Smoked Meat

Global Warming in Action

2009-01-15T06:55:00.001-08:00

The Better Country

2008-07-06T05:06:00.000-07:00

[I shared the following at my Grandma's funeral this past week. She passed away at the age of 94; and though she is much-missed, I am thankful for a life well-lived.]

When asked to share my memories and thoughts about Grandma, I sat down and tried to write as many things as I could, to try to distill the essence of who she was, and what she meant to all of us. Which isn't easy to do for such a remarkable woman. A devoted wife. A loving mom. A proud grandparent of 19 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

Grandma was a consummate traveler--a true adventurer at heart. And when I remember her, I can't help but think of the places she loved. And how these locations each shine their own light on the remarkable woman that she was.

First is North Dakota, where she was born in 1913, and where she breathed her last. Life on the plains wasn't easy in the early 20th century, without electricity or running water. When we would visit in the summer sometimes, us grandkids would giggle about the two-seated outhouse on the farm. At least until we had to use it.

The time she spent in North Dakota made her tough, resiliant, and tenacious. She wasn't afraid of hard work. Her family didn't have much, so they had to make do. She learned to be thrifty. Grandma LOVED garage sales: a trait she passed on to both of her daughters. A trait that I didn't always appreciate growing up, riding around in the back of the station wagon on Saturday mornings. But if you ever saw her eyes light up as she described a bargain she'd found, you couldn't help but catch some of her enthusiasm. She even bought a house at a garage sale once. So it is probably fitting, that my last memory of her is from this past May, when she drove down to Ankeny with mom to visit our own sale. Even though she wasn't strong enough to get out of the van for stops, that didn't keep her from enjoying garage sales. Just riding along was enough. She was a tough lady.

Then there is Florida, where she and Grandpa loved to spend the winter. She like to call herself a "snowbird", and it is understandable considering how much she hated the cold. She was always looking out for us grandkids, making sure we were dressed warm enough--even if it was 70 degrees and sunny. Our winter-time treks to the "sunshine state" are treasured memories.

Florida reminds me of her hospitality. It didn't matter if we rolled in at 10:00 at night. There was always a welcoming hug and then a spread of food on the table within minutes of arriving. And when you awoke the next morning, it was to the crackle of bacon, and her quiet preparations as she made a breakfast fit for a king.

She seldom went to the beach (it was too cold), but that didn't keep her from packing us a feast of salami sandwiches, Bugels, and Shasta pop. Late at night, we would play cards. Pinochle was their favorite, and she was a competitor who didn't like to lose, scolding Grandpa when he overbid a hand and snagged her as his partner.

You can't remember Grandma without thinking about Norway, where she spent much of her childhood years, and returned to numerous times throughout her lifetime. She had a quiet, reserved personality. But all you had to do to get her talking was ask her about Norway, and watch her face light up with animated expression. She loved to tell stories of growing up in the "land of the midnight sun". She was adventurous, and loved the ocean, and deep-sea fishing.

And she learned to cook, attending culinary school for a year. Who can forget her homemade lefse or kringla? Or all the Christmas cookies with hard-to-pronounce names like "krumkake" or "futtigman"? The "cinnamon and sugar rice" with a walnut waiting for the winner of the Marzipan pig. Or her special egg-nog? (NOT Norwegian) She appreciated her history and culture, and was always looking for ways to pass it along to her children and grandchildren. She was strong and independent, and just a bit stubborn too--a Norwegian, through-and-through.

And of course there is Iowa, where she moved with the rest of the family when Cleo retired from Swift and Co. in Chicago. She traded shopping on Michigan Ave. for rural life on the farm, never missing a beat. Adell, Greg, and Lois got married and started having kids. Lots of kids. And she always made each one feel special, with a birthday card each year. $1 for each year of your age, signed "Mor Mor" and "Mor Far"--another Norwegian touch.

Iowa also makes me think of the last 10 years or so, when she moved in with my parents after Grandpa died. She was such an unselfish person. Always gracious, never wanting to be a burden or be in the way. If you offered her your chair, she was quick to tell you to stay put. She loved the "Home and Garden" channel--especially anything to do with remodeling. But if you were watching golf or football, she would watch right along with you. She was a true servant, always putting others ahead of herself. When I think of Iowa, I think about the heritage she leaves behind. Of her example as a committed wife, loving mom, and caring Grandma. Of her legacy of family and faithfulness.

Grandma was the consummate traveler, and now she has taken her final trip--to a place better than North Dakota or Florida. More exciting than Norway. More peaceful than Iowa. A place you won’t find in her stack of “National Geographic” magazines.

Hebrews chapter 11 gives us an insight into this final journey when it talks about another life-long traveler, Abraham. He was called to leave his homeland and to wander the wilderness in tents. Why? Because he was "looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

When death arrives, sorrow can make us lose sight of the better country that is ahead. Whether we die at 14 or 94, life is fleeting--a mist that appears and then vanishes. And death doesn't seem like something to be hopeful for.

But Hebrews 11 says: "All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country--a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."

Abraham had a hope that was greater than this life, for a home that would last. And we can share that hope, if we reach out for the life offered to us by Jesus. We can share that hope if we believe in His death on a cross that brings forgiveness from sin. If we believe in His resurrection that gives assurance of a future life beyond the grave.

Grandma always looked forward to Sundays. Even though her age kept her inside, she would put on one of her nicer outfits and eagerly await her favorite preacher on TV--John Hagee. It was a highlight of her week, to hear the Scriptures preached. Her faith caused her to look beyond the frailty of this life, to count herself among the aliens and strangers of earth.

If we are looking forward to the better country, then every joy and happiness we find now is just a sampling of what awaits. Every satisfaction is just a little taste of the banquet that will be spread before us.

If we are looking forward to the better country, then every sorrow--even death--is a bittersweet reminder of the city with strong foundations, where there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.

If we are looking forward to the better country, then we too are travelers, like Grandma. Waiting patiently for our meeting with our Saviour, and for that great reunion with the travelers who have gone before us.

Rain, rain go away...

2008-06-06T07:32:00.000-07:00

So it's been raining for like the last week here in Iowa. Lots of big thunderstorms dropping rain in buckets. Houses flooded, basements taking on water (not ours, fortunately).

And the forecast? Yikes.

A Truism on Snow

2008-04-04T07:35:00.000-07:00

"What is heralded in December is scorned in April."

Were the snowflakes that fell yesterday pretty? I suppose, but that doesn't mean I liked seeing them. This feels like the longest winter ever, and I don't think I've ever been more ready for spring. The good news? Things are looking up, with a high of 65 predicted tomorrow.

A Wise Saying...

2008-01-25T10:53:00.002-08:00

Some of you will sympathize with this quote:

"People who say they sleep like a baby usually don't have one." - Leo J. Burke

10 Questions for a New Year

2008-01-03T06:31:00.000-08:00

Don Whitney (author of Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life) has put together 10 questions to ask yourself at the start of a New Year. Lauren and I spent a little time New Year's Eve talking about these together, so I thought I'd pass them along.

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

New Year's Resolution

2007-12-30T14:01:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to keep things simple this year, with just one resolution: to read through the Bible in a year. I've only done it once--the year before I started my freshman year at Emmaus.

Here's the plan I've settled on (click link to view as PDF). Here's what I like about it:

1. Simplicity. You're reading in just one book at a time, along with a chapter from Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, or Isaiah.

2. Variety. It alternates between the Old and New testaments, so you don't get bogged down.

3. Days off. There are only 24 readings per month, which gives you days for the inevitable catch-up when you fall behind.

4. Printable. It is nicely formatted (with check-boxes) to fit on just one sheet of paper (both sides). Plus, if you lose it you can just print off another one.

Anyone else want to share their resolutions for the new year?

Three Albums

2007-12-03T10:36:00.001-08:00

I was tagged to post three albums that I recommend you buy if you don’t already have them. Two disclaimers though. First, I don't buy music very often. Maybe two albums a year. My audio listening is much more geared towards podcasts/preaching. Secondly, this is just stuff that I have enjoyed lately. All-time favorites is a completely different list.

(1) What You Don't Know, by Don Chaffer.

Don Chaffer (and Waterdeep by association) is one of my very favorite artists. Don is a good musician, but an even better storyteller and wordsmith. He excels at using common stories to convey more universal truths. He also doesn't shy away from pointing out the brokenness of this life, but then points back to redemption and the hope found in the cross.

The first half of this is electric, but I usually skip these tracks because to me, Don's lyrics shine brightest with just an acoustic guitar as their companion. This is also true of earlier albums like "You Were At the Time for Love" and "To Chase Away the Birds". The sweet spot on "What You Don't Know" comes right in the middle, with:

People go by Like a Flame
John Henry, Where'd You Go
Against the Window Pane
What You Don't Know

Here's a lyric from "Against the Window Pane" that is a good example of the kind of writing I enjoy from Don:

Jesus was a lover. He had a fire in His eyes
That could burn away excuses, cremate your alibis.
He had a gaze that would expose to you all the subtle lies
That your soul permits your heart to tell concerning all that it denies.

(2) Brushfire Fairytales, by Jack Johnson.

Just a great folk-guitar album. Jack's laid-back acoustic riffs are catchy, and he does a terrific job combining them with memorable melodies. This isn't a recent album (2002), so maybe it shouldn't qualify for this list. But I still think it is Jack's best work. And like a comfortable pair of sneakers, it gets more comfortable with time.

(3) Mars Hill Music, assorted artists.

This isn't really an album. It is the widely-eclectic music found on the Mars Hill podcast and website. The quality of the recordings isn't great. The musicians aren't polished. And the style ranges from weird to traditional. Yet there are some hidden gems to be found, particularly in some of their updated renditions of old favorites. Here are a few I've enjoyed (free downloads if you want to listen):

I'll Fly Away
Nothing But the Blood
Beatitudes

If you want to blog your own three recommendations of albums-to-buy, then consider yourself tagged.

My "One Sentence" Journal

2007-10-25T05:35:00.001-07:00

I started an experiment of sorts this past May.

I had read somewhere on the web (where else?) about an idea for a journal that intrigued me. There are many of us who like the concept of keeping a record of our lives, something to look back on and see what was happening at a certain point. But the execution of this task, though well-intentioned, is too much to keep up with. Life is busy, and when two or three days sneak by without a word written, our momentum vanishes and the endeavor is abandoned all-together.

So when I stumbled across the idea for a one-sentence-per-day journal, it sparked my interest. Every day, you write one (and only one) thought. Something that captures an event, a memory, or just the routines of life. Since this only takes a minute or two, there's no excuse not to do it. That doesn't mean you never forget, but when you do, catchup is easy. Needless to say, I'm still doing this. There's something addictive about it, and I like the idea that five years from now, I can see what I was doing on October 25, 2007. It's a way to "number our days" and realize that God is doing something every day.

I use Google Notebook, which is a widget on my personalized Google homepage. A real notebook works fine too. The key is having something that is close-at-hand and in a place where you won't forget to do it. It needs to be a part of your daily routine.

Here are a few examples from the past few months:

June 1, 2007. An uneventful Friday evening.

July 17, 2007. We made a trip to the library for baby-name books, then we got serious and picked one out...we think.

August 25, 2007. After a futile trip to the hospital in the morning, we did yardwork and planted mums before we were called back to Mercy to be induced.

September 2, 2007. The annual fantasy football draft at Kyle's house: I brought smoked pork loin, and drafted Joseph Addai with the #6 pick.

If you like the idea, give it a try. You might be surprised at how attainable a daily journal can be, and I think you'll be rewarded by the results over time.

Three Years Ago

2007-10-16T05:27:00.000-07:00

"The man who finds a wife finds a treasure, and he receives favor from the Lord." (Proverbs 18:22)

I'm posting the above verse to commemorate the third anniversary of the day I asked Lauren to be my wife. Solomon knew what he was talking about.

For those who haven't heard the story, here it is. My sister Marcie and cousin Abby had agreed to be my accomplices. So as Lauren and I strolled the mall, they busied themselves stringing lights and placing candles around my house. My plan was to eat somewhere nice, like P.F. Changs. But we were too hungry to wait for an hour plus, so we chose the next best thing: Wendy's.

As our meal of bacon cheeseburgers and frosties wound down, I made a strategic phone call from the bathroom to alert the girls we were on our way. They made their exit, Lauren was surprised, and everything else went according to plan. Except for one detail.

As I knelt down to place the ring on my new fiance's finger, I rested my elbow on the table. And as she said "Yes" and moved to give me a kiss, I noticed a strangely warm sensation. I dismissed it for a moment, not wanting to interrupt the romantic mood. But as we kissed, I detected the faint smell of smoke and realized that my sweater had caught fire from a tea-candle next to my arm. I jumped to my feet and doused the flame, but not before it had a left a hole two inches across.

There was an awkward pause, and we both laughed about it. I've never caught fire before, so it's hard to believe it would happen at that particular moment. Oh well. I guess when you find a treasure, a burnt sweater is no big deal.

Blogging: My Top Three Words of Advice

2007-10-15T06:14:00.001-07:00

I've noticed an uptick in the number of people I know who are trying out blogging for the first time. Here are my top three words of advice for you.

1. You don't have to post every day.
At first, this is a hard compulsion to fight off. You're all giddy with excitement and want to make everyone happy by writing something as often as possible. But posting too much will just make you burn out quicker and drop your blog like a bad habit. Better to post something interesting every once in a while than to write stuff that you don't like.

2. Learn to link like a pro.
You just found something really neat on someone else's blog that you want to share. Resist the urge to copy-and-paste the website address into a blog post like this:

http://smokedmeat.blogspot.com/

Instead, make your link an official first-class citizen of the web. Here's the template:

<a href="http://smokedmeat.blogspot.com">make your link an official first-class citizen</a>

3. Customize your layout.
Google is your friend here. Do a search for "blogger templates". Read through the Blogger tutorial. Don't be afraid to ask questions.

OK, that's it. Anyone else have good words of advice for the beginners?

15-13

2007-09-16T18:16:00.000-07:00

That was unexpected.

Not just because the Clones were 18 point underdogs to Iowa. But because senior Bret Culbertson kicked five, count 'em, five field goals. This after never hitting a clutch kick--a game-winning kick in his career. And he's had his chances. I was there at Jack Trice in 2004, when the only thing separating ISU from a Big 12 North title was a Culbertson chip-shot. Miss. Then again a year later, Shaggy was lining up for another kick to win the North, this time against Kansas. No luck. Poor old Bret. You figured that he would be forever remembered as the guy who couldn't make one when it mattered.

But not on this day. Five field goals, including some long ones into the wind. Five field goals, including the game-winner with 1 second left on the clock. Five field goals, all fifteen points for ISU. I think Bret will remembered for more than his misses.

My Triangle

2007-09-04T17:07:00.000-07:00

Another thing that comes along with parenthood? A re-acquaintance with the old standards. Like Sesame Street. This song cracked me up the other day as I watched with Nora, but it just doesn't work so well when you try to describe it to someone else. Here you go Tristan.

Note: the above clip requires compatibility with YouTube...

Baby Girl #2

2007-08-30T08:45:00.000-07:00

The waiting is over!

Born: August 26 at 5:34am.
Name: Gillian Marie (pronounced the same as "Jillian")
Weight: 8lbs. 4oz.
Length: 20.25"

Mom and baby are doing great. The labor was a quick one, and we praise God for another healthy girl.

Click here to see pictures from the hospital website.

Waiting...

2007-08-21T18:44:00.001-07:00

There's something about an approaching birth that makes you acutely aware of the concept of waiting. It is more than an abstract word. More than simply knowing that something is going to happen soon. No, waiting becomes the unbearable anticipation that hearkens back to the Decembers of childhood, when you counted down the days to the 25th. The big difference here, is that you don't have any idea what the date you're waiting for is.

But I remembered something cool today: we're not the only ones waiting for something big. There's a day out there that the entire creation is waiting for with that same kind of "any-day-the-baby-will-be-here" anticipation. It's the day that Paul writes about in Romans 8:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

It's good to know that we're not the only ones waiting.

April 2006

2007-08-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

I found out yesterday that's when my driver's license expired. Good thing I haven't been pulled over lately. And as if that isn't bad enough? I'm pretty sure I now have to take both the written and driving tests again like your typical 14-year-old.

Guess I better start studying.

A "Dr. Pepper" Toast

2007-08-09T06:54:00.000-07:00

Today marks five years since I lost my friend Zach Evans in a car accident. He was a notorious fan of what he affectionately called "Dr. P", so here's an imaginary toast to a buddy who left us too soon. If you knew Zach, share a memory in the comments...

The Elusive Search for a Name

2007-07-18T17:03:00.000-07:00

Most who are regular readers here (if there is such a thing) know that we're expecting another little one in the near future. It's a big event, full of anticipation, excitement, joy ... and trouble deciding on a name.

It seemed so easy for the first one, and we just knew what it should be. This time? Not so much. We've thought we had it a couple of times, only to discard our ideas when we found a deal-breaker. Hint to the wise: make sure you check the meaning before you get too attached to your latest idea.

Last night, we really went to work on it, and after much browsing and negotiating and thinking, we might have decided on the one. You'll have to wait until the big day to find out, since there has to be some surprise left.

In any case, we did find some cool websites for names:

behindthename.com is my favorite. Type in your name and click the "ratings" link to find out what connotations your name has. Apparently mine is classic, mature, wholesome, and just a bit nerdy.

If you're into fancy graphs, try babynamewizard.com. You can find out how your name has fared in popularity since 1880.

And of course, there is the old standby: the US Census site. "Jacob" and "Emily" are the current leaders as of 2006.

Have any other good sites? Leave a note in the comments.

Seven Things

2007-06-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

I'm not one for tags, but here you go. As requested by Marcie, seven random facts/habits:

1. I like playing my guitar.

2. I took two years of Greek in college.

3. I have a total 25 first cousins, and only two of them are older than myself.

4. I have a picture of myself with Larry Eustachy (don't worry--there's no Natty Light involved).

5. I love using my Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker.

6. I'm currently trying to memorize James 1.

7. I recently started keeping a one-sentence journal: each day I summarize or describe the day in one line.

And no need to worry--I'm not tagging anyone else.

Eliot on Progress

2007-06-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a quote from TS Eliot's poem "Choruses from the Rock" that is worth pondering:

The endless cycle of idea and action,
Endless invention, endless experiment,
Brings knowledge of motion, but not of stillness;
Knowledge of speech, but not of silence;
Knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word.
All our knowledge brings us nearer to our ignorance,
All our ignorance brings us nearer to death,
But nearness to death no nearer to God.
Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?

The Quicken the Dead

2007-05-23T14:27:00.001-07:00

I'll just come right out and say it. I've never been able to stay on the Quicken wagon. Numerous times, I've gone through the following cycle:

1. Look at most recent bank statement, become horrified about how much has been spent, and say to self: "This is ridiculous. It's time to get organized."

2. Setup accounts for checking, savings, credit cards.

3. Struggle to find and download transaction history and load into Quicken.

4. Painstakingly categorize all the transactions.

5. Feel good about having everything up-to-date.

6. Forget to upload the latest statements at month's end.

7. Fall behind and give up hope of keeping current.

Why the struggle? Not sure exactly, but I think the biggest roadblock for me has been the cumbersome process of downloading and categorizing transactions. The user-interface is clunky, and I look forward to keeping my accounts current about as much as a trip to the dentist. Plus, what I really need is a way to see how I'm doing in the middle of the month, while there is still time to meet the budget. With Quicken I would update everything after I got my statement, which was too late to have an impact on my spending.

Anyone else have the same Quicken experience? I'm ready to try something new. I'll let you know how it goes.

Wisdom for Dads

2007-05-18T05:59:00.000-07:00

In lieu of actually posting something original, I’m succumbing (once again) to the maneuver I try to avoid on this blog: posting a “Link to Something Good That Someone Else Wrote.” But what the “Krusty Sage” (aka Brant Hansen) has to say is great advice for new dads.

Every stage has been a better stage. No stage lasts very long. Savor them, man. Having a kid is not an 18-year long haul. It's a series of little hauls. That kid you have now? Goodbye. She won't be the same kid six months from now.

Enjoy your children at whatever stage they are at, because he's right--it goes super fast. Our little girl is toddling around like a pro now, and speaking fluently in some unknown dialect. A year ago, I was patting her on the back just so she could burp. Now she is scarfing down pizza, and eating cookies for desert.

Way to Go Zach

2007-04-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

I was excited to see an Iowa boy win the Masters yesterday, but more impressed by some of the things he said after his round. Do I think that God influences sporting events so that Christians win? No. But it's great to see a guy like Zach Johnson use his talent to bring glory to his Creator. In the post-round interview, he was asked: "Did you use any routines or techniques to kind of calm and center yourself either when you went home at night this week or on the course in such a pressure situation?"

Zach replied: "You know, I have little things that I tell myself about my round, about my day. Really, nothing changes from week-to-week. It could be a Thursday at a random tournament, it could be a Sunday obviously at Augusta. I say the same things to myself, just how to approach each shot, how to approach each hole. Today, the only thing different was the fact that it was Easter. I felt like regardless of what happened today, my responsibility was to glorify God and hopefully He thinks I did."

No commentary needed on that. I hope Zach keeps winning tournaments and keeps using his platform as an opportunity to give all the credit to Jesus.

Farewell, Old Cell Number. I Knew Thee Well.

2007-03-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally did it. I picked up my phone and made the fateful call to *611. The call to say "I'd like to cancel my cell plan."

The Verizon rep pleaded with me to stay, but to no avail. As of March 22, the phone number that has been my constant companion since my first year at ISU and I will go our separate ways. Nine years isn't a big deal when you're talking about a home number. But in the cell-phone world of merging companies, changing plans, and two-year contracts, it's an eternity.

The rift started with a botched attempt at merging my wife's number into my existing plan. The mall rep said it would work without a hitch--just fill out some paperwork and her number would be ported no problem. We would even be able to share minutes! But after being double-charged for five months and many calls to customer service the ugly truth was revealed. My Boone number could not be joined with her Des Moines one. And of course then we were already hooked--trapped into paying more money for two lines on two accounts with unshared minutes. From then on, I knew it was only a matter of time.

So I waited. Patiently counting down these many days. Patiently waiting for my contract to end. And at last that day has arrived. My revenge is underway. A meager six months remains before the second contract is done and my exodus from the evil clutches of Verizon will be complete.

But alas! The unfortunate casualty in this dirty business is my number. 230-0620. Many a time I have left those digits behind. On bills. On credit cards. On friends and families cell phones. I will miss it greatly, but the memory will live on. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Snow, Snow, Snow

2007-02-25T11:03:00.000-08:00

An Announcement...

2007-02-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl Faith

2007-02-06T04:33:00.000-08:00

Lost amid the hoopla and the hype of two African-American coaches reaching the Super Bowl for the first time was this. Both Lovie Smith and Tony Dungy know what is truly important in life: following Jesus.

I found a link to a neat site where both coaches share about their faith. Tony Dungy, who lost his son recently said:

"If God had had a conversation with me, had said, 'I can help some people see. I can heal some people's relationships. I can save some people's lives. I can give some people eternal life--but I'll have to take your son to do it. You make the choice.' I know how I would have answered that. I would have said 'No, I'm sorry. As great as all that is, I don't want to do that.' And that's the awesome thing about God. He had that choice. And He said 'Yes, I'm gonna do it.' two thousand years ago with His Son Jesus on the cross. And because He said 'Yes', because He made the choice that I wouldn't make as a parent, that's paved the way for us to come back into relationship with Him.

BEARS LOSE.

2007-02-05T05:49:00.000-08:00

Once again, it's tough to be Chicago sports fan. There will be no "Super Bowl Shuffle" this year. In the second half the Colts showed poise and determination while the Bears floundered about in the rain. Turnovers and no pass rush were the losing combination for Chicago.

As Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti wrote, "In the end, the difference between winning a championship and becoming one of those quickly forgotten runners-up was that the Bears tried to convince us they have a real quarterback when the smart people knew they do not."

A bit harsh, but hard to argue with after yesterday's loss.

BEARS WIN!!!

2007-01-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

When it comes to pro sports, I'm a Chicago man through-and-through. That's meant lots of losing and some heartbreaking seasons in recent years. I even watched the Cubs lose game 7 of the NLCS (in person, at Wrigley field). So I was prepared for the inevitable Bears collapse today--not really letting myself get too excited by the fact that there was just one more hurdle to clear before the Super Bowl.

So it was a sweet thing to see the Bears win the NFC Championship game today. It might take a couple days to sink in. I can actually look forward to the game instead of the commercials now. Yes.

Friday Musings

2007-01-19T04:48:00.001-08:00

That Crazy Jamie
Pollard's at it again. ISU announced this week that the only way to get into the ISU-Iowa game this year is to buy season tickets. It's a gutsy move, but I think the guy knows what he's doing. Will there be 10,000 empty seats? I doubt it, given the demand for the game. But regardless of the outcome, JP has gotten people talking about ISU football in the middle of January. For a team coming off a 4-8 record, that's saying something.

Taming Your Inbox
I used to treat my email inbox at work like a to-do list. Emails would hang there, mocking me, until I finally got around to answering them or doing whatever I need to do. If you work in an office environment you probably know what I'm talking about. It's not the way to get things done. Check out this series called "Inbox Zero" for great ideas to keep the inbox shackles off.

A Muslim Who Found Jesus

2007-01-17T04:46:00.000-08:00

Last week I was running a few errands around town and flipped over to WHO Radio. Steve Deace had a very interesting guest on the show named Umar. He was a dedicated Muslim intent on murdering Christians. Yet when he finally heard the pure grace of the gospel message, it was so foreign to him, so appealing and completely different from anything Islam had to offer, that he became a follower of Jesus. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hear the entire interview, so I was excited to find out it is available online. You can grab it from this link or subscribe to the Steve Deace podcast from iTunes.

Thanks to Voni for the heads-up.

Friday Musings

2007-01-12T11:17:00.000-08:00

Blog Update
As I mentioned in my last post, this site has been pretty neglected lately. I dusted off my sidebar and added some folks that have been blogging and have already linked to me: Jenny, Marcie (& Seth), Voni, and Hope.

ISU Basketball Is Back
Coming into the year, my expectations (and excitement) for Cyclone basketball couldn't have been much lower. After all, McDermott wasn't left with much in the cupboard to work with and he would be coaching a group of guys who were just learning his system and playing together for the first time. The non-conference schedule went pretty much according to script with disappointing losses to Drake, UNI, and Iowa. So the 2-0 start in the Big 12 comes as a pleasant surprise. The comeback win on the road at Missouri seems to have been the jolt needed to get apathetic fans back on the bandwagon. I'm not going crazy here--an NIT berth would be a good accomplishment for this team. But it's nice to have a well-coached team that is fun to watch again.

The Illusionist
Newly released on DVD this week, The Illusionist is a fictional story set in early 20th century Vienna. Edward Norton plays the lead role of Eisenheim the magician, who unexpectedly finds his childhood sweetheart (Jessica Biel) after many years apart. A member of high-society, she is engaged against her will to the cruel crown prince when tragedy befalls her. The film deftly blends mystery and romance as we try to piece together the clues of her death and the key to Eisenheim's greatest trick. Even though I guessed the conclusion beforehand, the film still kept me engaged throughout. My rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Derailed?

2007-01-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

This picture is a good illustration of where my blog is right now. Hard to say how it went off the tracks exactly, but my ten-month-old in diapers is a prime suspect. Those few faithful readers that are left may be wondering if this train will start blowing smoke again (pardon the pun).

Never fear. The coals will be burning again soon.

God With Us

2006-12-25T09:52:00.000-08:00

The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel—which means, "God with us." (Matthew 1:23)

Immanuel. Three simple words, but full of meaning.

God
The King of the universe, Creator of the world.

With
Not content to watch from His throne at a distance, but came near at great cost.

Us
Undeserving, sinful, needing redemption, and finding more than we could ever hope for in Jesus.

Merry Christmas!

At Long Last...Friday Musings

2006-11-17T08:33:00.000-08:00

Playstation 3 Mania
Lauren went to Target yesterday and told me about a group of disheveled guys sitting on lawn chairs outside the store. She thought they were protestors or something. Turns out they were just waiting in line for their Playstation 3, which went on sale at midnight last night. I guess it was a national phenomenon. One guy who spent three nights on the sidewalk in New York said: "It was totally worth it. I'm going to go home, shower, and then play." Weird. But I'm glad he's going to take a shower first.

Farewell to Dan
Tomorrow Dan McCarney will take the field for the last time as the Iowa State football coach. In his twelve years here, there have been some great moments and some forgettable ones. I think most Cyclone fans are grateful for what he did for the program and wish him the best. It's been a rough year, so a win over Missouri would be a fitting end to an era.

Blogger 2.0
I've migrated my blog to the new version of Blogger. It has some spiffy new features, like the ability to add labels to help categorize posts and trackbacks in case someone links to an entry. Another good job by the folks at Google.

Belonging to a Better Master

2006-11-06T04:47:00.000-08:00

Success is a fickle master. Just ask Dan McCarney. When he took over as head coach at ISU, he started at the cellar of Division 1A. He worked and worked and somehow willed the Cyclones to an 9-3 record in 2000, including their first-ever bowl win. I remember Sage Rosenfels, JJ Moses, and Chauncey Billups leading the way as the Cyclones beat up on Pittsburgh. I remember driving home from my friend's house in Ankeny--it was a cold snowy night and the roads were terrible. But I didn't care. Iowa State had finally won a bowl game. The guy had done the previously unthinkable--he had achieved success. The fans lined up to shake his hand and pat him on the back.

Fast-forward to this past Saturday. Kansas 41, Iowa State 10. The guy who brought winning is now the guy who can't find a win to save his job. It is a good reminder of how short-lived and precarious success can be in this life. Here one day, gone the next. And you can list example after example of people who thought they had found "it" (whatever that "it" might be to them), and then--poof! Gone.

I'm thankful there is a better master than Success. Jesus has given us an approval that doesn't depend on our merits. If we belong to Him, something remarkable happens. When we sit down for our annual review with the Father, He throws our "accomplishments" in the trash bin and grabs Jesus' file. Scanning down the page, He smiles and looks up. "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Samuel James

2006-10-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, my sister and her husband lost their little one at 20 weeks of pregnancy. What do you say when the sorrows and griefs of life are so unexpected? When excitement and joy turn to disappointment and sadness? I'm thankful we have a Shepherd who understands heartache. I'm thankful that Jesus did not keep the world at a distance, but came down to this lost and hurting place. And when trials come, we can rest in the arms of Jesus--the same strong arms that He hung on from the cross. The arms that are able to scoop up little lambs like Samuel and hold them tight.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
In the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

BLYTHE FOR HEISMAN

2006-09-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

"I went up to Coach on the sidelines after regulation and said I think I can make a play," said Blythe, Iowa State's career touchdown leader. "We hadn't really tested them deep and thrown it up for grabs, and I think I can win that battle every time."

"I think I can make a play." That's the understatement of the year. We need to throw Todd's way 15 times a game. Minimum. And three or four of those should be deep balls. He's the rare receiver who comes along and makes defenses change their gameplan to stop him. A Randy Moss of college football. But if you don't throw him the ball, it's like eating at McDonald's when you have a $50 gift certificate to Outback sitting in your pocket. Let's hope Mac takes advantage of his talent.

(quote and photo from The Des Moines Register.)

Waiting for kickoff...

2006-08-31T14:55:00.000-07:00

As ISU kicks off the 2006 football season, here is my preseason forecast for wins and losses. A little something to laugh about in a few weeks. Or tomorrow.

Opponent           Result        Comment
Toledo             W             Scary opener.
UNLV               W             Clones roll.
at Iowa            W             Two straight.
at Texas           L             Welcome to the Big 12.
UNI                W             Looking ahead to Big Red.
Nebraska           W             Just don't go into overtime.
at Oklahoma        L             Norman. 'Nuff said.
Texas Tech         L             Circus passing too much for young D.
at Kansas State    W             New coach.
Kansas             W             Payback for last year.
at Colorado        W             Another late-season surge.
Missouri           L             The patented final game meltdown.

Final Result? 8-4 and another bowl game. I'd take it, with our swiss cheese defense.

FOUND!

2006-08-18T20:16:00.000-07:00

...our new home. Cozy huh?

SOLD!

2006-08-16T22:43:00.000-07:00

...and after just one day on the market! Time to start packing.

Friday Musings

2006-08-11T07:16:00.000-07:00

The Blizzard Fan Club
Lauren and I have been on a bit of a Dairy Queen binge lately. Blame it on the summer and the fact that we have two DQs within minutes of us. Well, if you like Blizzards, go join the Blizzard fan club. You'll get a two-for-the-price-of-one coupon and the satisfaction of knowing you are a part of something big. Or just becoming bigger.

The Return of College Football
I realized yesterday that Iowa State's first home game was a mere three weeks away. Sure, us Cyclone fans have had our guts ripped out time and time again--especially the last two years. And you would think, that after having season tickets for the past 8 years, I would have learned my lesson by now. If ever a group of people has had reason to feel jilted, it would be ISU fans. But like clockwork, August rolls around each year, and the excitement for college football returns. The tailgating. The marching band. The crowd. The thrills. The crisp fall days. So don't be surprised to see my coverage of ISU sports begin to ramp up again. At least until October or November when they once again throw the hearts of Clone fans down the garbage disposal again.

Tony Yelk: NFL Kicker???
One of the unchanging facts of Dan McCarney football over the past decade or so is the continual struggle with the kicking game. So you can imagine my utter shock and dismay when I found this article. It's baffling, but true. The Falcons have pegged our man Tony as their #1 kicker right now. Good for him. It would be a true irony to be unable to beat out Bret Culbertson for the job and then become a starter in the NFL.

August 9th

2006-08-09T06:18:00.000-07:00

Four years ago on this day, my friend Zach Evans died in a car accident. He was just 20 years old. I remember when I heard the news, sitting in my cubicle, listening in shock as my mom told me over the phone. He was passing a slow truck on a risky turn and hit another vehicle head-on. A lapse in judgment--and then he was gone. His girlfriend and sister, both riding with him, came away with little more than scratches and sprains.

Zach was a great guy. His family had started coming to my church about six years earlier. He was a super-smart kid, one of those homeschoolers who started taking community college classes when he was 14 and scored a 34 on his ACT when he was 16. He had a contagious laugh, made friends easily, and had a nickname for everyone. He called me "Balkstie" since I have curly hair and so did the guy from the TV show "Perfect Strangers" (Balki Bartokomous). I never saw the resemblance, but neither did I mind. You knew you were a friend if you had a nickname.

Zach loved to play chess, and had the sort of infectious personality that made you want to play chess too. I remember one summer where all the guys in my group of friends bought chess boards. Then we lugged them around in our cars to whip out and play against each other when we were hanging out. Zach made up a round-robin schedule and we kept track of wins and losses. Pretty geeky--I know. We were athletic guys. Guys who wouldn't be caught dead in chess club. But he was good, super-competitive, and you wanted to beat him. I didn't do it very often, but one day I defeated him three times. In a row. That was a fluke, but I reminded him of it frequently after that. He would just good-naturedly take it in, ask me to play him again, and kick my butt.

Zach loved the St. Louis Cardinals too. Which was a pain to me, since I'm a Cubs fan. Every year he would take out a bet with my cousin John (fellow Cubs sufferer) about who would finish higher in the National League Central standings. Some years he gave the Cubs 10 games. It didn't matter--he rarely (if ever) lost that bet. And he would make sure we knew about it. A few years back, when the Cubs were one game away from the World Series, I missed having him around to give a good-natured ribbing too. Strangely enough, when they blew it, I also missed having him around to tell me how bad the Cubs are.

Zach was the first friend I've lost to death. Three grandparents have passed away, but this was different. Zach was younger than me. And he had his whole life in front of him. At the funeral, the church was filled to overflowing. I remember the singing. Maybe the most beautiful thing I've ever heard, like a taste of what will be in heaven. In spite of the sorrow, I remember a deep thankfulness descending on my soul. An appreciation for friendship and the meaningfulness of life and relationships. Zach knew his Creator, and I will see him again someday.

Two weeks before the accident, the old gang was together again at Olive Garden for supper. Zach was in town for a few days to see friends before heading back for fall semester at Wheaton. He only had a year left to graduate, and he was going to get a law degree after that. We had a great time gorging ourselves on breadsticks, bantering about sports, and catching up on life. I hadn't seen him as regularly since he left for college, so it was one of those nights where you just enjoyed hanging out again. A picture-perfect evening when all was right with the world. A fitting last time together. I wish I could go back to that night--just to hear his laugh, or argue about some new movie we disagreed about. I remember when we parted ways telling him that we needed to play chess again soon so I could teach him a lesson. He just chuckled and said: "Anytime Balkstie, anytime..."

A Knock on the Door (pt. 5)

2006-07-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

As I was out front doing a bit of landscaping yesterday, a stranger ambled up the drive. He looked to be in his sixties, with a pot-belly and a wad of chew in his mouth. He pointed toward the house behind ours, and asked a question, which I couldn't quite make out due to his speech impediment. Or maybe just his wad of chew.

I explained that the neighbors were gone. Evicted.

After I failed to get the landlord's number from Yolanda, I ended up tracking it down myself. Gary owns about 160 properties around Des Moines--most of them in low-income neighborhoods. He was even sued by a neighborhood group because of problems with one of his houses. Anyways, I called him up at home and he was friendly enough to me. I found out that Yolanda had been served eviction papers because she was behind on rent. I also told him that the van he had parked on his property had all the windows smashed up in case he didn't know. That was almost three weeks ago now.

The guy with the chew had a baffled look on his face. He told me that he lived a block down the street, on the same side as myself. He pulled out a scratch lottery ticket and showed it to me. Yolanda's name was written on the back of it. He explained that she had come over to his house and left the ticket with him. Told him to keep it for her until she came back for it. It was a winning ticket--worth $100. That was before she was evicted, and she hasn't been back for it yet. She dropped a ring in his yard also. The ticket was no good to him--only the person who won it could cash it.

I told him his guess was as good as mine. He left after some further chit-chat about pies. I wasn't quite sure what he was talking about. He was a strange dude. But I was completely confused as to why Yolanda left him with a $100 lottery ticket. Maybe she didn't want her lendors to know about it. Maybe she was afraid she would lose it. Maybe she was just crazy.

I don't suppose I'll ever know the full story, or what has become of the strange, irresponsible woman and her kids. They are gone now, and the house behind ours is empty again. All that's left is a bulging mailbox, a trash-strewn yard, and a van with the windows busted in. I wonder to myself what will become of her kids. Whether they are in foster-care or with a relative or still with Yolanda. I wonder if she will ever change. It's easy for me to cast a condescending gaze. To think about how much better off I am. Of how terrible it was for them to ask for so much and treat me so badly.

But then I remember. I do the same thing too. Jesus died on a cross for me. He gave all He had for me. And yet there are many times when I must look to Him just like my rude, ungrateful ex-neighbors looked to me. Unthankful and asking for more.

I hope someday Yolanda and her family meet Jesus, who would say to them: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

Friday Musings (in less than 20 minutes)

2006-07-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Before I call it a day, here's my quick takes for the week.

Are you tired of getting 10 credit card offers every day?
I sure am. So you can imagine my excitement when, laying on the blood donation bed this morning, I spied the answer to this ongoing nuisance via a news clip on CNN. Go to OptOutPrescreen.com, fill out a quick online form, and you can be rid of such evil for 5 YEARS!!! I'm all over that offer like rice on white bread.

Alright, alright...enough about my crazy neighbors!
I only have one more post to write in the sad saga. I promise. Then this blog will resume its regularly-scheduled programming. If it ever has been regular.

Watch out. Tiger's back.
Eldred is looking pretty good, sitting at 12-under going into the weekend at the British Open. There are still 36 holes to play, but I don't see anyone catching him. He's showing shades of his old self--the golfer that won 4 majors in a row.

7 minutes left...
I can't think of anything else semi-interesting to say. But if you can get rid of credit-card-junk-mail, what else do you need? I'll be painting tomorrow, and it looks like it will be a beautiful day to do it. Have a good weekend.

A Knock on the Door (pt. 4)

2006-07-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

Another knock on the door. In the afternoon, about 10 days ago.

"Did you call the landlord?" Yolanda asked in an angry tone, as I opened the door. Unsure of what she was talking about, I replied that I had not. Things had been a little more quiet for the first week of July, and we hadn't heard much from our backyard neighbors. No kids, no interruptions. It was nice, but I was starting to wonder what was going on. Usually they were everywhere--riding bikes and playing up and down our shared drive, neighbors' lawns, and the sidewalk across the street.

She gave me a disgusted look. "You did too. You called my landlord and complained about the traffic going back to our house."

Now, Yolanda doesn't have a car, but she did get her share of visitors. And at odd hours of the night like 2 am, but I never considered it a big enough nuisance to make a stink about. We did share a drive after all. It was the constant doorbell-ringing and ungrateful attitude that bothered me. So I tried to explain to her again that no, I really did not call the landlord.

She wasn't buying it. "I talked to the landlord. He said it was you. And I can have whoever the **** I want back there." I could feel my blood pressure rising, but tried to stay calm. She started walking away, and added: "You must have called DHS too, complaining about my kids playing in the street at 1:00 in the morning. I can file harassment charges." This was getting to be a little too much. It's probably a good thing that someone called DHS, but yet again, it wasn't me. I followed after her, really growing angry that she would make a threat like that.

"I didn't call the landlord. I didn't call anyone. If I had a problem with you I would talk to you." I said, voice rising. This was true, not so much to the extent that I didn't have a problem with her (which I actually did now), but in that I would talk to her before calling her landlord. If he told her that I complained then the record needed to be set straight. I asked her for the landlord's number. She told me she didn't have it but would get it for me. Maybe she was realizing that I wasn't the one who complained.

Around suppertime I went back to her house to get the number. I also wanted to find out what Yolanda's problem with me was. I wanted to give her a chance to speak her mind, and to tell her that I only wanted to be a good neighbor. And I sure didn't need any trouble from her, whatever that might be. There was a pause before the door opened. One of the children answered the door. "Mom's at the store. What do you want?" I knew it was an excuse not to talk to me, so I told her I would return later. I tried again in a couple hours. No one came to the door, even though I could hear people inside as I approached.

I went back the next evening and the house appeared to be empty. Apparently I wasn't going to get the landlord's number from Yolanda.

(to be continued…)

A Knock on the Door (pt. 3)

2006-07-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

Talking to the phone company wasn't the only thing Yolanda failed to do in a speedy manner. One Sunday evening, we returned home after a weekend away. As we were settling into bed, we were jolted by a familiar "ding-dong-ding-dong." I went to the door, grumbling to myself about what they could possibly want, and determined to let them have a piece of my mind. It was 10:30 at night--much to late to be ringing the doorbell.

"Can we have a candle?" the kids asked. After a little more inquiry, I discovered that their power had been shut-off, since they never had it switched over to their name. Fortunately it was May, and the power company was coming the next day. Since they were sitting in a dark house back there, I decided it wasn't the best time to get upset.

Then there was the time the fifteen-year-old son and his cousin came over and asked to borrow a rake. "Sure", my wife said. "Why don't you come through to the garage and I'll grab one for you." On the way through the house, they asked if we had a TV and VCR they could borrow too. An old phone? Sure. Candle? Rake? No problem. TV and VCR? I don't think so.

It's easy to show love to people who appreciate it. When you don't even get a "thank you" it's not so easy. So I couldn't help but begin to feel like "Mr. Wilson" from the "Dennis the Menace" comic strip. Not as old, but just as grumpy.

(to be continued…)

A Knock on the Door (pt. 2)

2006-07-12T13:42:00.000-07:00

After I was home, I felt bad for some of the things I had thought about the new family. They were in a new place, without a vehicle, without a phone, and obviously without much money. Jesus told us to help the poor. Jesus told us to love our neighbors. And so I decided to have a good attitude about it, and to do what I could to be like Jesus. Maybe if we could build a relationship, there would be opportunity to show the gospel in both action and word. And so when one of the kids came back to the door a couple hours later needing to use the phone again, I gladly complied.

And then they kept coming over. At least two or three times a day, the doorbell would ring. Not just a single polite "ding-dong", but "ding-dong-ding-dong-ding-dong." In the afternoon. In the evening. As late as 9 or 10 o'clock sometimes. Needless to say, loud doorbells aren't a good thing when you have a newborn. Usually it was one or two of the kids. "Can we use your phone?" they would ask. Generally, they wanted someone to come pick them up, since they didn't have a car. So I would hand them the cordless and wait while they sat on the front steps and talked to their dad or aunt or whoever they were trying to call. "Can you give us a ride?" would be the question if they couldn't get ahold of them.

I know Jesus taught to help the poor, but I came to the conclusion that this doesn't mean being a phone booth or a taxi driver. I told the kids to keep it to one call per day, unless it was something really important. And I found excuses not to give rides. This didn't stop them from coming over, but they must have realized their phone booth was about to close. After a few days their mom came over to borrow the phone to call the phone company. Most people do this right away, but not Yolanda. I got excited the next day when I saw a white truck driving back to their house. Until I realized it was the cable guy. You've gotta have priorities right?

Eventually the line was installed--about a week after they moved in. Except then they needed a phone to plug into it. I had an old one in the basement that I gave them. It was a small price to pay to keep the doorbell quiet.

(to be continued…)

A Knock on the Door

2006-07-11T13:21:00.000-07:00

"Can my mom come over and use your phone?" said the girl standing at my front door, a little over two months ago. She looked to be about ten years old, and had just moved into the house behind ours with her mom and three siblings. Wanting to be a good neighbor, I said "Sure! You can use our phone. No problem." So over they came, Yolanda and the rest of her children.

As they sat on our couch, Lauren offered them granola bars, which they gladly accepted. They were obviously poor. The kids had an unkempt look about them, but were in good spirits. Yolanda finished with the phone. "Would you mind giving us a ride?" she asked, in a matter-of-fact tone.

So I drove them across town, to her sister's place, where we picked up her nephew. I didn't ask why he needed to be picked up, but I assumed there was a good reason. As we sat in the car and waited for the nephew to emerge, I found out that Yolanda and her kids had just moved down from Ames, and that it had been a rather hurried affair. They didn't bring much along with them. I didn't want to pry too much. All the kids were back in the car now, four of them crammed in the back seat. I pulled back onto the street, looking forward to eating my supper. "Can we stop at the grocery store on the way home?" Apparently the nephew was hungry.

At this point, I was feeling just a little bit put-out. I'm all for being helpful, but stopping at the grocery store? Since we would pass a gas station on the way home, I told them we could stop there. "Stay in the car", the mother said sternly to the youngest two. A couple minutes later they followed her in to use the bathroom. I sat impatiently in the car.

They returned five minutes later, snacks in tow. The nephew had a carton of Ben & Jerry's ice cream. As they trudged back to their place after I dropped them off, I couldn't help but wonder why they would buy expensive gas station food when they couldn't afford a car. But I guess you can't buy a car with food stamps either.

(to be continued…)

Preaching Christ Alone (pt. 4)

2006-07-07T13:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the last of my reflections on Michael Horton's article Preaching Christ Alone, where he lists four problems with preaching today: Moralism, Verse-By-Verse Exposition, Carelessness, and (the topic of this post) The "Christ And..." Syndrome. He writes:

Today, we see this in terms of Christ and America; Christ and Self-Esteem; Christ and Prosperity; Christ and the Republican or Democratic Party; Christ and End-Time Predictions; Christ and Healing; Christ and Marketing and Church Growth; Christ and Traditional Values, and on we could go, until Christ himself becomes little more than an appendage to a religion that can, after all, get on quite well without him. That is not, of course, to say that the evangelical enterprise could do this without some difficulty. After all, every movement needs a mascot. We say we are Christ-centered, but what was the sermon about last Sunday?

How do we slip into a "Christ And..." mentality?
I was listening to a talk by Tim Keller on my iPod today, and he made a terrific point. He contrasted "Religion" and "Gospel" like this:

Religion says... "I obey, therefore I am accepted by God."
Gospel says... "I am accepted by God, therefore I obey."

The default tendency of the human heart is to follow Religion instead of Gospel. We want to work for God's approval. We want to try just a little bit harder so we will be a little more blessed. We can know we are saved by faith alone, but then not live like this is true. Jesus is our Saviour at conversion, but then our own efforts become our new substitute Saviour afterwards. We can embrace a "Christ And..." outlook on life without even realizing it.

What is the antidote to a "Christ And..." mentality?
Go back to the cross. As Horton says: "If the pulpit is not committed to this utter centrality of the Cross [emphasis mine], then our preaching, however, brilliant, is doomed to sterility and failure."

If a sermon is going to have any real life-giving power--the kind of power that comes from Gospel instead of Religion--then we have to preach the cross. The message of the Gospel is that Jesus paid it all, and there's nothing more we can add. Nothing else we can do to earn God's approval. Any obedience, any fruit needs to flow from a love and appreciation of what Jesus has already done.

Friday Musings

2006-06-30T04:13:00.000-07:00

Still Glad You Left?
Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock should have stayed at ISU for another year. They should have come back and learned from a coach who really is going to coach instead of letting them run the team. But the allure of the NBA and the big bucks was too great. And where did it get them? Last pick in the draft for Blalock. Not even drafted for Stinson. Which isn't a huge surprise to me. Curtis' three-point shot is about as pretty as me pitching horse-shoes. He's a guy who can put his head down, go to the hoop, and make something happen. In college, anyways. That mentality won't get you far in the NBA. Blalock may stick, and it was fun watching his smooth ball-handling the past few years. The biggest hurdle for him is becoming a guy who is consistent, night-in and night-out, and who doesn't get taken out of his game when his shot isn't falling. So long boys--your time at ISU had some highlights, but ultimately will be remembered as a disappointment because of what could have been.

I Can't Help Myself
After Tristan broke the news to me that he was writing again, I told him he was going to have to earn his way back onto Friday Musings. "You can't just take 3 months off without a single post and expect people to jump back on the wagon again." Well, I stand corrected. If you write a post about softball like this, I can make an exception.

Lance Armstrong to Ride Ragbrai?
I wouldn't have believed it if wasn't on official site. Thanks to Keith Murphy for the heads up. He won't be doing the whole ride, but still. Pretty crazy. Said Lance: "My Julys are free now."

Genesis 23

2006-06-25T17:20:00.000-07:00

Today I spoke at Countryside, and the audio is available here.

I am always looking to improve, so feedback is welcome.

Friday Musings

2006-06-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

It's a bird…it's a plane…it's another movie!
Those of you who know me well (as in family), know that I was a bit of a Superman nut as a little kid. The 1978 movie is one of the first that I can remember watching (on TV--not in the theaters). I loved it all--the flying, the laser vision, the rescuing, and the great music which I ran around humming, with a blanket-as-a-cape tucked into my t-shirt. Unfortunately, there are embarassing home movies to prove all this. I was a little overboard, but I was also 5 years old.

After the first couple movies, the franchise quickly went downhill. Thankfully I don't have any memories of films III and IV. I grew up and moved on. So when I heard they were coming out with a new Superman franchise, the skeptic in me quickly decided it wouldn't be any good. There's only one Christopher Reeve.

However I have discovered a couple pieces of info which have perked the interest of my inner child. Firstly, this movie is supposed to follow the original two films, and so it isn't trying to recreate everything from scratch (even though the scenery has been updated for the 21st century). From that standpoint, it sounds like both a tribute to the classic films and a continuation of the story. More importantly, it is getting very good reviews so far. So I have to admit: I'm excited to see it. But I promise to stay away from the capes this time.

How to find this blog from Google
It is interesting to discover the different ways people stumble upon this blog via Google. Here are few recent ones:

What are the goliaths in your life, sermon
The #2 result. Somehow, I don't think this guy found what he was looking for.

tristan guthrie
Page 3. It would be higher if he left more comments here.

steve deace des moines
#1 result. Steve: if you are reading this, leave me a comment. And good job on the new radio show as well.

"keith murphy" des moines
Page 1. Right below Keith's new blog.

Pretty cool, although I'm pretty sure that I haven't written much yet that is worthy of finding. Give me time.

The Valle Drive-In

2006-06-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

One change that comes with parenthood? Going to the movies.

It wasn't that long ago when taking my wife out for dinner and a movie wasn't a big deal. It's not like we went to a new release every week--after all, theaters are pricey these days. But there's a place down the road where you can get popcorn, pop, and admission for $5 (for older releases) that we enjoyed. I'd say we saw maybe one movie a month in our pre-parent days.

That all changes when you have a baby, and we hadn't been out for a movie date once since our little one was born three months ago. Until last night that is. Somehow, we got to thinking about drive-ins, and our fond memories of them growing up. There used to be one in Ames (long since closed), where mom and dad took us kids a few times to lie in the back of a sweltering station wagon, wear pajamas, and eat candy we brought along. Lauren used to go to one in Cedar Falls that is also now closed.

Somewhere, we heard about a drive-in still open near Newton, and on a whim, we loaded up the car and headed out, baby in tow. She fell asleep on the way over and didn't wake up until we were home, so that was nice. We had a great time.

So if you have kids (or not), live near Newton, and want to do something out of the ordinary, check out the Valle Drive-In. It was about a 30 minute drive from Des Moines. $7 for adults, free for kids. Pack your own pop, snacks, and pillows. Usually they have a double-feature--check out the link above for listings. Click here for the Google map.

The Prodigal Returns

2006-06-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

This is for my friend Tristan, who after many years of eating from the troughs of the PC wasteland, is about to purchase a Mac:

To borrow from a more well-known story: "Bring quickly the best robe (the festive robe of honor) and put it on him; and give him a ring for his hand and sandals for his feet. And bring out that wheat-fattened calf and kill it; and let us revel and feast and be happy and make merry!"

So Long, Chris Love

2006-06-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

It is always a shock and surprise when you hear of some young athlete dying suddenly in the prime of life. Former ISU quarterback Chris Love died of cancer earlier this week at the age of 24. As Brent Blum wrote on CycloneNation:

Love never received much attention. He didn’t put up gaudy numbers. All he did was go out and get his work done, day-after-day. He was by all accounts a fantastic teammate and a great man. In all families, you need your bread-winners and stage-grabbers. But just as important you need someone in the shadows working hard to keep the family thriving. To keep it together. And that’s what Cris was. A leading part of the Cardinal and Gold family. Forever a Cyclone.

My heart goes out to Chris' family. Deaths like this remind me that life is so very short. And at the end of it all, it is not the rewards and accolades of this brief life that matter.

Only one life, 'twill soon be passed.
Only what's done for Christ will last.

Preaching Christ Alone (pt. 3)

2006-06-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Problem #3 with sermons today? According to the article Preaching Christ Alone it is Carelessness: "Unfortunately, too much of the preaching we come across these days does not even have the merit of attempting a faithful exposition of the Scriptures, as these preceding methods do."

Horton quotes John Calvin on the Roman Catholic messages of his day:

"Nay, what one sermon was there from which old wives might not carry off more whimsies than they could devise at their own fireside in a month? For as sermons were usually then divided, the first half was devoted to those misty questions of the schools which might astonish the rude populace, while the second contained sweet stories and amusing speculations by which the hearers might be kept awake. Only a few expressions were thrown in from the Word of God, that by their majesty they might procure credit for these frivolities." [emphasis added]

Calvin is describing a message where the substance doesn't come from the Bible. Rather, the Bible is a kind of encyclopedia of verses that may be turned to when it matches up with what the preacher has already decided to say.

This isn't always an obviously bad approach. Why? Because the message may still be true and beneficial. People may learn. People may grow. But it's a bad idea--like riding a motorcycle without a helmet. It may be fine most of the time, but proves fatal the rest of the time. If I get in the habit of finding verses that line up with what I want to say, then I will never ask what God wants to say. As Horton says: "Good communicators can get away with the lack of content by their witty, anecdotal style, but they are still unfaithful as ministers of the Word, even if they help people and keep folks coming back for more."

Reformission Rev. Review

2006-06-13T12:27:00.000-07:00

I recently read Mark Driscoll's new book Confessions of a Reformission Rev. It is the story of how Mars Hill Church grew from a dozen people meeting in Mark's house to a gathering of thousands in Seattle--one of the least-churched cities in the nation.

It is an easy, engaging, page-turning read that is hard to set down. Mark is very honest about the challenges and pitfalls his church has faced at each stage of growth. His passion for reaching the lost is evident. You may not agree with all that he has to say, but you will be challenged. More than anything else, this story strikes a blow against the complacent attitude toward soul-winning that is so easy to slide into.

In essence, what Mark wants to see is churches becoming more missional. In times past, the term "missions" brought to mind going to foreign lands to reach people from non-Western, non-churched cultures. Yet there is a growing realization that the majority of Americans have had little or no exposure to the gospel and we need to start looking at our own neighborhoods like a missionary would. This means taking the message of the gospel and presenting it in terms understood by those who have never heard it before.

Mark has a "Martin Luther" type of candor that has brought both friends and critics. Regardless, he is an enthusiastic character who loves Jesus and wants to see others come to know Him. If you are interested, check out Driscoll's Resurgence website for articles and resources from such assorted folks as John Piper, Ed Stetzer, Josh Harris, and Charles Spurgeon.

Preaching Christ Alone (pt. 2)

2006-06-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

The second deficiency that Michael Horton finds in today's preaching is what he calls Verse-By-Verse Exposition:

I remember the pastor going through even rather brief books like Jude over a period of several months and there we would be, pen and paper in hand as though we were in a classroom, following his outline--either printed in the bulletin or on an overhead projector. Words would be taken apart like an auto mechanic taking apart an engine, conducting an extensive study on the root of that word in the Greek language.

His description of such preaching leaves out most of the specifics, but I think I know what he is referring to. It tends to be very specific, very detailed, and very focused on the particulars of each word. Much time is spent delving into clauses, explaining the original meanings of words, and the various interpretations for each verse.

This is something I have to be careful about. My two years of Bible college gave me lots of knowledge (including Greek), but the problem with knowledge is that it puffs up. It can also make you look down your nose at common, everyweek preaching because it isn't as intellectual as those heady college-level classes. Looking back, I can remember during my first few years out of Emmaus wishing that more sermons were as engaging as a Dr. MacLeod lecture on Romans. Over time, however, I have come to realize that there is a difference between classroom instruction and preaching. This should be obvious, but it's not. The goal of classroom instruction is learning. Learning is a commendable goal (and I am very appreciative of my Bible college years), but learning doesn't necessarily lead to a changed life. What I found out in my post-college years was that even though I wasn't being engaged by the rigors of academic Bible study God was still teaching me much through the school of real life. And through the struggles and experience of time, much of the coursework that had been mere head-knowledge before was made real to my heart.

Horton identifies four short-comings of the verse-by-verse approach:

(1) A focus on root-words can be misleading because it ignores how a word was actually used in the ancient languages.

(2) We can miss the forest for the trees. This would be like using a microscope to examine only the smile of Mona Lisa instead of stepping back and admiring the whole painting.

(3) We can forget that the Bible contains different genres in its many books. Poetry, proverbs, history, lectures, personal letters, etc. We shouldn't try to diagram a verse from the Psalms the same way we do in Romans.

(4) There is a tendency to "remove the congregation from Scripture". In striving to investigate each word so thoroughly people can get the impression that Bible study is far too complex and deep for the ordinary reader to undertake. And if we don't struggle to relate the passage to the "here-and-now" of life, we can be left with cold mental agreement but no change of the heart.

I'm wondering if this commits the opposite error of the moralistic sermon. If the moralistic message sacrifices knowledge for practicality then perhaps the verse-by-verse message sacrifices practicality for knowledge? I suspect that the real issue for both these approaches is that both knowledge and practicality (in and of themselves) are lacking.

What do you think?

Friday Musings

2006-06-09T06:38:00.000-07:00

Murphy's Law
I have always been a fan of WHO TV-13 sports reporter Keith Murphy. He is a smart guy who usually has interesting things to say about the Iowa sports scene. If I read a blog more than a couple times, it is time to add it to the links. Murphy's Law is a shotgun, stream-of-consciousness read, but he has good things to say. Today he had a couple quick bits on Dan McCarney and Greg McDermott:

Athlon Sports names Dan McCarney one of the five most UNDERrated college football coaches. Something for Mac's critics to think about. Remember, before McCarney, no bowl games in memory and no wins over Iowa. Since McCarney, five bowls in six years, 6 wins over Iowa in 8 years. ISU needs to finish games, and not get so conservative, but Mac's in no danger. Shouldn't be either.

If you're a Cyclone fan concerned about Greg McDermott's ability to pull big recruits, worry about something else. Craig Brackins is just the beginning. McDermott will succeed at ISU.

I guess I agree on both counts, but Mac has got to start winning close games. It absolutely KILLS me to remember last year, when we lost 3 OVERTIME games and another close one to Baylor.

Modern Reformation Magazine
In addition to the article I'm currently posting on (Christ Centered Preaching), there are lots of interesting topics at this site. Interesting, thought-provoking articles are always appreciated, so I will have to spend more time there looking around.

Preaching Christ Alone (pt. 1)

2006-06-09T00:52:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled across the website for Modern Reformation Magazine. It bills itself as "a bi-monthly magazine dealing with theology, apologetics and cultural issues." Michael Horton is the Editor-in-Chief, and is also a professor at Westminster Seminary in California.

In an article titled Preaching Christ Alone Horton identifies what he sees as four chief problems with much of contemporary preaching. Since this is a subject I am thinking about right now, I'm going to interact with these in a four-post series. Michael identifies the first trap that sermons often fall into as Moralism:

Whenever the story of David and Goliath is used to motivate you to think about the "Goliaths" in your life and the "Seven Stones of Victory" used to defeat them, you have been the victim of moralistic preaching. The same is true whenever the primary intention of the sermon is to give you a Bible hero to emulate or a villain to teach a lesson, like "crime doesn't pay," or, "sin doesn't really make you happy." Reading or hearing the Bible in this way turns the Scriptures into a sort of Aesop's Fables or Grimm's Fairy Tales, where the story exists for the purpose of teaching a lesson to the wise and the story ends with, "and they lived happily ever after."

I can easily think of lots of sermons I've heard like this. I can also think of plenty of times when I have done this. This past school-year I had the dubious distinction of being the "AWANA Pastor". That meant I did a 15-minute talk for the kids at the end of the night. It's easy to moralize with kids. So the story about the lame man that was lowered through a roof to see Jesus became a lesson on "don't let anything stop you from coming to God" instead of "Jesus is willing to heal and forgive sin no matter how we come to Him." Joseph's time in an Egyptian prison was an example to "be patient in hard times" instead of "God was teaching Joseph patience through hard times."

I think the temptation to moralize comes from the desire to be practical. People want messages to be easy. The common refrain is: "Just tell me what I need to do." And so we come up with sermons focusing on practical things like reading the Bible, praying more, and being involved at church. The problem is that when you tell someone what to do you are setting up LAW instead of GRACE. The law is the very definition of practicality. It also has no power to really change us. Following Jesus isn't neatly summarized by any sort of three-step process. Rather, it is faith from first to last.

As I mentioned in my last entry, I'm preparing to speak soon on Genesis 23--the story of Abraham buying a small piece of land to bury his wife. Anything in the Old Testament is especially easy to moralize on. The temptation is to treat Abraham as the hero of the story and hold him up as an example to be emulated. This is easy to do because there is much to admire about Abraham. He followed God from his homeland to be a stranger and a pilgrim. He believed God in spite of many obstacles. He is our "father of faith". But if I let my message be "we need to have faith like Abraham" I have slipped into moralizing (even if I'm talking about faith!). Abraham's story isn't remarkable because of his faith, but because of God's calling. As Horton writes:

But in the biblical view, the biblical characters are not examples of their victory, but of God's! The life of David is not a testimony to David's faithfulness, surely, but to God's and for us to read any part of that story as though we could attain the Gospel (righteousness) by the law (obedience) is the age-old error of Cain, the Pharisees, the Galatian Judaizers, the Pelagians, Semi-Pelagians, Arminians, and Higher Life proponents.

The key question is: "Who is the hero of the story?"

If the hero of the story is a person, a principle, or a proverb then I will be moralizing. The True Hero of every story in the Bible is Jesus. He is the culmination of all that God has done in bringing lost people to salvation. Good examples don't have the power to change lives--only Jesus does.

What? Friday Musings!

2006-06-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

Dwindling Visits
I just received my weekly email summary of visits to this website, and the results clearly show a declining readership. Which is to be expected, as I have posted little in the way of interesting content or even "Friday Musings". As Steve Deace would say, this blog is "mediocrity at its finest".
Speaking of Steve Deace...
The news was released this week that afternoon sports radio personality Steve Deace will be leaving KXNO for greener pastures at big brother WHO. Steve is an interesting guy to listen to, because he often strays from typical sports radio topics into more weightier subjects like religion and politics. He isn't afraid to voice his opinion and is very public with his faith. As Keith Murphy said: "Steve Deace always had a lot more on his mind than sports. Some listeners didn't like that, but the guess is here they're going to miss Deace on KXNO. He's headed over to WHO radio to provide a long overdue conservative voice (kidding). Best of luck to Steve in his new gig. He's earned it."

Genesis 23
Due to the busyness of my wife's pregnancy, my daughter's birth, and weddings galore, it has been a while since I preached. But I am signed up for June 25th at Countryside and looking forward to the opportunity. I may (or may not) post some of my thoughts leading up to this, but I will post a link to the audio afterwards. I am also using the occassion to ask myself the question: "what are the big-ticket elements of a message that brings glory to God and encouragement/exhortation to the audience?"

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 9)

2006-05-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

The Holy Spirit and the Arts, by Reg Grant seeks to explore how the artist who is a Christian should be influenced by the presence of the Spirit in the creative act. He identifies two traps to watch out for: viewing the Holy Spirit either as "Holy Tool" or "Holy Lackey". Then he goes on to compare Martin Luther and Thomas Munzer--two men who personified radically different approaches to relating to the Spirit. He portrays Luther as embodying a right relationship to the Spirit and art, since he sought to keep his imagination anchored to the truths of Scripture. In contrast, Munzer's view of the Spirit was soley subjective, and not tied to any other authority. Though both men used their imaginations to create art, the fruits of their efforts differed greatly.

Not anything terribly new or exciting in this article for me, but the link is above if you are interested.

Friday Musings

2006-05-05T13:13:00.000-07:00

Cinco De Mayo
I don't have anything special to say about the Mexican Independence day, but I did hit El Rodeo with the guys for lunch. In my book, it is the best dollar-for-food value in Des Moines for Mexican food. Tough to beat the "Speedy Gonzalez" for under $5.00. Lauren and I are also going out tonight for the events at Valley Junction. Should be a good time, although I hope it warms up a little.

Evangelicals and the Movies
Shaun Groves has highlighted two interesting articles (1, 2) this week relating to how Christians in America relate to movies. The first is titled Evangelical Childlike Hysteria & The Da Vinci Code and expresses frustration at the "nanny state" mindset among some that would keep us from engaging and interacting with the movies. This perspective views films like "The Da Vinci Code" as dire threats which are about to sweep away the faith of millions who can't think critically for themselves. The second, The Passion Reloaded, reveals the failure of the same mindset when applied to movies that do promote a Christian message. There were those who hailed Mel Gibson's film as the greatest tool for evangelism in 2000 years. And though there were doubtlessly some who were reached, it failed to live up to the promise. George Barna found that less than one-tenth of one percent who saw the film made a profession of faith. To me, it points us back to the basic need for Christ to be shared person-by-person, relationship-by-relationship. Movies may sometimes facilitate that, but there are no shortcuts.

Friday Musings

2006-04-28T06:05:00.000-07:00

More Kudos for the Flying Mango
I've talked about how the Flying Mango is one of my favorite restaurants before. I saw yesterday that the Des Moines Register's food critic released his review in the Datebook. The anonymous "W.E. Moranville" had high praise for the BBQ, calling it "Five-Star Food", and "arguably the best barbecue in town." You aren't going to get an argument with me. This is perhaps the most-overlooked spot in town in my book. If you haven't been you should give it a try.

United 93
The first movie about 9/11 is being released today, recounting the tragedy of flight 93 and the passengers who fought back. Unbelievably, it currently has a 95% "fresh rating" on Rotten Tomatoes, which is very impressive. Especially for a film dealing with this kind of weighty subject matter. In fact, some have been critical of the director for doing this project so soon after the tragedy. I can understand those for whom the film is too painful to watch. However, I also think it is time to tell the story of the heroes whose bravery against terrorists deserves to be remembered.

Friday Musings

2006-04-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, Golf
Tomorrow I am going to try getting out on the golf course for the first time this year. It won't be pretty (really it never is). But I'm looking forward to it.

Yes! NBA Playoffs!
Can't you just feel the excitement in the air? Just kidding, I really could almost care less. Even though the Bulls are in it. I heard on the radio yesterday that the NBA set an attendance record this year, but I have no idea how. It has quickly become the least interesting of professional sports, even though I love basketball. If I had to rank the pro sports in the United States, they would be:

1. NFL
2. MLB
3. PGA
4. NBA

A New Link For Greek Geeks
This is for the couple readers out there who make use of online New Testament Greek tools. I found a much better site than the one I had linked to previously (www.greekbible.com). It is www.zhubert.com. Some of the niceties are: the ability to "hover" over words to see things like definition/case/tense, a parallel version of the NET Bible (with all translator notes!), word-usage charts, Strong's dictionary and MUCH more. I am just beginning to explore, but it appears to be the Swiss-army knife tool for those who use Greek on the web.

Mike's Top Ten Online Biblical Study Resources
When I went to school at Emmaus, one of the guys who I took Greek with was Mike. He is a keen intellect, avid reader, deep thinker and all-around good guy. Right now he and his wife live in the UK, where he is conducting a "literary-historical reading of John 21." Just don't ask me what that is. Anyways, I just found his blog, where he listed his favorite online study resources. That's where discovered the Zhubert site, and I am eager to explore more of his recommendations. Be forewarned: this isn't material for the faint-of-heart: it is geared more towards a seminary level. He also has a site for film reviews at imagefacts.blogspot.com

Good Friday

2006-04-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

It seems appropriate today to pause and think about the last words of Jesus as He suffered on the cross. Each of the seven contains riches of insight into the person and character of our Saviour.

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.

I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.

Dear woman, here is your son,

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

I am thirsty.

It is finished.

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

Lord Jesus, I thank you for being
Forgiveness for the enemy,
Welcome for a thief,
Compassion to a mother,
Forsaken from your Father,
Thirsty for me,
Faithful to the last,
Trusting in death.

Friday Musings

2006-04-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

Reinstalling My World
I took the plunge to Windows XP yesterday here at work, and so have spent the day watching progress meters and hunting for CDs to reinstall the necessary applications to get actual work done. Not a fun experience, especially when it seems I have to hunt down a bunch of prerequisites before I can even install Microsoft .NET. What fun. But look on the bright side: I have time to write Friday Musings!

Another Birthday
We celebrated my birthday by going to The Flying Mango this week. It is a cozy little Des Moines restaurant/caterer with great smoked meat (of course) and Cajun dishes. The BBQ is so good that I’ve never tried any of their other items, but that’s ok. I had the baby-back ribs this time and they were fall-off-the-bone tender. An added bonus was that it was our first time out to eat since Nora was born–quite the treat. Also, I received a NET Bible, which will be much-appreciated study-companion tool.

Another Blogger
Congrats to Jenica (and Andy), who just got their first blog off the ground. Be careful: it’s addicting. Nice pictures! You get extra credit if you can get Andy to write anything there.

The Masters
Nothing says spring like The Masters golf tournament, which stands alone in my mind as the best of the majors. Here are five reasons why:

1. It is always played at Augusta National, so the memories from the tournament are synonymous with the course itself.

2. It occurs in the spring, right at the point when you are dying to get out and play.

3. No commercials.

4. The silly tinkling music in the background which is strangely inspirational.

5. Watching the winner put on the dorky green jacket and still loving every minute of it.

Apple Hits Grand Slam

2006-04-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

Apple announced software today that lets you run Windows on the new Intel-based Macs. Get ready for the cheap PC-clone-makers out there to just get rolled by Apple now. Think of all the fence-sitters who want a Mac but have been too scared because they have some pet Windoze software they want to run. No excuses now. They can have the elegance of Mac, use it for pictures, movies, DVDs, and Internet surfing, and still run whatever else they might want to. And all at blazing native speed.

Hope Springs Eternal

2006-04-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

Opening day is a special one in baseball, because it means that "next year" is finally here. And one of these seasons, "next year" is going to be "this year". GO CUBS!!!

Friday Musings

2006-03-31T13:56:00.000-08:00

The Final Four
I am looking forward to the games tomorrow, and thinking that this year's edition of the Final Four has the potential to be a very memorable one. No one is going to be missing the #1 seeds. You gotta love a school like George Mason making it to Indy. It is the best underdog tourney run that I have seen in my years of watching the event, and their win over Uconn last weekend was one of the most exciting games I have watched in a long time. I would love to see a LSU vs. George Mason championship. If not, at least I can still look forward to "One Shining Moment" at the end of the game.

Who's Afraid of Blogging?
The two readers out there who may have been reading my reflections on the Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? book might be wondering what has happened to the regular entries in that series. Rest assured, I haven't abandoned the book midway and will try to resume my reading, although I don't expect to be posting the remainder of the chapters with the same regularity as the previous posts. I know that Nate and Tristan are thinking to themselves "I told you so..." and they are right. If I can post one chapter per month "post-baby" I'll be happy.

Food, food, food...
An overlooked benefit of having a baby are all the great meals that people bring you the week afterwards. Each evening brings the anticipation about what new dish will be dropped off. Some of the highlights:

Chicken casserole with stuffing and gravy on top. You can never go wrong with stuffing and gravy.

"BBQ"-flavored chicken with a wonderful pasta-salad side.

Mom's homemade pot-pie. This had a very flavorful and crispy crust.

Brownie dessert with a chocolate, whipped cream and heath topping. A singularly exquisite dessert which we hope to obtain the recipe for soon.

Everything was delicious, and we are just coming back down to the reality of making our own dinner again. Which is fine, but I will look back fondly on "free homemade meals" week.

Friday Musings

2006-03-24T20:56:00.000-08:00

Coaching Carousel
This past week has been quite an eventful one as far as basketball coaches in the state of Iowa are concerned. Last week brought the news that Morgan would be canned, on the heels of a disappointing season and his involvement with a shady scheduling outfit. I don't think he did anything wrong, it was just the scapegoat for a new AD to get his own guy in there. Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock announcing their departure may have done more to seal the deal as next year wasn't looking any brighter. My first reaction to McDermott wasn't overwhelming excitement--I was expecting maybe a higher-profile guy. But then again, he has taken UNI to three straight NCAA tournaments. There's no question he can coach, but whether he will be able to bring in the recruits to compete in the Big 12? That remains to be seen. Personally, I'll take a lesser-talent team that overachieves over what we had this past year. Good luck to the new Mac.

Marcus Fizer
Former ISU basketball player Marcus Fizer is one of my all-time favorites to don the cardinal-and-gold. A first-team All-American and Big 12 MVP in 1999-2000, he led ISU to perhaps its greatest season ever. He carried that team, leading them to a Big 12 regular season championship, Big 12 tourney championship, and within a breath of the Final Four (we were robbed). But as the third overall pick in the NBA draft, he has been a bust as a professional. But check out this article I stumbled across this week. It appears that Marcus has found the Lord. He thanks God for the humbling experience of being jilted from the NBA, and lists basketball, the Bible, and his babies as the most important things in his life right now. It is good to hear that Marcus has found what matters in life and I look forward to meeting him someday in glory.

March Madness?
Before Nora was born I was really hoping that the baby would come on the eve of the NCAA tournament. That way I could watch lots of games with my week off of work and all the time in the hospital. I pictured cradling our happy newborn and introducing her to the pinnacle of sporting events while she gazed on in trance-like wonder. All the parents out there are chuckling to themselves right now, and they are right. I did get part of my wish: Nora was born the day before the tournament began. Otherwise, I was waaaay off. There really was no way to understand how extremely tired I would be and that I would gladly choose sleep over watching basketball (I know, pretty crazy). The one exception was watching the Iowa and UNI games in the hospital, but I was still operating on adrenaline at that point. On that note, my condolences to the Hawks. That one hurt as much as Hampton.

Nora Mae

2006-03-18T14:07:00.000-08:00

As of this past Wednesday at 4:24 in the afternoon, I am a dad. In case you care about the stats, she is 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20.75 inches long. Our little Nora is such a precious gift and Lauren and I are so grateful for her. The time since Tuesday night when we went to the hospital seems like such a whirlwind that I can't even remember it all right now. It is definitely nice to be home again, even if we don't have the nurses' help whenever we need it. The whole process is sort of a surreal, out-of-body experience. I knew that there was a baby growing inside my wife for the past 9 months, but to actually drive home with her and hold her in my arms is something else. Miraculous is the only word to describe it, and I am overwhelmed with the blessing which God has allowed us to partake of.

It's...almost...here...

2006-03-14T13:41:00.000-08:00

After the long long wait, Lauren and I are headed in to the hospital tonight to be induced (er, I mean she will be induced). Being five days overdue and more uncomfortable by the day, she is more than ready. And with some of the blood tests being a bit abnormal and slightly elevated blood pressure they decided its time. So we'll be at the hospital at 8:00 sharp. And if all goes well be meeting our new family member tomorrow sometime. Your prayers for a safe labor and healthy baby are appreciated! I'll post an update when I get a chance.

2 Seconds

2006-03-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Is that enough time to inbound the basketball from mid-court, take two dribbles, shoot from 3-point range, and put back the rebound? Apparently it is, since that is what happened to my church-league basketball team today. It was a 55-55 tie before the ill-fated play that ended our season. The ref near the basket shrugged his shoulders and said "Count it."

Friday Musings

2006-03-03T08:32:00.000-08:00

David Crowder & Third Day
Sunday night Lauren and I watched these two bands play in Ames. (Thanks for the tickets Nate!) Going into the show, I had a couple thoughts. I was excited to see David Crowder for the first time. And I wasn't quite sure how Third Day would be. Don't get me wrong--I like Third Day, especially the older stuff. But it seems they dropped off a bit on their more recent efforts and I haven't found myself listening to them for a while. Turns out there was nothing to worry about--it was an *awesome* concert from both of them. Third Day may be older, more mainstream, and less original than when I first saw them in 1996, but hearing them play favorites like "Consuming Fire" and "Thief" took me right back. The crowd was great, and singing "Blessed Assurance" with 2500+ people gave me goosebumps. You can read Mark's glowing summary of the night here, where he quotes Mac as saying: "This wasn't the biggest night of the tour, but it was definitely the best." More pictures here.

Hoosiers
My wife and I watched this classic last night. I've seen it many times, but it has been a while. It is the greatest sports movie ever made. And it makes me want to go out and play basketball immediately after viewing. Something else I appreciated last night were all the beautifully scenic, nostalgic shots of rural Indiana. Which reminds me of Iowa and how much I enjoyed growing up on a farm and shooting hoops against the side of the shed. I know, it's cheesy, but I don't care.

American Idol
This is the top search on Technorati.com right now. We saw it for the first time this season on Tuesday and didn't think the women were a very strong group of singers at all. And some were just flat-out annoying. Why do they keep singing old songs like "Wind Beneath My Wings"? Obviously Simon was dishing out the criticism pretty hard. I'm not a big fan of the show, just curious on how many hits this will get me.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 8)

2006-02-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

As I have continued posting to the series from Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? I have to say this: the past couple essays were a bit tedious for me to get through. As a result, I'm afraid I didn't have much interaction or thoughts to contribute. Not that there wasn't some good content there, but it wasn't anything really new or exciting to me. I even thought about taking a little break from the series to avoid getting into a rut. But tonight I decided to keep plugging ahead, and I am definitely glad I did after reading Richard Averbeck's essay titled: God, People, and the Bible: The Relationship between Illumination and Biblical Scholarship.

I don't know if anyone else has been following along via the links to bible.org. It's really OK if you're not--I am writing here more for my own benefit than anyone else's. However, this is an essay that is really worth reading for yourself. In my mind it is the best of the lot so far. My thoughts and response are still percolating a bit in my head, but I really want to camp on some of the things in this piece. If you get bogged down with some of the vocabulary in the begining, that's alright--stay with the train of thought as best you can and you will be rewarded with some great insights about the purpose of Bible study and the Holy Spirit's involvement when we approach God's word.

Here are the major points from Averbeck's essay that stuck out to me:

1. All communication is primarily relational and involves meaning, intent, and response.

2. The Bible is a special class of communication in that it was written through inspiration of the Holy Spirit (meaning & intent) and is understood by us through illumination of the Holy Spirit (response).

3. Biblical scholarship needs to be centered in relational communication; meaning cannot be divorced from response.

4. Biblical scholarship needs be grounded in God's intention for us: to grow in love for God and others.

5. Biblical scholarship needs to be an act of worship, done in the presence of God.

6. Biblical scholarship needs to engage the whole person: heart, soul, and mind.

7. Biblical scholarship needs to be done on the Bible's own terms, using the best tools we have, while recognizing our own subjectivity and limitations.

"Not-so-chilly" Chili

2006-02-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

Here is version #2 of a chili I invented for two recent cookoffs: one at work last week, the other at church today. I really like it and have gotten positive reviews also. I won 2nd place in the "Specialty" category today. It has sort of a "sweet-and-spicy" vibe, and I credit my mom with the brown sugar making an entrance.

Ingredients
1.5 lb. ground beef
0.5 lb. Italian sausage (ground beef can be substituted)
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
46 oz. tomato juice
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans (rinsed)
1 can kidney beans (rinsed)
5 tablespoons brown sugar
4 tablespoons diced jalapenos
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
dash of cumin
dash of ginger

Instructions
1. In large skillet, combine meat, onion, and green pepper. Cook until meat is browned. Drain grease.
2. Pour meat mixture into crock-pot and add the remaining ingredients.
3. Heat in crock-pot for 4-5 hours.
4. Enjoy!

Friday Musings

2006-02-24T09:15:00.000-08:00

Google for Your Cell
I just found a cool use of Google for cell-phone users. Wondering about the forecast? Just text-message "weather" + your zip code to "GOOGL" (46645) and you'll get a message back with the 3-day weather prediction. Or maybe you want to know what time the latest movie is playing. Just send "glory road" (or whatever you want to watch) + your zip and get back a listing of theaters and showtimes. Click the link for more cool examples.

Waiting
We are now at T-minus 13 days and counting until the due date. You would think that after 9 months, a couple more weeks would be a breeze. Yet I still feel like a kid waiting for his birthday and asking his mom repeatedly "how much longer?". Lauren is growing more uncomfortable, but doing as well as could be expected for being ready to give birth.

Favorite Translation?
Over on the EBCAlumni.net website there is a poll going on now, namely "Which Bible translation do you prefer?". The current breakdown is shown at right.

The NAS has a commanding lead right now, probably due to its precise word-for-word rendering. Good choice, but I find it a bit clunky for general reading, and so my vote goes to the NIV. Of course when its time to do serious exegetical work, its time to pull out the Greek.

One version that I see missing from the list is the free NET Bible, which I have done some reading of online. From what I can see, the translators notes are awesome and provide a lot of very valuable insight on why a particular rendering was chosen. I think I need to order myself a hard-copy at some point, and it could become my version of choice.

There are also a couple inclusions in the list that I would not classify as translation, particularly "The Message" which is more of an interpretive work or loose commentary. I'm a little scared that it has 2 votes. Anyone care to chime in here on what their favorite version is, and why?

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 7)

2006-02-21T18:13:00.000-08:00

The Spirit's Role in Corporate Worship is the title of the essay by Timothy J. Ralston. Worship seems to be the topic du jour among evangelicals today, judging by the number of titles recently released covering it. A word search on Amazon using "worship" reveals a wide spectrum of books covering the what, when, why, where, etc. of how we should praise our Creator. Ralston points out that this renewed emphasis is a good thing, since "Worship is a central emphasis of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation."

However, the question that Ralston gives at the beginning of the essay is this: what do we mean when we speak about worship? He wants to get past the current catch-phrases and vocabulary used to describe worship and make sure it has a Biblical basis:

Great danger lurks here. Popular descriptions are theological sandbars. They can shift our focus from God’s inspired objective statements about his role in our worship to prejudices formed by the feelings aroused through a particular style of music or service. The Holy Spirit’s role in corporate worship becomes a function of our response rather than an objective theological reality. We miss the more basic and important roles that the Holy Spirit assumes whenever God’s people gather to worship. The Old Testament provides many examples of God’s condemnation and rejection of worship that forgot or ignored his expectations. Even if we offer worship with the sincerest of motives, we overlook what God says at our peril.

He proceeds to examine the Spirit's role in relation to corporate worship from seven perspectives:

1. Covenant
Worship is only acceptable within the parameters of covenant relationship with God testified by the Spirit.

2. Community
Worship needs to be rooted in the community of faith, which the Spirit helps to identify.

3. Sanctuary
The location of the Spirit influences worship: from the tabernacle of the Old Testament to the indwelling temple of our bodies in the New.

4. Unity
The Holy Spirit works to bring unity, which Ralston identifies as "believers' common twofold allegiance: the Lordship of Christ over community and relational harmony within community." He also makes a good observation that unity "does not demand conformity or uniformity in thought or practice (as helpful as these might seem)."

5. Integrity
The Holy Spirit "provokes and judges those things which violate the demands of the covenant, pollute the holiness of the sanctuary, disturb its communal identity, mar its functional unity, or disqualify its witness and offerings."

6. Ministry
Ralston lists three areas in which the Holy Spirit functions in corporate worship. He instructs us through the reading of the word, reminds us through communion and baptism, and enables us via individual spiritual gifts.

7. Liberty
The Spirit works to minimize the tension between freedom and forms: "Form assumes and fosters liberty and creativity of expression. Conversely freedom can beget new forms that speak in fresh ways."

The essay does a good job of grounding communal worship in a historical Biblical context, and it is good to step back sometimes and take a wide-level view like he does here. Afterwards, he briefly examines popular terminology like "leading of the Spirit", "decency and order", "liberty of the Spirit", "quenching", etc. This section seemed to be a little less helpful to me than the previous points, although he does have a good reminder that we need to be careful about the language we use, since the "language of convenience for one generation usually becomes the theology for the next and conviction for those following."

Friday Musings

2006-02-17T07:24:00.000-08:00

Snow Day
After 63 degrees a couple days ago, we had real winter return to Iowa yesterday. With ice, snow, and cold. I decided to take the day off since it will probably be the closest thing we have to a "snow day" this year. It was nice to spend time with Lauren at home doing pretty much nothing.

A Good Day for Chili
We are having a chili-cookoff at work today, so I also spent the afternoon yesterday concocting my entry. I sampled a few bites, but the true test of a chili comes when you eat a whole bowl. My first impression was that it wasn't spicy enough, but settling overnight will change the taste also. If I'm happy with it, I may post the recipe here. One thing I am afraid of: work could be a dangerous place this afternoon due to so many partaking of the cold-weather cuisine.

Hero
Here's an overlooked DVD recommendation for you: Hero. It is a Chinese movie, and as such you have to live with either overdubbing or subtitles. But the effort is worthwhile and you will find an intriguing story, breathtaking scenery, stylized martial arts, and a wonderful score. For me to put a film into the highest tier (among my favorites), I have to watch it a couple times and still think it is great. This is one of those films for me. One thing to remember though: the story is a Chinese legend told through a narrative framework. As such, the martial arts scenes are idealized and not meant to be realistic. My rating: 5 stars.

Still a Hoosier at Heart?
It is telling that in spite of Alford's best season ever at Iowa, most Hawk fans still don't like the guy. And so here they sit, atop the Big 10 standings, and the talk is whether he will go to Indiana. This isn't unusual for successful coaches, but the twist is that most Iowa fans want him to go. With Davis stepping down yesterday, I think things are falling into place for that to happen. My prediction is that if Indiana offers him the job, he takes it. And Iowa fans won't be disappointed.

Another Loss at Hilton
Do we even need to talk about ISU anymore this year? I don't think so. They are imploding from within right now, with plenty of blame to go around. Blalock made news Wednesday by calling out the post players. And with 5 total rebounds they deserved it. But Will and the rest of the team have played lousy enough not to be pointing blame. Wayne has his work cut out for him, because right now this season is going down in flames.

True BBQ

2006-02-14T08:40:00.000-08:00

I realized today that it has been far too long since I have written about the topic this blog is named after: smoked meat. And I have a pet-peeve of mine that I have to get out in the open. It is about the incorrect usage of the term "Barbeque", or as it is often termed in shorthand usage: "BBQ". The travesty I speak of is to refer to "grilling" as "BBQ". These are two distinct culinary arts which should not be confused.

Grilling is the method used in most backyards to make hot-dogs, brats, hamburgers, or steaks. It involves high temperatures, meat placed directly over the flame, and short cooking times. Sometimes, chicken wings or ribs might be prepared in this fashion while basting them with barbeque-flavored sauce, but this still does not make it a BBQ. A grill looks like this:

BBQ is characterized by real smoke, low temperatures, long cooking times, and indirect heat. The meat is carefully prepared beforehand by using the right rub, or perhaps even a brine. It is an all-day process, and used to prepare delicacies like brisket, pork shoulder, turkey or ribs. Barbeque happens on a smoker like this:
or

Just wanted to clear that up lest there be any confusion in the minds of my readers. Even looking at pictures of smokers is enough to cause my mouth to start watering and my mind to start plotting the next occasion when I will fire mine up.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 6)

2006-02-13T06:24:00.000-08:00

JI Packer takes on the topic of how the Holy Spirit relates to issues of guidance in the essay The Ministry of the Spirit in Discerning the Will of God. It is a topic that Packer notes has received much attention lately, and has become for many a "source of intense personal anxiety." In my experience, it seems like the treatments I have read on the issue fall into two camps.

Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God is a good example of the first. He says: "Knowing God does not come through a program, a study, or a method. Knowing God comes through a relationship with a Person. This is an intimate love relationship with God. Through this relationship, God reveals Himself, His purposes, and His ways; and He invites you to join Him where He is already at work." He views guidance through the framework of relationship and outlines how we can know what God wants in the specific instances of our lives.

At the other end of the spectrum is a book like Decision Making and the Will of God by Gary Friesen. He shifts the burden of decision-making back into the rational realm by saying that God has given us freedom to choose (within the parameters of Scripture) when it comes to the issues of career, marriage, etc. In Friesen's perspective, we should be praying for wisdom to choose rather than specific guidance.

Packer seems to be responding to books like these which seem to try to make "God's will" into a stand-alone topic when he says: "...the problem is regularly discussed in too narrow terms, isolating it from God’s total ministry to his Church on earth in a way that is biblically improper, and that makes it both more difficult in itself, and more threatening to sensitive souls, than ever it ought to be." This is a great point. We can narrow our focus too much by asking a question like: "Will God give me exact guidance in this [fill in the blank] instance?" Maybe so, maybe not. There are a lot of Christians who can look at times in their life when God intervened and led them in a direction they would not have expected or chosen. There are also other times when His voice seems to be silent.

This anxiety over finding God's will is a new one according to Packer. Of the older saints, he says:

Informed by biblical theology and narrative, soaked in the biblical text itself, aiming always at the best for God’s cause and others’ good, and confident in God’s promise of guidance to the humble and prayerful (see Pss 5:8; 23:2–3; 25:8–9; 32:8–9; Jas 1:6), they sought to be made wise, prudent, and judicious, men and women of good judgment. They asked that God would thus enable them to see each time the course of action for which there was most to be said as they reviewed facts, took advice, measured their personal resources, surveyed circumstances, and calculated the consequences of possible choices.

At the end of the essay I was left feeling like there wasn't much else added to what I have read before. I somewhat agree with what Wayne Grudem wrote in the appendix of the book about this section: "But what I had hoped for, in addition to these valuable warnings, was a positive word about a moment-by-moment relationship with God the Holy Spirit that is pursued in subjection to the teachings of Scripture and constantly evaluated in light of Spirit-sanctified wisdom."

I think a "moment-by-moment" dependence on the Spirit is what God desires, although I am not always sure how this translates to my everyday life. When I am "living in accordance with the Spirit" (Rom 8) that will naturally lead to choices that line up with what God wants, even if I'm not receiving special revelation. At the same time I don't want to discount God's ability to speak through circumstances and impressions, even if that is more rare. I am reminded of what Jesus said in John 10: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." It would be a shame to miss the voice of the Shepherd--whether it comes through Scripture, the encouragement of a friend, or the conviction of the Spirit. I don't want to neglect to enter into a deep and vital relationship with God because I hold Him at a distance. Our Saviour does not stand aloof in heaven with arms crossed, but has poured the Spirit into our lives, and by that Spirit we cry "Daddy" and "Father".

Friday Musings

2006-02-10T06:27:00.000-08:00

Pesky Wildcats
I don't know what happens to the Hawks when they play at Northwestern, but it happened again on Wednesday. At least they can take solace in the fact that they are still in first place. Meanwhile, the Clones lost to the "Mildcats" of Kansas State in a close one. Stinson is playing well right now, but apparently no one else can step up to give him a hand. Where's Will Blalock? Where's the toughness to finish close games? Where's the free-throw shooting? NIT here we come.

Are We Talking About a Cartoon?
Muslims worldwide erupted in violence over a cartoon depicting Allah as being portrayed as--get this--violent. Yet another example of how Islam is unpeaceful to its core. Yet the media usually bends over backwards trying to remind us that these are the just the "extremists" and that Islam is really a peace-loving religion. Right. And grizzly bears make great pets.

The Winter Olympics
It seems like I don't get excited for the Olympics like I used to. Maybe it's because the 2-year rotation between summer and winter is too close together. Maybe there are too many events that really aren't sports. Or maybe we are just missing the Tonya Harding / Nancy Kerrigan scandal.

Oh Hawaii

2006-02-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

This was taken a year ago on our honeymoon to Kauai, returning from a half-day trip to the Na Pali coast. A nice diversion in the midst of Iowa winter.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 5)

2006-02-06T21:20:00.000-08:00

The Witness of the Spirit in the Protestant Tradition by M. James Sawyer is the fifth essay from Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit?. In it, Sawyer deals with the historical Protestant answers to the following questions:

"What is the Spirit's role in giving us personal assurance of salvation?"

and

"What is the Spirit's role in determining the canon of Scripture?"

The essay is not building an exegetical argument, but observing the historical flow of thought around these two related issues. Sawyer looks at the perspectives from the time of the Reformers, the Puritans, the First Great Awakening, and the Late 1800s. He notes a shift from a reliance on the Spirit to a reliance on human reasoning and has some thoughtful observations. Reading this brought another related question to my mind that may have been planted after reading the last essay by Gerald Bray: "Do I know how my theological perspective has been unconsciously affected by the time and place in which I live?"

The roads taken by the gospel to find a hurting soul are many, but every sinner rescued by God's grace begins somewhere: a tract left behind in a restroom, a quiet moment of prayer, a fire-and-brimstone message, or a conversation with a friend. And then, hopefully, this new believer is taken in and discipled by other followers of Christ. He grows and matures and learns about Christian living. He reads the Bible and is taught what it means. Hopefully this instruction is sound, and contains the essence of historic Christianity as relayed by the apostles:

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures... (1 Cor. 15:3-4)

And yet, moving forward from the essentials of the faith, the avenue that this new believer finds Christ through will shape much of his understanding. Scripture brings us knowledge of God, but our vision passes through the lens of time in which we live. This leads to action and reaction, emphasis and de-emphasis, and the ebb and flow of thought. Just as a pure white light passes through a prism and separates into many hues, the gospel comes to us through imperfect people. People whose own unique history, personality, and understandings bring a different perspective from those around them and those who came before them. This is why Augustine, Luther, and Wesley (all sincere men of faith) can come to different conclusions. Yet in spite of this, God uses broken vessels to proves that "this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Cor. 4:7).

All of that to say this: it is good to think about the "theological river" that I swim in. I too have been shaped by the time in which I live, and the stream through which the gospel found me. This gives me humility and the realization that I bring my own unconscious tendencies along when I approach God's word. There is much to learn from the men on whose shoulders we stand, and much to appreciate about the river of faith that has brought me news of my Saviour.

Friday Musings

2006-02-03T13:31:00.000-08:00

First Anniversary
Tomorrow will mark one year of marriage for my wife and me. What a quick 365 days! From the rehearsal dinner, bachelor party, wedding, honeymoon, summer trips, pregnancy(!), painting the house, and holidays to today. And all the amazing moments in between. In all these experiences, from the exciting to the ordinary, we have been more than blessed by the goodness of God. I truly couldn't ask for more, and look forward to all the years together ahead of us.

Super Bowl
Ok, I enjoy the big game as much as the next fellow. But does anyone else get a little sick of the hype? Do we need to count down every Super Bowl ever played on ESPN? Do we need all the newspaper articles previewing the commercials? Do we need to hear every person's opinion on who the winner will be? Especially clueless celebrities? No. And for the most part all the hype is just that. Rarely does the game live up to the billing. Sure, I still enjoy the food, the parties, and the (ahem) game. But let's not give "Super Sunday" holiday status yet. The best sporting event of the year is still the NCAA tournament. I'll post more on that when March rolls around.

Those Crazy Hawks
Speaking of "March Situations" -- Steve Alford is finally earning his coaching money this year. I've been waiting, waiting, waiting for the customary mid-year conference lull. But with the win over Purdue earlier this week, the Hawks made a statement that they're here to play. I'm not ready to anoint them regular-season Big 10 champs, but they're in the mix. That's more than I can say for my Clones right now.

Welcome Visitors
If this is your first stop to my blog, don't get your hopes up too high. You'll find anything from theology to sports to BBQ here. In other words, whatever I feel like writing. If you want to catch up on my review of Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit, here are the links to the previous posts. I try to post to the series on a weekly basis.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

If you're sick of wasting time at Blockbuster, read my review of Netflix.

If you want to read a blog that is funnier than mine, then read Tristan's article about couple dating.

Oh, and I almost forgot. I'm cheering for the Seahawks and Seneca Wallace, but I think the Steelers will win 20-17. Not that you needed another prediction or anything.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 4)

2006-01-31T19:05:00.000-08:00

In the essay The Spirit and Community: A Historical Perspective, Gerald Bray looks at how the Spirit's influence on community has been viewed throughout various periods of church history. He breaks this down into three eras: the early church, the medieval church, and the Protestant church. How does the Spirit function in the area of bringing unity to the church?

In the early church, one of the biggest hurdles was bringing Jews and Gentiles together. It is hard for us to grasp the enormity of this challenge from our modern-day Gentile perspective. But if you were a Jew in the first century, the idea that the pagan world could become full-fledged citizens in God's Kingdom was a radical notion. The presence of the Holy Spirit was critical to breaking down the walls of ethnicity. Bray illustrates by looking to 1 Corinthians 12:13: "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink." He writes:

Whatever we think of baptism today, we probably do not assume that it will be the means of breaking down social and economic barriers. But for the first Christians, to be baptized in the Spirit was to put off the old man, with its ethnic and social limitations, and to become a new creation in Christ. From the very beginning, Christians were aware that they constituted a new society, a community which was in the world but not of it.

As the church grew and became an established part of civilization, much changed. The newness and fervency that characterized the early Christians was absorbed into structure and ritualism. The Church became the de-facto source of order after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Being a part of this "Church" became a necessity if a person were to be a part of Western culture--and those who were not a part of it were ostracized and excluded. As a result, baptism lost its original significance and became instead a way of gaining entrance to society. The effort to maintain unity in an environment of diluted faith ultimately resulted in centralizing power in the office of the Pope:

...by 1450 the movement towards a declaration of papal infallibility in matters of faith and morals was well underway, even if it was not to be proclaimed officially until as late as 1870. All of this process, it must be repeated, was regarded by those involved in it as the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in the Church, and interpreted by them as a necessary evolution in the context of the Church's growth and expansion.

This solution to unity would not last, and the restrictions of the Medieval Church were thrown off by the Reformers. The Protestant tradition brought a distinction between the civil and the spiritual--a distinction which Bray calls the "invisible church". In other words, membership in the body was not contingent on the external, but on the internal reality.

The doctrine of the invisible Church is a key tenet of the Reformation, and sets Protestants apart from other Christians in ways which are not always fully recognized. Protestantism, for example, can fragment (as it has) into an apparently endless number of denominations without losing its fundamental unity.
...
As the doctrine of the primacy of the invisible over the visible Church began to sink in, many Protestants came to the conclusion that a large percentage of Church members were really not Christians at all. Baptism could no longer be understood as entry into the Christian community in anything but a formal sense.

Bray finds the logical result of the "invisible church" in the practice of the Puritans, who recognized that if outward forms strayed from inner reality they could be dispensed with.

At a deeper level, Puritans of this type are always ready to pick up and go, because in their heart of hearts they know that the perfect Church does not exist here on earth. The best they can do is to minimize the corruption they find, and remain within a particular fellowship as long as it does nothing which offends their sensibilities.

In their effort to establish a society founded on Biblical ideals, they went so far as to move to the New World. But, as Bray concludes: "Even in New England, where every colonist was meant to be a saint, a perfect society could not be established."

So where does this leave us today? The essay seems to be drawing a contrast between the divergent paths of the Church found in history. One is the idea of a unified, centralized, visible Church, manifested in the rise of the Catholicism. The other is the idea of the true, real, invisible Church birthed by Protestantism. The first finds a sort of unity, but sacrifices truth. The second produces a splintering along many lines but seeks to preserve truth. His concluding question is well worth pondering:

We have to admit that keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace has never been easy, and it has seldom been achieved for long outside the confines of fairly narrow groups. What we now need is to ask ourselves whether this is the only kind of viable fellowship which is possible in a fallen world, or whether there is a way in which as Evangelicals we can demonstrate that we really were all baptized by one Spirit into one body.

Friday Musings

2006-01-27T06:32:00.000-08:00

Just a few thoughts in a spare moment at work...

Will Hilton Magic Return?
I'm going to watch ISU vs. Kansas tomorrow and I am PUMPED. Kansas games always bring out the best of the Hilton crowd and some of my best memories there are watching the Jayhawks come to town. Like in 1999 when Kansas visited on the last game of the season. Larry Eustachy was a new coach, Marcus Fizer was a sophomore, and our record was 14-15. But we had Hilton, and won the game 52-50 with a Fizer dunk to finish it out. I still have the poster of that dunk hanging on the wall in the basement.

More Ames Basketball
My brother Josh's homeschool team has a game tonight in Ames that I'm planning on seeing as well. I'm glad that he's getting that opportunity--playing competitive basketball in highschool is something I would've loved.

Finally
After heeding the many pleas to revive his site, Tristan is back. I had gotten so used to him not writing that I forgot how much I enjoyed pulling up his site when there was something new to read. My only beef? He needs to fix his link to my blog.

Discovering Hitchcock
My wife and I have been on an Alfred Hitchcock binge lately. It started with watching Notorious over Christmas break. Then came Shadow of a Doubt, To Catch a Thief, and Rear Window. After getting burned out on modern movies, it is refreshing to find out that such suspenseful, creative, and compelling films were made so long ago. It's also great to "discover" old stars like Carey Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Grace Kelly. The next time you're at your local rental establishment, swing by the classics section and pick up a Hitchcock. I think you'll enjoy it.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 3)

2006-01-26T04:56:00.000-08:00

In The Witness of the Spirit in Romans 8:16, Daniel Wallace discusses two possible ways of translating Romans 8:16 and its impact on our lives:

Option #1:
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are sons of God.

Option #2:
The Spirit himself testifies to our spirit that we are sons of God.

At the forefront of these two interpretations are two key questions. Who is doing the witnessing? And who is being witnessed to? In option #1 we join with the Holy Spirit as a witness to our own salvation. In this framework, the object of the witnessing is a little unclear--the witnessing could be to God, other people, or even ourselves. In option #2 it is the Holy Spirit witnessing to us.

Wallace is a master of exegesis, and this article is well worth reading just to observe the skill with which he handles the text. It gives me a renewed appreciation for the complexity involved in Bible translation, and how it is important to turn a text over to gain insight both from the language and context. The article is easier to follow if you have had some sort of Greek background, but the essence is this:

1. There is good precedent for the verb to be translated "witness to", and the standard Greek-English lexicon takes this as the primary force of the verb.

2. What would it mean for our spirit and the Holy Spirit to testify to God regarding our salvation? In other words, what authority do we have in the matter?

3. What would it mean for our spirit and the Holy Spirit to testify to ourself? What good does it do us to convince ourselves? One of the very things Paul is counteracting in this chapter is our own doubts.

4. The context of Romans 8 is all about the Spirit's work in our lives. He is the one who sets us free from the law of sin and death, produces fruit in our life, and intercedes for us with groanings that words cannot express. Surely He is also the one who gives us assurance in the midst of our doubt.

At the end of the article, I am left persuaded by Wallace's argument. One of the works of the Spirit is to bear testimony to our heart that we belong to God. It is a great comfort to know that we do not have a God who stands aloof from us. Our Father does not leave us merely to cold hard rationalism, as if we must deduce our own salvation from a set of clues. Yes, Scripture testifies to the truthfulness of what has happened in our lives. But God has also given us his Spirit, who speaks to our hearts with assurance and comfort and reminds us that we can cry out "Abba, Father".

Burnt Ends

2006-01-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday!
This is a word of appreciation for my mom, whose birthday is today. While I am rapidly approaching parenthood status, it gives me a new respect for her. It is difficult enough to give birth to 5 kids, but even more impressive to raise them, discipline them, teach them, love them, and provide such a godly example throughout. We had a nice meal at Olive Garden last night to celebrate the occasion. Hard to beat their breadsticks and salad.

Texas A&M Plays Basketball?
Looks like it will be another up-and-down season in Ames. Last week was a win at Nebraska and a loss to A&M at home. You know times are changing when the football team beats the Aggies at Kyle Field and then we lose to them at Hilton. I hope this isn't a year where they keep inventing new ways to choke. It's too early to give up hope, but with games against Missouri and Kansas this week they are in a real pickle. I'm going to try to make it up to Ames for the Kansas game if I can find a ticket.

The End of the Spear
Despite the controversy regarding a lead actor being gay, I am hearing good reviews about this film. Do I think it was an unwise casting choice? Sure. But God's providential hand is capable of working through sinful people of all kinds, and I am praying that He would use this occasion to open doors for the gospel. Sometimes it is easy to become disheartened with the direction that society is going, but we need to remember that we serve a God who is in control of ALL events (both significant and small). He used a donkey to speak to Balaam, so certainly He can use this as well.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 2)

2006-01-16T19:09:00.000-08:00

The second essay from the book is by Richard E. Averbeck, professor of Old Testament Studies and Biblical Counseling at Trinity. The essay is titled, The Holy Spirit in the Hebrew Bible and Its Connections to the New Testament, and you may read it online by clicking the previous link.

Averbeck starts by looking at the Hebrew words used to portray the Spirit and its working in the Old Testament. He writes that while there are many Old Testament references to "the Spirit of God", the Jews did not view the Holy Spirit as a distinct person of the Godhead. Rather, they saw the working of the Spirit as the energy of God and manifestation of his power. He goes on to examine the meaning behind the Hebrew word ruakh, which we translate as "spirit". Out of the 378 occurrences of this, 140 of them refer to "wind" or "breath" instead of "spirit". With regards to this metaphor, Averbeck writes:

We need to take this biblical analogy seriously in both understanding the nature of God’s Spirit and in welcoming and engaging with his work. Wind is a mysterious and powerful force. We cannot always predict what it is going to do, and it is not under our control. The same is true of God. We cannot always predict what he is going to do, and he is not under our control even if he has told us what he is going to do. He is God. We are not. All this is true also of the Spirit of God. However, although we cannot completely understand and control the Holy Spirit, we can draw upon his power. Using the analogy of a ship driven by the wind (see above), we can “put up the sails” in our lives and thereby take advantage of the blowing of the Spirit in and through our lives. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit as long as we have our sails up.

This terminology was helpful to me. The Holy Spirit is not under our control, and we shouldn't try to dictate to God the ways that He will work in our lives. Instead, we need to look to see where He is working and seek to be yielded to His control. As Paul said in Romans: "Those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." (Romans 8:5b, emphasis mine).

The second primary analogy that Averbeck finds is that of water, and the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit. He points to Ezekiel 36:25-28 as a primary example:

I will sprinkle you with pure water and you will be clean from all your impurities; I will purify you from all your idols. I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone from your body and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you; I will take the initiative and you will obey my statutes and carefully observe my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave to your fathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God (Ezek 36:25–28).

He points out the parallels between this passage and John 3:5-6:

I tell you the solemn truth, unless a person is born of water and spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.

However, after comparing Ezekiel 36 to John 3, he makes this statement: "God has always wanted the same thing from everyone and, according to passages like those cited above, his resources have always been available and at work to bring this about in the lives of believers whether in Old or New Testament days." He argues that what was new about Pentecost was not the indwelling presence of the Spirit in God's people, but instead was the prophetic ministry of the Spirit on a widespread basis. He points to Joel 2:28-32a and its fulfillment at Pentecost as pointing us to the new prophetic ministry of the Spirit, poured out on "all people".

I don't know that I am ready to accept this, and in my mind his exegetical argument is a stretch. It is true--God did work through the Holy Spirit in many instances prior to Pentacost. This type indwelling also may have been more common than we sometimes think. However, when you look at what Jesus says in John 17:5-15, it seems that Jesus is looking forward to more than a new era of prophetic revelation and ministry, but to a fundamental shift in the way that the Spirit would work in and among us. If anyone else has insights on this, I'd be happy to hear them.

Burnt Ends

2006-01-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

Iowa State vs. Texas
I had the unfortune of watching Texas completely dismantle my Clones on ESPN's "Big Monday". Texas is really really good, so I'm not about to jump off the bandwagon yet, but the boys in Ames have some serious work to do. It starts with Hubalek, Marsden, and Taggert. They need to grow up in a hurry to compete with the post players in the Big XII. Stinson is going to need to find a way to drive and score. The rest of the guards need to quit jacking up threes so early in the shot clock. On a happier note, I had Hickory Park before the game. That place makes even the worst losses stomach-able.

Is this Iowa?
We have had quite the stretch of great weather lately. Today it is 50 degrees and sunny, with more of the same to come this weekend. How nice has it been? Well I finished raking the front yard this past Sunday (13 bags). And I wasn't wearing a coat either. The only thing bad about this kind of weather is the bittersweet realization that REAL winter will be back again and spring is still a long ways away.

Pulled Pork
I smoked a pork shoulder yesterday, and we're taking some of the meat to Heath and Sarah, who had their first baby the last week of December. It turned out pretty well, but I am seriously missing my charcoal starter, which has been stranded at Nate's since he borrowed my smoker. Even the casual griller shouldn't be without a starter, which gives you a full can of white-hot coals in about a half-hour without any lighter fluid or mess--just pour them out and get cooking.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? (pt. 1)

2006-01-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

I started reading Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit? this week. It is a collection of essays on the work of the Holy Spirit from a cessationist perspective that explores a middle ground between an overly rational and cold faith that "locks the Spirit in the pages of Scripture" and the excesses found in some charismatic circles.

The first essay in the book is an address given by Dr. Daniel B. Wallace at the 1994 Evangelical Theological Society's regional meeting titled "The Uneasy Conscience of a Non-Charismatic Evangelical". My first exposure to Dr. Wallace came in Jack Fish's second-year Greek class (where we used his excellent book Greek Grammar beyond the Basics). Shortly after my time at Emmaus I discovered the very helpful bible.org site and read this thought-provoking essay. It seems that the eleven theses put forth from Wallace in that address have provided some of the impetus and background for this volume.

I'm not going to waste time recounting the story (which you can read for yourself), but the gist is this: in the midst of extreme trial and difficulty, Wallace found his normal means of relating to God (through exegesis and Bible Study) to provide insufficient comfort and strength to cope. In his own words:

In the midst of this "summer from hell," I began to examine what had become of my faith. I found a longing to get closer to God, but found myself unable to do so through my normal means: exegesis, scripture reading, more exegesis. I believe that I had depersonalized God so much that when I really needed him I didn't know how to relate. I longed for him, but found many community-wide restrictions in my cessationist environment. I found a suffocation of the Spirit in my evangelical tradition as well as in my own heart.

As a response to this longing, he set out to wrestle with what he called "practial issues of pneumatology" and put forth eleven theses or questions relating to the Holy Spirit's work in the lives of present-day believers. I find myself resonating with several of these. In particular, Wallace cautions that an overemphasis on knowledge can produce in us a "biblioloatry". In other words, we can become so enamored with Scripture that God becomes a mere object of our study. The Bible points us to God, but we should not let it become a substitute for Him. I think this can be a temptation for anyone who spends time at a Bible college or studying from an academic perspective. We need to let the Spirit apply God's word to our hearts as well as our minds. But if our study becomes a purely academic pursuit this dimension will be lacking.

I am looking forward to reading, thinking, and writing about the remaining essays in this book. My prayer is that God would use them to draw me closer to Himself and increase my love and appreciation for His constant working in my life.

Burnt Ends

2006-01-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Assorted items and thoughts...

The Rose Bowl
Texas vs. USC turned into one of the best championships ever played. What a game by Vince Young, who showed that he should have been the Heisman winner. 467 total yards. Beating the previously unbeatable USC. Running for the winning touchdown on 4th down with everything on the line. It was a perfect performance on the perfect stage.

Fun with Dick and Jane
I saw the new Jim Carrey movie last weekend. It has a few funny moments, but mostly tries too hard and doesn't get it done. Carrey is an upwardly mobile businessman who works for an "Enron"-type company that goes belly-up. After peddling all their possessions, he and his wife resort to robbing. There are a few laughs when it is making fun of corporations and suburban life, but this is one to skip. I give it 2 stars.

Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit?
I just ordered Daniel B. Wallace's book by the above title (released this past November) as my first book to read in 2006. I read about it on the bible.org website and it looks interesting. My hope is to read through it and share my reactions and thoughts on this blog. Here's a quote from the abstract:

"We have become convinced that the ministry of the Spirit is far wider and deeper but more subtle than even the Pentecostal/charismatic tradition envisions it. Consequently the essays of this volume explore, however tentatively, an attempt to steer a middle ground between the sterile cessationism that essentially locks the Spirit in the pages of scripture, and an anything-goes-approach that has characterized parts of the Pentecostal/charismatic/Third Wave movements."

New Year's Resolutions

2006-01-01T15:59:00.000-08:00

I enjoy the start of a new year since it gives opportunity to make a few resoutions. Here are mine for 2006:

1. Read. I would like to try to read at least 1 book a month. What sort of books? Maybe a couple of classics I've never read. Theology is always good. Perhaps a few biographies. I enjoy reading but for whatever reason is something I have found myself doing less of in recent years.

2. Exercise. My noon-time bball group at the health club has disbanded so I need to find another way to stay in shape. I'll probably start using the health club at work. 3 times a week is a good goal to start out with.

3. Study. I am going to try to pick out several Biblical books or topics which I would like to understand better and try to systematically work my way through them before the end of the year, hopefully writing about what I learn on this blog.

Best of 2005

2005-12-31T09:21:00.000-08:00

In honor of the past year, I'm going to give you my "best of the year" awards, in arbitrary and random categories of my own choosing.

Best Trip
Honeymooning in Hawaii. I don't think I need to add much to this. A week on the beautiful island of Kauai was absolutely perfect.

Best Meal
This is a hard award to bestow, as I was privileged to have many good meals in 2005. One that sticks out was dinner at the Embassy Club with Heath and Sarah high atop the Principal Building in downtown Des Moines. What a view!

Best Athlete
Curtis Stinson. Helped ISU to its first NCAA appearance (and win) since the Hampton debacle in 2001.

Best Game
Iowa State beating Colorado at a crazy Jack Trice. Of course when you are an ISU fan, the best is always followed by the worst (losing to Kansas).

Best Movie
Cinderella Man. With an honorable mention to Batman Begins.

Best Book
I didn't read as many books as I would like to (hopefully that will change this next year), but my favorite had to be The Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas. We received this as a wedding gift from Ron and Jane E, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It looks at marriage as a means to make us holy and has been very helpful to me.

Best Sermon(s)
A series on worship by John Piper. His "Desiring God" podcast is great listening and worth subscribing to if you are looking for good Biblical exposition.

Best News
The new addition to our family that will be arriving in March.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

2005-12-29T19:46:00.000-08:00

While in Cedar Falls for a couple days earlier this week, I finally saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Having read all the books (though it was a long time ago), I was anxious to see how well CS Lewis' story would translate to the big screen.

The success of Peter Jackson's movies undoubtedly provided the impetus to put Narnia on film, and it is tempting to try compare this movie to Lord of the Rings. But that would be a bit unfair. First, because Jackson's movies were so well crafted and set the bar so high that it will be almost impossible for future efforts to match. Second, because Lewis was telling a different type of tale. Narnia is aimed much more at children. They are the chief protagonists. There are talking animals and characters from fairy-tales. It is the kind of story you could read to your kids at bedtime. Tolkein, on the other hand, was writing a story with greater depth, detail, and darkness. Not necessarily material that is appreciated by youngsters (although I read him when I was eight or so and still loved it).

So back to the movie. I thought it was an enjoyable picture if you take it on its own terms. It tells a wonderful story with a gospel allegory at its heart. The computer generated animals are well done--especially Aslan. The witch is cold and calculating. There are light-hearted moments, as well as tense ones. The acting is good--especially the young girl who plays Lucy. However, I wasn't as drawn in to the story as I expected to be--though I'm not sure why. This may be because I'm older than when I first read the book or because it didn't have the same sense of danger as the LOTR movies. Maybe I should go back and read the books again.

My favorite moments were not so much the battles but the quieter scenes when we got a glimpse of the bigger world of Narnia. Near the end of the movie we see Lucy and Tumnus standing at a balcony watching Aslan depart along the seaside. Tumnus tells Lucy not to cry--Aslan will be back again when the need is greatest. I couldn't help but be reminded of the fact that we too are waiting for the return of our Saviour--the Lion of Judah who will return again to the world he created and restore it to its former glory.

My rating: 3.5 stars.

White Elephant

2005-12-28T19:44:00.000-08:00

One of the things I look forward to around Christmastime are "White Elephant" exchanges. I'm not sure where the name comes from. The practice of opening unknown gifts or stealing them from others has nothing to do with elephants that I can think of. Yet regardless of the odd name, I enjoy it.

There is the random nature of the gifts. It may be juvenile, but watching someone open something which they would never seek or receive in the normal course of gift-giving-protocol provides a good laugh. Like my cousin John, who got a nightie with "Angel" written across the front of it. Or my sister's fiance Seth receiving a package of "Caress" body lotions.

Then there is the scheming and stealing. When someone does chance upon a gift they really do find useful they better not become too attached because it will soon be gone. Some try the old "hide it behind the back" trick so that everyone forgets about what they have. But the cruel irony remains: the degree of your enjoyment of the gift is inversely proportional to the odds of your keeping it.

Of course you can't forget the complex rules. The same gift can't be stolen twice on the same turn. A gift can only be stolen three times maximum. The first one to pick also gets the last chance to steal. It is enough to cause serious confusion at times.

Lastly, there is the strategy. If you want to stay in the game, you better steal something popular, even if its not what you really want. Pay close attention as people open their gifts. If someone finds something which everyone is ooohing and aaahing over grab it. Bide your time, and it will soon be stolen from you--at which point you will have the chance to get something truly wonderful. Which will promptly be stolen again.

When you have 40 people in the exchange, like I do at the gathering on my Dad's side of the family, these strategies will be put to the ultimate test. Yet even if you don't get what you want, there is a silver lining. Just save your gift for next year. When some unsuspecting soul chances upon it, you will receive the hearty satisfaction of knowing you have given them something special: the gift that keeps on being given.

Cinderella Man

2005-12-28T19:40:00.000-08:00

I need to give a quick thumbs-up for the movie Cinderella Man (recently released on DVD). It is the real-life story of depression-era boxer Jim Braddock. He's a down-on-his-luck fighter past his prime just trying to keep food on the table for his family. Injuries and age make him to lose his fighting license, but he gets a second chance and makes the most of it.

Russell Crowe again shows why he is one of the best actors of our time, and does a superb job playing a character who we empathize with, admire, and cheer for. Despite his rude, arrogant offscreen personality he has a way of finding his way into some of my very favorite movies (Gladiator, Master and Commander, Beautiful Mind). If only he could display in real life some of the admirable qualities he is capable of showing on film.

Cinderella Man is right up there among my very favorite sports movies (and non-sports movies). The acting is top-notch. The boxing scenes are realistic. There are quiet, tender moments that may cause a small tear to well up inside (not that I cried). It can be enjoyed by men and women alike. It is the kind of hopeful, uncynical movie they need to make more of these days.

My rating: 5 stars.

My all-time sports favorites:
1. Hoosiers (still gives me goosebumps at the end)
2. Cinderella Man
3. The Natural
4. Remember the Titans
5. Chariots of Fire