SuperDawg and Rob Bell?

What do Superdawg and Rob Bell have to do with each other? Better yet, who/what are they? First, let me tell you; my trips to Chicago and Michigan were so short I decided to post them together.These trips combined happened within 48 hours. As I mentioned earlier, I decided to take a quick trip through some of these central states. I had specific things I wanted to do in each. I left Wisconsin and took the the 90 minute (which was refreshing) drive to Chicago. I have a client there who I really like and wanted to meet. I checked into my hotel, had lunch and off I went to meet him. We had a lovely afternoon together and I enjoyed touring his library, meeting the staff and making that connection. He is a great guy.
I had been to Chicago so didn't feel the need to tour the city. I have to admit I'm much more at peace in open spaces, quiet spaces. So many people I've met on the trip feel the opposite. They get their peace and their energy from the city. I love how different we all are.
There was one thing I wanted to do in Chicago, though. I learned that as far as food goes, Chicago is not only known for Deep Dish Pizza and fabulous steak (which I had last time I was here) but also for their delicious Hot Dogs. Well, I love Hot dogs! The place that was famous for the best place to get one is called:"Superdawg". Arguably the best and the most fun! I had to go! After my client visit I pulled out my trusty AMOS and off I went. When I got there I discovered it was the old style restaurant where you park at a speaker, order your food and the waitress brings it to your car.LOVED THAT! I ordered my plain "dawg" with all the stuff on the side (onions,pickles,mustard)and decided to take a picture of these famous "dawgs" while I waited. YUMMMY! OH MY GOSH. It was delicious and no fillers!

The next day, I had another appointment in Chicago which was right across the street from Wrigley field. My appointment was at 12:30 and there was a 12:05 Cubs game. Can you say, traffic? It was a miracle that I got parking. People were everywhere! I was excited to see that this area of town looks exactly like a busy day at Fenway. With my Massachusetts plates I was just glad we weren't playing!

________Grandville, Michigan___________
From there, I took the drive to Grand Rapids Michigan. Now, who is Rob Bell you ask? Well, a couple of you know. He is a minister that my friends Sue and Ray told me about. They mentioned that he has a church called Mars Hill in Grandville, Michigan (right outside Grand Rapids). They said he was powerful and worth the visit. Just on a lark, since I had no other real reason to be in Michigan, I decided to check out the church's website. Rob Bell travels all over the country/world but as luck would have it, was preaching at his own church on this particular weekend, September 13. I couldn't believe my good fortune! So, I took the trip to Michigan which was about 4 and a 1/2 hours from Chicago. I got there around 9pm on Saturday night. I barely unpacked, went to bed and got up the next morning, checked out and went to church.WOW, WAS IT WORTH IT! This church was huge. There were hundreds, possibly thousands there. They had great music the first 25 minutes then Rob. I didn't know what I was going to see.
He was young,wore, simply, jeans and a white shirt and opened with a video of his 13 year old son learning to play the trombone; he was keeled over with laughter talking about the journey of having a son starting middle school! It was a great start to an energetic, funny and profound sermon.
"Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". He went on to talk about how counter-intuitive that biblical passage is and how we look for a way to make sense out of it or to earn it or get it. Why do they get to the kingdom of heaven? how do I get in God's favor? He talked about it being an announcement by Jesus, that there is no list of criteria involved on how to earn it. There is no one who gets it over another, it just is. It doesn't matter if you are a criminal, had an affair, had an abortion (all of which he went running from section to section jumping on chairs, yelling:"if anyone over here is an adulterer; You are blessed!",etc.) We want to know why. We want it to make sense in our limited minds. He gave the example, by showing a movie clip, of the man from France who walked between the twin towers on a tight rope. The man, when interviewed in America kept being asked the question, "Why", "Why did you do it?" and he said "Only Americans would ask that". Does there need to be a list of reasons so we can feel better about it or make sense out of it. Why do we need that? Can't it just be the awesomeness of the act? And same with Jesus, wasn't/isn't he just that awesome, that filled with love and acceptance? Isn't His love of all, no matter what, a reminder that there isn't anything that we can do that keeps us from God loving us? What a concept? It's hard to trust that there isn't anything to "Do" to have God love us, He just does.... WOW! Just reminds me of the phrase we are human beings, not human doings. Not only is there nothing to do, even if we do something "bad" the love and acceptance is still there. That doesn't mean we're not responsible for our actions;or accountable, it means we are loved no matter what.He ended with a clip from the last scene of "The History of Violence". If you've seen the movie, it was a perfect ending. The guy who killed all the people walks into the the kitchen where his family was eating dinner and his wife, who now knew he had this violent history, couldn't look at him. It was silent. He stood at the doorway and his little 5 year old daughter got up and got a plate and fork and set it at the table. Then his son dished up food for him.Still silent. Take in the acceptance. It just is. Pretty powerful? yes? These are just some of my thoughts about his sermon and there are more points to ponder along the way. All I can say is Thank you, Sue and Ray!!!


I am so glad I took this whirlwind tour!!! I am off to Akron, Ohio,now.