Minor Debut of Baby B.

And now announcing, Baby B.! We went to the first ultrasound today and when we finally got called back (appt at 10:30 and called back over an hour later), we got to see the little one.

Here's a pic courtesy of my cell phone (we have better pictures but I need a better scanner than the one I have at work!):



It's a little blurry, but I know that some folks might want to see even this pic. The head is near the bottom left and feet are at the top right.

More pictures to come.

Our Worldview and Our Identity in Christ

As my wife and I await the arrival of our child, we have the fortunate chance to be studying Ted Tripp's Shepherding a Child's Heart in our Sunday School class. In it, it speaks of addressing the heart or sin issues that underlie the child's behavior--understanding not only the what of the behavior, but the why.

This week I was thinking of the importance of the Gospel in raising up a child in the way that he should go but in addition the importance of the Gospel in forming that child's worldview. We certainly cannot prepare a child for EVERY single situation that the child might face, nor can we shield the child from every bad thing. A proper and full understanding of the Gospel is key to giving the child the tools and framework he needs by the time he leaves home.

To give an example (and this may be a sore spot for some), the subject of drinking. Simply telling a child that he shouldn't drink alcohol because it is not a good thing as a stand-alone statement will not service them at all, not only because (as I read it) it is not borne out in the scriptures but it is not within any framework. Taught within the framework that we are put on this earth to glorify God and enjoy him forever, coupled with scriptural references to moderation (and not drinking to excess) and not causing another brother to stumble, a child can see what is proper for the situation and what is not. Giving a child precepts upon which he can address a situation is important in living the rest of his life--rules simply prefaced with "because I said so" (though there is a place for that at times) will not ultimately stick when the pressure and heat of life come upon the then-grown up adult.

How does this connect with our identity in Christ? A proper understanding of the Gospel informs the child to find his security and who he is in Christ, not in the things or pleasures of this world, or the affections or attentions of others. Even in Christian homes do children grow up to be insecure, for they are not shown the full riches of the Gospel (this is more rooted in an incomplete understanding of our adoption in Christ, but that is another post)! I admit that until I came to Reformed Theology I did not fully comprehend grace or the sovereignty of God; for me it adjusted my worldview where worry was no longer a part of who I was and my desire for glorifying God (through the continuous help of the Holy Spirit) became stronger because of this new understanding.

Preach the Gospel to your kids daily by your words and actions, confronting their hearts and shaping their minds so that they might give glory to God as a first response, even when they have left the home.

Let us make this our prayer, modeling it for our children (taken from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Readings):

"Lord, help me to glorify thee; I am poor, help me to glorify thee by contentment; I am sick, help me to give thee honour by patience; I have talents, help me to extol thee by spending them for thee; I have time, Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve thee; I have a heart to feel, Lord, let that heart feel no love but thine, and glow with no flame but affection for thee; I have a head to think, Lord, help me to think of thee and for thee; thou hast put me in this world for something, Lord, show me what that is, and help me to work out my life-purpose: I cannot do much, but as the widow put in her two mites, which were all her living, so, Lord, I cast my time and eternity too into thy treasury; I am all thine; take me, and enable me to glorify thee now, in all that I say, in all that I do, and with all that I have."

A Protest Vote

My wife and I did something for the first time ever yesterday. We registered a protest vote in the Virginia Primary. What do I mean by that, you say? Well, I simply don't like the two Republicans still "in" the race, so I voted for the person I really wanted to vote for who didn't stay in the race. It certainly wasn't Romney and while I like a lot of what Paul says (like the fact that he adheres more strictly to the Constitution), he's a little too libertarian for me and I don't really think yanking all the troops out right away is the way to handle Iraq. I'd agree that LESS involvement in the world is what the US needs, but gradual rather than immediate withdrawal, IMHO, would be the best course.

Nope, I voted for Fred Thompson, as a protest to the selection of folks that were left--the selection feels like it did in 1996, though I couldn't vote then, but the end result may be different. McCain will likely get the nomination, and I suppose that when November rolls around, I will pull the Republican lever, but with McCain's tendency to lean to the left on most issues, who knows.

And on a side note, hello to my one visitor from Moscow, Russia (this Google Analytics stuff is great!)!

Silly Saturdays, Part One: Groucho Marx and The Seven Cent Nickel

Something I'm going to start doing on this blog is every Saturday (or at least every other Saturday) is put a funny clip up for a good laugh. Here's a really great clip from one of my favorite Marx Brothers Films, Animal Crackers:



The great thing about Marx is that he NEVER stopped--it's one joke right after another. I have heard it said that there is a GREAT difference between comics, who have routines and bits, and comedians, who can honestly (in my humble opinion) be funny about EVERYTHING.

Enjoy.

33,285

It's not the population of my hometown (I just looked and it only had about 7500 people), but the number of MILES that I drove JUST FOR THE JOB in 2007. When I added it up at work today, I couldn't believe it myself.

Whoa.

Mixed Bag at Court Yesterday

Yesterday was an interesting day--I had a court appearance in the morning and one in the afternoon, and neither went how I thought it was going to go.

I had one case yesterday morning about an hour and a half away (which meant I had to get up early to drive and be there), and when I got there, proper service on the case had not been made, so I had to continue the case and drive back with no result.

In the afternoon, I fully expected to dismiss all my cases due to a judge that (in my opinion) was requiring more than the law required as far as documentation, but when I arrived, it was a different judge completely and I got judgment on all of my cases. A blessing, indeed!

I feel mostly recovered from the Super Bowl party the other night, but in some ways I am glad football season is over so that I essentially have six or seven months off from post-season type games that I might have to stay up for (baseball playoffs come around in September and October, when a certain little one will be joining us.... :) ).

Happy Birthday!

My dog is now three and here's a funny pic:


Rambaldi says: "Whasaaaaa!"

What Do You Treasure? (Part Two)

And now for the second part of the diagnostic questions (the first post with the first three questions can be found here):

4. What do you talk about? How often does the name “Jesus” come up in your conversation as a relationship to the word “money”? How would your spouse answer that question about you?

The more days that pass and the more I interact with people, the more I realize that one thing stays the same: we are a people of stories. It doesn't matter how much technology that has arrived or come out, we are storytellers. I get home from work and I talk to my wife about my day, and I frame it in a story. When you're with good friends, you start off, "Remember when you..." followed by laughter or some other reaction. For my part, to reiterate a response earlier, money comes up when a bill has to be paid or some future expense is discussed--now as far as how many times Jesus is connected with that conversation, I must confess not often.

But this is only because in analyzing this as I write, I realize that for some reason when discussing money (or often the lack thereof), I often speak of God providing. It is strange, but now that I think about it, I often speak of God as always being faithful in providing everything we need (physically) while I speak of Jesus as to spiritual needs. They are three-in-one, the Trinity, but it is interesting to think that I have compartmentalized in this way.

(as for what my wife would say, I'm not sure! :) )

5. What do you worry about? Are you more worried about the global state of the economy or the global state of Christianity?

As a matter of degree, I suppose that I worry more about the global state of Christianity rather than the global economy, but this is likely more of function in how I let the news affect me (if I read it much at all). Before I came to Reformed theology and really grasped the doctrine of election, things often paralyzed me because of the immense pressure that I had TOTAL control (though this was incorrect) over an outcome. Realizing the immensity and/or consequence of what the election doctrine holds was my "Martin Luther" moment (if you recall his Romans 1:16 realization). It opened up to me how God was really sovereign over everything and how I was NOT God and He very much was.

All that to say: I don't pray enough about the global state of Christianity as I ought, because I, like many Christians in the West, walk through life oblivious to the suffering and martyrs in the world. Even worse, I am oblivious to the suffering that goes on around me and if I'm worried about one thing, it's that I'll get to heaven and I will have to face the missed opportunities that I did not take advantage of to share the Gospel (not that my not doing these things thwarts the will of God in ANY way, but it goes back to the parable of the talents and sharing the grace that I have been given).

On some level, I probably worry about others' approval, if I had to choose something, but as to the second part of the question, as I have indicated, I don't "worry" about the global state of Christianity as I should, but in the ultimate, I know that God has us in His loving hands.

6. What would it take for you to live an “excellent” life? What resource would, if given to you right now, provide the fuel for you to live an outstanding life?

I don't know how to answer this question, because at this particular moment I feel pretty blessed. I have the Word as a great resource, though I don't use and study it as often as I should. No more money or better status would make my life more excellent, though traveling a little less might be better! God has taught me over the past 10 years the value of being content.

Treasuring the Right Things and Finishing Well

As a sandwich post between my two posts on what people treasure, my good friend Joey Bailey, Family Life Pastor at Green Run Baptist Church in Virginia Beach, had a great article about his Dad (who recently passed away) and what he learned from him:

Longing for Heaven on Our Best Days

"Our passions are not too strong, they are too weak. We are far too easily pleased."

These words penned by C.S. Lewis have been much on my mind as of late. Over the past several months I watched as my father suffered through pancreatic cancer. For a man in whom I rarely saw weakness or failure, this last battle was a difficult one to watch for those by his side. My father taught me many things over the past thirty-four years. I learned how to be loyal to my wife and children. I learned to appreciate a day’s work and the provision it brings to the family. I learned that a man’s duty is to use his God-given strength, wisdom, and resources to help those in need and protect those who cannot protect themselves. I learned how to be unwavering in my convictions without hypocrisy. But it was in his last few hours of earthly life that my dad taught me his greatest lesson.

This world is not my home. This truth is no more evident for the Christian than in times of pain and sorrow. I watched as my dad’s suffering focused his eyes of faith more clearly than ever towards heaven. I saw the anticipation of hope fulfilled grow stronger in his heart. The inward groans of a Christian grow increasingly louder as they near the final stage of their redemption. The crossing of the Jordan puts Egypt forever behind them and the land of promise firmly under their feet. How sweet must be the tears of one who finally stands at the water’s edge ready to cross the final obstacle to an eternity of ever increasing joy in Christ.

There is no question that suffering in the life of a saint increases a longing for heaven. But what about blessing? I saw my dad long for heaven on his worst days. Do I find myself longing for heaven on my best days? Heaven is not simply the redemption of our bodies from all sin, sickness, and pain. God did not bring the Hebrews across the dry ground of the Red Sea just to escape the bondage of Egypt. Heaven is the fulfillment, the ultimate reality of the rich inheritance of all God has given us through Jesus Christ. It is a journey from Egypt to Canaan. Every good pleasure, every happy moment, every object of beauty and majesty in this life is a mere glimpse of what awaits us in heaven. The strongest passions of our hearts can only gain a small taste of delight here.

The danger for us lies in becoming, as Lewis observes, “too easily pleased” with earthly pleasures. We allow our appetites to be satisfied with appetizers, rather than allowing these things to increase our hunger for the real feast. Good days are good gifts from our good God. They are good because they are meant to make us long for heaven just as much as the dark and difficult days. Let us lay aside weak passions and small pleasures so that we may press onward in our journey to a land rich with delight far beyond our wildest imaginations.

Thanks, dad for teaching me how to fight and run in such a way as to finish well and receive the prize!

What Do You Treasure? (Part One)

Last week our pastor preached on the passage in Matthew 6, where Jesus spoke of earthly treasures and instead of clinging to those so tightly, we should "lay up" treasures in heaven.

He then gave us some diagnostic questions to think about over the week, and I thought that I would post and give some comment/answers to them (from my personal viewpoint).

1. What makes you feel rich? What makes you feel poor? Is your answer to this question articulated primarily in monetary terms? What makes you feel full, satisfied, and successful? Conversely, what makes you feel empty, exposed, uncomfortable?

This one is quite a question indeed, and I think most of us do, on some level, answer it in terms of money. Sure, I'm no Scrooge McDuck, but part of living in America tempts you to look over to your neighbor and say, "Gosh I wish I had a better car" or house, etc. I admit that at times I feel poor because of a type of lack of security by degree. Now what do I mean by that? I have a car, but it has TONS of miles on it and I wonder if it breaks down at any point? I do have fleeting moments where I think of how much I earn and wish I was earning more, but for me it's more of stuff that money can buy that can make some folks (me included) feel a little poor.

But now to the flip side--as for feeling rich, I feel rich in the relationships that I have with others. I am extremely blessed in my family life in that I deeply love all of my family and that most if not all know and love the Lord--I am not estranged with anyone in my family, and unfortunately these days, many people cannot say that. These riches far outweigh any feelings I may have of feeling poor, because at the end of the day, knowing you are loved not only by your Heavenly Father but in your earthly relationships can buoy any sense of loss or lack.

Feeling successful or empty, I think, is often rooted in America's sense of wanting to be secure: you graduate from high school/college, you get a good job, get married, have kids, have a great house, cars, etc. If we look around to see that some have what we want, we wonder what we have done wrong, or if someone has what we have, only better, we feel as if we have failed. It would be easy for me to say that as an attorney, I should be making more money or have a better job, but I have to be content to be where God has placed me at the moment. God really showed me this through the whole job search process as well as John Piper's book, Don't Waste Your Life.

2. What must you get in order to make life sing? Is the answer a physical thing? A large comfortable home? Successful children? Financial Security? A satisfying work life? Good grades at school? Cool parents? Answer honestly – where does Jesus Christ fit into the song of your life?

Looking at this question, I had to think about it hard--at different times of my life (as the Holy Spirit worked on me), some of the above were the answers to the question. I can remember during the first two years of college how I studied SO HARD and yet struggled to get grades that I was satisfied with; it was only after the passage on not worrying in Matthew 6 really got through to me that I got my best grades in my whole time in college. I've never really cared about stuff or houses or even financial security (because I simply look at money as a means to live and buy things I need--this is why it's not as hard for me to give it away).

In thinking about it honestly, I'd have to say being an important part in other people's lives--service would I guess be one of my stronger love languages and I really like to help others, so that makes my life sing. I have to confess, however, that Jesus is not always at the forefront of this as He should be. If I was honest, deep down I wonder if it was to obtain recognition or praise, and I have to fight this, examining why I do things. I struggle much with having a daily quiet time and studying the Word as I ought (see my post on resolutions for the New Year!), so as to keep Christ my focus in my actions.

3. What do you think about most often? How often do you think of money? How often do you think of heaven?

I have to say that I think of money in two circumstances: when something needs to be paid or bought, or if some special need comes up that I think that we can fill. I don't often dwell on money (as in "man, we need $___ to do this or that") for more than a short time--my wife and I have been married a short time but have seen God's provision time and again.

I think of heaven somewhat often, though perhaps not in a glorifying way. What do I mean? Well, I think it is great to think of heaven, but not when you are thinking of it in an escapist way: Paul spoke of "to live is Christ, to die is gain" and that these present sufferings are in no comparison to our future glories in heaven. I am prone to more often think of heaven when I am troubled or in pain, asking the Lord to "take me Lord Jesus" and in a sense, asking Him to rescue me from this God-ordained suffering that will in fact refine me for His purposes. It's something I have to work on, thinking of heaven in a Christ-like attitude, "Thy will be done."

Rather than make this post longer than it already is, I will do the second half of the questions in another post. Feel free to comment, I always enjoy discussion!