A New House!

An amazing thing happened this past weekend. We looked for only a few hours and found the perfect house--and just when we thought it was too good to be true, we put an offer out and it was accepted the same day! The house is only a mile from where I work, it is almost brand new, and new appliances, etc. It even has a door flap for our dog on the back screen door, which was awesome.

God has certainly provided in this--now all we have to do is get this moving forward, close the house in Virginia Beach (which is going to happen on the 31st) and find someone to re-rent our apartment! :)

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The previous post was actually drafted a week ago, but I hadn't had a chance to post it yet. So busy with all that was going on!

The Importance of Family

Well, it's the weekend, and after having survived my first day in court just a few days ago, my wife and I ventured to the hills (or should I say mountains?) of West Virginia. It's always very relaxing to come here, to get away from the business of life.

Today we went to a birthday party for an uncle of my wife, who is 80 years old today. Yes, you read that sentence right. She has an uncle, and he is 80 years old. Her grandfather was born in 1886. He's no longer with us, and she never really got to know him. My wife's family is an extraordinary thing. To contrast, I have five cousins, TOTAL. My wife has 65 first cousins, on her dad's side ALONE.

Now, I say all of this to make this point. Family is going to be only as important as you make it. On my side of the family, we're all spread out--from Oregon to Missouri to Georgia to Kentucky to North Carolina and Virginia. We rarely are able to get the whole family together! But my wife's side all lives fairly close, and so at each opportunity for a gathering, they are all together. They may not have much in the world's eyes, but family is paramount and they are rich in that.

It would behoove American society to look back to the strength of what a family brings, rather than trying to keep up with the Jones'--the bigger house, car, etc. I've never known a kid growing up who (if he or she is TRULY honest) if given the choice, would rather have more stuff than spend time with mom or dad.

Family is a microcosm of history--first-hand accounts of war, good and hard times. And I've heard that unless we learn from history, we are doomed to repeat it. Why not glean wisdom from our extended family and learn from others' past mistakes? It's amazing what happens when you listen.

God's Immutable Nature

I have been endeavoring to read through books of the Old Testament for my reading each night before I go to bed, and right now I am on Jeremiah. In previous books, I would read several chapters at a time, but I have slowed to one chapter for this book, as it is very significant and at times quite terrible in its pronouncements to Israel.

However, in reading this book, I find a great truth. God is immutable, meaning that He has not changed. Webster more specifically defines it as "not capable or susceptible of change."

Why do I bring up this point in connection with Jeremiah? Because God's methods have not change from the Old Testament to the New Testament. There is a perception, perhaps even with some in evangelical circles, that after New Testament times, God is not the angry God of the Old Testament and is instead merciful and loving--like he has changed.

But the methods used by God through Christ in John 6 and in countless other places where the Word is preached by the Apostles, the same methods are used in Jeremiah!

Jeremiah 22:1, 4-6 "Thus says the LORD: 'Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, "Hear the Word of the LORD...For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the thrones of David...But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation." ESV

In Chapter 18, the imagery is much more stark, of the LORD asking them to turn from their ways, and they do not, over and over again.

To me this is a great reminder of grace in that we are ALL headed on the path to destruction, but in His grace He calls out to us, to take the exit off the road into safety. For those thinking that anyone on his or her human might or effort can come to Christ without a quickening or awakening move of the Holy Spirit--the nation of Israel were a chosen people and yet they forsaked the living God countless times. When Christ came humanity's heart was not instantly changed--remember it was them, in the hardness of their hearts, that crucified Him. Humanity still has the same hardness of heart as it always has. For true faith and repentance to be present as it was in Abraham and in apostles such as Paul and Peter, God must actively work, as He always has, and always will. Because He doesn't change.

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I hope to post a few other things I've been thinking on--one being on the importance of family, and the other on whether a crusade/cause can actually overshadow the importance of Scripture.

Weekend Update....

Well, we got a call from the realtor today, and the estimate for our small, townhouse roof was $2000! Yikes. Well, according to the contract, we're really only on the hook for $1440 in repairs, so we would do it but the buyer would have to pay the difference....but guess what, he doesn't want to spend another penny! So, we're going to get him a CHEAP roof, since we certainly don't want to spend more than we have to (plus we have other repairs we have to do). Did I mention I didn't like selling a house?

My first court date is next week, and I'm somewhat looking forward to getting in the swing of doing that.

We'll be looking foward to getting a house soon, as shared walls always seem too thin to block ANYTHING OUT. I mean, if you can clearly hear what your neighbors are watching???

It has been a very untypical July day, with a cool breeze running outside. However, the mess inside the apartment is calling--clutter drives me a little nuts, but with boxes everywhere (full of books, mostly) that aren't going to really be opened, it's hard to manage. It's also hard to remember where you pack things!

This 4th of July

Happy fourth to all of you from the mountains of Virginia. My wife and I had a wonderful (though busy) weekend in our Commonwealth's capital attending the wedding of one of my cousins. Our dog even made the trip, and I have to say he was quite a trooper, considering he stayed in the hotel room for considerable periods of time.

Yesterday I got word from our realtor that our townhouse has a bad roof and will likely need to be fixed to help the sale go through--it eats through some profits, but the sooner it gets sold, the better. I have to say that I like buying a house much more than selling one!

If you see a vet or current service member, thank them today--though we do this on Memorial Day and Vet's Day, it's important to remember that we wouldn't have an Independence Day to celebrate if they weren't out there doing what they were doing and have done.

On a different note, Matt Gumm has an interesting post on whether the the revolution that helped establish this country violated Romans 13. Interesting discussion.