He Walked Among Us

What was the incarnation like? Can we fathom what it cost Christ to walk among us? What did it feel like to take on our sweaty, filthy flesh? What did it cost him to turn away from the song of cherubs on streets of gold and walk through swarms of gnats and the smell of rotting fish on the shores of Galillee? What did he feel when he stretched out his hand and touched the leper? When he touched the ear of the deaf? When his spittle cured the blind? When an unclean woman clutched for the edge of his robe? I can't even get my mind around it.

Do we ever get close to that? They say that cross cultural missions imitates this. But sometimes its even harder to touch life five minutes from my front door. How close are my prayers to being "thank God I'm not like that person."? Without the particular graces God has shown me, I would be that or worse. Do I really have myelf to thank for a healthy body, a sound mind, a strong family, a good education? We are stewards of course, but we can only work with what God first gave and by his grace continues to keep.

I am humbled by my friends. And by those I don't know as well but get to commune with on Sundays. The grandest crowns in heaven aren't going to go to the most brilliant academics or eloquent apologists. I imagine they're going to go to some of the men and women I saw tonight who worked harder than I did but still complained less. Who were far more eager to serve, far more compassionate to speak and to listen. I learned a lot from them tonight about what incarnational ministry looks like. I would like to say they know who they are. But they are so humble they probably don't.

God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Driving Tips

This started out as an angry tirade, but I needed to reframe it to season it with grace.

• First, when it is raining and/or twilight PLEASE turn your lights on! Even though you may be able to see the road ahead, that does not mean that other drivers can see you!
• Secondly, PLEASE use your turn signal! It's that little lever on the left side of your steering wheel that causes a little blinking light to come on in the direction you intend to turn. It's a marvelous little devise. Please use it.
• Thirdly, why on earth are there intersections in Delaware where two lanes form, one which turns right and one for drivers turning left or going straight? That doesn't make any sense! If you are going to have two lanes, have one for people turning left and the other for people turning right or going straight. That way traffic doesn't get backed up for the person turning left and/or impatient people don't swerve into the lane for drivers turning right only and nearly cause an accident.
  
  Thank you and have a nice day.

Overweight?

So, I weighed myself on the scales at the YMCA after my workout tonight. I then plugged that number and my height into a BMI calculator on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website and discovered that I am overweight. Unbelievable. I must be the scrawniest overweight person in America.

When Insults Had Class

I received the following from my friend Jake. I have not verified the accuracy of any of these, but they sound about right. By the way, I love Churchhill.

• "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." - Winston Churchill
• "Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I'll waste no time reading it." - Moses Hadas
• "He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know." - Abraham Lincoln
• "I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend ... if you have one." - George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill
• "Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second... if there is one." - Winston Churchill, in reply
• "I feel so miserable without you; it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop
• "A modest little person, with much to be modest about..." - Winston Churchill about Clement Atlee
• "I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure." - Clarence Darrow
• "He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary." - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
• "Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words?" - Ernest Hemingway (about William Faulkner)
• "He is not only dull himself; he is the cause of dullness in others." - Samuel Johnson
• "He had delusions of adequacy." - Walter Kerr
• "I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it." - Groucho Marx
• "They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge." Thomas Brackett Reed
• "He loves nature in spite of what it did to him." - Forrest Tucker
• "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it." - Mark Twain
• "His mother should have thrown him away and kept the stork." - Mae West
• "Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go." - Oscar Wilde
• "He has no enemies, but is intensely disliked by his friends." - Oscar Wilde

My lucky day

This has been a good day. I passed my DE life and health insurance exams in the morning which is a relief. I also have 77,777 miles on my car. It's the little things that amuse me.

Music for all occasions

I am very happy to know that Lifehouse is in the studio working on their next album. No matter what I am experiencing, they always seem to have a song that speaks to me.

"When all the plans you made are lying on the floor
And all your dreams are turning into nothing more
When all your hope has left you know you're not alone
Just hold on
Hold on"

- Undone by Lifehouse

Moments of Levity, Volume 2

Oh, so this is what you do when you can't sleep. You look up old Strongbad e-mails.

Dragon

Kid's Book

Band Name

Techno

sleep

Is there anything more frustrating than not being able to get to sleep? I was so looking forward to getting a good night's rest and for the life of me I can't get to sleep even though I'm tired and sleepy. I don't mean to complain as I totally recognize this is no one's fault but my own. Any home remedies out there that don't include pharmaceutical products?

Christian trinkets

Jeff the Baptist picks up on one of my minor annoyances: Christian trinkets.

So Mysterious

I was listening to the song "So Mysterious" by Common Children on the way to work this morning, and it made me think of one of my favorite poems by Lord Byron. Since I've caused you to endure some of mine, this is what good poetry looks like.

"Since, oh! whate’er my future fate,
Shall joy or woe my steps await;
Tempted by love, by storms beset,
Thine image I can ne’er forget.
Alas! again no more we meet,
No more former looks repeat;
Then, let me breathe this parting prayer,
The dictate of my bosom’s care:
'May Heaven so guard my lovely quaker,
That anguish never can o’ertake her;
That peace and virtue ne’er forsake her,
But bliss be aye her heart’s partaker!
Oh! may the happy mortal, fated
To be, by dearest ties, related,
For her, each hour, new joys discover,
And lose the husband in the lover!
May that fair bosom never know
What ’tis to feel the restless woe,
Which stings the soul, with vain regret,
Of him, who never can forget!'”

For all your financial needs

So I have a meeting scheduled for this evening with a representative from Primerica Financial Services to talk about taking on a part-time involvement with them. I am very excited about this. For one, it's a friend of a family I am close to so there's more of a trust factor. Also, when I spoke with her on the phone, instead of trying to be high pressure to get me involved, she first expressed concern about a possible conflict-of-interest with my current job and then asked me to bring my resume. (I used to work for them when I was college, and when I brought my resume to show my then boss, he told me that he didn't need to see it.) So, I'm thinking their philosophy isn't just to throw as many people to the wall as possible and see who sticks.

The thing I'm really excited about is that since I have such a great day job (Chatham rules!), I don't need to make a dime from this. Instead, I feel like it will give me the tools (and licensing) I need to more effectively help people become financially independent and wise, generous stewards of their money. I would do this for free, but they insist on paying me.

I'm also looking into the H&R Block tax education class. They offer it on Saturdays which is great except I know of at least two where I won't be able to make it. So I've got to talk to a rep today and see if I can still work something out. I've already taken the Tax class for my CFP course, but this would really help broaden my knowledge base.

So, if you would like to talk to someone about how to make a budget, get and stay out of debt, have income protection in the event of loss, how to save for retirement, a child's education or other goals, or simply need to file your tax return to maximum benefit, I may be able to help you with that shortly! Woo-hoo!

"I favor the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money but because I wish to save people . . . economy is idealism in its most practical form." - Calvin Coolidge

Overcoming evil

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke.

I have always loved that quote. I literally feel my blood pressure rise, my body tense up and my fists start to clench when I hear it. It makes me ready for a battle. Which is good. Because we're in one.

Today there was an e-mail that came out from Kairos about collecting items for a back to school drive. I stopped at Wal-Mart on the way home and was excited to find packs of crayons and notebooks for as little as 10 cents each. (Some of it was even made in America!) So I was able to pick up some boxes of each.

Maybe I'm being overly idealistic, but it felt like I was part of a striking blow to the forces of evil. With a few crayons and pencils, we push forward the kingdom of God against a broken society. The gates of hell will not prevail against the church, especially not with glue sticks and construction paper in hand.

Litany of Penitence

In thinking about my previous posting, the following came to mind from the Common Book of Prayer:

Most holy and merciful Father: We confess to you and to one another, and to the whole communion of saints in heaven and on earth, that we have sinned by our own fault in thought, word, and deed; by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart, and mind, and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others, as we have been forgiven.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We have been deaf to your call to serve, as Christ served us. We have not been true to the mind of Christ. We have grieved your Holy Spirit.
Have mercy on us, Lord.

We confess to you, Lord, all our past unfaithfulness: the pride, hypocrisy, and impatience of our lives,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our self-indulgent appetites and ways, and our exploitation of other people,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our anger at our own frustration, and our envy of those more fortunate than ourselves,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our intemperate love of worldly goods and comforts, and our dishonesty in daily life and work,
We confess to you, Lord.

Our negligence in prayer and worship, and our failure to commend the faith that is in us,
We confess to you, Lord.

Accept our repentance, Lord, for the wrongs we have done: for our blindness to human need and suffering, and our indifference to injustice and cruelty,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For all false judgments, for uncharitable thoughts toward our neighbors, and for our prejudice and contempt toward those who differ from us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

For our waste and pollution of your creation, and our lack of concern for those who come after us,
Accept our repentance, Lord.

Restore us, good Lord, and let your anger depart from us;
Favorably hear us, for your mercy is great.
Accomplish in us the work of your salvation,
That we may show forth your glory in the world.

By the cross and passion of your Son our Lord, Bring us with all your saints to the joy of his resurrection.

Taking a walk

In the past week I have twice done something I don't recall doing in years: I walked to the grocery store. I am sure that seems utterly mundane and unimportant. But as I walked back this morning a number of things started to cross my mind.

One of the things that bugs me most about us Americans is not just our sense of entitlement (as bad as that is) or our sense of indulgence (as bad as that is) but our sense of entitlement to indulgences! What most of the world can not even dream of, we complain about. Think about that the next time you're in a long line at a grocery store. You just spent the last hour (or whatever amount of time) in a clean, dry, air conditioned store with literally tens of thousands of products of every imaginable variety catering not only to your every need but your every desire. Much of the world will go hungry tonight. I remember hearing a story once of a foreign exchange student who visited the United States from a former Soviet bloc country. When the host family took the student to the grocery store, the child thought that it was democratic/capitalist propaganda because the store was so full of so many things. He or she thought they had set that store up just because they were visiting from a communist state, and it took time for the student to realize that was what normal life looks like for us. I have heard of missionaries who have returned to the States and literally became ill when they started to enter a store because they couldn't handle the transition back to such material abundance. I am not saying this to make you feel guilty. (I'm a conservative so this can't be liberal guilt.) Instead, I hope it will simply make us more thankful and generous. (And for crying out loud, please at least take your shopping cart back when you're finished instead of leaving it in the parking lot. You just spend an hour pushing it full around the store; why can you not push it empty a few more yards back to the cart caddy? That is so lazy and rude.)

The other component of this is the matter of walking. It is really striking to me how much our entire society is centered around the automobile. I would encourage you to try walking to the grocery store at least once. Granted, you probably can't do this if you're married with three kids in diapers. But especially if you're single it should be do-able for some things. (Both times I was just buying milk and fruits and veggies.) There are a number of advantages to this. For one, it's good exercise. Secondly, it saves you gas money. Third, you'll likely spend less on things you don't need since you have to carry it all back. Fourth, it's better for the environment. Fifth, it reduces traffic congestion. Sixth, it puts you more in touch with your community when you walk its streets and sidewalks. I'm sure there are more, but I'll leave it to you to share the ideas.

Again, the issue of indulgent entitlement came to mind. Who are we to complain about $3 gas when we have two or three cars outside (one of which is likely to be a gas-guzzling SUV)? Haven't we at least partly brought this on ourselves? It is considered almost unpatriotic to say that we need to "tighten our belts" and cut back to conserve energy. (God bless you Jimmy Carter.) We need to question that assumption.

Again, I am sure my hypocrisy here knows no bounds. There are many ways I can do better. This is something I am just now becoming more aware of. The fact that my motivation for walking was as much due to the fitness challenge at work than anything else reveals the privilege of my position. But can we consider how to use that privilege to be wise and to be a blessing instead of always indulging ourselves?

Could he be talking about my blog?

Again, I can't help but be reminded of the mild lunacy of my blogging. Garfield reflects on the aforemention Proverbial wisdom.

But first . . .

God has really been working on me through this time in facilitating a class on Luke in Kairos. Our small group spent a year in Luke awhile back, and I was concerned I would feel a sense of overfamiliarity, but just the opposite has been true. There have been so many times I've said to myself, "I can't believe I've never seen that before."

This week is on Luke 9:57-62 and talks about how our obedience to following Christ must be considered (i.e. count the cost), immediate and unconditional. The first individual Jesus encounters on his way to Jerusalem is eager to follow and has great intentions but apparently hasn't come to grips with all that it will cost him. His problem seems to have been presumption. The second and third individuals stepped back from giving full and immediate allegiance. Their problem seems to have been procrastination.

It just made me start to ask myself, what has taken priority in my life before following Christ? What do I prioritize before my time with God? No doubt most of these will be good and necessary things. But "good is the enemy of the great."

It's amazing how powerful just a couple words can be: But first. But first let me go bury my father. But first let me say goodbye to everyone back home.

What things are causing me to respond to Jesus' call to follow Him by saying, "But first . . ."

• The presence of a relationship (or the lack of one)?
• The presence of an education (or the lack of one)?
• The presence of a career (or the lack of one)?
• The presence of a dream (or the lack of one)?

If I am being honest with myself, to what extent am I responding by saying:

• I would follow you, if it weren't for . . .
• I would follow you, if only . . .
• I would follow you, but . . .

We make receiving the one thing we need conditional upon first arranging for a myriad of things we want.

It also struck me that the first person in this episode sought out Jesus. The second one Jesus sought out. I think it just goes to show that it works both ways.

The other question that really struck me from this passage is, "Is it costing you anything?" It seems they all had something they weren't quite ready to give up. It amazes me that Jesus isn't so worried about gaining more followers that he would let them get away without first dealing with the real issues of their heart. We tend to bypass that and try to just get people to say the four laws and a prayer and then think the work is done. I wonder if that is part of why the Church is so scarcely different from the world.

And yet again we encounter the phrase "the kingdom of God." The second individual says "First let me go and bury", but Jesus says to instead "go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God." For a very thorough and revealing treatment of what is meant by the idea of "kingdom of God" I again highly recommend Renovation of the Heart and The Divine Conspiracy, both by Dallas Willard.

It's interesting that we never really get to hear the rest of the story. Did they walk away dejected like the rich, young ruler? Or did they recognize and cast off what hindered them and utlimately respond in immediate, unconditional obedience? More importanly perhaps, which choice do I (we) make?

Dream Car

Oh, and if you're trying to figure out what to get me for Christmas this year, consider clicking on the link above. Nice. Very nice.

Cars

JD Power just released its dependability survey. Lexus took its perenniel spot at the top, but guess who the next three were? Hint: It wasn't Honda or Toyota. It wasn't even BMW or Mercedes. It was three American automakers: Mercury, Buick and Cadillac. Long live the American automobile. Literally.

As the happy owner of a GM product myself (a Saturn SL2), I get annoyed with the bias towards foreign cars. Have you ever noticed that if you tell someone you have 200,000 on your car and it's a Honda or a Toyota, it's because "They're made to run forever. They're the best." but if you have 200,000 miles and it's an American make it's because "Any new care will last that long if you take care of it." It's a double-standard.

My parents once had a Toyota Corolla and the thing died an early death. Their next car was a Buick.

I don't doubt that Honda and Toyota make excellent cars, and that they're better than some American brands. I just get irritated that they have become the universal default choice especially as they tend to be more expensive. All I'm saying is give Detroit a chance.

And by the way, I average 30+ mpg in my '01 Saturn.

Shout Out

So it seems like this whole blogging thing might be catching on. Gotta give some love to Jesse Bean on the West Coast. (One of the best blogs I've seen. It looks sharp, and I always enjoy hearing what's on his mind and heart.) And, representing the East Coast, the always entertaining Erin Ryan.

New Books

Thanks to CBD, my new shipment has arrived: Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton and A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life by William Law. Guess I decided to go old school on this one. It's good to have a combined 400 year perspective on things. As Howard Hendricks would say, "The timely is that which is timeless." Anyone else read these? Reviews?

I must say that I have finally found some small benefit to reading John Piper. The author of the preface to Law's book talks quite favorably of the motivation afforded by gratitude and the perils of seeking eternal rewards. Although I can't stand Piper, I have at least become more attentive to the dangers of what this author advocates because of Piper's books.

Kudos

I loved this short but wonderful reflection from Pastor Mark's sermon on Sunday that can be found on Jeff the Baptist's blog: "In a conflict of ideas, we often point to others and say "Thank God I'm not this jerk." Or "Look at that sinner. Stop sinning sinner!" Eye, plank, some disassembly required. We need more blogs that serve as disassembly instructions. I pray that I'll one day get my act together and provide one..." (italics added)

"Desire life like water and yet drink death like wine"

Throughout the year I have been enjoying a book entitled From the Library of C.S. Lewis compiled by James Stuart Bell. It is a collection of excerpts from writers who influenced Lewis. (My thanks again to Sara for a wonderful Christmas gift.) I was particularly struck with the following:

G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

"Paganism declared that virtue was in a balance; Christianity declared it was in a conflict: the collision of two passions apparently opposite. Of course they were not really inconsistent; but they were such that it was hard to hold simultaneously. Let us follow for a moment the clue of the martyr and the suicide; and take the case of courage. No quality has ever so much addled the brains and tangled the definitions of merely rational sages. Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of a readiness to die. 'He that will lose his life, the same shall save it,' is not a piece of mysticism for saints and heroes. It is a piece of everyday advice for sailors or mountaineers. It might be printed in an Alpine guide or a drill book. This paradox is the whole principle of courage; even of quite earthly or brutal courage. A man cut off by the sea may save his life if we will risk it on the precipice.

He can only get away from death by continually stepping within an inch of it. A soldier surrounded by enemies, if he is to cut his way out, needs to combine a strong desire for living with a strange carelessness about dying. He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape. He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape. He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water and yet drink death like wine. No philosopher, I fancy, has ever expressed this romantic riddle with adequate lucidity, and I certainly have not done so. But Christianity has done more: it has marked the limits of it in the awful graves of the suicide and the hero, showing the distance between him who dies for the sake of living and him who dies for the sake of dying."

As I read this, I also can't help but envision the contrasting personalities and actions of Lt. Dike and Lt. Spears in the Allied assault on the town of Foy as pictured in The Breaking Point episode of Band of Brothers. So, as you go about your day today, desire life like water and yet drink death like wine.

Moments of Levity

And now, a few moments of laughter:

Cat gives dog massage

Family Guy at the DMV