Coming Full Circle

An interesting blog/book review post in the NY Times today. How ironic that while the message is parents are doing just fine without the professionals, it takes the professionals to tell them that. It reminds me of another iconic parenting manual:

Ex. 12:25 "And when you come to the land that the LORD will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service. And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?’ you shall say, ‘It is the sacrifice of the LORD’s Passover, for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel in Egypt, when he struck the Egyptians but spared our houses.’” And the people bowed their heads and worshiped."

Deut. 6:4-7 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise."

Reason #3502 to PROOFREAD your emails (especially if they are mass marketing ones for a Christian organization)

Take a good look at the subject of the email.

It's a good thing that I didn't respond to this email. It may have been flagged in my Internet accountability filter!

The Cycle of Revenge

South Korea Vows to Avenge Sailors’ Deaths - NYTimes.com

Another international incident promising to escalate as two adversarial parties look to avenge the previous wrongdoing. When does the cycle end? When one party takes on suffering, chooses to lose so that the other might win. The cycle breaks when the suffering and infliction is gladly taken up and absorbed.

Isaiah 61:11

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,

and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,

so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise

to sprout up before all the nations.

Thank God for the cross - absorbing the blows of the nations so that righteousness and praise sprout up. May the cross of Christ be waved high above the nations of South Korea and North Korea.

Does God Have a Specific Plan for Your Life? Probably Not.

Does God Have a Specific Plan for Your Life? Probably Not. | Donald Miller's Blog

Donald Miller challenges the commonly accepted notion that God has an individual perfect plan for our lives. It seems a lot like the view set forth by Gary Friesen in his book, Decision Making and the Will of God. Friesen suggests that God has a moral will (what he declares to us as right and good) and a sovereign will (what only his mind knows). Outside of this, we are to live according to his moral will and the principles of wisdom.

Some of his most compelling arguments are in the realm of everyday decisions. For example, he questions why it is that Christians seem to fast, pray, and go through all kinds of steps to discern God's will about marriage, school, etc., but leave the everyday mundane decisions to sheer commonsense (like what clothes I will wear today). If God has something to say about every part of our lives, then why is it we ignore him in the small decisions? Friesen suggests that it is because we already are functioning by wisdom. By no means does he do away with fasting, prayer, counsel, etc., but these things must be employed with wisdom in the framework that God desires us to walk with Him, not just to make sure we are in step with every detail of his plan.

You may not agree with everything he says, but it's definitely worth a read just to challenge the status quo. It's also available as a Kindle book if you're so inclined.

Here's another example of the 'you can have it all' mantra that dominates our society.

Why we're married but living apart - CNN.com

Another beginning

Well, here's my latest attempt to track some of my musings and observations about life and faith. More and more, I am beginning to understand how expansive and all-encompassing the Gospel is in my life. As I am confronted with the alarming beauty of the cross, I recognize how much I try and define my life by something other than it. I have defended, justified, validated, and defined myself by my reputation, approval, and skillset - but God is liberating slowly through his sanctifying grace.

This quote sums up how I 'feel' about my own progression in this:

"My feelings are important for many things. They are essential and valuable. They keep me aware of much that is true and real. But they tell me next to nothing about God or my relation to God. My security comes from who God is [and what He has done through Christ], not from how I feel. Discipleship is a decision to live by what I know about God, not by what I feel about him or myself or my neighbors." - Eugene Peterson.

May this blog be the online journal of a Long Obedience in the Same Direction!