Category: Personal Posts

Blog posts by Peter DeHaan, many of which are in his book Woodpecker Wars.

Do You Have Power?

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 25, 2010

Last weekend we decided to watch a DVD. The only problem was that we were in the middle of a power outage. Undaunted, we gathered around a laptop and popped in the DVD. It would not play; something about a missing plug-in.

Although frustrating, we moved to a second laptop. The DVD played fine — until the battery died with only a couple of scenes remaining.

I pulled a third laptop out of the closet, but the battery was dead.

Fortunately, the battery from the first laptop was interchangeable. Unfortunately, that computer had issues as well: one program had an audio problem and the other one, video.

However, a small UPS in my office still had some life left in it, so we migrated there with laptop #2 — and watched another 30 seconds before the UPS ran out of juice.

The movie would need to wait for tomorrow.

As I lay in bed, wondering how it ended, I recalled the power inverter in my car. We could have retreated there to power the laptop and conclude the movie.

While I considered the merits of sitting in a car that was parked in a garage to watch a movie on a laptop, I drifted off to sleep — and to the sound of my neighbor’s generator.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Sacred-Secular Divide, work

Personal Posts

Credit Cards Supplant Cash

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date June 16, 2010

There was a time when I traveled quite a bit. Nowadays, it is infrequent. As such when I do travel, I am always treated to something new, to a different way of doing things.

On my last flight, instead of the usual admonition of providing correct change for our various in-flight purchases, the new rule was no cash—credit cards only.

The flight attendants were equipped with some nifty hand-held credit card terminals, complete with a self-contained mini printer.

While this didn’t seem to quicken the speed of the transaction (if anything, it slowed it down), there are several benefits to a cashless process.

Most importantly, it is more sanitary. No longer must the flight attendants alternate between touching germ-laden cash and preparing our food.

Next, it is more convenient for passengers. I suspect that nary a passenger would be flying sans credit card, whereas some might be cash strapped. (I’ve been there a time or two).

Having the correct amount is no longer an issue, plus for those on an expense account, a credit card makes it easier to track purchases.

It is also more convenient for flight attendants. They no longer need to handle money and are no longer challenged in finding change for those who only have larger bills (I’ve been there as well).

Lastly, I suspect that people spend more when they use plastic.

A case in point was my seatmate, who flashed her card four times during our three-hour flight: twice for adult beverages, once for earphones, and a final time to eat (she actually bought two meals.)

Traveling still isn’t fun, but at least it’s interesting.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags money, Sacred-Secular Divide, travel

Personal Posts

The Third Time Is the Charm

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 5, 2010

Yesterday we had local school elections. There were three people running for school board and a millage renewal. It was about as simple as a ballot could be.

I did my homework and was ready to vote. At the polling precinct, I filled out the paperwork, showed my ID, and was handled the paper ballot.

In a hurry, I did not look at the names, but rather their position on the ballot. I intended to vote for the first and third candidates. At least they were the first and third alphabetically. Alas, the ballot was not in alphabetical order.

I marked the first name on the ballot only to discover that was not one of my candidates.

I told the election official that I had made a mistake. Could I have a new ballot? He was most accommodating, but doing so took longer than the original process of getting my ballot.

My soiled ballot needed to be saved in a special folder. To my embarrassment, after 11 1/2 hours of polling, the folder was empty. Apparently, I was the first voting-challenged person of the day.

I cast my votes on the new ballot and went to turn it, only to be told that there was one open seat, not two. I had spoiled my second ballot.

The process of getting a replacement ballot was repeated. I voted the third time, this time correctly.

My bride completed her voting and picked up an “I voted” sticker. She offered one to me. I declined, at which point the election official quipped, “He can have three!”

I’m glad she was amused; I just wanted to leave—as quickly as I could.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Sacred-Secular Divide

Personal Posts

The Petals Have Fallen

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date May 1, 2010

Two years ago, I posted some photos of the spring colors in my yard. The first photo in that batch was my flowering crab apple tree. It is now a bit larger than a couple of years ago, meaning it has more blossoms.

This year I was able to enjoy its color for a couple of weeks. (Technically, white is an absence of color, but it seems wrong to say I enjoyed its absence of color).

Alas, that time is now past and the petals have dropped off. At a quick glance, it looks like a bit of snow has fallen!

Below is a close-up of the driveway and lawn. (There are even more petals in the lawn, but they are harder to see, as they have fallen into the lawn and are obscured bu the grass.)

When the flowers were at their peak, there were hundreds, if not thousands, of honey bees milling about it’s countless blossoms. I don’t know where their hive is, but I think that they owe me some honey!

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags nature, Sacred-Secular Divide

Personal Posts

Humidity Be Gone

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date April 10, 2010

During the warmer part of the year, I run a dehumidifier in my basement to remove dampness and maintain it as a comfortable environment.

Being that it is now that time of the year, I went to turn it on last week—and couldn’t find it!

After scouring all the possible storage areas and double-checking that it wasn’t sitting in plain sight—twice—I remembered that I disposed of it last fall as it ceased to properly dehumidify.

The plan was that I would have all winter to secure a replacement. That was a good plan, but alas it had been forgotten.

The replacement unit was on sale for 170 dollars and is now happily purring away as it dutifully lowers the humidity in my subterranean level.

I hope this one lasts a while. The prior unit cost 150 dollars and lasted a mere two seasons, for an effective pro-rated annual cost of 75 dollars. It was noisy, too, sounding like a jet engine taking off—well almost that loud.

Ironically, that unit was bought to replace an aging workhorse that despite dehumidifying well, had a squealing motor bearing of which I had been unsuccessful in quieting—despite repeated attempts.

That unit cost 89 dollars and lasted 18 years, before its well-deserved retirement, for an effective annual prorated cost of fewer than 5 dollars.

Although I don’t expect to achieve that degree of longevity with my new unit, I certainly hope it makes it for more than two years.

It seems that nothing lasts like it used to.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Sacred-Secular Divide, weather

Personal Posts

Happy Easter

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date April 3, 2010

We’ve had a beautiful week here in southwest Michigan, with record highs in the low 80s for the past two days. As a consequence, I’ve been hit hard with a case of spring fever.

The last remaining pile of snow has melted—it was a huge pile, which only succumbed a couple of days ago—and spring flowers are displaying their colors. The grass is greening up and soon it will be time to mow lawn.

The high temps, however, will wane a bit today, as a cool front is arriving. That should drive the temperatures down about 20 degrees to where they should be for this time of year.

Although it would be great to enjoy 80-degree sunshine tomorrow on Easter, I can accept the prediction of partly cloudy and 60. At least there won’t be any snow, which does happen for some Easters in our clime.

Where ever you may be, and whatever weather might be sent your way, have a Happy Easter!

Discover more about celebrating Jesus and his passion to save us in Peter’s new book, The Passion of Jesus. It is part of the Holiday Celebration Bible Study Series.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Easter, holiday, Sacred-Secular Divide

Personal Posts

April Fool’s Day

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date April 2, 2010

I Wasn’t Fooled

Yesterday was April Fool’s Day, and I was subjected to nary a foolish prank. I think that might be a first.

When I worked in an office environment—the kind with other people around—someone would always try to prank me, providing a momentary pause, before reality and common sense resumed control.

When I retreated to the confines of a solo office, the pranks would arrive via email in the form of a clever, too-good-to-be-true press release.

They would often have a humorous aspect to them as well, giving me reason to chuckle or smile—or sometimes groan.

I was not so fortunate this year. What press releases I did receive on day one of April were of the serious and on-the-level variety.

One year, someone kept sending me emails, building up the anticipation for a big announcement on April first. I assumed it was merely a well-planned joke that would be sprung on April Fool’s Day.

Alas, it was not. It was a real announcement.

Hence the first rule of press releases—never time one to occur on April Fool’s Day. You don’t want your carefully edited news item to be summarily discarded into the recycle bin of Tom Foolery.

The meanest April Fool’s joke I ever witnessed was a co-worker calling his mother, informing her that he and his wife were expecting; it would be the first grandchild.

Her initial excitement was dashed, however, when her son exclaimed, “April Fool’s.”

I’m sure he won’t try that one again—or will he?

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags holiday, marketing, Sacred-Secular Divide

Personal Posts

Spring is in the Air

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date March 8, 2010

…Sort Of

Most of the people that I talk to here in SW Michigan are anxious for winter to be over and for spring to arrive.

While there is still snow on the ground, it is mostly relegated to shaded areas and snow banks, courtesy of the snowplows.

Yesterday, with the temperature topping out at an unseasonably warm 59 degrees F and sixth straight day of sunshine, some eager beavers apparently decided to rush things and were spotted wearing shorts.

Even though I, too, am anxious to put winter behind me and march into spring, wearing shorts when it is 59 degrees seems a bit optimistic.

Personally, I’d wait until it is at least 70.

Does that mean that I’d be rushing things as well?

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags Sacred-Secular Divide, weather

Personal Posts

The Effects of the Flu

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 25, 2010

I mentioned that I had the flu a couple of weeks ago. Be assured that I will spare you the gory details, but I do want to share what I learned (or was reminded of) as a result:

I tend to take my health for granted—until I don’t have it.
Having the flu is a tough way to lose weight (but I do know that I could never be bulimic—I don’t have the stomach for it!)
Half of my flu generated weight-loss has been regained (which is to be expected), but I won’t be disappointed if the rest of those pounds never return.
When I am sick I desire to be taken care of; my bride desires to keep her distance. She claims I am a big baby.

Aside from dealing with my illness and sleeping, the only other thing I could do was watch TV. Even though I have 200 channels to consider, there are even fewer worthy viewing options during the day then at night.

Here are the “highlights” of my foray into daytime television:

Drew Carey now hosts The Price is Right—which is just wrong.
Wayne Brady hosts Let’s Make a Deal, which is a huge waste of his talent—but they both do have steady paying gigs, so I guess that’s the price of job security.
I watched the movie Spy Kids yet again—and continue to enjoy it.
I watched the movie Shark Boy and Lava Girl a second time and liked it even less than the first time.
I watched a rerun of Friends, which seems to be everywhere throughout the day.
I also watched Seinfeld (the one with the scenes aired in reverse chronological order), Everybody Loves Raymond, and Malcolm in the Middle. I don’t think I ever watched a full episode of any of them—just bits and pieces while channel surfing. I don’t think I missed much—or perhaps my judgment was clouded due to fever.
I also realized that I could easily become a Discovery Channel junkie. If in the future, I am ever reduced to watching TV all day, I will just switch to the Discovery Channel and stay there all day. But hopefully, I’ll never have to!

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags health, Sacred-Secular Divide

Personal Posts

Crazy Rabbits

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date January 21, 2010

Last fall, I posted a picture of the burning bush in my yard. Of course, it looks different now; the leaves have all fallen off and bare twigs are exposed to the elements—and to the rabbits.

It seems that my burning bush has become a favorite hangout for the rabbits in my neighborhood. It’s not that I’ve ever seen them there, but I have seen where they bed down for the night.

I’ve also see where they have nibbled on the bush—and I see their droppings that result as they digest their nibbles. They have left piles of evidence.

Although a bit unsightly, it should provide a nice supply of natural fertilizer for the bush come this spring.

It doesn’t surprise me that the bunnies are eating the bush. This has been a common sight over the years. In a harsh winter, I’ve even seen them eat an entire burning bush, albeit a small one.

It would seem that they consider the tender twigs as a preferred delicacy.

Fortunately, the larger more aged branches are either too big or not palatable, so my bush is not in danger of being completely devoured and the lower branched that have been eaten will not cause a problem.

Even so, it is the top of the bush that is need of a trim. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to have the rabbits eat the top and not the bottom. That would save me some extra work in the spring.

But lacking four feet of snow—to cover all but its upper reaches—it looks like I’ll be the one doing the trimming.

Those cwazy wabbits.

Do you like this post? Want to read more? Check out Peter’s book, Bridging the Sacred-Secular Divide: Discovering the Spirituality of Every Day Life, available wherever books are sold.

Read more in his books, blog, and weekly email updates.

Tags animals, Sacred-Secular Divide