Sweet Home Alabama 2

Today we made our second excursion into the backroads of Alabama. This time we ventured into the mountains. There were some amazing views… unfortunately, the pics don’t do it justice.

We packed a lunch today, but we will make sure we return to Denise’s one day. We found a playground for the girls and wore them out… they didn’t really care for the sights after that.

BTW, Lee’s Tobacco and Candy Store was false advertisement… it was a women’s clothing store – the sign was just for show. Also, the Tool sign is near our house… I’ve been wanting to get a picture of it for a while.

Recommended listening for your next journey:

click to listen a bit

The Children’s Hour

Between the dark and the daylight,
    When the night is beginning to lower,
 Comes a pause in the day's occupations,
    That is known as the Children's Hour.

 I hear in the chamber above me
    The patter of little feet,
 The sound of a door that is opened,
    And voices soft and sweet.

 From my study I see in the lamplight,
    Descending the broad hall stair,
 Grave Alice, and laughing Allegra,
    And Edith with golden hair.

 A whisper, and then a silence:
    Yet I know by their merry eyes
 They are plotting and planning together
    To take me by surprise.

 A sudden rush from the stairway,
    A sudden raid from the hall!
 By three doors left unguarded
    They enter my castle wall!

 They climb up into my turret
    O'er the arms and back of my chair;
 If I try to escape, they surround me;
    They seem to be everywhere.

 They almost devour me with kisses,
    Their arms about me entwine,
 Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen
    In his Mouse-Tower on the Rhine!

 Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti,
    Because you have scaled the wall,
 Such an old mustache as I am
    Is not a match for you all!

 I have you fast in my fortress,
    And will not let you depart,
 But put you down into the dungeon
    In the round-tower of my heart.

 And there will I keep you forever,
    Yes, forever and a day,
 Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,
    And moulder in dust away!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Singin’ & Huntin’

Click the pic above and check out our Easter celebration. There are some pics of Molly and friends singing in church, and there are some pics of Molly and friends hunting eggs in our pastor’s backyard.

Sweet Home Alabama

Last Saturday we woke up early, ate a hearty breakfast, piled in the van and drove to a small town out in the country. For us it was more about the trip than the destination. The backroads of Alabama can be very pretty – although the towns are not without their charm. About halfway through our journey – after laughing, admiring, and wondering about the various Alabamaian oddities we ran across  – we remembered that we had the camera with us. Oh joy! Here’s a small taste of Alabama pride that we happened upon:

Yeah, that last one left us rolling. Props to my wife for having the good eye to catch it.

Anyways, we enjoyed it so much that we are going to start spending a couple of Saturday mornings a month traveling to small Alabama towns – camera in tow. And I’ll be sure to be more charitable with the pictures.

Oh, and if driving in the country ever catches your fancy, here’s a good album for the journey:

Straight From the Drew Taylor Creative Title Pool: Pictures

 These were taken during a weekend spent with the girl’s cousins, Christian and Samuel. Molly couldn’t get enough of them. Katie has perfected the Pouty Face. Mommy has that beautiful pregnancy glow. Daddy, well, Daddy just happy he can grow facial hair again.

You learn something new everyday

This is a Crane Fly, aka Mosquito Hawk, Mosquito Eater, Skeeter Eater, and Jimmy Spinner. For many years this insect has been treated with disdain and persecuted (shoe-slapped) by my wife and I. After all, it is a mosquito – that most hated of all insects – and a large one at that.

Recently, though, I was told that I should welcome this bug with open arms because he is the mortal enemy of the mosquito. In fact, a nice, plump skeeter is his favorite meal. I did not know this.

Today was a beautiful day, so we left the windows open. We forgot to close them in the evening and a few mosquitos got in. So did two Mosquito Hawks. I shut the door and let the assassins do their thing. They did it well. Unfortunately for them, they’re still bugs and Denise made me introduce them to the bottom of a flip-flop. So I guess this post is in remembrance of them. RIP skeeter eaters.

What’s in a Name?

“On the one hand, [Paul] believed that humanity renewed in Christ wast he genuine article, explicitly contrasted with the fractured and downgraded humanity which characterized paganism. On the other hand, he believed that humanity renewed in Christ was the fulfilment of the vocation of Israel, which unbelieving Israel was failing to attain…. Paul articulated, in other words, a way of being human which he saw as the true way.” (pg. 136)

“A brief word about love. Paul does not mean that all Christians should feel warm fuzzy feelings for each other. That romantic and existentialist reading of agape does not begin to capture what is really going on. The critical thing is that the church, those who worship God in Christ Jesus, should function as a family in which every member is accepted as an equal member, no matter what their social, cultural or moral background. The very existence of such a community demonstrates to the principalities and powers, the hidden but powerful forces of prejudice and suspicion, that their time is up, that the living God has indeed won the victory over them, that there is now launched upon the world a different way of being human, a way in which the traditional distinctions between human beings are done away with. That is why we find in Ephesians the climactic statement: the purpose of the gospel is that ‘through the church the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places’ (Ephesians 3:10). The very existence of a community of love, love where before there was mutual suspicion and distrust, is the crucial piece of evidence that tells Paul that God’s spirit has been at work (Colossians 1:8).” (Pg. 146)

“The doctrine of the image of God in his human creatures was never the belief siimply that humans were meant to reflect God back to God. They were meant to reflect God out into the world.” (Pg. 148)

“Paul’s doctrine of justification by faith impels the churches, in their current fragmented state, into the ecumenical task. It cannot be right that the very doctrine which declares that all who believe in Jesus belong at the same table (Galations 2) should be used as a way of saying that some, who define the doctrine of justification differently, belong at a different table.” (Pg. 158)

“Justification declares that all who believe in Jesus Christ belong at the same table, no matter what their cultural or racial differences (and let’s face it, a good many denominational distinctions, and indeed distinctions within a single denomination, boil down more to culture than to doctrine). Because what matters is believing in Jesus, detailed agreement on justification itself, properly conceived, isn’t the thing which should determine eucharistic fellowship. If Christians could only get this right, they would find that not only would they be believing the gospel, they would be practising it; and that is the best basis for proclaiming it….One is not justified by faith by believing in justification by faith. One is justified by faith by believing in Jesus.” (Pg. 159)

 - the preceding exerpts were taken from N.T. Wright’s What Saint Paul Really Said

Easter

Pastor: Christ is risen!

People: He is risen indeed!

Pastor: Christ is risen from the dead. Alleluia!

People: Thanks be to God who has given us the victory though the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen!

What a blessed Easter! To gather with the church and celebrate Jesus’ triumph over death!

If you have been following my posts, you know that I have been going through the Christian calendar, explaining a bit about the different seasons and how my church – and many other churches – celebrate them. While many people may not know about the significance of Maundy Thursday, I feel confident that everyone knows why the church celebrates Easter. Hopefully all of our churches celebrated the resurrection today! After attending the solemn Good Friday service that ended in darkness and silence, our Lord’s Day service was especially moving. What made it even more special was the song the children sang to begin the service. The song was called “He is Risen.” It was very sweet and brought tears to my eyes. Yes, one reason is because my Molly was singing her heart out, but more importantly because these children were leading the triumphant praises of our risen King! I think it is vital that children are included in the church’s worship, frankly, because they are a part of the church. It is a beautiful thing to see our children singing praise songs to their Savior because they remind the rest of us “mature” Christians that we must become like them if we want to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:1-6).

Here’s the words to the song the children sang today. It’s an easy song to teach – it’s to the tune of “Jesus Loves Me.”

Jesus lives and so shall I
Death, thy sting is now a sigh.
He who deigned for me to die
Lives and reigns today on high.

(Chorus) Yes, He is Risen
    Yes, He is Risen
    Yes, He is Risen
     He is our risen Lord.

Jesus lives and reigns supreme
Victory now for His Redeemed
Jesus lives I know full well
Conquered all the powers of hell.

(Repeat Chorus)

The Problem with Ascetics

A guy joins a monastery and takes a vow of silence: he’s allowed to say two words every seven years. After the first seven years, the elders bring him in and ask for his two words. “Cold floors,” he says. They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him back in and ask for his two words. He clears his throats and says, “Bad food.” They nod and send him away. Seven more years pass. They bring him in for his two words. “I quit,” he says. “That’s not surprising,” the elders say. “You’ve done nothing but complain since you got here.”

Good Friday

Yesterday was Good Friday. On this day the church remembers the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus. It is the darkest day on the church calendar. Appropriately, the church’s worship on this night should be solemn, thoughtful, and dark. Our church observed Good Friday with a solemn service consisting of songs of Jesus’ death, confession (more than usual), and Scripture readings. The readings (8 total) covered Jesus’ final hours. After each reading, the man who read extinguished a candle until all the candles were out. On the last song, the lights (which were already dimmer than normal) were turned out and the congregation exited in darkness and complete silence.

Even though the church celebrates Maundy Thursday and Good Friday on consecutive days, in actuality, these events occurred on the same day  – Friday (at least according to the Jewish calendar, where Friday begins on Thursday evening). This is significant because of what Jesus accomplished on this special day. Jesus and the disciples ate their Passover meal early on Friday (Thursday evening), which was a normal occurance. This meal did not include the traditional Passover lamb, along with the bread and wine.  This was not uncommon because the Passover lamb had to be slaughtered in the temple and many Jews lived too far away to come to the temple. The disciples, who were from Galilee, would have been accustomed to this. Regardless of why lamb wasn’t eaten at Passover, though, the important point is that bread was broken and wine poured out – Jesus instituted a new meal, the Lord’s Supper.

Later that night and into the next day, Jesus was betrayed, denied, accused, mocked, beaten, judged, humiliated, crucified, and killed. The crucifixion occurred Friday morning, which was when the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the temple.  The Passover was observed in order to remember the night that God saved His people by the blood of the lamb. At the Lord’s Supper, Jesus called the bread His body and broke it, and then called the wine His blood and poured it; Hours later, on the cross, His body was broken and His blood was spilt – He was the Passover Lamb, whose blood protects His people from the angel of death.