We were absolutely floored by the millions of you that watched us make silly water sillouettes on our driveway last summer. We are starting out the summer the only way we know how, and this time it’s all about movies! What else do you want to see? We have a whole summer ahead, a driveway and a hose. The possibilities are endless!!!
The Glenwood Community School District is excited to offer FREE lunch and grab-and-go breakfast for all children and teens 18 years and younger this summer!
No registration required — just stop by, enjoy a healthy meal, and recharge for summer fun! 🌞⚡
At the bottom of your local river, mostly out of sight, sits one of the best water filters in the natural world. It's also one of the most endangered animals on the continent.
Freshwater mussels are certainly not glamorous. They look like rocks, they barely move, and they spend their long lives, often decades, buried in the streambed doing one thing: filtering water.
A single mussel pulls 8-10 gallons through its body a day, stripping out algae, sediment, bacteria, even heavy metals and traces of pharmaceuticals. A healthy bed does it at a scale that's hard to believe.
Along one stretch of the Upper Mississippi, the mussels filter more than 14 billion gallons a day, dozens of times what the nearby sewage plant handles.
And North America is the mussel world capital. Nearly 300 species live here, close to a third of every freshwater mussel species on Earth, more than any other continent.
Here's the part that should be a bigger headline: around 70 percent of those species are imperiled: already extinct, endangered, threatened, or heading that way, hit by dams and pollution harder than almost any other group of animals we have.
The hopeful part is that they respond to our conservation efforts. Biologists are breeding mussels and restocking rivers by the tens of thousands, and the water clears behind them.
10 things Gen X thought were for rich people…
1. A phone in bedroom
2. Cable w/HBO/Cinemax
3. Call waiting/Caller ID
4. A finished basement
5. Fridge with ice maker
6. Vacations that involved flying
7. A home computer
8. Going out to eat at a sit down restaurant
9. Name brand cereal
10. A Nintendo
Add to list 🤣
Here’s a simple way to get unstuck when you’re worried, overwhelmed, or overthinking a decision.
Ask yourself one question:
What kind of thing am I dealing with?
Most issues fall into one of three categories.
1. Settled Things
These are things that have already been decided.
Your birth family.
Your nation of origin.
Your height.
Your past decisions.
Your upbringing.
Things you did.
Things done to you.
Some of these things were decided by your own past actions. Others were decided by God’s providence. As Paul says in Acts 17:26, God determined our appointed times and the boundaries of our dwelling place.
You can’t go back and change these things.
So the question is not, “How do I undo this?”
The question is, “Does this have any bearing on what I should do now?”
If not, leave it alone. Don’t spend your life fighting settled things.
2. Action Things
These are things you have some real control over.
Your diet.
Your exercise.
Your spending.
Your work ethic.
Your attitude.
Your friendships.
Your theological knowledge.
Your presentability.
Your habits.
Your skills.
These are your controllables.
You may not control everything about your health, finances, relationships, or future. But you usually control more than you think.
So if the issue falls here, don’t overthink it.
Take direct action.
Start small if you have to. Make the call. Go on the walk. Open the Bible. Apologize. Apply for the job. Pay the bill. Clean the room. Do the next faithful thing.
3. Prayer Things
These are things outside your direct control, but not outside God’s control.
The economy.
The weather.
The housing market.
The availability of a suitable spouse.
Other people’s choices.
Timing.
Open doors.
Closed doors.
You can’t force these things. You can’t grab the steering wheel of providence.
But God can act.
So you take indirect action through prayer. You ask. You wait. You prepare. You remain faithful. You do what you can do and trust God with what only He can do.
So ask yourself:
Is this settled?
Then accept it and learn from it.
Is this actionable?
Then do something.
Is this outside my control?
Then pray and trust God.
This is a simple framework, and yes, it’s a little reductionistic. But that’s the point. The goal is not to explain every complexity of life. The goal is to get you unstuck.
Most people waste too much energy trying to change the past, control what belongs to God, or pray about things they simply need to obey.
So categorize the issue.
Then act accordingly.
Accept what is settled.
Act on what is yours.
Pray over what belongs to God.
Attitude is a choice.
Gratitude is a discipline.
Bitterness is expensive.
Nobody accidentally has a great attitude.
Nobody stumbles into gratitude.
And nobody means to end up bitter, it just quietly moves in when you stop choosing something better.
Guard your peace like it cost you something.
Because it did.
In the Midwest we get a total of 10 days a year where it’s not too hot, not too cold, not too windy, not too humid and not too many bugs. Today is one of those days. If you see a Midwesterner walking around enjoying themselves. Give them a half smile and a nod. We made it. ☀️
The first face the Artemis II crew will see upon their return to Earth will be the face of a U.S. Navy Sailor.
Meet the Dive Medical Recovery Team of Artemis II: https://t.co/bB8leMmgFw
Take it from me, a recent empty nester:
The Good Old Days don’t feel like it at the time.
It feels more like hard work and struggle. The days are long but the years fly by.
Then, one day you wake up and the house is quiet.
One of my most cherished memories is coming home from work each day and opening the creaky back door to our 1947 craftsman home.
My 3-year-old daughter (now 21) would drop her toys and run down the hall—her footsteps booming on the old wood floor—to greet me.
I love my life and don’t want to go back, but I do wish I could pass one message across time to 35-year-old me:
You’re living the Good Old Days right now. Savor every moment.
Today’s Boys Ram Relays for tonight have been cancelled. Boy’s soccer will now play their varsity only game at 5:30 on the turf. The concession stand will not be open.