White as Snow

"Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are as scarlet, They will be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They will be like wool.

-Isaiah 1:18 (NASB95)

It snowed a ton here in Moses Lake yesterday... the snow clouding your vision as you looked out the window sort of snow... I really love it. I'm guessing that we got just at 5" of new snow. The snow reminds me of this text in Isaiah, "though your sins are as scarlet; they will be as white as snow." Through the winter months it can be a bit dreary around here. We don't get enough snow to make it beautiful, the desert winter is just brown and bleak. Or we get just enough snow to skiff the ground and not completely cover the grass and grime. I don't mind it terribly, but there's nothing like a new snowfall to cover all the grass, dirt and grime. It gives a new view, a new landscape, it clears the air and covers the ground.

God's faithfulness to give us new starts is amazing to me. He tells us that his mercies are "new every morning." "The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." Lamentations 3:22-24 (NASB95) He is long-suffering and forbearing with us to a degree that is mind-boggling. Forbearance is one of my favorite words... when you boil it down it pretty much means "to put up with." God just puts up with us; our weakness, our weirdness, our faulty and at times insincere worship.

These musings clarify two thoughts in my mind. 1) When I'm feeling like I'm worthless and not accomplishing much; when I know that I'm falling short in some area of my life, and particularly in my devotion to Him, He's faithful and forbearing to me. Though I fall short of giving myself in a way that He's worthy of he bridges the gap in coming toward me. 2) The world would be a vastly different place if we humans treated each other in the same way that God treats us; giving each other new chances, putting up with each other, loving each other and bridging the distance when someone falls short. We're so often actually the opposite. Rather than giving each other new chances we say, "Sorry, that was your last chance!" Rather than putting up with each other we say, "I'm done with you!" Rather than building bridges we tend to build walls. But it's a new day... and His mercy is new today... we can start over and make a difference. Today I want to work a bit harder to give another chance, put up with someone who surely isn't any worse than I when it's all said and done, and build a bridge.

Time: Some practical advice

I've been reading this new book by Kreeft and have enjoyed it very much. The subtitle is, "Letters to our Children about What Really Matters." It's been great, and each snippet of information is no longer than two pages... it's actually a bit annoying because it's very hard to put down. You think, "Well, just one more... just one more... just one more... just one more.

The idea is little bits of wisdom and advice that Kreeft would really like to pass on to his children. I read one the other night that struck me... I know the truth of it, but I need to be reminded regulary. It's from page 36 and the title is "What to do with Time: Some Practical Advice." Here is the text:

"Amazing how a simple thing like time management can make such a big difference to everything in life. Amazing how a simple, obvious rule can make such a big difference to time management. The rule: Work first, then play. That way the work will be done well, unhurried, and without deadlines and time pressures. And the play will be guilt-free and worry-free because your work is done. You know you deserve to play now, so you will enjoy it more. Otherwise, if you play first and then work, the play is full of worry and the work is full of hurry."

-PKreeft

I think that most of us know this truth, and few of us live by it!

Riverdance

We just got back from Riverdance in Spokane WA. What a hoot. The performance was last night at the Spokane Opera House. We've had a commitment to take our boys to some event like this on a regular basis. Unfortunately "a regular basis" hasn't been nearly as often as we'd like to have taken them. The last time we did something at the Opera House was Christmas two years ago... we saw The Nutcracker Ballet which was also a hoot.

We have the boys dress nicely, suits & ties, and go out to dinner, usually stay at the Davenport Hotel. This time was just as great as the last time. Our kids (generally, not just our three boys) have been brought up in such a media immersed age that they haven't been exposed much to such events. It makes us nervous when our kids are "bored" so we just don't make them attend such social occasions. It's clear to me that folks don't expose their children to such events for two non-scientific reasons. 1) We didn't really see any other children (under 18) at the event. I know there were some, but not enough to really notice. 2) People really noticed us... that is to say, nearly every adult that we had any significant contact with made comments about having our boys there, and how nicely they were dressed.

I feel very blessed because first our boys love dressing up. Second, we have enough income, and have been generously blessed by the goodness of others to experience such events. Our youngest, Noah, sort of rolled his eyes a bit through the first half, but was hooked after the break. There isn't much opportunity to be exposed to such amazing music and dancing. I think, at times, that living where we live, if a child isn't athletic there isn't a chance for her/him to find an outlet for their giftedness. It's the saddest thing in the world that we spend so much time, money, and energy exposing or sons and daughters to sports (most of them won't play sports of any sort extensively after high school) that we don't have time to expose them to the arts and society which they can appreciate right up until they fall into the hole in which they'll be buried.

I hope we can keep doing it, and I'd encourage you to also... if you don't have children gain an appreciation for it personally, and build the habit of taking it all in... then when/if you do have children you'll love it or at least appreciate it enough, to want to take you kids.

A Generous Orthodoxy

I’ve spent this past week away. Away from home, away from church, away from noise… which like most people, I find I miss. Mostly I miss the noise of my wife and sons. Other than the daily trip into the Starbucks which gives me the opportunity of a 3 minute interchange with the Barista, I know, why should it take three minutes to order coffee… well, when that’s the only living soul you actually chat with in a week, you don’t want to rush it. Of course I’ve had a few phone calls and misc. email, but that doesn’t count as real human contact.

I’ve gone out each day for about 2 hours to do some cross-country skiing… I’m horrible at it, but it’s given a nice break from the Condo… yesterday was especially delightful at the top of Echo Ridge. I came around a corner of the trail and thought I could see a million miles of sky and mountains… I tried to stay back from the edge!

I’ve spent a lot of time quiet, and a bunch of time reading and thinking. Finished Of Mice and Men (see book review), then read Playing for Pizza (see book review), and started a book that I’ve had on my reading list for quite some time A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. I haven’t read McLaren before, but have heard plenty about him (also heard him speak once). One thing that resonates with me so far in the book is the confusion that he’s felt about the church. Perhaps it’s characterized as well as anywhere in a statement on pg.21, “But often I have felt like an ambulance driver bringing injured people to a hospital where there’s an epidemic spreading among the patients and doctors and nurses.” The professor and I speak long and often about the church, our confusion, and for my part at least, my place in it. Probably seems strange since I’ve now been in church ministry for 21 or 22 years and at my current post for nearly 20! I love our church, wouldn’t want to go anywhere else… if I wasn’t on the staff, it’s still where I’d want to go, and yet there’s something missing. As much as we talk about being a “caravan rather than a commissary” I fear that we’re still a commissary. There is a group in the center who are deeply devoted to the body, and then much coming and going around the edges. It’s confusing to me at times. I surely do love the people there though; they are in so many ways, my family.

I appreciate McLaren’s desire to embrace a diverse orthodoxy, as well as a generous one, and I’m on that page in so many ways. What troubles me is at what point we say about a thing, “this is truth.” This is really it. Not so that we can say, “I’m right about this!” But because in saying, “this is truth” we’re saying something about the way things really are… we’re describing not our favorite idea of a thing, but actually saying what “is”. It is exclusive, I know, but then there is exclusivity in our world, there is discrimination. I don’t mean discrimination necessarily as picking someone out for unfair treatment, rather to be “discriminating” is to make a judgment between one thing and another, to discern. There isn’t anything inherently evil in that process. It’s certainly wrong to discriminate regarding race and some of the other issues that get us exercised… but some discrimination, some discernment reflects how the world is and ought to be. I’m honestly struggling a bit with that line just now. I’m sure I’ll reflect more on it and on McLaren as time goes by… I’m on page 140.

"The Bucket List"

Just saw the movie, The Bucket List, it was an awesome movie. Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, two great actors, and a great story. One of those movies that makes you laugh 'till you cry at one moment... and just cry the next. You've probably seen something about it, but if not the essential story line is two old guys who have cancer making "a bucket list." All the things they wanted to do before they "kicked the bucket."

Sharlyn and I saw this with two other couples, and everyone loved the movie, still talking about it a couple of days later. A movie that isn't, strictly speaking, profound. There's nothing really new, but a nice way of telling old truths. There isn't any nudity that I can remember, though there is some sexual talk and innuendo, but not enough to detract from the movie. Of course there is some language... Jack Nicholson... but again, not overwhelming.

You gotta check out this film.
JJR