In reading The Art of Manliness, Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues by Brett McKay, I came across the following quote,
“Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities… because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” -- Winston Churchill
This is very similar to what Lewis said,
“Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality. ” ― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Courage is faith incarnate and outside of it there can be no righteousness.
Habakkuk 2:4
The righteous shall live by his faith.
Courage is required in order to acquire any other virtue. Courage is the seed form of all other virtue just as faith is the source of all faithfulness.
Saturday, July 31, 2021
Friday, July 30, 2021
day no. 15,621: practicing manhood in boyhood
In reading The Art of Manliness, Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues by Brett McKay, I came across the following quote,
"Anyone who has practiced what is good is ashamed to turn out badly. Manliness is teachable. Even a child is taught to say and hear what he does not understand; things understood are kept in mind till age. So, in like manner, train your children well." -- Euripides, The Suppliant Women (translated by Frank William Jones)
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 20:11
Even a child is known by his doings,
whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
God designed children to require training. They need to be taught where to go and how to get there. A boy who has been well-trained will learn manliness. He will see maturity while still immature and he will practice manhood in boyhood. Our boys are future men. They must be found playing the man in imaginative play if we desire them to play the man in action later. Little boys should practice wearing the costume of a man.
Our boys will one day be adults. But will they be manly? Manliness can be taught. Maturity can be learned. Growing may merely happen; maturity requires mettle.
"Anyone who has practiced what is good is ashamed to turn out badly. Manliness is teachable. Even a child is taught to say and hear what he does not understand; things understood are kept in mind till age. So, in like manner, train your children well." -- Euripides, The Suppliant Women (translated by Frank William Jones)
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 20:11
Even a child is known by his doings,
whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.
God designed children to require training. They need to be taught where to go and how to get there. A boy who has been well-trained will learn manliness. He will see maturity while still immature and he will practice manhood in boyhood. Our boys are future men. They must be found playing the man in imaginative play if we desire them to play the man in action later. Little boys should practice wearing the costume of a man.
Our boys will one day be adults. But will they be manly? Manliness can be taught. Maturity can be learned. Growing may merely happen; maturity requires mettle.
Someone will train them to become something. God commands fathers to raise and train their sons to become men. If they don’t, someone else will aways be eager to train them to become something else.
Thursday, July 29, 2021
day no. 15,620 continued... odd thought
On my afternoon walk today while listening to C.S. Lewis' Letters to Malcolm, he made the following comment about walls which led me to begin thinking about a home construction and level foundations.
"Here are the four walls of the room. And here am I. But both terms are merely the façade of impenetrable mysteries. The walls, they say, are matter. That is, as the physicists will try to tell me, something totally unimaginable, only mathematically describable, existing in a curved space, charged with appalling energies. If I could penetrate far enough into that mystery I should perhaps finally reach what is sheerly real."
When something is level, it is straight. If the earth below varies in height and depth, the bottom can accommodate, but the top must be uniform in order to provide the appearance of straight and level. But we live on a round surface and what if a home was the size of the United States. If the horizontal boards are parallel to each other over that great of a distance, they would at some point cease to be level to the ground, right? Right? Or am I wrong?*
I keep imaging a golf ball and a pencil. The straight pencil can only be flat against it for a very limited amount of distance where it is in contact with it. In order to be equidistant to the circumference of the ball, the pencil would need to be round. So in order to appear "straight" from the surface of the golf ball, it would need to be round from the appearance of the universe and a straight pencil outside the point of contact would appear "bent" from the point of view from the surface of the ball.
*Did I mention it was like 99 degrees with 120% humidity outside while I was walking today with my 20 lb. vest on for increased adversity? It was like trudging in a dog's mouth. So perhaps that had something to do with it.
day no. 15,620: no more spirit
2 Chronicles 9:3-4
And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.
The queen of Sheba came full of questions and disbelief. She packed up all of her skepticism, not leaving an ounce of it behind. In other words, she came carrying questions she was convinced could not be answered to her satisfaction. To her dismay, however, her questions were answered in ways she could not have imagined. She experienced something greater than she ever expected. She anticipated the glory of being justified in her doubt and discovered the greater glory of being proven wrong. It wasn't too good to be true and she now knew it for herself. It wasn't worse than everyone was saying, it was better than she could have ever imagined. As a result, she had no more spirit in her. That spirit of smug, arrogant unbelief that she had packed so carefully before her trip began would be abandoned and not brought back home. Now she had no options left other than to believe what she had seen and heard, or to walk away from it knowing that when she did, it wasn't because Solomon had been found lacking, but because she had been. She confessed the fullness outside herself that she had found and repented of her emptiness. She abandoned her abundant unbelief and the riches of her cocksuredness for the sake of believing.
Matthew 12:42
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Have you approached Jesus with a handful of questions and a head full of discontent and unbelief. Come and see. Jesus is a better Solomon. He is wisdom incarnate. His provision is more extravagant. His household better ran. His answers more satisfying and His presence more extraordinary. If you seek Him, you will not find Him wanting. And if you see Him, you cannot walk away without knowing that the deficiency is not in Him, but in you. May seeing Him put an end to your spirit, just like Solomon's did to the Queen of Sheba, so that in believing in Him, you may receive a new spirit.
And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the Lord; there was no more spirit in her.
The queen of Sheba came full of questions and disbelief. She packed up all of her skepticism, not leaving an ounce of it behind. In other words, she came carrying questions she was convinced could not be answered to her satisfaction. To her dismay, however, her questions were answered in ways she could not have imagined. She experienced something greater than she ever expected. She anticipated the glory of being justified in her doubt and discovered the greater glory of being proven wrong. It wasn't too good to be true and she now knew it for herself. It wasn't worse than everyone was saying, it was better than she could have ever imagined. As a result, she had no more spirit in her. That spirit of smug, arrogant unbelief that she had packed so carefully before her trip began would be abandoned and not brought back home. Now she had no options left other than to believe what she had seen and heard, or to walk away from it knowing that when she did, it wasn't because Solomon had been found lacking, but because she had been. She confessed the fullness outside herself that she had found and repented of her emptiness. She abandoned her abundant unbelief and the riches of her cocksuredness for the sake of believing.
Matthew 12:42
The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Have you approached Jesus with a handful of questions and a head full of discontent and unbelief. Come and see. Jesus is a better Solomon. He is wisdom incarnate. His provision is more extravagant. His household better ran. His answers more satisfying and His presence more extraordinary. If you seek Him, you will not find Him wanting. And if you see Him, you cannot walk away without knowing that the deficiency is not in Him, but in you. May seeing Him put an end to your spirit, just like Solomon's did to the Queen of Sheba, so that in believing in Him, you may receive a new spirit.
Wednesday, July 28, 2021
day no. 15,619: the Fount that never fails
"If you have come to that blood once, you will come to it constantly. Your life will be 'Looking unto Jesus.' Your whole conduct will be epitomized in this--'To whom coming.' Not to whom I have come, but to whom I am always coming. If thou hast ever come to the blood of sprinkling, thou wilt feel thy need of coming to it every day. He who does not desire to wash in it every day, has never washed in it at all. The believer ever feels it to be his joy and privilege that there is still a fountain opened. Past experiences are doubtful food for Christians; a present coming to Christ alone can give us joy and comfort. This morning let us sprinkle our door-post fresh with blood, and then feast upon the Lamb, assured that the destroying angel must pass us by." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
Christians are blessed to come a fount that never runs dry and never fails to satisfy our daily thirst. Christ commanded us to ask for our daily bread. He does not expect us to live off of yesterday's provision. Being a Christian is not a matter of getting used to day old bread. Yesterday's water won't slake today's thirst. Last week's bread won't fill today's hunger.
Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread
Today's tasks require today's faith and God, in His mercy, provides all that He requires fresh daily.
Lamentations 3:22-26
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning:
great is thy faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion, saith my soul;
therefore will I hope in him.
The Lord is good unto them that wait for him,
to the soul that seeketh him.
It is good that a man should both hope
and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
If you seek satisfaction anywhere else, you will die of thirst. No other fount is faithfully filled daily and available to those who desire it. It cannot fail. It is living water and cannot evaporate or freeze. No matter how hot, no matter how cold, it runs and moves and gives life by being eternally lively.
“Are you not thirsty?" said the Lion.
"I am dying of thirst," said Jill.
"Then drink," said the Lion.
"May I — could I — would you mind going away while I do?" said Jill.
The Lion answered this only by a look and a very low growl. And as Jill gazed at its motionless bulk, she realized that she might as well have asked the whole mountain to move aside for her convenience.
The delicious rippling noise of the stream was driving her nearly frantic.
"Will you promise not to — do anything to me, if I do come?" said Jill.
"I make no promise," said the Lion.
Jill was so thirsty now that, without noticing it, she had come a step nearer.
"Do you eat girls?" she said.
"I have swallowed up girls and boys, women and men, kings and emperors, cities and realms," said the Lion. It didn't say this as if it were boasting, nor as if it were sorry, nor as if it were angry. It just said it.
"I daren't come and drink," said Jill.
"Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.
"Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."
"There is no other stream," said the Lion.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
day no. 15,618: oh, that the raised up would rise up
Rise up, O men of God!
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and soul and mind and strength
To serve the King of kings.
Rise up, O men of God!
His kingdom tarries long;
Bring in the day of brotherhood,
And end the night of wrong.
Rise up, O men of God!
The Church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task;
Rise up and make her great.
Lift high the cross of Christ;
Tread where His feet have trod;
As brothers of the Son of man,
Rise up, O men of God!
-- William Pierson Merrill (1911)
Men were made to rise to an occasion.
Have done with lesser things;
Give heart and soul and mind and strength
To serve the King of kings.
Rise up, O men of God!
His kingdom tarries long;
Bring in the day of brotherhood,
And end the night of wrong.
Rise up, O men of God!
The Church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task;
Rise up and make her great.
Lift high the cross of Christ;
Tread where His feet have trod;
As brothers of the Son of man,
Rise up, O men of God!
-- William Pierson Merrill (1911)
Men were made to rise to an occasion.
We were meant to respond to difficulty by bowing up and meeting it.
We were not raised up to shrink back.
We were designed to rise.
Proverbs 24:16
For a just man falleth seven times,
and riseth up again:
but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Christ Jesus lived, died and rose again in order to give men resurrection power to rise and fight. So men, let's rise for His glory, our neighbor's good and our own personal growth.
Romans 6:4-6
We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
Romans 6:4-6
We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.
Monday, July 26, 2021
day no. 15,617: a valley worth dying in
"A hill worth dying on."
Some want to debate which hills are worth dying on and which are not. Some want to argue that there are no hills worth dying on. Others want to argue that there are no hills.
The hill they are willing to die upon, as it turns out, is a flatland -- uniform, egalitarian, curve-allergic flatness. Their hill worth dying on is really a valley they deem worth dying in.
"You remember how one of the Greek Dictators (they called them “tyrants” then) sent an envoy to another Dictator to ask his advice about the principles of government. The second Dictator led the envoy into a field of grain, and there he snicked off with his cane the top of every stalk that rose an inch or so above the general level. The moral was plain. Allow no preeminence among your subjects. Let no man live who is wiser or better or more famous or even handsomer than the mass. Cut them all down to a level: all slaves, all ciphers, all nobodies. All equals. Thus Tyrants could practise, in a sense, 'democracy.' But now 'democracy' can do the same work without any tyranny other than her own. No one need now go through the field with a cane. The little stalks will now of themselves bite the tops off the big ones. The big ones are beginning to bite off their own in their desire to Be Like Stalks." -- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Some want to debate which hills are worth dying on and which are not. Some want to argue that there are no hills worth dying on. Others want to argue that there are no hills.
The hill they are willing to die upon, as it turns out, is a flatland -- uniform, egalitarian, curve-allergic flatness. Their hill worth dying on is really a valley they deem worth dying in.
"You remember how one of the Greek Dictators (they called them “tyrants” then) sent an envoy to another Dictator to ask his advice about the principles of government. The second Dictator led the envoy into a field of grain, and there he snicked off with his cane the top of every stalk that rose an inch or so above the general level. The moral was plain. Allow no preeminence among your subjects. Let no man live who is wiser or better or more famous or even handsomer than the mass. Cut them all down to a level: all slaves, all ciphers, all nobodies. All equals. Thus Tyrants could practise, in a sense, 'democracy.' But now 'democracy' can do the same work without any tyranny other than her own. No one need now go through the field with a cane. The little stalks will now of themselves bite the tops off the big ones. The big ones are beginning to bite off their own in their desire to Be Like Stalks." -- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Sunday, July 25, 2021
day no. 15,616: if it weren't for you
God has given parents a peculiar ability to put their children in their places. As big as a child may grow in his britches, he can never graduate beyond saying,
I would not be alive, if it weren't for you.
I would not have survived, if it weren't for you.
I would not have thrived, if it weren't for you.
If you are ever tempted to think you have made yourself in any capacity, remember that God gave you parents, just like everybody else. If you were born on third, praise God, but don't imagine that you've hit a triple. Few things have the ability to remind me that I am nothing more than remembering everything I've been given by God through my parents.
God picked our parents and without parents, we would be nothing. Whatever we are, we owe at least, in part, to them and what we owe to them we owe first to God: gratitude.
Acts 17:26-27
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us
I would not be alive, if it weren't for you.
I would not have survived, if it weren't for you.
I would not have thrived, if it weren't for you.
If you are ever tempted to think you have made yourself in any capacity, remember that God gave you parents, just like everybody else. If you were born on third, praise God, but don't imagine that you've hit a triple. Few things have the ability to remind me that I am nothing more than remembering everything I've been given by God through my parents.
God picked our parents and without parents, we would be nothing. Whatever we are, we owe at least, in part, to them and what we owe to them we owe first to God: gratitude.
Acts 17:26-27
And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us
Saturday, July 24, 2021
day no. 15,615: force and fervor, valor and vehemence
"And his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." - Exodus 17:12
"So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discomfited the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. So, in the soul's conflict, force and fervour, decision and devotion, valour and vehemence, must join their forces, and all will be well. You must wrestle with your sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God... Beware of faintness in devotion; if Moses felt it, who can escape? It is far easier to fight with sin in public, than to pray against it in private. It is remarked that Joshua never grew weary in the fighting, but Moses did grow weary in the praying; the more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it. Let us cry, then, for special strength, and may the Spirit of God, who helpeth our infirmities, as he allowed help to Moses, enable us like him to continue with our hands steady ‘until the going down of the sun;’ till the evening of life is over; till we shall come to the rising of a better sun in the land where prayer is swallowed up in praise." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
Do not neglect how difficult the fight is put to you in private. Do not forget the men on the front lines, but do not overlook the front line contained in the privacy of each soldier. Each is fighting a war on two fronts. One within and one without. In every battle, there are two front lines: one within each heart of each combatant and one on which the combatants line up in opposition to each other.
Fighting sin in the public square is typically bloodier, but fighting sin in private is typically deadlier. In faith, more men die in the privacy of their homes than do on the battlefield of public debate. Less have been lost in action in the foreign theater than have been lost in the domestic theater.
"So mighty was the prayer of Moses, that all depended upon it. The petitions of Moses discomfited the enemy more than the fighting of Joshua. Yet both were needed. So, in the soul's conflict, force and fervour, decision and devotion, valour and vehemence, must join their forces, and all will be well. You must wrestle with your sin, but the major part of the wrestling must be done alone in private with God... Beware of faintness in devotion; if Moses felt it, who can escape? It is far easier to fight with sin in public, than to pray against it in private. It is remarked that Joshua never grew weary in the fighting, but Moses did grow weary in the praying; the more spiritual an exercise, the more difficult it is for flesh and blood to maintain it. Let us cry, then, for special strength, and may the Spirit of God, who helpeth our infirmities, as he allowed help to Moses, enable us like him to continue with our hands steady ‘until the going down of the sun;’ till the evening of life is over; till we shall come to the rising of a better sun in the land where prayer is swallowed up in praise." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
Do not neglect how difficult the fight is put to you in private. Do not forget the men on the front lines, but do not overlook the front line contained in the privacy of each soldier. Each is fighting a war on two fronts. One within and one without. In every battle, there are two front lines: one within each heart of each combatant and one on which the combatants line up in opposition to each other.
Fighting sin in the public square is typically bloodier, but fighting sin in private is typically deadlier. In faith, more men die in the privacy of their homes than do on the battlefield of public debate. Less have been lost in action in the foreign theater than have been lost in the domestic theater.
Friday, July 23, 2021
day no. 15,614: optimillennialism
"He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus, fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat. The blood of Jesus! Sin dies at its presence, death ceases to be death: heaven's gates are opened. The blood of Jesus! We shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!" -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
The Christian religion is one of world conquest. We are called to march, to conquer and to call the world to receive her King in repentance and faith before His return. Every square inch will be brought into submission to the Son. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess either in joyful belief or despairing unbelief that "Jesus Christ is Lord!"
Revelation 12:10-11
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
The world has already been conquered by the blood of the Lamb. Those who now cover themselves in His blood conquer under His banner for His glory.
The Christian religion is one of world conquest. We are called to march, to conquer and to call the world to receive her King in repentance and faith before His return. Every square inch will be brought into submission to the Son. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess either in joyful belief or despairing unbelief that "Jesus Christ is Lord!"
Revelation 12:10-11
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
The world has already been conquered by the blood of the Lamb. Those who now cover themselves in His blood conquer under His banner for His glory.
Jesus’ tremendous name
Puts all our foes to flight:
Jesus, the meek, the angry Lamb,
A Lion is in fight.
By all hell’s host withstood,
We all hell’s host o’erthrow;
And conquering them, through Jesus’ blood,
We still to conquer go.
-- Charles Wesley, Angels Your March Oppose
Isaiah 54:17
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.
Victory in battle and in debate is the heritage of the bondservants of God. Their submission to Him will be justified. It will not have been too much. It will never be too much. All wisdom, glory, power and honor belong to Him and are owed to Him. There is no amount you could endeavor to give which would prove to be overpaid. There is no bargain bin belief. It costs you everything because He deserves it all and in return we inherit Him and everything else along with it.
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD and their vindication from me, declares the LORD.
Victory in battle and in debate is the heritage of the bondservants of God. Their submission to Him will be justified. It will not have been too much. It will never be too much. All wisdom, glory, power and honor belong to Him and are owed to Him. There is no amount you could endeavor to give which would prove to be overpaid. There is no bargain bin belief. It costs you everything because He deserves it all and in return we inherit Him and everything else along with it.
Matthew 6:33
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Thursday, July 22, 2021
day no. 15,613: bet they didn't do the foundation like that
Hebrews 11:3
Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
Everything, strictly speaking, is made out of nothing. In the beginning, there was God and nothing else. And out of nothing (ex nihilo), God made everything. So underneath everything is nothing. Nothing possesses existence in itself. It is held together and continually upheld by the power of the Word of God.
Hebrews 1:1-3
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power.
I recently heard Doug Wilson retell an anecdote regarding a visiting professor who was being driven around a campus where he was to speak, and in the course of the tour they went by the art museum. This museum was designed as an attempt to match the same kind of nihilism that they would hang on the walls inside — doors that didn’t open, staircases that didn’t reach the top, columns that didn’t go all the way. The visiting professor made a comment that went right to the heart of matter when he said, “I’ll bet they didn’t do the foundation like that.”
Firm foundations provide the opportunity to build sturdy structures or playful absurdities. But the chaos requires a consistent base if it wants to throw shade at consistency. The only way to be free to be haphazard is if someone else submits themselves to securing the cornerstone.
Freedom of speech is not a value obtained by neutrality. It is built upon the bedrock of Christian dignity. You cannot have a world where people are free to say whatever they want by elevating a religion of believing whatever you want. Advocates of this version of universalism are notoriously intolerant of concrete statements of faith. Freedom of speech turns out in their economy only to be the freedom of certain speeches. Those taking advantage of their freedom to speak now do not realize that they have been afforded this privilege as a product of the Christian faith. The Christian bedrock makes the chaos possible. A world founded in chaos cannot have freedom from anything because it cannot stand on anything. A world built on mist is like a world that does not exist.
As we continue to attempt to recreate the world in our own image we are gradually spending the last few cents of our Christian inheritance still left in the bank. In violating the first commandment by seeking another God, we have naturally moved on to violating the second commandment by seeking to build a world better to our liking, one that better reflects our image and values. And this kind of thing cannot go on forever. And things that can't go on forever... won't. Insanity, as it turns out, doesn't work in the long run.
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
day no. 15,612: putting piety in its place
“Confess your faults one to another” (Jas. 5:16). He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone. It may be that Christians, notwithstanding corporate worship, common prayer, and all their fellowship in service, may still be left to their loneliness. The final break-through to fellowship does not occur, because, though they have fellowship with one another as believers and as devout people, they do not have fellowship as the undevout, as sinners. The pious fellowship permits no one to be a sinner. So everybody must conceal his sin from himself and from the fellowship. We dare not be sinners. Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy. The fact is that we are sinners!" -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together
Christians are first and foremost sinners. Their bonds are at the deepest rooted in their acknowledgement of their fallenness. In other words, our brokenness binds us. But Christians are not simply sinners. While they are above all sinners in the first degree, this fact alone does not make them Christians or a community. It is a prerequisite of coursre, but like all prerequisites, it implies it is intended to end somewhere else.
Piety is not a stumbling block to community, but neither is it, as Bonhoeffer points out, a foundation for community. In other words, Christians aren't less united in the bond of peace by pursuing righteousness, but they aren't Christians merely because they are righteous in their own right. Churches are not mass gatherings of the pious among us. They are congregations filled with those who have fallen short, but those who are striving to take hold of that which has taken hold of them.
Christians confess that they fall short while striving to hit the target. It is a both/and proposition. Christianity doesn't highlight the perfection of the target only to point out how bad our aim or execution is. It doesn't point out the bullseye only to abandon it once everyone's in agreement that they've missed it. It points the broken arrows back to their intended destination and cheers them on in their attempts to now hit it.
As C.R. Wiley once said, "I miss piety."
Christians do not think they've achieved it, but they try nevertheless their best to get as close to it as they can. We acknowledge we fall short while continuing to strive for it. We recognize we have missed while continuing to aim dead center.
Philippians 3:12-16
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
As C.R. Wiley once said, "I miss piety."
Christians do not think they've achieved it, but they try nevertheless their best to get as close to it as they can. We acknowledge we fall short while continuing to strive for it. We recognize we have missed while continuing to aim dead center.
Philippians 3:12-16
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.
Tuesday, July 20, 2021
day no. 15,611: He leads me by still waters
Silence, ye troubl'd waves, and thou Deep, peace,
Said then th' Omnific Word, your discord end
-- John Milton, Paradise Lost
God in the beginning silenced the troubled waters over which His Spirit hovered. He spoke into their liquid discord and brought order into chaos.
Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
We know that this Word of God that spoke Light into the darkness was the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, Jesus pre-incarnate.
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
So when in the days of His flesh He found Himself again in the presence of stormy waters, He recalled His previous word and put an end to its tumult.
Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:39, Luke 8:24
(Jesus) got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
The disciples despaired when they considered what kind of man they might be sharing a boat ride with. But they would have despaired even more if they had realized that this wasn't the first time this one had silenced the raging seas. This reality would have answered their inquiry as to what kind of man this might be. What kind of man? The God-man who created the world they were currently floating upon.
Said then th' Omnific Word, your discord end
-- John Milton, Paradise Lost
God in the beginning silenced the troubled waters over which His Spirit hovered. He spoke into their liquid discord and brought order into chaos.
Genesis 1:1-3
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
We know that this Word of God that spoke Light into the darkness was the second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, Jesus pre-incarnate.
John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
So when in the days of His flesh He found Himself again in the presence of stormy waters, He recalled His previous word and put an end to its tumult.
Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:39, Luke 8:24
(Jesus) got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
The disciples despaired when they considered what kind of man they might be sharing a boat ride with. But they would have despaired even more if they had realized that this wasn't the first time this one had silenced the raging seas. This reality would have answered their inquiry as to what kind of man this might be. What kind of man? The God-man who created the world they were currently floating upon.
Monday, July 19, 2021
day no. 15,610: walk in a manner that matches
"The recruit who has just entered upon service can begin to understand that his regard for his uniform must be a far different thing than what he felt about his civilian dress, since it is identified with the dignity of the Nation. His training in military ideals starts at this point, and for the main part is carried forward subtly, by transfer of this same feeling to all other objects associated with his military life. His perseverance in the care of weapons, in keeping his living quarters orderly and in doing his full share of work is best insured, not through fear of punishments, but by stimulating his belief that any other way of going is unworthy of a member of a fighting service." -- The Armed Forces Officer, U.S. Department of Defense (1950)
Those who understand that they have been granted a new uniform walk in a way that brings honor to the uniform they have been granted. They show respect for the uniform by walking differently while they are wearing it.
Christians have put off the old man and put on the new. They have made themselves naked before God in their sin and received the righteousness of Christ as their new garments. They have been enlisted into His army and given the insignia to match. They have been given new attire and commanded to walk accordingly.
We all walk in a way that reflects how much we respect that which we represent. Those who have been called by Christ's name as Christians ought to walk in a manner that matches the honor and respect they have for the One who died in order to secure their regalia. We ought to walk tall because we have been raised up with Christ.
Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Philippians 1:27
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.
Colossians 1:10
Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
1 Thessalonians 2:12
We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
Those who understand that they have been granted a new uniform walk in a way that brings honor to the uniform they have been granted. They show respect for the uniform by walking differently while they are wearing it.
Christians have put off the old man and put on the new. They have made themselves naked before God in their sin and received the righteousness of Christ as their new garments. They have been enlisted into His army and given the insignia to match. They have been given new attire and commanded to walk accordingly.
We all walk in a way that reflects how much we respect that which we represent. Those who have been called by Christ's name as Christians ought to walk in a manner that matches the honor and respect they have for the One who died in order to secure their regalia. We ought to walk tall because we have been raised up with Christ.
Ephesians 4:1
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
Philippians 1:27
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel.
Colossians 1:10
Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
1 Thessalonians 2:12
We exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
Sunday, July 18, 2021
day no. 15,609: shepherd's pie
1 Peter 5:1-4
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Jeremiah 3:15
I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
God gives us shepherds, but these shepherds are first and foremost sheep. There is a Chief Shepherd who leads the sheep He calls to lead the other sheep. They are given hearts to follow God. They delight in being His possession and are led by His rod and staff. They then turn around and lead out of that. They give knowledge and understanding to others, but they are not the source. They pass along the knowledge and understanding they receive from God.
John 21:16-17
He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
If Peter gives himself to the sheep, they will eat... until Peter is consumed. If Peter isn't being fed, he has nothing to feed them but himself. And God's sheep are not cannibals. They don't need more Peter in their diet. They need the Word of God. Peter doesn't need to be eaten alive in order to fulfill his mission, he needs to constantly return to the source of food so that he has something to feed those who follow him.
Shepherd's pie should not be a dish that ends with the shepherd dead and the sheep on the verge of starvation. If the shepherd is on the menu, all the sheep will die. If the shepherd orders off of and according to God’s menu plan and gives that to the sheep, all the sheep thrive.
So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Jeremiah 3:15
I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
God gives us shepherds, but these shepherds are first and foremost sheep. There is a Chief Shepherd who leads the sheep He calls to lead the other sheep. They are given hearts to follow God. They delight in being His possession and are led by His rod and staff. They then turn around and lead out of that. They give knowledge and understanding to others, but they are not the source. They pass along the knowledge and understanding they receive from God.
John 21:16-17
He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
If Peter gives himself to the sheep, they will eat... until Peter is consumed. If Peter isn't being fed, he has nothing to feed them but himself. And God's sheep are not cannibals. They don't need more Peter in their diet. They need the Word of God. Peter doesn't need to be eaten alive in order to fulfill his mission, he needs to constantly return to the source of food so that he has something to feed those who follow him.
Shepherd's pie should not be a dish that ends with the shepherd dead and the sheep on the verge of starvation. If the shepherd is on the menu, all the sheep will die. If the shepherd orders off of and according to God’s menu plan and gives that to the sheep, all the sheep thrive.
Saturday, July 17, 2021
day no. 15,608: kibitz
kib·itz /ˈkibits/ verb
to look on and offer unwelcome advice, especially at a card game.
Proverbs 26:17
Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
1 Peter 4:15
But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
In other words, “Mind thine own beeswax.”
to look on and offer unwelcome advice, especially at a card game.
Proverbs 26:17
Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.
1 Peter 4:15
But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
In other words, “Mind thine own beeswax.”
Meddling can often be merely offering unwelcome advice in the affairs of others. The classic example being that of giving someone else your thoughts on their game of solitaire.
Friday, July 16, 2021
day no. 15,607: faux-vid 19? that's prediculous!
***the following was originally drafted circa April 2020 back when "flatten the curve" was still a trending topic
Celebrating the global pandemic that wasn't with 2.2 million cheers for the prediculous.
My take on COVID-19 is similar to what my take on eschatology used to be. I used to be pan-millennial. I wasn't premillennial, amillennial or postmillennial. I just knew enough to know it was all going to pan out in the end.
Now, I'm a postmillennialist, but to be more precise, I'm an optimillennialist. I still have the hope of a panmillennial, but no longer the indifference to apocalyptic verses.
So with respect to COVID-19, am I pre-demic, a-demic or post-demic? I'm Pandemic. It will all pan out in the end. Only that makes it sound like COVID-19 was a legit pandemic. Which it wasn't. The shamdemic, as Doug Wilson, put it, was the run of the mill with much better marketing.
By the by, has there ever been a more egalitarian, communistic mantra paraded before us in broad daylight than, "Flatten the curve"? Sounds like a slogan hot off the pen of Uncle Screwtape.
"What I want to fix your attention on is the vast, overall movement towards the discrediting, and finally the elimination, of every kind of human excellence – moral, cultural, social, or intellectual. And is it not pretty to notice how 'democracy' (in the incantatory sense) is now doing for us the work that was once done by the most ancient Dictatorships... For 'democracy”' or the 'democratic spirit' (diabolical sense) leads to a nation without great men, a nation mainly of subliterates, full of the cocksureness which flattery breeds on ignorance, and quick to snarl or whimper at the first sign of criticism. And that is what Hell wishes every democratic people to be." --- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
My take on COVID-19 is similar to what my take on eschatology used to be. I used to be pan-millennial. I wasn't premillennial, amillennial or postmillennial. I just knew enough to know it was all going to pan out in the end.
Now, I'm a postmillennialist, but to be more precise, I'm an optimillennialist. I still have the hope of a panmillennial, but no longer the indifference to apocalyptic verses.
So with respect to COVID-19, am I pre-demic, a-demic or post-demic? I'm Pandemic. It will all pan out in the end. Only that makes it sound like COVID-19 was a legit pandemic. Which it wasn't. The shamdemic, as Doug Wilson, put it, was the run of the mill with much better marketing.
By the by, has there ever been a more egalitarian, communistic mantra paraded before us in broad daylight than, "Flatten the curve"? Sounds like a slogan hot off the pen of Uncle Screwtape.
"What I want to fix your attention on is the vast, overall movement towards the discrediting, and finally the elimination, of every kind of human excellence – moral, cultural, social, or intellectual. And is it not pretty to notice how 'democracy' (in the incantatory sense) is now doing for us the work that was once done by the most ancient Dictatorships... For 'democracy”' or the 'democratic spirit' (diabolical sense) leads to a nation without great men, a nation mainly of subliterates, full of the cocksureness which flattery breeds on ignorance, and quick to snarl or whimper at the first sign of criticism. And that is what Hell wishes every democratic people to be." --- C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters
Thursday, July 15, 2021
day no. 15,606: character is hard, caricatures are soft
"What is the main test of human character? Probably it is this: that a man will know how to be patient in the midst of hard circumstance, and can continue to be personally effective while living through whatever discouragements beset him and his companions. Moreover, that is what every truly civilized man would want in himself during the calmer moments when he compares critically what he is inside with what he would like to be." -- The Armed Forces Officer, U.S. Department of Defense (1950)
Perseverance is the ability to remain under difficulty as long as it remains difficult. To persevere requires the person to engage rather than avoid difficulties. It requires the person to endure the additional difficulty of remaining in the difficulty and it requires the person to outlast the difficulty, proving himself too difficult for the difficulty to break. The persevering person is too tough for the difficulty to crack. The difficulties end up giving up. They cannot outlast the man who perseveres.
Character does not side step hard things. Character is further formed in enduring hard things. Character is formed in proving harder than the hard thing. Character is the hard thing bearing the marks of having been through some stuff.
Christians are called to encounter difficulty and submit themselves to the process of character development. Christians are called to have character produced by hardness instead of being caricatures resulting from softness.
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Perseverance is not merely identifying the narrow gate, but entering it. It is more difficult to squeeze your way through it, but the difficulties you encounter in making your way through its narrow opening give way to life whereas the softness of strolling through the wide way ends in erosion of the entire person with nothing left to show for it.
Proverbs 24:10
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Perseverance is the ability to remain under difficulty as long as it remains difficult. To persevere requires the person to engage rather than avoid difficulties. It requires the person to endure the additional difficulty of remaining in the difficulty and it requires the person to outlast the difficulty, proving himself too difficult for the difficulty to break. The persevering person is too tough for the difficulty to crack. The difficulties end up giving up. They cannot outlast the man who perseveres.
Character does not side step hard things. Character is further formed in enduring hard things. Character is formed in proving harder than the hard thing. Character is the hard thing bearing the marks of having been through some stuff.
Christians are called to encounter difficulty and submit themselves to the process of character development. Christians are called to have character produced by hardness instead of being caricatures resulting from softness.
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Perseverance is not merely identifying the narrow gate, but entering it. It is more difficult to squeeze your way through it, but the difficulties you encounter in making your way through its narrow opening give way to life whereas the softness of strolling through the wide way ends in erosion of the entire person with nothing left to show for it.
Proverbs 24:10
If you faint in the day of adversity,
your strength is small.
Wednesday, July 14, 2021
day no. 15,605: faith fights where fear fails
"If nothing but fear of punishments were depended upon to hold men to the line during extreme trial, the result would be wholesale mutiny and a situation altogether beyond the control of leadership. So it must be true that it is out of the impact of ideals mainly that men develop the strength to face situations from which it would be normal to run away." -- The Armed Forces Officer, U.S. Department of Defense (1950)
The fear of punishment can accomplish a great deal of obedience, but it cannot hold a man in the line of duty. At some point, the immediate fear of being punished by the enemy eclipses the fear of being punished by the General.
Something greater than fear is required to hold a man in his position.
1 John 4:17-18
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Love leads a man to stand, even in the face of divine judgment. Love holds the line. It stays where it is placed because of the love of the One who placed them there.
Fear imagines that fleeing will be safer than fighting.
Love cannot imagine not fighting.
Faith fights where fear fails.
Love stays true where fear is fickle.
Faith holds the line where fear drops the ball.
Love rises up where fear falls short.
The fear of punishment can accomplish a great deal of obedience, but it cannot hold a man in the line of duty. At some point, the immediate fear of being punished by the enemy eclipses the fear of being punished by the General.
Something greater than fear is required to hold a man in his position.
1 John 4:17-18
Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
Love leads a man to stand, even in the face of divine judgment. Love holds the line. It stays where it is placed because of the love of the One who placed them there.
Fear imagines that fleeing will be safer than fighting.
Love cannot imagine not fighting.
Faith fights where fear fails.
Love stays true where fear is fickle.
Faith holds the line where fear drops the ball.
Love rises up where fear falls short.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
day no. 15,604: old woman of both sexes
"For instance, if it were even whispered that the N.I.C.E. wanted powers to experiment on criminals, you’d have all the old women of both sexes up in arms and yapping about humanity. Call it re-education of the mal-adjusted, and you have them all slobbering with delight that the brutal era of retributive punishment has at last come to an end. Odd thing it is—the word ‘experiment’ is unpopular, but not the word ‘experimental.’ You mustn’t experiment on children; but offer the dear little kiddies free education in an experimental school attached to the N.I.C.E. and it’s all correct!” -- C.S. Lewis, That Hideous Strength
Our churches are chock full of little old ladies of both sexes. This dig is primarily aimed at old men acting like little old ladies, but it's not a compliment to little old ladies acting like little old ladies living in light of the stereotype either.
Just as the apostle Paul urged every Corinthian to act like men, so here Lewis warns every person to avoid acting like a little old lady. Paul was not implying that all men are great anymore than Lewis is implying that all old women are not.
What each is doing is appealing to a quintessential representative of each in order to make a point. Not all men are men, which is why Paul has to charge the Corinthians to act like men. That command assumes that there are men in Corinth who need to grab themselves by the scruff of their respective necks and man up. They possess all the pre-requisite parts to be considered a "man," but they lack the follow through of playing the part men were made to perform, the role for which men were made by God to fill: that of being a strong, resolute, sturdy, reliable, faithful, loyal, courageous, dangerous, providers and protectors.
Not all old women are old women, thank God, in the sense which Lewis alludes. Lewis is alluding to a particular phenomenon among old women where they faint under the assumption of any un-niceness, but applaud the very same actions if they're minted on pinker paper. This phenomenon is so contagious, even men can get caught up in it. Men, who have given their strength to women (Pr 31:1-2), are by Lewis' definition "old women." This blast is obviously meant to encourage them to buck up and push back. This satire is intended to produce wisdom in both sexes.
In other words, there is no man who would not be honored by being called "a man," or ashamed by being dismissed as an "old woman."
Our churches are chock full of little old ladies of both sexes. This dig is primarily aimed at old men acting like little old ladies, but it's not a compliment to little old ladies acting like little old ladies living in light of the stereotype either.
Just as the apostle Paul urged every Corinthian to act like men, so here Lewis warns every person to avoid acting like a little old lady. Paul was not implying that all men are great anymore than Lewis is implying that all old women are not.
What each is doing is appealing to a quintessential representative of each in order to make a point. Not all men are men, which is why Paul has to charge the Corinthians to act like men. That command assumes that there are men in Corinth who need to grab themselves by the scruff of their respective necks and man up. They possess all the pre-requisite parts to be considered a "man," but they lack the follow through of playing the part men were made to perform, the role for which men were made by God to fill: that of being a strong, resolute, sturdy, reliable, faithful, loyal, courageous, dangerous, providers and protectors.
Not all old women are old women, thank God, in the sense which Lewis alludes. Lewis is alluding to a particular phenomenon among old women where they faint under the assumption of any un-niceness, but applaud the very same actions if they're minted on pinker paper. This phenomenon is so contagious, even men can get caught up in it. Men, who have given their strength to women (Pr 31:1-2), are by Lewis' definition "old women." This blast is obviously meant to encourage them to buck up and push back. This satire is intended to produce wisdom in both sexes.
In other words, there is no man who would not be honored by being called "a man," or ashamed by being dismissed as an "old woman."
Monday, July 12, 2021
day no. 15,603: harmonious proportion
While reading Brett McKay's The Art of Manliness, Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the Seven Manly Virtues, I came across the following quote...
"The superior man is he who develops, in harmonious proportions, his moral, intellectual, and physical nature. This should be the end at which men of all classes should aim, and it is this only which constitutes real greatness." -- Douglas Jerrold
"The superior man is he who develops, in harmonious proportions, his moral, intellectual, and physical nature. This should be the end at which men of all classes should aim, and it is this only which constitutes real greatness." -- Douglas Jerrold
There is more to being a man than broad shoulders. While being a man is certainly not less than that, it doesn't simply amount to the ability to lift or carry heavy burdens. Men have been given governance of their persons. Self-government is the first responsibility of each and every man. Those who do well as stewards of themselves, by God's grace, are given stewardship and responsibility of others.
"Authority flows to those who take responsibility." -- Douglas Wilson
A man should manage well what has been given to him: his mind, his body, and his will. He should take responsibility for what he has and steer each to where he has been commanded to drive them.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Too many men are lopsided monstrosities. They have rock-hard abs and jelly-soft brains. They have solid intellects and sordid reputations. They have stellar reputations with everyone in general and the respect of no one in particular. Men were not meant to be one-dimensional. A man may notice his lack of symmetry, but a superior man takes measures to ensure he is growing in every area over which God has given him jurisdiction.
"Authority flows to those who take responsibility." -- Douglas Wilson
A man should manage well what has been given to him: his mind, his body, and his will. He should take responsibility for what he has and steer each to where he has been commanded to drive them.
Luke 2:52
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Too many men are lopsided monstrosities. They have rock-hard abs and jelly-soft brains. They have solid intellects and sordid reputations. They have stellar reputations with everyone in general and the respect of no one in particular. Men were not meant to be one-dimensional. A man may notice his lack of symmetry, but a superior man takes measures to ensure he is growing in every area over which God has given him jurisdiction.
Sunday, July 11, 2021
day no. 15,602: man-timber
"The first requisite of all education and discipline should be man-timber. Tough timber must come from well grown, sturdy trees. Such wood can be turned into a mast, can be fashioned into a piano or an exquisite carving. But it must become timber first. Time and patience develop the sapling into the tree. So through discipline, education, and experience, the sapling child is developed into hardy mental, moral, physical man-timber." -- Brett McKay, The Art of Manliness, Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the Seven Manly Virtues
Men should want to be good wood. They should aspire to be healthy, hard-wood trees that can be depended upon for shade in the heat of the day or firewood for the cold of night. They should be able to take many shapes for different uses when necessary, but not be so shapeless as to be useless for the shape in which you find them. Man should be deeply rooted in the richness of his depths and majestically expansive in the reaching of his heights.
Psalm 1:1-3
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Like the oak on the hillside, majestic in form:
Like the ship on the ocean, prepared for the storm;
When that storm would engulf, or would dash to the ground,
They come forth from the conflict with victory crowned
--- John M. Morse, Manhood
Psalm 1:1-3
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,
nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
But his delight is in the law of the Lord;
and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,
that bringeth forth his fruit in his season;
his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Like the oak on the hillside, majestic in form:
Like the ship on the ocean, prepared for the storm;
When that storm would engulf, or would dash to the ground,
They come forth from the conflict with victory crowned
--- John M. Morse, Manhood
Saturday, July 10, 2021
day no. 15,601: move the world
"Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the world." -- Archimedes
With some force, a lever and a fulcrum can help you move mountains. But Jesus, in Matthew 17:20, said it this way,
"Truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Faith stands. It is a firm foundation.
Faith expands. It branches out beyond its base.
Faith demands. It is a force with which to be reckoned.
As Archimedes observed, a place to stand can move the world with respect to math and materials, but this principle embedded in the natural world only highlights the spiritual reality that a firm foundation provides the perfect place to move the world around you.
A hard place allows you to anchor down. It provides resistance enough to propel yourself upward. It makes it possible to employ your force for greater achievement. By use of a lever and fulcrum, force is magnified and what was impossible is accomplished. So by God's grace, our firm foundation laid in the blood of Jesus provides a base from which we can move the earth.
With some force, a lever and a fulcrum can help you move mountains. But Jesus, in Matthew 17:20, said it this way,
"Truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Faith stands. It is a firm foundation.
Faith expands. It branches out beyond its base.
Faith demands. It is a force with which to be reckoned.
As Archimedes observed, a place to stand can move the world with respect to math and materials, but this principle embedded in the natural world only highlights the spiritual reality that a firm foundation provides the perfect place to move the world around you.
A hard place allows you to anchor down. It provides resistance enough to propel yourself upward. It makes it possible to employ your force for greater achievement. By use of a lever and fulcrum, force is magnified and what was impossible is accomplished. So by God's grace, our firm foundation laid in the blood of Jesus provides a base from which we can move the earth.
Friday, July 9, 2021
day no. 15,600: die decently, live manfully
"The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully."
-- Thomas Carlyle
A decent death does not a man maketh. Being a man is not merely a matter of ending well, but of living well before the end of the matter. While it does require courage to end on a high note, it requires a different kind of courage to live on a high note so that whenever it ends, it ends well.
There is a desire inside every man to die decently. We don't want to give our lives for nothing and we don't want our last efforts to be wasted. We want to face the uncertainty of what comes next with the certainty of faith proper to a man who has lived well.
Romans 14:7-9
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living
In Christ, our lives and our deaths matter because His life and death are what ultimately matters most.
-- Thomas Carlyle
A decent death does not a man maketh. Being a man is not merely a matter of ending well, but of living well before the end of the matter. While it does require courage to end on a high note, it requires a different kind of courage to live on a high note so that whenever it ends, it ends well.
There is a desire inside every man to die decently. We don't want to give our lives for nothing and we don't want our last efforts to be wasted. We want to face the uncertainty of what comes next with the certainty of faith proper to a man who has lived well.
Romans 14:7-9
For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living
In Christ, our lives and our deaths matter because His life and death are what ultimately matters most.
Thursday, July 8, 2021
day no. 15,599: mastering the art of dying and mastering death
"Socrates mastered dying; Christ overcame death." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison
A man may rise to the ranks of manliness and face his death by playing the man, but even that is the most a man can aspire to achieve. He may live a life worth living and a give a life worth remembering, but being good at dying is the best a man can do.
Jesus did not merely live and die in order to join the ranks of those who lived and died well. He did not live and die even in order to be the best at living and dying, although He certainly was. He lived and died in order to deal a deathblow to death itself. He did not merely face His fate like a man, He changed the fate of men. He didn't merely do the best a man can do concerning death, He did what no man could ever do... He killed death. He reversed the curse and left death in His grave.
Hebrews 2:14-15
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
We don't merely need to be better at living and dying, although we could all benefit from being better with respect to both, we need salvation from lives that fall short and death that never does. Jesus did not come simply to say, "You're doing it wrong." He came to live in a way that no one ever had and die in a way that no one ever did.
A man may rise to the ranks of manliness and face his death by playing the man, but even that is the most a man can aspire to achieve. He may live a life worth living and a give a life worth remembering, but being good at dying is the best a man can do.
Jesus did not merely live and die in order to join the ranks of those who lived and died well. He did not live and die even in order to be the best at living and dying, although He certainly was. He lived and died in order to deal a deathblow to death itself. He did not merely face His fate like a man, He changed the fate of men. He didn't merely do the best a man can do concerning death, He did what no man could ever do... He killed death. He reversed the curse and left death in His grave.
Hebrews 2:14-15
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
We don't merely need to be better at living and dying, although we could all benefit from being better with respect to both, we need salvation from lives that fall short and death that never does. Jesus did not come simply to say, "You're doing it wrong." He came to live in a way that no one ever had and die in a way that no one ever did.
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
day no. 15,598: the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit
Acts 9:31
So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied
The grace of God produces a fear of Him as well as a comfort from that fear.
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear
And Grace, my fears relieved
Whenever God by grace arranges a face to face with Him the invitee always falls all over themselves and end up down at His feet as though dead. But He also by grace raises them to life and invites them to stand in His presence.
This combination, healthy fear and healthy comfort in and from the Lord produces fruitful multiplication.
IF we only have fear, the plant cowers in the light of the Sun.
IF we only have comfort, the plant blooms boastfully, but blows away when the Wind arrives because it has no root
IF we are rooted in God and opening up to the light, the Sun is our source of warmth and growth and the Wind our aid in pollination and multiplication.
The very things which would respectively lead to death when combined produce life.
2 Corinthians 7:10
For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.
Tuesday, July 6, 2021
day no. 15,597: dead in the water
Hebrews 2:1
We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
Anyone can get caught up into what's current. It takes effort to be interested in history. The currents move under their own energy and if you aren't swimming, you're being swept along with them. The current never revisits the same place twice. It has no memory. It is always running wherever it is and it never doubles back. But Chesterton reminds us that progressing in that fashion is a feat just as easily accomplished by being dead in the water.
"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it."
We must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.
Anyone can get caught up into what's current. It takes effort to be interested in history. The currents move under their own energy and if you aren't swimming, you're being swept along with them. The current never revisits the same place twice. It has no memory. It is always running wherever it is and it never doubles back. But Chesterton reminds us that progressing in that fashion is a feat just as easily accomplished by being dead in the water.
"A dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it."
— G.K. Chesterton
Only a living thing can swim upstream. The current carries along with it anything that doesn't resist it. It is easy to believe whatever is currently being believed. It is much more difficult to believe what's back upstream, to take stock in what's already been ran over. No exertion is required to end up downstream, but effort is mandatory if anyone is inclined to investigate upstream.
It takes no mental dexterity to be trendy. Just go where the currents carry you. It requires a great deal of intellectual athleticism, however, to go against a trend.
"Right is Right even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.”
Only a living thing can swim upstream. The current carries along with it anything that doesn't resist it. It is easy to believe whatever is currently being believed. It is much more difficult to believe what's back upstream, to take stock in what's already been ran over. No exertion is required to end up downstream, but effort is mandatory if anyone is inclined to investigate upstream.
It takes no mental dexterity to be trendy. Just go where the currents carry you. It requires a great deal of intellectual athleticism, however, to go against a trend.
"Right is Right even if nobody does it. Wrong is wrong even if everybody is wrong about it.”
— G.K. Chesterton
"Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.”
— G.K. Chesterton
Monday, July 5, 2021
day no. 15,596: who is owed what by whom?
Justice is a matter of asking and answering, "WHO is owed WHAT by WHOM?"
The WHOs and WHATs are usually clearly defined whereas the by WHOMs are usually less specific.
Fore example, John is owed affordable healthcare.
By WHOM? The hospital? It's employees? The government? Should the hospital charge less for the services? Should the employees perform the task for less per hour? Should the hospital continue to charge the same amount, but charge it to someone else's account? Should the employees continue to make the same amount, but have their salaries subsidized by someone else?
WHO is responsible to make sure healthcare is affordable? And should they have the authority to do it whatever it takes or are there limits to how affordability can be achieved? If so, WHO is in charge of monitoring if those limits have been exceeded?
If someone is owed something, someone else is obligated to provide it. This assumes they have it or have access to it. If everyone is owed a glass of chocolate milk, this means that cocoa and milk producers are now under an obligation to provide certain quantities of their respective products in defined proportions. But what if there isn't enough cocoa to meet the obligation? What if there isn't enough milk in existence to grant every human being an 8 oz glass per day? Are the cocoa and milk farmers required to find ways to produce more in order to meet their obligations? If they can't, are they guilty of a crime? Is their failure to produce their products in these capacities amount to immorality? Are they allowed to quit? Can they walk away from the cocoa producing game? Or would that be a crime? Are the producers required to sell their products for an amount each person could afford? Or only for how much a particular person can afford? And who monitors this and makes sure it's the right price?
When contemplating justice, don't forget that every ought requires someone else to do or provide something. If someone is owed something, someone else is obligated to supply it.
The WHOs and WHATs are usually clearly defined whereas the by WHOMs are usually less specific.
Fore example, John is owed affordable healthcare.
By WHOM? The hospital? It's employees? The government? Should the hospital charge less for the services? Should the employees perform the task for less per hour? Should the hospital continue to charge the same amount, but charge it to someone else's account? Should the employees continue to make the same amount, but have their salaries subsidized by someone else?
WHO is responsible to make sure healthcare is affordable? And should they have the authority to do it whatever it takes or are there limits to how affordability can be achieved? If so, WHO is in charge of monitoring if those limits have been exceeded?
If someone is owed something, someone else is obligated to provide it. This assumes they have it or have access to it. If everyone is owed a glass of chocolate milk, this means that cocoa and milk producers are now under an obligation to provide certain quantities of their respective products in defined proportions. But what if there isn't enough cocoa to meet the obligation? What if there isn't enough milk in existence to grant every human being an 8 oz glass per day? Are the cocoa and milk farmers required to find ways to produce more in order to meet their obligations? If they can't, are they guilty of a crime? Is their failure to produce their products in these capacities amount to immorality? Are they allowed to quit? Can they walk away from the cocoa producing game? Or would that be a crime? Are the producers required to sell their products for an amount each person could afford? Or only for how much a particular person can afford? And who monitors this and makes sure it's the right price?
When contemplating justice, don't forget that every ought requires someone else to do or provide something. If someone is owed something, someone else is obligated to supply it.
Sunday, July 4, 2021
day no. 15,595: invest your best
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without."
You can either make the most of something or make nothing of it. Those are both logical conclusions. What doesn't make sense is to make so little of something. Either invest your best in what you deem worth seeking or invest none of yourself into it. Let your Yes by Yes and your No be No. Either get after it or go without it. Either make the most of something or make nothing of it. Half-hearted application makes little of everything and gets nothing out of it for all its efforts. There is more to be gained from a whole-hearted No than can be gained from a half-hearted Yes.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might
You can either make the most of something or make nothing of it. Those are both logical conclusions. What doesn't make sense is to make so little of something. Either invest your best in what you deem worth seeking or invest none of yourself into it. Let your Yes by Yes and your No be No. Either get after it or go without it. Either make the most of something or make nothing of it. Half-hearted application makes little of everything and gets nothing out of it for all its efforts. There is more to be gained from a whole-hearted No than can be gained from a half-hearted Yes.
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might
Saturday, July 3, 2021
day no. 15,594: teaspoons and rivers
"A boy will dabble in a thousand pursuits and then drop them when he gets bored or they become too difficult. A man will always finish what he starts." -- Brett McKay, The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man
And I might add, he always finishes what he begins because he doesn't begin anything he doesn't believe worth finishing.
A man who has his priorities in order and is living with assiduity knows why he is enduring the difficulties he is experiencing, so he sees them through because he has already seen them as valuable. They don't lose his interest in the midst of adversity; in fact, they likely gain attention and perhaps even affection.
If your interests evaporate once heat is applied to them, your resolve is measured in teaspoons when it should be measured in rivers.
Ecclesiastes 7:8
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit
And I might add, he always finishes what he begins because he doesn't begin anything he doesn't believe worth finishing.
A man who has his priorities in order and is living with assiduity knows why he is enduring the difficulties he is experiencing, so he sees them through because he has already seen them as valuable. They don't lose his interest in the midst of adversity; in fact, they likely gain attention and perhaps even affection.
If your interests evaporate once heat is applied to them, your resolve is measured in teaspoons when it should be measured in rivers.
Ecclesiastes 7:8
Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit
Friday, July 2, 2021
day no. 15,593: in other words
2 Corinthians 5:13
For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
What Paul is saying is essentially, "When I think about God, I get carried away. In the privacy of my thought and prayer, I do not hold back even a little bit. I go overboard. I push the accelerator down all the way. I don't apply any brakes. I am all in and head over heels excited about the things of God. If I'm out of my mind, it's when I'm most interested in God in my mind. I am over the moon engaged in all things concerning Him... But I realize that this would be a bit much for many others. I get that everyone is not as into this as I am. So if I seem toned down, know that it is for your sake. I am holding back in order to hold your attention. I could go further and faster, but I want you to be able to keep up. I want you to pick up as much as I'm throwing down as possible."
For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.
What Paul is saying is essentially, "When I think about God, I get carried away. In the privacy of my thought and prayer, I do not hold back even a little bit. I go overboard. I push the accelerator down all the way. I don't apply any brakes. I am all in and head over heels excited about the things of God. If I'm out of my mind, it's when I'm most interested in God in my mind. I am over the moon engaged in all things concerning Him... But I realize that this would be a bit much for many others. I get that everyone is not as into this as I am. So if I seem toned down, know that it is for your sake. I am holding back in order to hold your attention. I could go further and faster, but I want you to be able to keep up. I want you to pick up as much as I'm throwing down as possible."
Thursday, July 1, 2021
day no. 15,592: alphabetical areas of interest July 2021
"There are no uninteresting things, only uninterested people."
- G.K. Chesterton
Interested people are interesting people.
Be interested... stay interesting.
Animal Farm (maybe too soon for Story Club? read again soon)
Anthem Church (changing w/ Stan gone and Brandon as new elder)
Apple and Arrow (reading for 1st time w/ kids at Story Club)
Aria Aleksander (kids, especially girls like watching her ballet videos)
Ascensional (handed off to Paige for editorial help)
Audit (will we discover that Trump actually won? and if so, what then?)
Babies (trying to remember what it's like having a little one)
Backyard (praying dirt and seed take)
Battle Ground, WA (never knew this city existed before FLF Rally)
Beaver (watching through show during family time)
Beowulf (just finished with kids at Story Club again)
Books (on pace to read 300 again this year)
Brick Dictator (fun stop motion Lego reenactments of historical battles)
Bulk Store (been enjoying grabbing spicy nuts at Amish for snacks)
Car Crash Time (Atticus loves this YouTube channel of dashcam crashes)
Cardboard (first TenNapel comic recently read)
Chesterton (reading Everlasting Man for first time... gold as expected)
Chocolate Knox (been enjoying his IG posts)
Church (feeling more and more out of place as convictions change/develop)
Congregational Singing (enjoying the "new to me" discovery of this form of worship)
Couchechism (still working on working this out, developing cadence/routines)
Crash Boom Punk (video game car crashes kids always ask for)
C.R. Wiley (loved his spot on the Waterbreak for Crosspolitic)
Crosspolitic (began listening to daily news brief)
Culture (still working hard to create and cultivate Van Voorst family culture)
December (wonder how close to Christmas new baby will be born)
Doug TenNapel (having fun reading his graphic novels with kids)
Eight (the number of children I now have)
Ex-eldering (no longer an elder at Anthem as of May 2)
Failure (feeling the weight lately of falling short in so many ways so often)
Fight Laugh Feast Club (joined to get discount for Rally)
Fight Laugh Feast Conference (looking fwd to next in Sep)
Fight Laugh Feast Magazine (great read, fun getting introduced to new friends)
Fight Laugh Feast Rally (had a great time at our 1st of this kind)
Flula (introduced kids to his videos recently)
George Grant (fun getting to know him through FLF Network)
Ghostopolis (second TenNapel comic reading with kids)
Grace Agenda (can't wait for 1st one this August)
Gregory Wilbur (appreciate his album of psalms/hymns)
History (exploring Catholic/Protestant divide)
How Should We Then Live? (just read for the 1st time w/ Josh Miller)
Idaho (looking fwd to seeing it in person)
Intermittent Fasting (still at it, 2 1/2 yrs of OMAD, 20/4 sans Sunday)
Julian Smith (have had fun watching with kids)
John Knox (excited to learn more about him, next book with Josh Miller)
June Hymn (by the Decembererists - been listening to it with the kids)
Keep America Great (interested in Maricopa County audit)
Latin (finished Linney and Latina Christiana w/ kids)
Liberty & License (freedom to is different than freedom from)
Manliness (wanting to mature as a man in many areas)
Manliness (wanting to mature as a man in many areas)
Max Hacks (fun videos Rocco really likes)
Moscow (excited to visit in August)
Move (wondering when and where we may end up or be called to go to)
Mr. Tinkerer (great woodworking channel we've been enjoying)
My Chemical Romance (revisiting, "Welcome to the Black Parade")
Networking (fun to meet so many like-minded families at FLF Rally)
Nicene Creed (began working through/memorizing with kids during couchechism)
Nicene Creed (began working through/memorizing with kids during couchechism)
Otto (like this name, but everyone all of a sudden seems to as well)
Papa Don't Pope (Wilson on Catholic/Protestant division)
Pie (new staple of Saturday night)
Pice Cream (a la mode - wordsmithing)
Postmillitant (working through what to do with this account)
Presbyterianism (who knew? enjoying getting acquainted historical/theologically)
Presbyterianism (who knew? enjoying getting acquainted historical/theologically)
Proverb of the Day (began doing during Couchechism)
Psalm Singing (entering a whole new world of worship)
Qanon (nutters gonna nut - the thrill is in the prophecy, not in its fulfillment)
Ransom Trilogy (wrapping up another journey through these)
Qanon (nutters gonna nut - the thrill is in the prophecy, not in its fulfillment)
Ransom Trilogy (wrapping up another journey through these)
Ref Toons (having fun reading during couchechism)
Reformed Catholic (excited to read this with Josiah Blansett)
Relient K (enjoying Mmhmm with kids)
Riddles (a Dad Time frequent flyer - Brightside in particular, Penelope's fave)
Rhett Burns (enjoyed his posts in FLF Magazine)
Sabbachism (Sunday Q&As for kiddos)
Sext (added to Sabbath Liturgy - 6th hour of the day)
Slaying Leviathan (just finished reading w/ Josh M.)
Stories are Soul Food (fun new podcast ft. N.D. Wilson)
Story Club (excited by some titles we have on deck)
Table (stripping and sanding for Paige to restain - living room)
Story Club (excited by some titles we have on deck)
Table (stripping and sanding for Paige to restain - living room)
Tennessee (excited to visit in September)
Treadmill (30 min/4 nights a week M,T,W, H)
Treadmill (30 min/4 nights a week M,T,W, H)
Underwriting Sr. (possible promotion in Sep)
Unvaccinated (spellcheck thinks this is not a word)
Vespers (introducing evening Sabbath liturgy: sing, pie, taste and see)
Vibrams (wore holes through ones I inherited from Josh)
Voddie Baucham (hoping to see and meet him, Deo volente, at FLF in Sep)
Vibrams (wore holes through ones I inherited from Josh)
Voddie Baucham (hoping to see and meet him, Deo volente, at FLF in Sep)
Weighted Vest (wearing 20 lbs on morning and afternoon walks)
Wiglaf, son of Weohstan (awesome character in Beowulf)
Wingfeather Saga (getting set to begin our first trip through these for Story Club)
Xtra cash (interested to see how this monthly stipend of Joe Dough works out)
Xtra cash (interested to see how this monthly stipend of Joe Dough works out)
"Yes" (need to revisit commitment to saying, "Yes" as much as permissible)
Zzz's (have not been sleeping well lately, often waking up at 3:30a)
Zzz's (have not been sleeping well lately, often waking up at 3:30a)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)