Joseph F. Radosevich

 The wagons I pull my kids in during the fall have gotten heavier. My two youngest are bigger, and the wagons at our local pumpkin patch are monsters (shout out to the best orchard and pumpkin patch around-- Greene Fields Farm in Greenfield, IL).  My kids still love riding in wagons, so what am I going to do? I have been teasing that I need to do some training for pulling wagons in the fall.  Today, I came up with a plan for wagon-pulling Dad fitness. Here it is: Load up our wagon heavy with kids and kettlebells or sandbags. Make this a little heavier than I would normally pull. Walk the 2 block circuit around our house. It has a hill on two of the four streets. Repeat for 2 rounds. Because of the weird position of your arm and back, I don't plan on doing too much of this or doing too heavy. I looked up overuse injuries in factories with pulling like this and want to avoid injury. 

  This is based on a graphic that I used earlier this year during a breakout presentation I gave on prayer. The prayers are based on a resolution from 1837 that Illinois Baptists made. I found it in Myron Dillow's Harvesttime on the Praire .  The map on the right show the cities and towns most in need of a gospel preaching church (or churches.). This has never been accomplished in the over 180 years since the resolution was made. I still pray these things regularly.

I was sorting tomatoes last night when we took these. I need to see what were ripe and what still needed time. This season's tomatoes: Golden Cherrywine (and some volunteers from last year's Golden Cherrywine that are not true to type because the parent is a hybrid) Green Zebra Bear Hollow Purple Abraham Lincoln Jet Star Sungold Pink Bumblebee German Pink Chocolate Cherry Benevento Amalfi Pink Rainbow Jazz Heart

Sometimes you outgrow your kettlebell. You get too strong for it, especially on exercises like the kettlebell swing. You can get a bigger kettlebell, but I've used a band to make my kettlebells harder. It's an exercise called the kettlebell banded swing. Why I love it:  It's cheap. Instead of buying a bigger ball for just a few exercises, you can buy a band for $7-$15. It builds strength, especially in the glutes.  It builds explosiveness. It's a fast snapping exercise that is similar to jumping. Here is a video of Matt Chan demonstrating how to set the kettlebell up for banded swings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PN9dppWJcGQ He does the American-style swing. I don't care for that type and do the Russian-style that just comes up to the shoulders.

There is not one right recipe or way to make coffee.  I post my recipes here because I think it can be helpful and give people ideas. I've learned that there are better and worse ways to brew coffee with different equipment and beans. There isn't one right recipe, though. You can make better and worse coffee with a pour over cone or an Aeropress. I use recipes and ideas that I find online.  There are too many variables to say that there is only one right way.  Factors that change how you brew coffee: Equipment Coffee beans Roast level  Individual taste Individual history and experience Don't listen to anyone who says there is only one way to make coffee or that you don't do it right. The key is to learn what and why coffee works the way that it does and then make it the way that you enjoy. I really like my coffee beans to have some visible oil these days. If the roast doesn't bring that out, then I will likely not enjoy it as much. In other seasons, I preferred ligh

Last night and today, I dehydrated hot peppers to make crushed red peppers. Then I used them to make an Italian spicy oil.  I used Quickfire F1 Prius that seen to be in the Thai pepper family. I like the heat and wanted a way to use them going forward without making hot sauce.  The Italian spicy oil is just olive oil and crushed peppers. I left the seeds in. And I left some of the peppers whole.

Robert's Rules of Order have become a regular part of my life as an adult, so I thought I should learn some of them (Ebay is my new place for used books). I see the rules as just a way to have orderly meetings. I've seen people who are jerks about the rules. I think we should all avoid being jerks at all times. Knowing the rules is just knowing the rules.  S.D. Smith describes good writing as hospitality. A writer is trying to be  kind host to his readers. You could probably apply that to every job and situation. Robert's Rules can be a way to be hospitable and kind during meetings.  

 I grew up in larger churches with multiple pastors and ministers. Music ministers and worship leaders were normal for me. That's not the only way churches function. Pastor's used to lead worship in every church no matter the size. That is history. Pastoring a small, rural church means that sometimes I fill in. That's normal here. So if you are preparing to pastor, it's a good idea to learn to lead worship. It is normal and will bless your church.  I use a guitar and sometimes a pad. You can use a piano. You don't have to be amazing but learning to do it so you can lead in a nursing home or small church will pay off on the long run.

I often think of a line from J.D. Greear's book Gospel . It came to my mind on Sunday morning, and I realized that it calls out a lie that I hear inside every Sunday. It is part of a prayer that he teaches. "Your presence and approval are all I need for everlasting joy." I'm tempted on Sunday morning to think that a certain person, visitor, or attendance number will make me happy. I'm tempted on Sunday morning to believe that people's approval of me, my sermon, and my performance will make me happy. Christ will be present on Sunday morning. Christ approves of me Sunday morning. Your presence and approval are all I. . .

Five reasons I write about fitness: There is not enough fitness content on the internet that is actually healthy and good for you. So much is driven by sex or sexual appeal. So much is unrealistic and dishonest because it is secretly powered by drugs and shortcuts. So much is unhealthy because it focuses on identity and says "you are what you look like." I want to write things that are actually good for people. Physical training is good for people so I want people (and especially pastors) to be inspired to train their bodies. Movement, sweating, training creates endorphins so you feel good and have less depression. Fitness helps people be healthy long-term and avoid knee, shoulder, hip issues and avoid some diabetes and other health issues. I have expertise as a former personal trainer. I enjoyed my time as a trainer and learned a lot. I still use it today. I like physical training. Writing about fitness helps me think clearly about fitness and health. This helps me apply wha

 A few years ago, I did a writing challenge to write and post something every day for the month of August. Those posts are still some of the most popular posts on my blog. They must show up in search. I'm doing that again for this September 2024. All topics are fair game, well see what happens. I will take one day off each week on my day off from work which should make for 26 posts.  See you tomorrow!

Martyn Lloyd-Jones describes nine subjects for every pastor to read in his book Preaching and Preachers .  They are: The bible Commentaries and other aids to understanding the Bible. Devotional or applicational books such as by Puritans. Sermons Theology Church History Apologetic History Hobbies MLJ argues that pastors should be continually reading in all these areas. I found great encouragement from that, and I have found that 5-10 pages per day in several of these categories helps me a lot. You can't read 30 pages a day in all of these categories. I rotate through a few of these categories so that I finish a book of theology and then read a book of devotion.  I always have a commentary and a book on church history. I like the NIV Application Commentary series a lot for this kind of reading (although there is at least one volume I would not recommend--the one on Exodus). I also like the Tyndale New Testament Commentary series. * photo generated with Canva Magic Media ai photo gene

I was quoted in a local newspaper feature article today talking about cover crops. It's paywalled, but if you haven't visited before, you can probably read it here .  I talk mostly about why and how I plant winter rye (also called cereal rye) in my garden. Others are featured as well. Here's part of what I shared: It builds the soil from below. It protects the soil from above. Many people don't know that wind, rain, and snow breaks soil apart. Winter rye protects it. It keeps weeds down in the spring. It is allelopathic for a few weeks which means that it puts out a chemical that keeps seeds from germinating. That slows down weed seeds.  Here is a podcast from the University of Illinois Extension on cover crops if you want more information.

You don't need landscape fabric if you are putting down mulch. Put it down thickly, and that will be enough to choke out weeds. Thick like 4+ inches. I originally learned to put it down 6-8 inches. Why should you not use landscape fabric? The mulch you are putting down will turn into dirt and then weeds will grow on top of the weed cloth. You will have a mess on your hands. Mulch is not a permanent solution, and landscape fabric doesn't make it last longer. Weeds float along on the air or get pulled in with footsteps. Stone mulch doesn't fix the issue either because leaves, debris, and dirt get blown in and then break down creating a layer of dirt that weeds grow in. You can use cardboard in place of landscape fabric because it will do the same job before breaking down.  I've started hearing gardeners tales that thick mulch will choke out the bacterial life in the soil. That doesn't make any sense because that would mean that soil itself would choke out the bacteria

I've been thinking about parsonages a bit lately and how helpful they are to rural churches. I live in a parsonage. I never thought I would or even considered it. It is a great fit for our family, our church, and our community.  I am talking about rural churches here, not city churches. Our county has no stoplight or grocery store. We're just a 20 minute drive from a grocery store, but there are parts of the county that are further from groceries. The realities are different for rural, suburban, and city churches. Three Benefits to having a parsonage for a rural church: It helps the church have a local pastor. Without a parsonage, the pastor might choose or be forced to live outside the community. In a rural context, it's a problem for the pastor to be from somewhere else. I think he comes across as a rented preacher. The pastor doesn't have to worry about being stuck with a house. If a pastor chooses to leave a church or is forced out, he can be stuck with a house if t