I flew into Philadelphia on a business trip today and had to drive on to Reading. Nice countryside but the town names are a little squirrely - Conshohocken, Bryn Mawr, Wyomissing, etc. What’s up with that? Oh sure, we have our own peculiar names in Tennessee but at least they don’t require your mouth to undergo it’s own pilates regimen. Towns like Bucksnort, Defeated, and Bell Buckle are pronounceable by any good ol’ boy with at least a 6th grade education. And if in doubt you just drop a syllable. It’s almost a cultural requirement.

Of course, this is all just good clean fun. I love visiting new places even if it is on a short business trip. I like to hear how people talk, see the names of places, look at how the houses and towns are built. I like to wonder what shaped the culture of the different places. And it’s good to just break out of the day-to-day cycle every now and then. It helps give perspective.

Of course, it would be better if Jenn were with me :). C-ya soon hon!

Imagination Quotient, that is.  You can go to this website: www.bhg.com/crayola, to take the Imagination Quotient quiz for your child(ren).  Working in the field of Early Childhood, it is becoming more and more apparent that imagination is becoming somewhat of a lost art for many kids.  TV, video games and computers are winning the hearts of children over kitchen sets, play-doh and cardboard boxes.  (Cardboard boxes were my favorite!  The bigger, the better).

Anyway, thought some of you might find this fun and interesting. 

Ever had one of those times where there are just too many questions and not enough answers? I’m sitting in the middle of one of those. It stinks, to say it mildly. And I’m not talking about little questions. I’m talking about questions like:

• Do we buy this house? (and 101 related smaller questions!)
• Could I handle having my house on the market?
• Is DD2 really ready to start kindergarten tomorrow?
• If she’s not, what are our options - should I consider homeschooling her for a year and then see where we are?
• If we do decide to do something like homeschooling, can I do that and keep my commitment to Community Bible Study (which starts up in just three weeks!)?
• Should I have made that commitment to begin with?
• Why do these things overwhelm me so much???
• And of course, who’s going to cook supper and do the laundry while I’m making all these decisions?

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” ~ Psalm 91:1-2

Today I choose to be thankful for my small faith and look forward to the time when I will think back on these decisions as a part of what He’s doing to increase my trust in Him.

(sigh)

Today my wife and I celebrate our 14th wedding anniversary. It’s funny how different memories stand out during certain times more than others. This year I’m remembering how more than a few of our friends wondered if we should be together or not. And not without cause. We were both stubborn and tended to get into some real yelling matches at times. That has tempered with time but the latent tendency is still there. Thank God for His grace as He is changing us in that respect.

I even remember one friend was convinced that God had someone else picked out for me to marry. But I suppose I wasn’t spiritual enough at the time because God never let me in on the secret. Personally, I think I got the better end of the deal.

Jenn, I love you more now than I did 14 years ago. I look back where we’ve been and get excited about where we’re going. It’ll be fun and hard, we’ll laugh and cry, but we’ll do it all together, ok? You are the perfect one for me and I’m better with you than I could ever be without you.

There are certain segments of evangelicalism who have a love affair with Israel and it’s supposed destiny in God’s salvific plan for the world. Unfortunately, this view can blind you to the realities of what’s really going on(and has for centuries) in the conflicts we see in the Middle East. Take a second to read this recent article by Martin Accad - dean of the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Lebanon. Here are the first few paragraphs :

It is normally easy enough for me to dismiss with a smirk some of the simplistic comments that I constantly read or hear from Christians around the world as pertains to events that are going on in the Middle East. These comments hit much deeper at a time when my country is once again hurting beyond pain, under the murderous aggression of Israeli armed forces for the past five days.

It is striking how normally highly reasonable and spiritually aware people can suddenly lose any sense of ethical, let alone Christian, balance when it comes to Middle East conflicts involving modern political Israel.

“Great. All we need is a nuclear-armed Iran led by a messianic president who hates Israel and believes that apocalyptic destruction is a precursor to global salvation,” writes David P. Gushee in a recent Christianity Today online column, in reference to Iran’s president Ahmadinejad. On the whole, Gushee’s article is fairly balanced from a certain point of view, and I suppose within the limits necessary to avoid being attacked and branded by those in our churches who have but disdain for Arabs.

But how is it that he, like so many others, fails to notice that world events in the last few years—even decades—have had as their main catalyst tens of thousands of evangelical Christians with a “messianic” mentality who believe that apocalyptic destruction of all but their beloved Israel will be “a precursor to global salvation”? (read more)

By pointing to this article I’m not condoning or excusing the violence on either side. At the same time, we have to discard the misguided theology which puts Israel on a pedastal above all others. God’s chosen people live and die in places other than America and Israel.

(HT : Radix Perspectives)

I’ve come across several comment threads lately in which someone casually mentions their discipline of Scripture memorization. Now, I don’t know what sort of a reaction that topic creates in your life, but in mine it’s not a pretty thought battle. I have to fight the feeling that somehow I am an inferior Christian because memorization is not a regular part of my study of the Scriptures. [ Side note: I call this a "grace check." For more info see Greg Johnson's tract called Freedom from Quiet Time Guilt.]

The truth is that I would love to memorize Scripture. Verses, chapters, even whole books. I’d love to be able to remember the exact place I read a particular verse when I need it, finding it in any Bible that is at hand instead of thumbing through entire books slowly narrowing the location down by such distinctions as which side of the page it’s on - which only works with my own Bible!

The trouble is that, at least for me, rote memorization requires relatively large chunks of uninterrupted time, which are non-existent in my life. So instead of rote memorization, I’ve begun purposely doing a few things that at least keep me in the Word and keep the Word close at hand.

• Scripture memory songs. This is a no-brainer for me. If it’s set to music, it sticks in my head. The bonus is that my kids can do it with me. They’ve learned countless verses by setting them to the tune of children’s songs they already know at Community Bible Study - and in teaching them, I’ve learned them, too! (Imagine that!)
• Learning themes of individual books. Again, this may seem like a beginner’s skill, but it’s very useful to know that Romans talks about the wrath of God and 1 & 2 Peter deal with suffering, etc… when you’re trying to locate that specific verse.
• Scripture hunting. This one is my favorite, and probably the most useful. I regularly hear people quote Scripture without reference. If it’s not intrusive or distracting, I try to locate that exact verse on my own, resorting to a concordance only as a last resort. Try doing this at your next small group meeting or while listening to a sermon. The bonus is that when you find the verse, you get the context!

So, I’m working with my season of life to purposely stay in the Word, but I’m always looking for more things to do to hone my skills in the Scripture. These things work for me. What works for you?

I love Arlo and Janis comics. Jimmy Johnson, the artist, captures snippets of married life so well. (Well, at least it resonates with Brian and me. But we could just be weird.) I ran across Mr. Johnson’s blog this week. He includes links to older strips and other interesting info concerning the strip.

I also ran across one of the most interesting stories I’ve read in a while this week. Kyle MacDonald traded one red paper clip for something “bigger and better” and eventually achieved his goal of owning a house. For a paper clip. No kidding. And he didn’t spend a dime. Follow the link and read more than you ever wanted to know about the year-long process. I’m absolutely amazed at this guy’s gumption. So cool.

Do you like number games? My cousin sent me a link to this site that messed with my mind until my uber-intelligent husband figured it out for me. Can you figure it out?

I was traveling with two ladies this morning on my way to work, and while we were talking we somehow ended up on the topic of fathers.  The conversation quickly turned into a venting session between the two of them about how “if anything is ever going to get done for my child, I have to do it myself,” and “If my husband ever does do anything to help care for the kids, it’s only because I’ve had to nag him to do it.”  The conclusion they both agreed on was that men, in general, were completely useless when it came to the role of raising children. 

“You just wait,” one of the ladies said to me. “You’ll understand when you have kids.  Your husband will be the same way.”  “No, he won’t!” I quickly (and rather abruptly) chimed in.  “Let me tell you about my husband.”  I then proceeded with a five minute monologue about all of the things my husband did around the house and everything he took care of and how perfect he is.  (You’re welcome, sweetheart.)  ;) 

I don’t know if their complaints were justified or not.  But I do know that this is the typical picture most women paint of their husbands.  While I think I let my husband know how much I appreciate all he does, in reality I probably don’t say much more than, “Thank you for not being like most men.” Truly, he deserves so much more.  So, in honor of my husband and all the other wonderful men like him out there who take their roles of husbands and fathers seriously, I thought I’d write a little tribute.  (Ladies, feel free to join in.)

Here’s to the men:

• who give their children baths during Monday Night Football.
• who put their dishes in the dishwasher and take out the trash.
• who know how to administer antibiotics.
• who make the bed.
• who clean up the spaghetti sauce that their wife splattered all over the oven range.
• who sing bedtime lullabies over the cell phone from a far-off hotel room, even when there’s a half-second delay.
• who remember to take the sunscreen to the pool.
• who help straighten up the house when the in-laws are coming over b/c they know their wife would just die if they saw the house in disarray.
• who dress their children (in matching clothes).
• who know how to make a ponytail and tie a ribbon at the top.
• who’ve ever had to take a little girl into the men’s restroom.
• who water the plants when they notice them starting to wilt.
• who’ve killed dragons in the backyard with laserguns.
• who can differentiate between the hungry cry and the hurting cry.
• who do laundry.
• who work hard at jobs they really don’t like in order to provide for their families.
• who have an opinion on Gary Ezzo, James Dobson and Cynthia Tobias, and who can articulate those opinions.
• who cook (even if it’s just macaroni and cheese with a side of green beans).
• who make midnight runs for Children’s Tylenol.
• who offer to take half the grocery list.
• who help their children with their math homework…without making them cry.
• who fill their wife’s gas tank when they see it’s getting low.
• who know what lice look like and what the incubation period for Rotovirus is.
• who pay the bills on time and keep up with the household budget.
• who know their children’s shoe sizes.
• who know what their children’s (or their spouse’s) favorite kind of donut is.
• who know who Jasmine and Belle are.
• who get the oil changed on time.
• who know the names of every Thomas the Tank Engine character.
• who rock their children back to sleep after a thunderstorm.
• who hold their wife’s hair while she’s hovered over the toilet.
• who teach their children to pray.

This list could go on forever, but I’ll pause here and let others have a chance to add their own contributions.  Thank you, jlove, for being such a wonderful husband.  And my boss is right - you will make a wonderful father someday…IE5. 

Tulip Girl is once again hosting Ezzo Week over on her site. If you’ve ever wondered why all the hubbub over a Christian parenting author then here’s your chance to find out. Ezzo talks a good game and appeals to parents who want to bring their kids up “right”. But in the end it’s the actual methods that you have to measure by and that’s where Ezzo comes up short. So, here’s your chance to arm yoursef against those well-meaning friends and relatives shoving dog-eared copies of Ezzo books at you. What are you waiting for?

Ok, I have to break down and read some Flannery O’Connor. In the recent edition of Credenda Agenda, Douglas Jones has an article which talks about why many Christians get a little uptight about how O’Connor shows the grace of God in her novels. In short, our idea of grace is tied up in things which us feel good - not this “dark”, disruptive grace that O’Connor talks about :

Since Victorian times, Christians have tended to picture grace as cottony and covered with rubber. Grace always comforts and smoothes our furrowed brows; it always, always wipes away our tears, so sorry for them. We believe God is all-good; He’s pretty much a nursery-school attendant, pink and white, who doesn’t want anyone to get cut. In fact, we’re surprised when people actually bump their heads. Pain seems unnatural to us. It’s a no-no, and God is on our side. He never touches the stuff Himself.

In short, we believe deeply that all evil is bad. That’s the heart of modern Christian faith. All evil is bad. It permeates our day-to-day lives, our work, our sermons, our struggles, our analysis of disasters. All evil is bad. And if so, then grace has to be Nice. Grace and niceness become interchangeable, and Flannery sees this as a (if not the) chief source of wickedness in the modern world. It’s a lie about grace.
…
In Scripture, too, grace often appears evil. Sometimes it comes swooping down in the form of serpents. On the journey to Mount Hor, God’s people complained bitterly. Nice middle-class people, not criminals. Yet God’s dark grace came in horror story fashion: “The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died” (Num. 21:6). Imagine standing with that group of believers. Fiery serpents storm your spouse and children. All the screaming. All of grace. Surely fiery serpents were a bit of divine overreaction? God doesn’t want to upset anyone does He? No. Wrong God.

It is because of God’s grace that we experience most of the blessings that we do in this life. But they aren’t all cotton candy sweet. Sometimes, it takes something hard and dark to wrench our sight back to the source of all grace. Sometimes, grace isn’t what it seems.