Out Of The Ashes

Many of us were glued to our screens this week as the spire atop Notre Dame cathedral burned and fell to the ground.  I had the same feeling as when I watched the first tower at the World Trade Center collapse in 2001 - something like being kicked in the gut.  Thankfully, this time there was no loss of life.  It was more about the loss of something precious and something holy.  Caroline and I were fortunate to be in Paris several years ago, and we visited Notre Dame Cathedral.  I remember we were filled with awe over the scale, the beauty, the history, and the majesty.  I saw in the news that some of the relics in the cathedral were saved, including the Crown of Thorns worn by Jesus on the cross.  Over the coming months, I will watch with anticipation as the cathedral rises up out of the ashes and is restored to its full glory.  This Easter week, I also hope that I am able to see more clearly the risen Jesus.

Another Elisabeth

Most of you know about my daughter, Elizabeth (with a z).  I was looking for any new Christian books that I might want to read and came across "Point of View" by Elisabeth (with an s) Hasselbeck.  If you don't know about her, she was the conservative voice on "The View" for 10 years until she was let go because the show was "going in a different direction".  I was not a fan of The View because of the endless bickering, but it was on my TV some as it followed GMA, which I use mostly for background noise.  I don't know that much about Elisabeth, but she does claim to be a Christian, and I believe that she was one of the few on that show (host or guest) that would make that claim.   I don't know that Elisabeth is a good author or even a good talk-show host, but I do admire that she stands up for what she believes in the face of considerable attacks from the rest of her professional community.  Let me know what you think.

Perfect submission

Last night in our small group meeting, we talked about one of the toughest verses in the Bible, Colossians 3:18, where Paul instructs wives to submit to their husbands.  This verse has been used by men to take advantage of their wives, and it has been used by women as a reason to preclude Jesus and the Bible altogether, feeling that they should be treated as equals.  Our group members had spirited discussion about how this is working in their marriage, but I think our best conclusion was that verse 18 can't be fully considered without verse 19, where husbands are instructed to love their wives.  The Greek word used for love in this verse is agape, and agape is the self-sacrificing love that represents the love God has for man and man has for God.  If us guys did a perfect job of displaying that type of love for our wives, I think they would gladly submit.  Until then, each of us should take on an attitude of expecting nothing, and giving everything.  That's what Jesus did for us.

Early Admission

The recent college admissions scandal has grabbed headlines for the last couple of weeks. Apparently, wealthy parents (some celebrities) have paid large sums of money and falsified test scores and athletic accomplishments in order to get their kids into top schools. I read an article that explains that this highly visible scandal is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to parents overparenting their kids. Caroline and I were blessed with two phenomenal children.  I'm sure we messed a bunch of stuff up along the way, but I remember getting a call from my high school age daughter when she had blown out a tire on our car after she hit a curb. "Dad, I don't know what to do."  I gave her the name of the tire shop that we used regularly and asked her to get the tire replaced.  I remember vividly saying, "You can't just show up and tell them to put on a new tire.  You need to call them before you go and get a price.  They have a different price for walk-ins." She has told me since then that she was horrified to make that call, but we look back on it now and laugh. I hope that story is one of many where we gave our kids the responsibility they deserved to handle things on their own when it was very tempting to drop everything and bail them out.  In thinking back to the current college admissions scandal, I wonder if the kids knew what the parents were doing for them while it was going on and what a terrible scar this will leave on them.

Morgan and Akeptous

Morgan Freeman will be filming the third season of National Geographic's "The Story of God" in Israel.  The show has spotlighted several world religions, but an archeological discovery at a prison in 2005 will be highlighted in this documentary on Christianity.  A mosaic dating back to 230 AD which ascribes divinity to Jesus was uncovered in what is thought to be one of the many "house churches" that served as the seeds for the growth of Christianity.  The mosaic references a woman, Akeptous, which confirms the importance of women  in the early churches.  We had our weekly ConnectGroup meeting in our home last night.  It is comforting for me to be a part of a tradition that has endured and flourished for 2000 years.

Rules and Regs

Last night in our ConnectGroup meeting, we focused on the closing verses of Colossians 2.  In Paul's letter to the church in Colossae, he is warning the members not to be distracted by the people who are adding rules of conduct that would serve to elevate some believers above others.  That sparked a lively discussion in our group about which current day rules are "good" rules and which ones aren't, and more importantly, who gets to decide.  How does this look to people outside the Christian faith who see us picking and choosing which ones to follow and which ones not to?  Well, regrettably, we weren't able to come up with all the answers, but we were are able to lean on verse 17, "These (rules) are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to  Christ."  We believe that He was pleased with our struggle to find the answers last night - and always.

The White Stuff

I got the opportunity for a boys-only road trip with my son, Michael, and my grandson, Levi.   We will be skiing for two days in NC.   It’s a little hard to break away from work, especially when Michael is my real estate partner, but it is so worth it.  I have had two trips with Michael’s older son, Evan, but this is a first for Levi.  I hope Levi is able to manage the white stuff on the slopes as well as he is managing the white stuff at Chick-fil-A on the way up!