Ploughshare Brewing Company

...Share the Bounty.

There aren’t many things I enjoy more than sharing a good meal with good friends. 

This being said, my husband and I recently stumbled upon Ploughshare Brewing Company. Ploughshare is the new pub on the block. They opened for business in July of this year, and they have been going strong ever since. 

Ploughshare is a microbrewery pub that serves amazing pub style foods seven days a week from 4pm to midnight (kids welcome until 9) at 1630 P Street. They even hold trivia night on Tuesdays at 7.

“Not sure what this looks like? Imagine Mumford & Sons owned a pub; that is the vibe Ploughshare is putting out.”

Upon entering Ploughshare, patrons are greeted with reclaimed wood walls and a relaxed atmosphere. Not sure what this looks like? Imagine Mumford & Sons owned a pub; that is the vibe Ploughshare is putting out. You won’t find any televisions in the place, just people gathered on wood benches having good conversations and great beer. There are tables and booths for parties of all sizes along with an upstairs loft with large tables. Educational tours are offered for $5 per person, which includes a customized Ploughshare glass and a free pint. 

Like a traditional pub, beer and food are ordered at the bar. 

Beer

Ploughshare offers a rotation of 12 craft beers on tap. On our venture, several people tried the Tailgate Red Irish Ale among others and dubbed it their favorite. My husband tried the Farm Boy Cream Ale and said it felt like he was punched in the throat. So, if you are into hoppy beer, try the Farm Boy, otherwise go with the Tailgate Red. Also, the Smithy American Export Stout will be added to the tap rotation mid December.

Food

For me, the food was the star at Ploughshare. Not only are all the selections made from scratch in house, but also the ingredients are sourced from all over Nebraska. Soups, bratwurst, and lasagna make an appearance on the menu, as well as vegetarian and vegan options for picky people such as myself. For our first trip, my husband and I split the vegetarian lasagna, butternut squash curry soup, as well as a handmade pretzel with mustard aioli. The portions were great and the flavors were even better. To be honest, carbs are my favorite food group. But truly, the pretzel was delicious. The aioli mustard had a little bite but was a perfect pairing for the firm yet moist salted pretzel. 

O Holy Night

Christmas has come at last! 

We have finally made it.

We were all wondering if we would survive and get everything done, and while prevailing seemed unlikely at points, there is something about Christmas that makes room for the unlikely to happen.

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for you are most likely being celebrated with family, friends, good food and relaxing. Finally, it seems okay to get fully in the Christmas spirit and sing Christmas carols. One song that you probably sang is 'O Holy Night.' For some reason, this song hits home with the way we feel during the Advent season.

The song was originally written by a man named Placide Cappeau, who was a wine merchant and poet in a small town in France. What is unusual about this song in particular is that Cappeau was not a Christian, and actually considered himself to be an anticlerical atheist. By the time of 1847, Cappeau was known for his writing, and was asked by a local parish to write a poem for the upcoming Christmas mass. It seems fair to infer that he was probably shocked by this, but nonetheless, he was honored to share his talents with the church.

Basing his work around the birth narrative of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, Cappeau finished the poem which he entitled 'Cantique de Noel.' Thereafter, he found himself moved by his own work and decided that it should be put into the hands of a master musician. Thus, Cappeau turned to a good friend of his named Adolphe Charles Adams, who was a renowned classical musician at the time in the city of Paris. Though this poem was about celebrating Christmas and the person of Jesus, Adams was Jewish by heritage, so this poem was about a holiday that he did not observe, and about a man that he did not believe to be God incarnate. Nevertheless, he quickly went to work and was inspired by Cappeu’s beautiful words. The final product was then sang at the upcoming Midnight Mass that Christmas Eve in 1847.

At first, 'Cantique de Noel' was gladly accepted by the church in France. But when it was found that Cappeau was part of a socialist movement and that Adams was a Jew, the song was suddenly denounced by the church. As the church tried to bury this song, the people of France continued to sing it, and a decade later a reclusive songwriter in America would give the song to a new audience on the other side of the world.

John Sullivan Dwight, who was a supporter of the abolition of slavery at the time in North America, was able to identify with the lines that Cappeau wrote,

“Truly he taught us to love one another;

His law is love and his gospel is peace.

Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother;

And in his name all oppression shall cease.”

Dwight’s translation of the song quickly gained traction in North America. On Christmas Eve of 1906, the song retitled 'O Holy Night' was the first song ever sent through radio airwaves. The song is now sung in many churches of all stripes today.

This is an unlikely story of an atheist poet and a Jewish composer collaborating on a hymn for a small Catholic Mass taking place on Christmas Eve, which ended up becoming the first song to ever air on radio and is now one of the most popular Christmas songs of all time. But this is the nature of Christmas: unlikely stories finding their way into history and reality.

God being born of a woman in the first century Greco-Roman world as a Jewish Carpenter. It sounds unlikely and uncommon because it is just that. God becoming a man named Jesus, entering into the strongholds of sin to bring liberty to the captives. It sounds wild, because it is. God has always worked in ways that are not predictable, because He cannot be pinned down or put into a box.

One of the marvelous themes of Christmas is that God is continuing to work in ways that are not predictable, and all people are invited to belong to God’s reclaiming and restoring of all things that He is doing in Christ.

As Cappeau wrote:

“A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!”

To listen to an in-depth look at all four weeks of Advent, please check out the series here.

Joy to the World

Christmas is almost here, all of the expectancy and foresight is about to erupt into everything that has been building for the past month. Before we know it, Christmas will be past, and we will not know what to be looking forward to next. The toys and trinkets we get will soon be dated and due for an upgrade. The clothes we get will wear out or be out of style before long. All gift cards will be spent (or forgotten about), all the eggnog will be gone, and eventually the lights will come down. It seems like all of the joy that we were anticipating at Christmas slips away somehow. 

I want to pause and think about the joy this season ushers in. Some of it is superficial, yes, although the eggnog is pretty darn good. But what about the bigger sense of joy that always springs forth during the advent season?

One popular Christmas song that can only be heard this time of year is 'Joy to the World.' This hymn was originally written by a man named Isaac Watts in the year 1719. As of the late 20th century, this song was the most published Christian hymn in North America. Watts based this hymn after Psalm 98, speaking more particularly to Christ’s second coming, now with His first coming behind us. In the finished work of Christ, there is finality and permanence. God has dropped the sins of the world into the black hole of Jesus’ death, and He has initiated the project of making all things new in the resurrection of Jesus. Upon Christ’s return, all of new creation will be actualized, and there will be no more more bondage to corruption and sin, there will be a joy that cannot be revoked.

As Watts wrote,

“No more let sins and sorrows grow

Nor thorns infest the ground

He comes to make

His blessings flow

Far as the curse is found”

Upon the full ushering in of God’s kingdom, His redeeming hand will reach into every dark corner and and uproot everything that plagues the world and defaces the dignity instilled by God in all that He has made. However, this is not solely for the future. This is something that we can enjoy and rest in now as we await the second coming of Jesus.

The psalmist writes,

“Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth; burst into songs and make music… Let the sea and everything in it shout; let the world and everyone in it sing.

Psalm 98:4, 7”

We live in the present most effectively by knowing what the future holds. We can live with joy knowing what has already been accomplished, and awaiting with eager expectation what is also coming. It is good news for everyone, because it is something that does not change with seasons.

Listen here for a deeper look into joy in the final week of Advent.

Hark the Herald

---

What is the vision behind the ‘Hark the Herald’ sermon series artwork?

The vision for all the art we do is to simply engage us more deeply with the Gospel. Since this season we’re focusing on beloved songs which have a much richer and deeper theological history than we often realize, we wanted to create something simple and familiar that would help draw us in to see the song in a new light. Inspired by vintage songbook illustrations, Liz and Justine created hand drawn scenes and lettering (for both the graphics and chalk wall) that focus on the notes and lyrics of the songs.

What does the process of creating the art look like?

For this one, after the initial creative team meeting to discuss the big ideas, we met as a design team to work on a concept. Typically one person would create the whole set of graphics, but we’re trying now to work more as a team, so we divided the responsibilities: Liz drew the illustrations, Justine did the title lettering, and I (Tim) did the final polishing in Photoshop (adding aged effects, etc.). Justine handled the chalk wall, and I’m sure her process is more exciting than mine. 

What is your favorite aspect of creating the artwork for each sermon series? 

I really enjoy the challenge of making something that speaks to the message of the Gospel, but isn’t the main thing. What we do is ancillary—it’s important and necessary, but always points to something more important. There’s an awesome freedom in that as an artist and as a believer.

What Child Is This?

Christmas day continues to approach as the mix of anticipation and excitement continue to build. Yet, Christmas is not always a time that is filled with excitement and happiness for everyone. For some, it is a time that revisits grief. For others, it is a season in which people have old wounds reopened, whether that is with family, friends, or past memories. In some cases, people can experience depression during the holidays, regardless of how many Christmas carols they might hear.

One song that you may be familiar with during Christmas time is “What Child is This?” It was originally written by William Chatterton Dix in 1865. He began writing many of the hymns which bear his name at age 29, when he was struck with a sudden near-fatal illness and confined to bed rest for several months, during which he went into a deep depression. Much of his best and most renowned work came from the worst season of his life.

Dix wrote these lines of inquiry,

“What child is this who, laid to rest, on Mary’s lap is sleeping?
Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, while shepherds watch are keeping?”

Why would God enter into the world as a fragile child? It would seem that God is not afraid of modesty and vulnerability. He is not afraid to descend to the lowest and most humble estate to meet humanity where they are. This is something that Dix encountered himself. At the depths of his depression, he found that Jesus had no reservations about drawing near to him. There is no point so low that is beyond the reach of Christ.

Dix follows with this refrain,

“This, this is Christ the King,

Whom shepherds guard and angels sing”

The meek and lowly child in the manger is the God of the universe, the King of cosmos, the Creator and Sustainer of all things, the One who upholds everything by the power of His word. Yet He accommodates Himself to our weakness by becoming a man. It is as if God stooped down to look us in the eye. He comes to us to communicate forgiveness of sins and the call to repentance in a way that we can fathom in our finitude.

The psalmist writes,

“He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

Psalm 40:2”

In order for God to pull us out of the muck and the mire, He goes in after us. This is the incarnation, God becoming man. That is what Christmas is all about. It is the declaration that there is hope for each person, wherever they might be.

To continue diving further into “What Child Is This?” check out the sermon from this week of Advent.

The Pilgrimer: Lincoln's New Place to Gather

There are some things all people share, and one of them is the desire to be a “local.”  We all want to have a place to gather, to be surrounded by the familiar, to be connected in some small way to those we rub shoulders with--to be known.  The Pilgrimer, started by Ben Harms and his wife Whitney, along with a handful of their good friends, is a kind of hybrid of a non-profit coffee shop, local market, art gallery, and in some ways, a public living room.  It’s not an easy establishment to categorize, but the Pilgrimer’s purpose is clear: to be a sharing space for creators and entrepreneurs, and a gathering space for everyone else--all for the good of the Lincoln community.  

Ben is an entrepreneur and creative designer at heart, with a great passion for people.  The idea for the Pilgrimer was largely inspired by the “collaborative space” movement that started gaining traction while the Harms’ were living in Seattle.  They returned to his hometown of Lincoln with a desire to create a shared space for creatives and entrepreneurial makers here--and to foster real conversation and love of neighbors at the same time.  

In October, they opened the Pilgrimer at 228 N. 12th Street, next to Dempsey’s Burger Pub (in the old Spaghetti Works building).  It did not take long for them to catch on with the close-knit artisan community in Lincoln.  Even prior to the official opening, as details were still falling into place, the team had the space, and decided to hold the first Maker’s Market.  Building on a few connections the team had to local makers, the Pilgrimer quickly drew several people wanting to share and sell their goods.  Over 500 people showed up for the Market--far beyond the team’s expectations.

Since then, the Pilgrimer has held Maker’s Markets on First Fridays.  The next Maker’s Market won’t be until spring, but local goods will continue to be featured at the store, rotating on a weekly basis, throughout the winter.  Ben and his team love to discover artisans who have great ideas and may just be making their products in their home with no consistent way to market them--and they especially love to share the stories of these makers.  

That’s actually a huge aspect of the Pilgrimer’s direction for the future--storytelling.  You can easily put a face to the product makers already, via their “Meet the Makers” Instagram posts, but the stories of these Lincoln artists will be coming to life in a very cool way, starting in January.  (Keep an eye on their website!  www.thepilgrimer.com)

The Pilgrimer also has what all downtown gathering places should have--places to sit and work, and access to a really good cup of coffee made with beans from local roasters.  Ben calls it the best cup of coffee in town--because they learned the art of brewing great coffee from the world-class brewing folks at Cultiva.  For $25 a month you can purchase a coffee membership--unlimited coffee or tea.  They also sell coffee for $2 per cup.

The Pilgrimer team has a rich array of other ideas about how to engage the community in creative ways that speak to the variety of needs in Lincoln, but with a small (very busy!) staff that relies on donations, they are limited to what they can do well right now.  Ben would love to see the Pilgrimer become volunteer-staffed so his team can focus on developing relationships with more makers and digging into new ideas.  

Lots of people are getting excited about what’s happening in the old Spaghetti Works building, and there’s a very simple reason why.  “It’s a beautiful opportunity to help support local people who are making Lincoln a better, more beautiful place and loving their neighbors well,” Ben says.  

Get Involved: Want to volunteer for a few hours on a weekday--brew coffee; sell the local goods; hang out with people?  Send an email to info@thepilgrimer.com  Open 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday

Shopping for Gifts? Locally hand-made products make great gifts year-round, and 100% of the proceeds go directly to the maker.  Check out www.thepilgrimer.com for a list of their featured artists, or head to 12th and P for a visit.  For the special person in your life who loves shopping local artisans, they offer PilgriBucks (in $5 increments).  And who wouldn’t want unlimited, expertly-brewed coffee for a month ($25)?

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

It’s the second week of Advent and there is a definite building crescendo of anticipation for Christmas day.  It seems as though the seasonal music tends to fuel the anticipation. It is hard to escape because anticipation is part of the human experience. Everyone is looking forward to something.

Last week we focused on the familiar Christmas song, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” This week, let’s look at “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” This hymn was written by Charles Wesley, and first published in 1744. Charles Wesley was an English leader in the Methodist movement, and the younger brother of Methodist founder John Wesley. Charles lived from 1707 to 1788.

In the hymn, Wesley wrote phrases such as “dear desire of every nation” and “joy of every longing heart.” Wesley understood that within every person, there is a deep longing to cherish something highly. At Christmas time, I think this feeling becomes recognizably stronger and it brings us to a place where we begin to think about these longings meaningfully.

The world is full of different messages. Some will tell you to indulge these longings until you are the fulfillment of the higher meaning. Some will tell you that there is no higher meaning, that the longing is absurd. Some will tell you that your search is in vain and nothing more than an illusion will be achieved. How can this be? ‘O Come, O Come Emmanuel’ promised that God will be with us. Emmanuel would bring Hope and satisfy our longings to be ransomed from all the “bad” in our lives, in the world. If there is no higher meaning in life, then everything that is in us saying there most certainly is...is a lie, an illusion. Who we are at the core is nothing more than an illusion.

But what if there is a higher meaning?

We long to know that our labors, toil, and suffering are not in vain. This is the call of Wesley’s hymn.

The longings are not only to know that life is not an aimless accident, but that on a practical and experiential level, there are daily anxieties that from which we wish to be free. Jesus came to give rest to the anxious, fortify the fearful, and set the captives free from bondage to sin.

In Jesus, we find rest from trying to validate ourselves. Wesley wrote: “Hope of all the earth thou art.” There is hope for all of the world because of who Jesus is. As we look to the God who is with us, we find God stepping into history as a man to make reconciliation between humanity and Himself, and we find hope for all people.

Advent is the season where we celebrate “God with us.” This is why we can all join together in singing “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.” For a more in-depth study on “Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,” check out the second week in our Advent sermons series here.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

The holidays are here which means you're going to hear Christmas music everywhere you go. Some of the songs are catchy, and others...well... I'll just say they aren't as catchy.  Christmas music is something that is easily recognizable; yet much of it is undefined or taken for granted. These songs have memorable melodies, but have you ever thought about where they came from? Or what the lyrics mean? There are messages untouched by time i some of these songs that still speaks to people.

Perhaps one of the oldest songs that remains popular to this day is 'O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.' This hymn dates all the way back to the 8th century A.D. where it was chanted as a prayer in monasteries by monks as Christmas approached. It was not actually sung as a hymn until 12th century A.D. when it was rearranged by an unknown Latin poet. Finally, in 1851, it was translated from Latin to English by Dr. J.M. Neale, which is how many of us would recognize it today.

But what does this hymn actually mean? Why has it prevailed so strongly throughout time? The word “Emmanuel" provides great substance as to what this hymn is about. “Emmanuel” simply means “God with us.” The meaning of Emmanuel is important to know to better understand the meaning behind the lyrics:

“O, come, O, come, Emmanuel,

And ransom captive Israel,

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear.”

The Jewish people of Israel were anticipating the long­awaited promise made by God. The name “Israel” in its original language is a combination of “wrestle or struggle" and “God”, thus the name of Israel can mean “To struggle with God.” Perhaps to struggle in believing the promises of God, or to struggle in submitting to God, or struggling to entrust one’s fidelity to God. Everyone struggles. Whether the struggle is in marriage, in the workplace, with family, with fighting addictions, battling depression, or just making it through the day. The cry of this song is that God would come and be with His people in the midst of the struggle and that He would ransom them, set them free from sin and its consequences.

This is why Jesus is so central to all the promises of God. Jesus is "God with us." Jesus is God stepping into the mess that we have made of the world and, rather than being distant and careless, He is a God who is willing to stoop down to our level and have compassion on us. Instead of a God who is an obscure and abstract concept, Jesus comes to us as a God who is earthy, not ignorant of suffering and the pain of loss.

This hymn was originally written with the longing that God would be with us, and that we would know what God is like. In Christ, Emmanuel, both of those longings are met. 

For a more in-depth study of the meaning behind O Come, O Come Emmanuel, check out the first week of our Advent sermon series here.

Why Do We Love Lincoln?

...because Lincoln cares. About our businesses. About our people. And about what makes our community, ours.

Lincoln values building community and does so by inviting AND including the people of Lincoln in the efforts to make Lincoln better in the future.

You may have already seen this link floating around on social media, but if you have not already taken part, please take 5 minutes and share your vision for Lincoln: http://downtownlincoln.org/survey/

For more information on Downtown Lincoln, please visit their website.

What Is Advent?

It's almost time.

The massive 117-foot wide HuskerVision video screen goes black. The Cornhusker Marching Band finishes the "Pre-Game Spectacular" and assumes its position, forming an extension of the tunnel from which the Husker football team will soon emerge.

The west half of Memorial Stadium roars, "HUSKER!" Then the east, "POWER!"

The cheer goes back and forth and back and forth and back and forth. You can feel it building. The excitement. The restlessness. The anticipation.

Then, with a flash of white light, the HuskerVision screens come back to life. Sirius begins. It’s game time.

What is Advent?

Advent, which comes from the Latin word adventus meaning “coming,” isn’t a mere countdown to Christmas or a reminder that egg nog is back on shelves at the grocery store. For Christians, much like the Huskers’ Tunnel Walk is a tradition established to build anticipation prior to Husker football games, Advent is a season of celebration and anticipation of the coming, or advent, of Christ.

Each year the season of Advent begins four Sundays prior to Christmas day. This year, it kicks off on Sunday, November 30.

Anticipation Past and Present

This sense of anticipation during advent is two-fold. On the one hand, we identify with God’s people in the Old Testament who, for centuries, anticipated the coming of the Messiah. We remember God’s promise to His people to provide a Deliverer and celebrate Jesus and His birth, the first advent, as the fulfillment of this promise.

On the other hand, we eagerly anticipate the second advent of Christ. Though Jesus was victorious over sin, death, and Satan through His death and resurrection, there are reminders all around us that the world is not yet as it should be. Death, disease, brokenness, and sin are still present in our world and no one is immune to their effects. We live in the tension between the “already” and the “not yet” and await Jesus’ promised second coming when sin and death will be removed from our presence and all things will be made new. Revelation, the final book of the Bible, gives us a beautiful glimpse of this promise:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Revelation 21:3-5

Join Us

So, I invite you to join us this Advent season as we celebrate the first advent of Christ and eagerly await His second. Can you feel it building? The excitement? The restlessness? The anticipation?

It’s almost time.

Support Local Everything!

My Agenda: Supporting local everything is really important to me. As a new transplant to Lincoln, I am interested in searching for good local spots. Not the stores you see in a strip mall, but the small businesses that may go unnoticed. These businesses usually have the most interesting story, and the owners are people who love what they do. I can often walk in and the owner is the one working the desk ready to share their passion with me.

Home & Closet

My first find was mentioned to me by another recent Lincoln transplant. We had a great time scouring the racks and checking out the one of a kind furniture pieces. Home & Closet is a small shop dedicated to quality vintage clothing and furniture. You can find it at 1356 South 33rd Street. They are open from 11-6 Monday thru Friday, 10-6 Saturday, and 12-5 on Sundays.

Home & Closet opened its doors in the spring of 2013. The space is packed with great vintage clothing and furniture finds. The vintage clothing covers mod 50s, 60s, and 70s styles for men and women. If you can’t find that perfect high waist plaid skirt, look no further.

On Sundays, Home & Closet gives a 15% discount on their furniture. The furniture is definitely the gem of this shop. The pieces are changing constantly and they range from Modern to Victorian and everything in between. 

For my first local find, I would recommend Home & Closet as a worthwhile spot to check out in Lincoln!

Why We Love Lincoln: Lincoln Civic Orchestra

When you go to an orchestra concert, you probably don’t expect to sing along to Disney’s Frozen, but dozens of concertgoers did just that this past Sunday.

The Lincoln Civic Orchestra performed a series of seasonally themed pieces entitled Four Seasons for its fall concert. LCO provides an opportunity for community musicians to make music together to share with the community and have a blast while doing it (icy or otherwise).

After starting off this Sunday's concert with An Outdoor Overture by American composer Aaron Copland, we took a journey through the seasons of the year beginning with spring. The concert ended with audience members singing at the encouragement of the conductor, Rob Salistean, before (and during) a medley of songs from Frozen.

For the spring season, we played Spring Song, op. 16 by Jean Sibelius, which explored the sadness of spring. Summer Dances by Brian Balmages written in 2000 provided an opportunity to experience a sizzling new composition from an American composer. Associate Director Brett Noser conducted In Autumn, op. 11 by Edvard Grieg, a stormy and romantic piece.

This was my first concert playing violin with LCO, and I will definitely be coming back for more. In addition to playing awesome music, LCO is a very fun and welcoming group. Sometimes it feels like I stumbled into a comedy club instead of orchestra rehearsal on Thursday nights!

What I love about LCO is the accessibility. The music selection is accessible, and the concerts themselves are accessible because they're free. I know that there were people who would never normally attend an orchestra concert there, and they came because their kids liked hearing Frozen and it was a free afternoon of entertainment and culture.

One of my favorite parts of LCO is the variety of people I've met. Because it is the resident orchestra at Nebraska Wesleyan University in northeast Lincoln, there are many Wesleyan students that form its ranks, but there are also students from other area schools and adults of all ages. This diversity provides a unique opportunity to meet people of Lincoln and helps unify the community.

If you are interested in joining the group, please contact info@lincolncivicorchestra.org. If you're interested in hearing us play, join us on February 22nd, 2015 for a concert themed Solos and Dancing!

All photos from the Lincoln Civic Orchestra website.

Buffalo Wild Wings

Sometimes, when choosing a venue from which to take in a sporting event, it is important branch out from your comfort zone and try something that is unfamiliar. And sometimes it is important to do the exact opposite of that and keep your thinking firmly within the box.

With the latter sentiment in mind I decided to watch last month’s Nebraska-Northwestern game from the comfort of a sports bar that I have probably gone to two dozen times.

Buffalo Wild Wings, while a little on the corporate side, is a place where the service and product are dependable, the televisions are abundant, and the crowd is a sure thing.

“Sometimes, when choosing a venue from which to take in a sporting event, it is important branch out from your comfort zone and try something that is unfamiliar. And sometimes it is important to do the exact opposite of that and keep your thinking firmly within the box.”

I think most people are probably familiar with their sixteen varieties of chicken wings, the spiciest of which at one time came with a free t-shirt, and the many different kinds of beer they have on tap, so that won’t be my focus here.

The focus of this column, the thing that has kept me coming back to BWWs in regular intervals for the whole of my adult life, is the atmosphere of the place.

Watching a football game at Buffalo Wild Wings is one of the precious few things in life that is just as much fun as it looks on television, at least in my experience. While the establishment’s ability to send games into overtime by doing things like controlling the weather or using the sprinkler system to attack the kickers might be a touch exaggerated in the commercials, the energy and enthusiasm is more or less true to form.

My experience there three weeks ago was honestly pretty par for the course when it comes to watching a Husker game in Lincoln, Nebraska. I’m pretty sure I could watch a Nebraska game on a ten-inch hand-held in the middle of a rain storm and not have a problem getting people to watch the game with me.

My best experience at BWWs actually came last January during the NFL Playoffs.

I’m a San Francisco 49ers fan and, as most football fans will remember, the Niners played the Seattle Seahawks for last season’s NFC Championship. Far from being the only person there who even remotely cared about that game—which was my honest expectation—there was a healthy contingency of supporters for both sides who were more than just casual onlookers who decided to root for a team once they got there. Several people were wearing red and gold jerseys while others adorned the acid rain and highlighter that you wear if you support Voldemort…I mean the Seahawks.

“Watching a football game at Buffalo Wild Wings is one of the precious few things in life that is just as much fun as it looks on television, at least in my experience.”

My verdict is that if you are an NFL fan living in Lincoln—my most sincere condolences to you if you are, I know how lonely that can be—and you’re looking for a place to watch your favorite team, BWWs might be the place for you. It has a broad enough reach that there is usually a good turnout for prime time or playoff games even when the fan base is a little bit more marginalized.

This is to say that while there may not be enough 49ers fans in Lincoln to fill Memorial Stadium, there are certainly enough to fill Buffalo Wild Wings. Which is important, because losing to the Seahawks is something no one should have to do alone.

Down the Hatch Bar & Grill

It may never cease to amaze me how unifying a Nebraska football game is in this town. I grew up as a Nebraska fan living in Iowa which meant that watching the Big Red usually meant watching a game that no one outside of my immediate family had any interest in. I’ve been in Nebraska for coming up on five years now and the novelty still hasn’t quite worn off.

With that in mind, the Saturday before last presented me with my most recent opportunity to take a pilgrimage away from my cable-free apartment for the noble pursuit of watching a televised sporting event while eating something that is bad for me. My journey this time took me to the farthest reaches of the Lincoln area to a place called Down the Hatch Bar and Grill.

Down the Hatch very nearly cemented itself as having eternal sentimental value to me as it was very nearly the venue in which I watched the largest comeback in the history of Nebraska football. But alas, Alonzo Moore couldn’t hang on to the ball, Tommy Armstrong Jr. threw it to the wrong team, and the rest is history.

“The score of the Nebraska-Michigan State game notwithstanding, my final verdict is that Down the Hatch is a pretty solid place to watch a game should your travels ever take you to northwest Lincoln.”

The menu at Down the Hatch is pretty simple, which might be a turnoff to someone in the mood for a culinary adventure, but I am a man of simple tastes so I really didn’t mind. Generally, my perusal of the menu at a sports bar ends when I have ascertained the house name for a bacon cheeseburger. In any case, I was there to watch a game. And for that, the atmosphere was more than admirable.

Like many sports bars in Lincoln, Saturdays in the fall make Down the Hatch over into a rendezvous for Husker fans who want to trade the tranquility of a home living room for a place that erupts in loud cheering every time Nebraska gains three yards.

Located on Northwest 1st Street about two miles east of Highlands Golf Course, Down the Hatch offers smaller portions for lower prices than some of the other places I’ve been to, which makes it a great option if you’re looking for a place to watch a specific game, or just a place to have an inexpensive night out.

The score of the Nebraska-Michigan State game notwithstanding, my final verdict is that Down the Hatch is a pretty solid place to watch a game should your travels ever take you to northwest Lincoln.

JK's Pumpkin Patch

A Local Spot to Simply Enjoy Fall on the Farm

The owners of JK's Pumpkin Patch have always loved pumpkin patches.  In fact, that's how Josh and Amanda Kadavy first met—working at Grandpa John's Pumpkin Patch in Lincoln.  By the time it closed down, the Kadavy's had gotten married and had their first son, and they decided it was time to start their own pumpkin patch and carry on their beloved tradition.  In 2011, JK's opened its doors.  

JK's Pumpkin Patch sits on a working farm about five minutes north of Lincoln, just off N. 14th and Bluff Road, a gravel road lined with farmhouses and corn fields.  If you're picturing a sprawling fall carnival like Vala's or Roca Berry Farm, you're in for a surprise.  The handful of attractions at JK's are scattered along a gentle hill that slopes up to the pumpkin patch in the rear.  It's small and contained, but lots of open spaces keep it from feeling crowded.  Parents who visit JK's have said they love that they can let their kids roam the whole place freely without losing sight of them.  

That said, there are enough unique play areas to keep kids occupied and having fun for a few hours, and at a fraction of the price of most area pumpkin patches.  Admission is $7 per person, which includes a pumpkin of any size.  Among the attractions are a bouncy house and a big wooden pirate ship, but most everything else is inspired by real farm life.  The live animals that hang out in the petting area include a llama, sheep and goats (with big personality!), a small cow and probably the softest miniature horse you will ever touch.  Plump fluffy chickens roam freely among the trails, and a tractor with trailer stands by to drive folks out to the middle of the pumpkin patch.  For the adventurous, JK's also boasts a three-acre corn maze.

The Kadavys' pumpkin patch has a dual purpose--to both entertain and educate.  They intentionally cater to families with kids and school groups who want to come out and have a good time while learning hands-on about the farm operation.  The Kadavys were both raised on Lincoln-area farms, where they were active in showing cattle and gained experience growing row crops.  Like most farm kids, they learned early on about the fascinating but unpredictable task of producing food right from the ground.  As more and more kids are growing up without realizing where their food really comes from, places like JK's provide a much-needed connection to the physical place where their food is grown, and to the people who grow it.  Last year they were recognized for doing this by the Nebraska Tourism Commission, which honored them with the 2013 Outstanding Nature Tourism Entity award.  They are the only area pumpkin patch to have received this award.  

Overall, the atmosphere at JK's reflects the heart of the family behind it.  The love the Kadavys have for their land and for their animals is obvious as you wander around JK's Pumpkin Patch, and they cultivate that love year-round.  When they're not busy running the pumpkin patch, Josh and Amanda spend their time working with animals they've rescued, building their health and trust back up.  They also enjoy working in the garden and building new things around the farmyard.  

JK's is one more thing that helps make Lincoln a great place to live.  In a city where farm country is just a few minutes' drive away, it's not hard for people to get out and enjoy the crisp fall air at a place where everything, down to the hand-crafted wooden signs, shows that the Kadavys love what they do--and that they love getting to share it with the rest of us!

From September 19 through November 1, JK's is open Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.- 7 p.m., or by appointment throughout the week for groups.  They are also available for birthday parties and even offer campfire rental. Details here.

The Story Behind The Art

Need a Place to Watch the Game?

If you’re like me, then there are two things that will continue to be true about you for the rest of the foreseeable future: you love the Huskers, and you don’t have cable television. There are few things more unifying in Lincoln than Husker football. It is a tired cliché, but is perhaps still worth mentioning, that a sold out Memorial Stadium is the third largest city in Nebraska, and that a little more than five percent of the population of this state occupies it's confines on game day. 

Nebraska football really is a spectacle worth taking in, and while the voices of Greg Sharpe and Matt Davison paint an admirable picture via the airwaves of the Pinnacle Sports Network, there are times when a person just needs to see what’s going on. 

There are a number of quality establishments to which fans can go if they want the next best thing to actually being there. My time in Lincoln has given me the opportunity to vouch for fine sports-watching experiences from:

• Buffalo Wild Wings
  
• Red Fox
  
• Brewsky's
  
• The Watering Hole
  

​But, today I am going to be focusing on a place called Randy’s Grill and Chill.

Located just behind the Burger King on 48th and Holdrege, Randy’s is comfortably out of the way for anyone looking to avoid the downtown scene. Don’t get me wrong, watching games downtown is great, but Lincoln’s peripheral neighborhoods have merit that is all their own. Not the least of which is the ability to find a good parking spot as well as avoiding, once the game is over, the unenviable experience of sharing five city blocks with 91,000 of your closest friends. 

Randy’s has drink specials every night of the week in addition to Keno, pool, and a poker table. It’s more than just a place to watch a Husker game, and with six televisions in the dining area, there really isn’t bad seat in the house. 

My latest excursion there was last Monday night to take in some baseball and rouse my football appetite with some NFL preseason action. The place had some nice energy without being overly crowded—not to mention $2 Busch Light draws—which makes it great if you’re just looking to get out of the house on a weeknight. But when does it really comes to life? On Saturday afternoons in the fall. 

“It’s more than just a place to watch a Husker game, and with six televisions in the dining area, there really isn’t bad seat in the house. ”

My experience there last season—which was only for an 11 a.m. kickoff against Illinois, so hardly a high-tension game—showed a tremendous amount of promise. The dining area was nearly full of scarlet-clad onlookers who were perfectly comfortable hooting and hollering with the same enthusiasm as if they were watching the game in their own living room. 

The quality of both service and food is about what you’d expect from a place where the staff knows what it’s doing. And, like any self-respecting sports bar, Randy’s serves a pretty decent bacon and eggs cheeseburger which will only set you back $8.50. 

My verdict is that Randy’s passes with flying colors as a place to take in a Husker game, or just go grab a beer during the week. The dining room is spacious, the chairs are a normal height (I have a thing about bar stools, but I digress), and if you’re wearing a Nebraska shirt, you’re family. And if the sport of watching sports ever becomes more complicated than that, well that’s the day I retire.

Photo Credit: Eric Langhorst

Sweet Tooth? Eat C and L Dairy Sweet.

One of my favorite things to do in Lincoln during the summer is eat ice cream. There are a lot of great places to get ice cream such as the UNL Dairy Store on east campus or just take your pick of several Culver's scattered throughout the city. A new place called Breezy Island Ice in the Railyard has delicious shaved ice; you can even get ice cream at the bottom of the bowl!

But for me, C and L Dairy Sweet takes the cake (or maybe I should say cone). A cherry malt always hits the spot after outdoor activities in Pioneers Park down the road or after eating at Lee’s Chicken across the street. I often see youth sports teams and their families enjoying a tasty treat after playing an evening game.

When I visited C and L today it wasn’t too busy, but on Tuesdays and Wednesdays the parking lot always overflows. There’s a good reason for that. Those are the only two days you can get the special lemon ice cream they make. My family tries to keep an extra quart in the freezer for special occasions, such as birthdays or Saturdays.

This classic old-fashioned outdoor ice cream and grill joint has been at the corner of Coddington and W Van Dorn for over 30 years! Our city has changed and grown around it, but C and L Dairy Sweet has remained one of the tastiest landmarks in the southwest corner of Lincoln.

Photo Credit: Robyn Lee

A People That Listens

The church is not a building, it's a people.  As a people, the church must be a people who listen.

First and foremost, the church is a people who listen to God through His Word and His Spirit.  Additionally, however, the church must be a people who listen to the culture around them.

Why Listening to the Culture is Important

We must listen to the culture (i.e. our city, our neighborhoods, our workplaces, media, and so on) in order that we can be good missionaries to our culture.  This will consist of listening to the culture to...

• …Identify idols in the culture
• …Understand who the culture consists of
• …Ascertain what those of the culture are interested in
• …Find points of connection to share the gospel
• …Know parts of the local culture well enough to integrate them into our presentation of the gospel.

We cannot be afraid of the culture, we've got to listen to the culture and engage the culture if we want to see the gospel of Jesus change and transform the culture.

The Example of Paul

“We cannot be afraid of the culture, we’ve got to listen to the culture and engage the culture if we want to see the gospel of Jesus change and transform the culture.”

Biblically, we see this exemplified by the Apostle Paul in Acts 17 when he enters into Athens.  When Paul got to Athens, he engaged the Athenian culture.  He doesn't hide himself from the culture or flat out reject the culture he runs headlong into it.  He does so as one with the gospel of Jesus Christ in a closed fist—never to be shaken, altered, changed, or watered-down.  But he also takes that gospel into the culture, getting to know the culture so that he can bring the unchangeable gospel to bear on that culture.

Do Not Be Afraid

As Christians—as the church—we cannot be afraid of the culture.  We are not to run from the culture to try and protect the gospel, we're to run to the culture with the gospel.  And as we do that, we are to listen to the culture so that we know the culture well enough to integrate what we know of the culture into our presentation of the gospel.

Why We Love Lincoln: Stransky Park Concerts

One of my favorite things about summer is the variety of live music that happens outdoors, especially when it’s free.  And Lincoln has a great tradition of free music--Jazz in June, Hear Lincoln, lunch hour at the Foundation Gardens, to name just a few.  One of the favorites takes place in our backyard--the Stransky Park concert series, sponsored by the folks at KZUM.  

Every Thursday at 7 p.m., through August 14, performers will take the stage under the gazebo at Stransky Park (17th and Harrison) to entertain crowds of all ages.  The bands range in style from bluegrass to jazz to rock/ska, and the music is family-friendly.

The series has been going for about 10 years now, and KZUM has brought back some crowd favorite bands and created a faithful following in the process.  Sandy Creek Bluegrass, an established local group that brings traditional tunes to life, packs a big crowd every year.  Unfortunately their show was rained out this year, but look for them to be back in the future.  This week, Lincoln-based folk band Jack Hotel will take the stage (July 24), followed by Chicago-style blues from the local Honeyboy Turner Band next week (July 31).

There’s a great feel of close-knit community at the Stransky Park series.  Since it’s a small space enclosed by a peaceful neighborhood around, it’s off the beaten path and takes some intentionality to get there.  Once there though, the laid back feel of the place encourages you to get situated and enjoy the breeze, the sound of playing kids and happy people, and the feeling of enjoying all of this with people you probably don’t know.  Yet.  

The park isn’t huge, so the number of people that stream in the gates for the shows fill up the grassy lawn pretty quick. There is lots to keep kids occupied, and when they’re not dancing in front of the band, I’ve seen them roaming around the park, playing on the playground equipment and climbing the rock waterfall at the back.  

Parking is available in the surrounding neighborhood, so take care to not block driveways and be prepared to walk a pace or two.  Don’t forget to bring a chair or blanket to sit on!  And if you accidentally come hungry, they do have bbq sandwiches and chips for sale for $5.  

The concert series is free thanks to a group of local sponsors, but the bands play for peanuts--tips, to be exact.  You’ll see the “love the band” buckets in front of the stage, so feel free to fill them up and keep the good bands coming back!

For up-to-date information and the full summer schedule, visit their Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/stranskyconcerts

Photo Credit: Christina Case, taken at the Cornerstone Dub show June 19, 2014