the early days of ... I'd rather laugh than cry

introducing ... ckjolly.blogspot.com

2007-08-12T12:55:00.000+10:00

502 blog posts later and after many stories, travels, videos, photos, finding love on the internet ... I am proud to announce the inaugurating post at http://ckjolly.blogspot.com. All new updates will be posted at the new site.

Many in the realm of Christendom are choosing to refer to themselves as Christ-followers rather than Christians. Many theologians, evangelists, church planters, and "Christians" have adopted the term to remove the baggage and stigma the term Christian seems to bear on today's culture.

While many cringe at the word Christian, the name Jesus Christ almost universally demands respect. "Christian" in many cultures, however, conjures up images of tele-evangelists, the Ku Klux Klan, crusades, etc.

Christ-followers wish others to associate them with the Son of God and not a particular denomination or faction of society. Do they resent those who call themselves Christians? No.

What do you think of the use of terms?

The videos linked to on the new i'd rather laugh than cry are a parody of the Mac vs PC ads on television. They equate Christians with those of the traditional line of church-goers, while Christ-followers are associated with emerging types.

married for one month, part 15

2007-08-11T11:21:00.000+10:00

anthony asked:

Did you really actually know before you met that you would get married?
Were you too emotionally committed to pull out of it, even if you discovered that you came across differently in person than expected when you met, and discovered unforeseen personality incompatibilities? (I expect you to say that there were no real surprises when you met, so my next question would be...)
Would you have been able to get to know each other well enough for their to be no real surprises when you met if you didn't use webcams?
What do you think of the dangers of the false sense of intimacy that internet communication can bring?

Christine responds:

Mike and I did not begin communicating via webcam until September (2 months after we shared our feelings for each other). I knew I loved him even before I heard his voice (July 13, 2006 ... before that it was all msn messenger, email, and blogs). I wanted to be sure it was really him that I loved ... and not his wonderful good looks and sexy Aussie accent (that would have been enough for my dear friend Laura, I dare say ; ).

There was no pressure for Mike to propose to me when he came to America. By then I already had plans to visit during December/January. If things did not work out, the plan was for me to stay in Sydney over the holiday rather than going on to Tassie. It was Mike who took on the responsibility to purchase a ticket for me to fly from Sydney to Hobart.

Mike and I knew the dangers of internet relationships ... the ease of hiding behind a computer, etc. Thus we purposefully were very open, honest, and vulnerable about our own faults from the very beginning (msn messenger days).

married for one month, part 14

2007-08-11T11:12:00.000+10:00

Kelli B asked:

what's been the hardest thing to adjust to - going from single to married?
what's your favorite way to serve Mike/Christine?
what are you so excited to share with others about married life? to motivate and inspire them?

Christine responds:

Answered in posts below.
The other day I found myself determined to make certain sacrifices so that I do not contribute more damage to our already strained finances. I told Mike that I would buy juice from the shop. Now Mike knows that I'm fond of visiting a juice bar once or twice a week to enjoy a freshly squeezed glass of juice. But at $5 per large serving, I was better off financially just buying a $3 large bottle of juice for the whole week. But wonderful Mike was determined to bless me with, "I want you to not feel guilty and enjoy the fresh squeezed juice." Mike appears to be quite pleased that I cook for him.
I love working as a team with my husband ... whether it's holding the light for him as he drills a whole in the back of his desk or listening as he practices sermons and giving him suggestions. There is no place in marriage for selfishness.

Mike's 5 cents:

Hardest thing has been not working myself into the ground. When I work too hard 2 people suffer not just one.
Christine is a good listener and she works hard to keep the bathroom clean. I also do most of the cleaning and cook breakfast sometimes. I'm also patient with Christine's "creative distractedness".
See my answer here

married for one month, part 13

2007-08-02T11:34:00.000+10:00

Jonny asked:

Will all the kids/babies fit in your car?
If someone is over at your house for dinner, what time do they have to leave?

Christine responds:

I doubt the Camry will be around long enough to be filled beyond capacity with toddlers.
You have to leave at 9:30, Jonny. Don't worry. We'll stop the movie and start from where we left off the next time you come around.

married for one month, part 12

2007-08-02T11:33:00.000+10:00

Tracy asked:

What expectations did you have of marriage that you didn't realize that you had? (usually discovered in their disappointment)

Christine responds:

Moving into a bachelor's home where a system of how things are done and where items belong is difficult. It's difficult for a bride to feel that anything is really her own. She feels she's a guest until she can make her own home as she would like.

I thought I could march in and go about things as I normally would albeit in a new surrounding. But because living in Mike's old flat (while Dave is still overseas traveling) is only temporary ... I have to be careful to put things back just as I found them and respect the general system of established order.

I was surprised by how much stress I felt, as a result.

Much of this, however, will be alleviated as we move into our new apartment. Then I can decorate, arrange, and organize (don't scoff!) as I wish (of course, taking Mike's suggestions and needs into careful consideration).

Mike's friend, Sam, gave Mike this wise advice before Mike left for Germany:

"Let your wife decorate and arrange things as she wants and your own happiness will increase!"

married for one month, part 11

2007-08-02T11:32:00.000+10:00

Amy Imms asked:

Ok, Jason & I have a few questions...

What has been the most challenging aspect to married life so far??
If you guys were coming to my place for dinner, what would you be hoping I didn't cook? And if you didn't like it, would you eat it anyway?
Considering the long distance nature of your dating and engagement, are you finding anything about each other particularly different than expected?
Christine, could you see yourself living the rest of your life in Hobart?

Christine responds:

The most challenging aspect of married life so far has been knowing our role as a couple and not individuals. Does that make sense?
Nothing swimming in grease ... but yes, I'm a good missionary girl and will eat what is set before me. Oh, and please remember what I said about baby squid.
Um ... nup. We talked so much and were so open with each other that nothing has really been a surprise. Perhaps it's hard to believe, but I cannot emphasize enough ... it is ALL by God's grace! Mike and I are extremely blessed to have experienced such a smooth transition into marriage.
I've known from the beginning that following Mike's two year ministry apprenticeship that he plans on going to Bible College in Sydney. However, this is not set in stone. If for some reason Mike and I are led to remain in Hobart working ministry jobs or even secular jobs, I will definitely not resent him and shout, "You tricked me! I thought I'd be living in SYDNEY! You said you were going to be a PASTOR!!!" and then run to our room, slam the door, and cry into my pillow. (knock knock knock ... "If I'm meant to sleep on the couch can I at least grab my pillow and a blanket?") No, I love Hobart and if I had to finally settle in one place, why not here?

Mike's 2 cents:

I reckon the way we interact together with other people as a couple. eg. at church. I always feel awkward and not sure what to do. I guess I sort of agree with Christine.
Dominos Pizza. It really is sooo filthy. "pizza hangover anyone?" errgh. But I'd eat it if you put it in front of me.
Nup we talked about pretty much everything before we married. Christine is messy and I'm anal, you have to be honest about these things b4 you get married. But all credit to God for how our relationship has worked out.

married for one month, part 10

2007-08-01T10:17:00.000+10:00

Anonymous asked:

Is there anything you wish you had been told before you got married that no one told you?

Christine responds:

Nup, I can't say that there is.

Do I know everything?

Not by a long shot!

But I feel well-prepared and ready for this journey.

However, I think it is VERY important that readers consider what my friend Nixter has to add:

I have loved some of the things you have said and it has caused me to think through how I can be more like Christ in my marriage so thank you. I also think it is great that you haven't had any major struggles in your first few months of marriage - Praise God!

But I just wanted to say that that is not the case for a lot of people, I know many people who have struggled tremendously in their first year of marriage and that that can be quite normal.

I know for us there were heaps of adjustments in the first few months before things started settled down. In the book ‘From Blushing Bride to Wedded Wife’ it talks about how you are not alone in that struggle. So I think what I am saying is - it isn't always that easy and more often than not it is initially quite hard, this is at least from the people I have spoken to on the issue and also my own experience. Living with girls for 28 years of my life, doing what I want to do etc and then sharing a house, a bed, chores etc with your spouse can be quite an adjustment.

I would hate for people to think that if it isn't as easy for them then something is wrong. But I just want people to know that it is quite normal to feel uncertain, scared, freaked out, etc

One final thing to add – Marriage is a blessing, a gift from God and over time as you learn more about your spouse certain things become easier, other issues may raise there head but you learn more about how each other ticks and how to communicate and love each other.

married for one month, part 9

2007-08-01T10:05:00.000+10:00

Beth asked:

At what point did you know you would marry Mike? Was it a particular conversation, series of conversations, reflections on those conversation? What was your 'aha!' moment like, if you had one?

Christine responds:

I knew before I entered a romantic relationship with Mike that I would marry him. There was no way that I would have invested my emotions and time in such an absurdly long distant, unlikely union unless I knew I could also say "I do".

There was no "aha". Instead I knew that Mike was the sort of man that I would like to live my life with. He was a Christian, a leader, and passionate about kingdom of God in the same manner I was (not to mention tall and handsome!). He seemed to be a worthy partner of the race God had set before me.

married for one month, part 8

2007-08-01T10:04:00.000+10:00

kath asked:

what's the best (and worst!?) advice you were given leading up to marriage?
what did prayer and bible reading disciplines look like in the first month of marriage? particularly regarding regularity and shared vs independent time.
now you're a jolly, are you gonna change the name of your blog?

Christine responds:

1. Best - Sacred Influence, pg. 53

Only one perfect man ever walked this earth, and he never married. Since every wife is married to an imperfect man, every wife will have legitimate disappointments in her marriage. Are you going to define your husband by these disappointments, or will you pray that God will open your eyes to the common blessings that your husband provides and to which you often become blinded?

Worst - Hire a professional photographer. LOL! Neither Mike nor I are fussy about weddings and considered not bothering with professional photos. However, some said that we would regret not doing so because photos are all that we would have left to remember the occasion. Honestly? Friends and family took SO MANY wonderful pictures that if we didn't have professional photos we would be perfectly happy.

2. Every night before we fall asleep Mike leads us in prayer. I typically pray while I shower in the morning while Mike prays and reads the Bible. Due to the hectics weeks leading up to and during Worldview Survey as well as dealing with Immigration, Mike and I have not been able to set aside enough time to settle down and read together. However, we plan to arrange our schedules after we move into our new apartment on Thursday to purposefully set aside time to unwind together and read God's Word and other books together.

3. Following this series of posts I will switch to ckjolly.blogspot.com.

married for one month, part 7

2007-07-31T10:25:00.000+10:00

fional asked:

Do you think it's worth waiting til you're married to have sex?

Christine (smells) responds:

Yes.

Sex has become a wonderful complement to our relationship. The level of intimacy we share matches our commitment to each other.

Is it the above all, end all? No.

Is it marvelous? Yes.

But our marriage is built on love for Jesus Christ and of course communication.

To have waited this long to express that aspect of our love was extremely worthwhile. We have no guilt. We can enjoy each other fully without embarrassment or shame.

Mike adds his two cents worth...
Sex is really good inside of marriage. People and many christians get sold rubbish that they are missing out if they don't have sex before marriage. Speaking from my experience this view is bollocks. I'm glad I waited and if you are waiting too good for you. Don't let people rubbish you for being a virgin. "I have sex with my wife thankyou and it's da bomb."

married for one month, part 6

2007-07-31T10:14:00.000+10:00

Laura asked:

Do you recommend stirring up controversy as a way to catch a husband? HA!

Christine responds:

I recommend being honest AND gracious about your convictions. Do not hide your intelligence because you think it will scare men off. But beware of flaunting it.

married for one month, part 5

2007-07-31T10:12:00.000+10:00

Anonymous asked:

What do you see as a biblical view of birth control?

Christine responds:

I am not willing to tag my personal view of birth control with the adjective biblical. Not because it is contrary to the Bible. But because I believe there are many godly men and women who have prayerfully considered their options and have come to varying conclusions.

I will say, however, that Mike and I have slightly different views. I have chosen to submit to him in this area of our marriage in order to show honor for his leadership in our life together.

married for one month, part 4

2007-07-30T18:50:00.000+10:00

The Borg asked:

What strategies are you both going to employ to get through the difficult times when neither of you seem lovable?

Christine responds:

Mike and I both had problems with this question.

Perhaps it was with the word lovable. We tried to think through instances when we would find ourselves unable to love the other. The reason none came to mind was not because we are still in the honeymoon stage and we just think the other person is absolutely marvelous and can do no wrong. No, I think we accept each other as human and continue to love each other because ... we love each other. I may not feel like making dinner after an evening of gathering together immigration paperwork, but I do it because I know it blesses Mike.

I'm not saying that neither of us have given into annoyance or haven't hurt each other at some stage. But we are very quick to seek forgiveness because to hurt Mike is to inflict misery on myself.

If anyone could answer this differently, I'd be interested to know if you have strategies for such situations.

married for one month, part 3

2007-07-30T14:05:00.000+10:00

Anonymous asked:

Do you think that as many people will read your blog now that you are no longer single?

Christine responds:

My purpose for writing has never been (well ... except for those couple of months in 2005) to stroke my ego and get people to read my blog. Look back through my earliest posts. No one commented (except Mike who a couple of months ago went through and read all my past writing and left sweet love notes at the end of each of them.)

That isn't to say, however, that I do not enjoy the exchanges of thought that occur in the comment sections. I often tell people that the comments are the best feature on my blog. I'm convinced that is why people return in between posts ... not to see if I've updated my blog ... but to see if anyone commented!

If no one reads my blog now that I'm married, I don't mind so much ... but I don't see why they wouldn't just because I'm a Mrs. now ... it would probably have to be a drastic change in subject matter or a complete disregard for updating my blog for people to stop checking up on me.

married for one month, part 2

2007-07-30T09:40:00.000+10:00

Jonny asked:

Would you accept living in Australia for the rest of your life if you had to?
Or do you miss your friends and family in other countries too much?
Could you eventually come to call yourself Australian and have an understanding and appreciation of our way of life or are you a terrorist?
Do they have any good men in Kentucky? (Obviously I don't care either way).
Do you miss America and wish you could be home?

Christine responds:

If I had a gun pointed at my head? Sure! (I'm soooo just kidding!!!) Seriously? If I had to, yes, I could accept living in Australia for the rest of my life. I once warned Mike that in two years time I might become agitated and restless. I may not even know why at the time, but he ought to be prepared that the reason could be my "biological clock". My entire life I have picked up and moved on average once every 2 years. This has been my lifestyle and it will not be easy for me to stay in one place. Mike is aware of this and has promised to be understanding during times when I am dying to scratch the itch to move. He knew what sort of woman he was marrying.
No, I do not miss my friends to the extent that I am desperate to see them again. Most of my friends share my love for travel and are keen to come to Australia to visit at some point. When I moved here, I hugged my friends and let go of them so that I could cling to what God had waiting for me here.
Luke 9:62 - Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."
Thank God, however, for skype and email. These make the transition easier.
I will never be fully Australian. Just as I was never fully German or American. Mike sometimes teases me about the manner in which I pronounce words differently, however, he doesn't want to make me into something I am not. That being said, I am certainly keen to learn all I can about my new home. While watching the news Mike will sometimes interject, "Pay attention! If they ever start a citizenship exam THAT will be on it!"
There are so many wonderful men in Kentucky ... particularly at Southern Seminary and Sojourn ... that I am proud to call my friends. Because I married an Australian does not negate that fact. God was merely saving me for someone and somewhere else.
No, I do not miss America. I LOVE it here. I love Mike. I love Crossroads Church. I love the island of Tasmania (my new home). I love walking to town and Uni. Mike doesn't believe me. "I'll believe it when I hear you tell it to Laura's face when you talk to her next." I do wish I could share some of these new experiences with old friends ... I wish I could be there when Cassey and Jiri welcome their new son to the world. But we all understand that God has called each of us to different places at this stage in our lives. To constantly look back feeds discontentment.

married for one month, part 1

2007-07-29T12:53:00.000+10:00

Anon. asked:
Just wondering... but as another self-described "independent woman," I find myself wanting to know which parts of the engaged/married experience (so far) have been the most trying for a woman who had been used to making her own decisions in every area without having to submit to another human being in each of them. I think it will be very difficult for me to adjust to that, given that I've been living on my own since 1999. Have you experienced frustration or fear or similar feelings along the way? Has it been harder or easier than you expected to live in Biblical "coupledom"? Or is it, frankly, too soon to tell?

Christine responds:
A month or so before I left the United States for Germany I was reading over my vows and was hit by this portion:

I promise, by God's grace, as He enables me to submit to you and to obey you in everything, as I do to the Lord. I recognize you as my head, even as Christ is the head of the church. In so doing I resolve to put my trust in God and not give way to fear.

The weight of this statement overwhelmed and humbled me to the point of tears. I realized then that I could not give into fear because ultimately my trust was not in Mike but in God. Mike will eventually fail me and disappoint me and I will do the same to him!

At that moment I realized that I did have fear in my life: fear that Mike would disappoint me and not live up to an unreasonably high standard. Could I place myself under him knowing this?!

But who am I? I, too, am a sinner. I, too, will disappoint. To expect more of Michael than his human limitations would be to make him god. And if I clung to him in desperation and he failed me, my world would fall apart leading to resentment and then bitterness. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." This is what drove me to tears: this vision of the monster I could become, gripped by the sins of idolatry and bitterness, wounding others because I myself had been wounded.

It was at this moment that I knew I had to reject this idolatry and cling to God and his provisions and perfect goodness.

When Mike somehow disappoints me I am now free to joyfully show him grace and forgiveness. Instead of resenting Mike, I hope in Christ and repent of my own sinful behavior.

I am thankful that this transformation of the mind took place before our wedding. As a result, it has been an incredibly smooth transition into living together in grace and love.

God is enough

2007-07-25T19:06:00.001+10:00

your contributing questions

2007-07-25T12:36:00.000+10:00

On July 29, Mike and I will answer questions concerning our first month of marriage. Please contribute any questions you may have in the comment section below.

Questions specifically addressed to Mike will be answered on his blog. Those addressed to me will be handled in a post on this blog.

Sample Question:
Christine, after being married for a month have you retracted any of the radical statements you've made concerning marriage in the past?

Response: Maybe, which radical statements did you have in mind?

formal portraits

2007-07-25T10:05:00.001+10:00

Here are the formal wedding portraits. Mike and I brilliantly decided to have them taken the Friday before the wedding, relieving us of immense amounts of stress the day of the event.

Someone on Facebook asked, "Christine, where did you get your wedding dress? It looks like one of the J. Crew gowns that I ogle whenever they send me new catalogs."

I too admired this classic, simple dress from J. Crew. In fact, I admired it so much that three years ago I BOUGHT the dress.

You do the math.

long awaited pictures

2007-07-23T22:40:00.000+10:00

Photos have been consolidated by various guests (one of which had an OBSESSION with the girl in the green dress).

Click here if you have the patience of Job to go through over 200* pictures of the wedding.

If you are more of the school of Job's wife, just run through 18 pages of thumbprints and you'll be fine.

Enjoy!

*A big fat thanks to Dave, Joel, and Mark for taking pictures during the ceremony/celebration.

facebook

2007-07-22T12:48:00.000+10:00

add me on Facebook and you can see pictures of the wedding (coming soon).

UPDATE:
Meredith posted some of her pictures of the wedding here on Facebook.

wedded in Christ

2007-07-20T12:22:00.000+10:00

(Retired Major) Robert Hnat met me at the back door as Carmen, Cassey (my lovely friend/mother-to-be of a BOY), my mother, and I emerged from the back room where we had been praying together. It was 1645 (military time for 4:45 pm). Hand in hand my mother, father, and I walked to the front of the church while others were still standing about, some finding a place to sit while others chatted with friends.

It was all beginning just as we desired: a family gathered together to celebrate what God had done. I was not the center of attention, nor was Mike, nor was the Tasmanian harpist, nor were the decorations. Christ would be the focus.

I turned behind me to see who had come. The room was speckled with the ethnic attire of brothers and sisters in Christ that now call Hannover, Germany, their home but whose families are oceans away. I couldn't see the Martin family from Frankfurt yet. I winked at little Janice, who was already taking her responsibility at the end of the ceremony very seriously. A few little girls stood next to Christina Sonnemann listening to her singing and play the harp. I glanced at Mike, Dave, and Joel on the other side of the church, only to find them taking pictures with their cameras! ROFL! (Whatever it takes to not get stressed.)

Promptly at 1700, my father stood and the whirl of ceremonial events commenced that would make me and Mike one under Christ.

(Click here to view the program.*)

Carmen, Cassey, Christine, Mike, Dave, and Joel

At 1745, my father announced Mr. and Mrs. Michael Jolly to the public and little girls along aisle stood on their seats showering us with flower petals.

Following the ceremony there was a flurry of photographs being taken by guests. During a group photo, I overheard my mother ask my father between her smiling teeth, "Who's the fellow in the beard snapping all those photos?"

I looked out at the enthusiastic amateur wedding photographers to find the bearded man.

No clue.

I thought nothing of it. There were so many people I didn't know that what did one more matter? ... but it was odd that my parents didn't know him.

Later, as I munched on a Wanton and watched the Philippinas dance to the tune of their ethnic music, a beautiful red-headed woman approached. I saw the question in my mother's eyes: "Who are you?"

I knew who she was. During the out-of-town-guests group picture, she and the bearded man joined the group standing behind me and Mike. I turned to get a closer look at the mystery couple, smiling a welcome. The woman whispered, "I'm Meredith."

My eyes widened in delight ... Meredith!

For all of you bloggers who have not yet met me and Mike and wanted desperately to come to the wedding, Meredith was there representing you. (Meredith and her husband Detlev wrote a review of the wedding here.) Carmen and Mark also represented bloggers present (perhaps they can offer their own point of view in the comment section).

My dear friend and "little sister" (who some may remember from my family's 2006 Christmas Youtube video), Sonja Schneider did a wonderful job as our wedding coordinator. Months before the wedding, Sonja would frequently pester me with questions about how plans were going. "What plans?" So to keep her sane and Mike and I relaxed, I asked my dear sweet friend if she would do us the honor of coordinating our wedding. She was professional and energetic and truly had the vision of Christ as center of the ceremony. In fact, she surprised me and Mike with singing "How Beautiful".

* vows were adapted from Adrian and Andree Warnock's wedding vows.

a true story

2007-06-20T22:50:00.000+10:00

by Laura Roberts

Once upon a time there was a girl named Laura. She lived in a cool southern town and was an American, verily, but did not act like a jerk-face like some Americans. She had a good friend named Christine who, in her inimitable manner, fell in love with a dude in a very peculiar way. This dude was very tall, which was good since Christine was in truth rather bizarrely tall herself, and said dude was also Australian which was also good, Australia being no longer peopled with criminals but rather with hotties. This dude's name was Mike, by the way. Christine and Mike decided to get married in Germany, the better to divvy up the whole experience to as many continents as possible, and they picked a day in high freaking summer tourist season. Laura was extremely excited to escape the Louisville heat and humidity for a little bit and share in the joy of her friends' wedding day, because they were so stinking awesome. So she went online to get a plane ticket, and lo, it was US$1400.

"Holy crap," she said. "But no worries, for I have frequent flyer miles in abundance from sundry trips to Europe and Hong Kong." So she called United and spoke to a very lovely woman on the phone, who told her how many frequent flyer miles she possessed, and lo, it was nearly 50,000.

"Victory!" said Laura. "I am a bit short, but still I shall reserve my plane ticket this very day." So she went to the United website to exchange her miles for a plane ticket, when what to her wondering eyes should appear, but a cost chart for the purchase of frequent flyer miles. Dismay and anguish flooded over her as she saw that, to purchase the additional necessary frequent flyer miles would cost her US$1100, nearly the cost of the ticket to begin with. And behold, there was much cursing of United.

"Piss and bollocks," mildly swore Laura, "That is more money than I make in a month." But, undaunted, she waited, checking prices periodically, looking at last-minute deals, and even scoping out those dodgy cut-rate consolidation companies. Even still, it became increasingly clear that adding to her already large-ish debt would not be either a wise or godly choice, nor allow for a particularly good wedding present for her friends. So she sadly resigned herself to watching the webcast of her friends' wedding, still praying for a lottery win that would allow her to fly first class to Germany, but not holding her breath.

But looking through tearful eyes toward the future, she began plotting to set aside a bit of money each month until she could afford the obnoxiously high plane ticket price to Australia to visit the above-mentioned couple, in whose joy she can share only from afar.

making of the dress

2007-06-19T06:28:00.000+10:00

How many languages do you hear?

HIBC Bridal Shower

2007-06-17T20:04:00.000+10:00

My Wedding Dress:

A group drawing of the neighborhood where Mike and I will live:
(click on the image for a closer view ... what do you think? It appears that we live in a Palm Tree in between a shark infested pond and Germantown.)

Bridal Shower Mad Lib Story
Pay attention and listen well as I tell you the love story of Mike and Christine. It was about seven years ago that Mike came across a good girl named Christine. He was on his way to Pluto when suddenly his eyes were drawn to a cool ceature, too lazy for mere words. He was overcome with excitement and was sure that he had found the woman he was destined to share his tree with.

She gazed at him with her soggy turquoise eyes and his big toe began to run beautifully. Never before had he felt such exhiliration and he invited her to join him for a fortnight at McDonalds. She agreed and Mike threw her off her feet.

Christine was smitten with Mike. She loved his exotic armpit and the way he referred to her as Pooh Bear. Mike was equally excited by Christine's slow bellybutton and stinky cottage. He didn't even mind when she called him Piglet.

The couple dated for 50 million hours. Then, one oily spring dawn, Mike bowed his nose to the ground and asked Christine's mouth in marriage.

Christine was so exhausted, she responded immediately with "Oo Lala!"

Mike took this as an affirmative response and the couple are now preparing for their wedding day.

After the wedding, they are off to Under Yam Yam Tree where they plan to spend a dusty honeymoon enjoying each other's eyebrows.

Now wouldn't you like to know what happens next?

Happy Christine Day

2007-06-16T05:07:00.000+10:00

This is how my family celebrated Christine Day. We had a contest in which we broke apart Oreo cookies, licked off all the cream, dunked the chocolate cookies in the milk, ate the cookies, and gulped down all the milk (or barfed it up, like I did! So fun!).

Thanks to all those humans and kitties who wished me a happy birthday below (lol ... did you even read the deep thoughtful blog entry or were you just too excited about celebrating the day ... [I don't blame you]?)!

Thanks to Mike, June 15 is now internationally recognized as Christine Day. If you haven't already gone out to purchase or cut your own Christine Tree, do so now before the day is over.

a quest ended

2007-06-14T02:50:00.000+10:00

Many of you long time readers know that I have had a goal over the past two years to one day write a book that would enable women to encourage the men in their lives, whether in the church or family, to lead lives that would honor God and serve the church. My purpose in doing so was because I had never come across such a resource.

Over the past two years while attending seminary, I personally sought the advice of various complementarian spokesmen (and women) concerning my endeavor.

My first semester in a systematic theology class, I raised my hand and asked the professor:

"What can women do to help reverse certain harmful trends in feminism in the church and marriage? What can we do in the church to encourage the men to lead?"

Perhaps I merely surprised this man who is so influential in speaking on complementarian matters, but his answer did not seem sufficient for me.

After a moment of silent thought, he responded, "It seems to me that the best answer is to do nothing."

"Nothing?!!"

"To the extent that it creates a power vacuum and them men are forced to fill that void."

On another occasion, I attended a special lecture by Dr. Randy Stinson from the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood titled, The Feminzation of the Church: Detecting and Correcting It (click to listen). I was delighted with the title of this lecture, certain that my questions would be answered here. I became discouraged during the Q&A when men on my right and left, before and behind were called on to submit their questions. Was I being ignored? Perhaps, Dr. Stinson thought I objected to his diagnosis of the church's present situation. No! On the contrary. But time ticked by and my hand grew tired of seeking recognition. Finally, with five minutes left Dr. Stinson turned to address my question.

"Dr. Stinson, as a woman fully concerned about the lack of male leadership, desiring to remove certain harmful trends of feminism in the church, I affirm what you see as a danger in the church. I would like to ask what do you recommend that women do to encourage their brothers to step up and lead? What can women do to reverse those harmful trends?"

Later, others came to me and remarked that they'd found my question very helpful, but were discouraged that the lecturer had supplied no concrete advice for the listeners.

Over the semesters, I asked similar questions to other students, professors, and visiting lecturers only to have similar results each time.

My own discouragement had almost turned to despair. Was there no one who had gone before me that had asked these questions? Had no one given careful thought to these matters? When I discussed my concerns with my peers, they acknowledged that my concerns were valid and pleaded with me that should I come across answers that they would like to be the first to know.

Was the burden to lie solely on my shoulders?

My quest was specific:
Marriages and churches were occupied by men and women shaped and molded by feminism: women who demand leadership and men who grow increasingly apathetic toward the spiritual condition of their family and the church. Marriages are wrecked by selfishness and false expectations. Churches are dieing as men leave leadership positions. Women step up filling that void, and men merely warm the pews one day a week moving closer and closer toward the back door.

What can a woman do to influence the men in her life to be the men God would have them be? How can she influence them to be spiritual leaders in their community and home? How can she move them toward godliness?

My burden has lifted.

In Gary Thomas' book, Sacred Influence, I see the answers to my questions.

While this book was written specifically for wives, I believe that the truths found therein are applicable for all women who seek to influence men toward godly living in their home, church, community, work, etc. They are not motivated out of personal gain so that they may manipulate men to succumb to their vision of how men ought to be. No! This book is for women who are dedicated to their men living lives glorifying God out of reverence for Christ.

Be forwarned! This is not a book that lays out a step-by-step process on how to transform your imperfect men into Jesus Christ. Instead, you will find your own imperfect life being transformed if you, like Thomas urges, let the transformation begin with you.

Are we so self-righteous as women that we are so consumed with the faults of men that we have become blind to our own? God forbid!

In the six posts below, I have presented excerpts from the first six chapters of Sacred Influence. These help to build a foundation for developing a heart and environment for change, beginning in the heart of the woman. The chapters following are listed below:

7. A Claim, a Call, and a Commitment
Focusing on Personal Responsibilities

8. Understanding the Male Mind
Learning to Make Allowances for Your Husband's Masculinity

9. Jeanne-Antoinette
The Power of a Persistent Pursuit

Part 3: Confronting the Most Common Concerns

10. Ray and Jo: Taming the Temper, Part 1
Self-Respect as a First Defense against Your Husband's Anger

11. Taming the Temper, Part 2
Learning to Navigate through Your Husband's Anger

12. Rich and Pat: The Magic Question
Helping Your Husband to Become More Involved at Home

13. The Biology of a Busy Man
How to Help Your Man Put Family First

14. Pure Passion
Cementing Your Husband's Affections and Protecting His Spiritual Integrity

15. Ken and Diana: Affair on the Internet
Winning Back the Husband Who Strays

16. John and Catherine: Finding Faith
Influencing a Nonbelieving or Spiritually Immature Husband

I will not post exerpts from these chapters because I strongly recommend that you purchase the book for yourself so that you may be convicted through the Scripture, sound doctrine, and personal insights of women who have gone before, founded in Sacred Influence's pages.

What will I do now that my quest has reached it's end? Lord willing, I may learn these spiritual principles now and put them into practice so that I may bless my future husband with a wife given over to living a life worthy of her calling as "helper". In time, I may rise to the challenge of Titus 2 and train other women to love their husbands and children.

the puzzle, part 4

2007-06-13T04:40:00.000+10:00

My friend Sonja and I think we figured it out last night ... and the new piece I got today pretty much seems to confirm our guess. (The mobile phone is Sonja's ... she thought it would be helpful to show the size.)

the mystery of love between a man and a woman

2007-06-12T06:49:00.000+10:00

Meredith, who plans on attending Mike and my wedding at the end of this month, writes a thought provoking comparison of love for God and love for spouse.

Read here.

Sacred Influence, part 6

2007-06-11T19:26:00.000+10:00

The following are key passages from Sacred Influence, Chapter 6

Chapter 6
The Helper
Embracing the High Call of Marriage

Genesis 2:18
Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."

God designed the wife to help her husband. (78)

Proverbs 12:4
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones.

Ephesians 5:21-22; 25
submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ, wives submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord... Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

Paul describes an idealistic view of a simultaneous commitment to the other’s welfare. (79)

The church must not teach the submission of wives apart from the sacrificial love and servanthood required of husbands. (79)

Laura Dillow suggests, “Submission is your only hope of changing your husband. Your husband will change as you allow him to be head of hiis home and as you are submissive to him. He will not change by your nagging, belittling, suggesting, reminding, or mothering.” (80)

The catch is that submission, from a biblical perspective, is determined, not by the worthiness of the person to whom we submit, but by the worthiness of the person who calls us to submit: “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21, emphasis added). (81)

Jesus’ submission to his parents even though they were not worthy:

Luke 2:51
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.

If you submit “out of reverence for Christ,” you are never obligated – ever – to do anything that would offend Christ. (81)

“Lord, how do I love my wife today like she has never been loved and never will be loved?” (81)

The spiritual weight of fulfilling my role as a leader who sacrifices and serves and looks out for the good of his family matures me as a man in Christ. It confronts my laziness, my self-centeredness, and my accursed male autonomy. Lisa’s calling as a helper keeps her from pride, self-centeredness, and frivolous living. (82)

If you have entered into God’ invention called marriage, your role is to be your husband’s helper. This does not diminish you any more than the Bible diminishes God by calling him our helper. In fact, being able to help assumes, in one sense, that you have something the person you are helping lacks. If you cease to think of yourself as your husband’s helper, the marriage will suffer, because that’s the way God designed marriage to work. (83)

You shouldn’t become a wife and then act as though you’re still single. (83)

“How can I help my husband today?” (84)

[O]ur motivation has to come from reverence for Christ more than doing one thing in order to get something else. (85)

If you really want to move your man, you must treat him the way God designed him to be treated. (85)

The issue isn’t what makes me or Lisa happy; the issue is what makes God happy. We don’t direct our lives by what makes us comfortable; we try to order our lives by what brings the maximum glory to God and by what will fulfill our call to proclaim the message of God’s reconciliation. (86)

Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

the puzzle, part 3

2007-06-11T19:14:00.001+10:00

Sacred Influence, part 5

2007-06-10T19:10:00.000+10:00

The following are key passages from Sacred Influence, Chapter 5

Chapter 5
The Zarepheth Legacy
How You Can Learn to Appreciate an Imperfect Man

This presents you with a spiritual challenge. You will have to fight the natural human tendency to obsess over your husband’s weaknesses. When I urge you to affirm your husband’s strengths, I’m not minimizing his many weaknesses; I’m just encouraging you to make the daily spiritual choice of focusing on qualities for which you feel thankful. The time will come when you can address the weaknesses – after you’ve established a firm foundation of love and encouragement. (60-61)

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Obsessing over your husband’s weaknesses won’t make them go away. You many have done that for years – and if so, what has it gotten you, besides more of the same? Leslie Vernick warns, “Regularly thinking negatively about your husband increases your dissatisfaction with him and your marriage.” Affirming your husband’s strengths, however, will likely reinforce and build up those areas you cherish and motivate him to pursue excellence of character in others. (61)

Nurture Instead of Condemn

God challenges you to maintain an attitude of concern and nurture instead of one of resentment and frustration. (62)

Give Your Husband the Benefit of the Doubt

Many women accuse their husbands of being uncaring or unloving when, in fact, he may just be incompetent! He’s not trying to be stubborn, uncaring, or unfeeling; he just honestly doesn’t know what you need or what he’s supposed to do. (63)

Respect the Position Even When You Disagree with the Person

Ephesians 5:33
However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Your husband, because he is a husband, deserves respect. You may disagree with his judgment; you may object to the way he handles things – but according to the bible, his position alone calls you to give him proper respect. (65)

Give Him the Same Grace That God Gives You

Form Your Heart Through Prayer

Practice praying positive prayers about your husband. (66)

But over time, thankfulness makes a steady and persistent friend of affection. (67)

Drop Unrealistic Expectations

If you don’t die to unrealistic expectations and if you refuse the cross, you’ll find yourself at constant war with your husband instead of at peace. You’ll feel frustrated instead of contented, and disappointed instead of satisfied. (69)

Your Husband Isn’t a Church

My husband is a man, not a church, and it’s not fair to ask him to be all things to me. (71)

Ask God to Change You

As soon as you recall your husband’s weaknesses – the very second those poor qualities come to mind – start asking God to help you with specific weaknesses of your own. (72)

Get Fresh Eyes

When your husband feels more respected and appreciated at work than he does at home, a precarious situation erupts. Eventually, his heart may gravitate to the place he feels most cherished. (74)

In the midst of living with this kind of frustration, it can be easy to forget the things that first drew you to your man: his sense of humor, his thoughtfulness, his spiritual depth, or any number of other strengths. Though you may become blind to these qualities, that doesn’t mean everyone else will. Respect is a spiritual obligation and discipline. Give your husband his due! (75)

Sacred Influence, part 4

2007-06-10T00:13:00.000+10:00

The following are key passages from Sacred Influence, Chapter 4

PART 2
CREATING THE CLIMATE FOR CHANGE

Chapter 4
The Widow at Zarephath
Understanding a Man's Deepest Thirst

What happened to the widow so long ago continues to happen in many marriages today. Elijah’s miraculous provision for this woman became commonplace. What once seemed like an extraordinary occurrence – flour and oil that never ran out – soon became a common blessing, so expected that it ceased to be noticed, much less appreciated. After a week or so, it was just the way things were. (49)

James 3:2
For we all stumble in many ways ...

Only one perfect man ever walked this earth, and he never married. Since every wife is married to an imperfect man, every wife will have legitimate disappointments in her marriage. Are you going to define you husband by these disappointments, or will you pray that God will open your eyes to the common blessings that your husband provides and to which you often become blinded? (53)

Don’t resent your husband for being less than perfect; he can’t be anything else. (54)

Because we so deeply value affirmation, whenever we don’t get it, it feels like living with one long, loud, psychic scream. And we tend to react like this: “If I can’t please her by trying my hardest, then why should I try at all?” I’m not saying we should react this way; I’m just saying that’s how we usually do react. (54)

Without feeling appreciated, admired, and genuinely respected, your husband probably will never change. If you notice a lot of tension in your home; if you notice a high level of frustration and anger in your husband’s life; if you sense a discouragement leading to passivity (where he underachieves); if you notice an “escapist” mentality, where he spends his free time playing computer games or watching sports, escaping the home with excessive recreation – then, more times than not, you’re looking at a man who doesn’t feel loved, appreciated, and respected. (55-56)

Your first step – the primary one – is to love, accept, and even honor your imperfect husband. (56)

the puzzle, part 2

2007-06-09T18:21:00.000+10:00

discussing influence

2007-06-09T01:29:00.001+10:00

What is the difference between influence and manipulation?

the puzzle, part 1

2007-06-08T18:17:00.000+10:00

What did Mike get me for my birthday?

Sacred Influence, part 3

2007-06-08T18:10:00.000+10:00

The following are key passages from Sacred Influence, Chapter 3

“Be Worthy of Me”
How God Uses the Weaknesses of Others to Help Us Grow

What if your husband’s faults are God’s tools to shape you? (37)

This should be the goal of every husband and wife – a man aspiring to be “worthy” of his wife, and a wife aspiring to be “worthy” of her husband. (38)

1 Timothy 4:15, 16
Practice these things, devote yourself to them, so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.

You see when you grow in character, when you sink your spiritual roots deep, when you learn to hear God’s voice and build your mind with his wisdom, when you allow his Holy Spirit to transform your character and reshape you heart – then you can make your husband fall in love with you over and over again, and he’ll be all the more motivated to maintain your respect and affection. Nothing compares to being married to a godly woman – nothing. (39)

The reason it’s so important for you to concentrate on your own growth is so that you can avoid the sin of pride, which constantly tempts us to focus on changing our spouses while neglecting our own weaknesses. (39)

Luke 6:41-42
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.

When you demand that someone change for your sake, you’re literally trying to bend the world around your comfort, your needs, and your happiness. That’s pride, arrogance, and self-centeredness – and God will never bless that. (41)

Sacred Influence, part 2

2007-06-07T19:46:00.000+10:00

The following are key passages from Sacred Influence, Chapter 2

The Strength of a Godly Woman
Becoming Strong Enough to Address Your Husband’s “Functional Fixedness”

Dr. Melody Rhode – functional fixedness – men’s reluctance to change; men don’t normally change if what they’ve been doing seems to be working for them. (29)

You have to be willing to create an environment in which the status quo becomes more painful than the experience of positive change. (30)

If you can stand strong and secure in your identity and in your relationship with Christ, courageously making it clear how you will and will not be treated, you will be amazed to see how the respect you show yourself rubs off on your husband. (32)

When a woman stands up and says, “This will affect our relationship and my view of you,” most men will at least start listening. (32)

God’s provision and strength will help you face the consequences of obedience. God won’t leave you alone, regardless of what happens. God, not your marital status, defines your life. (32)

Melody – “A woman’s power needs to be surrendered to God and used for his purposes, not our own.” (33)

Fear gives birth to paralysis – and sometimes inaction is our greatest enemy. Marriages can slowly die from years of apathy. (34)

Deuteronomy 31:8
It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed."

We have to make deliberate choices; we have to be active and confront the weaknesses we see in ourselves and in each other. (36)

Sacred Influence, part 1

2007-06-06T23:09:00.000+10:00

Gary Thomas' book Sacred Influence is unique among the Christian marriage books. It was written for women who seek to worship God through their lives and marriage by a man who values women as sisters-in-Christ but who also has an insider's view as to how men desire to be treated. I've read through a number of books (or potions thereof) that attempted to be a how-to on how to motivate husbands to be more loving and spiritual, etc. I was distressed that many (if not most) of the methods prescribed bordered on manipulation. Thomas avoids such tactics altogether and emphasizes that a wife must first examine her own life before she attempts to remove a speck in her husband's eye.

If her marriage is to change for the better, she must let God begin that change in her own life.

Taking the basic premise that marriage is meant to make us holy, not necessarily happy, from his book, Sacred Marriage, Thomas applies it directly to the wife. Not in a harsh, scolding, pulpit-thumping manner. On the contrary. In fact, Thomas' heart was moved for wives who find themselves one-flesh with husbands who are emotionally distant or selfish or condescending or negligent or all of the above. No woman is married to a perfect man, thus, she should never expect him to be perfect. In all of this, Thomas hopes that wives will turn to God to fulfill all of their needs.

Over the following days I will be posting highlights of each of Thomas' chapters. I strongly encourage every woman to obtain a copy of this book so that she might be humbled and empowered in her walk with God, particularly in how she interacts with the one she has chosen to love for the rest of her days.

PART 1
YOUR MARRIAGE MAKEOVER BEGINS WITH YOU

Chapter 1
The Glory of a Godly Woman
Understanding Who You Are in Christ

definition of self:

based on the Fall – “I’m worthy because men like me.”

based on your relationship with God – “I’m worthy because I’m made in the image of God, am loved by God, and am regularly empowered by God to make a difference in this world.” (22)

How the Bible views women:

Women mirror God’s own character and image
Co-regents of the world
Included in Christ's genealolgy
Praised for recognizing Jesus as Lord while Pharisees and Disciples scoffed
Of equal value in the eyes of God
Supported Jesus in his most trying moments
First to witness the resurrected Christ (22-25)

You need to
understand the glory of being a woman made in God’s image;
experience the strength you have as the recipient of his Holy Spirit;
and find refuge in the worth and purpose you have as his daughter. (26)

God, not your marital status or the condition of your marriage, defines your life. (26)

When Marriage Becomes Idolatry:
In this section, Thomas asks the following questions to point wives away from depending on their husbands to be as God to them.

Who is your refuge?

Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your dwelling place,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
And he thrust out the enemy before you
and said, Destroy.

In whom does your hope lie?

1 Peter 1:21
who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.

Where will you find security?

Philippians 4:19
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Where will you find supreme acceptance that will never fade or falter for all the days of your life?

Isaiah 62:5
For as a young man marries a young woman,
so shall your sons marry you,
and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,
so shall your God rejoice over you.

If you’re trying to find your primary refuge in your husband, if you’ve centered your hope on him, if your security depends on his approval, and if you will do almost anything to gain his acceptance – then you’ve just given to a man what rightfully belongs to God alone. (27)

In addition, how will you ever find the courage to confront someone whose acceptance so determine your sense of well-being that you believe you can’t exist without him? How will you ever take the risk to say what needs to be said if you think your future depends on your husband’s favor toward you? (27)

astounded

2007-05-31T22:06:00.000+10:00

An excerpt from Gary Thomas' Sacred Influence:

Elyse Fitzpatrick, a counselor, once told her small group about how God had moved her from a legalistic, works-oriented faith to a "grace-filled, peaceful existence with my merciful heavenly Father."

"The pressure is off me," she told them. "Don't get me wrong; it's not that I'm not pursuing holiness. It's just that I know that my Father will get me where He wants me to be and that even my failures serve, in some way, to glorify Him. My relationship with God is growing to be all about His grace, His mercy, His power."

Then Elyse's friend "astounded" her by responding, "That must be such a blessing for your husband, Elyse. To be walking in that kind of grace must enable you to be so patient and so grace-filled with Phil. To know that God is working in him just as He's working in you must make your marriage so sweet and your husband so pleased. It must be great for hiim to know that the pressure is off for him too."

The reason this friend "astounded" Elyse is because Elyse rarely made the connection her friend made. "I scarcely ever extended to Phil the grace I enjoyed with the Lord. Instead, I was frequently more like the man in Jesus' parable, who after he was forgiven a great debt, went out and beat his fellow slave because he owed him some paltry sum."

family picture

2007-05-28T05:57:00.000+10:00

Sundays are lovely days. Especially when they are Bring-and-Share days ... yum!

My family and I enjoy a lazy morning that ends frantically at 12:45 as we scramble around loading the car with the computer, projector, briefcases, baskets of Sunday School supplies, and food for after church in Hannover.

Once on the road, we drop Sonja off at the train station where she will catch a train to Hannover to practice with the worship team. My parents and I continue on to the small English-speaking church in Celle. We meet in the large German Baptist church in town and set up a small semi-circle of chairs for the thirteen faithful believers that come to worship their Lord in a language closer to their heart language than German. However, some German nationals join us because they feel they are fed with the Word of God.

We have to leave them at three so we can be at the Hannover church at four to set up there. Tonight everyone has brought food to share for dinner after worship. While the music team practices, I hold baby Bennett as his mom sets up for the dinner later. (Poor wee babe has the hickups.) At four I head to the back room for a ladies' Bible study.

At five, we move back into the main meeting room and I sit next to Lily as her new husband leads in worship. (She's just moved to Germany from California ... I thank God that she has the church family here to support her as she's in a completely new environment knowing no one but her husband... So ... in a way ... I'm also thanking God for Crossroads.)

My dad preached on Hebrews 4:1 (He is famous for moving very thoroughly and ... ehem ... slowly through books of the Bible.).

Sonja, my friend/wedding coordinator, made an announcement after church asking for brothers and sisters to assist with the preparations of the wedding at the end of June. Who's up for helping set up? Who would be able to house out-of-town guests? etc. She did a good job.

And then the FOOD ... no wait! ... we took the picture first! Aren't they lovely?

what did i do?!!

2007-05-24T07:58:00.000+10:00

The famous Bremen musicians.

Bremen cathedral and "dude"

Sonja bought us some strawberries wie aus Oma's Garten.

What did I do to her?!!
(This woman looks as if she's going to back-hand me with her purse ... but it's merely what turned out to be a humorous cropping of a photo of the Bremen market.)

Sonja learns some sweet moves from a Filippina missionary to Germany.

The beautiful site of my church family studying God's word in the garden this evening.

flirting with me

2007-05-21T22:16:00.000+10:00

It's been almost a year since Mike and I have known each other. We had fun today going through old posts looking at how we interacted on each other's blogs ... from strangers, to friends, to flirting, to wow, I really like this guy!

Mike posted a couple of links to his flirtatious attempts on his blog here.

Below is how it all carried over onto my blog.

May 30 - i wish they all could be Califor ... Modest ... girls
Mike's respect for me begins to build.

May 31 - lack of faith?
Mike is open to finding love on the internet.

June 1 - what is it like to be tall?
When we establish that Mike was in fact taller than me. Beware, the flirting is a bit thick here. And ... he wants me to move to Hobart.

June 3 - links to me
Mike called me a "Christian Feminazi".

June 5 - summer reading
Mike's plan to get married at 30 fizzles out and he claims to watch cage fighting ... but Craig calls him out on it.

June 7 - i'm a friendly nerd
Mike wishes he were the one sitting next to me.

June 19 - men get all gushy when they fall in love
Mike shows that he has what it takes.

June 24 - i hate youth lockins
The flirtatious comments on the blog have slowed down ... but have only heated up in our private conversations ... for instance when I stayed up all night chatting with Mike and he asked me ...

June 25 - what men want
Well not really ... he asked me "What do women want in a man?" Sleep deprived I couldn't come up with anything good ... so he volunteered what he thought ... and I seemed to have some idea of what a man was looking for.

July 25 - the news is out

How it all came about.

UPDATE: Mike posts Part 2.

not natural!

2007-05-20T07:10:00.000+10:00

The ladies at HIBC throw the best baby showers.

Oma: (auf Deutsch) What does baby shower mean? Why do you call it this? (Germans do not throw baby showers ... don't ask me what they do for fun. Who knows ...)
Me: Hmm, good question. I suppose it is a showering of love and gifts on the new mother.

But it's the games and the gusto in which these ladies from Africa, Europe, Asia, and the US (my mum and I) take part that make these parties so memorable.

These are the same ladies that are planning my wedding (their first) ... should be a very memorable time.

baby Bennet

my lovely church family

2007-05-18T21:29:00.000+10:00

The afternoon after I arrived I was tired but not TOO tired to miss out on eating ice cream in the garden with my brothers and sisters from church. Such a lovely day!

what do you wear on your last day in the country?

2007-05-17T20:46:00.000+10:00

going away party/wedding shower

2007-05-13T07:03:00.000+10:00

Someone asked me today if I was also going to have a blogger going away party/wedding shower.

What do you mean?!! I'll still be in the blogosphere!

But I got to thinking about what a blogger going away party would be like.

Here's a game I devised ... play along if you like:

If Today Tonight/Current Affair (for the Aussies) or 60 Minutes (for the Americans) were to do a segment about Mike and Christine, what sort of scenes would they have (example: Mike walking along the beach looking woefully out across the ocean obviously distressed that his love is not by his side).

If they interviewed you/someone else, what would you/they say?

How do you know Mike and Christine?

What would you say about Mike or Christine before they "met"?

What would you say about Mike or Christine after they "met"?

Have you personally met either Mike or Christine?

immaturity

2007-05-12T08:25:00.000+10:00

Laura links to this article from Boundless.

(I'm busy packing. I leave the US in FIVE days!)

mike preaches...

2007-05-10T04:27:00.000+10:00

... about where our hope truly lies.

outlined here.

listen here.

he blesses me in prayer

2007-05-07T06:17:00.001+10:00

When you listen to a sermon that exhorts hearers to extend grace to others as grace has been fully given to them, you may nod your head in agreement but your mind is puzzled about how you might actually do that.

A mavelous theory ... a great idea ... but how will I actually extend grace, what does that even mean? what does it look like practically? So you stow it away in a card file of "good ideas" in your brain, but keep on living life as usual.

In a conversation today with a friend, I challenged him to move beyond the "idea" and toward the practical living.

How will you bless and honor the reputation, family, and heart of the woman you love?

One practical way Mike honors and blesses me is through prayer.

This may sound trite. One of those things in your card file ... you know you should do it ... but honestly ... what good could it actually do?

From the beginning of our relationship, Mike would end each of our conversations over skype or the phone with prayer. Take it from a woman whose man leads her spiritually in this manner, I am blessed, encouraged, and proud that Mike leads us before God in prayer as the spritual leader in our relationship.

I began to look forward to that time of prayer together more than anything. It removed the distance between us bringing us together to stand before the throne of God in prayer. God became more than just an honorary member of our relationship but the Cause, Sustainer, Lord, and Fellow-covenanter in our love.

Mike continued this discipline when we were together for two months in Australia. Each evening when we parted ways, Mike led me before the Lord in prayer to bring before Him our hopes, our sin, our love, and our desires.

Knowing that prayer ended our time together deterred a world of sin because we were living our lives before God.

When Mike leads in prayer, I am honored and blessed and respected.

Men, how can you honor the women in your lives?

Women, how can you encourage the men in your life in their spiritual leadership?

(For a fabulous Piper sermon on extending grace, click here.)

it was good: making art to the glory of God

2007-05-03T05:03:00.000+10:00

Bustard, Ned, ed. It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God. Baltimore: Square Halo Books, 2000.

Christian periodicals in the 1980s and 90s were peppered with reports of sacrilegious works of art that were being funded by American tax dollars. Conservative Christians by and large shunned the arts as a result, counting it off as pagan and crude. The image of the crucifix in a jar filled with urine triggered gag reflexes. Blood boiled when Christians read of Karen Finley smearing her nude body with chocolate and proudly proclaiming it “art”. In the midst of this debauchery, Christians yearned for “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise” (Philippians 4:8). Christian art became confined to cute depictions of Bible stories, praise songs, and Christian historical romance novels. Looking back, some Christians now observe that in the process of shunning evil, they ignored their embrace of the mediocre.

What exactly is good Christian art? What was it about God’s creation that made him pronounce it “good” at the end of the day? Editor Ned Buster and twelve other Christians in the arts take a different approach to many Christian books addressing Christians’ place in the arts to examine biblical perspectives of the actual act of creating art. It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God is a compilation of essays covering a range of important issues Christian artists must consider when demonstrating God’s creativity as men and women made in God’s image. The chapters cover the topics of good, evil, form and content, community, glory, subject and theme, Christ, identity, creativity, light, truth, symbolism, and imagination. Together, they make an inspiring resource for any Christian concerned about how they may glorify God by creating works of excellence with their minds and hands.

Bustard begins the “conversation” by addressing the issue of good. To understand the concept of good one must understand the attributes of God, for all of his attributes (his justice, mercy, etc.) may be summed up in truth that God is good. He reveals his goodness to man in creation, redemption, and his providence. The world has a limited view of goodness. They are like fish who only know the wet sand at the bottom of the sea. However, those who are redeemed and found in Christ have a broader perspective of the world just like the turtle that emerges from the sea to sun himself on the dry sand. Bustard encourages Christians to build a strong foundation concerning their understanding of good. To do so, he urges Christian artists to study God’s attributes as he is revealed in the Scriptures. God’s goodness may also be known when believers regularly engage in Christian “fellowship, prayer, and the sacraments.” An artist must know goodness before he can express it in his craft.

Christian artists have the responsibility of revealing God’s goodness to the world in a balanced manner. Too many “Christian artists” equate good with sweet and nice. Their work is sugar-coated and lacking in balance. If you are portraying God’s mercy, is his justice also apparent? Bustard puts forth Michaelangelo’s Last Judgment as a worthy example. On one side of the painting Christ is condemning sinners to their punishment in hell. However, on the other side Jesus beckons to the elects to find their rest forever with him in eternity. The work, centered on Christ, offers a balanced view of a good God who necessarily hates evil.

“It is out of the life-giving understanding that humanity is far worse off than we think and God’s grace extends far beyond that which we can imagine, that we can produce good fruit that is rich in the fullness of our humanity” (p. 26). As sinners redeemed by the grace of God, Christian artists ought to be consumed with reflecting God through their lives and work. Understanding God’s goodness and man’s lack thereof, enables them to creatively find ways to reveal God’s nature and truth to a world in darkness. Bustard ends his chapter with the charge given by Paul to the Galatians, “let us not grow weary of doing good.”

The following chapters by various men and women dedicated to glorifying God in all aspects of their lives offer both theoretical and practical advice for those who wish to do the same in the arts.

William Edgar counters Bustard’s chapter with an artists perspective on how to portray the reality of evil in the world.

Painter Makato Fujimura challenges artists to allow content to drive their form; just as their identity is found in Christ, their art (like their lives) must represent the message of God.

The need for fellowship among the body of Christ is the topic of David Giardiniere’s chapter in which he rebukes those who isolate themselves, neither giving to nor receiving from the communion of the saints.

Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in Philadelphia, Tim Keller explains to readers why it is the church needs the aid of artists to help them understand truth and assist in their worship.

Edward Knipper uses several artists’ examples of how to communicate the truth of the gospel plain in art through subject matter and theme.

Charlie Peacock-Ashworth instructs artists in the art of glorifying God not only in the making of their art but also in the living of their lives.

Theodore Prescott cautions artists to find their identity in Christ rather than conforming to the world’s (or the church’s) perception of what they ought to be.

James Romaine examines Michelangelo’s Trinity-inspired work of creativity on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Photographer Krystyna Sanderson writes not only about the practical use of light in her work, but also of the symbolic quality of light pointing to the Light of the World.

Steve Scott emphasizes the commitment of Christian artists to Truth in a culture that rejects it.

Gaylen Stewart tackles the task of using symbolism to communicate and connect with the audience.

Each of these chapters cover different topics by different authors who use different mediums to communicate to the world their worship of the Creator.

Gregory Wolfe, founder and editor of Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion, concludes the book with his chapter on the imagination. “It is my conviction that the Christian community, despite its many laudable efforts to preserve traditional morality and the social fabric, has abdicated its stewardship of culture and, more importantly, has frequently chosen ideology rather than imagination when approaching the challenges of the present” (p. 260). Wolfe claims that it is the imagination that truly communicates and develops understanding, and those Christians holding on to tradition rather than engaging the present culture’s imagination have broken down the communication barrier. The West has been reduced to politics and ideology, everyone shouting and fighting from power … no one actually communicating. “The imagination calls us to leave our personalities behind and to temporarily inhabit another’s experience, looking at the world with new eyes” (266). Wolfe concludes that the art of Christians will only be effective if it achieves “an new synthesis between the condition of the world around us and the unique ways in which grace can speak to that condition” (267).

One might find the cover of the It Was Good a bit daunting with its long list of contributing authors, however, this book is invaluable as a unique resource that is filled with practical of examples of men and women who are actually engaging the culture for the glory of God. The personal stories, descriptions of works of art whether their own or another’s, black and white as well as color reproductions all serve to encourage the minister, artist, and layman that Christians are, in fact, making a difference by producing visual, audible, and verbal works that point people to Christ.

Novelist, Ron Hansen is presented as one such contemporary example of an artist who is a “steward of the culture”. He engages the imaginations of both believers and nonbelievers in his novel Mariette in Ecstacy (published in 1992) by delving into the little known world of convents and the bizarre phenomenon of the stigmata. Hansen effectively ties all the topics covered in the chapter together in order to challenge one’s view of spirituality. Hansen does not play the role of the removed narrator who shares the story as actual propaganda for his agenda. Instead the reader, due to the masterful writing of the author, finds himself to be an observer of the events free of authorial commentary on how the reader ought to perceive the events. One is permitted to side with the conclusions of various characters throughout the story, whether it’s awe of the young woman’s devout (almost erotic) love for her Savior, fear of the unknown, or disdain. Either way, the audience is engaged in a realm where good, evil, form and content, glory, subject and theme, Christ, creativity, light, truth, and symbolism all connect with the imagination pointing readers to God and his glory.

The only apparent fault of this book is the lack of detailed citation. Original authors are always given their credit, but at times without mentioning which text the quote was taken from and never a page number. Someone who might find a particular quote inspiring might have to wade through the murky waters of an entire book in order to find the context in which that quote was made (if, that is, the reader even knows what book the quote may be found in). This proves unhelpful for those who wish to deepen their understanding of a topic.

The church has a lot of ground to retrieve as a result of their retreat from the culture. Church leaders must encourage their people in developing their talent and skill to use for the church and to transform and redeem the culture around them. Reading It Was Good helps one to think about one’s life as a Christian. Are you an artist and separately a Christian? Or does your faith permeate every area of your life. Is your worldview so transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit in your life that you wish to see the culture around you redeemed, transformed through freedom from sin in Christ? The theoretical and practical advice given by the contributing authors inspires believers to be creative for the glory of God. The personal experiences shared encourage those who desire to engage the culture and uplift the church. Whether you read one essay or the entire book, your heart will be ministered to and your faith will be challenged to grow and reveal itself creatively to manifest God’s magnificence.

In conclusion, the church must heed the warning of Gregory Wolfe in the final statement of the book: “Unless we contribute to the renewal of culture by participating in the life of art in our own time, we will find that the barbarians have entered by gates that we ourselves have torn down.”

wish i could but i can't

2007-05-01T11:09:00.000+10:00

Two articles I'm dying to read but can't because I shouldn't. Besides I'd feel guilty if I did ... because a certain lovely man prayed this morning before he left for Uni,

"... and I pray that she would be able to focus on writing her papers and study and not be distracted by her blog."

Consider Each Other How to Stir Up Love

Enjoying God and the Transformation of Culture: The Public Life of a Modern Evangelical

I'll save these for later. Maybe you could read them and tell me if they're any good ...

acts 29 misrepresented

2007-05-01T08:40:00.000+10:00

The Missouri Baptist Convention refuses to cooperate with the Acts 29 church planting network for the following seven reasons as stated in their periodical The Pathway.

"Acts 29 should not be an organization with which the Missouri Baptist Convention networks by means of our Cooperative Program money, missions emphases and church planting"

1) Acts 29 is a part of the Emerging Church movement;

2) We have great difficulty with the notion or philosophy that a church can be theologically conservative and methodologically liberal. There is an inherent connection between biblical theology and missions methodology;

3) There seems to be levels of immaturity and even rebellion among the leadership of the Emerging Church movement;

4) Acts 29 should not be an organization with which the Missouri Baptist Convention networks by means of our Cooperative Program money, missions emphases and church planting;

5) A commitment to planting indigenous churches in Missouri is not a commitment to cultural compromise;

6) We recognize the diversity of opinion in American evangelicalism when it comes to alcoholic beverages. This does not negate our historic and ongoing affirmation of the resolutions at 57 annual meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention regarding abstinence as the Baptist position on the sale and use of alcoholic beverages;

7) There are vast theological extremes and a profound depth of doctrinal diversity, even instances of clearly heretical statements, within the Emerging Church movement with which we are greatly uncomfortable.

Read Acts 29's gracious response to these accusations here.

Timmy Brister has been following the events here.

green VW new beetle for sale

2007-05-01T01:48:00.000+10:00

green VW new beetle for sale

37,000 mi.

2003 model

manual

must sell by May 15.

contact: ckhnat at hotmail dot com

gospel prayers for the next generation

2007-04-30T09:43:00.000+10:00

The Gospel in You
Father, I pray that you would transform this child by your gospel.

Open their blinded eyes to see the deep darkness of their sin and the brilliant beauty of Christ's cross (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Thess. 1:5)
Unstop their deaf ears to hear the glorious sound of the good news (John 8:47; Rom. 10:17).
Take out their hearts of stone and replace them with hearts of flesh that beat for you alone (Ezek. 39:26-27).
Fill their minds with your Word so that their mouths might pour forth wisdom and their lives pour forth grace (Philip. 4:8-9; Ps. 119:97-104).
Cause them to live lives worthy of the gospel by living lives transformed by the gospel (Philip. 1:27).
Grant them a longing to obey and honor their parents to the glory of Christ (Eph. 6:1-3).

The Gospel in the Church
Father, I pray that you would connect them to gospel community.

Let the word of Christ dwell in them richly, as they care for others (Col. 3:16).
Empower them to forgive others as you have forgiven them (Eph. 4:31-32).
Give them a passion to serve with the gifts and abilities God has given (1 Pet. 4:10).
Equip them to do the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12)
Grant them a submissive spirit toward church leaders. Make them a joy to their leadership and not a burden (Heb. 13:17).

The Gospel in the World
Father, I pray that you would use them to take your gospel into the world.

Give them the desire to share not only your gospel but their lives as well (1 Thess. 2:8).
Set their confidence solidly in the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Rom. 1:16).
Let their lives declare who you are and what you have done (Ps. 96:2-3).
Cause them to be attractive agents of gospel-transformation in the world (Rom. 12:2; 1 Pet. 2:11, 12)

*Sojourn Community Church's gospel prayer points for how the church community can pray for our children.

from gossip and criticism to giving grace

2007-04-30T05:16:00.000+10:00

Jonna Petry speaks to the women of Mars Hill on the manner in which they give grace in their communication.

Listen here.

Because of sin, because of the curse, because we all suffer, we are all in profound need of God's grace.

And God desires that we be instruments of His grace to one another.

Drink deeply of God's grace.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Pride keeps us from receiving God's grace.

It is pride in me to think that God loves me more when I do right and loves me less when I do wrong.

We are all in profound need of God's grace no matter where we are in the journey.

I must humbly accept the reality of who I am, that the horrible reality of the ability to sin rests in me as much as it does in anyone else. I must be ever mindful and ever receiving, deeply drinking of, the grace that God gives.

For how can we speak God's grace, if we miss the grace God intends for us.

My value and self-worth is only this: that God loved and saved a wretch like me.

2. In spite of our sin and circumstances, our heavenly Father deeply loves His children and has abundantly supplied through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord that grace that we profoundly need.

God really loves us but not because of anything in us.

Romans 5:1-7
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person--though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-- 8but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

corrupting talk vs giving grace

Grace is clothing on a naked body.
Grace is a blanket that wraps around you and gives comfort and peace and security

Gossip

Criticism - act of stressing another's faults; finding fault; judge with severity; born out of a heart full of pride; it is first an attitude before it ever becomes words that are spoken.

Common emotions or roots:
pride and self-righteousness; high opinion of self; inordinate self-esteem; conceit of one's own superiority; contempt of others

Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

When we engage in corrupting conversation we are following the deceiver.

Problematic in the church since the epistles were written.

2 Corinthians

testimony

Almost every admonition to women in the Bible deal with a woman's words.

1 Timothy 2:11
Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

Proverbs 9:13
The woman Folly is loud;
she is seductive and knows nothing.

A sinful mouth is often associated with a deceived heart.

The bitter fruit of sinful speech is destruction.

Galatians 5:15
But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Matthew 12:34-37
You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

This heart of sinful criticism is a heart full of pride.

For believers, God-dependent effort to bridle the tongue is necessary for holy living and pleasing the Lord.

Pr. 10:19
When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

James 1:26
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Advice from experience:
1. If the person you are talking about were present as a by-stander, how would it affect them?

2. Just because you don't say anything yourself, you are guilty of sin unless you immediately divert the conversation or leave.

3. How can you be used as an instrument of grace?

James 3:2-11
For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?

No human being can tame the tongue.
But God by the power of the Holy Spirit can tame the tongue.

How can we change to be women who give grace to those who hear?
1. recognize the problem, it's depth and seriousness
2. recognize pride
3. be people who receive grace
4. know we are loved so we may give love to others
5. respond in deep gratitude, loving God (1 John 1:4)

speak words of redemption, grace-filled, trasformation, build up the church and not tear it down

the good soldier

2007-04-29T05:49:00.001+10:00

lacking in grace

2007-04-28T01:46:00.000+10:00

I want to apologize for my tone in the recent post "no sex for you".

It was an example of a common criticism I receive:

"Christine, you are too dogmatic in some of your principles, especially since you have yet to experience the complexities of marriage, sex, family, etc. Your statements often lack grace."

While I believe it is good and proper to formulate positions of such important issues prior to experiencing them first-hand so that one may be prepared to respond to situations in a God-glorifying manner ... the way in which we communicate our positions must show grace.

My views may be too simple ... one-sided ... it is easy to stand on a box and shout theory ... but I hope that as these complexities loom on the horizon I would bathe my theories in prayer and humility, approaching trials and testings leaning on Christ rather than my own understanding.

Forgive my lack of grace.

no sex for you

2007-04-27T15:11:00.000+10:00

As one who is in the midst of seeking to understand the implications of marital union and childrearing due to my own upcoming wedding ... I have been thinking a lot on the topic of the purpose of marriage and that intimate bond of sexual intercourse.

As all engaged couples do (or ought to do), my fiance and I are discussing plans for our future family. The hows and whens are overwhelming at times.

While still uncertain about my own position, I hold a great respect for those who hold the conviction that each time a couple engages in sexual intimacy they ought to be open to the possibility of God blessing them through the new life of a child as a result.

At the same time, I also respect those who view family planning as a solemn God-given responsibility, putting off having children till they are able to best care for and provide for a family.

I am bothered, however, by a flippancy I have observed in a disturbing trend whether in the world or evangelicalism concerning birth control. Time and again I have encountered couples or individuals who view the blessing of birth as a blight to be prevented with medicine or other means as if it were a disease to be cured.

These persons ARE NOT ready to be parents ... obviously.

And I believe, these persons are not responsible enough to engage in sexual intercourse.

*This is not a condemnation of those couples who as mentioned above have what they view as godly motives for not pursuing the addition of children to their family. Rather, it is a shout of concern toward those who have a false view of God's gifts and selfishly choose childlessness.

stripped

2007-04-27T14:38:00.000+10:00

"Really? I thought you were the one that had thought through all of this stuff."

"Believe me, I have thought about it. But it was all theory before ... now, it's becoming a reality and I'm only just becoming overwhelmed and awed at the implications."

Me realizing the reality of the enormous implications of placing my trust completely in Mike, confident that he will lead our home with the gospel and my joy as his motivation.

I am stripped of my pride and humbled by the glimpse of the life ahead of me.

it's practical ... not theoretical

2007-04-27T14:12:00.000+10:00

Churches that strive to be missional in their community engage the surrounding culture and yet offer their neighbors a radical alternative community focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ. In his article, “Missional, Theological Church Planting”, Ed Stetzer describes a church dedicated to God’s mission as, “God at work in the world, touching hearts and lives, our participation with Him seeing men and women converted, their lives changed by the power of the Gospel, and establishing New Testament congregations.” Christians can do their individual part in God’s mission by displaying Christ through that radical alternative lifestyle in three circles: marriage, family, and community.

Christians are called to be salt and light in this world, offering the culture we are called to live and minister in a view of the truth of the gospel. Christ commands his disciples to, “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). Ephesians 5 describes the mystery of marriage, revealing that it is, in fact, a representation of Christ and the Church. Those in the covenant of a Christian marriage are to convey to the world a marvelous picture of Christ’s covenant with his people that is unlike any other living example available.

John Piper, in his sermon “Marriage: God’s Showcase of Covenant-Keeping Grace”, describes Christian marriage as a unique display of God in that it involves two people in an intimate life-long covenant. “[I]n marriage you live hour by hour in glad dependence on God’s forgiveness and justification and promised future grace, and you bend it out toward your spouse hour by hour—as an extension of God’s forgiveness and justification and promised help.” Not only are Christian couples displaying Christ to each other, but the radical difference in their covenant relationship ought to affect all those who encounter them, observing their light and glorifying God. He chose to use the institution of marriage to reveal to the world his gospel message.

Is this concept yet another example of a theologian commentating on a vague biblical truth that is easier said than understood ... much less done? How exactly, does one live the gospel before one's spouse ... or others, for that matter ... especially knowing that each spouse is a sinner. Ah, but a sinner saved by grace! It is easy to use theological words but do you truly understand grace unless you experience and live it? How can you show grace to your spouse? When she disappoints you, will you condemn her? Or will you show her the "longsuffering" and forgiveness that Christ has shown you. When he fears he has let you down and does not think he deserves your forgiveness, will you show him the undeserved unconditional love that God extends toward you?

This is practical theology, folks. This is meant to be normal Christianity of the Sermon on the Mount sort ... not super-Christian ideology ... but everyday Christian gospel living.

In addition to the marriage covenant, Christians have a responsibility to the next generation of believers. When God blesses a Christian couple with children, they have the awesome responsibility of evangelizing, discipling, and training their children to become godly leaders. Just as Adam and Eve were called to image God to the world, so are Christian parents called to image God to their children. Fathers and mothers exemplify God as they love, discipline, and train their children. Doreen Moore in her article “Jonathan Edwards: Ministry and the Life of the Family” [which I strongly recommend that you read] depicts Edwards as an exemplary father and minister of the gospel, whose “chief anxiety” was the salvation of his children’s souls. Those who do not have children need not necessarily neglect representing Christ to the next generation. They may do so among the young people in their church community and beyond.

Marriage and family are unique pictures of the gospel because they are the most intimate of relationships lasting for a lifetime (particularly the husband-wife union of one-flesh). However, Christians, whether they be married or single are called to extend God’s grace to all. Colossians chapters two and three exhort Christians to remember what Christ has done and to extend that grace to others, including those within the church and the community. Not only are unbelievers watching the family relationships of Christians but they are also observing the interaction of the saints with each other and toward others. This new life that Christ offers is radical and when Christians live it out before others they provide a visual of the gospel in action. The world observes “compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, … forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, … love, … the peace of Christ, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, … giving thanks” (Colossians 3:12b-17) when Christians understand their responsibility and joy to represent Christ to each other and the world.

Whether God calls an individual or family to live for the rest of their lives next door to the house they were born in or relocates them across the world, Christians are called to represent him wherever their location. The gospel transcends cultures. It is not bound by borders. Thus, citizens of the Kingdom of God across the globe can impact whatever culture they find themselves in by living this extraordinary lifestyle prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount, Colossians, and the entire Scriptures. Whatever their situation, they may contextualize the manner in which they live and share the gospel of Jesus Christ as they take part in God’s mission; however, these three areas of marriage, family, and community are key to living out the mission God has planned for his people regardless of their place or position of service.

heidelberg catechism 43

2007-04-27T12:22:00.000+10:00

What further benefit do we receive from Christ's sacrifice and death on the cross?

Answer - Through Christ's death our old nature is crucified, put to death, and buried with Him,¹ so that the evil desires of the flesh may no longer reign in us,² but that we may offer ourselves to Him as a sacrifice of thankfulness.³

1. Romans 6:5-11

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 2:11, 12

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

2. Romans 6:12-14

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

3. Romans 12:1

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Ephesians 5:1, 2

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

the chief end of marriage is procreation?

2007-04-17T03:02:00.000+10:00

What is the purpose of marriage? This question is on the minds of civil-rights activists, legislators, clergymen, and citizens alike. And their answer to that question will form their position in how they debate their point of view.

Is it for sexual gratification? companionship? procreation?

Today's legal battles concerning the acceptance of same-sex marriage are being fought on the same territory as those who battled the use of contraceptives in England during the 1940s. This Time article describes a case that went all the way up to the House of Lords. For ten years a wife refused to be sexually intimate with her husband unless he used a contraceptive. Perplexed and desiring to have children, he sought to have the marriage nulled. (Something I think they ought to have discussed before tying the knot.) The House of Lords turned down his request, deciding that procreation did not equate consummation of a marriage.

Newspapers were inundated with letters to the editor in regard to this legal decision, many quoting the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer.

"First, it [marriage] was ordained for the procreation of children, to be brought up in the fear and nurture of the Lord and to the praise of His holy name."

The Catholic cardinal even chimed in with

"The primary purpose of marriage is the procreation and education of children; the secondary end, mutual support and the relief of concupiscence. . . . Contraceptive intercourse, whether with the aid of instruments or not, is not consummation of marriage [and is] against nature . . . shameful and intrinsically immoral."

In the midst of the ensuing heated debate, A. P. Herbert, M.P., perhaps caused the halls of Parliament to ring with chuckles only to be quickly silenced by contemplation when he stated that "if marriage-with-contraceptive isn't marriage; then adultery-with-contraceptive isn't adultery."

Today, those opposing gay marriage are using the very same arguments. Senior Director for the Center for Marriage and Family Studies Peter Sprigg made the following statement in his explanation of the public purpose of marriage:

"[M]arriage is a public institution because it brings together men and women for the purpose of reproducing the human race and keeping a mother and father together to cooperate in raising to maturity the children they produce."

Is marriage then only for couples who are willing and able to conceive? The Seattle Times reported in February that a group of gay-activists are recommending that an initiative be added to the November ballot advocating that very idea. The initiative would go even further in that marriage would be dissolved if the couple is still childless after three years of marriage.

The Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance is a parody of the acronym DOMA which stands for Defense of Marriage Act. The act passed the state Supreme Court last year 5-4 opposing same-sex marriage in part because they are not for the purpose of procreation. Gregory Gadow and his parody organization hope that their initiative will cause the Washington Supreme Court to re-evaluate its 2006 decision.

"We want people to think about the purpose of marriage," he said. "If it exists for the purpose of procreation, they must understand then that these are the consequences."

Many operate under the assumption that the primary purpose of marriage is procreation. Even the man who has lived with his girlfriend of ten years will thoughtfully suggest that when they are ready to have children that they will get married. But is this truly the purpose of marriage? Is multiplication God's intent for bringing a man and woman together for a lifetime? Is this a valid, logical, biblical argument against such hot issues as homosexual unions and contraception?

What is the purpose of marriage?

This is the topic for an ethics paper I am currently working on. As I work on the paper I would love any insights you have to share on this matter or any resources you might like to offer to aid my research. As you can see, this is an important question to tackle. I would be grateful for any specific sources you might like to share with me whether they are egalitarian, secular, complementarian, biblical, personal, or from the perspective of church fathers.

my fear ... my sin

2007-04-16T05:02:00.000+10:00

What's your greatest fear? heights? fire? water? unrequited love?

Sadly, I never give a spiritual answer to that question. I don't respond, "I fear that those I love will never come to know the joy of God's salvation."

No, instead I reply, "I fear being under-appreciated."

I hate the shallowness of my fear and ... the underlying sin behind it. This is my struggle ... this is my sin.

In the past I have given so much of myself for the good of a cause or person only to be crushed by lack of appreciation. My efforts were ignored or taken for granted. And I often sinned in my response by reacting in anger or resentment.

Is it good to encourage? Is it good to appreciate others?

Emphatically, yes! We are commanded to encourage others.

But is Christ being glorified when I hold on to bitterness by not getting my due recognition?

Ephesians 4:30-32

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

I have noticed that when I harbor bitterness, it quickly turns to anger and then slander. What a grief I must be to the Holy Spirit!

As Christians we should never drive others to bitterness, especially our fellow brothers and sisters, by neglecting to acknowledge their kindness and hard work for the kingdom of God. So often we need that affirmation that what we are doing is worthwhile and good. But when we do not receive that pat on the back of recognition, is it enough to know that what we accomplished was for Christ and His glory ... not for the praise of man?

Was our motivation to receive glory or to give glory?

Remember, you are not responsible for the actions of others ... but you are responsible for how you respond to them.

update: I just remembered Mike's post last year about encouragement.

*This is still a present struggle in my life.

sanctification

2007-04-16T04:59:00.000+10:00

So many of us know theology so well in our heads but fail miserably when it comes to practically living it. Sanctification is so often ignored. We hesitate to live out what we know of God and what he expects of us because it is easier to think about it than to do it. We become hearers of the Word and not doers.

Do we truly have a grasp of our systematic/biblical theology if we get an F in practical theology?

a vision for the future

2007-04-16T04:34:00.000+10:00

My pastor challenged us this morning to develop a vision of change regarding our partner--not a game plan in how we're going to change our spouse ... no ... instead, a vision of how our spouse is daily becoming more and more like Christ and to rejoice with them as you see that transformation occur in their lives.

Do I have such a vision for myself?

Am I completely yielded to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life to mold me and change me?

Or do I hold onto sins or harmful habits thinking that I cannot change ... that they are a part of me ... that they define me?

Is my hope/confidence in Christ or myself or the approval of others?

How can I be used of God as an instrument of change for the better in my spouse's life?

Am I yielded to His guidance in my life to be used of Him or am I trying to bring about change in my spouse or my own life through my own strength and confidence?

Do I delight in the vision of what my spouse is becoming?

13 characteristics of a missional church

2007-04-15T08:18:00.001+10:00

(click here)

"To engage today's world with the good news requires the formation of a gospel community - the church of Jesus Christ - to be a visible representation, witness and instrument of the sovereign outreaching hand of God in our culture."

was Jesus a bloke?

2007-04-13T04:22:00.000+10:00

Mike raises a question that is on many minds. Was Jesus a manly man or a smooth-hand philosopher? Why is such a question relevant?

review of Eldridge's Wild at Heart

Profiling Christian Masculinity ... includes characteristics of the perfect man--Christ.

Jesus in a Pink Dress Overlooking the Grateful Dead

Is Jack Bauer a Type of Christ?

Jesus, Women, and Men

read the discussion on Mike's blog and comment here.

new blog features

2007-04-12T11:51:00.000+10:00

I've revamped my blog this week and thought I'd draw your attention to some of the changes.

I noticed that a number of readers were accessing my blog using Google Reader. I thought I'd look into it for myself. With Google Reader I can view all the blogs I regularly read all on one site. In addition, I can share posts with others that I think they'd find interesting. These can be viewed by using the "ckhnat's shared items" feature in the side bar.

Towards the bottom of the side bar are the labels to my posts (still being updated ... I'm up to May 2006).

Some items that are missing are a couple of links. You may notice that I removed the "Aussie" and "Ahrteest Phrehnds". You Aussies already know all of your blog addresses ... but if for some odd reason you actually ever looked at my artist friends' sites and you miss them and are about to throw a hissy fit ... here they are.

short fella

beth and jon's studio

jim is my favorite color

hinkle rides a bike

i knew dan

josef called me christina

lauren painted me

caroline lived next door

no dichotomy

2007-04-12T08:52:00.000+10:00

Doreen Moore of ACT 3 writes of Jonathan Edward's commitment to meet the needs of both his family and the church as a minister of the Gospel.

He believed he was to be zealous in his call to fulfill both roles. Edwards would agree that one is to 'spend and be spent' for the souls in his congregation and the souls in his family. ⁹⁷ He was one day to stand before the Judge to give an account of the souls in his care, whether in his congregation or in his family. There was no dichotomy because both were the 'work of the Lord.' Furthermore, family duties were important to him, not only because he was concerned for his children's salvation, but because the welfare of the common-wealth and the church depended on it.

Read entire article here.

captain tight pants PLUS fast driving

2007-04-11T09:26:00.000+10:00

my knees just went weak ...

click here

dear God, please tell him he's wrong so i don't have to

2007-04-10T13:16:00.000+10:00

Miss Halfway is a new blogger from Argentina. I love her deep questions about life. This is her latest post (click here). Below is my response.

i think you and i are a bit alike in this. i will often keep from telling someone that they have hurt me or disappointed me ... perhaps it's because, like you, i hate to bring them grief ... or maybe i avoid confrontation at all cost ... or maybe it's my pride.

but in the past year i have not confronted people for another reason. whenever i am hurt or disappointed, instead of focusing on the wrong that has been done to me, i have learned to pray.

eh .. this isn't some sort of "Dear God, please help me not to be angry and please forgive him" prayer.

it's much more than that.

i am afraid of my anger. afraid of its ugliness. it is only with God's help that i can turn my eyes away from my anger at another person and look at my own filthiness. no, it's not that i am self-depricating ... it's more being realistic. how dare I judge someone when I myself have done more than my share of wrong!

it is only when I am fully aware of my own wrongdoing and have, through God's help, changed that I can help others see their wrong and change, as well. otherwise, I fear my reaction to my hurt may do just as much hurt (or more) than was done to me.

the answer is DEFINITELY not to think that all you need is more self-confidence. we all know that the self-esteem movement has done little but create a generation of self-righteous egomaniacs.

no. i think humility is the answer here.

ha ha ... talk about remembering sunday school ... remember this?

Matthew 7:1-5

i like your grandmother.

sweet mother of execution

2007-04-09T09:02:00.000+10:00

hey Miss Halfway,

I noticed your comment looking for friends on Mike-the-guy-who-got-his-rib-broken-by-a-girl's blog. I thought I'd come over and say hi.

I was actually talking about this VERY thing with some friends yesterday. Not only do I find the commericialization of this holy day distateful ... but the idea of the CROSS being mass produced into sweet creamy chocolate!!!

really! (disgust)

Chocolate ... to represent that awful tool of execution to kill the Savior of the world .. the Son of God. And putting lovely lilies on it as decoration doesn't make the cross any less horrific. What Christ went through to bring God glory and claim rebellious people to transform their lives that they may also bring God glory ... should never be memorialized in chocolate.

THAT'S distasteful.

(wow .. that turned out to be quite a rant ... eep.)

how to do missional church ... annotated bibliography

2007-04-07T05:14:00.000+10:00

Click on hyper-linked titles to view entire texts.

Being Missional Matters
by Gary Shavey
an interview with Ed Stetzer

"It is not membership in the sense of some club, it is living in each others lives and "provoking one another to love and good deeds" (Hebrews 10:24), but also holding one another accountable through care, exhortation, discipline, etc."

"Every planter (and pastor for that matter) needs to ask "what does a Biblically faithful Church look like in this context?" Jude 3 reminds us to "contend for the faith once delivered to the faith" which 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 reminds us to "become all things to all men so that all means possible [we] might save some." It seems that most planters or pastors get excited about "contending" or "contextualizing." I think we need to hold both with equal fervor."

(download Stetzer's talks at the Reform & Resurge 2006 conference here.

1. Breaking the Missional Code - why being missional matters-- how issues of Christology, missiology, and ecclesiology all have to interact within the bounds of scripture to lead a Biblically faithful Church.
2. Understanding Culture - real life examples and providing some tools for missional ministry)

Christian Image Is Everything
by Christopher Castaldo

"As we look at the church, we would do well to consider the kind of image we are reflecting."

"We can improve our reflection of Christ by observing a fourfold routine that entails reading, contemplation, prayer, and witness." (p. 2)

reading - 2 Corinthians 3:18 "... looking at Scripture, which exposes us to the sunlight of God's presence. Divine light causes Christ's image to be indelibly burned into our soul. To the extent that we maintain exposure and welcome his light, idolatry of self and the surrounding culture loses its seductive appeal." (p. 3)

contemplation - "The challenge of contemplation is to take the image of Christ that we behold in Scripture and connect the dots between it and what we observe in the modern context. Sometimes what we see around us will be an accurate reflection of Scripture...—a mother nursing her child, an adult child caring for an elderly parent, a businessman advocating on behalf of the unborn or a poor refugee. These reflections of God's grace should be celebrated and promoted. On other occasions we will observe reflections of idolatry—the dehumanization of women as objects of pleasure, excessive material consumption, college professors asserting an anti-Christian agenda overlaid with a thin veneer of political correctness. Or it may just be the idols fashioned in the factories of our own hearts. Either way, these reflections of evil must be called out and vigorously challenged." (p. 3)

prayer - "Prayer recognizes that we are incapable of advancing God's kingdom without the animating movement of the Holy Spirit—a movement that can't actually be seen with the naked eye; it can, however, be perceived in the context of prayer.... Thankfully, God gives the church faith, and with faith we can pray, and when we pray, God's Spirit infuses into our lives a conspicuous measure of his glory. Such is how God uses prayer to fashion our image." (p. 3-4)

witness - "Even though society is unable to recognize God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ, and our role of reflecting it is inconsistent, there is still hope. For the light of salvation doesn't emerge from darkness but rather proceeds into it. This is the essence of image reflection. Through the church's proclamation and embodiment of the gospel, truth about Christ's kingdom radiates into society. It forcefully advances, and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. In this way God displays his victory over idols and provides renewal to the languishing elements of creation. Shattered souls are transformed and eternally captivated by the indescribable beauty of the Creator." (p. 4)

Christians and Culture
by Tim Keller

2. "Christians should be a dynamic counter-culture in the city.... We Christians are called to be an alternate city within every earthly city, an alternate human culture within every human culture, to show how sex, money, and power can be used in non-destructive ways; to show how classes and races who cannot get along outside of Christ can get along in him; and to show how it is possible to produce art that brings hope rather than despair or titillation." (p. 2)

Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: hard lessons from an emerging missional church
by Mark Driscoll

10 Curious Quesions
1. Will your Rev. require reformission?
(reformission - "living in the tension of being culturally liberal yet theologically conservative Christians and churches who are absolutely driven by the gospel of grace to love their Lord, their neighbors, and their fellow Christians.")
2. Will your church be traditional and institutional, contemporary and evangelical, or emerging and missional?
3. Will your church be an emerging liberal church or an emerging evangelical church? (Mars Hill is "emerging and missional in its practice and evangelical and biblical in its theology.")
4. Will you proclaim a gospel of forgiveness, fullfilment, or freedom?
5. Will your church be attractional, missional, or both?
6. What size shoe will your church wear?
7. Will your church have a mission of community or be a community of mission?
8. Will your leaders work from guilt or conviction?
9. Do you have the guts to shoot your dogs? ("Dogs are idiotic ideas, stinky styles, stupid systems, failed facilities, terrible technologies, loser leaders, and pathetic people.")
10. Can you wield a sword and a trowel?
(pp. 14-35)

Hospitality: The Invitation to Come, See and Stay
by Wilbur Ellsworth

John 1:35-42

the loving invitation to investigation and identification

"This seemingly insignificant story in the early ministry of the Lord teaches us how the love of the stranger draws people into the life of "staying with Jesus," of abiding in the place where he lives in the fellowship and joy of the All Holy and Eternal Trinity. These days sincere attempts to evangelize the stranger seem to diminish the nature of biblical triune worship of the church out of a desire to get people to come. We often show them appealing pleasures that are only seductions to draw them to something different. Instead we need to follow our Lord in his "come, see and stay" love for the stranger.

"There are strangers to Christ all around us and he calls us to care about their eternal homelessness. Welcoming the stranger into Christ's home begins with: (1) Asking them what they are seeking; (2) Sharing with them the home you have in the worship of God in the church; and (3) Staying with them for as long as it takes for them to stay in Christ's love."

The Missional Church
by Tim Keller

1. Discourse in the vernacular.
2. Enter and re-tell the culture's stories with the gospel
3. Theologically train lay people for public life and vocation
4. Create Christian community which is counter-cultural and counter-intuitive
5. Practice unity as much as possible on the local level

Case study
"These are elements that have to be present in every area of the church. So, for example, what makes a small group 'missional'? A 'missional' small group is not necessarily one which is doing some kind of specific 'evangelism' program (though that is to be recommended). Rather, 1) if its members love and talk positively about the city/neighborhood, 2) if they speak in language that is not filled with pious tribal or technical terms and phrases, nor disdainful and embattled language, 3) if in their Bible study they apply the gospel to the core concerns and stories of the people of the culture, 4) if they are obviously interested in and engaged with the literature and art and thought of the surrounding culture and can discuss it both appreciatively and yet critically, 5) if they exhibit deep concern for the poor and generosity with their money and purity and respect with regard to opposite sex, and show humility toward people of other races and cultures, 6) they do not bash other Christians and churches--then seekers and non-believing people from the city A) will be invited and B) will come and will stay as they explore spiritual issues. If these marks are not there it will only be able to include believers or traditional, 'Christiianized' people." (p. 3)

The Radical Reformission: reaching out without selling out
by Mark Driscoll

(from the conclusion of the book in which Driscoll describes how Mars Hill cultivates a Kingdom culture within Seattle)

Men
Seattle - not likely to go to church, marry, have children, or be responsible.
Mars Hill - convert them and train them to be godly men; "how to study the Bible, get a job, invest money, buy a home, court a woman, brew beer, have good sex, and be a pastor-dad to their children"

Sex
S - "live together and sleep together with no plans to get married or have children"; abortion often the only option
MH - premarital process training future husbands and wives in their biblical roles; the marriage covenant is sacred and the marriage bed is sensual; "we speak frankly, but not crassly, about sexuality because if our people do not get their information from the living waters of Scripture, their thrist will compel them to drink from the toilet of pornography and perversion.

Children
S - not valued
MH - "welcomed as a blessing from God because they will ensure reformission continues well into the future"

Home
S - value replaced with that of the marketplace
MH - "We encourage our people to buy their homes with hospitality and ministry in mind so that they have enough space to host Bible studies and parties and to practice reformission evangelism."

Beauty
S - creativity and the arts is highly valued
MH - also holds in high regard believing beauty to be one of God's attributes; display art in home and church; all-age concert venues; write own worship music; takes aesthetics very seriously

Joy
MH - demonstration of faith; "good food, good drink, good friends, and good times filled with laughter stand in contrast to the worry, hurry, and busy of stressed and depressed people who do not trust God."

Practical Theology
MH - "claiming Jesus as Lord means that he rules over everything ..."; "theology is intensely practical and connected to how we live every day as we work our jobs, clean our dishes, and brush our teeth to the glory of God."

Emerging Leaders
S - dominated by youth culture
MH - "young people are identified not as adolescents but rather as Christians of whom Christian living is expected."

Church Planting
S - one of least churched in the nation
MH - "every culture and community needs vibrant churches to be the reformission base from which the gospel is taken into the culture."; gives 10% of annual budget to fund church planting among indigenous peoples around the world

(pp. 184-188)

(also here are links to Mars Hill's various ministries, community groups, classes, film & theology lectures. Many of their meetings such as "Practical Theology for Women" are recorded and available for download as podcasts.)

Toward A Missional Worldview: Creation, the Imago Dei, and BMWs
by Anthony Bradley

"Missionally oriented Jesus followers, in a sinful and broken world, seek to show, lead, and invite the people they engage into a journey of being changed by God to live wellâhere and nowâruling, developing, and maintaining creation as God intended it (Matt 28: 18-20). Jesus followers, through their marriages, work habits, love for others, use of natural resources, knowledge, passions, worship, etc., display to a lost world (both verbally and relationally) what it means to be intimately united to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt 5:16, 1 Pet 2:12)."

"The Bible describes no "sacred/secular" distinction in creation. Running a business, for example, is not "secular." No human activity is religiously neutral. Everything is spiritual. Everything. This includes endeavors ranging from envisaging creative recipes and developing technology, to arranging color on a canvass and, again, creating the 2006, BMW M5."

What Kind of Fruit Does Your Church Produce?
by John Armstrong

"The apostle Paul urged the Christians in Galatia, and therefore us, to "live by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16). He also urged them and us to be "led by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:18). And this way of living is clearly contrasted with "the works of the flesh" (Galatians 5:19). And, by way of even further contrast, we are all to grow in producing "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22). I have been thinking about how this section of Paul's letter relates to the local church, particularly to how we do church." (p. 1)

steeples are to branches as ...

2007-04-05T13:06:00.000+10:00

Yes, God elects ... the Holy Spirit quickens the spirit ... and God has chosen to use the church to promote the Gospel. As such, we have the solemn responsibility to use wisdom in our presentation. Assessing one's culture is one method in which Christians take that responsibility seriously.

Why do you protest?

Our missionaries overseas have been doing the same for decades. One hundred years ago, missionaries went to Nigeria to make Christians who fit the mold of their home country's version of cultural Christianity. This proved to be a stumbling block, often being confused with imperialism.

Missionaries learned over time to strip away non-gospel issues from their work with indigenous peoples. Has the gospel changed? Is it so watered down that it is no longer even offensive to the non-elect? Is sin washed over? No, it is still spiritual foolishness to them without the work of God in their lives ... but the missionaries are not adding their own cultural foolishness to it.

Is it practical or appropriate even to ask Nigerians to build a building with a steeple on it in order to have church? Is it proper to require them to wear collared shirts and ties and slacks and shoes when they attend the weekly meetings in the steepled building? Should we set an organ up front and provide Isaac Watts hymnals for everyone?

Are these wrong? No, not for a culture in which they are appropriate.

But for Nigerian believers, these things are unnecessary for gospel promotion.

By allowing Nigerians to wear their native garb, sing praises to God in their native tongue to their native music, meet under a tree or in a home, one is not adjusting the gospel to fit culture.

You are not telling the people "Ah, I understand that animal sacrifice is a part of your culture. Please, continue... You pray to your ancestors? Well, that's fine... You practice homosexuality because that's who you are? No problem."

The Roman Catholic church was notorious for such assimilation of culture into the Gospel ... especially in South America. "This is a legend you have ... well, see, Jesus' mother is sort of like the mother of this god you worship. Just change the names of your gods and it's essentially the same thing."

Or is Christianity the white man's religion?

If we assess culture overseas as missionaries, why then are people wary of doing the same within our own country?

Is the church not to be a missionary in its own community?

Are there areas in the church that are non-gospel issues that the church is clinging to but prove to be merely cultural stumbling blocks to their community truly understanding the Gospel?

Are the people they are trying to reach equating some methods with moralism or "imperialism"?

how is missional different from the others?

2007-04-04T12:27:00.000+10:00

I posted this particular Desiring God National Conference 2006 video because my previous post "the missional switch" raised some very interesting observations in the comments section. Here Mark Driscoll, a key note speaker at the conference, makes the distinction between missional churches from other emerging movements.

Like Mike, I am beginning to have a distaste in my mouth for the term incarnational. While I agree mostly with the missiological method associated with the term ...

living as Christ among a culture, contextualizing one's witness removing cultural stumbling blocks so that the Gospel might be clear to those within a particular culture

... my discomfort with the word lies in its definition which I believe is best understood as referring solely to the Divine becoming human in Christ.

Perhaps a different term can be devised.

Fall of 2006, Desiring God hosted their annual conference in which modern-day heros discussed "The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World".

Desiring God National Conference 2006 videos may be viewed here or downloaded from iTunes.

Audio of conference peakers John Piper, D. A. Carson, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, Vodie Baucham (I wish he was scheduled to preach here before I leave in May.), and David Wells may be accessed here.

(Great! Now Mike's going to be disappointed all over again because I did not attend the conference.)

The above is largely the result of a late-night conversation between Mike and me.

the joy of the church ... our joy ... Christ

2007-04-01T12:05:00.000+10:00

John Piper came and spoke on campus this past week, exhorting all to make the joy of the church our joy ... which is ultimately joy in Christ.

2 Corintians 1:24
Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, for you stand firm in your faith.

h/t Said at Southern

Said at Southern is a blog displaying the various blogs and podcasts of current students and alumni of Southern Seminary. You can find mine about 3/4 down the main page in the center column.

the missional switch

2007-04-01T10:24:00.000+10:00

Are you a good person?

If you were to die tonight, do you know where you would spend eternity?

What is your purpose in the world?

Christians for the past three decades have been trained to use these questions in their strategies to evangelize their communities. However, in a recent study conducted by the Center for Missional Research, 44% of people polled stated that they never think about their place in eternity. One out of four said that it never occurs to them to wonder about their purpose. (1) Is it possible that it is time to re-evaluate our presentation of the gospel?

Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, may agree that there was a time and place in which such tactical questions were helpful. In his Confessions of a Reformission Rev., Driscoll points out that traditionally the church has preached the gospel of forgiveness to a culture that understood sin and was familiar with the life and death of Jesus Christ. The church today, however, has shifted from preaching forgiveness to embracing a message of fulfillment, essentially ignoring missio Dei in place of having God join their own personal mission. Driscoll rejects this self-fulfilling gospel and believes that the church that is now emerging needs to re-evaluate its presentation of the message in light of the culture that is emerging. And what this culture needs, according to Driscoll, is freedom. At the fall, man destroyed his perfect relationship with God through his rebellion. Since then, he has been enslaved to sin and self-destruction. The gospel of freedom reveals that it is only through Christ that man can “be brought back into [God’s] original intentions for us: worshiping God instead of ourselves, serving the common good, making culture, and through his grace, helping to right what has been made wrong through sin.” (pp. 23-25) This is the biblical truth that speaks to today’s generation that is biblically-illiterate and tired of the self-absorbed lifestyle of their parents.

The church must be aware of the culture around them, engaging it, loving those in it, finding ways to be relevant in it. Ed Stetzer, of Acts 29 and the Center for Missional Research, answers the title of his article “Why Is Cultural Relevance a Big Deal?” with “If we [are not relevant], the message of the gospel gets confused with the cultures of old. The unchurched think that Christianity is a retrograde culture rather than a living faith." The church, instead of removing all stumbling blocks but the cross of Christ, has itself become a stumbling block to an understanding of the gospel. (1 Corinthians 1:23)

How can the church begin to adjust its promotion of the message of redemption without sacrificing biblical integrity? Stetzer suggests in another article titled “Beginning a Conversation about Christ” that the church must start with being where people are, understanding them, listening to them, relating to them, letting the gospel of freedom permeate every action and deed, walking beside the lost, leading them to the “a bloody cross and an empty tomb.”

Driscoll’s reformission concept as laid out in his book The Radical Reformission requires the church to forsake its focus on self and turn to community of true faith in Christ. Within this community, unbelievers are welcomed in relationship with those whose lives have been transformed by the work of Christ. “Reformission insists that evangelism is more about a lifestyle for all of God’s people than just a ministry program or department for some of God’s people, and that the gospel is made clearest by honest words and open lives of those who have been transformed by grace." (p. 74)

This radical shift in engaging the lost in relationship rather than grasping to old methods or gimmicks of evangelism is essential for the church to reach the surrounding culture. Many churches foolishly cling to their traditions and programs, repelling the lost rather than relating to them as Christ related to the tax collectors, the adulterous women, and the untouchable with truth and compassion and relationship. Let the church’s example be Paul who entered Athens and took in his surroundings, observing the culture, engaging it in a way that they would understand.

Today’s culture yearns for relationship not pamphlets or strangers approaching them with questions they view as irrelevant. It is reeling in the pain of its bondage to sin in the midst of broken families and broken lives. Today’s churches must enter God’s mission for redeeming the lost for his glory by purposefully entering their communities with the intention of showing the truth of God’s salvation through their everyday lives and conversations. This is a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-dirty faith. It is a lifestyle free from bondage and free to glorify God that the church offers the world. Let the church live that lifestyle before others in everything they do. Let that be the church’s evangelism, rather than a few culturally irrelevant questions.

sexuality redeemed

2007-03-30T03:21:00.000+10:00

Click here for Mike's advice for men (AND women) who struggle with the temptations of pornography.

I would like to add to his list by saying that I find it beneficial to develop a redeemed perspective of sexuality.

1. Begin by viewing men and women as individuals who bear God's image, thus deserving respect for their person, body and soul.

2. Put away the guilt-invoking fear of sex that you harbor because the church's efforts to keep you sexually pure have also caused you to equate sex with sin.

3. Understand God's purpose in the gift of sex as being wonderful and pure, knowing that you can share yourself fully with your spouse in love.

4. Sexual intimacy is not meant to gratify self ... nor is it more holy to put aside one's own pleasure to only please the spouse. Intimacy is meant to be enjoyed by both husband and wife as they serve each other in love and become one flesh.

5. Sex is not a flippant joke. It's solemn importance lies in that it is a creation of God. However, this does not mean that to discuss sex is taboo. Single women ought to feel free to discuss questions and seek the advice of married women in regards to the joys of sex and/or temptations. Pray together and rejoice together.

6. There is no shame in sex between a man and his wife. Instead, one would do well to give thanks to God after enjoying each other's bodies.

7. God, the Creator, enables man and woman to experience the joy of creation through the act of sex to bring about new generations. There is not fullproof contraception. With sex comes the possibility of new life. May husbands and wives always find delight in the news of a new life brought about by their act of love.

8. The human body is wonderful as God created it, to be enjoyed by one's spouse. Solomon's Song of love, romance, and sexuality reveals God's condoning of sexual pleasure.

9. Selfishness, unfaithfulness, and lack of control seek to destroy the wonder of this "one flesh". 1 Corinthians 7 urges those with sexual desire to be honorable and marry. In addition, husbands and wives are exhorted not to deny each other the pleasure of sex. Hebrews 13:4 demands that marriage be honored and kept pure, devoting one's self exclusively to one's spouse, placing all sexual desire in him/her excluding all others, real or imaginary.

Proverbs 5:15-23
15Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.
16Should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets?
17Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.
18Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.
20Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?
21For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD,
and he ponders all his paths.
22The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.
23He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is led astray.

10. God created the body in such a way to give amazing sensations.

11. "We have come together in [God], called by him, creating a family, serving him, he living in both of us, we are now expressing, physically the spiritual truth that he has created--we are no longer two, but one." (Otto Piper)

12. The physical body as well as the soul is good. God does not turn his eyes when a married couple enjoys his gift of sex. "He wants us to run into sex, but to do so with his presence, priorities, and virtues marking our pursuit." (Gary Thomas)

13. Sex is "knowing" someone intimately ... not for lovers, but for companions who wish to share their soul, mind, and body with another for a lifetime. When God created a companion for Adam, he chose to add sex to that relationship. How wonderful! The generosity of God is overwhelming.

Useful books on the subject:

One Flesh by Amerlia and Greg Clarke
and
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas

calvinists, postmodernism, and beer ... oh my!

2007-03-27T13:06:00.000+10:00

The title of this post sums up three of the greatest fears SBC leadership are facing. The Baptist Press recently published an article laced with ignorant fear, revealing the efforts to which the leadership are struggling to grasp to their traditions irrelevant to cultures not their own. No wonder the word emerging makes them squirm.

In response, Tom Ascol addresses these concerns here in a helpful post at Founders Ministries Blog.

If you're interested in differing views of the theology of the movement, I recommend reading this (excerpts from the book Listening to the Beliefs of Emerging Churches).

(note: Do not confuse emergent with emerging. Emergent refers to a small group within the Emerging Church Movement that is noted for not embracing orthodox theology.)

daughters of Jerusalem ... this is my beloved, my friend

2007-03-22T09:10:00.000+11:00

His mouth is most sweet,
and he is altogether desirable.
This is my beloved and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.

Song of Solomon 5:16

Today marks day 100 in the I'll Be Mike's and Mike Will Be Mine countdown. In addition, today is also the conclusion to 30 days in which I have been striving to be a godly encouragement to Mike per Nancy Leigh DeMoss' challenge (under printable downloads).

In honor of this special day, I would like to describe for you my lover, my friend.

1. Mike is a man that others may look to for inspiration. I would be proud to have my sons emulate him.

2. Mike is strong and masculine. When he holds me, I am enveloped in his confident tenderness. What originally impressed me about him was his determination to do what it took to accomplish his desires.

3. Mike eagerly communicates the gospel impartial to persons rich or poor, young or old, educated or not.

4. Mike is determined to lovingly provide for, lead, and organize our family without tyranny. He listens to my advice with openness and humility. When I wrong him, he is quick to forgive.

5. Mike is not a lover of money or earthly possessions.

6. Mike is hospitable, welcoming both believers and non-believers into his home. His home, car, computer, and other belongings are often offered to others should they have need of them.

7. Mike loves the church and ministering to and with God's people.

8. Mike is a lover of truth, desiring to teach God's Word faithfully, holding to sound doctrine rather than popular thought or gimmick.

9. Mike is a hard worker, devoting his body and time to serving God in whatever He is led to do.

10. Mike is a very focussed and organized thinker. When he comes to you with a concept, you know that he has put much time and thought into his plan.

11. Mike is very warm and genuine when talking with others, often putting them at ease (despite his wonderful height).

Word

2007-03-21T14:37:00.000+11:00

Al Mohler's recent commentary that got homosexual activists and conservative evangelicals alike up in arms was responsible for Stephen Colbert's word "Supernatural" tonight!

Read Mohler's response to the outrage here.

Madahooha?

2007-03-20T02:21:00.000+11:00

Me - "My name will be Christine (sly smile, slight snigger, holding in a laugh) Jolly."

Jim - "Is that how it's pronounced in Madagascar?"

Me - (blank look)

Jim - "(makes snigger noise) Is that how Jolly is pronounced? ... (looks to girlfriend) She is the one marrying a guy from Madagascar, right?"

Everyone - (BWAHAHAHA!!!)

you are the blessed God

2007-03-19T10:23:00.000+11:00

You are the blessed God,
happy in yourself
and the source of happiness in your creatures,
my Maker, Benefactor, Proprietor, Upholder.

You have produced and sustained me,
supported and indulged me
saved and kept me;

You are able in every situation to meet
my needs and deficiencies.

May I live by you,
live for you
and never be satisfied with my Christian progress
except as I resemble Christ;

And may conformity to his principles, temper,
and conduct grow hourly in my life.

Let your unexampled love constrain me to
holy obedience,
and render my duty my delight.

If others deem my faith folly
my meekness infirmity,
my zeal madness,
my hope delusion,
my actions hypocrisy,
may I rejoice to suffer for your name.

Keep me walking steadfastly toward
the country of everlasting delights,
that paradise-land which is my true
inheritance.

Support me by the strength of heaven
that I may never turn back
or desire false pleasures
that wilt and disappear into nothing.

As I pursue my heavenly journey by your grace
let me be known as a man with no aim
except that of a burning desire for you,
and the good and salvation
of my fellow men.

- adaptation of a Puritan prayer from "Valley of Vision"

question

2007-03-17T10:08:00.000+11:00

Does God "call" women to a ministry position 1) apart from their husbands and/or 2) apart from the family/children developmental roles?

if yes/no, does Scripture back up your claim?

gold

2007-03-11T14:27:00.000+11:00

Something this evening caused me to remember an old post of Bobby's. I did a bit of rummaging through old archives but finally emerged victorious with the desired post.

This is gold ... when old-school Christine was frequently posting on the how-tos of relationships.

Oh Tangled Web of Relationships (Or, Why Can't Martians and Venusians Speak The Same Language)

I think Mike did a pretty good job, considering ...

p.s. - Carmen is visiting me this week.

questions for a godly wife

2007-03-08T13:26:00.000+11:00

click here

h/t Craigs

discussion

2007-03-02T02:41:00.000+11:00

Is it a double standard to appreciate the form and beauty of a nude woman's body in art and yet believe that Christian women ought to clothe themselves in modesty?

Are the two reconcilable?

What is a proper pastoral response to nudity in the fine arts? How does this compare with one's treatment and understanding of Song of Solomon and Ezekiel?

new linkage

2007-03-01T09:04:00.000+11:00

I did some cleaning up on my blog today. I tidied up the link column and in the process came across some thought-provoking/amusing articles.

Enjoy.

Do I want to be married? or do I want to be a wife? What's the difference?
Carolyn McCulley explains.

Modesty revisited. Check out this survey.

Pictures of a world run by women.

"Jesus Loves Osama" meets 1961

2007-02-28T09:22:00.000+11:00

The "Jesus Loves Osama" poster campaign has received a lot media attention recently. The hype has gotten everyone talking ... How could Jesus possibly love Osama bin Laden?!!

But has anyone actually come to a saving faith in Christ as a result of seeing one of these signs? Who knows. If it's anything like the Gospel Blimp ... probably not.

This film produced in 1961 follows the story of a group of friends who brainstormed one evening how they could share the Gospel with their unbelieving neighbors. Take for instance, George's neighbor ... look at him over there! He's obviously not a Christian! He's drinking beer! ... everyone tutt-tutts and shakes their heads solemnly. And then a brilliant idea comes to one of the fellas ... Why not get a blimp that trails along a Bible verse in the back?!! Oh, and let's wrap up Bible verses in cellophane and drop them on people from the blimp (gospel bombs).

yeh ... brilliant ...

But their plans failed miserably. Their neighbors came to despise the blimp. They mocked it and everyone involved.

In the end, George resigns from International Gospel Blimp, Inc. and decides to spend time with his neighbor instead. George's wife goes to visit his neighbor's wife in the hospital and helps her with the cleaning around the house as she recovers. It is through their growing friendship that George finally is able to speak the truth of the Gospel in love with his neighbors.

(gasp!) without the help of the Gospel Blimp?!

But surely the slogans floating in the wind were effective. "REPENT" or "ALL HAVE SINNED" or "LOOK UP AND LIVE".

What about when you drive along the road today and you see billboards sponsored by local churches that read "JESUS IS LORD" or the last half of the 10 Commandments. Surely, that's mighty enough to convict a poor lost sinner, reducing him to tears of remorse, causing him to pull over and beg God for His redeeming grace. (Dr. Payne, professor of Church Planting shares some poignant thoughts on this phenomenon.)

Do I sound oh so cynical?

Indeed, I am. I am cynical about individuals or churches that neglect their personal responsibility to live and speak the message of reconciliation to God by depending on gimmicks to do the job for them.

I'm actually a fan of the "Jesus Loves Osama" poster. It has been worded in such a way that sparks conversation, giving believers the opportunity to answer questions about Christ or share what Christ's love has done for them.

But the poster itself isn't enough to do the job.

(I dare you to watch video clip of the Gospel Blimp by clicking here and then clicking on the link on the right.)

pride, my constant enemy

2007-02-26T07:45:00.000+11:00

It is generally difficult for me to ask, much less accept, the gift of service from another. While I could conjure up grand reasons of false humility, the problem finally settles on my ever-present struggle with pride.

Two weeks ago, I had allowed myself to become overwhelmed with the stress of study, moving, and wedding preparation. In a sinful response, I spoke harshly with Mike. Although I hurt him, he was patient with me and in love asked me to allow him to help me as he could. I fought against the thought of accepting his request, not wanting to admit my own weakness.

As I struggled with my shame, Mike sent me the text to a song I had never heard before. When he asked me if I would read it out loud, I sat there in silence ... physically incapable of making a sound. I only had to glance at the first line and tears clouded my vision. He then proceeded to sing me this beautiful song.

Brother, let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant, too

We are pilgrims on a journey
We are brothers on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load

I will hold the Christlight for you
In the night-time of your fear
I will hold my hand out to you
Speak the peace you long to hear

I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh I'll laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we've seen this journey through

When we sing to God in heaven
We shall find such harmony
Born of all we've known together
Of Christ's love and agony

Brother, let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant, too

I am a different woman since I first met Mike. I realize that my sin is not a hidden secret. My sin is more apparent, my pride is my constant enemy, and my tongue seeks to wound the one I love.

Mike has been God's greatest tool these past few months that we've been friends and then lovers to sanctify me. I understand more fully the necessity of daily killing that which is earthly in me as described here in Colossians. Through loving Mike, I learn what it is to love God fully.

In practical ways I am experiencing the theology of sanctification, never content with my present sinful state, always depending on the Holy Spirit's work in my life to make me more like Christ.

With tears, I thank Mike for his love and for allowing God to use him to change me.

interview with a deacon of Women's Theology and Training

2007-02-26T05:54:00.000+11:00

Wendy Alsup is a deacon a Mars Hill in Seattle, Washington. In addition to being a wife and mother of two young ones, Wendy teaches the Practical Theology for Women class at the church in addition to coordinating other women's teaching and training events. In this four part interview with Adrian Warnock, Wendy outlines the philosophy of the church, the passion of the people in the church for God's Word, and her roll as a woman in ministry. What she is doing at Mars Hill is what I aspire to do in a local church.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

mike's paying

2007-02-24T15:57:00.000+11:00

"So then his mother took the leash and pinched her son on the neck just like the Dog-Whisperer told her to do."

Laura and I stopped. With nachos and popcorn in hand, we stared wide-eyed at those already sitting in the theater. I abandoned the story I had been telling only to embrace suppressed gales of laughter.

Verbal communication was unnecessary ... our situation was blatant. As Laura later put it: "We were half the age of the next youngest person in the theater!"

And you know what? We were the only ones who genuinely interacted with the film gripping the arm rests in empathy with zeal of William Wilberforce and laughing with genuine appreciation for the earthy parson John Newton or the itinerant minister who's lack of hypocrisy was refreshing.

Mike had given me money for Valentine's Day for a CD that he knew I wanted and to treat myself to a "date" even though he could not be with me ... so ...

"Hey, Laura ... you have plans tonight? You want to see a movie with me and then go out for coffee? Mike's paying!"

After the movie, we ducked into a music store to purchase Evanescence's latest release. As I stood in line, I found myself glancing at the little knick-knacks meant to entice me to increase their net profits. For instance, there was the Believe in God spray.

"Hmm, I could really use this to help me in my Personal Evangelism class. Laura, do you believe in God? (squirt) Now you do!"

I considered purchasing the "Instant Irish Accent" gum ... but thought Mike might not appreciate such a frivolous expense. Why does he get to be the only one with the sexy accent?! (pout)

Then there was the book store. I am my mother's daughter. While the majority of my library is made up books of the theological sort ... I love reading a good essay on food or travel! Oh! and Newsweek's cover story this week was about men and depression ... hmm, fascinating!

"Did you eat dinner before the movie?" asked Laura.

"Um, I had a bowl of cereal at 3 o'clock."

Ramsey's said that we'd have to wait one and a half hours. Um, no. Instead, we had a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant and enjoyed a fascinating conversation involving the musical structure of hymns vs. worship music.

Laura wasn't Mike. But when he's not around, she's an adequate substitute.

(There was no good-night kiss.)

what Mike's been up to

2007-02-24T04:42:00.000+11:00

Settle down, girls! The guy with the sexy accent behind the camera is MINE!

Mike explains ...

2007-02-23T05:25:00.000+11:00

why we are getting married in Germany.

(Jiri, I hope you're reading this.)

another australian gem

2007-02-21T16:12:00.001+11:00

introducing "we can be heros"

2007-02-21T05:33:00.001+11:00

While in Australia, I really enjoyed watching the show We Can Be Heros. While the show definitely has it's tongue-in-cheek comedy, one REALLY has to appreciate the research Chris Lilley had to do to execute each of his characters so well.

Chris plays a wide range of characters from a self-absorbed 16 year old girl to a Chinese phD student who loves the stage.

Click here to watch an interview with the actor and see more clips of the other characters ... I think Ricky Wong is my favorite!

*click on the link above to find out about the characters Ja'mie, Pat, Phil, Ricky, and Daniel all played by Chris Lilley.

the beauty of the law (part 1)

2007-02-20T03:50:00.000+11:00

Imagine a world gripped in fear and uncertainty.

You are standing on a hill gazing up into the wide expanse above.

"Who am I? Where did I come from? What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose? What is expected of me?"

You know that there must be more to this life.

Look at the world around you. While your thoughts may be chaotic within you, the world has a complex sense of order and purpose. Is there someone ... something ... who moves the clouds to pour rain on the crops? Does he see me? Is he happy with me? Have I offended him?

Your eyes grow crazy with anxiety. Surely, the power behind the elements is not by chance.

Surely, there is a god.

What does he require of me?

You are reigned by fear of the god who only communicates with you through the elements and circumstances around you. To form some sort of tangible understanding of this ellusive being, you mold out of wood or stone an image of your "god" but frantic questions still plague your mind ... what is expected of me? how does god wish for me to live? what pleases him?

And then ... you hear the sweet music of another man's voice.

And he sings,

"In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
...
My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.
...
Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.
...
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
...
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life!
...
for I find my delight in your commandments,
which I love.
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
...
When I think of your rules from of old,
I take comfort, O LORD.
...
At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous rules.
...
The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
...
If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
...
Oh how I love your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
...
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
...
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
...
Your testimonies are my heritage forever,
for they are the joy of my heart.
...
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
I open my mouth and pant,
because I long for your commandments.
...
Great peace have those who love your law..."

Your heart plummets and then surges with hope. This man knows such joy ... such peace ... the peace you so long for. This man's God has revealed Himself to him and has spoken to him what He delights in ... what He requires of him. Longing swarms over your whole being to have his understanding.

Yes, the law of God is beautiful.

The voice of the Old Testament Israelite sings with sweet regard for God's commandments for it holds answers for his finite mind.

God desires to see His people rest. When and how long? an hour? 2 days? 4?

One.

God delights in His people giving back to him what he has already blessed them with. How much and what? half my crops?

10 %

His law is not grievous or burdensome. It is a comfort ... a delight.

30 day challenge

2007-02-18T15:23:00.000+11:00

I have long been looking for resources which enable women to creatively encourage the men in their lives (whether it be family, husbands, or brothers-in-the-Lord). Nancy Leigh DeMoss has an excellent 30 Day Husband Encouragement Challenge.

(scroll down to printable downloads ... also I recommend perusing her other resources and listening to her podcasts.)

DeMoss is a faithful expositor of God's Word with the practicality that reaches the hearts, minds, and wills of women. She inspires me in my own path of ministry.

(Will you accept the 30 Day Challenge with me?)

read twice and call me in the morning

2007-02-18T04:09:00.000+11:00

Mike and I have been discussing the importance of rest for ministers of the gospel. Today I was reminded of a post written by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle, in which he lists some excellent tips on how not to have your death certificate read "Death by Ministry".