"Raise your hand if you need help!"

I am Batman!

Isn't he just adorable. Thats my little boy. He got a mask, and I found our barber's cape, and he's all set.

Of course, since he's in school, he has to raise his hand to do anything. He wants us to follow suit.

It seems a bit unwieldly to me, but its his imagination. Who am I to wake the dreamer?

Quick Faith

"That we ought to quicken, i.e., to enliven, our faith. "

This book is broken up into a couple different sections: Conversations, and Letters. The first part appears to be a recollection of, well, conversations, that the author had with Brother Lawrence.

The first conversation lists several basic tenets of Christian life. Nourish ourselves with God. Spend time with God. Give up the world. Things like that. Basics.

Who wants basics? I want something new, something exciting! I have a closetful of movies and music I hardly listen to, and boxes of books I haven't unpacked yet. I want them, because I might watch, listen, or read them again. But I still go out and buy new things. The same with food. Forget the hot dog, I want a "Death Dog," loaded with chili, cheese, and whatever else I can fit into the bowl or onto the plate. I like the Chinese buffet, because I get a wide assortment of foods, and not the everyday steak and potatoes I'm used to eating.

Unfortunately, when we start seeking the new, the titillating, we get used to it, and need greater stimui. More food, spicier food, bigger books, longer movies, more violence and sex in our moview and videogames.

New experiences in church. New highs in our prayer life and devotional reading. Brother Lawrence said we need to give ourselves up to God, with regard to material things AND spiritual things. Seek our satisfaction only in Him. Stop amusing ourselves with trivial devotions. Remain faithful, especially in the dry times. It is here we prove our love for God, and at these times advance spiritually.

Paying it Backwards

I was reading a book, a particularly gruesome book, Journey into Darkness. A nineteen year old girl is brutally raped and murdered. A few years later, her father has a root canal, but refuses to take the painkillers afterwards. He explained that he had asked God to take his pain, that he voluntarily suffered, and subtract it from the pain his daughter had suffered. He continued to that, and may still do it for all I know.

I was sitting in church about 10 years ago, and listened to a man testify to God's grace. His daughter, or granddaughter, I don't remember which, had the flu. He also prayed. He asked God to take the flu from her and give it to him, just so she would feel better. She got better, and he got sick. Praise God! Praise God?

Unless I missed something here, God doesn't work that way. I don't remember that ever happening in the Bible. Although I do seem to remember something about air-borne diseases. If you share the household with a sick person, there are good chances that you will also get sick.

Besides, didn't the Bible say something about "by His stripes we are healed." It seems utterly ridiculous, to me, for me to take to myself a debt that has already been paid by someone else. If my children are sick, there is no reason for me to take their sicknesses when Jesus already has. Stupidity, if you ask me.

Back to the first man. Do I believe God can take my pain, apply it to someone else's situation, and relieve them by that much? Yes, He can. Does He? I don't think so. Its a nice sentiment, and it probably helps the father deal with his pain, but I don't really think it helps the victim.

If I want God to help someone, I will pray for them. What can I offer that Jesus hasn't already done? It may sound crass, but I would rather take care of myself, my health, and ask Someone much more qualified to deal with the situation.

Oooh, bad idea...

I can't help thinking this is a bad idea.

What is New Orleans known for? Mardi Gras, the last big hurrah before we enter the lent season, just before Easter. Although I've never been there, it sounds like one huge debauchery. Wine, women, and song. And lots more that probably isn't even legal.

Two Level 5 hurricanes demolish the city and put most of it underwater. Its nearly destroyed totally, thousands dead, lawlessness running rampant. It makes me think of the history of Israel. The people would turn from God, and God would punish them, and they would return, for a while.

In the book of Judges, the Israelites returned to God. Under the kings, over a period of centuries, they turned farther and farther away, with renewals becoming rarer. And finally, destruction. Israel scattered, and Judah in captivity. They return, and 400 years later crucify their own Messiah, Jesus Christ. 40 years later, Jerusalem is razed, the temple destroyed, and the nation is no more, for around 1900 years. May 1948, I believe, is when the modern nation of Israel was reborn.

America has seen what God can do. He used foreign countries to punish Israel. Could He use the forces of nature to do the same to us? Yes. Is He? I don't know.

But I think expanding the gambling industry to help restore this area of our country is a dangerous idea.

2002 Kia Sedona

Well, here it is. Our new-ish vehicle. I've been wanting a mini-van, but I didn't expect it under these circumstances.

My wife's car didn't pass its smog test, and we really need two. I go to work several hours earlier than she does, before she or the kids are even out of bed. She needs a car to take them to drop them off before she goes to work, and I need one to get them after work.

I convinced my wife to buy a bicycle for us to share instead. I'd ride it to work, then down to her job, get the car, and pick up the kids. It would have saved us ALOT of money, if I could have ridden it far enough. Alas, its been a long time since I rode. I only made it three blocks before turning around and struggling back home. That was Sunday night.

I scurried around Monday checking out the places we didn't get to over the weekend. We ended up going back to the one we looked at first on Friday evening. What a waste of time.

But, we have a mini-van. And a new bike.