I'm in Texas and it's hard to get onto the Internet. The past three days I have been in Salado at the Stagecoach Inn and true to the name, they are living in bygone days. There was no internet access. Today I went to a coffee shop with my laptop and spent more than an hour trying to get on-line and for some reason couldn't. I don't know if it was my computer or their server or what. I do know that it was frustrating.
I did have a chance to try and get some photos of the bluebonnets...but, it decided to rain today, the day I had set aside to go out. And now it's supposed to rain the rest of my time here. Sigh of frustration.
I was the youngest one at the reunion though! We decided that it was very fitting that I be there since it was the class of '48 and I am 48. I was sort of an honorary member for this reunion. My dad sold quite of few of his book, which is great. One of the ladies who had read it couldn't quit raving about it.
Well, I'm really tired. No questions tonight. Oh wait, this came up today. Give a one word answer to this question. What did Jonah preach?
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
War View and How Far is Too Far?
My church, through families in it, has 'adopted' five or six of the 'lost boys' of Sudan. It is so cool. And because of that we have an active ministry in Sudan. We have dug a well and are building a hospital for a village.
Six or so of our men were just over there. One of the Sudanese men asked one of our church men what he thought about the war in Iraq. Our man said he didn't know anymore.
The Sudanese man said something to the effect of, "When your President showed that he was courageous enough to go into Iraq, it stopped our war and the killing here in southern Sudan."
I found that interesting.
And then, how far is too far? I read this article this morning. A sheep that is 15% human? I know that they say the purpose is to make organ transplants better for humans, but I think this crosses the line. As much as I love the Chronicles of Narnia, here on earth there is a clear line (in my mind) between human and merely animal. What are we doing? The ends does not always justify the means. If it did, and you took it a logical conclusion, and human life is dispensible, then it would make sense to take one person, divide up their organs and save multiple lives. Not a dead person, a living one. If it's simply a matter of keeping the largest number of people alive for the longest time, that's where we would be.
God gave us knowledge and wisdom. But He also gave us responsibility. How do we decide the proper use of the intelligence we have been blessed with? What are the guidelines we need to use? How do we know when to say 'enough is enough'?
Six or so of our men were just over there. One of the Sudanese men asked one of our church men what he thought about the war in Iraq. Our man said he didn't know anymore.
The Sudanese man said something to the effect of, "When your President showed that he was courageous enough to go into Iraq, it stopped our war and the killing here in southern Sudan."
I found that interesting.
And then, how far is too far? I read this article this morning. A sheep that is 15% human? I know that they say the purpose is to make organ transplants better for humans, but I think this crosses the line. As much as I love the Chronicles of Narnia, here on earth there is a clear line (in my mind) between human and merely animal. What are we doing? The ends does not always justify the means. If it did, and you took it a logical conclusion, and human life is dispensible, then it would make sense to take one person, divide up their organs and save multiple lives. Not a dead person, a living one. If it's simply a matter of keeping the largest number of people alive for the longest time, that's where we would be.
God gave us knowledge and wisdom. But He also gave us responsibility. How do we decide the proper use of the intelligence we have been blessed with? What are the guidelines we need to use? How do we know when to say 'enough is enough'?
Sunday, March 25, 2007
First things first. I was nominated for the Thinking Blogger Award which originated here. It was given me by my cyber friend Matt who's site is here . Two ironies. First, I didn't even think anyone really read my blog and two, ever since being nominated my time to post has sort of disappeared. Isn't that the way it is. Anyway, thank you Matt, for the honor I appreciate it. It just goes to prove than even high school drop outs can think, I guess!
Okay, so lots of thoughts. Too many to post in the time I have. But I'll touch on a few of them.
First, in my reading of Joshua, there are several times that God sends natural disasters or occurrences. In chapter 10 it says that He sends a hailstorm that kills more of the enemy than the soldiers did. So I have to ask myself, how does that work? Was that just then? Did God use the atmospheric conditions to cause a hailstorm? Did He supernaturally bring it out of nowhere? Is every disaster the result of the direct will of God? Does God usually just let things happen and then every once in a while, intervene? I'd appreciate any thoughts. Of course, the easiest explanation is that the people just thought that a naturally occurring storm was the work of God, but if I am to believe that the Bible is literally true, I don't see how that can be the answer.
The power of names. That's the other thing I've been thinking about. I'm finally going to get my dog, on or around May 1. I am definitely letting my heart rule my head, this is crazy. He's going to be big, he will probably drool and I will have black dog hair all over my house. But that isn't the point. The point is the effort I am putting into choosing his name. He's just a dog, but I want his name to be right.
So that makes me think of something I've often thought of in the past, especially this time of year. The word 'Easter' comes from the word Ishtar who was the goddess of fertility. I wonder how God feels about that? The crowning work of His love is named for a false god. I can't believe that's good. God puts a lot of stock in names. If He didn't, He wouldn't have always been giving folks new ones. So is it honoring to Him to use that name for the day that Christ rose from the dead. I do sometimes call it Resurrection Sunday but it's often awkward. So many things bother me that don't seem to bother the rest of Christendom. I'm not sure why. Am I being legalistic and picky, or is there something to this?
You know, I don't think I should have gotten the thinking blogger I think I should have gotten the questioning blogger. I don't post thoughts so much as questions. If only I could find some of the answers. These things are hard to talk about because people often become defensive. I don't know how to couch my questions with people IRL the right way I guess. It seems like people feel threatened.
Well, we are heading back to church for a lunch about the missions trip to Sudan. Our church here is very contemporary. I didn't expect them to do much other than a Sunday service to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. But they are doing some awesome things. A Maundy Thursday celebration, a Seder supper, a celebration of art with the resurrection theme, other things that I would have expected of a more liturgical church, but not ours. I'm so disappointed we will be at the beach. If it weren't for our kids, I think I would cancel our plans just to be here. I think we perhaps put too much emphasis on the birth of Christ and not enough on His death and resurrection. I am so glad to see this in our church.
Okay, so lots of thoughts. Too many to post in the time I have. But I'll touch on a few of them.
First, in my reading of Joshua, there are several times that God sends natural disasters or occurrences. In chapter 10 it says that He sends a hailstorm that kills more of the enemy than the soldiers did. So I have to ask myself, how does that work? Was that just then? Did God use the atmospheric conditions to cause a hailstorm? Did He supernaturally bring it out of nowhere? Is every disaster the result of the direct will of God? Does God usually just let things happen and then every once in a while, intervene? I'd appreciate any thoughts. Of course, the easiest explanation is that the people just thought that a naturally occurring storm was the work of God, but if I am to believe that the Bible is literally true, I don't see how that can be the answer.
The power of names. That's the other thing I've been thinking about. I'm finally going to get my dog, on or around May 1. I am definitely letting my heart rule my head, this is crazy. He's going to be big, he will probably drool and I will have black dog hair all over my house. But that isn't the point. The point is the effort I am putting into choosing his name. He's just a dog, but I want his name to be right.
So that makes me think of something I've often thought of in the past, especially this time of year. The word 'Easter' comes from the word Ishtar who was the goddess of fertility. I wonder how God feels about that? The crowning work of His love is named for a false god. I can't believe that's good. God puts a lot of stock in names. If He didn't, He wouldn't have always been giving folks new ones. So is it honoring to Him to use that name for the day that Christ rose from the dead. I do sometimes call it Resurrection Sunday but it's often awkward. So many things bother me that don't seem to bother the rest of Christendom. I'm not sure why. Am I being legalistic and picky, or is there something to this?
You know, I don't think I should have gotten the thinking blogger I think I should have gotten the questioning blogger. I don't post thoughts so much as questions. If only I could find some of the answers. These things are hard to talk about because people often become defensive. I don't know how to couch my questions with people IRL the right way I guess. It seems like people feel threatened.
Well, we are heading back to church for a lunch about the missions trip to Sudan. Our church here is very contemporary. I didn't expect them to do much other than a Sunday service to celebrate the resurrection of Christ. But they are doing some awesome things. A Maundy Thursday celebration, a Seder supper, a celebration of art with the resurrection theme, other things that I would have expected of a more liturgical church, but not ours. I'm so disappointed we will be at the beach. If it weren't for our kids, I think I would cancel our plans just to be here. I think we perhaps put too much emphasis on the birth of Christ and not enough on His death and resurrection. I am so glad to see this in our church.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Internet connectedness
I've been having internet problems. I think I've got it taken care of after spending some quality time with a very patient man in India this morning. First it was intermittent and then last night as I was posting here I totally lost the connection and couldn't get it back. I was so frustrated. Computer problems usually mean hours on the phone squinting to see numbers and letters to small to discern (at least at my age) without a magnifying glass and endless minutes as I wait for my computer (old and slow) to reboot. So, I didn't respond well. I was frustrated and too often that means I get frustrated with other things that would normally not bother me. What a duality I have in me. On the one hand I have tried to live my life trusting it to God and His sovereignty and love for me. And then I encounter something like this and I can't even trust Him in it. Instead my humanity rises to the surface with irritation. It's sad.
So...I had posted several things here. I'm not sure I remember all of them. I know one thing was about our attitude towards money. I'm at the end of Deuteronomy now, I actually just got into Joshua. But at the end of Deuteronomy it makes several points that I think are valid as I look at finances, in light of the talk I'm going to give on wealth and poverty. The first is that we are to acknowledge that God is the source of all we have. It's so easy to take pride in ourselves, to think that if others just had our attitude or abilities or wisdom, they wouldn't be in the financial spot they are. The truth is that any of us could lose everything we have at any minute and no matter what we do, there is no guarantee of prosperity. So, number one, give credit to our Provider. The second was to give the tithes and then celebrate with your family the bounty God has provided. (All of this is obviously Paula's paraphrase, I don't have my Bible in front of me.) It actually commands that, to celebrate. So obviously it's okay to enjoy at least a portion of what God has given. We don't need to feel guilty if we do something just for fun. We don't need to beat ourselves up if we eat out knowing that there are people starving somewhere. But then it also talks about giving an extra offering for several groups, including the foreigner, widows and orphans. So while we are allowed or encouraged to enjoy the gifts God has given, we are also commanded to share generously, not just the minimum. I guess, as with all things, it comes down to the heart attitude. Am I greedy and self indulgent or do I care about the welfare of others who are less fortunate. It is surprising to me how often God tells us to give to the poor. Not in order to win them to faith, not for any motive, just to do it. I was raised that everything should be done in order to get people to become Christians, so to just do a good deed without specifically telling them about Christ and the good news He brings was almost wrong. But I'm not seeing that. What I'm seeing is that there is value simply in the physical act of caring for the needy.
Last night we went to the Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis. We fed about fifty kids and played with them and gave them lunches for the next day. We didn't preach or teach, we just gave. Part of me thought we should be sharing Christ, but part of me thinks it's okay to just give. I know that ultimately they need Christ, but maybe last night wasn't the time. We are going to see if we can sponsor one or two of the kids. Have them over to our house, take them to do things, just befriend them. It was so awesome to see our girls playing with them and interacting and enjoying it. They wanted to do it. I am so grateful to God for that. It made me so happy. Instead of having a bad attitude they entered into it with enthusiasm and hurt for the kids who were obviously love hungry. I'm so grateful that they have tender hearts.
So...I had posted several things here. I'm not sure I remember all of them. I know one thing was about our attitude towards money. I'm at the end of Deuteronomy now, I actually just got into Joshua. But at the end of Deuteronomy it makes several points that I think are valid as I look at finances, in light of the talk I'm going to give on wealth and poverty. The first is that we are to acknowledge that God is the source of all we have. It's so easy to take pride in ourselves, to think that if others just had our attitude or abilities or wisdom, they wouldn't be in the financial spot they are. The truth is that any of us could lose everything we have at any minute and no matter what we do, there is no guarantee of prosperity. So, number one, give credit to our Provider. The second was to give the tithes and then celebrate with your family the bounty God has provided. (All of this is obviously Paula's paraphrase, I don't have my Bible in front of me.) It actually commands that, to celebrate. So obviously it's okay to enjoy at least a portion of what God has given. We don't need to feel guilty if we do something just for fun. We don't need to beat ourselves up if we eat out knowing that there are people starving somewhere. But then it also talks about giving an extra offering for several groups, including the foreigner, widows and orphans. So while we are allowed or encouraged to enjoy the gifts God has given, we are also commanded to share generously, not just the minimum. I guess, as with all things, it comes down to the heart attitude. Am I greedy and self indulgent or do I care about the welfare of others who are less fortunate. It is surprising to me how often God tells us to give to the poor. Not in order to win them to faith, not for any motive, just to do it. I was raised that everything should be done in order to get people to become Christians, so to just do a good deed without specifically telling them about Christ and the good news He brings was almost wrong. But I'm not seeing that. What I'm seeing is that there is value simply in the physical act of caring for the needy.
Last night we went to the Boys and Girls Club of Annapolis. We fed about fifty kids and played with them and gave them lunches for the next day. We didn't preach or teach, we just gave. Part of me thought we should be sharing Christ, but part of me thinks it's okay to just give. I know that ultimately they need Christ, but maybe last night wasn't the time. We are going to see if we can sponsor one or two of the kids. Have them over to our house, take them to do things, just befriend them. It was so awesome to see our girls playing with them and interacting and enjoying it. They wanted to do it. I am so grateful to God for that. It made me so happy. Instead of having a bad attitude they entered into it with enthusiasm and hurt for the kids who were obviously love hungry. I'm so grateful that they have tender hearts.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Katie's birthday
Today my oldest daughter turns 24. It's hard to believe.
I remember the day she came from Korea. We waited in the airport, with love and excitement mixed so thouroughly that the air was thick with it. For us, it was a dream delayed. Katie was supposed to come a month earlier, but on the day of her anticipated arrival we received word that she was too sick to travel. I fell apart, pretty completely. But now she was arriving. On the drive to the airport, I warned Art not to expect much. To be prepared for a wasted, moth-eaten bundle of rags with no comeliness to draw us. How shocked I was to find in my arms a chubby bundle of contentment, sucking on her two fingers. Why, she was the most adorable child that came. How could we have been so fortunate as to get the most beautiful child there? (Looking back, I wonder if every waiting mom felt that way?)
I remember the years of her increasing imagination. Stories of monkeys in trees and monsters with pink eyes and amazing feats. Years of spontaneous hugs and exuberant energy and determined willfullness. Her voice was a delight, every note hit with perfection and sung with earnestness. I remember a youth filled with talent and ability and enthusiasm and laughter.
There are years I'd rather not remember. Years of conflict and pain and misunderstanding and despair. Times of rejection and anger and apparent hatred. Years of wondering what had gone wrong and where I had failed.
I remember watching and waiting and praying as she discovered her own path. Of giving up on making her stay with me on mine. Of releasing her from my control, but not from my heart.
I watch now with wonder as she comes home with joy, wanting to be with us. I store up memories of her calling with excitement to share news with us first because she knows we care most. I stand amazed and silent as she pays verbal tribute to her upbringing and exonerates us of our guilt. I watch in wonder as she seeks our counsel, treasuring our views. I delight in the dimension she adds to our family, a spice that gives it depth.
I wait with anticipation to see how she will grow. To see the path she will take, to find how she will give and contribute. I remember the little girl entrusted to our care, completely dependent in our arms. I remember the love and excitement with which I anticipated the future. It's still there.
I remember the day she came from Korea. We waited in the airport, with love and excitement mixed so thouroughly that the air was thick with it. For us, it was a dream delayed. Katie was supposed to come a month earlier, but on the day of her anticipated arrival we received word that she was too sick to travel. I fell apart, pretty completely. But now she was arriving. On the drive to the airport, I warned Art not to expect much. To be prepared for a wasted, moth-eaten bundle of rags with no comeliness to draw us. How shocked I was to find in my arms a chubby bundle of contentment, sucking on her two fingers. Why, she was the most adorable child that came. How could we have been so fortunate as to get the most beautiful child there? (Looking back, I wonder if every waiting mom felt that way?)
I remember the years of her increasing imagination. Stories of monkeys in trees and monsters with pink eyes and amazing feats. Years of spontaneous hugs and exuberant energy and determined willfullness. Her voice was a delight, every note hit with perfection and sung with earnestness. I remember a youth filled with talent and ability and enthusiasm and laughter.
There are years I'd rather not remember. Years of conflict and pain and misunderstanding and despair. Times of rejection and anger and apparent hatred. Years of wondering what had gone wrong and where I had failed.
I remember watching and waiting and praying as she discovered her own path. Of giving up on making her stay with me on mine. Of releasing her from my control, but not from my heart.
I watch now with wonder as she comes home with joy, wanting to be with us. I store up memories of her calling with excitement to share news with us first because she knows we care most. I stand amazed and silent as she pays verbal tribute to her upbringing and exonerates us of our guilt. I watch in wonder as she seeks our counsel, treasuring our views. I delight in the dimension she adds to our family, a spice that gives it depth.
I wait with anticipation to see how she will grow. To see the path she will take, to find how she will give and contribute. I remember the little girl entrusted to our care, completely dependent in our arms. I remember the love and excitement with which I anticipated the future. It's still there.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Babysitting today
I'm away from home, babysitting. This darling little girl usually takes a three hour nap, but of course today is the exception. That's okay though, she's really good. Right now she is very happily entertainng herself with Thomas the train engine and gang.
I read my Bible at home prior to coming and couldn't post right away. But I've gotten to the parts where it keeps saying 'the life is in the blood'. That could have profound implications. If it's literally true, and I don't see why it wouldn't be, then life does not begin at conception but on the day that the blood is formed in the fetus. I think that is somewhere around day eight. That is a huge difference, especially in cases of rape.
I'm going to be teaching our church's ladies Bible study one week on wealth and poverty. Should be interesting because there are so many verses and perspectives on the subject in Scripture. I always feel the weight of the responsibility to accurately teach God's Word and not lead anyone astray.
I read my Bible at home prior to coming and couldn't post right away. But I've gotten to the parts where it keeps saying 'the life is in the blood'. That could have profound implications. If it's literally true, and I don't see why it wouldn't be, then life does not begin at conception but on the day that the blood is formed in the fetus. I think that is somewhere around day eight. That is a huge difference, especially in cases of rape.
I'm going to be teaching our church's ladies Bible study one week on wealth and poverty. Should be interesting because there are so many verses and perspectives on the subject in Scripture. I always feel the weight of the responsibility to accurately teach God's Word and not lead anyone astray.
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