March 2008 Archives

Nothing is free, but if you like testing your vocabulary you can donate your time at Freerice.com and in return the site will donate rice to hungry people (allegedly) for every correct answer you give. The highest level I have achieved is 49 (out of 55). Usually I am in the mid- to upper 40's. Last night Jamie and I (tag-teaming) got up to 5000 grains of rice donated (your donation increases in 20-grain increments), so that would be 250 correct answers in a single session.

If it was my site, I would increase the donation as the words got harder; but of course this simply betrays my elitist side. The rice is actually paid for by the advertising on the site, which is a nonprofit organization. So go on -- use your competitive nature for some good for once! Let me know if you can top me. . .as I once infamously proclaimed, "It's not a competition as long as I'm in the lead!"

Last night I had a dream in which I found out on Sunday morning I was having a book signing on Thursday evening at 5 PM. In my dream I knew I had written a book but I didn't know it was published yet and I was worried because I hadn't finished editing it. Then I woke up, and I spent several minutes lying abed trying to remember what my book was about. In my grogginess I had myself half-convinced I really am writing a book. But I still didn't know for certain what it was about.

So, what do you think? If I am authoring a book, what is the title and what is its theme? If you come up with one that intrigues me enough, maybe I will write it in my spare time.

32 hours ago I had no plans to purchase a big white van. Oh sure, I had been looking around, checking prices, getting a feel for the market. But I wasn't planning on making a decision until August or so. But it was a slow day at work and I decided to take a look at what was available in our area. 36 hours later, I am the proud owner of a 15-passenger Chevy Express. And a car payment that is $1.98 more per month than I had hoped it would be in my best case scenario.

Stats: 2005 Express 3500, <42,000 miles, V8 engine (and they even filled the tank at no extra charge!), power everything, sliding door, AM/FM/CD, separate heating controls for rear passengers, dual airbags, tinted windows, traction control, etc.

They gave us enough for our minivan that we didn't have to put down as much cash as I had feared. So we may have a DVD player installed, and depending on what is left of what I transferred from savings we may spring for a GPS system as well. Or we may put that off until we go on a trip. We'll see.

The most important part: it fits in our garage. Barely. I used to think we had a decent sized garage. Now it seems really small. But we can fit both vehicles inside. Of course, nothing *else* fits in now. The shed is going to get a bit more crowded, I think. Anyway, here's a picture of our new transport in its new home:

All too often I come before God feeling strong, especially on Sunday mornings. He has given me a lot to feel strong about -- many blessings, gifts, talents. A wonderful, excellent wife. Beautiful children whose hearts turn to Him and bless mine. Material comforts too numerous to count.

Little wonder that my worship is often weak and half-hearted. No surprise that I strain to be humble. Being broken isn't fun.

This morning my spirit was crushed by a trivial argument, sparked by a misunderstanding and fueled into an explosion by two stubborn, proud, selfish hearts. A grim reminder how much we need His grace. A slap to the face of my pride in what my wife and I have accomplished in our relationship, our family -- how fragile it can be when we allow even the smallest foothold of sin to take root, if we allow ourselves to believe for an instant that we deserve any glory for His work in our lives, or if we try to claim credit for the results of His discipline.

So my heart was more refreshed by communion with the saints this morning than it has been in a long while. And I am humbly thankful for all He has done, in His strength. I am reminded of a track off Jars of Clay's Stringtown album, in which Dan Haseltine introduces the song "Worlds Apart" before performing it. His introduction always moves me to tears, and the song itself usually gets me sobbing. I'll reprint the lyrics here as they are a clear picture of what I myself feel when I'm honest about my weakness, instead of pretending to be strong.

I am the only one to blame for this
Somehow it all ends up the same
Soaring on the wings of selfish pride
I flew too high and like Icarus I collide
With a world I try so hard to leave behind
To rid myself of all but love
to give and die

I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
and wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remain
More and more I need you now,
I owe you more each passing hour
the battle between grace and pride
I gave up not so long ago
So steal my heart and take the pain
and wash the feet and cleanse my pride
take the selfish, take the weak,
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
the sin-soaked heart and make it yours
take my world all apart
take it now, take it now
and serve the ones that I despise
speak the words I can't deny
watch the world I used to love
fall to dust and thrown away
I look beyond the empty cross
forgetting what my life has cost
so wipe away the crimson stains
and dull the nails that still remain
so steal my heart and take the pain
take the selfish, take the weak
and all the things I cannot hide
take the beauty, take my tears
take my world apart, take my world apart
I pray, I pray, I pray
take my world apart

Thanks to everyone who commented (so far) on my response to Chris a few weeks back. If you haven't visited the thread recently, I would like to call your attention to my friend Mike's comment and allow yourself to be sharpened by it. Or angered, if you are so inclined. I agree with Mike's words and his sentiment wholeheartedly, in case anyone wonders.

We meet regularly with a couple of other families who share much of our philosophy/theology regarding church polity, secular government, family structure, etc. When we meet we read Scripture, pray, remember the Lord until He comes, sing, and chew the fat. Sometimes offhand comments are made during the fat-chewing times which refer, circumspectly, to the conflict known variously as the Civil War, the War of Northern Aggression, and/or the War Between the States.

One night this week Jamie asked me what I thought some of the other fathers' comments about Abraham Lincoln -- specifically, if I thought they were joking or if they were really serious in referring to him as a tyrant, among other things.

Let me be very clear: the enslavement of one race or ethnic group by another is an abhorrent practice. I have absolutely no sympathy for anyone who claims to own another human being or who treats any man, woman, or child as property.

That being said, I agree that the United States government under President Lincoln violated the Constitution in many respects. The Civil War was about much more than slavery, as anyone who reads history honestly will acknowledge. The nature of the relationship between the federal and state governments was very much at issue, and in that respect the Civil War is still being fought today.

Perhaps the most significant political fallout of the Civil War was the decisive victory of federalism. The idea of the United States as a voluntary confederation of sovereign states died on the battlefields of Gettysburg, Antietam, Manassas, Shiloh, et al. Opponents of a strong central government, whether they call themselves conservatives, or libertarians, or whatever -- no matter what the Constitution really says -- lost the day when the CSA surrendered to the USA at Appomattox.

So, do I think my friends are serious? Yes, insofar as their criticisms of Lincoln's treatment of the Constitution are concerned. Knowing them as I do, I have not the slightest doubt in their beliefs that all men and women, no matter what ethnicity or race they may be, are created equal in God's sight and are our neighbors whom we are commanded to love. But treating all people equally regardless of their skin color doesn't mean one has to agree with everything Lincoln and the Union stood for. And as far as that goes, I myself am firmly on the fence when it comes to admiring the 16th President of the United States.

Under normal conditions there are many voices speaking simultaneously in our house. This leads to a lot of, er, communication issues (read: children don't always listen). We are trying to train our children to stop what they are doing and listen to Jamie and me whenever we call their names. Part of this is to stop and listen any time they hear our voices.

Lately our 4yo has been taking this training to heart. Several times over the past week he has popped in to whatever room Jamie and I are in and asked, "Did you call me?" It's really a good thing, but it can be annoying as well.

Sunday evening, after he popped his head into the kitchen for the 3rd (at least) time and interrupted us while we were preparing dinner to ask if we had called him, I said, "The next time you think you hear us calling you, say 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'"

So yesterday, he came out to Jamie and asked, "Did you call my name?"

"No. What are you supposed to say when you hear someone calling your name and it's not Mom or Dad?"

"Uh, I don't know."

"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."

So he immediately drops to his knees, bows his head, and prays.

"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." Then he jumped to his feet, looks straight into Jamie's face, and asks, "What did He say?"

Jamie, trying to keep a straight face, explained to him the need to be quiet and listen after he prays. So today, the scenario happened again. This time, after he prostrated himself and popped back up he said, "He said He loves me!"

Priceless.

My 6yo son, who will be 7 this July, read The Horse and His Boy today. He picked it up after breakfast, left it behind when we went to church, then picked it up again after lunch and finished it around 3 PM.

We had a high of 75 degrees Fahrenheit today. Yesterday was nice as well and we played outside both days. Tomorrow, we are supposed to have freezing rain. It is strange sitting here with the house open and the sun setting in a beautiful clear sky with the Weather Channel winter storm advisory blinking in the SysTray at the bottom right of the computer screen.

Back to my 6yo. He is a voracious reader. I was a pretty serious reader when I was a kid (and still am when I have the time) but he outclasses me by a long shot. He claims he's read every children's and young adult book in the house at least 4 times -- and I believe him. He's read all of the Narnia books at least twice. Jamie is using the online library service to make library trips more manageable. Personally, I prefer buying books; however, we have to buy food and clothing as well so with a reader like our 6yo the library is the only economical option.

Last night Jamie and I watched the movie "Gone, Baby, Gone." Afterwards we remarked upon the language used in the movie; our general sentiment is not to fault the scriptwriters, who probably faithfully recorded the kind of language used by the type of people portrayed in the film (it was an excellent story, by the way -- if you can deal with the foul language, I recommend it to you). Rather, the accurate portrayal of their vile speech is an unwitting commentary on the sorry state of the vocabulary of many Americans. All of which led me to remark that our 6yo probably uses (correctly!) more words in a day than many of the products of our public education system use in a week. He certainly reads a greater variety of words in a day than many Americans use in a month. Such fact is less a credit to our son than a detriment to those whose vocabularies are so impoverished they have no better way to communicate than to utter five or six vulgarities/profanities over and over, day in and day out.

Our 2000 Honda Civic hit the 100,000 mile mark while I was driving home from work on Friday evening. I took a picture with my Palm Pilot -- not the most intelligent action I've taken while hurtling down the highway at 55 mph, but I didn't know if I'd be able to pull over and stop in time to catch the odometer at that significant milestone. At any rate, I fully intend to put another 100k miles on it before turning it over to one child or another.

I finally got around to starting a savings account for the 1yo yesterday. All the kids get $50 a month in their savings accounts; not much in the general scheme of things, but if I can keep it up until they leave home they'll each have a nice sum to use as a down payment on a house or to help pay for education or a car, or something. Hopefully my salary continues to increase at a higher rate than the size of my family!

I'm hoping to move to the next stage of life at the age of 55. I don't think I'll ever "retire" in the way that most people do, but I do hope to achieve financial independence by that time. We'll see. We're in pretty good shape so far, but a lot can happen in 25 years. And certainly, the way things are going right now, I expect still to have children living at home when I'm 55. We'll see how it goes. At any rate, sites like Dinkytown.com are a lot of fun to play around with.

That's all the news I've got for today. Have a blessed week!