coast, daughter #2 has her feet raised off the cold sand. Daughter #1, holding sleeping baby, gives me the “don’t you dare take this picture” glare! Oh, well…there it is.

Good morning, Sun!

For more examples of “Good Morning!”, go to WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Saturated

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Michelle W. challenged contributors to show something saturated:

This week, show us a photo of whatever you’d like, but make sure it’s saturated. It can be black and white, a single color, a few hues, or a complete rainbow riot; just make sure it’s rich and powerful.

I chose to use a few pictures that were taken shortly after my purchase of a Pentax K-x at our favorite Florida beach spot. Experimenting with the high-contrast on filter, here are a few examples of saturated hues:

Old Man
San Destin in the West
Panama City Beach – Sunrise
Late morning sun

Foot in WaterDuring the same trip, I took a picture of my foot in the water… truly saturated! Looking forward to getting my feet in that water real soon.

A team from our church recently returned after a week of extending love and care in Guatemala City ghettos and orphanages. On their first Sunday back in church after the trip, one of the young adults asked if they could sing “How He Loves Us,” a song that became their theme for the week. Written by John Mark McMillan and perhaps better known by the David Crowder Band recording, it has long been one of my favorites. The line that captures my heart says, “If His grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.” I am grateful for the all-surpassing, all-saturating, thoroughly cleansing grace of God. 

For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift.   Ephesians 2:8 (HCSB)

For more interpretations of saturated, click HERE

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns (Take 2)

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The 36th Annual Southwest Iowa Hot Air Balloon Race, our community’s most popular event, occurred last weekend. While we had clear weather, wind conditions only permitted two of the four scheduled flights, three of which are competitive. Both of those flights were characterized by almost no wind, almost cancelling the second flight. Because a church member was sponsoring a balloon, I was able to get up close for some pictures on Saturday morning and then have my first ride on Saturday evening. It was a blast! Here are some of the weekend’s pictures that I think meet this week’s challenge – from the lines (cables connecting the baskets to the envelopes) to the geometric patterns of the envelopes.

Two High
Pink Panther Balloon. Flame burst
Three Vertical
Coming in for a target -Mike Reinert, pilot
Pink Panther Reflection
Sailing by the Moon – Darcy Hoch, pilot
(l-r) Pilots Hadley and Reick approaching target
Pink Panther – Lines to Pattern
Night Glow
Night Glow

As I mentioned I had my first flight in a balloon! While only about a mile in distance to the target, the winds were minimal, making it about a twenty-minute flight. It was an invigorating experience and a blessing from God. Here are few more photos I took from that afternoon ride.

Up, up and away
Other balloon launching
Fellow traveler
Deflation port
Approaching the target
Feet on the ground again.
Creston from the air

While all three of my daughters have previously flown, my wife has been apprehensive about me flying because of a deadly hot air balloon accident she saw portrayed in a movie. Additionally, you might have noticed that the balloon sponsor was a funeral home – “that could be like a direct ride to the Pearly Gates.”(ba-dum tshh). However, I went with her blessing. When suggested by one of my daughters that “we need to get Mom up, now,” she responded, “When God gives me wings.”

Yet those who wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Isaiah 40:31 (NASB)

See more examples of this week’s challenge HERE

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Lines to Patterns

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This week’s challenge submission comes from a recent bike ride on the High Trestle Trail between Madrid and Woodward, Iowa, USA. The paved trail was built on a former Union Pacific railroad bed. We planned two short, 2.5 mile rides from Woodward – late afternoon and dusk – to see the highlight of the trail, the 1/2-mile, 13-story high bridge across the Des Moines River valley, making it one of the largest trail bridges in the world. Forty-one steel cribbings, representing the coal mining industry for which the region was once known, encompass the bridge’s path.

After the daytime observation, we made our way back to Woodward for a wonderful dinner at the Whistlin’ Donkey Sports Bar and Grill. Then, we repeated our trip at dusk for a special treat. Twenty-three of the 41 cribbings are illuminated with blue lights, marking the riverbed below. Because each cribbing is angled differently, the lights give the impression that you are moving through a time warp and the illusion that the cribbings are curved. The following video of the entire half-mile crossing shows this effect. Hope you enjoy the ride!

Here are more entries to this week’s photo challenge.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Inside: My entry is inside a simple truss bridge that I came across this summer in my rural Iowa wanderings. A gravel road leads up to this wood-decked bridge, and the reflected sun on the trusses drew me off the highway. I liked the contrasts of silver/primer paint and rust inside the bridge against the green fields and cloud-filled blue sky outside.

Bridge

Truss bridges have always fascinated me. From my childhood, I recall that bridges with a truss design gave me a sense of security. Perhaps it was because the surrounding structure, giving the sense that you were “inside” the bridge, made the journey across whatever abyss my parents were taking me seem a little safer. I remember crossing the Mississippi River by train and being somewhat terrified to see that the bridge had no surrounding truss to keep the train from toppling over into the waters below. This led to several minutes of agonizing fear despite the reassurances of my mother.

Additionally, any trip across the Memphis-Arkansas Bridge, a cantilevered through truss bridge over the Mississippi River, signaled the beginning of a family adventure, usually a trip to visit family in Missouri and Iowa. With my other four siblings in the car, the first bit of fun we had was to see who could hold their breath over the almost one mile span.

So, this entry brings with it some deep emotions tied to childhood memories that make being inside a truss bridge a “happy place.”

WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: An Unusual POV

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Challenge: Go out and take photos and share a shot that reveals a new and different POV.

I have made mention of our family’s afternoon gatherings for sunsets when we are at the beach. However, sunrises are a different story! My wife loves being the first one out to see the sunrise and find shells that might have washed up overnight, but she is often solitary in that venture. Occasionally, I tag along with camera. On one such morning, I found this coconut that had washed up…not a normal sight on the section of beach we frequent.

IMG_0054As I lay on the ground, an early morning jogger came by, took a quick glance, and continued on his way. While not necessarily trying to capture his passing, these three photos in the slide show do:

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As this jogger ran by what I thought was an unusual, “stop and smell the roses” moment, it reminded be that our personal POV drives us: mine – wanting to find something that was photo worthy; his – staying in shape. Our “point of view” means everything to us and often directs the focus of our day. For example, if our point of view is that we must be physically fit, it will motivate us to get up early and pound the pavement (or beach) and watch what we eat. If we have a passion for a political ideology, we will immerse ourselves in the latest news, attend Town Hall meetings and voice our opinions on everything political. Unfortunately, our POV often causes us to give passing glances at the really important things of life.

However, God calls us to have a balanced and overarching spiritual perspective on life, seeing it through a “God lens.” This POV is often seen as “unusual” in our day and time, just as it was in Jesus’ day. In fact, when asked why he spoke in parables (spiritual truths wrapped in everyday life stories), Jesus said it was to help his listeners to have a perspectives that were unique in comparison to the ones taught by their religious leaders. However, even their lack of spiritual insight into his parables was foretold in Old Testament prophecy:

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ [Isaiah 6:9-10]

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. (Matthew 13:14-16, NIV)

The disciples’ eyes and ears, however, were blessed as they began to perceive the message of Christ. Because they were “all in” with Jesus, having made the decision to follow him, they began to see the world through the “God lens.” As a result their POV shifted from selfish to selfless, from temporal to eternal, from religion to relationship. Having this new, and unusual (to the world) POV, transforms everything we see!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sea

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This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge is Sea

For more than 25 years, our family has made an almost annual pilgrimage to the Florida Emerald Coast with its wonderful white beaches and emerald-green waters. It is a time of reuniting with family members from all over the country and a chance to welcome those who have joined the family, either by birth or marriage.

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Santa Rosa Beach with Panama City Beach in the distance.

The walks on the beach, kayaking among the dolphins, cornhole competitions, and  family gatherings each evening for the sunset, give a much-needed break from the routines of life. In the background of all of these activities, the constant, rhythmic pounding of the sea’s waves on the beach supplies the soothing sounds that bring additional refreshment.

Gulls and Sanderlings Sun in the Surf

2 Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
3 The seas have lifted up, Lord,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4 Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is mighty – Psalm 93:2-4 (NIV)

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus (Take 2)

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In September, our community hosts the annual Southwest Iowa Professional Hot Air Balloon Festival. Weather conditions permitting, balloonists launch at least four times to test their piloting skills. A parade, flea market, YMCA 5K Balloon Chase, night glow and other fun activities surround the event.

Last year, I heard the nearby “whoosh” of the burners filling a balloon envelope with hot air. To my surprise, the competition target to which pilots toss weighted bags from their baskets was placed just a few blocks from my home. That meant that all 50-plus balloons would be close and low! I hurried to find my post and reveled in the multi-colored, sky parade floating effortlessly through my neighborhood.

I took this series of shots of one balloonist’s pass of the target, intentionally getting some shallow and greater depth of field focus shots (the first is my favorite). Here are the results:

Out of focus balloon

Balloon is piloted just above tree level as it approaches target to drop weighted marker.

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Balloon ascends from the target.

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Street signs are of no value to balloonists.

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“Up, up and away in my beautiful balloon”

Thanks to Southern Sea Muse’s Photo Challenge post that jogged my memory of these pictures! Here are a few more close and overhead shots:

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Hot Air Balloon Days is September 20 – 22, 2013, Creston, Iowa, USA.

When in Doubt, Don’t!

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We’ve all done it…the sniff test. Whether it’s the jug of milk a day or two beyond expiration date or that previously worn shirt, a quick sniff tells us if were “good to go” or should make another plan. However, sometimes we’re just not sure.

H.A. Ironside told the following story:

Sandy was a thrifty Scot who objected to needless laundry expense, so when he wore a dress shirt to a banquet, he put it away carefully for future use. On one occasion when dressing for such an event, he took a used shirt out of the drawer and examined it with care, hoping to be able to wear it that evening. Not being quite sure of its strict cleanliness, he took it to a window, where he was looking it over under a better light than the room afforded.

His wife, Jean, noticed him shaking his head as though fearful that it would not pass careful scrutiny. “Remember, Sandy,” she called to him, “if it’s doubtful, it’s dirty.”

That settled it. The shirt went into the discard and another – a fresh one – took its place. Jean’s words may well speak to every believer concerning things about which conscience raises any question whatsoever. – Illustrations of Bible Truth

In Romans 14, Paul is advising the church on how to relate to one another in areas in which the Bible give no clear instruction. In those areas we are to exercise freedom, but not judge others who don’t share our convictions. Paul says:

20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. 21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles. 22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves. 23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.                                              (Romans 14:20-23 NASB)

Paul affirms that the Christian life is not as burdensome as some legalistic followers were making it in his day. However, one’s freedom is sometimes set aside for the benefit of a weaker brother, whose differing conviction in a debatable area is such that your freedom may sidetrack them.

IMGP6293In the end, however, it is important to have our “own conviction before God.” If we are doubtful about a matter and we do it, then that doubt turns into guilt (the conscience condemning our action). So, when in doubt, don’t. In other words, if you don’t have a firm conviction, avoid the activity until you get some conviction on the matter. Then, stick with that conviction.

So, here is a sniff test to apply to those debatable areas of the Christian life. When something comes up that is not clearly spoken of in Scripture, put it to the test:

  1. THE WORLD TEST. Is it worldly? Will it make me worldly to do it (John 15:19; 1 John 2:15-17)
  2. THE QUALITY TEST. Is it good for me physically, emotionally, and spiritually (Romans 12:9)
  3. THE TEMPLE TEST. Can I do it when I remember my body is God’s temple and must not be marred or misused (1 Corinthians 6:19)
  4. THE GLORY TEST. Will it glorify my Lord, or will it on the other hand possibly bring shame to His name (1 Corinthians 6:20, 10:32)
  5. THE BLESSING TEST. Can I honestly ask God’s blessing on it and be sure I’ll not regret doing it (Proverbs 10:22, Romans 15:29)
  6. THE REPUTATION TEST. Is it apt to damage my testimony for the Lord (Philippians 2:15)
  7. THE CONSIDERATION TEST. Am I being considerate of others and the effect this might have on them (Romans 14:7, 21)
  8. THE APPEARANCE TEST. Will it look bad? Does it have the appearance of what is wrong or suspicious (1 Thessalonians 5:22)
  9. THE WEIGHT TEST. Could this slacken or sidetrack me in running the Christian race (Hebrews 12:1, 1 Corinthians 9:24)
  10. THE COMING OF CHRIST TEST. Would I be ashamed to be found doing this when He comes again (1 John 2:28)
  11. THE COMPANION TEST. Can I invite Christ to go with me and participate with me in this (Matthew 28:20b, Colossians 3:17)
  12. THE PEACE TEST. After having prayed about it, do I have perfect peace about doing it (Colossians 3:15a, Philippians 4:6-7)*

*Taken from Basic Bible Beliefs, Bible Baptist Church, Auburn, WA, 1975, unpublished. From Training Manual for Local Church Visitation, Eugene A. Wood, DTS, ThM Thesis, 1980.