Mike, Marilyn's Husband

Today we attended a memorial service for a man who died last Monday. He wasn't elderly and seemed to be in good health. His wife came home from out-of-town and found him; it was their anniversary.

Our society doesn't like to deal with the end of earthly life or even think about it, but that's denying what's real- almost creating a different reality, as if that somehow could "protect" oneself.

I had spoken briefly to Mike a few weeks ago at a church function and he had mentioned the importance of faith- a real faith, one that is "inside." I'm glad, for his sake and his wife's, that he knew that.

During the eulogy by his grown children, they mentioned how their father had always said to them, "Trust in the Lord" and "His timing is perfect." It seemed as if his faith made an impact on them and they were thankful for it, even if they didn't realize it at the time.

Alpha Weekend

I drove numbers 2 & 3 to a camp today where they will be spending most of the weekend with folks doing the Alpha course. We arrived at eight and everything was set-up nicely. The building looked very comfortable and pleasant, not "camp-like" (musty, damp, etc.). I've been praying that the weekend is a good experience for them and more than just fun.

Nee on Duty

An idea from Nee: There is no need for people to feel the power which comes from the Holy Spirit. It is not given for that purpose. Man's duty is to obey God.

Baseball History

The Boston Red Sox have made baseball history. This Red Sox team will be known as one of the all time great baseball teams and this postseason will be written about for years to come. But only Sox fans (and maybe Cubs fans) will be able to know what it means. Only Sox fans will understand how one World Series Championship can be greater and sweeter than twenty-six World Series Championships.

Send Me Email

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Chinese Food & Bible Study

Numbers 2&3 will be having their supper at Alpha tonight; number one will fend for himself; wife and I will stop for Chinese on the way to the Bible study. Tonight is the third evening (of five) and it's going well. There's about ten of us meeting in a home at 7:15 and there's a real interest in the topic, to gauge from the discussion and comments. An encouragement.

The hosting family lives near a lake and has a large living room. She's an Art teacher at the local elementary school and he works for the cable tv company. J&N have been attending the same church for something like twenty-two years (!). They have this really old dog who's gray all the way up his snout up to behind his eyes. He has a tennis ball that he carries over to you in his mouth, drops at your feet and waits patiently for you to kick it somewhere so he can chase it. He may be old, but he is not slow- he can dart after that ball with the best of them.

Working Late at the Office

As we know and maybe you've heard said, there has never been an epitaph saying, "I wish I spent more time at the office." Most of us would agree that no sane person, leaving this life, regrets that more time should have been spent at work.

OK; that's not hard to grasp and seems pretty much self-evident. But then, why, why do so many (intelligent and sane) people live as if it will be a great regret that they didn't spend more time at work? I don't get it.

Coffee with Watchman

After church, while numbers 2 & 3 were in their Sunday School classes, we drove to a local donut place and got coffee to go and brought it to a scenic spot. Wife and I read aloud and discussed ideas from a book by Watchman Nee. Nee, a Chinese Christian, was a writer and teacher from the 30's to the 50's. The non-western, non-American perspective on the faith is interesting.

Pot Providence

Tonight a simple "pot-Providence" supper at our house with two Christian couples whom we haven't seen in a while. R&M live in the local area, G&N live a ways away. It was good to have them over and share a meal. With dessert we shared the Cup and took a few minutes to discuss what Christ's sacrifice means to us. Faith brings richness, and shared faith even more so.

Friday Night at the Movies

Tonight we carry on our weekly "tradition" of homemade pizza and a movie. I like spinach and/or thin-sliced tomato (with or without chunks of onion), sometimes s instead of spinach. The kids go with pepperoni. It'll be Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark tonight.

Pokey Puts Them Away

Playoff history has been made- before our very eyes (or, ears, since we listen to the games). I got up at 11:15 and met my daughter coming up the stairs (you couldn't sleep, either?). We turned on the radio in the top of the ninth. I woke my youngest (the oldest had to sleep, getting up at 5am) and the three of us listened to the bottom of the ninth. A routine grounder to Pokey Reese put the Yankees away for the year and the Sox made history. "Sweet" doesn't begin to describe it.

Beginning Rock Guitar

I've been teaching my youngest son guitar for a couple of years. We're going through some standard "method" books for the basics and a good foundation in reading. There are so many great teaching resources that didn't exist when I was learning (back in the Dark Ages). He's now starting Beginning Rock Guitar, the first in a series of three, from National Guitar Workshop. It comes with a CD so he can hear how each exercise is supposed to sound. I'm glad I've been given the patience to stay with this- for his sake, and mine.

The Good News

God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form...The perfect surrender and humiliation was undergone by Christ: perfect because He was God, surrender and humiliation because He was man. -C. S. Lewis

Foolishness

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

-Paul, formerly Saul, of Tarsus.

At Home

It's nice to be back home. Got back late afternoon, so we had time to unpack, look at the mail, etc. Back to the "normal" (whatever that is!) routine tomorrow. We had an interesting walk this morning in Yarmouth Port, at a beach/salt marsh on Cape Cod bay. There was a long boardwalk extending out from the beach over about 150 yards of salt marsh. It was sunny and clear but windy and in the low 50's.

Had lunch at Ginny's, a "Mom & Pop" establishment (actually a "Mom" establishment, since Ginny was the only one there) in Sagamore, just on the cape side of the bridge. She was an older lady who was eager to please and friendly. The building was old, but the food was quite good (I had apple cinnamon pancakes and bacon, extra well-done).

Nauset Beach

The weather is cooperating. We spent the better part of the afternoon on the beach (part of the National Seashore) breaking in our four beach chairs with jackets and hats on watching the surf, reading, soaking up the sun and salt air, and eating fried chicken. It was a cool, but beautiful afternoon; the surf was "up" and a seal came to visit, to about fifty feet from shore. We were perched near the dune but the tide came in for the first two hours, or so, with some wave wash stopping just a few feet from our feet, but we managed to stay "high and dry." A perfect Cape Cod afternoon.

Chatham

Today I took the day off to get an early start. My wife, two younger ones and I drove a few hours out to South Yarmouth on the Cape. We're at the same motel we stayed at last year.-hopefully a relaxing and fun weekend. I brought another O'Brien nautical novel and four new beach chairs I got on eBay- we hope to break them in, weather permitting. The motel has a library and a ping pong table, which our teens enjoy.

Around six we ended up at Chatham Light, an operating lighthouse on a high bluff overlooking the beach. It was almost dusk and somewhat misty/foggy. We and the other tourists got to participate in evening "colors," turning from the view of the water, standing and facing the lighthouse and flagstaff with hats off as the coast guardsman lowered the flag and saluted. A sort of mental postcard.

Tuesday Evening Went Well

The first session of our Bible study/discussion group went well Tuesday evening. There were nine there all-together and everyone was willing to participate- discussing, reading short passages aloud, praying aloud, etc. I think it will be a good time and a beneficial time.

What Are You Reading These Days?

Right now I'm reading a biography of Watchman Nee, called Against the Tide and a book on WWII naval history. What are you reading these days? - send me an email (go to my "Profile" and there's a link for email).

Columbus Day

I worked today, even though it was a holiday. Met Lou for coffee at Treat's Bakery at 7 am. He loaned me a book on apologetics and we discussed our experiences teaching. It was a coolish day. Homemade minestrone soup with hot home-baked Italian bread was a nice supper. Went to bed early; the last four or five weeks have been draining & tomorrow will be a long day- dentist at 8 am, work, leading the Bible Study in the evening; first game of Sox-Yankees playoffs.

Homecoming & the Pennant

Yesterday my son and I took in a football game at the College of the Holy Cross. The Crusaders were crushed by the Mountain Hawks of Lehigh University. But it was homecoming weekend and the weather was perfect New England October.

Looks like it'll be the Red Sox and the Yankees contending for the American League pennant again this year. Let's all hope for a better outcome than last year.

The Chase Starts Tuesday

This coming Tuesday will begin a five week study & discussion group that I will be leading. The study guide is entitled, The Chase: Pursuing Holiness in Your Everyday Life, by Jerry Bridges. We will be meeting at the home of a family who lives nearer to the church than us (we're one town away). We'll have light snacks and coffee, going from 7:15 to 8:45 with 7:30-8:30 being dedicated to discussion.

I chose the book for several reasons. It is easy to understand, it's practical in its approach and it's biblically-based. The topic is timely and relevant. To me, discipleship is a neglected area of church life and studies like this are needed.

One of the main ideas that underlie what I hope to accomplish- a starting point, if you will, is this: growth in one's Christian life does not come about from simply gaining knowledge. Growth comes from a combination of learning and being willing to change. In my experience, most Bible study emphasize gaining an increase of knowledge but stop there.

We'll see how it goes.

Lunch With Wife, Etc.

I was supposed to have lunch with my mother earlier in the week, but had to cancel due to a meeting with the dean about one of the students I mentioned in yesterday's posting. Today I hope to be able to meet my wife for a quiet lunch. The plan is to meet at 11:30 to "beat the crowd." It's a simple, Frendlies-kind-of-place.

The last month has been hectic, so a peaceful, quiet lunch together is what's needed.

We work hard at avoiding hectic-ness and are thankful that most of the time we can pretty much do so, even with three teens. There are times when daily life seems to generate "momentum" and it's hard to put the brakes on. So, we try to be patient and ride it out, and then are able to gain control of our time, pretty much.

Yes, we are unusual in this respect, in the context of twenty-first century American life, but... what else is new?

Unreasonableness

This week has been draining at work. There have been situations with two students, both male, one in his twenties and one in his thirties. Both are dealing with significant issues and neither seems to be able to comprehend that they, through their attitudes and unreasonableness, are increasing their own problems. Both seem determined to fix the blame for their academic struggles on anyone and anything outside themselves, but that is not where the problems lie. It's really unfortunate and somewhat sad because they're making their own lives miserable, not to mention the lives of the people around them. There's a lesson in this, somewhere.

Good News

The result of my wife's colonoscopy (as a follow-up to her illness last week) was normal. We're thankful for that.

Breakfast With John

John W. has been a friend for years. We get together for breakfast three or four times a year to stay in touch. Our families have been through some of the same stages, so we compare notes about what our kids are doing (and how we are doing). His are all adopted.

We are different in many ways but there are some substantial commonalities. We both served as officers in the USCG (we didn’t know each other at that time). Both of us committed our lives to following Christ as adults and we are both “family men.”

This morning it was interesting to hear about a son who’s at Army boot camp and a daughter who’s at Word of Life Bible Institute...discussing the challenges and rewards of helping our children enter adulthood.

Maybe...Just Maybe....

Well, Curt Schiling will be pitching tomorrow in the first game of the American League Divisional Series against Anaheim, another team we like. (The Angels are a scrappy team; they were fun to follow the year before last when they went over the Yanks to defeat the Giants in the World Series. My son has a ball that was signed by Adam Kennedy, their second baseman, when they were at Fenway in 2003.)

Another opportunity for the New England favorites….

All of New England is, once again, skeptically optimistic. Maybe, just maybe….

Rose of Sharon

My youngest son helped me take down the dead Rose of Sharon trees- a beautiful fall day to work outdoors. I told him it was a special thing for a father to work alongside his son.

Political Opinions

For what it's worth, here's my prediction: the dems are going to lose the election. Kerry hasn't convinced the American people that he can lead this country, especially in a time of national crisis (the war with terrorists). In a time of crisis and danger, the "poison you know" is preferable to the "poison you don't know." Bush, most people feel, is protecting this country from terrorists.

I think that the criteria most of us are using to determine whether Bush is protecting the country from terrorists is that there have been no terrorist attacks here in the three years since 9/11. That's not because of a lack of desire to carry out more attacks against the "Great Satan" on the terrorists' part; it's because they are scrambling to survive- focusing on defense, rather than offense.

So, many, many Americans are probably thinking, why run the risk of electing someone else, someone unproven?

Also, statements by Kerry, such as "I'd get the world on our side," sound good, but are hollow. It's an ideal to strive for, but most Americans are savvy enough to know that it cannot be done. Kerry, too, knows it's impossible, but he is struggling to find things to say.

Saturday & Sunday

Tomorrow is Saturday and my son the EMT will be working. His paramedic courses are demanding but he is enjoying them. I'll probably take my youngest son, the sports fan, to the Yale Bowl for a football game. Neither of us have been there; it should be a fun time together.

Sunday after church I'll probably do some yard work, if I can borrow my son's truck. Several of our large Rose of Sharons have died (last winter was bitterly cold) and they are now falling over. And there are lots of downed limbs and branches in the yard from all the hurricane related wind and rain.