“Embrace Your Weakness”

So I see the above article title as I sit to write. While my neighbor's kid has his idiot music so loud that it would wake the dead if anything but God could do such a thing.

As I analyze the title of that unread article I wonder what God is teaching me in this situation? These days, to speak out against the idiot culture seems like a scary thing to do. If we open our mouths we declare who we are and what we stand for. Which seems only popular if you are on the far left. So where do we Christians fit into this age? How far should we go to make a point? What is our responsibility and what should be our goal? Should we rock the boat or stay in our holy huddle? Are we to be Gandi types or George Parton types? These are all burning questions.

I believe that we have caved to the mainstream already in many ways. We are a nation of millions of Christians yet it seems that nobody is doing anything as we see our snile president bumbling and stumbling through a softball press conference. "Come on man!"

We actually think that someone else is going to stick their neck out to stop the foolishness. Really? Do you really think that?

We Christians are not militant, right? We should lay our head on the chopping block and let it roll without a fight. We are pacifists like Jesus, correct?

We have become spiritual jellyfish. We cower in our homes and wear masks because we're told to do so by the governing authorities. We have church online and think, "well at least we're meeting!" We fear reprisals from hate groups or gangs of thugs. We see news reports of normal people being taken to jail and fear the same treatment. Why?

As he took lunches to his brothers and heard the idiot giant screaming philistine obscenities at God, David began to ask questions. "Who is this blasphemous beast? What is the price on his head? Is there not a cause?"

Saul's reaction is classic, "You can't go battle this guy! You're a kid, he's been a warrior since he was a kid!" David then begins to tell the king how that God had helped him protect his flock by killing attacking wild animals with small weapons, and Saul suddenly has a change of heart. "Go, and the Lord be with you." was all he could whimpering.

Strange that as king, he didn't ask about the battle plan or if David wanted backup. Just a feeble astalavista as if to say, "Have fun storming the castle boy."

Admittedly, David's reaction and battle plan was not the seemingly wise thing to do. A kid against a giant? What were the odds?

That's was it, there were no odds. All bets were off. The battle was the Lord's!

In the aftermath did everyone live happily ever after? Nope. David's problems really started with that victory. Not because he beat that bad old giant, but because the king's envy took center stage for the next few years. There was a price to pay for that battle against evil. The bigger enemy for those following years was his own leader. The man who David called, "God's chosen". Wow.

Where does this leave us? Here are some observations.

There is a battle
God is being blasphemed
There is a cause
We have enough to win the battle
The victory probably won't bring ease

So, get those smooth stones ready.

Daughter and dog...

About six months ago we discovered that Ann was pregnant and were very excited for she and Jackson. We will have babies on this side and that of the Atlantic. We weren't prepared for that news and we we were even less prepared for the news that our little dog is pregnant. To date we have spent more on the dog than on Annie (don't tell her... Ann that is). Ann has yet to discover whether her baby is a boy or girl. Both ultrasound images were inconclusive. Though I did some further investigation of my own and was startled with what I found. to me it looks as if the baby is definitely a boy and has some resemblance from both sides of the family. Take a look for yourself and let me know what you think.

God’s Orchestration

I love to see the Lord work His Salvation miracles. His works are Master Pieces of sweet music. They are arrangements that only He can make happen. Two weeks ago I began my second attempt at cello lessons. I had tried the instrument about five years ago and found my fingers so rusty and decrepit that I had given up after just a few months. So, why my second go? Here’s one short and sweet story. There is a youg man that works with Alexandre at school. He teaches music and is a musical genius. At sixteen he began a city wide music program to train young musicians in Sorocaba. Recently he has worked with two deaf children and has been able to teach them to play violin using a method that he developed. There doesn’t seem to be an instrument that he cannot play. His seventeen year old wife also plays the flute and is studying nursing. They are a very young but very sharp couple. In a conversation after the recent Recital Junior convinced me that it would be a good idea for me to take up...

Abs of Steel with Glasses

Have you ever wondered why Clark Kent always took his glasses off before he turned into Superman? I hadn’t ever thought about it either until this last Saturday when I almost got sucker-punched. Wellington, one of my spunky Juniors, wanted to wrestle. He feigned a punch to my gut and I said, “Go ahead. I have abs of steel!” I think that my gym visits might be going to my head because my abs of steel are buried under a healthy layer of blubber. I have improved my six-pack but it is far from chiseled. It looks more like a quarter of a keg. Anyway, quick as a wink and with near lightening speed Wellington said, “Yeah but up here is made of glass!” as his poke went within a hair’s breadth of my glasses! I belly-laughed. His rapid reflexes and wit had caught me by surprise. And what he said was so true and funny. It was an excellent though brief lesson. I often prepare for an oncoming fray. I get ready, set and then “BLAM”! The proverbial punch comes from a totally different direction. ...

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