I’ve recently been appropriately rebuked and chastised from a number of fronts for my lack of activity on the blog lo these past couple of months. Needless to say, we’ve been adjusting to being a family of 5, but rest assured I will begin posting again regularly very soon…
Well, it’s time. They admitted us yesterday (technically, they admitted Shannon). So the baby will be here soon. Watch this space (or my Facebook feed, if you’re my “friend” on there) for updates.
In the meantime, just waiting for the real show to begin. And so without further ado:
Random Thoughts, Labor Edition
For fun, I checked my logs for the most popular posts I’ve ever done. The one I suspected, based on reader response (neither of my regular readers ever comments), was actually #8 below.
Without further ado…
10. Free Audio Book: The Confessions of St. Augustine (sorry, the offer has since expired)
8. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
7. New Baby Pics (Atticus, February 2007.)
6. SHAZAM! Or, Now, I Can Be President!
3. Blue for Boys, Pink for Girls
2. Quotes from The Godly Man’s Picture
and
These are the best of post-election posts from among the blogs I read. I am proud this morning to be a brother in Christ with these men and women, for their commitment to the proper Biblical attitude toward President-elect Barack Obama and the election.
Justin Taylor, on President Obama:
It’s very easy to forget–especially for those of us who are on the younger side–that it was only a little over 40 years ago that there were Jim Crow laws in the US. Just a generation ago, many African Americans were segregated from whites in public schools, transportation, restrooms, and restaurants.
Tonight, the United States has elected a biracial man to serve as its leader.
John Mark Reynolds, on Morning in America:
Wednesday the sun came up and I was happy. It is still morning in America. The candidate I voted for did not win, but I got to vote in a free and fair election. Power will be passed peacefully and the Constitution is intact.
We should never take that for granted.
Melinda Penner at Stand to Reason, on Our Biblical Civic Responsibility:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:1-4Click to view 1Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)).
Al Mohler, on America Has Chosen a President:
For many of us, the end of the night brought disappointment. In this case, the disappointment is compounded by the sense that the issues that did not allow us to support Sen. Obama are matters of life and death — not just political issues of heated debate. Furthermore, the margin of victory and sense of a shift in the political landscape point to greater disappointments ahead. We all knew that so much was at stake.
For others, the night was magical and momentous. Young and old cried tears of amazement and victory as America elected its first African-American President — and elected him overwhelmingly. Just forty years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, an African-American stood to claim victory as President-Elect of the nation. As Sen. Obama assured the crowd in Chicago and the watching nation, “We will get there. We will get there.” No one hearing those words could fail to hear the refrain of plaintive words spoken in Memphis four decades ago. President-Elect Obama would stand upon the mountaintop that Dr. King had foreseen.
Timmy Brister, on The Change We Need:
On the other hand, I can’t help but think that the Obama presidency will help Christians who happen to be American to open our eyes to our syncretistic views of American Christianity. While the fundamentalist impulse is to retreat into the ghetto, pull out the dispensationalism charts, and check the rapture ready index as a morning devotional, perhaps for the first time Christians will no longer seek to Christianize America but speak prophetically and live missionally in our growingly secular world. Our greatest need is not to fight the battle against the culture but to fight against the battle against unbelief. It is safe to live as functional atheists when we’ve got God in our constitution, on our coins, in the White House, but when the props are removed from us, how shall we then live?
Josh Harris, on Praying for President Obama:
On Sunday I told my church that after the election half the country would be elated, confident that all would be right in the world because their candidate won; the other half dejected and sure that the world had ended because their candidate lost. But Christians should realize that both sides are wrong. If you voted for Obama, he isn’t worthy of your ultimate hope. And if you didn’t vote for him, don’t despair as though Jesus isn’t reigning over the world.
Randy Alcorn, on It’s Over; but It’s not Over (one Day it will be):
I pray that in those areas where President Obama does advocate what is right, God will richly bless him. I pray God will give him wisdom and strength in negotiating with international heads of state. I pray God will change his mind in areas where he’s wrong, and restrain him from keeping his promises to Planned Parenthood concerning the Freedom of Choice Act, which would dramatically set back the legal cause of unborn children. I pray that, by some heart-changing miracle or providential human miscalculation, the next Supreme Court justice would be someone who would vote for the right to life of our smallest children, God’s smallest children.
I join my brothers and sisters in offering prayers for President-elect Obama, his family, and our nations. My congratulations to his supporters in their celebration, and to all of us as we celebrate our cherished democratic process. As John Mark Reynolds said, let us never take that for granted, nor forget that, though we may disagree with the outcome, yesterday is exactly how it is supposed to work. (Not to mention that it, like everything else, was exactly God’s plan.)
And lastly, not related to the election, but John Piper the other day wondered aloud about how God could do to us the things He does.
OK, it’s been WAY TOO LONG since I’ve posted regularly. Time to get back on track. But first… a big bunch o’ links.
Jedidiah Coppenger on witnessing to family, at work…:
…God intends for his people’s faithful living to stir people’s curiosity. This is why the Apostle Peter urged the churches, which he described as “strangers”, always to be “prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Pet. 3:15). The stark difference in their lives from their cultures was meant to lead to questions. If there wasn’t any difference between their lives and their cultures, there wouldn’t be any questions. There was. So they needed to be ready.
Where Are You From? Family, Work, And The Questions We Don’t Hear «.
I walked in the door last weekend from Half Price Books, clutching a paperback copy of Roy Adkins’ Nelson’s Trafalgar: The Battle That Changed the World. Shannon’s response was loving and surprised. “Another book? You haven’t started the last one you bought!”
She was referring to Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community, and War. But regardless of the titles, the point was one she has made time and again. If I had a dollar for every time we’ve had that conversation, then, well, sweet! More money for books!
It got me thinking, though, while I was pouring through the stacks of books at the amazing bookstore at Together for the Gospel. Why do I buy books? I couldn’t possible read everything on my shelves from cover to cover, so it’s admittedly quite a natural question that Shannon asks – why? Well, several reasons…
1. To Read Them.
This is the most obvious reason. Books beg to be read, that’s why they’re written. Some I do (believe it or not) actually read cover to cover. Currently working on (as I often do) several at once:
Next up? Possibly one of the two history books mentioned at the top of this article, or I’ll restart Post Captain, which I started and stalled out on a while back. Of course, I may just start on one of the books I got at T4G.
2. For Reference
Some are obvious reference titles, like encyclopedias or Bible commentaries (though they can make for good reading, too!). But with the exception of fiction, generally, any good book worth owning and reading is also worth referring to. (Big pet peeve: Why do most Christian books not have subject indexes? Drives me nuts.)
3. To Browse at Home
Few will probably understand this, but I like to have a large library that I can browse at home. When I want to read something new, I don’t want to necessarily go to the bookstore, as strange as that sounds for someone who loves to buy books. No, I’d rather browse my own shelves, and remember when I bought that one, and think, “OK, now is the time for you.”
4. To Loan Them Out
Many times I will be talking with friends, family, coworkers… And they will say “do you know of any good books on X?” And it is my blessing to be able to say, “Yes, I’ve got just the book for you. I’ve not read it all the way through, but I’ve browsed it over, and can’t wait to read it myself. In the meantime, though, it’s well-reviewed by people I respect, so you are welcome to borrow it.” The library then becomes a form of hospitality, and it is my privilege to be able to share that.
So… any recommendations for my library? I’ll see you at the bookstore!
2 Timothy 4:1313 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. (ESV)
I’ve written before on this blog about the difficulty of showing grace/love and truth simultaneously. I’m, of course, not the first to talk about this difficulty. Not only is it difficult for us to show both, but it’s difficult for us to understand how God shows both to a fallen world. Too often, we don’t get it. Corrie ten Boom did.
In this excerpt from The Hiding Place, Ms. ten Boom explains it all too well. In the midst of the madness of the German occupation of Holland, when Jews were being rounded up regularly, and anyone helping them were hunted, she came face to face with the question:
Love. How did one show it? How could God Himself show truth and love at the same time in a world like this?
By dying. The answer stood out for me sharper and chiller than it ever had before that night: the shape of a Cross etched on the history of the world.
