teh = the

Good-bye

2009-12-27T23:24:00.002-05:00

Well, this will by my last post on Blogspot. I'm moving on to greater pastures ( I think) at the following address: http://warwickfuller.wordpress.com/

I hope you will follow me there!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-22T19:02:00.003-05:00

My favorite Christmas Album

2009-12-02T09:35:00.003-05:00

Ah, Ella. This is my favorite Christmas Album. Can there be a better way to bring in the holidays than Ella's soulful voice singing the classics? The answer is "No".

Unless you got a better one.

What's your favorite Christmas album?

The Problem with Postmoderns is...

2009-11-18T08:51:00.002-05:00

The Problem with Postmoderns is...

we were taught too well to trust no one by the previous two generations (our teachers and parents). Including ourselves and our own judgement.

So, of course, we have a problem with truth.

I wanna be smart, two. I mean, tow. I mean, as well.

2009-11-17T15:13:00.004-05:00

Lewis' birthday is coming up soon. Of course I was not thinking about him but on my preaching paper, when I thought of this: "How many times was Lewis in that toolshed, or standing by a beam of the sun before this thought struck him?"

"I was standing today in the dark toolshed. The sun was shining outside and through the crack at the top of the door there came a sunbeam. From where I stood that beam of light, with the specks of dust floating in it, was the most striking thing in the place. Everything else was almost pitch-black. I was seeing the beam, not seeing things by it.

Then I moved, so that the beam fell on my eyes. Instantly the whole previous picture vanished. I saw no toolshed, and (above all) no beam. Instead I saw, framed in the irregular cranny at the top of the door, green leaves moving on the branches of a tree outside and beyond that, 90 odd million miles away, the sun. Looking along the beam, and looking at the beam are very different experiences.

But this is only a very simple example of the difference between looking at and looking along. A young man meets a girl. The whole world looks different when he sees her. Her voice reminds him of something he has been trying to remember all his life, and ten minutes casual chat with her is more precious than all the favours that all other women in the world could grant. lie is, as they say, “in love”. Now comes a scientist and describes this young man's experience from the outside. For him it is all an affair of the young man's genes and a recognised biological stimulus. That is the dif- ference between looking along the sexual impulse and looking at it.

When you have got into the habit of making this distinction you will find examples of it all day long. The mathematician sits thinking, and to him it seems that he is contemplating timeless and spaceless truths about quantity. But the cerebral physiologist, if he could look inside the mathematician's head, would find nothing timeless and spaceless there - only tiny movements in the grey matter. The savage dances in ecstasy at midnight before Nyonga and feels with every muscle that his dance is helping to bring the new green crops and the spring rain and the babies. The anthropologist, observing that savage, records that he is performing a fertility ritual of the type so- and-so. The girl cries over her broken doll and feels that she has lost a real friend; the psychologist says that her nascent maternal instinct has been temporarily lavished on a bit of shaped and coloured wax.

As soon as you have grasped this simple distinction, it raises a question. You get one experience of a thing when you look along it and another when you look at it. Which is the “true” or “valid” experience? Which tells you most about the thing? And you can hardly ask that question without noticing that for the last fifty years or so everyone has been taking the answer for granted. It has been assumed without discussion that if you want the true account of religion you must go, not to religious people, but to anthropologists; that if you want the true account of sexual love you must go, not to lovers, but to psychologists; that if you want to understand some “ideology” (such as medieval chivalry or the nineteenth-century idea of a “gentleman”), you must listen not to those who lived inside it, but to sociologists.

The people who look at things have had it all their own way; the people who look along things have simply been brow-beaten. It has even come to be taken for granted that the external account of a thing somehow refutes or “debunks” the account given from inside. “All these moral ideals which look so transcendental and beautiful from inside”, says the wiseacre, “are really only a mass of biological instincts and inherited taboos.” And no one plays the game the other way round by replying, “If you will only step inside, the things that look to you like instincts and taboos will suddenly reveal their real and transcendental nature.”

1That, in fact, is the whole basis of the specifically “modern” type of thought. And is it not, you will ask, a very sensible basis? For, after all, we are often deceived by things from the inside. For example, the girl who looks so wonderful while we're in love, may really be a very plain, stupid, and disagreeable person. The savage's dance to Nyonga does not really cause the crops to grow. Having been so often deceived by looking along, are we not well advised to trust only to looking at? in fact to discount all these inside experiences?

Well, no. There are two fatal objections to discounting them all. And the first is this. You discount them in order to think more accurately. But you can't think at all - and therefore, of course, can't think accurately - if you have nothing to think about. A physiologist, for example, can study pain and find out that it “is” (whatever is means) such and such neural events. But the word pain would have no meaning for him unless he had “been inside” by actually suffering. If he had never looked along pain he simply wouldn't know what he was looking at. The very subject for his inquiries from outside exists for him only because he has, at least once, been inside.

This case is not likely to occur, because every man has felt pain. But it is perfectly easy to go on all your life giving explanations of religion, love, morality, honour, and the like, without having been inside any of them. And if you do that, you are simply playing with counters. You go on explaining a thing without knowing what it is. That is why a great deal of contemporary thought is, strictly speaking, thought about nothing - all the apparatus of thought busily working in a vacuum.

The other objection is this: let us go back to the toolshed. I might have discounted what I saw when looking along the beam (i.e., the leaves moving and the sun) on the ground that it was “really only a strip of dusty light in a dark shed”. That is, I might have set up as “true” my “side vision” of the beam. But then that side vision is itself an instance of the activity we call seeing. And this new instance could also be looked at from outside. I could allow a scientist to tell me that what seemed to be a beam of light in a shed was “really only an agitation of my own optic nerves”. And that would be just as good (or as bad) a bit of debunking as the previous one. The picture of the beam in the toolshed would now have to be discounted just as the previous picture of the trees and the sun had been discounted. And then, where are you?

In other words, you can step outside one experience only by stepping inside another. Therefore, if all inside experiences are misleading, we are always misled. The cerebral physiologist may say, if he chooses, that the mathematician's thought is “only” tiny physical movements of the grey matter. But then what about the cerebral physiologist's own thought at that very moment? A second physiologist, looking at it, could pronounce it also to be only tiny physical movements in the first physiologist's skull. Where is the rot to end?

The answer is that we must never allow the rot to begin. We must, on pain of idiocy, deny from the very outset the idea that looking at is, by its own nature, intrinsically truer or better than looking along. One must look both along and at everything. In particular cases we shall find reason for regarding the one or the other vision as inferior. Thus the inside vision of rational thinking must be truer than the outside vision which sees only movements of the grey matter; for if the outside vision were the correct one all thought (including this thought itself) would be valueless, and this is self-contradictory. You cannot have a proof that no proofs matter. On the other hand, the inside vision of the savage's dance to Nyonga may be found deceptive because we find reason to believe that crops and babies are not really affected by it. In fact, we must take each case on its merits. But we must start with no prejudice for or against either kind of looking. We do not know in advance to whether the lover or the psychologist is giving the more correct account of love, or whether both accounts are equally correct in different ways, or whether both are equally wrong. We just have to find out. But the period of brow-beating has got to end."

A story from back in the day...

2009-11-11T09:22:00.005-05:00

I'm not sure why I remembered this story this morning...

Back in the day, Pennsylvania had passed a law that all traffic should be in the right lane, making the left hand lane for passing vehicles, only. I'm pretty sure I was in college when this occurred. The PA houses had just passed the law, it was Nov, I think. It wasn't supposed to take effect until January. Not that big a deal, right? I think every other state had had this in effect all around us, and since most driving our highways are from somewhere else, on their way through, it was just the natives that had to get used to it.

I forget where I was going. I was in Angus, the blue Ford escort, this is post-Warwick mobile, and I was going through Harrisburg on Front Street. For those not in the know, Front Street is a one way, three-laned street that runs south along the river. I was in the middle lane, because, honestly, Front Street is my kryptonite. The lanes seem so narrow and it freaks me out. So, I think to myself, if I drive in the middle lane I'll be fine. Drive in the right lane, I'll hit a curb and flip down the gully and into the river where we will all drown (granted the river is only 3 feet deep in most areas). Drive in the left lane, someone will pull out in front of me and we'll all die in a fiery blaze, probably on the front lawn of Beth-El.

So, I was driving down the center lane of Front Street on the morning after the PA Legislature has passed this law. Alongside me, in the right-hand lane, comes a guy and a woman who are keeping neck and neck with me. I'm freaked out. Then he starts yelling at me. I'm really freaked, but also polite, so I roll down my window. Expecting one of my brakelights is out, or my entire bumper is missing, I look over his way with a smile and try not to end all of our lives in the river or on the lawn of Beth-El.

He yells across, "You're in the wrong lane! You're gonna get pulled over! They just passed a law saying that you need to drive in the right-hand lane!"

Several things went through my mind. How does this guy think all of Harrisburg's traffic is gonna fit just in the right hand lane? Can he be serious? CAN he really be serious?

I yelled back, "That's only on the highway."

"No," he yelled, "its for everywhere."

I rolled up my window and drove to wherever I was going.

To this day I can't figure out if the guy was alerting me out of his concern for me, or this was his way of complaining despite his ignorance. I still picture him, though, faithfully in the right hand lane driving through life, yelling, warning others of their impending doom.

(There's probably a sermon in this, somewhere...)

Rules were made to keep the right things sacred

2009-10-29T11:49:00.003-04:00

This morning I went to hear Gordon MacDonald speak at my school. So, grabbed my Starbucks togo cup filled with London Fog and headed off to school. I went up to the balcony and took my seat. Seconds later, an usher came up to me and asked if I could finish my drink on the steps out of the chapel area.

I was kind of perturbed. My cup is really big, and I had planned ahead by bringing it. I'm not a gulper. I drink my tea. I enjoy it. And so I brought my tall red cup, so familiar to those that know me, so that i could drink it throughout the morning. And it had a lid. I'm not a spiller but am cautious.

I was thinking ahead.

But here, I was denied. I mourned for my tea, but knew that I should probably not argue or rock the boat. Perturbed, but not weighed down. Its just a cup of tea. A really good, well-looked forward to cup of Early grey with milk and just the right amount of vanilla. So, I put my tall red cup on the table outside of the chapel, and went inside.

When I came back out after the first session, I was ready for my cup. But where my cup was had been replaced by a tablecloth, and cookies and coffee pot and cups and plates and donut holes... Where was my cup?

I turned to the usher, who seemed to have been waiting for me:

"Don't worry, your cup is right here."

and she pointed at the really old antique desk that sits just outside the chapel.

It took me really by surprise. I almost want to say incredulous. My tea was barred from the chapel to make sure the chapel stayed nice looking, I'm assuming. But no one cared about the antique desk that sat with the antique Bible and the antique glass lamp that sat on it.

It seemed weird to me that they were willing to protect the carpet of the chapel on one side, but not the desk. What makes the chapel space more valuable than where someone may have studied the Word, preparing for their sermon, or just doing daily life? Maybe they were so concerned about following one rule that they could not recognize the value of something outside of their domain.

Prayer

2009-10-22T19:55:00.001-04:00

Here is the prayer I presented last week in chapel:

Father, Holy One,

You are mighty and awesome, beyond our understanding. Infinitely above us, you have ordered all life and nature to bring you praise!

Thank you for who you are.

Thank you for drawing us to you, for being intimately close. Thank you for being the light in dark places, and the one who readies the soil.

We need you, and confess our need to you now.

You are Life Giver. You have heard our cries for mercy, and while we were far off you came to us. You redeemed us from hands that were too strong for us to master. You touched our limbs and from our grave, we danced. You have touched our eyes, and now we see. You have touched our lips, and now we sing. Thank you, Father.

You are our Redeemer. Ransoming us, you have called us to follow You and you have made it possible for us to do this. Thank you, Father.

Son of David, Lord Most High, Jesus, have mercy on us. You became nothing, making yourself a servant, we are humbled by such knowledge. We are silenced by such love. And by calling us, and making us alive, we run after you. As we turn our collars to the cold and damp, we turn to the reminder of the warm season that means new life, your resurrection. Let us be made radiant in You.

Consuming Fire, Holy Spirit, give us words to speak praise. Give us eyes to see where you are working. Open our stopped up ears to hear the cries of those around us in need that we may help. And give us fast limbs that swing into service and to outstretched praise.

We ask help for the needs amongst us. For those sick, may we be healed. Let us find peace in you. Let us truly understand what it means to be pursued by you.

Thank you for hearing us.

Amen.

it's been awhile...

2009-10-20T11:55:00.003-04:00

It's been awhile since I posted on here. Guess nothing clever or witty has occurred in my life lately. hmmm.

My hair is acting goofy. Very Edward from Twilight -ish.

I can't brood or shimmer in daylight to save my life.

That's all I got. Gotta get back to my paper.

I run so others can eat

2009-09-23T11:44:00.002-04:00

Well, it's fall and that can only mean one thing: I'm running a race of some sort.

I caught the bug two years ago when I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC. It's tough to shake it once you get it. I think the only sure way to break free of it would be to irreparably break my legs. And then I'd hire someone named Dragon to carry me across the line.

This year, I'm running with a group. A pack. A herd of people from Devonshire running a various assortment of distances: 1 is running the full marathon; 5 are running the half marathon; & 2 are running the 5 k. As we each finish, I'm sure we'll make our way over to cheer on the marathoner... it is a joy to see them finish. And sometimes to carry them.

Well, this year, the gaggle of us have decided that our running should be worth something. You know, you finish these things and you get your mylar blanket and your medal, and though a feeling of accomplishment is great, what has it mattered? So, we decided to run to raise money for WorldVision's efforts to dig wells in Africa.

After a race, all you want is to sit down and to have a drink of cool water. What a blessing it is for us to live a part of the world that water is abundant & CLEAN! The organization that we are raising money for uses vast resources in order to dig wells in Africa, so that the children and families there have a chance at a healthy life. They walk miles a day to get water from ditches that is not fit to be our sewage.

If you would like to sponsor us, please give here: http://www.firstgiving.com/dmcteamworldvision. If you cannot give at this time, please keep us in your prayers.

I think its weird...

2009-09-19T12:50:00.003-04:00

I think its weird that we won't raise the Titanic to respect those who died inside, but we'll plunder the tombs of pharaoh... Is there some kind of rule about this?

No one will ever put Baby in the corner again...

2009-09-15T14:34:00.002-04:00

Patrick Swayze may have been the first sex symbol for my graduating class. I was reflecting on Swayze's passing and thinking about when I first heard about him. I was in fourth grade, in Mr. C's class at Linglestown Elementary, and I remember Beth Ryan talking about him in ways that I don't think I had ever heard someone else my age talk about anyone, celebrity or otherwise. I did not have these feelings towards anyone, and here was Beth talking about her deep colorful love for him. Oh, and George Michael. They were both on the same level, and she would gladly makeout with either of them.

Weird.

I was just trying to figure out how to get through multiple levels of Legend of Zelda, and made sure I got to the mall to get the new Spider-Man (there was even talk of a grey Hulk!) I had no clue you could talk about adults like this. Sure, in third grade I had been in the "congregation" of many a "wedding" held on the back porch of our playground. But whenever it came time to "kiss the bride", all of our faces got tied up, like we had just eaten a lemon, and the boys ran while the girls chased. It was one of those "free-for-all/defend-yourself-to-the-last" type situations.

But fourth grade, things changed and I think Beth led the way. She seemed pretty ahead of us. At least, she talked like she did. She had seen Dirty Dancing a lot, and would continue to see it, she said, until she knew exactly what to say in case she ever did run into Mr. Swayze. I even remember for a day she wanted us to call her Mrs. Swayze!

I'm really not sure what happened to Beth Ryan, or a lot of the kids I went to elementary school with. I don;t know that she ever got her shot to talk to Patrick Swayze. She seemed so much older than us, like she actually knew what she was talking about. I had no clue about a lot of what she talked about. Maybe she just wanted to be rescued. Like Baby, maybe she was put in the corner and she saw her knight in tight jeans and rolled up t-shirt sleeves.

Or maybe she was just a fourth grader with no clue about she was talking about.

(For the record, I really thought she did, though.)

On 2nd Street last night

2009-09-07T22:40:00.002-04:00

It was very surreal seeing Joe last night. Joe and I had been friends from kindergarten 'til about 6th grade. I was on my way to see Luke's show at Dragonfly last night when I got called over to that new Orleans themed bar by a guy I had not seen since he had a slight mental breakdown while we were in high school. I hadn't even noticed who was with him until he told me. There was Joe and another guy whom I had also not seen high school, a bully if ever there was one. Joe was surprised to see me, perhaps as mush as I was at seeing him, now confronted with one part of my past I had been unwilling to give up but was, instead, wrenched away from me.

Joe and I grew up in similar sets of circumstances. We were those kids who were never out of each other's sights. For 5 straight summers we alternated between each other's houses for sleepovers. He went down one path, and I went another. I might eb bold enough to say that he went down a path I was not allowed to go down.

I remember the first time I was offered a cigarette. Joe and I were walking with two guys through the old neighborhood. Actually, the guy who was with him last night, was the one who offered me my first cigarette. Joe grabbed it out of his hand before I could even answer and said "No" for me. I didn't know it at the time but Joe had already been smoking for about a month.

For whatever reason he wouldn't let me join him.

As we went through school I barely saw him in junior high or high school. Our schedules separated us, as I took harder and harder classes, and Joe ended up playing catch up. We were friendly, but his new friends kept offering him new things, things I didn't want to be a part of. Not because I was better or stronger in any way. I was scared of those things and their consequences.

I never saw Joe scared.

Except for that one time when we were gonna spend the night in his backyard in the tent until we saw the bat. We slept inside that night.

It was surreal seeing him there under the gaudy lights. They related stories that they had heard about me, that I was married, but they didn't know for how long, thinking it had just occurred. Or that I had two girls.

There was so much I wanted to ask him. Where had he been? I had heard stories, were they true? What about that job I got for you, but that you never showed up to for training? Given the chance, I would've sat down all night and just listened as he told me where he had been, and what he had been doing.

I don't think he owes me an explanation - I'm just curious.

What happens to the kids that didn't fear consequences? What happens to the boys who weren't aware that they were growing up while they made their decisions?

If I ever had the sense of Peter Pan's Lost Boys, I met three of them last night.

I admire

2009-09-01T16:58:00.004-04:00

I admire those parents, and would-be parents, who have such lofty goals as to how they are going to raise their children. They have determined in finite ways what their child will be exposed to. And that is commendable.

However, I think its more commendable to extend grace. We do not know what lies ahead for our kids. We can plan and furrow our brows and set to the chalk board many a scheme. So maybe this brings us back to a problem I've mentioned before about American sense of Democracy... you're free to do whatever as long as we choose it for you.

Anyway, I've just finished talking to two other guys and they have commendable goals for their kids. Their children will not read certain books, for instance. Again, commendable. But I wonder where it stops. The books in question, which have to do with a certain young wizard and friends, have some questionable stuff (like how the hero is constantly lying), but is it able to be cut away? Will their children instead be ok if allowed to read Dostovesky (Crime and Punishment, after all is about a murder). Or what about Lewis' Narnia series? There is magic in there, of the same sort of Potter's, and perhaps a bit more otherworldly as Potter's is Latin, and Narnia's is deeper still.

And, I know what you're thinking, as I'm thinking it too: It's all about the author's intent! Are they Christians?

Well, have you read Andrew Peterson's books? Honestly, I've only read the first one, but it was pretty dark, and I did not find Jesus in it.

And Hugo, whom I love, was Catholic. (I know, I know).

And Dostovesky was Orthodox.

And Lewis was Anglican; Tolkein was Catholic (I know, I know).

So, which Christians are you allowed to read?

Hmmm.... what is the major concern? Is it, perhaps, that our kids will come to us with questions we don't have answers for? And what good are we if we don't have the answers?

Or is it something else?

I'm not saying that I want my kids to listen to Black Sabbath or read Palahniuk, or even Rowling. But I hope that when they do hear it, they will be able to discern the truth from the lie in all things, from the book spine to the pulpit. And this doesn't necessarily mean that I plan on exposing them to all kinds of stuff. I just want them to be prepared, and to know the truth and to be ready to give an answer for what they believe.

What do you say?

"Trace the shape of my heart"

2009-08-17T23:45:00.003-04:00

"Imagine I take a blind test in which my task is to identify the genuine follower of Jesus Christ. My choices are an unregenerate individual and you.

I'm given two reports detailing conversations, Internet activity, manner of dress, iPod playlists, television choices, hobbies, leisure time, financial transactions, thoughts, passions, dreams.

The question is: Would I be able to tell you apart? Would I discern a difference between you and your unconverted neighbor, coworker, classmate, or friend?"

-CJ Mahaney, 24 Worldliness

What stirs my heart and captures my mind? Is it all things put under the submission of Christ to the glory of the Father? Or, is it for my own elevation and security? Whose glory am I seeking in my walk and life?

What is the shape of my heart? If opened what will spill out? What can break it?

The truth of the matter is that I am the worst judge of my own character and walk with Christ. I need my church, my small group, my brothers and sisters (of which I am blessed that my wife is a part of such a group) to make this evaluation. In my own eyes, I err on judgement, the king of sinners in my own eyes. I am too aware of my sin, its ever-presence. But within the context of His community, I am made more aware of God's mercy, His grace, His acceptance, His call on my life, His Lordship over a people redeemed for His glory - True Sovereign of the world!

Jesus commanded His disciples to love one another as a reflection of their love for Him (John 15:10). We cannot think of this love as secondary to how much we love those outside the body. Can the hand be effective without the foot? Evangelism is first the edification of the body. We need to tell and encourage each other first the good news and how we have been effected by it. How has the good news awed us and put us in wonder, humbled us and changed our life?

So, how do I know if I'm following Him and loving Him? I need to look at how I treat the family of God. Am I amazed by our stories, and the God who saves? Am I being broken by the world and full of compassion for those outside of Him? Does my concern of my sin stem from a concern for how it effects the whole body, my family, my kids, my wife?

Sorry to mislead, and disappoint

2009-08-05T22:48:00.001-04:00

Ok, so there is something hatching in my head. I just wanted to leave a blurb that am down at WorshipGod 09 and so I may not be able to put all my thoughts on here from a recent excursion God has lead me on. But I will drop it here soon. Promise.

Two ideals, one goal

2009-07-22T16:55:00.003-04:00

I'm more and more convinced that it is becoming increasingly harder to be a Christian in the US. Not because of any type of persecution, but because we've been convinced that we can be a Christian in America. We are maintaining our ideals in an ever increasing Democratically free-state, a state that only pushes against who we are and what we believe.

And we've bought into it. We have been told that our rights are guaranteed and that we can live how we want, worship how we want, and yet we do not feel these rights apply to anyone who would think or believe otherwise.

And its not just Christians. This core belief has been the real battle ground of politics for, well, forever. Everyone wants their guaranteed rights, and may their be vengeance on anyone who wants their own rights that some how conflict with my ability to be free. "Keep your laws off my body" is a cry for inalienable rights, a pursuit of happiness. How can we as Christians show a way contrary to this very worldly, very un-Christian mindset if we keep struggling for our own government guaranteed "rights"?

Yesterday was the anniversary of the case that got rid of the definition of the "obscene". And today, while reading CNN's website (I know that I have said that I would never again go to these websites, but I was bored at work today), I came across the story about a small town in Wisconsin which wants to remove some books from their library. On one side are the librarians who do not feel that the nature of the books in question harm the integrity of the other books in the library or their patrons. Then there is the other side, who want the books removed because of the harm they can do to young adults who may read them.

Again, it really comes down to whose "rights" win? Who has the more "right"?

The more ironic part of the discussion is this quote, given by one of the leaders of the group that wants the books removed: "We want parents to decide whether they want their children to have access to these books ... and we want the library's help in identifying [them through labeling and moving]," Maziarka said. "It's just common sense."

It all comes back to one main issue: parents. Parents are the ones who need to be the ones guiding and instructing their children. To rely on government, no matter how very much elected, is to put reliance on the world. As we live and grapple in this American Democratic Society, our task is going to be hard as we grapple and struggle for what is rightfully ours... which makes it hard to live a life of submission and humility to our Lord, and a keen understanding of who should be raising our children.

While it is important to be active and to be a voice, we can not get frustrated at the world for being the world. Nor should we be relying on the world and its means to keep our children safe and to instruct them how to make "good" (read Godly) decisions.

So, please don't burn books. Parents, teach your kids how to write and enjoy books that will be a better example and give off more light than any pile of books lit ablaze. And teach them, show them, how to love and pray for their political leaders, while not seeing them as their leaders. And show them, with the example and exhortation of Christ, Paul, and Peter, how to properly submit to the world without being influenced by it. Show them how to be salt that flavors. Because by what right and by whose authority do we cling to anything of this world.

Obscenity was made permissable today

2009-07-21T19:18:00.002-04:00

Today, whether you are aware of it or not, is a big day in our nation's history. 50 years ago today, the matter was settled as far as to what the federal and state govt's could determine as obscene. The Supreme court overturned a previous decision which would then allow books like "Lady Chatterly's Lover" to be published uncensored.

It's a pretty big day.

This is the case that would help further question the parameters, or lack of, for the First Amendment Rights cases. It was also a case which showed the turn of the courts, and the American culture towards a more "liberal" mindset. (Which plays against a largely Conservative belief that judges are more umpires than markers of social change).

There are two questions that revolved around this case and these are questions we should ask often. What influences us, and does it matter what form it takes? The main question the lawyer for the bookseller had argued was that “A novel, no matter how much devoted to the act of sex,” he said, “can hardly add to the constant sexual prodding with which our environment assails us.” In other words, what does it matter that there is one more screaming voice in the throng? It's a bit like asking which bullet did the real damage in the riddle of a man's body?

Where there are foodies, I guess I am a bookie (?), or maybe a bibliophile (really, I think we need a better more masculine term). I generally shy away from censorship. I don't know that I've ever not read a book because of a general outcry against it. I will admit that one of the reasons I started reading Harry Potter was because I was so curious as to how this little book was causing so many to "fall away from Godliness". Same goes for why I read the "Davinci Code", which lead me to "Angels and Demons". I don't look for the offensive ones and head that-a-way. I'm not a fan of Vonnegut, who I think is offensive sometimes for the sake of being offensive, but I do read Palahniuk and appreciate his view of society.

It comes to the point of asking whether or not we are listening to the mob to help us decide the norms and the appropriate ways to behave. Paul has said that "to the pure all things are pure", and this is a warning that to those who are innocent in mind, there is innocence in motive and action, and in how we are able to discern the motives of others. Judgement relies on that.

I've been moved by the thought made by Wright recently that one of the solid aims of Christianity is to allow Christ to speak to and critique society, and allow Him to inform our opinions and actions towards the world. So, amidst this thronging mass, there is one who speaks truth to it, calling us to rest in the true definition of what he created us to be, and that should be the voice we listen to.

Let the world have its clamour and want of rights and liberties. I don't know that we should be opposed or as loud sometimes as we are against their want of these things. We claim it has to do with how much it affects or infects our insular bubble, but in reality it should be watched. Its from this cry we can see where they are looking for Christ (read freedom).

Please, be advised of the cops in the area. Given the chance they will ruin your family's vacation

2009-06-30T21:50:00.002-04:00

Last night at the Hilton, two guests approached my co-worker and I at the front desk and asked us if we we knew of all the speed traps in the area. I answered that we knew that the cops were usually around. From our vantage point on top of the hill we can see flaching lights most nights as they target nearby 322.

"Well," the guest continues, "you should really warn people. My wife got pulled over down the hill here doing 55 in a 35 - it can really ruin a family vacation."

This took me by surprise. Not really sure how to respond, I apologized (kind of) by telling them that it was unfortunate. But, seriously? When do I have to remind people to follow the law? Its not my responsibilty, nor is it a kindness or a function of hospitatlity to make people aware of the places where they could get caught by not following the law. I generally do not expect people to break the law. If I told people of these traps, wouldn't it be a bit demeaning, as if I'm expecting them to break the law? Or, it would reveal my heart as someone who probably does break teh law a bit and need to point out to otheres where they could get caught.

To this gentleman, I had played a part in ruining their family vacation by not having a low expectation for their behaviour, or trusting that they could read signs along the highway. If they had known that the policeman was going to be there, they would have had the decency to slow down before they were in radar range.

Sorry, my bad, New Jersey couple. Next time, I promise not to expect too much.

Reasons I don't read the news

2009-06-26T18:18:00.002-04:00

Here are some of the reasons I don't read the news, in ascending order, backwards:

7) Is any of this actual news? Some of these stories are no more than shocking family dramas, which are no more than gossip, really.

6) I'm not addicted, but I am. I feel drawn to it, to find out about things that preety much don't concern me.

5) I do enjoy reading the comics, but I can do that online.

4) After I read the news, I'm not happy that I did it, or do I feel that I spent my time doing something worthwhile.

3) Print is dead.

2) Is any of this really worth my attention? Pop and fuzz show the state of the culture, and though I am apart of it, I am somewhat removed. Is any of this worth my attention?

1) The world is fallen and as much as I am aware of it, being barraged by the beatings and death of children just makes me want to flee it and cry for it more than I think I can bear.

So, I'll stop reading the "news", and "Come quickly, Lord".

Upon passing a billboard somewhere in PA, on my way home...

2009-06-07T23:54:00.002-04:00

We passed a billboard on our way home today from the UB National Conference, somewhere between Harrisburg and Clarion, PA. It had been a long van ride, and I hadn't been looking outside the van a whole lot but was rather napping. Anyway, we had just eaten at Applebee's and we had still a large part of travel time left on our way home and on the left side of the highway there appeared a billboard with clouds and fire asking this question: "Where are you going, Heaven or Hell?" And then there was a website to somewhere, but we had gone passed it before I could catch what it was.

Its a question that reveals much about the thoughts and philosophy of the church or group that posted it. Its a question that reveals the heart of the matter for this group. It reveals where they miss the mark.

Our hope is built on more than escaping Hell's fire or the comfort of Heaven - it is built on the righteousness of the Son of God and on being called by Him. What more do we have? Was Abraham or Moses ever promised a life of cool repose in a land far from the tongues of Hell? No, they were given the promise of redemption so eloquently inspired in Job: "Though my flesh may be destroyed, yet with my eyes I will see God; For I know that my Redeemer lives, and I will be standing with Him on that day!"

Cause what does it matter to gain the whole world, even escape Hell and achieve Heaven, if Christ is not there? If Jesus is in the desert, that is where I will gladly go if just to be with Him, to see His face, to hear His voice.

The Law is in my way....

2009-06-04T09:08:00.000-04:00

Deut 6:4-9

Does the law get in my way? Is it in my focus? This thing of great value, spoken from the lips of the Father, in order to establish His ways in our wayward hearts. To challenge us, and to reveal how far we are from Him. This is no small or trivial thing.

How else can we know God? Can we even know our Saviour, let alone our need, without such a thing?

The Law must be in my focus. Knowing the person and nature of God must be my focus, must hold my attention. To make Him known, I must know Him. To have His heart, I must know His heart.

By knowing Him, I will be changed. How can I not? And from this change I will be effective in His work - as a minister, as a parent, as a man trying to be who and where my Father needs me to be - to the good and glory of God.

Quote of Wright...

2009-05-29T19:04:00.002-04:00

"What if the resurrection, instead of (as is often imagined) legitimating a cozy, comfrotable, socially and culturally conservative form of Christianity, should turn out to be, in the twenty-first century as in the first as in the first, the most socially, culturally and politically explosive force imagineable, blasting its way through sealed tombs and locked doors of modernist epistemology and the 9now) deeply conservative social and political culture which it sustains?"

~NT Wright

The Resurrection of the Son of God, 713

Most of what I told the good people of Heidlersburg UB

2009-05-25T07:57:00.002-04:00

Here is the majority of what I told the good people of Heidlersburg yesterday.

A Balcony in Verona

John 1:12

Juliet has wandered out onto her balcony. Tired after a party, but exhilarated after meeting a boy, she steps out to address the evening, and an empty garden. Romeo waits below, having snuck into this garden. A famous scene reenacted the whole world over. In one set of lines, she expresses the main concern and crux of the play.

Juliet: O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?

Deny thy father and refuse thy name;

And I’ll no longer be a Capulet.

…

‘Tis but thy name that is my enemy;

Thou art thyself, though not a Montague.

What’s a Montague? It is nor hand, nor foot,

Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part

Belonging to a man. O, be some other name!

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet;

So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,

Retain that dear perfection which he owes

Without that title. Romeo doff thy name;

And for thy name, which is no part of thee,

Take all myself.

Such a lovely bit of prose, and it expresses the peril that names use to have. Not so much anymore. We all know the last names of some pretty famous people, and their names carries some power: the Kennedy’s, or Britain’s royal family, the Hatfields, the McCoys… these names all mean something to someone. But the art of the first name has been lost to us.

Maybe for a parent there can be reasons to name a child what they are called. My youngest daughter is named Lillian Eileen, the reflexive of my grandmother’s name whom I never met. The name of my oldest is Claire Elise simply because it was the only name my wife and I could agree on… but she has lived up to her name, being : “Clear”, and “light”.

But when other’s hear her name their mind does not go right away to the meaning and how it relates to her. We, who live in the present context, put no stock in the meanings of name. Or, if we do, it’s the parent’s who are concerned, and no more. No one when they hear my name thinks, “Like a lion”, or “the dam by the dairy farm”… mostly they ask why in the world my parent’s named me what they had, being an unusual name as it is.

This is part of the cultural lapse we face when we read the Bible. Back then, in the Hebrew world, names meant something and carried great connotation. You were named what you were for a reason. Names revealed your character and the events of the day. But, again, we miss this. Paul, John, Luke, Moses, were not relating the events around them for the benefit of the ear of the 21^st century man. God was, but they were writing with one audience in mind, their present. And we must marvel at the amazing Grace of God as He attends to his present audience, and the future work of His Spirit at the same time. No after thoughts, or “lucky I did that” hindsight moments. Things were done with purpose, events unfolded deliberately, names were given to those who deserved it.

When we look at the name of Jesus, we begin to understand this lapse. Jesus was not named by accident. In fact, we were made children of God when we fully understood the power and meaning of His name! We need to understand the meaning of Jesus’ name because it affects who we are. We are a peculiar people who cling to the knowledge that God saves.

There is so much crammed into John’s prologue of his Gospel. It would take months to unload all of it from the pulpit. Even in my own private study I cannot help but marvel at what John has done. Amazing! We are only going to look at one verse this morning, and even in this one verse I’m going to do all I can to keep it to 25 minutes. Not because of time restraints, but because understanding this one verse can truly change your life, and there is no need to be stuck in here when you could be out there, living it out for the world to see!

Turn with me to John 1:12.

“But to all who receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God”…

Just one verse, and yet so amazing. And it all involves the understanding of a name.

Jesus, a name like none other, and yet, not an unusual name. Yeshuha, was a very popular name at the time period that Jesus walked the earth. How do we know this? From the tombstones that still exist from that time. Jesus was a name like Michael, during the Michael Jordan days, or John was right after the JFK term of presidency.

But this name spoke a hope in the heart’s of the people. Israel, the Jewish people were constantly being taken over. They were in a perpetual state of Exile it seemed. We sometimes think that the exile was over by the time Jesus was born. But this is a misconception. The Pharisees knew this very well. The exile would not be completely over until the Spirit of God once again filled the Temple. All of those laws extra the Bible were followed so closely for this hope: that by doing the laws and by obeying the Word of the Law, the Spirit of God would return to the Temple and the Exile would be over! And this name spoke this hope.

Jesus, Yeshuha, means “God Saves”. And at this time, they were looking for God to do just that. The Jews at the time, the majority of the Jews, the Pharisees, were looking for God to rescue His people, to save them from all the powers of this world that were holding them in bondage.

And yet, He came to them and they did not know Him, that’s what John says, John 1:11.

“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name…”, most of the people missed the fact that this man was not just carrying a popular name. He was the realized hope and wonder of the fact that “God saves.” And for those who believe in his name, they become the children, the heirs, of God.

“God saves”, can there be no harder concept to understand than this at times? I would say that this is the one point that keeps people from fully turning their lives over God… does he really save? Does he really want to save?

It was our own reliance on this premise that made us available to Him to come and to change us, to work that power of salvation in our lives. God saves. And how fully we believe this will affect the rest of our walk. John will come back to this name and the meaning of it throughout his gospel and the letters that we have of his. Our belief in this name and what it means will change the world, because it has changed us!

His name speaks of the character of the Father. God wants to bring us out of the pit. He longs for none to perish but to be rescued by his mighty hand! This is echoed in the very first commandment:

Exodus 20:2:

“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery…

And as we read His law, his wonderful, life-giving law, we see the heart and character of this God, who longs to free people from their bondage.

From here, from this vantage point we understand a bit more about the intentionality of our God. The very lips of Christ tell us in John’s gospel that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, and that whosoever would believe him would have eternal life. He has given himself, but we can only receive when we can fully understand the power and wonder of his name, that God does indeed save.

And His intentionality is written throughout Scripture. One brief passage that shows this so well is Isaiah 53: 10- 12. Do not miss this: It was the will of the Lord to crush him. God willed it, he foretold it, and He wanted it to happen, so that the true pandemic exile would be over. He wants to be with us.

As we fully see the meaning of Jesus’ name, we will be changed. As we fully understand the meaning of Jesus’ name, the world around us will be changed!

1 John 3:23 says this:

“And this is his commandment that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.”

Because of the God we serve and because of His love and care for us, we are spurred on to love others. This love, our knowledge that God wants to save us, brings us close to the heart of the Maker, and we are drawn to love others. Our hearts become free to love others when we realize the love and the extent of the Father to us. And not for some agenda or to save them, because we know that we can do nothing to save them. We can do nothing to add or subtract from their experience with the Savior.

Again, I’m back to how amazing the prologue of John is. The greek word for receive in John 1:12 is not exactly the same word for receiving a gift. It has more to do with receiving someone and getting to know them. Like you would a guest, or a friend who comes for the weekend. Over the course of the weekend, you get to know them a little better, but there is always this sense that they will be going away to come back at another time. We begin to fully understand the Father as we spend time with the Son. As we see what the Son did when he was here on the earth, we see the heart of the Father. When we see that he willingly gave up his life, that no man could take it, but that he laid down his life, we see the Father and his love for us, that He does mean to save us from death.

We who have believed in the power of his name, have been changed, because we know this, God saves. God alone saves! At the end, when the goats and the sheep stand before the throne, there will be two groups: one group that tried to save themselves by any means possible. The other group by means of the knowledge that God saves!

When we look at the world around us, these are the two camps we see. There is a majority of people who really believe that God is distant, or that he has abandoned us. They really believe that there is a verse in the Bible that God helps those who help themselves. Or if He is present, they question His intentions. Why would God care? Why would he save? What does it mean to be rescued?

But again, we know. We live in the knowledge that God saves, that He wants us. That we were made and chosen, that we are loved, and are here on purpose.

We need to act in this confidence. Do we live as thought we really believe this – that God has taken an active interest in our lives and that he loves us in this way: that He gave His only Son for us, that we may be called the Sons of God? All of us, caught up in the name that will cause heaven and earth to shake, and by the utterance of this name, every knee will bow and tongue will confess the lordship of him who bears it.

And so, let us love one another as Jesus commanded, and by this, we demonstrate the power of the word. Let us serve each other, in the humility displayed by Christ. Let us live and love and move, no matter how contrary it is to the world. They will look, and not understand us because they have not understood the basic truth that God has come near, that He has saved, is saving, and will save us from our exile.

Because of who God is and what He has done for us, we are going to be different. Because of who Christ is, we are going to act differently. And we must display this difference, because it is how the world will experience Christ, and by our good measure, and the power of Christ others may be called to glory. Because if it is by seeing Christ that we the Father, it is by seeing us and how we act that they can see Christ and see the power that he has.

So it was, in the cool of the day, the Lord walked amongst His garden and called out for his two children. But they had not trusted in who God was, they relied upon themselves and the empty promises of a forked tongue. And because they did this, the world was changed forever.

But we who trust in the name of Jesus, know that God saves, and our world is changing. Behold, He is making all things new.

Quote of the day...

2009-05-19T18:10:00.002-04:00

NT Wright supplies us with the quote of the day, perhaps the week:

"Resurrection is precisely concerned with the present world and its renewal, not with escaping the present world and going somewhere else..."

-RotSoG, 138

All who did receive him...

2009-05-13T12:14:00.002-04:00

"But to all who have received him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." (John 1:12)

I've been pondering this verse. Or I should say I've been stuck on this verse. You know the story, you read a section of verses and as much as you want to keep reading, you get stuck. And it stays for awhile. And it doesn't go away until you are through mulling it over, or God brings something else to mind for your good.

And so, I got stuck on John 1:12. Amazing, isn't it? The grace of God in being who He is, inviting us in to be in company with Him? Amazing. I've been greatly struck by the phrase "who believed in his name". Jesus.

My name is Warwick, and it has a meaning. I sometimes think I've been misnamed. I am neither a hero, nor "like a lion", nor "a dam by the dairy farm". I would like to live up to my name and its function. I envisage myself lying across a creek and a pool of water to form behind me, all this occurring somewhere in Derry Twp. I kid, of course.

I wonder if one of the biggest obstacles people have coming to faith in Christ is the idea that God saves, that God would reach down and appear in our midst, willingly, to rescue humanity. Can anyone fathom this idea that God would want to save us, and that He does, in fact, do this? Willingly? Lovingly?

Christians, those that have come to faith in Christ have been made aware of this. It is this intimate knowledge that turns people's hearts... God cares for us. He saves us.

But to not see God as the one who saves, to not believe in the premise of Jesus' name, this can only cause separation, and downfall.

You offer me....

2009-05-07T15:43:00.002-04:00

"You offer me eternity, but why should I buy that?" sings Jars of Clay in one of their classic songs. It is a good question. What is the value of salvation if it is focused on the eternality of the hereafter? To whose good do we last forever, for own benefit, perhaps, sitting in mansions, crowns atop, sipping on the lamb's finest vintage. Is this really what God had in mind when before the foundations of the world He determined to send His Son for us?

What value do you place on salvation? Why are you saved, O Man? (Rev. 22:12)

Review: Surprised By Hope

2009-05-01T17:56:00.003-04:00

Wright's Surprised by Hope is a book that looks at the present church's conception about heaven and questions its validity. What he really shows is that our perception of the hereafter is really the informer of who we are and what we do in our present state. What do we think Jesus meant when he said "paradise", and how does his return figure into our present work, or even what it means to be called a Christian. These are things that perhaps the church has taken for granted for a bit now, and has been mroe informed by Platonic philosophy than by Scripture. Amazing insight, and tough scholarship follows as he asks us to consider what being "saved" means, and what we have been saved from. A really good book, and I would recommend it to anyone.

Review: Free of Charge

2009-04-18T21:46:00.003-04:00

I just finished a great book by Miroslav Volf on the nature of giving and forgiveness, Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace. It is divided into two parts, the first on giving and the second on forgiveness. I found it to be very insightful as to the nature of both giving and forgiving, and his insight into Luther's texts was helpful in trying to further understand Scripture. Most important, though, Volf uses Scripture as the source and hope for the statements he sets out. By using God as the ultimate giver and forgiver he outlines how we should give/forgive and then asks, "how can we give/forgive?" He also gives a good critique of contemporary culture and encourages us within the Christ to question the grace stricken world shown to us and challenges us to demonstrate the love of Christ to a broken society and to those within the community. How we give and how we forgive should be marking us out as followers of the one from whom we receive the power to give and forgive.

Again, a great read, and very readable.

Grace's Wounding

2009-04-16T16:47:00.002-04:00

Going through the Bible in a year is an admirable goal. I've done it a couple of times now, and let me warn you about the best set back that could possibly happen: the verse lapse. The verse lapse is when you get stuck on a verse and are pulled back to it every time you open the Bible. Progress becomes slowed, and your goal could not be hindered by any better thing. This verse can become the lens through which you start reading the rest of Scripture.

And I have been caught in a verse lapse. It is not a bad thing. But if you are a goal driven person set on finishing the Bible in 365 then it can catch you off guard and can be annoying if you aren't prepared.

Here is where I am caught:

"So do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal." 2 Cor 4:16-18

I am stuck on these verses as I ponder the rest of the texts as I read. This verse is what God is showing me my present life through. I am amazed at His provision, and the timeliness of His actions, His ever-present care. And all these things that I am caught up in are light and momentary, our lives are but grass, like a spark.

O'Connor said it best, "Grace must wound before it can heal". And if this fatal cut is deep, how great the scar that is the story of how my God has rescued me!

I am so unbiased I won't mention Jesus once

2009-04-06T11:06:00.002-04:00

I think it is laughable that anyone can consider anyone unbiased. The idea that CNN or MSNBC or FoxNews or NPR can claim to have the most level, straight forward news broadcasting makes me wonder who is still falling for this?

I just read a comment on Facebook where someone is questiong the NPR broadcast becuase it mentions Jesus and on that basis questions NPR's neutrality. So, NPR can mention anything except Jesus and still remain unbiased? Or are they already heading down that slope by not mentioning Jesus or Mohammed or Obama's expense plans or their pseudo-commercials for those businesses who support thwm financially?

I find it better to be plain about these things... I am biased, and there's no getting around it. Its not the bias that's the problem, but the refusal to acknowledge that you are biased. It's not the ground you stand on, but your problem to admit it's there. And here it goes: I'm all kinds of biased. I prefer anything to Strawberries or bananas. I do not like watching baseball unless I'm at the park. I root for Gonzaga because with a name like that who wouldn't. I love my wife more than anyone else, and yes my girls will always beat out anyone else's kids in areas of looks and awesomeness. And I am a follower of Jesus Christ, so I'm liable to live my life a certain way, no different in thought than the best Hindu, Muslem, or agnostic.

When you fall so hard

2009-04-03T07:53:00.003-04:00

Today is just one fo those days when I'm not sure what to do. I'm so distracted by the events of yesterday that I just feel kinda numb and preoccupied. When someone trips like that, you wonder how much they're hurt. My heart is broken when I think of their family, when I think of all the families affected. There's just so much I want to do, and ask, but I am set off on one task of just seeking out God in this.

I'm very aware of two things: 1) how much our actions can affect a whole community, and 2) I have become aware of my own failings. Am I truly aware of how much I hinder the work of the gospel in my daily life? What are those things that I say and do that are impeding my effectiveness, or the effectiveness of my community, to reach out to the world in Christ's name? Am I truly caring for the least of these, my wife, and my daughters, my brothers and sisters in Chirst?

In the midst of what I felt as triumph after our Easter Egg Hunt night, I am amazed at how stealthily Satan pads around. I don't want to think that all the positive things that occurred that nigth were laid to waste. I'm just repeating, "Let your face shine that we migth eb saved!" over and over as I think abotu the people I talked to that night. I pray that God will be able to be seen effectively and gloriously through these circumstances. What is the scheme of man compared to the wonder and glory of the wisdom of God? What hope has Satan, and any who would scorn the cross?

Many happy returns, Flannery!

2009-03-25T12:27:00.003-04:00

Today is Flannery O'Connor's birthday. If you've never read her, you owe yourself the time to get to know an author who has helped me understand my faith and concept of grace. Seriously.

"All my stories are about the action of grace on a character who is not very willing to support it,

but most people think of these stories as hard, hopeless and brutal."

What I told the good people of Millersville

2009-03-24T19:02:00.001-04:00

The smallest example of the church, where Christ’s love and faith is to work out in community is the family. Be it just husband and wife, or husband and wife and children, there can be no greater example of a loving and lived out community than this. And for those of us this morning who are single, you are still a part of a family somewhere. My question for this morning is: Youth, are you loving your parents as your neighbor? And parents, are you loving your children as your neighbor? We follow Christ’s example and directive to love our neighbor as ourselves and follow his pattern of sacrifice.

What we know of grace, and mercy we learn first from our parents. Though sometimes we find such things which lead us to the foot of the cross in spite of our parents, it is necessary to know that without our parents we would not even know what it is we hunger for, what are we missing.

Scripture teaches us that we love because God first loved us. The love of a parent is parallel to this, a poor reminder, a pale reminder, but a glimpse none the less. Jesus reminds the crowds of God’s goodness by reminding them of the goodness of a parent’s love and just how it parallels the love of God:

Matt 7:7-11

We give, we love, we live as it has been shown to us. We do as we have been taught.

And for us in Christ, who by his mercy has shown us the way God intended Adam & Eve to live, we know more fully than any other. This is part of Paul’s message to the church at Ephesus. He has to tell them this because it is so contrary to our fallen human nature. We are poor, pale glimpses of the divine love, and how much worse those who grew up without a Christian home? Indeed, even within, no one is without fault, the cycle continues and is perpetuated. We are fallen, and we are lied to daily about this. Distracted by trying to look better and to try to be better people, we neglect the primary truth – we were created good by a loving God, but we all, all of us, have chosen to rebel against our God, the Father of Lights from whom every good and perfect gift comes from – we have chosen darkness. By grace we are saved, by nature we are damned.

However, there is a semi-false pattern we force ourselves into when we become Christians. We read all these texts and do all of these programs in order to awaken us to the realizations of the lost around us, we focus so much on the world around us. How can we reach our friends, our neighbors, our world – but we forget that our primary place for missions is the home. “Charity begins at home” is the old axiom, and we forget that charity is not about handing out money, but about love – love primarily shown in action. Are we falling guilty in the premise of our first calling – to be servants and examples within the context of our primary community – our homes?

There can be no greater way of reaching the next generation than in the home. And how easy is it for us to give this away or to downplay it? We long to hear the calls of the minister to come forward, and for our children to respond, but how can they and how will they if they do not see the surrendered life at home? Parents set the priorities for their children, a pattern that is hard to break.

But this new pattern of life that Christ calls us to is contrary to what we think we should force ourselves to do. It’s a pattern that Paul writes so much about, it is the model for parent to child and youth to parent. This is a pattern we so easily afford to strangers and friends, but how often do we extend this to our own homes?

But first, maybe we should examine this pattern:

Eph 4:25-5:21

It is right after this passage that Paul talks to wives, husbands, and children for this reason – the family is the primary unit of the church. He draws out from these verses how someone should live in the role they have been given to by God. And it is necessary because of how contrary it is to our fallen natures. The old pattern of the world values progeny as property, as something that they own and have to care for. But for Christians, this is not the case. As we look at Scripture we see how much God values children. They are for our joy and comfort and reveal to us a side of God we often forget. In the ancient pagan world, children were at the disposal of the father, and mother, who after hours of labor if the child did not suit them could toss them aside. God’s pattern for care of children is exceptional. In the Old Testament, He calls us to remind and tell our sons all that He has done for us in Exodus 13. God expresses horror at the evil generation who offered their children as burnt offerings to the idol Molech. In the New testament, Jesus admonishes the disciples not to hinder any child from coming to Him, meaning that God does not think Himself too high for these grubby handed kids. He loves them and cherishes them, telling us to do likewise. When we look at passages like Malachi 4:1-6 we can realize that why God is saying these things is because the natural relationship between father and son has been broken. And when the OT begins, we see this. The fathers are not looking after their sons to make sure they are following the paths of righteousness. And so the children were not honoring their parents. It was a cycle. The promise of Malachi is that this can end permanently when the Messiah comes because He will make it possible for us to follow this new pattern of living.

To Him, young or old, we are all His children. And it is as children He calls us into a new pattern of living.

If the family cannot function on this pattern of the new life, then what hope has the local church? Our ability to work as a church, as a people called out of the world, depends on the grace of Christ who gives us the ability to take hold of this pattern of life and to actually submit to each other.

God does not hold a parent more accountable than the child, but we should be able to see each other in love and to help one another. Parents are given the task to raise their children in the ways and knowledge of God – a child is to recognize God’s providence by placing them in the care of their parents. The care and concern we give for those of the world should be practiced amongst the family first.

As we look over the passage, know that this is our encouragement! This is a pattern that we can truly do! This is part of the promised life given to us by our Lord when he rose. We are not guided anymore by lies or by the foolishness of the world. The pattern of our life is new! Our poor pale glimpses have power to undo all the heartache that is seen so regularly in the world. The world flaunts its help and tries to tell you who you are in Christ is not normal, right, or safe. But this is a lie – same as “if you eat this fruit you will not surely die.” We are awake, wide awake, and risen from the death of sin as clearly as when we rise out of those baptismal waters.

Parents, walk according to the ways of God and your children have a better chance of doing likewise. Show them the hope you have daily. Make this the priority. We will walk in the ways of our Father and glorify your God if you show us how. Spend time with us. Show us the worth we are and do not give us the excuse to try to find our worth in other things or people.

I believe this is the key, and I hope that it is something I live up to in regards to my own family. I need to spend time with my children. I’ve already started them on the track to find the right husband. I’ve started teaching them about the stars. I knew how to really impress a girl back I the day. I still like to think I can impress my wife, but only she really knows. I know the stars and constellations pretty well. I also know that the best way to see them is in the dark, secluded. I do not want my girls to fall for the same trap. So I am teaching my girls the stars within the context of God’s glory. My wife has asked me what is to stop my girls from doing to the guys they date what I used to do… and I answered that hopefully we’ll raise them better than that.

If there is to be any hope that my children find the sure hope that I have in Christ, then I must demonstrate it for them daily. I must show them how I love and live and how this pattern of life is not the norm, but it is right and correct. They must be acquainted with who I used to be and how my life has changed because of who Christ is and how he reached out to me. One of the tragedies of the current Christian home is that we will share our testimonies with everyone except our children. We’ll give tracks with our tips (which, as a server, this is a practice I am adamantly against) and we’ll even tell our children why we do it (for their, this stranger’s, salvation) but do we ever tell our children the content of our lives so that they can see us better?

Eph 4:25-32 draws attention to the old ways and should sound harsh when compared to the way we live. Do we live out this pattern for our children? Mothers and fathers, are we holding ourselves accountable to a different lifestyle than our children? God calls us to walk as children… I would commend parents that they should do as they would want their children to do. What TV and movies are you waiting for the kids to go to bed for? What things are you doing that you look to make sure your kids aren’t around? What jokes do you tell at work that you would never repeat at home? Let your lives be transparent before your children, and they will trust you. Make spending time with them your priority, and let them see the glory of Christ demonstrated in the pattern of your life.

The programs of the church, Sunday school and youth groups should never eclipse or take the place of the role of the parent. They can never replace the role of the parent and they should not be seen as such. The content of what is covered in Sunday school and youth group should only be the reinforcement of what is going on at home. Do not be totally disappointed if you have children who go to all of these wonderful programs but do not act as they should. Look to the pattern of your life, can your kids see Christ in you first? Can they see where you are most satisfied?

This role never ends. You never retire from being a parent. You must share with your children what is going on in your lives constantly… what is God doing in your life at 40, 50, 60, 80? Tell your children so that thay can see this pattern of life does not end.

Satisfaction in Christ is what leads to Eph 5:1-21.

This brings us back to the Fall – the snake awoke in Adam and Eve a dissatisfaction with where they were, with who they were created to be. Desire became their aim, and striving on their own became their reality.

Teenagers, kids, college students, older children now called parents, where are you finding satisfaction? I know I just talked to your parents about their roles as your parents, but now you must listen, because one day, if the Lord allows, you will be where they are. This is where I am today. I am a child of 2 parents now with children of my own, and this is what I had to struggle thru.

Gang, your parents are not perfect and to think that they are or to expect them to be is … well, when you do this, you are looking to your parents to satisfy a need that no fallen human could ever fulfill.

But see the greatness of God in this – he placed you in the family you are in because he knew that you would be worse off with any other family, on any other continent, in any other time, and in any other culture. With all their faults and foibles, your family is the best family that god could have placed you in.

You should trust them, should being the operative word. I know all about not trusting parents. I also know what it means to believe that God knows why He puts you in the family you are in.

My story

I tell you this story because I fully believe that God did what He did for a reason. He knew this was what was best for me, my siblings, and my parents. And I pray that my transparency and my way of living, the very way I am raising my kids, will have an effect on my parents.

Do not be swayed by hissing snakes and the banter of the world – follow the example of those who have walked the pattern of faith and have followed Christ to his glory and honor! What can the world offer you? “Be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us, and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God!”

Follow the good example – pay attention, wake up and look at the pattern of those who have gone before you. There is no reason why your lives cannot be transparent for your parents, especially, and anyone else. This family unit depends on the abilities of its members to walk in love and to do as He says. So, you make a mistake, tell them! Let them know what you are thinking, and what you are doing so that they can help you. They will trust you if you can be trusted, so tell them.

How long can you keep these secrets? Christ tells us that one day everything whispered or held in our minds will be shouted from the rooftops. Rather you tell them now and be seen as someone who reached out for help than a coward who would not own up to your mistake.

Walk in freedom by confessing to each other and experience the joy in Christ of bearing an unburdened soul.

We, as a generation, as a people, have been lied to far too long by the world and we who have been called out the darkness need to wake up and live in the promises of Christ, who leads us into the light.

For parents, I would encourage you with these words:

1. Make your children the focus of your personal ministry. As a church, focus on the world, the people around you, but do not neglect your children.

2. Parents, be transparent with your kids, sharing your walk with them. Make sure they know your testimony better than anyone else’s.

3. Do not rely on anyone else, or any program, Sunday school, VBS, youth group, to teach your children about Christ. If they are not hearing it or seeing it from you, th likelihood of them knowing Christ is lessened.

And teens, college students, anyone who has ever been called a child:

1. Allow your parents to make you their priority. Choose to spend time with them. I know you are busy, but do not forget that you are also an example for your parents in how to walk.

2. Be transparent with your parents. Share your walk with them, show them you are trustworthy, and in whom you find your satisfaction.

3. Do not allow anyone or anything to have your attention until you get married. In this we follow the commandment to honor our mothers and fathers, knowing that when we marry we leave them and are joined to our own family. We watch them so we can learn to live in all arenas of life, so that we can live long in the land and prosper.

Look over the pattern of your lives and see to it that each member of the family adheres to it. If the local church is to maintain its clear and good example, it must make sure that the members of the church recognize the importance of the family. It is through their parents that the children are given the best shot at knowing Christ.

Turn with me to a curious passage, that I don’t know that many pay attention to, perhaps beyond me. When I fully read this verse, I understood a little bit more the scene that we will celebrate in about a month’s time.

Mark 15:21-22

“And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull).”

Here we have a man called Simon, who literally picked up the cross of Christ and followed where he was to go. At that moment, Simon’s pattern of life changed and he was led to the foot of the cross. The most amazing thing, his sons are named here, Alexander and Rufus. Amazing because Mark thought it was important to mention their names as witnesses to what had occurred. We can infer, though, that because they are mentioned they are a part of the church! These two young men watched their father carry a cross not meant for him and became followers of Christ. Amazing! Those boys were no longer just sons to their father, but they were his brothers, as well. Amazing.

So, parents, learn from this. And Children, pay attention.

Let’s pray.

I think its scary...

2009-03-21T12:57:00.002-04:00

So, I was sitting in my class "Evangelism and Discipleship" when I was thinking about the word "unchurched"... this is before I went into some unconscious tirade about another issue where it was like diarrhea of the mouth. I was jotting down some of my thoughts when I was distracted by something else and I let those thougths go... apparently down to the South where they were picked up by Joshua Harris and he wrote:

REFLECTIONS ON THE WORD "UNCHURCHED"

I think that one of the oddest words in the Christian lexicon is the word unchurched. Have you heard someone use this word? Usually it's spoken by pastors or church leaders talking about the people they want to save. At some point in the 1980s somebody decided that terms like unsaved, unbeliever, non-Christian, sinner and hell-bound pagan were offensive to the people they described. So they came up with the term unchurched in order to have a nice way of talking about people who are not Christians.

This fascinates me. Who decides when new words get to be made up? It seems like a pretty big deal. Was it a group effort? How long did they brainstorm? Did they have a whiteboard? And what were the other options? They could have chosen unchristianed or unjesused.

I don't know who came up with unchurched, but personally, I think it's kind of lame. If you're the person who thought of it, I hope you're not offended. And I hope you've gotten royalties from all the times people have used your word. (I owe you a couple bucks just for the last few paragraphs.)

The problem I have with the word unchurched is that it conveys the idea that what people really need isn't salvation so much as getting "churched." And what the heck does that mean?

Think about this for a minute. How do you church someone? How many times do you have to go to church before you're churched? Once? Twice? A month? A year? Is it something you feel? When you're being churched do you know that it's happening? Does it tingle? And can you be churched but still not be a Christian? Does it matter what you believe? For example, can you be an avowed atheist and still get churched? Wouldn't that probably really tick an atheist off? And then how many meetings do you have to skip before you become unchurched again? Or is it a "once churched always churched" kind of deal?

These are the questions that keep me up at night.

I don't know if these is true that great minds think alike, but I am glad for the affirmation. lol...

Hunger for the day

2009-03-18T12:41:00.002-04:00

As I read God's Word, I realise more and more how much I hunger and thirst for righteousness. And just how much I hunger to be done with this body, with all its learned flaws.

Please consider the environment

2009-03-16T15:57:00.002-04:00

I was at Borders yesterday which is always good, for those of us the read. I was checking out when I noticed the sign beneath my hands: "Please consider the environment before asking for a bag for your purchase". Of course, my mind did not go where I think they thought it was going to go. My brain did not go green. Instead, I thought about all the things that Borders sells and I went through a mental list... what does Borders sell that could be considered offensive to children and old women of the prudish order? I guess there are some sections where the aisle looks empty because those who peruse such books take them to other parts of the store. Along the window there are some magazines that perhaps no one should look at... and some of those are art magazines. And there's Maxim, which perhaps stands alone.

I looked at the lady, I think here name was Sherry, and asked, "What are you guys selling here that you need to cover up? Do you have paper bags now?"

She looked puzzled. Her brows got kinda of knit together.

Then I got it. Then I was thinking green.

1 Cor 1:18

reflection

2009-03-12T18:52:00.002-04:00

"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him."

-Rom 8: 14-17

Father, thank You. You have done great things. Nothing is impossible for You. You have called me to You and I answered - You have loved and drew me close. How helpless am I to Your call? It is to You and from you that I move and have my being. There is no one like You, who would welcome back and call son the one who was chief amongst rebels?

snow drifts

2009-03-02T16:46:00.002-05:00

On my way to school today, like everyday, I have to go through byroads only used by those going to Myerstown. Trust me, there are not many of us. I travel a distance of windy roads that take me about 15 minutes from the highway to my destination, and part of the way is a route that leads as far away from Myerstown as I can get before I have to turn back.

But today, the landscape was changed as the snow not solidly laid drifted and bled onto the road, visibly changing the course. But I knew better and could not be fooled so easily. I knew where my half of the road lay, and even though those yellow lines were whited out, I knew that to try to drive around the drifts, I was putting myself in harms' way.

But its only because I've been down this road so often.

Honestly, though, I cannot wait to be done with this path. Its time is running out and I am eagerly counting its clock down, counting down class days and assignments due. Though the snow drifts come and the hot days that follow, full of the hot retching smell of manure, I cannot be waylaid as far I can see. The path is pretty clear.

I just got back

2009-02-18T12:14:00.002-05:00

I just got back to listening to Podcasts. I had to leave them for a season, but the desire has returned. I listen to two podcasts, or was listening to two podcasts, pretty regularly. One being Covenant Life Church, the other is John Piper's Desiring God Sermon Broadcasts. These are great sermons with astounding teaching that have helped me and have taught me and I would encourage anyone to subscribe to either of these.

Today, as I was driving to my class I listened to an astounding message from John Piper entitled, "What is the recession for?" This was such an astounding message that I'm going to include the link here: http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2009/3566_What_Is_the_Recession_For

Such a good message on how we as the church should view these "tough economic times". If you would rather listen to it, though, just go to itunes and type in Desiring God. Again, justa good message that I would encourage anyone to listen to.

What's the difference?

2009-02-12T20:43:00.002-05:00

Someone enters your house and has your wife/child, whoever, at gunpoint. One wants to steal your money, one wants you to recant your faith. Which one do you kill with the gun you keep in the top drawer of your bedside table?

What's the difference?

If you shoot the guy because he just wants some material object, does this show your lack of dependance on God by not just giving Him what he wants? And if he kills you and your wife, were you afraid you might not see your Saviour today?

If you shoot the guy because he wants you to recant, I think there are millions of martyrs who would call you to question.

Who do you trust? What do you do?

Of course, I'm not looking forward to either situation. I'm not a sadist.

Tu Bishvat

2009-02-08T20:29:00.002-05:00

Today is the minor Jewish holiday of the New Year of the Tree. It apparently coincides with the blossoming of the Almond trees, which is great. But around here it coincides with the warmest day we've had so far in the year.

So, today I'm a fan of a minor Jewish holiday as it suits my purposes.

Thank you, Wikipedia, for even making me aware that my favourite day of the year so far even had a name.

Unbelievably...? What do you say?

2009-02-05T15:23:00.001-05:00

What do you say?

http://www.buffalonews.com/260/story/570428.html

Really Good Training

2009-01-29T12:04:00.002-05:00

I have started a second job to get me through my already pretty busy week. I started about a month ago, and it's not bad. I mostly sit and read (which is pretty much my goal in life some days). Time moves slowly, and I am able to get some things accomplished as well as meet lots of new and, sometimes, interesting people.

What new jobs mean, though, is always the unavoidable training. And this job is no exception. I hate training. I can stand training for the tasks I need to know that I have no prior knowledge of, thats fine and expected. But what I realyl cannot stand is the training on the obvious things. Well, the obviou things to me. Such as how to talk to people, or how to be polite. My mama didn't raise no fool, I guess.

Since I've had so many jobs and have watched countless hours of training video, i think I've become quite the judge of what distinguishes excellent training from the mediocre, or even poor. And here's the key: They make it seem as though this job is your life's calling! That this job, as opposed to all the others you've had or would even want to find, is the epitome of all life's experiences and that you've made it! Awesome, congratulations.

It's been garnered as such because, I know, we as humans feel like our worth is in our work, and who doesn't want to find that place that you've been looking for? Here is where you will find your purpose, your true calling. It's clever marketing on these company's parts, you have to give them credit.

But I wonder how many actually buy into this? I sat in a room with people who have held more jobs in the last year than I have all my life, no matter how comparatively brief.

My life's calling, who made me and what he has for me, cannot be separated from where He has blessed me to work. It's seeing my work as a blessing that allows me to do my job well, no matter what the task. Right?

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

C. S. Lewis

Claire the Evangelist?

2009-01-14T07:57:00.002-05:00

I don't know if my daughter will ever roam the wilderness, or eat locust, or wear anything camel (as I don;t hink it will match her high heels), but I can definitely be aware of this jewel who does truly care for her friends. She asks amazing questions about faith, and my faith, and questions the language that we use, and why we do some things and not others. And she loves the story fo Jairus's daughter... its the only story she ever wants to hear. She is encouraging and astounding, amazing and challenging. Do I care as much as her?

Last night, she had a friend over. If she just read that she would correct me; her best friend. She loves this little girl dearly and has concern for her and asks where she is and if she will see her this week. Claire is never satisfied when we have to tell her no, or we'll call but things just don't work out. But last night, the stars were aligned, I guess, because they played and played and played until her friend had to leave, which left my daughter sad and a little heartbroken because their time was up.

What amazes me is the substance of their play. My daughters, both of them, love to play house, or to play doctor, or chef... as long as they are taking care of someone they are happy. Ecstatic and satisfied would also be good words to describe their play. And last night was a scene of sadness as my oldest tried to care for what she thought was the primary concern of her best friend.

Her friend does not come to church regularly, or in any noticeable pattern. Of course, she is too young to drive herself, but her mom is sick sometimes, or she is sick sometimes, so sometimes church gets missed. Claire is sad when she walks into her classroom and does not see her friend, or she does not show-up at any point. And she'll ask why, and we'll tell her what her what her friend's dad has said, or just that we're not sure if we're not sure. Adn we leave it at that. She will, every once in a while say how she wishes her friend would come to church.

So, last night, Claire played mommy while her friend switched between playing a cat, a dog, and the child. Claire would turn to her friend and say the following, whenever her friend would leave her sight and then come back (either in the room and then back out, or in one of the Dora tents), "There you are. I was so worried. I thought you were dead because you were not in church this morning."

Sometimes the phrasing would change, but that would be the general statement. "There you are. I was so worried. I thought you were dead because you were not in church this morning."

I have no doubt that Claire is generally concerned... her friend's name is perpetually on her lips. But I wonder where this notion comes from that her friend could possibly be dead that she is not coming to church. It seems harsh on my ears, what could be a great level of condemnation... one that Heather and I greatly shy from (running away from may be a better term. I don't think I've ever considered dead anyone who does not come to church. I hate some of the language that we use as ammunition to back our claims that we are right and that somehow settles it). Knowing my daughter's heart, and her mind, I have no doubt that the concern for her friend is genuine, adn beyond words. She wants her friend to be in church. And it may just be for the selfish reason that she alone would get to hang out with her friend one day more than normal. Or could it be that she really thinks of her friend as dead when she's not there.

Either way. Amazing.

Sub Quote of the Day

2009-01-09T12:11:00.001-05:00

These are words I never thought I would ever say. But you can never be too sure what you'll have to address during your day as a sub...

"Please, stop flirting during the holocaust movie."

and so it is,

2009-01-07T00:24:00.002-05:00

So, there is a lot going on in my world as of late... not at all bad. It just seems like I'm never home. I actually look forward to waking up in bed with me wife, and two girls, because it feels normal, and not forced. I did get a second job, but it is only for a season, 'til we can get out of the little financial slump we are in, and that I'll be home again.

And that's all I ever want.

Hanukkah has come and gone

2008-12-30T12:02:00.002-05:00

Well, Hanukkah has come and gone and my holiday season has officially ended. New Year's is tomorrow but I don't know that its a holiday. The passing of the old year into the new could make some grateful, even relieved, I suppose. There are promises that make me think counter to this though. I usually think about these things around Easter, but I'm aware very much right now of the joy that I should have that His promises are renewed each morning, that I am not the same as I was yesterday. I'm not really looking for an excuse to stay up and see 12:01 to congratulate myself on surviving another year.

Somedays, I'd just much rather be home.

My book

2008-12-19T12:22:00.002-05:00

I've decided that I will be writing a book. It'll be anecdotes about my many jobs as a server, as a substitute teacher, and, now, as a front desk clerk. I dunno about a title, but I'm thinking about "Tales from something or other". I'll take suggections if anyone's got a good one...

Hands of a friend of mine

2008-12-07T22:00:00.003-05:00

Today I went to a meeting for Children's Church and I got to sit next to a mechanic friend of mine. His hands are filthy, and constantly soiled. I've seen his hands clean, but they are not the clean that I think many would be able to eat with. But they amaze me. These are hands that are fully engrossed in their work. They are not just covered in grime, there are cuts, and bruises and blood stains. These are hands that are busy at their work and they show it.

When I stand before the Master's Gates and Thomas asks to see my hands may they show the work I've done to the extent of this mechanic's, scars and blood stains, grime and all. May they reflect the glory of God in every knuckle and sinew.

Here is the problem with being a sub...

2008-11-14T14:33:00.003-05:00

Here is the problem with being a substitue teacher at times: they think of themselves (the students) as my peers. They do not respect the teacher, and I am a somewhere less. A day like today does everything it can to convince me that this is a fallen world and it is hurtling ever faster, ever further, down.

But my Father does not comfort me. Instead He leads me to the cross, where His heart is and I am broken even more. I am not sad at the plight of the world, but depressed that I appear ineffective and hopeless. What can I possibly do? What could I possibly say? How self-centered am I that this is what I care about?

To hear them talk - how they do not want anything to do with any religion - that they're OK. They refer to it as fairytale. They deman fairness, but its really a mask for their own selfishness.

This is the world I enter into 5 days of the week. This is my life and days like today just make me weep inside. How strong am I? How much mroe can I take?

What is the extent of my patience?

What is the extent of my love for these kids?

Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

2008-11-10T17:47:00.002-05:00

Today is the day when the famous question was given and answered as two men met in Africa...

"Dr. Livingstone, I presume?"

He was a great man and many followed Dr. Livingstone. His life, disappearance, and death in Africa turned the already busy business of African missions into a huge business. However, one of his biggest regrets was the fact that his children grew up fatherless. He served the Lord, but he realised too late that his family paid the price.

No matter my calling, I cannot think of my family as any less of a blessing, nor a primary place of my immediate ministry.

Praying for President Obama

2008-11-05T01:54:00.002-05:00

Ok, I'm not lazy. Josh Harris not only beat me to the punch, but did a much better job than I could have...

On Sunday I told my church that after the election half the country would be elated, confident that all would be right in the world because their candidate won; the other half dejected and sure that the world had ended because their candidate lost. But Christians should realize that both sides are wrong. If you voted for Obama, he isn't worthy of your ultimate hope. And if you didn't vote for him, don't despair as though Jesus isn't reigning over the world.

Those who call Jesus their Lord can be filled with a quiet peace and confidence in all seasons. Our Savior is never in the White House. Our Savior is Jesus. We must turn to him with joy and faith. And as we do let's pray for our new President Elect that God would give him wisdom and grace to lead our nation in the days to come. My friend Justin Taylorshares the following helpful words:

No matter who you voted for--or whether you voted at all--it's important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).
We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).
There are many qualifications to add to these exhortations--for example, see this excellent post by John Piper--but it's still important to remember that these are requirements for all Bible-believing Christians.

Though I deeply disagree with Barack Obama on certain policy issues (most notably his support of abortion), I am committed to praying for him and his family in the years to come. And I am grateful to God that in his election our country has taken an important step away from its sad history of racism and prejudice.

Election Day, woo hoo

2008-11-04T09:24:00.003-05:00

"But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,

my glory and the lifter of my head."

-Psalm 3:3

"Whom shall I fear?"

- Psalm 27:1

Regardless of who is elected, I'm gonna be OK. My hope is not resting on the democratic process, but, to quote Webb, a king and a kingdom.

Up at 5:30.. nothing good on TV

2008-11-02T05:47:00.002-05:00

So, while I'm up, I check my blog subscriptions. Here is a great little something to think about from Josh Harris:

If one more person reminds me to set my clock back, "Aaaarrrghghggh!" But seriously thanks, everyone. Although I will probably still forget. Nowadays with cell phones and electronic devices that automatically change the time things can get really confusing. One year I changed the time on my PDA before I went to bed, but then the PDA also changed the time automatically in the middle of the night. Then it woke me up two hours off schedule. I was really confused. Today I read an interesting article in the Washington Post by Monica Hess entitled "It's Not Just a Matter of Time." In it Hess talks about why different parts of the country and world refuse to accept the practice of daylight savings. She writes,

What these time change wars are really all about, of course, is a sense of control. Over our daily schedules, over our national identity and, in the bigger sense, over the one thing that waits for no man. We cannot stop the march of time, but we can stop clocks, even wind them back an hour once a year.

It is pretty funny when you think about it. We try to control things and make ourselves more productive and efficient by all pretending that we can change the time. What if we all started freelance time-changing just to suite our individual preferences? That would be a mess. "I was going to be late for our meeting today so I set my clock back an hour. It's now 10AM in my universe." Anyway, back to the Post article. Did you know that they not only don't practice daylight savings in China, but they don't have time-zones? Hess writes, "The entire country is set to Beijing, meaning 9 a.m. is still dark for some citizens and practically the middle of the afternoon for others." Wild. But the most interesting portion of the article (and now you'll understand the title of this post) is the closing paragraph that tells the story of terrorists who literally died because of a time change. Have you ever heard this story?

Back in 1999, terrorists on the daylight-saving West Bank built several time bombs, delivered to co-conspirators in Israel and scheduled to explode at a set time. Problem was, Israel had just switched back to standard time, so the only people injured were the terrorists themselves when the bomb detonated an hour earlier than they expected and killed them all.

If only all terrorists were so easily thwarted. Okay, one more time: "Don't forget to set your clocks back." Goodnight

I'm on the cover of the Patriot News...

2008-10-29T13:11:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the McCain/Palin Rally in Hershey and i was asked to help out. I just figured I'd have some nothing task outside, but it would be a fun experience. How wrong I was! lol...

I got to help out as a press volunteer, and my assignment put me on the floor of the Rink. So, there I was with Jamie Creason, all dressed up in my bowtie, green Roo's on my feet, volunteer badge around my neck, ready to keep people out of the areas they weren't supposed to be, and to fill up the areas that needed it most. A simply frustrating task... no matter how polite and persuasive you can be, there are just some who choose not to lis

ten. Even if you honestly tel them they have the worst seats, that their seats would soon be completely obstructed, or that if they would go beneath the gigantic flag they could have the oppurtunity to shake either McCain's or Palin's hands... they still won't budge. Or worse, they just pretend you're not there.

But, we had a blast... so much so, that today my body aches, my feet are killing me and voice is rough... Understandable, right? I was at a rally...

Well, I went the extra-mile, as perhaps only I could. lol... Since we were on the floor, and had a lot of running room, we were able to do all kinds of things. Getting our side to chant various pro-McCain things, and "USA", and the wave. I had a blast! I got so into it, my first sign was ripped in two. Someone from the crowd came down and gave me another one so i could continue. And it would be noticeable if any of the American news agencies were there! lol... I will be on the Irish National News on Friday night, and the Spanish National News at some point this week, and I was interviewed for the Czech Republic National Radio. What you would see, if we got any of those things, is me, generally acting like a total fool, throwing my body into all kinds of things, while wearing a bowtie. Basically, what you see on wednesday nights at Devonshire when I'm Gordo, or on Sunday mornings when I'm teaching.

I did happen to make the front page of the Patriot News... ok, so did a thousand other people. I'll post it below. You can see me standing in the lower left corner of the pic, next to Jamie, I think. I'm the taller one. Yeah, that's me... you can kinda make out the outline of my bowtie, and my camera.

What happens when you teach kids about Determination.

2008-10-20T22:18:00.003-04:00

I work with the kids at my church through a wonderful program called Kidstuf... and it is awesome. I play Gordo, a loveable nerd, who has his share of misadventures, usually ending in him getting pretty excited about something. And he hates to quit. Hates it.

Well, I am Gordo.

This month we are learning about determination, and this is one of those months where I am learning along with the kids... I'm learning more about humility, and what it means to be determined, and to "run the race marked out for us."

Well, what happens when we the route takes a sudden shift? How will I respond?

This sunday is the Marine Corps Marathon in DC, and I had planned on running. I had planned and had been training, but I have had to give up this year's race. My heart problems have returned, and this time it has been joined with other problems. I'm having tests done, and other awesome things are being hooked up to my body... I envision myself Darth Vader, but with both my real hands.

But my determination has turned into stubborn-ness. I loved that feeling last year after finishing the race, and I was very much looking forward to improving my time. And well, its pretty hard for me to think that I will not be able to run this year.

It's pretty hard for me to think that maybe my goals and purposes are not the best in why I want to run.

I'll be in DC this weekend to watch my wife, Heather, and a good friend of ours, Scott, run the 10k. If any of you are in the area, let me know.

My view is changing me

2008-10-18T18:08:00.003-04:00

Well, Autumn is fast upon us here in Harrisburg. After a brief respite of summer like weather, the cold has latched on fast, and the leaves are down or downing. I'm thinking about the greatest of all American past times, the election, and am amazed at how often I change my mind about what I'm going to do. Whether I'm going to or not, who I'm going for or not... it's a long lengthy process and never fully decided 'til I get in that locally curtained booth.

It's not my indecisiveness that drives this line of thought, it's my view. And this is a small window into my soul... do you know how often I think and rethink my actions? Often.

I was looking over my journals this morning and am amazed about how much I have changed from those days. And, really, it all comes down to my view on life, and from what vantage I take. What a low view of life I held back then. As if I was the only thing that ever mattered, as if it was more important that I get something, of I feel something, or that I am someone. Hindsight being what it is, it would be so easy for others to look at this as the maturing process. But I know better.

I am being renewed in my mind, my heart is being reshaped. And I'm more aware of life, I am fully awake, like it's the first morning every morning. His blessings are new each morning, and I have been given the grace to know this, to run after it, and to take what small part it is that I have to play in this. This view, of the fully and resplendent cross ever before me, is changing me daily, hourly, minute by God given, God rescued, minute.

How did I ever get on without You?

Some funny stuff

2008-10-13T08:32:00.000-04:00

I thought this was funny...

An old favourite

2008-10-09T12:22:00.002-04:00

I turned this morning to an old favorite of mine, Scougal's The Life of God in the Soul of Man. A truly great book, and one that I would encourage anyone to read. I've turned to it many times, and no matter how horrible I feel, after reading but some pages I regain that correct sense of standing before God: He is great, and I am truly unworthy of His love towards me. I was also encouraged to know that a man I greatly admire, John Piper, is also a fan of this little book (I was not humble in the thought that I had read it many times before his prompting). Here is the line I focused on today:

"But he who is utterly destitute of this inward principle, and doth not aspire unto it (freedom in religion), but contents himself with those performances whereunto he is prompted by education or custom, by the fear of hell, or carnal notions of heaven, can no more be accounted a religious person, than a puppet can be called a man...

"...he who hath given himself entirely unto God, will never think he doth too much for him. (38,39)"

My old lady

2008-10-06T10:11:00.000-04:00

Heather has turned 29 today, but in her heart she's 55 or better! A couple of weeks ago she received an AARP card in the mail. I looked at the envelope questioningly as she opened it. It is obviously a mistake, I think. But tell that to all of the ads and flyers we get for her to attend all these seminars on retiring well, or assisted living.

I am really trying to encourage Heather to attend these. She would go to try to set the record straight; I want to go because some of these places are offering steak - free steak!

So, Happy Birthday, Heather... may you enjoy your twilight years, even as far away as they are now.

A shot out for all my...

2008-10-05T08:57:00.000-04:00

I need to thank Crystal McClintock for the wonder that she introduced me to: London Fog.

I know what you're thinking, trench coats. Nope, I'm talking about the wonder that I invite into my mouth every morning now. It has become my morning drink, surpassing the usual Caramel Macchiato, which I never thought would happen. Ah, the Fog.

Now, before you google it, you should be warned that I am not an alcoholic; there is a cocktail drink by the same name. It is not that one.

It is a hot drink, Earl Grey tea, with a shot of vanilla syrup and warm frothy milk...mmmm... it is beautiful.

felt so alien

2008-10-02T16:05:00.002-04:00

I never feel so alien to this world as when I read the newspaper. Its just appalling and amazing how terrible, how full of terror, this world is. And how foreign it is to me. How could it be that it seems so few recognize the effects of sin? How can the world , those outside of Christ, not feel this immeasurable weight and not see that they cannot be the solution? Our dirty hands can not in anyway help wash one another's.

The great problem of Christianity is that sin is inescapable, and that we can recognize it so readily. Its the elephant in the room. Its the sunspot in our eye. I didn't have this problem before I was a Christian. And as a sign of maturing faith, I can recognize my alien-ish feelings as my longing to go home. But I am here, sometimes with a broken heart, wondering and longing for others to see what I see.

Raccoon goes to shore

2008-09-30T09:25:00.003-04:00

This past weekend, I had the best time with my church's youth group. We went to Ocean City, NJ, which has become the habit for the Loft the last couple of years, and its easy to see why. Not that Ocean City is the most happening town this time of year, 'cause its not. It's because we are basically alone at the beach... it's off-season and the weather is still good.

I hadn't had the opportunity to go on a youth retreat for awhile, since I started working with the k-5 y.o.'s. I missed it, but I love working where I am now, that I don't know that I would go back if given the opportunity.

And I love the beach.

Love it.

I was asked to lead worship through the weekend for the youth, and heartily agreed. It was a great experience, and I definitely felt God throughout the whole weekend, because I knew I could not do it on my own.

On Sunday morning we went down to the beach for some ocean time, and a time of worship with a lesson led by Pastor Todd. As I trudged past the dunes, guitar in tow, I noticed that there was a strange set of footprints amongst those of the kids who had run before me. A raccoon had been on the beach. Probably looking for clams and trash washed ashore over the night's high tide.

At that moment I had a small flash... we are not the only ones on this beach. God did not create all the world for us; this sun-rising, foggy beach was not prepared for me to stand on a couple of days a year. I prayed that our worship that morning would not be outdone by the ocean, the million grains of sand, or even by the raccoons, which all can see so plainly, perhaps, what we have to scavenge to perceive.

Wash your hands, if I'm around, at least

2008-09-26T13:33:00.002-04:00

While at school the other day, I walked into the bathroom with a fellow student, who we will call 'Bill". "Bill" and I were talking, and then we did our thing, and then I washed my hands. Just me. He stood there talking, and I'm washing my hands. There were two sinks and I allowed ample room next to me so that we could both fit... but he talked and I lathered, rinsed and dried. We both left, and I though to myself that I will never shake "Bill" 's hand again. Or share a cookie. And he will never touch my Mac, for sure.

Please, wash your hands if there are others around. Do not lead us to believe anything other than the hope that you do, in fact, wash your hands.

Thanks.

Finally, proof we had a good time in Disney

2008-09-24T06:23:00.000-04:00

Well, its taken a while, but after sorting through all the pictures (around 2,500 of them) I have chosen the ones that will grace our picasa album online. So, please take a gander:

Disney Trip 2008

A history of short tempers

2008-09-18T15:17:00.002-04:00

I took my Nana out to breakfast this morning to learn and map out some of my family history for a class project. This is what I learned: The Fullers have short-tempers, and they will shoot you quicker than use their own hands. There are cemeteries full of Fullers, unfortunately mostly because of other Fullers.

So where will I fit into this history of violence?

evolution is alive and well

2008-09-17T11:31:00.005-04:00

"The perfect surrender and humiliation was undergone by Christ: perfect because He was God, surrender and humiliation because He was man. Now the Christian belief is that if we somehow share the humility and suffering of Christ we shall also share in His conquest of death and find a new life after we have died and in it become perfect, and perfectly happy, creatures. This means something much more than our trying to follow His teaching. People often ask when the next step in evolution - the step to something beyond man - will happen. Well, on the Christian view, it has happened already. In Christ, a new kind of man appeared: and the new kind of life which began in Him is to be put into us."

~C.S. Lewis

The Case for Christianity, p.51

The Shack, being Left Behind, and ...?

2008-09-16T12:26:00.008-04:00

Yes, I read the Shack. At the behest and someone else's dime I read it in about a day. Did I lose my salvation? No.

Though I do not, do not, agree with everything the author presents, I found some great imagery at best, an OK storyline at its worst. I was intrigued as to how this little story would play out. And then I read all the critiques. And then I talked to some people. And then I talked to other people. And then I went to the Shack website... and now, well now I'm confused.

I'm well aware of all the theological woes it gives someone. It gave them to me, too. Some were not as weighty as others, but they were still there. And yet, and yet I cannot deny the personal testimonies of others who say they are getting so much out of this book.

But this is the confusing part. The Shack website. Especially the forum. On the one hand, this book is presented as a theological groundstone, adding nothing new except this experience of the Trinity. According to the authors and the forum writers, this little book is consistent in every way to well-established orthodoxy (And you read the authors responses and you can better understand their point of view and their confusion as to why they are not being understood and being called heretics). But, on the other hand, you keep getting thrown at you from all sides the emphasis that this is a novel, a fictional account, a parable, and a metaphor. This fictional account helps to point out truth, but should not be mistaken for truth itself. But this is just the confusion we do not need. What type of writing is it? I would not want to equate it with the Da Vinci code, because it is not, but while Dan Brown points out the fact that this is a fiction book, he will not say that it is not based on fact.

So, what should be done with this book?

I have no doubt that there are many who have already decided what to do with this book. I'm the last to read these books, and feel like I got into the conversation late. But I would not equate this book to Pilgrim's Progress. As much as the authors and others would like to do this, I dunno that it can be done well. The Shack just doesn't fit into that genre. A great modern example of a "fit" would be CS Lewis' The Pilgrim's Regress. These books do not make their allegories sound anything that could be possible. They are clearly allegory, and all allusions are drawn from insight and the parallels purposefully given.

If The Shack were to be put on level with another book, I would put it at best on the level with The Left Behind Series. All of these presentations are great as far as giving you an idea as to what God wants, who he is, what he's doing in the world. But they make so much of a stance that I would never give them to a non or new Christian without following up with discussion, disclaimers, the Bible, and other books that I think could better explain facets of the faith.

So, the Shack sits on my bookshelf, next to Ian McEwan's books, which I would recommend you read. McEwan, as far as I know, is not a Christian, and he ends up saying the same thing about human nature and sin as the most well versed Christians. But I can explain his stance on God, he's not a Christian and I can only expect him to say so in his writing. I expect it.

Worship this morning

2008-09-14T14:55:00.002-04:00

A child's voice cried out this morning at the most inopportune time: during prayer. This voice was like a knife and a firework in my heart. "Dada" he cried, and my heart was to the quick cut and I felt it in my throat, "Dada!" I long to join in, to release this pent up feeling of longing, of the expectant but not yet. "Dada", to the present heart, and the heart that is broken, and being destroyed.

My eyes were shut, but I saw the kingdom in that moment. My salvation, so long in walking was flying!

Read old books!

2008-09-06T08:28:00.002-04:00

A clever admonition from CS Lewis to some students was to make sure you read old books and not to discard them for the clever new ones. I dunno that Lewis would ever have considered his books "old" to a future generation, but here they are.

I pulled down "God in the Dock" and started reading at a random spot ("Is Progress Possible?) when I came across a bit of his political theory, also found in the masterpiece The Abolition of Man:

"... classical political theory, with its Stoical, Christian, and juristic key-conceptions (natural law, the value of the individual, and the rights fo man), has died. The modern State exists not to protect our rights but to do good or make us good - anyway, to do something to us or make us something. ... Let us not be deceived by phrases about 'Man taking charge of his own destiny'. All that can really happen is that some men will take charge of the destiny of others. They will be simply men; none perfect; some greedy, cruel and dishonest. The more completely we are planned the more powerful they will be. Have we discovered some new reason why, this time, power should not corrupt as it has done before?"

As both candidates look to harness the voters by calling out for change, to what end is their mind going? Is it going to what Lewis calls for as the "freeborn mind", or is it more control and reliance on specialists, who control us not outright, but by the rights of the educated mind? Our education system has become a den of specialists who are trying to make the right decisions for our kids instead of really allowing them to make that decision for themselves. Is the education system as it is a microcosm for the larger political scheme? Which political party is really in control of the education system?

The larger questions of change are great, I do think there needs to be a lot done about many thins, but what is their vision for the end result? Are we talking about creating a society that is self-sufficient and able to make well thought out decisions, whose decisions actually matter and have worth, or is the goal a society whose major decisions have really been decided for them and now they just have to keep the system going?

They both want change, but to whose end?

Col 3:2

2008-08-27T09:19:00.002-04:00

Too much of my thought life is focused on things other than those of the heavenly - centered on Christ. And to what end?

- Destruction

The wind just does what it will in regard to this tree I'm sitting by. The tree just flutters and bends and waves its branches because it does. Its helpless to the actions of the wind. It cannot tell the wind what to do, where it will go or how fast it will go where it needs.

And here I sit observing the actions of the wind yet not really aware of it. I'm more observant of the tree which is affected by this invisible force, the thing to which the tree allows itself to be affected. The tree gives itself tot he wind, and I sit more mindful of the effected than the effector/motivator.

Am I really so ever mindful of the obvious, the observable, rather than the great moving force that causes such a chorus of swaying trees?

Who's convinced you to be silent?

2008-08-06T07:50:00.002-04:00

I am using a daily devotional I love. Its called Solo, and it is a lectio based reading of the Bible which uses Peterson's The Message: Remixed, and I do like it. It really helps me focus each day and really helps when I find myself struggling for what to pray for. I do recommend it if you are looking for a devotional.

However....

Today's was good, and it got me motivated in ways perhaps it did not mean to. It was just a hypothetical but I wonder how hypothetical it seems. Based off of 1 Chronicles 16:7-36, "David's Psalm of Thanksgiving", the writers ask, "If you could shout this psalm from anywhere in the world, where would that be? (it might be on a specific mountaintop or by a certain waterfall or even before an international group, such as the United Nations)". This seems a dolt of a question. As the redeemed and liberated people of God, what makes us think we don't have this opportunity to shout praise to the Lord Almighty? Who has convinced us otherwise?

Our lives should be our song, and our words the resounding chorus of such praise! Our words and actions, made alive and given meaning in Christ, should stir others to "Sing to God, everyone and everything!" All this in our everyday, humdrum, but God-given normal days. We don't need to pretend to be somewhere else or that we are more important than we already are. Just our everyday lives are glorious praises.

Who has convinced us otherwise?

Henri Nouwen is a smart smart guy

2008-08-02T08:34:00.004-04:00

"At every moment you have to decide to trust the voice that says,

'I love you. I knit you together in your mother's womb'."

~Henri Nouwen

As of this afternoon, I have been married for 5 years. Yep, the five big ones. Its incredible and amazing. Also amazing, I think, is that on my wedding day I started to write in my third journal. I thought that it was symbolic of my new life with Heather and my new adventure with God. Well, as of tomorrow I will have filled my fourth journal to the brim and need to start a new one. Its amazing, looking over the pages I have scrawled in just who I am now in Christ. He has brought me so far, and in so many ways further with Heather than I could ever have gone alone in my walk.

She is such a blessing to me and I am reminded daily of how much she cares for me. After 5 years, I still see that beautiful shape that greeted me after the long procession to the altar. I am overwhelmed by all that she is to me and would imagine my life lacking had I not known her.

And so the Henri Nouwen quote. It took me a while to trust God and to follow Him, even into dating Heather. There were so many things going on in my head.. but to let go and to trust Him, the one who made me, knows me so well, and loves me despite. So ever thankful.

I am, unfortunately, amazed

2008-07-31T07:35:00.002-04:00

I am more and more amazed by God and His providence daily. Looking at the last two weddings I've been to these last two weeks, both willingly and honestly point to God as the one who brought those couples together. Last night, I talked to another friend who in week's time went from being the most uncertain person about his future to having the next 2-3 years covered for school and financially secure. I also found out that someone's words which were meant to do harm to me were confounded and turned instead into my blessing.

Amazing. I am amazed.

"One of these days the earth will shake;

These iron bars will fall away."

I am amazed, unfortunately. Should I I ever expect the Father to do otherwise? He is good and awesome, and He loves to care for us. He is amazing by our deficiencies; He is faithful because of who He is.

I don't want to lose the wonder, but I long for the day when I am no longer amazed, but just knowingly am exceedingly grateful for who He is and expect, truly, that all things work for those called to His purpose. He is true to al of His words, sunrise to sunrise. Because He is.

The way for me is Apnea free!

2008-07-30T08:06:00.002-04:00

Well, after a horrible night's sleep at the Sleep Disorder Center, with electrodes gummed to my head and wires all about my body, it was determined at 5 this morning that I do not have Apnea. hurray I guess. I've been saying that all along.

What this does mean, however, is that there is still no known reason as to why my heart does its jittery thing. I'm kind of under the impression that maybe its my thing. Some people can jump high, some naturally smell good, I have a heart jittery thingy. And yours doesn't. And thats just your too bad.

I did come home this morning to a great e-mail from Brent with a link to "Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog", which was a web based musical with Neil Patrick Harris. I know what you're thinking... "Hey, Warwick, maybe you have a musical thingy as well as a heart thingy"... and I would say, "Yes, that may be true", however, this is clever. Very clever. A little too clever. If you would like to watch it, and I think you do, go here:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/28343/dr-horribles-sing-along-blog

wars all around

2008-07-28T08:57:00.002-04:00

1 Kings 5 starts....

1 When Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king to succeed his father David, he sent his envoys to Solomon, because he had always been on friendly terms with David.2 Solomon sent back this message to Hiram:

3 "You know that because of the wars waged against my father David from all sides, he could not build a temple for the Name of the LORD his God until the LORD put his enemies under his feet. 4But now the LORD my God has given me rest on every side, and there is no adversary or disaster. 5 I intend, therefore, to build a temple for the Name of the LORD my God, as the LORD told my father David, when he said, 'Your son whom I will put on the throne in your place will build the temple for my Name.'

6 "So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians."

7 When Hiram heard Solomon's message, he was greatly pleased and said, "Praise be to the LORD today, for he has given David a wise son to rule over this great nation."

What peace am I lacking in order to follow the desires God has for me? How much time do I spend battling death and all his friends instead of living in the freedom of Christ that I can not serve God as I would, or as I could?

Father, help me to discern and take action.

Mercy and Kindness

2008-07-23T07:41:00.002-04:00

"Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercy is great;

but let me not fall into the hand of man."

-2 Samuel 24:24

To have and to practice the forgiveness of God, to be able to display such mercy against those who have wronged me, what a better witness to the changed life under the Lordship of Christ can there be? It is so against out nature to forgive, and it is perhaps so against out culture which hides under the auspices of a forgetful mind, allowing everything to just pass over as if it is not a big deal. Or sometimes making the most of such a situation by lording it over how much we've been wronged or how much wrong we've forgotten?

Help me, Father, to be the living example You need, no matter how counter the world it may make me. Your love endures forever and Your grace knows no end! Help me to show Your people what this means, and demonstrate to others so they may see Your glory! Teach me to be forgiving, as You forgive, as You have forgiven me so much.

Ch ch ch ch changes!

2008-07-20T21:10:00.005-04:00

I'm really not sure when I met Emily. I know that I met her through my sister, Kyleigh. I know that when we were together we had a good time. I really started to hang out with her when we were both at HACC. I really got to know her when I started my Bible Study... we actually met for the first time on her birthday! Kyleigh and Debbie made this ridiculous cake with a bear on it... we met at Denny's, the one that doesn't exist anymore in Union Deposit.

I started the Bible Study because I knew that I needed to surround myself with other Christians, I needed a community to grow in... I think for all of us it was what we needed. When others stopped coming, or their interests changed or fell away, Emily was always a constant. I could always count on her solid insights, and well, all the heart that she brought to the study.

We were together weekly for quite a while... almost 5 years! incredible when you think about it. When Heather ended up living with her and another friend at Millersville I saw her even more.

And then she left for bigger things and more schooling in St. Louis, MO. Weird. Someone that I could always count on was miles away. Half a continent away. Forever away. And then she started seeing this guy, and now they've gotten married... so I guess she'll stay forever away in St. Louis. A good thing, no doubt.

More so, I can not help but think that God had provided us for each other, all of us, for a season. And He knows best, and He knows summers, falls, winters, and springs. It was such a great thing for Heather and I to go out and to see her on the day we all prayed for and about for so long. God has brought her a husband that will help her and be the man she so longed for in her life. And we were there to see him, his family, and all of their friends.

What a blessing to be a witness to all of this, to see where God has brought all of us through and into. How much our lives have changed since that first meeting at Denny's! How much He has blessed us because of our commitment to seek Him, to love Him, and to follow Him no matter where He leads!

'Cause who knows where that will be? Harrisburg, St. Louis, and beyond!

stinky shepherd boys as unexpected warriors

2008-07-14T08:52:00.002-04:00

With all my stuff, all my assurances, all my safety and protection, could I do with less? If I'm Saul, King of Israel, would I trust a stinky shepherd boy to defeat a seasoned warrior?

When cucumbers attack!

2008-07-11T07:53:00.004-04:00

This year, besides spending mucho time on the lawn and garden around the house, I decided it was time to plant a vegetable garden. There was a great plot right next to the deck and, well, I got to work. So, I cleared some ground, fixed up the already present garden box, chased away a snake, and planted. I was careful not to plant too much, the plot is not that big... I planted three kinds of tomato, green peppers, red peppers, Pablo Anchos (a hot pepper that my mum had bought accidentally so I took it off her hands), pepperocinis, basil, mint, parsley, corn, eggplant, and cucumber (for pickles).

Well, the first two weeks went by and all was well... and then the rains came. My garden has become overflowing... literally. There are leaves and flowers hanging out all over the place. The mint, parsely, and basil have taken over the east side, the tomatoes are out of control, and cucumbers... well, let's say the cucumbers are everywhere, everywhere! I've got cucumbers coming out all over! I thought at first the cukes were just overzealous tomatoes, but no... the cucumbers are out of control. They are everywhere.

Every time I head outside to look at what I've done to the yard, I'm surprised at all that has occurred. Plants are still coming out to bloom, and my veggie plot is busting out all over. I put a lot of hard work into the ground and soil, and I still weed, pulling out the unwanted and trimming for health those I want to stick around.

The care that goes into these plants that probably will not come back. But I do what I can to those plants to make that their time here is productive and they can do all that they can while they are here.

I'm still surprised at how I sometimes miss the forest for the trees. I only pay attention to the pruning and not the over abundance of fruit... or the over abundance of fruit and not the one who prunes and toils the soil. If I'm gonna be the most that I can be, I need to focus on the Maker, the Carer, the Tiller, and trust that He is doing all that He can do to make my time here that most abundant life for His glory.

The depths are unquenchable

2008-07-02T09:28:00.002-04:00

"Deep calls unto deep

in the roar of your waterfalls;

all your waves and breakers

have swept over me."

~Psalm 42:7

What a beautiful image. I wonder if David was sitting by a waterfall when he wrote this. I wonder if while we was thinking about his position a deer came up to drink from the pool as he sat there motionless inspiring the first line. Could he see Hermon and Mt Mizar from where he was?

The limitless and awesome glory of God being poured down, a testament to His name and witness to His power. Is this what David sees as he hears that sound of falling, rushing water? Into a pool on earth. A pool that never seems satisfied, but constantly is just drinking deep the deluge from above. As quickly as the pool takes in this splendor, it empties itself ready to take in more. Never satisfied, always craving more.

My heart is the same. I am never satisfied but long for more of You, Father. In many ways the doubts and the wonder need the same thing, more of Your power, more of Your constant provision. I can only do so much, but am forced just to sit there and take in this flow, this barrage from above. Knowing that if I move away from here, out from under You, I will dry up.

A Man for All Seasons

2008-06-17T00:21:00.002-04:00

I have decided that I can not completely make any lasting political decisions. I dunno that I can even make a decision or barring statement for my entire life. I can not wholly embrace Pacifism, nor can I totally brandish the saber.

Can war ever be just? Peace for peace's sake makes no sense either.

Instead, I must be a man for all seasons.

Eccl 3 says:

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

It is the Phrase "Under Heaven" that has me thinking. All these things are under the guidance of one who is really in control, bringing all things under His foot, to the glory of Him. I should strive for peace, but should I make peace my only option?

Is this a subject that is so cut and dry, either black or white?

If you know me, then you know my love for CS Lewis, and I am indebted to his essay, "Why I am not a Pacifist". But Lewis wrote during and after World War 2, when the evil seemed so apparent, so real. Can we equate the time and struggles, politically, economically, and socially, to those felt by that generation? I don't think so and really think that we should examine the times we live in and stop looking for signs, those reminders of things we already experienced and possibly already found the answer to.

All this to say, not sure which button I'll push in November, not sure if I'll even enter a booth. But I will not make my decision based on who is the lesser of two evils. I cannot vote on party lines, or on the same issues I voted on last election. Instead, I'll look for direction from the One in Heaven.

Just a question..

2008-06-12T21:07:00.003-04:00

Just a thought... how do you discover that you have the ability to swallow a sword? Is it one of those things you do on a dare? Or, you know, you're walking along with your sword and you trip...? Seriously.

And along this thought, I go online and I find that there is an actual Sword Swallowers International Association. Awesome.

Oh, and they take donations. I'm assuming its for educational purposes and for helping the swallowing-gone-badly.

Political Evangelicals

2008-06-11T08:31:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Derek for sharing this video. Its a conversation held between three Evangelicals across the spectrum. Well worth the look. Definitely got me thinking. And its how I met Shane Caliborne... interesting guy, got me thinking.

I would also, then, greatly encourage you to listen to the Covenant Life Church podcast, especially Josh Harris' talk on Jer 29, "Living in Babylon" 3/11/08... its totally free so there's no excuse. Harris's talk, though un-intentioned by him, was a great follow-up to watching this video.

Left me with one question: Are we exiles? Are we foreigners in a strange land? And if so, what does that mean for us, especially in the political spectrum of the world in which we live?

I know, more than one question, I know, but worth the asking, in my head.

I've planted my garden. I got married and have two kids, so I'm doing ok living in this world waiting for God to take me home. I've been wondering whether or not we should vote. Should we vote? I know, its our duty as a citizen, but really, how good a citizen am I? Am I allowing democracy to shape my faith and priorities, or is my faith shaping the democracy I live in?

I dunno yet.

After the Death of Moses

2008-06-09T07:48:00.002-04:00

Josh 1:1-9

I come to you, Father, after a mixed up night of troubled sleep. Why am I so afraid? Because I've made mistakes, some really bad decisions, and my past still haunts me. I'm afraid of my past, its darkness and turbulence, all because I've made some bad choices. "Long laments and past regrets they find me somehow." And I ask, Father, what am I supposed to do about it now?

I crawl into Your arms a d rest. And I weep and fret into Your arm. I was resolved once to live a lifestyle away from You. How foolish I was, to hear your voice and to turn away.

And here I am, lamenting that foolish decision to walk away and fretting about its consequences long after turning to You.

'There's no condemnation for those found in Christ Jesus."

But what about the kind I bring on myself?

Here is my hope, that as I focus more on You and Your Word, I'll be less focused on myself and more upon You. I find salvation in You each morning. Each morning my hope is renewed. All for Your name and glory, Father, help me to serve You. Give me opportunities and words - fill me with praise each morning as I meditate on Your words. I can not imagine the depths of Your love, but plunge me deep, Father.

Huntington, Part deux

2008-06-06T22:54:00.003-04:00

Joel, Tyler (Joel's roommate) and I went out for a night on the town. Being that its Huntington, there was nothing to do, so we went to the movies and saw the new Indiana Jones flick. Well, we had a good time, and it had very little to do with the movie.

Note on the fauna... there are black squirrels! Only in myth and in bedtime tales have I heard of them. I tried to catch this one, but I was then attacked by a bee (Thank-you Rusty, for trying to get my attention, but failing to notice the trouble I was in!).

So, just how flat is Indiana? Take a look at this picture. You can actually see the curve of the earth in the background! Those aren;t mountains, but a farmhouse 23 miles away! OK, maybe not that far, but I think you get the idea. If it had been corn season, there would've been nothing visible except all the turkey buzzards, and there are plenty of them.

And, back home, where I fond out you have to pay $3 just to get back into. Where does all my tax money go? And, man, you should see the brand new rest areas they've built. I would've taken pictures of them but I didn't want to be the focus of other people's blogs as the "guy casing the rest areas", cause what if they get bombed? Your truly ends up front page.

It was a good trip, good time seeing the country, and realizing how much I like mountains. it was also a good experience meeting other pastors within the denomination. Its very easy to forget that there are others out there of the UB persuasion.

If you're dying to see who else was in my class, go here:

Church History Class Finishing Up - bishop

You'll notice my credentials, or course. I wonder how they found out about this blog...? Maybe I'm more famous than I thought.

Huntington, Part 1

2008-06-06T22:26:00.003-04:00

So, this past week I was out in Huntington, IN, for the UB History Seminar... which means nothign to anyone else unless they are going through ordination in the UB. Which I am, by the way. Here are some pics from my trip which I hope will explain what it is I did out there.

So, this is me driving somewhere near Akron, OH. I don;t know if you can see them, but there are smashed bugs, all to pieces, all over my windshield. This ride was like the highway of death... there are dead deer all over the place. The carnage was immense. There were raccoons, ground hogs, and one gigantic dog (which may have actually been a polar bear). It was crazy gross out there.

And here I am driving through Akron. Now, I know you are wondering why I would try to take a picture while I am driving. Well, how often do you drive by the World Headquarters of GoodYear???

This would be where I stayed on Huntington's campus, Miller Hall. It was very nice, and dormish. I won't tell you how fast I got there, but I made good time.

And here's the room I stayed in. I tried to model after the various dorm rooms I had been in, since I had never had the pleasure of living in one. Notice the laptop is in the up and on position? Good Bless the Mac.

While I was out there I got to hang out with Joel, a friend of mine from the camp days. He lives in the house there, in Huntington, and rides a bike. Great guy. We had a good time... definitely needed as I was bored most of my stay in Huntington... there are no mountains and missed them immensely. There's a hollowness to the noise out there, and everything just carries. I got some help from a guy out in Huntington who suggested I think of the clouds as reference points for mountain peaks... but only in the Alps can mountains get and stay that white. Its such a weird feeling, the MidWest. I commented to a friend of mine that it was like God had picked me up and placed me in a vast place of desolation. For miles you can see, and yet so far from the ocean.

Joel helped alieve my mountain-sickness.

some good listening

2008-05-29T21:32:00.002-04:00

For the last two days I listened to, and thoroughly enjoyed a conversation podcast from Sovereign Grace Ministries called the "Sovereign Grace Interview Series". It's been great and I would really promote it to anyone who asked. Its juts this simple interview/conversation between Josh Harris, CJ Mahaney, and Jeff Purswell. You can get them off of itunes for free. So, go do that. No, seriously, go do it. Just humour me if for no other reason. I'm not gonna write anymore about anything else, so you can do that.

let me know what you think.

Same job, new location... new name?

2008-05-27T23:00:00.004-04:00

I've started working at the Hershey Red Robin this week (thank-you to everyone who kept my job searching in your prayers). Things are definitely much of the same there as they are at any other Red Robin, I'm sure. I will say that i am really enjoying the company of the dayshift people a lot. They're so friendly, so far, and have really gone out of their way to make my first couple of days there great.

I've even garnered a new nickname: Linus. I know, what you're thinking. Not the Charlie Brown Linus, named after the theologian... no no. Two of them thought I looked like Linus from Lost, and so... I'm Linus. It's cute, I think. I mean, he is the weird character who controls the beast and kills people... but I imagine in my head they are calling me after the likes of my favourite Charlie Brown character and think nothing of it. Anyway, please judge for yourself:

at the age of 29....

2008-05-22T08:57:00.003-04:00

At the age of 29, I have my first two grey hairs. What in the world! And they're long, meaning that they have matriculated in with the rest of the growth. I have never imagined myself getting grey hairs. I knew it would happen, but I thought I'd just wake-up one morning and I'd have a distiguished grey head, showing age and wisdom. Instead, I feel as though I've been duped. As though I've been snuck upon in the midst of life and I was too busy to notice I'm almost 30! Hanging out with youth all day, I tend to forget this.

Woe, what a sobering reminder these two strands of white are.

I have not pulled them for fear they may multiply.

I have named them, though: Tithonus and Eos. But If I get more, I may have a whole pantheon on my head.

Why am I watching... this show?

2008-05-12T22:21:00.002-04:00

This is my first monday night home in a very long time. I finally do not have a class. I had big plans... go to the dentist, come home, read, and watch the shows I wanted to watch... "How I Met Your Mother" being the primary.

Instead...

I watched "Dancing with the Stars" (Of which I think I only knew Christie Yamaguchi, so I'm kinda curious as to what "Stars" they are actually referring to) and "The Bachelor", the bane of my existence. I hate these shows. I just can not get into them... to say that they're dumb would be to discredit the actual true reasons for avoiding these shows, especially "The Bachelor", the bane of my existence. Popularity contests, and a guy who can date, make-out, and disappear into a hotel room at their option before doing the exact same thing the next day... horrible.

My wife is over y shoulder reading this and tells me that I can change the channel... and with all the fibers in my right arm I really want to.. but I know that she would gnaw her arm off trying to figure out what happened... who did the Brit choose? Did he really end up sleeping with both of them? Or can the syphilis be maintained?

Seriously, can he say that he is falling in love with two different women at the same time? It seems incredible to me that anyone would think that this acceptable behaviour.

Ok, so, he did just leave one of the girls alone in her room. Good for him. Good for her. Good for America.

Who am I? The Mulch King

2008-05-10T22:05:00.003-04:00

Today was a very productive day, and I am beat. I weeded, and pulled, and got scared by a snake (I, then, chased the snake the whole way to the creek)... a very busy day.

And my body is telling me never to do so much again.

But, my eyes just tell me to do more. The rewards of such work are more than always pretty evident. I think thats why I like yardwork so much.

Sure, my ankles hurt, but that could be from my run this morning.

Brent went to prom & I was encouraged

2008-05-05T19:01:00.004-04:00

Brent, my brother, went to the prom. His last prom, and the last of my siblings to go to CD's prom. Its weird to think that the Fuller's time in Central Dauphin is drawing to a close. Since I started kindergarten until Brent graduates, there has been a span of 23 years where the Fullers have marched through one school or another, several times overlapping. I would like to think that it marks the end of an era, but I've been a sub long enough to realize that there are too many students to attribute so much too so short a span. Class gifts get taken down, tiles get torn up, soon we're just passing faces who look back fondly on a building that never really cared that we were there.

It's a shame, perhaps, but then how fond of ourselves are we to look back at the golden days and wonder what is wrong with the kids today? If our lives are to make any kind of difference, I really think we m

ust be present; in minds and in our bodies. Our actions must reflect a want to be with the present, not just as in a critique of where things went wrong.

But I digress. Brent and his gf, Sydney, looked great. My brother is pretty funny and Sydney definitely very understanding.

They looked good, and from the sounds of it, they had a good time. Awesome.

And after a week has gone by from my sermon at Devonshire, I can say that it went well. Yes, it took a week, but I've been so encouraged by the feedback. I've had some wonderful conversations that have stemmed from my time upfront, and I've been so encouraged that I am pursuing God's Will.

I hope that it is evident beyond me upfront that show that I am seeking hard after Him.

Reflection

2008-04-28T20:00:00.002-04:00

Echo was a nymph who loved her own voice, and loved to tell stories. She was very good at it. No criticism could persuade her. Hera, who knew she was just distracting her from finding her loose and lusty husband, cursed her so that she would only ever repeat what anyone said to her. Eventually she just faded away, and now only her voice remains, doomed to ping off of rocks when she hears a voice anywhere.

If this is a lesson to be learned, than let it be heard by me.

I asked for feedback from some of my congregation after I preached yesterday. I pray that I am more like Christ and less like Echo in that I do not love my own voice more than I love to serve the Father. I pray that the criticism I receive will bolster me in my seeking to be His servant, and not my own to all people.

On a very side note, Heather and I were on our way home today and there was a girl dancing and doing some beam techniques on the curb. Of course she had headphones on and was facing the other way... she didn't realize we were there until we were almost beside her.

Its not everyday you see someone doing that kind of stuff outside, let alone on the curb. She was quite good.

When was kite flying ever cool?

2008-04-19T23:34:00.006-04:00

So, today we had the small family shin-dig for Brieanna's and mine birthday. Small, family gathering, and a good time. My family is great. We get a long, and we're very sarcastic... playful. Nothing ever mean-spirited, and usually in good taste. We're a very clever people, full of wit and we're well read, so our thoughts are never original, but so easily placed. I think we're fun.

Well, today was a good day, as earlie

r mentioned. I've been under the weather lately, and I've been incredibly tired. But the weather was beautiful and Heather and I walked up to my parent's house with the girls. Beautiful day.

So we flew a kite.

It was Claire's first kite. Lily's, too, but Claire seemed much more into it. And by much more into it, I mean, one lasted one minute more than the other. Altogether, though, there was only about 5 minutes of kite flying involving the girls. I spent a majority of the time flying it myself and hanging out with a friend of Brieanna's who, now in her 20's, had never flown a kite before. I don;t know why, but I thought the girls would be more into it. I was more into it when I was kid. I loved it. But it just did not hold their attention.

Not at all.

Has kite-flying become post-cool? Or are my kids just not old enough?

They're certainly cool enough, so it must be the kites.

Of course, the whole thing ended with a whipped-creme fight between Brieanna and I so, like I said, this just shows, we are fun people.

Hypocrite with a sense of irony

2008-04-18T23:15:00.003-04:00

I ran across this quote, and thought, Awesome.

"A facility for quotation covers the absence of original thought."

~ Dorothy L. Sayers

Bells on!

2008-04-15T19:30:00.003-04:00

Today is indeed my birthday. Indeed.

I've decided to take a lax view on my birthday, this year. I appreciate all the kind comments, and all the fond wishes, but I think I'm sticking more to the Mad-hatter on this one: There are 364 un-birthdays. What makes this day so special that I can not get together with my friends and have cake then?

I know what you're thinking: Grinch, a heart 8 sizes too small.

But I would rather have no excuse to get together than what I think would be a forced one. Not forced on their part, but mine, mind you. Further, it is not my birthday as much as it is a reminder to me that I was born with a purpose, and needed Him to fill my lungs, just like Adam. I am just like Adam in my birth. I do not fully live without His breath. And yet I turn away. I still turn away.

Here is my reason for celebrating today, if not any day: my new life in Christ and the opportunity granted by all to enter into this community with the Father. May my life, from start to finish, be no more than the hopeful lived out experience of such a promise fulfilled.

I had one such opportunity today, and I thank God for allowing me this on my birthday, because it just affirms my want to decrease. I entered a conversation with someone who works at CD high today. She asked me major, and where I was going to school. This will either cause people to, a majority of the time, say pleasantries and relate their story and where they go to church. Or, it causes questions. This person had questions, mostly from what she had been reading ( I really think it stemmed more from her watching way too much of the history channel, based on her own comments). I answered her questions patiently, and with great care and thought. Apparently, I answered them a little too well, praise God, because as I started to run for the classroom she followed me, with more questions to be answered. Seriously, she followed me down a hall, up a flight of stairs, and down another hallway until we reached the door, where, thankfully, she stopped. I told her that I would gladly talk to her another time about this, and she assured me that she would think of more questions.

I'm praying that I'm not the only one who can answer the questions in her life.

It was great, and I thank God that He reminds me why I was born. To this end I was purposed, and crafted. To point back to Him. To glorify His name, wherever I am, however I can.

364 un-birthdays. Give me no reason to celebrate, and I will be there, bells on!

I'm a sucker for a kind week

2008-04-14T19:09:00.003-04:00

What a good week it has been. I know I haven't "noted" anything in a while, because, I've been busy thinking about stuff. You might say, Warwick, I think, too, but I still talk to people.

This is true. And I in no way mean to discredit your musings. I'd like to hear more of them, actually. You know you can comment these, right?

But, John died, and many of you contacted me and let me know your thoughts and feelings and care. Thank-you.

The week went on, and I just had a lot of papers that I had to work on. A lot of discussions on justification and sanctification, topics not a whole lot of you even care about, let alone want me talk to you about.

This was not the only thing holding my mind captive...

American Idol, American Idol, American Idol... dark siren, oh how you continue to make me step back at ponder at you.

First, they sing a Hillsong anthem. Probably their biggest song ever, was sung by the remaining contestants. Man, was it weird. Adn then they sang it twice! Not the Rent song, which was a big sigh from me... its so old and tired. But there they were... and I've read Josh Harris's blog about the whole thing and I'll leave it at that. http://www.joshharris.com/2008/04/inside_scoop_on_shout_to_the_l.php

And to further complicate matters, one national has been ousted. The Australian, St. Johns, is gone.

Shocking. Absolutely shocking. I really thought I had a chance. But I was wrong, I guess. Well, there is only one national left, the Irish, and we'll see how well she fares. I know think, however, that David, the kid, will probably win.

But man, what a week. Sent me into deep cranial cave. Not to mention, I had a really hard subbing week. Monday was absolutely terrible. Absolutely. It did get better throughout the week, but I likened monday to being beaten. I was exhausted and felt as though I had no power and no control. Terrible.

But a highlight, and I have no idea why this was going on, but on my way to class tonight, I saw a woman drive past me with a towel, a beach towel, wrapped around her head and shoulders, and, and, a hat. Oh, and a cigarette.

Awesome.

The Death of a Close Friend

2008-04-01T21:55:00.002-04:00

This past saturday, John McCaddy died. And it is tragic.

He fell, he did not jump. It is tragic that his fall came from the hands of a loved one, but it was an accident, so what can you do. The offer has been made to fix him, but, I dunno. I think maybe its just time.

Oh John, all the good times we had. I remember when we first got you. I'm not sure from whose house you were taken, hence the reason you are still around. You remind me of all the crazy times I used to have, all the good, clean, and otherwise exceeding amounts of fun we would have. Oh John, what fun we had.

I remember going to City Island with you and Jen and Christy. It was then that we discovered your love for house music.

I remember who tragic the passing of your other comrades was. Captain Pudwash's untimely death by burning. The pig-faced girl being thrown from the moving vehicle as Lael and Jess hung on for dear life. You will be missed, but you join the ranks of beloved gnomes who have gone the way of the stone pile.

Remember when you were kidnapped at camp? How I fretted and longed for your return! And when you came back, what a joyful banquet we had in your honor! We took you out to eat, and you even went canoeing with us! Oh, you did enjoy camp!

All the Messiah stories! You were always the best listener! How many weird and awkward conversations you overheard while in our living room at the apartments. You were loved by all. You knew how to treat the ladies, and we all learned from your winning outfit.

You were with me along my many moves. From my house to Dan's in Enola. Then to the chilly times at Locust Lane. You even came with Heather and I on our Honeymoon... you did enjoy the beach! And you didn't mind the long car ride home!

How I'll miss your company and insight as we toiled together in the study as I worked on papers. I could always count on you to give me a smile as I worked into the night.

Oh, John, lover of House Music, first rate gnome from a forgotten yard, you will be missed.

RIP, buddy.