Vay-cay

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Since yesterday I’ve been experiencing something rare: a week-long vacation at home. Man, I could do this full time (although, of course, I really, really enjoy having a job too!).

It started on Saturday; we went to San Antonio to hold an Oscar-tinged family birthday party for Bethany at my parent’s house. This included a red carpet entrance, then Beth was whisked away for hair and makeup by the girls. She was escorted into the festivities by Blake (in a little tux – ha), to hear a hilarious “lifetime achievement” speech written by eldest son and delivered by aunt Kim and cousin Macy. Following this, we showed her sixteen-year DVD, which Jill and I had worked on diligently into the late hours last week (we produce a DVD for each of my parent’s grandkids on their sixteenth birthday. I think this one came out pretty well!). This was followed by an Oscar-like awards ceremony, in which Bethany won every award (and gave an extremely believable and funny acceptance speech). We ended up with cake and cupcakes, baked lovingly and expertly by Molly, and then the opening of presents. All in all it was a great night. We came back here Sunday evening.

Since then, we’ve been working hard at taking care of lots of last minute details in preparation of taking Molly and Andrew to college this week.

Andrew had his wisdom teeth taken out yesterday too.

So lots of stuff has been happening. Here’s what’s not been happening: I haven’t been thinking about work or monitoring work emails at all. They know how to find me if they need me.

Here’s to another day!

I feel bad picking on Walter Cronkite . . .

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I am a certified NASA nerd, especially when it comes to the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs. I just can’t read enough of the history of those missions.

Which brings me to Walter Cronkite. Cronkite was a great broadcaster, and he was huge in the sixties, serving as the voice that many would turn to for broadcasts during our space missions. Naturally he is quoted often in Apollo look-backs.

Today I read this quote on the website for the PBS show Race to the Moon:

Newsman Walter Cronkite remembers the year of Apollo 8: “The whole 1960s really culminating in 1968 were the most terrible decade, undoubtedly, of the twentieth century and very possibly our entire history, even including the decade of the Civil War. America was divided as it never had been since the Civil War and by the Vietnam War, by the civil rights fight.

As a student of the histories of the twentieth century, and also as a Civil War enthusiast, my first though upon reading this was . . . well, it’s just a crazy statement he’s making here. It pains me to speak ill of the departed, but when he said this, was he out of his mind?

The 1960s . . . worse than the 1910s? Had he considered World War 1? Worse than the 1940s? The world had a bit of a scrum in that decade too, one that makes Vietnam look like a pillow fight. Then there was the dust-bowl and the Great Depression of the 1930s.

“The whole 1960s really culminating in 1968 were the most terrible decade, undoubtedly, of the twentieth century and very possibly our entire history . . .”

Worse than the 1860s?

This is, pardon the expression, nonsense on stilts. The decade of the 1960s had its challenges, but, my goodness, it was a cakewalk compared to many other decades in our history.

I think many people have a skewed perspective regarding the importance of the 1960s. I guess this is just another example. But . . . wow.

Beware the Me-Monster

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Brian Regan is hilarious; there’s some excellent comedy and a whole lot of truth in this bit.

Being an Apollo lunar mission geek, I especially loved the ending.

And all throughout, while I was laughing, I was also thinking of this:

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think . . . – Romans 12:3a

“This either/or stuff is killing us”

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Jared Wilson on social justice and false dichotomies:

The first thing that comes to mind when I hear about the current Christian fascination with social justice – which I’m a fan of – is that seeing these issues with Jesus’ eyes means seeing eternity with them too, beyond the problem that is literally before us. I talked with a guy recently who serves at a soup kitchen for the homeless and he was really sort of annoyed by a preacher who was coming in and preaching the gospel. My friend was saying, “Why would you preach about hell to homeless people? They know more about hell than we do.” And maybe they do. But why would you want to feed a guy a meal for a day but leave him lost for eternity. Maybe that preacher’s delivery was a little rough around the edges. Maybe he lacked sensitivity. I don’t know. But I do know this either/or stuff is killing us and setting up false dichotomies that plenty of younger Christians are willing to ecclesiologically impale themselves upon.

I think if we saw the problems of the world the way Jesus saw them, we would both be moved by compassion to wanting to feed, clothe, heal, and fix and also moved by compassion to wanting to share the bread of life as well. If you’re Jesus, you know man doesn’t live on bread alone.

This was part of an interview he gave for the Your Jesus is Too Safe blog tour. Check it out.

Thoughts on ministry

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Eldest daughter shares some good thoughts and questions about ministry:

I think that instead of trying to get lost people into the church, why not train the Christians inside the church to go get ’em, share the Truth with them outside the church, and then bring them in whenever they are saved? I haven’t done much research on this, but did the early church gatherings ever involve lost people? Not to say that I would say that we should block them out, of course, or make it exclusive, but I think that maybe we’ve gotten to the point where we consider inviting our friends to church witnessing to them, trusting that the pastor will share the Truth with them. At least I know that I’ve felt that way before. Acts does say that the number of people who were being saved were being added to them every day, but what if that means that the Church – the body of Christ – was a light, and took to the world the Love, Hope and Faith.

Her post also includes a review of Your Jesus is Too Safe. Good readin’.

Moleskine art

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Do you use Moleskineâ„¢ notebooks? They’ve become somewhat of a fad in my immediate family. Me, my wife, and our eldest two walk around with our moleskines like we’re in some kind of secret society or something (it would be a society of people who blow money on really, really expensive notebooks).

Anyway, I found this site tonight: ‘skine art. It’s devoted to people who can do more with a notebook than just scratch illegible notes in it1. Some samples below.

Disclaimer: This is an art site so I can’t vouch that every picture scribbled therein is for family consumption.

Update: It appears the site has barriers in place against linking to its images, so I’ve removed the images below (which had blanked out anyway). You can check the site out here.

1 Unfortunately, that’s all I can do . . .

Something’s happening here . . .

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There’s plenty of both heat and light in what’s being posted on the web these days about the healthcare debate. I don’t intend to get into it here, so much, but – and this is old news – does anyone else think this bit on the White House’s website is . . . irritating?


There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care. These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation. Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov.

I said “irritating”, not “ominous”. I don’t think it’s ominous, just yet. But what’s with this note about “flagging” things that look “fishy”? Are the ears of the white house really as tin, politically and PR-wise, as this makes them appear?

We’re having a vigorous debate in this country right now. At times really vigorous. I’ll save my thoughts on the whole thing (maybe) for the aftermath, once the President’s legislative goal is either dismantled or voted through. But these are interesting times. For the first time in, well, forever I kind of feel like picking up a sign myself.

The inestimable Mark Steyn has this to say:

DISSENT IS THE HIGHEST FORM OF PATRIOTI- . . . No, wait, that bumper sticker expired January 20. Under the stimulus bill, there’s a new $1.3 trillion bills-for-bumpers program whereby, if you peel off old slogans now recognized as environmentally harmful (“QUESTION AUTHORITY”), you can trade them in for a new “CELEBRATE CONFORMITY” sticker, complete with a holographic image of President Obama that never takes his eyes off you.

“The right-wing extremist Republican base is back!” warns the Democratic National Committee. These right-wing extremists have been given their marching orders by their masters: They’ve been directed to show up at “thousands of events,” told to “organize,” “knock on doors” . . .

No, wait. My mistake. That’s the e-mail I got from Mitch Stewart, Director of “Organizing for America” at BarackObama.com. But that’s the good kind of “organizing.” Obama’s a community organizer. We’re the community. He organizes us. What part of that don’t you get?

. . .

Fortunately, this president doesn’t fold like a Robert Gibbs suit. He won’t give in to the attire pressure. So, on Monday, the official White House website drew attention to the alarming amount of “disinformation about health insurance reform.” “These rumors often travel just below the surface,” warned Macon Phillips, Chief Commissar of the Hopenstasi . . . whoops, I mean White House Director of New Media, “via chain e-mails or through casual conversation.”

“Casual conversation,” eh? Why can’t these “dissenters” just be like normal people and read off the teleprompter?

The sermon on the mount, incarnated in Jesus

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Tomorrow I’m teaching Matthew 5:33-42 in a continuing series on the sermon on the mount. The Sermon is blasting away at me, in lots of good ways. If you’re interested in reading my notes for tomorrow, such as they are, you can find them here.

While I’ve long realized and taught that Jesus performed the sermon in his life, and especially in his passion, the thought hit me as I studied today that I probably haven’t realized the extent to which he lived out his teaching.

This hit me square in the face this morning:

And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

– Matthew 5:40

. . .

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.”

– John 19:23-24

Jesus gave it all.