Buckle up!  I headed back to Kentucky to present methods of teaching about the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere. This was a workshop aimed at K-8 teachers from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.  Flights from Joplin were twice the normal rate, so early in the morning, I drove 75 miles to Springfield.  I had time to consume an airport quiche before boarding my first flight.  The pilot aimed the flying metal tube, as usual, to Chicago, and after catching a connecting flight, I ended up at the Blue Grass National Airport in Lexington, Kentucky.

This time, my hotel was in nearby Frankfort, the capitol of the state.  I picked up my rental car and drove, stopping along the way for a meal at the king of burgers.

When I attended Polishing the Pulpit, last summer, in Branson, I heard a fantastic lesson spoken by Odie Duncan, entitled "The Mountain of Transfiguration:  Where the Transformation of Jesus' Appearance and the Transformation of Human Souls Meet" (Tell me that's not an unwieldy title!).  The transfiguration has always seemed elusive to me. Why is it needed?  What's happening?  I just didn't understand.

I still don't.  Any of us who were not there cannot possibly picture it.  We cannot imagine what it was like - what it looked like, what it smelled like, what the air felt like, what the sunshine felt like, how it sounded.  We just don't know.

Thankfully, Odie did an excellent job of putting this account within reach.  My eyes were opened to the majesty and glory that are revealed to Peter, James, and John on this important occasion, as God zeroes in on the message they need to hear.

On June 1, the church of Christ in Carthage, Missouri, hosts a session of the Tri-State Youth Series.  Youths from across the area in Southeast Kansas, Northeastern Oklahoma, and Southwest Missouri will attend our important session of the series.  The series theme for 2025 is "The Great I Am", and the topic assigned to us is "I Am the Light of the World" from John 8:12.

There are several ways to look at this topic and verse.  I could have put together a lesson about what happened before Jesus said it (the adulterous woman) or what happened afterward - a conversation with the Pharisees.  I could speak to the city set on a hill, and the light not to be hidden under a bushel, but those are lessons about us being the light for others to see.  The topic begs me to address that Jesus is the light and life of the world.  I choose to:

1. Mold my lesson around Peter and the others and the growth of their faith and understanding.  They seem to get Jesus revealed to them step by step.  First, He heals the sick.  Then He calms the sea.  Then He flushes out the legion of demons.  Finally, he is transfigured before being tortured and killed on a cross only to be resurrected from the dead.  It is an undeniable progression of difficulty, and yet Jesus takes them through all of it, defining Himself every step of the way.
2. Build to the transfiguration where three of those disciples get a peek at the glory of Jesus.  You want to see the light of Christ?  Read about the transfiguration, when a corner of his veil is pulled back for the disciples to catch just a glimpse of it.  They're getting a preview of His glory, even now, before the cross.
3. And finally consider the results of this amazing things they witnessed in person (as told by Peter himself).  Odie's lesson at Polishing the Pulpit will be taught through my own methods and organization.  Peter breaks it all down to provide the evidence that we need to believe the writings on the subject are true.

That provides a pretty solid outline for the lesson that I have prepared for the Tri State Youth Series, but simple it is not.

I'm looking at the upcoming June professional development that I am involved in for elementary teachers in Wichita, Kansas.  I've been to Wichita only two times but have never deeply explored claims of fame for the city.

There are only a few famous and infamous people from Wichita.  That list includes ocean explorer Robert Ballard, who I have seen speak in person.  The late Kirstie Alley is also from this city, as is Don Johnson and Jeff Probst.  Newsman Jim Lehrer hails from here, along with former Trump appointee Mike Pompeo (CIA director, U.S. representative, and secretary of state).

The richest part of Wichita history, however, is revealed in the Earps (James and Wyatt) and the Mastersons (James, Ed, and Bat).  Wyatt Earp served as a police officer here before moving to Dodge City.  Further, Wichita was a stop along the Chisolm Trail.  In the latter part of the 19th Century, the new railroad made this a railhead along the cattle trail.

More recently, one might find Dennis Mitchell (Dennis the Menace) or Ted Lasso in the neighborhood, hanging out with their buddies (but probably not with each other).  

Something makes me want to listen to Wichita Lineman by Glen Campbell.