Some pictures

For your viewing pleasure.

Tonight at dinnertime

I’m in the kitchen making dinner.

Evelyne is in the other room eating in the highchair and Clay is sitting with her. 

I hear, Clay say, “buutt….buuuttt…Evelyne, say ‘butt’!”

“buuuu”

I’m all, “Clay, are you teaching her to say ‘butt?’!” 

“Yes,” he says.  “I thought it would be funny!” 

So please don’t be surprised if all sorts of inappropriate language and expletives start flying-out of my sweet 1-year old’s mouth….apparently her father thinks it would be funny if she started using more adult language.

Oh, and this picture isn’t from tonight, it’s from last weekend when we ate dinner with Clay’s family…but it is cute and took place during dinnertime.

 

We need to change the message

Ok, once again iMonk has another awesome post (he’s really on a roll lately! I’m in the middle of writing another post about his blog, I promise I’m not a stalker!).  I read it, I said, “wow. yeah. totally.” and then thought, “hmmm, maybe I should comment on this on my blog.”  And then I thought, “I don’t think I have anything extra to say that he didn’t say already.”  So, I’m just gonna link to it and say, “What he said.”

http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/what-do-gays-and-lesbians-hear-test

Kiss me, I floss!

Let me share a product that has revolutionized my oral health.  These little flossing picks make flossing ten times easier for me, and that means I actually DO it!  Gone are the days of twirling floss around your fingers and cutting-off circulation, gone is the frustration when the floss slips-off your fingers after two teeth and you have to re-twirl.  Gone are the arm acrobatics of trying to reach the back teeth.

These little miracles have the floss strung tight enough to easily reach between your teeth and loose enough to reach around each tooth like it’s supposd to.  They’re also shaped so that you can easily reach every tooth crevice in your mouth quickly and easily.  There’s also a handy-dandy toothpick on the end for those stubborn chunks. 

I ain’t gonna lie and say that I floss every single day, but my frequency has definitely jumped from zero times a week to several now that it’s not a pain in the butt anymore.  (and motivated by major blood loss at my last dental appointment) Seriously, try these, they will change. your. life. 

Train up a child…

“Train up a child in the way he is to go, and when he’s old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

   This verse is very commonly quoted in the parenting world.  It’s been taught to parents of all ages that if they bring-up their child in the church and teach him to love Jesus, they can rest assured that God promises He will not let them wander from the faith.  But is this verse really saying that?  Is it really a promise from God that our kids are automatically “safe” based-on the way we raise them? 

   Before analyzing this verse, we need to be aware of the genre that Proverbs falls under.  Each type of literature found in the Bible has a different way it must be understood…in the same way that we naturally read the front page news with a different understanding than we read the comics. We understand the genre each falls under, so we don’t mistakenly assume Charlie Brown is reporting world news because we know it’s just comedy. If we misapply a biblical verse outside its genre, our interpretation will be faulty. If we understand and apply verses in a way that’s different from what the author originally meant, our interpretation will be faulty.  The meaning of Scripture doesn’t lie in us or how we relate to the text, meaning is derived from the author’s original intention.
  
 When we look at genre, Proverbs falls under wisdom literature. Specifically, it was written by a Hebrew sage (well, probably several, including Solomon), a very specific kind of person who wrote a specific kind of literature. There are other Hebrew sage writings available that aren’t Scripture that we can compare and see the content and type of writing is very similar. The sage is an observer of creation, watching and looking for where God has placed his hand and infused the world with His wisdom. The sage then writes little wisdom sayings, perfectly comparable to our proverbs: “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,” “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” We have the genre filter in our head to understand that when I quote the last one, I’m not making a truth claim or promise that if I go to bed early and wake-up early I’m going to be rich, never sick, and super smart. (otherwise Evelyne would be the richest baby I know! haha!) It’s based-on a concept that is generally true and can be observed in our world, that those who get enough rest and start their day early tend to be productive and do well for themselves, and it’s wise to follow their example.  These proverbs are a result of the sage observing his world, noticing God’s design, and telling us how to live a life of wisdom.

    So when we read the verse, “Train-up a child in the way he is to go and when he is older he will not depart from it,” we understand that this is not God making us a promise that if we do certain things when a child is young, God will guarantee that the child will never be wayward or an unbeliever. It is commonly interpreted that way, and this causes lots of well-meaning, godly parents much pain when their grown child leaves the church.  They feel betrayed by God because supposedly He made them a promise….when, in fact, He never did. This verse states an observation that, generally speaking, if parents raise their children in a wise and godly way, typically they will grow in wisdom and stay on the same path in adulthood. For the most part, that is probably true, but it is an observation, not a promise or guarantee.  

   This is another area of Scripture I’ve heard comments about recently, and while my desire is to encourage parents that yes, God will bring their children to Him, I’m struck by the potential for disillusionment if that doesn’t happen.  I’m not trying to make any statements about what the new covenent means for the family, but in the context of this verse, we shouldn’t be putting promises in God’s mouth.  My prayer is that my teaching, prayers, and love will work together with God’s grace in my children’s lives and bring them safely to His arms.
  

Romans 7- A normal Christian experience?

Romans 6-8 is a crucial biblical passage upon which much of our practical understanding of salvation and sanctification hinges.  What have we been saved from?  How complete is our salvation?  Romans 7:14-25 seems to validate our experiences of not being able to choose the good that we know and love, but upon closer study, these verses also seem to contradict everything Paul has been saying in Chapter 6 and continues to say in Chapter 8.   

 ”For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold into bondage to sin.  For hwat I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.  But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.  So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.  For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.  For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.  But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. 

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.  For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  Wretched man that I am!  Who will set me free from the body of this death?  Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!  So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.”  (Romans 7:14-25)

I remember studying this chapter in a hermanuetics class in seminary.  My professor, Dr. Walt Russell, showed me that perhaps my understanding of this chapter was flawed.  Although it reasonated with my feelings, contextually, it didn’t make sense.  Lately, it seems like everywhere I turn I hear teaching and individual thoughts that are tied to this concept of Romans 7 being a normal Christian experience…. that we are experientially still enslaved to our sinful nature despite Christ’s offer of freedom….that there is a clash of  the “flesh nature” and the “spiritual nature” within us, and it’s anybody’s guess which one is going to win at any given moment.  I think that this not what Paul was getting-at, and understanding this text has many practical implications in our spiritual formation.  I’ve copied below the formal interpretation I submitted in my class back in 2002. 

Genre

   This passage is taken from Paul’s letter to the church in Rome.  In the beginning of chapter 7 he addresses the “brethren…who know the Law” to whom he is writing.  Paul is most likely writing to Jews who are still under the old covenant of the Law in order to persuade them to die to the Law and be united to Christ.  Previous to verse 7, Paul explains how the death of Christ released them from the Law and freed them to the new covenant.  Verses 7-25 expound upon this premise.

Generic Conception

   Paul explains the purpose of the Law in exposing sin while demonstrating the uselessness of it in restraining sinful behavior through a first-person account of the struggles between good and evil in the person under the Law. 

Observations about the Passage

   Romans 7 has often been interpreted as the struggle of the Christian between his spirit in Christ and the flesh of his body, however these passages must be viewed in light of the previous and following chapters of Romans 6 and 8.  Romans 6 asserts the position that those who are in Christ are dead to sin and freed from its power.  “…How shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (6:2)  Romans 8:12 states that “…we are under obligation not to the flesh…”  This seemingly presents conflict between the teaching in chapter 7 and that or chapters 6 and 8, for while Paul extols the believer’s death to sin in 6 and 8, he seems to fight a losing battle with sin in 7:14-25. 

   In Romans 7:1-6 Paul writes of being released from the old Law through the death of Christ in order to become alive to the Spirit, and he continues in verses 7-13 to give the purpose of the Law. 

     (v.7) The Law introduces man to sin.

     (v. 8-13)  Sin used the Law, which is good, as a medium by which to condemn man unto death.

      The following verses 14-25 are given the appearance of a personal struggle within Paul.  A challenge of the interpreter is to understand under what terms Paul is speaking in vs. 14-25 and his purpose of this description of internal battle. 

     (v.14) He is of the flesh, sold into bondage to sin.

     (v.15-23) He cannot do the good he wants because the sin that dwells in him wages war against the inner man who desires to obey the law of God.

Interpretation of the Passage

     In light of the seemingly contradictory views of Paul in Romans 7:14-25 and Romans 6 and 8 concerning the believer’s struggle and victory over sin in the body, several options may be presented to bring interpretive reconciliation:

1. While believers have died to their sinful natures in a mystical and spiritual sense, physical struggles still exist as the two natures war against the individual.
2. Paul is speaking to believers in Romans 6 and 8 and to those who are not in Christ in Romans 7.

    Paul states in Romans 6:6 that “our body of sin [is] done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.”  Verse 14 says, “for sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”  Correspondingly, Romans 8:9 reaffirms that believers “are not in the flesh but in the Spirit.”  In light of these assertions of the believer’s freedom from slavery under sin, Paul could therefore not be referring to a believer in 7:14 as “of the flesh, sold into bondage to sin.”

    Historiccal measures of Jewish and Gentile relations within the church at that time along with the interpretive assumption that Paul had clear understanding of what he was trying to communicate and did not contradict himself leads this interpreter to the tentative conclusion that Paul was addressing Jews who were not in Christ in reference to their life under the Law.  Romans 7:7-13 seems to clarify the original need for the Law, specifically that while holy and good, it revealed sin and has been used as a medium by Sin to condemn those who are under it.  The following verses 14-25 appear to provide a representative example of the effects of the Law in the internal man while under the Old Covenant.  Paul joyfully juxtaposes Romans 7 and 8 and the two laws of flesh and grace in the following verses of 8:2-3 by reassuring that “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death!  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did…He condemned sin in the flesh”, therefore giving the reader a more holistic concept of Paul’s understanding of the power of the Law and sin in the flesh throughout Romans 7.

Application

    Paul asserts the believer’s freedom from sin in Romans 6 and 8, and therefore we must read Romans 7 not as a picture of the believer, which may be discouraging, but rather as a picture of a non-believer.  Understanding the war of the flesh without grace should give us a greater appreciation for our knowledge that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus!” (8:1)

    Understanding of the purpose and activity of the Law in verses 7-13 should give me a deeper appreciation of the need for Christ’s sacrifice in order to break the Law of sin and death.  Do I understand the depths of that which Christ came to conquer?

The sweetest thing

This video made me cry when I first watched it.  It’s a beautiful arrangement of pictures showing babywearing and breastfeeding (beware, there are boobs, if you care about that sort of thing), and really it just shows the closeness and bond of a mother and her child.  And it so happens that the song that plays is the one I always think about when I see this picture of Evelyne, the first time I held her. 

Miss Saigon

This is one of my favorite songs in my favorite Broadway play–Miss Saigon.  It’s also sung by one of my favorite voices, Lea Salonga.  This girl has sung the part of almost every Disney Princess (she was Jasmine, Mulan, and I don’t even know who else), so you’ll probably recognize her voice.  I showed this to Clay last night, and I actually started crying at the end of it!  It’s just THAT good. 

Carseat Safety, Part 4

OK, this is the last installment of my series on carseat safety.  (I’m sure all my childless readers are thankful for that!)   

  The reccomended guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics and most state’s laws are that a child may be transferred to a booster seat by the age of four AND 40 lbs.  I’d like to give you a little more information beyond those limits that makes a case for what’s called “extended harnessing.”

   Extended harnessing has found attention in the public eye through the Kyle David Miller Foundation, an organization set-up to honor the memory of a little boy who didn’t have to die.  Kyle was in a car accident when he was riding in a booster seat at age 3, his seatbelt failed, and he was ejected from the car and killed.  His parents weren’t aware that a 5-point harness carseat existed for a child of his size, and after the accident they learned that had he been in a 5-point harness, his life could have been saved. 

  Some reasons to keep your child in a 5-point harness beyond 4 years and 40 lbs.:

• “Children under 7-10 years of age should not be placed into a booster seat. This is because the child’s iliac crests (hip bones) are not yet developed enough such that they prevent the adult seatbelt from resting on the soft abdomen. Therefore an adult seatbelt provides insufficient protection to the child and could result in internal injuries, possibly resulting in the death of the child.”   Tom Bologa, President of Britax USA
• The force of the crash is spread across five points of their body rather than three. 
• Even though some booster seats have adjusters, it is a concern that a child may not have the seatbelt positioned correctly over his chest and shoulder.
• Wiggly kids aren’t safe.  Seatbelts are designed to work when you’re sitting up and back, so that the emergency locking mechanism will kick-in and the belt stays tight, allowing no slack, in the event of a crash.  Young children often don’t have the maturity to stay still and keep the belt correctly positioned throughout the entire duration of the car ride.  When a child leans foward and the belt is stretched, that allows for more room for their body to be ejected foward in a crash.
•  Carseats with a 5-point harness have an added safety of the top tether.  This stabilizes the carseat (and the child) against the seat of the car during a crash. This greatly reduces the amount of foward motion and space a child’s head will cover when they are flung foward.

“The number one killer of children in America is vehicle crashes. The problem with that statement is that nothing is changing. Now if that statement was, for example, the number one killer is childhood cancer what would happen? The parents would be all over the doctors to find a cure. But the responsibility lays in the parents hands and nobody is doing anything about it.

Best practice is ABOVE the law, not just the law minimum. Children are not replaceable, so its worth it for a parent to take the extra steps to make their child safe. The saddest part is too many people worry about vanity and others’ thoughts. They may think that their 6 year old will look too big for that forward facing child restraint, or that their best friend will nag on them about using a forward facing child restraint for their 8 year old. All a belt positioning booster seat does is lift a child off the vehicle seat to sit better behind the seat belt, both at the shoulder and how the belt lays across the hips. A 5-point forward facing child restraint provides all the extra safety that is above mentioned.”  (Kris Abbink Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician)

A few reccomendations for seats:

• Britax Regent – This is a foward-facing only seat that holds from 22 lbs. to 80 lbs.  $250-300
• Sunshine Kids Radian80 – This rear-faces up to 33 lbs. and foward-faces up to 80 lbs.  $250-300

• Any other previously mentioned seat that harnesses above 40 lbs.

Are combination/3-in-1 seats reccomended?  (one seat that changes from a convertible carseat to a booster)

No, not generally.  While these seats are safe, they tend to have very low harness height which means your child will likely outgrow the 5-pt. harness BEFORE he is 40 lbs/4 years old… which leaves you with the decision of putting him in a booster seat before it is safe or buying another seat.  This could be unsafe and a waste of money.  You’d do better to just invest in a higher weight-limit seat in the beginning and use it for longer. 

OK, let’s be honest.  Unless you’re really convinced by the safety facts, you’re probably saying to yourself, “This is ridiculous.  We hardly even wore seatbelts when I was a kid, and I’m fine, I can’t imagine my 80 lb. child sitting in a carseat!”  To that I say, thank God our parents weren’t in a serious crash because we’d probably be dead.  Let’s not jeopardize our children’s life for the sake of the “I’m ok” argument.  For more information, see www.car-safety.com. 

March Madness

I just wanted to say that I won 24 games on the first round of my bracket….and the only logic I used in picking was the following:1. Does the name sound really familiar?  That probably means that I’ve heard people talking about them because they’re good.  So I’ll pick them.2. Do I like the way the name sounds? I really like the name Gonzaga… it just sounds cool.  AND I’ve heard their name a lot, so they’re a definite pick for me.   (even though apparently that wasn’t a wise pick since they lost!)3. What’s their seed number?  I usually just pick the higher seed team….last year Clay got mad at me because I had zero upsets.  I did pretty much the same thing this year with a couple upsets.A pretty unscientific method, but I’m already doing pretty well in the Jones family bracket competition. (Better than Clay anyway, who analyzes every team record and player)  I doubt my streak will last, but I’m pretty happy with my method!  Oh, and Memphis is gonna win it all, of COURSE!If you don’t research every little thing, how do you pick your bracket?