I got fitted for a tux for my very first time today. It was a first time experience. It is a nice tux, too. It's black. My brothers, Moose and Donkey Boy, also got fitted today. Their tuxedos are also black.
We got them for a dance we are going to be directing in Iowa (yes, the state). So that our partners will be able to tell us apart, we chose vests of different colors, with bow ties that match the vests. My favorite part, though, are the shoes. They are so shiny I can see myself in them. What's not to like?
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Freed Will
I work in a mostly christian inviroment, but I am the only "Calvinist." I am quick to point, that indeed I am not Calvinistic, but reformed, thus averting questions on following a man. But how, they want to know, can I justify free will (or human responsibility), with predestination. This can lead to interesting discussions. A lot of people don't get it when I tell them that we are free, and we predestinated. Period.
In thinking about it, I have determined that we are like ships. The law is like a map of the globe, while redemtion is like a rudder. Before the work of redemtion, we are ships with neither maps or rudders. These ships are free, they can hoist sail, or float in the tide, but they cannot know where they are going, nor could they easily persue a course, and they will often beach on a dry, lonely shore. Enter the law, a map, and redemption, a rudder. Now a ship can know where it should be, where it should be going, and it can do something to get there. In this is true freedom. The ship can make voyages, and port for replenishing. It is free to go north, south, east, or west, and to avoid rocky shores. The law, the placement of land and water in the map, is death to a ship with no rudder or redemtion, but it is life and grace to those who have been saved.
In thinking about it, I have determined that we are like ships. The law is like a map of the globe, while redemtion is like a rudder. Before the work of redemtion, we are ships with neither maps or rudders. These ships are free, they can hoist sail, or float in the tide, but they cannot know where they are going, nor could they easily persue a course, and they will often beach on a dry, lonely shore. Enter the law, a map, and redemption, a rudder. Now a ship can know where it should be, where it should be going, and it can do something to get there. In this is true freedom. The ship can make voyages, and port for replenishing. It is free to go north, south, east, or west, and to avoid rocky shores. The law, the placement of land and water in the map, is death to a ship with no rudder or redemtion, but it is life and grace to those who have been saved.
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Crisis: Averted
Always concerned for the mental health of mankind, I have taken solve one of the world's worst tragedies. Being the philanthropist that I am, I have also undertaken to test all my theories on myself before projecting them on the world at large.
That said, I turned forty last week. No, please hold the congratulations. I'm sure you're familiar with the idea of Double Jeopordy. Its the legal exception where a person cannot be charged with the same crime twice. In a breakthrough in the phsychology world, rivaled only by Pavlov's dogs, I have discovered a naturally occuring Double Jeopordy in human aging. No person can ever be the same age twice. So, my theory is that while I am young, I will use up the so-called mid-life ages, appx. 35-46. Then, when I am in mid-life, I can revert to my unused young ages, appx. 23-34. If my theory is correct, I will have effectively avoided a true mid-life, and, thereby, a mid-life crisis. So far, the hypothosis is working marvelously. Stay tuned for updates, but rest assured, a breakthrough has been achieved.
That said, I turned forty last week. No, please hold the congratulations. I'm sure you're familiar with the idea of Double Jeopordy. Its the legal exception where a person cannot be charged with the same crime twice. In a breakthrough in the phsychology world, rivaled only by Pavlov's dogs, I have discovered a naturally occuring Double Jeopordy in human aging. No person can ever be the same age twice. So, my theory is that while I am young, I will use up the so-called mid-life ages, appx. 35-46. Then, when I am in mid-life, I can revert to my unused young ages, appx. 23-34. If my theory is correct, I will have effectively avoided a true mid-life, and, thereby, a mid-life crisis. So far, the hypothosis is working marvelously. Stay tuned for updates, but rest assured, a breakthrough has been achieved.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Valentine's Day... Alone?
Yet another Valentine's day all alone. Or was it?
A lot of people wonder at my singleness. Especially some of my coworkers. Why is such a good looking (and humble) guy not 'involved'? Surely he just hasn't met the right girl yet! Que threats of introduction to all the most beautiful (and perhaps desperate) maidens in the region... It seems to blow many minds that I am waiting until I am prepared to enter into a relationship responsibly, able to persue it to its due and proper end (for those questioning minds: marriage). Egads! a guy who can look beyond the mirror. The very idea that their culture holds no draw on some astounds them.
Sure, I look forward to spending my Valentine's with someone. But I look forward even more to knowing that I hadn't spent it uselessly with anyone else.
A lot of people wonder at my singleness. Especially some of my coworkers. Why is such a good looking (and humble) guy not 'involved'? Surely he just hasn't met the right girl yet! Que threats of introduction to all the most beautiful (and perhaps desperate) maidens in the region... It seems to blow many minds that I am waiting until I am prepared to enter into a relationship responsibly, able to persue it to its due and proper end (for those questioning minds: marriage). Egads! a guy who can look beyond the mirror. The very idea that their culture holds no draw on some astounds them.
Sure, I look forward to spending my Valentine's with someone. But I look forward even more to knowing that I hadn't spent it uselessly with anyone else.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Dragon Soup for the Soul
I want to write about the sweetness of fellowship on the Lord's day (again). I would write about how, at the beginning of each week, I am refreshed and renewed, ready to go fight the dragons of the world. But I find, that by Saturday, it is as if I become the dragon I must conquer. I would start a noble Prince Caspian, but I become Eustace. But how much more appropriate can it get? How can I enter into the Lord's tabernacle unless I am ready to be made new? How can I expect to eat at His table, unless I am hungry? Drink of His cup, if I am not thirsty? How sweet is the taste of knowing that I cannot live without Christ living in me!
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
Because His mercy endures forever.
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
Because His mercy endures forever.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Anxiety laid aside
There have been rumors and rumors of rumors running amuck among the upitty-up in the know, or not so, about the good folks in Bristol, VA. Doug Wilson has something to say that sets things for the curious to rest.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Maturing Without Growing Up
Recently, while walking to the far side of our property and back, I was overtaken by an overwhelming sensation of... nothing. The significance of this non-rise of emotions is that I used to get the biggest kick out of walking in the pasture. I could spend hours in the wood, studying the wildlife, and generally wondering at the glory of God's creation. I derived emmense joy from nature, which I have found to be diminishing.
The same is coming of music. I used to be enthralled with bluegrass and country music. I am not here arguing their qualities, only that they brought me joy. What caused the joy was the simplicity of life they signified, especially the bluegrass, which I one time lovingly described as, “Everyman’s music.” As I have gotten older, I found myself coming away from these joys, seeking instead a sort of kick. I craved different things, yet it seems I was never satisfied. Pursued, it would have been a destructive trail. What I have found, as I have grown older is that I lose the joys I had when I was a boy, and even a young man. I would pursue the new and older, and ‘manlier’ only to find the happiness I sought to have been in what I previously had. Somehow, the joy I sought was in the more innocent pursuits of my earlier childhood. This, in my mind, goes right along with childlike faith that Christ commanded. However, at the same time Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, talks about becoming a man and putting away the things of a child. This presents a certain dilemma of maturing without growing up. I’m still working on this one, I’m not quite sure of all the workings. It entails responsibilities being fulfilled, but at the same time a playfulness. (I really enjoyed a talk given by Doug Jones on playfulness, which I would be happy to discuss in conversation.)
Interestingly, most of the ‘joys’ that fit this bill, of mature innocence, seem to be fulfilled with the local Church fellowship. Point in hand; this last Sunday many of us brought our musical instruments to church, and after lunch spent the afternoon jamming and playing hymns. There is an innate joy in making music with others, and that joy multiplies as skills mature. It is the same joy, increased with maturity. Yet there is no concrete purpose outside that joy. Granted, there are good applications, like the worship of God in heaven, but the pursuit of music, or any number of the arts, is not productive. It can be mature without being grown-up.
The same is coming of music. I used to be enthralled with bluegrass and country music. I am not here arguing their qualities, only that they brought me joy. What caused the joy was the simplicity of life they signified, especially the bluegrass, which I one time lovingly described as, “Everyman’s music.” As I have gotten older, I found myself coming away from these joys, seeking instead a sort of kick. I craved different things, yet it seems I was never satisfied. Pursued, it would have been a destructive trail. What I have found, as I have grown older is that I lose the joys I had when I was a boy, and even a young man. I would pursue the new and older, and ‘manlier’ only to find the happiness I sought to have been in what I previously had. Somehow, the joy I sought was in the more innocent pursuits of my earlier childhood. This, in my mind, goes right along with childlike faith that Christ commanded. However, at the same time Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, talks about becoming a man and putting away the things of a child. This presents a certain dilemma of maturing without growing up. I’m still working on this one, I’m not quite sure of all the workings. It entails responsibilities being fulfilled, but at the same time a playfulness. (I really enjoyed a talk given by Doug Jones on playfulness, which I would be happy to discuss in conversation.)
Interestingly, most of the ‘joys’ that fit this bill, of mature innocence, seem to be fulfilled with the local Church fellowship. Point in hand; this last Sunday many of us brought our musical instruments to church, and after lunch spent the afternoon jamming and playing hymns. There is an innate joy in making music with others, and that joy multiplies as skills mature. It is the same joy, increased with maturity. Yet there is no concrete purpose outside that joy. Granted, there are good applications, like the worship of God in heaven, but the pursuit of music, or any number of the arts, is not productive. It can be mature without being grown-up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)