Mark Sanford

Of all the articles I have seen about the Gov. Mark Sanford story, I thought this one by Dave Burchett was the best.

http://online.worldmag.com/2009/06/29/the-slow-rot-of-sin/

Ben's Graduation

Ben graduated from High School Friday afternoon, June 19th in West Nyack, New York. What a wonderful day for him and a celebration of his achievement. He was part of a special education graduation class of nine students, all special in their own way.

The program foretold that it would be an emotional day. It was dedicated to two additional students who would have graduated but did not live to see the day.

As the students came in to Pomp and Circumstance, Ben was already emotional. Actually it was the only time he was outwardly emotional and the music must have triggered something in him. .

Ben was introduced as a student who transferred from Florida three years ago but was instantly liked by all who met him. Since the other students mostly grew up in the area we were so fortunate that Ben was instantly accepted and such a good fit in the program in Pearl River.

All students had an opportunity to say something as the microphone was passed at one part of the ceremony.

The first student read a statement about his own autism and love for music. He sang earlier with the chorus assembled from special need students from multiple schools in the county.

The second student was introduced as a “Walt Disney expert” and was well loved by the crowd having been in the school system since age five and very outgoing. One thing he said stuck with me. He said, “If you know me, you know I will always remember you.” The statement seemed so pure and genuine that I felt like he meant me too even though he didn’t know me. I thought of Ben who still cries about Nanny Page and Grandpa Nelson passing away. Who remembers even when kitchen appliances broke with sadness as symbols of the temporal nature of this life and as his own autistic book marks in the passage of time.

The next student was a handsome outgoing student introduced as the campus “ladies man”. He was a classmate and friend of Ben's. He said something like “he wished he had a girlfriend and that she was here”. The crowd roared and he laughed with us.

Next was Ben and he kept it simple and powerful. Ben said, “I love you Mom and Dad. I love you!” Sue and I both cried in our front row seats. I’m sorry to say I don’t remember much of the remaining five student’s comments. But whatever it was, it was worth listening to.

One of the other things that touched me was that the school custodians took up a collection to give the students each a cash gift. Something they do every year.

Newspaper Article about the ceremony from New York Lower Hudson Valley News

Jacob's despair

Have you ever noticed that faith seems to get stretched to what seems like its limits just before the Lord answers prayer?
I was reading in Genesis 42 about Jacob’s sons coming back to Canaan to pick up Benjamin to convince Pharoah’s right hand man that they were telling the truth.
If I put myself in Jacob’s shoes I’m a little stressed. His favorite son (not that having a favorite is a good idea) is dead, his 2nd oldest is in prison in Egypt (as good as dead) and they are asking to take his only living son by Rachel too. Jacob’s response is my response to even much less critical and ominous life issues. “Joseph didn’t come back, Simeon is gone, and now you want to take Benjamin too! Everything has been against me.” (Gen 42:31 TLB)
Fast forward three chapters and the news was so overwhelmingly good that Jacob had difficulty taking it in. “Joseph is alive,” they shouted to him. “And he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” (Gen 45:26 TLB)

Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, M Div

I don't ever remember being very critical of Job’s three friends. I can't imagine not making the same mistake myself.
I mean, if you read the book of Job they were not ignorant of God and said some pretty marvelous and true things about God. And they were very good friends to Job. Scripture records that they sat with Job for a week without speaking a word (Job 2:11). I love the way the Living Bible puts it, “for they saw his suffering was too great for words.”
I guess they crossed the line when they put themselves in God’s place, later accusing Job for being punished for sin. They also relied on their own experience to make such judgments concerning the root cause of Job’s calamity (Job 4:9, 27).
One of the lessons to me is even that even with good intentions I need to be cautious in “advising” those I love about what they are going through and even slower to pretend I understand and know all that God is doing.
“This plan of mine is not what you would work out, neither are my thoughts the same as yours! For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours, and my thoughts higher than yours.” (Isaiah 55:8, 9 TLB)

And who is my neighbor?

I've done a lot of thinking lately about how I treat people. Not just how I talk to them or what I do for them but especially what I think about them and their "worth".

C.S. Lewis wrote "There are no ordinary people. You never met a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations, these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat".

What does God say about their worth? They, whoever they are, were made in His image (Gen 1:27) and are worth more than anything else we can think of here on earth. Is that the way I see them?

I'm prone to snap judgments about people and unkind thoughts if not actions. I think this is perhaps the most major heart blemish that needs forgiveness, cleansing and conformity to Christ to begin seeing the world the way He sees it.

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle" - Philo

Francis Schaeffer

Friday (the 15th) was the 25 anniversary of Francis Schaffer's death. A friend gave me a copy of his book How Should We Then Live? while I was in the Army in the late 70s and I read nearly all of his books when I was in college. What a great man and legacy he left behind.

Here's a brief excerpt from his book Death in the City, which had some sticking power with me.

Our generation is hungry - hungry for love, for beauty, for meaning. The "dust of death" covers all. And as in Jeremiah's day, there is with us the unsatisfied longing for a sufficient comforter.

Jeremiah said it well in Lamentations 1:16: "For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve [bring back] my soul is far from me." Why did the Jews in Jeremiah's day seek comfort and not find it, seek satisfaction and not find it? Because they had forgotten the end of man, the purpose of man. I want to commend something to you very strongly. Often when the evangelical and orthodox circles talk about the purpose of man, we quote from the first answer of the Westminster Cathechism: "Man's chief end is to glorify God." And often the sentence is ended there. This completely changes our Reformation forefathers' understanding of the scriptures. If you are going to give the complete biblical answer you must finish their sentence: "Man's chief end is to glorify God , and to enjoy Him forever." That changes the whole view of life.

Night of Champions

Well I missed this event downtown Friday night but I would have liked to see these two guys and have had a chance to hear them speak. Being a Florida Fan and a Christian, it's hard not to like these two guys and what they stand for.

Faith binds Tebow, Wuerffel

Unanswered Prayer

I just recently finished a great book by Philip Yancey entitled Prayer – Does It Really Make Any Difference. There were a ton of quotes from it that I jotted down but one stuck with me from the chapter on Unanswered Prayer. Do you have any of those?

This one is about St. Augustine and his mother Monica.

Sometimes an unanswered prayer opens the door to something far better. For fifteen years Monica prayed for her son Augustine as he indulged his senses and investigated exotic philosophies. When Augustine finally converted, these were the very experiences that gave depth and richness to his writings, allowing him to set the course of Christian thought for centuries. Once, Monica prayed all night that God would stop her son from going to wicked Rome, but he tricked her and sailed away. It was on that trip, in fact, that Augustine became a Christian. Reflecting later, he said that God denied his mother once in order to grant her what she had prayed for always.

John the Baptist's Doubt

I thought this article showed some great insight into the relationship John the Baptist had with his cousin Jesus. I never really thought very deeply about the doubt John experienced in prison or about Jesus' response and compassion toward John.

I think I'll keep an eye out for Jon Bloom's posts now like I do Andree Seu.

The article: John the Baptist's Doubt

Hudson River Plane Landing (US Airways 1549) Animation with Audio

This is a pretty cool simulation (with live audio with the pilot & air traffic control).

It is amazing that everyone survived this:

Hudson River Plane Landing (US Airways 1549) Animation with Audio

David Foster Wallace

One of my favorite World Magazine writers is Andree Seu. Her articles typically show up in the Commentary, Faith and Inspiration section of the magazine and I follow her blog pretty regularly.

I thought this one about the American Author David Foster Wallace's half grasp of the truth was pretty thought provoking.

David Foster Wallace by Andree Seau

Cardboard Testimonies

A friend sent an email to me with this link. I thought this was simple yet powerful.

Cardboard Testimonies

John Piper on the Current Economic Downturn

I thought this clip from John Piper might be an encouragement to some who have either been caught or had loved ones caught in the current economic downturn. It was an encouragement to me and I also thought about how great the benefit of memorizing scripture is as he recalled to mind so many scripture passages about trusting God and God's faithfulness to us during the course of this short video.

John Piper on the Current Economic Downturn