Gospel-centered life

“If God did indeed do the things of which the gospel speaks, then . . . The story must either be disbelieved or it must become the fundamental presupposition of all our thought and action” (Lesslie Newbigin: Missionary Theologian p243)

Increasingly, I am convinced of the centrality of the Gospel in all of life, not merely as the means of conversion.

Art sites for kids

A friend recently put me onto two clever art websites for kids. One is: www.jacksonpollock.org which allows kids to create their own Autumn Rhythm online. The other (for a bit more fine motor skill) is My Picasso Head in which kids can create their own figure using drag and drop facial features - very fun!

More snow!

Elisabeth took advantage of the recent snow to get out and play (and sled) again!

May I please go in the snow box?

Today we ventured out the playground again. The ground surfaces had been well-shoveled, but (for obvious reasons) the sandbox was still filled with snow. So Elisabeth very politely asked:

Daddy, may I please go in the snow box?

It only matters where the pressure lies

"It doesn't matter, really, how great the pressure is," he used to say; "it only matters where the pressure lies. See that it never comes between you and the Lord - then, the greater the pressure, the more it presses you to His breast."
(Taylor, Dr. and Mrs. Howard. "Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret." China Inland Mission: Philadelphia. 1935. p107)

Not prepared to trust Him without

What follows is an excerpt from Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret. It has rebuked me and encouraged me many a time:

After concluding my last service about ten o'clock that night, a poor man asked me to go and pray with his wife, saying that she was dying. I readily agreed, and on the way asked him why he had not sent for the priest, as his accent told me that he was an Irishman. He had done so, he said, but the priest had refused to come without a payment of eighteen pence, which the man did not possess as the family was starving. Immediately it occurred to my mind that all the money I had in the world was the solitary half -crown, and that it was in one coin; moreover that while the basin of water-gruel I usually took for supper was awaiting me, and there was sufficient in the house for breakfast in the morning, I certainly had nothing for dinner on the coming day.

Somehow or other there was at once a stoppage in the flow of joy in my heart. But instead of reproving myself I began to reprove the poor man, telling him that it was very wrong to have allowed matters to get into such a state as he had described, and that he ought to have applied to the relieving officer. His answer was that he had done so, and was told to come at eleven o'clock the next morning, but that he feared his wife might not live through the night.

'Ah,' thought I, 'if only I had two shillings and a sixpence instead of this half-crown, how gladly would I give these poor people a shilling!' But to part with the half-crown was far from my thoughts. I little dreamed that the truth of the matter simply was that I could trust God plus one-and-sixpence, but was not prepared to trust Him only, without any money at all in my pocket.

My conductor led me into a court, down which I followed him with some degree of nervousness. I had found myself there before, and at my last visit had been roughly handled. . . . Up a miserable flight of stairs into a wretched room he led me, and oh what a sight there presented itself! Four or five children stood about, their sunken cheeks and temples telling unmistakably the story of slow starvation, and lying on a wretched pallet was a poor, exhausted mother, with a tiny infant thirty-six hours old moaning rather than crying at her side.

'Ah!' thought I, 'if I had two shillings and a sixpence, instead of this half-crown, how gladly should they have one-and-sixpence of it.' But still a wretched unbelief prevented me from obeying the impulse to relieve their distress at the cost of all I possessed.

It will scarcely seem strange that I was unable to say much to comfort these poor people. I needed comfort myself. I began to tell them, however, that they must not be cast down; that though their circumstances were very distressing there was a kind and loving Father in heaven. But something within me cried, 'You hypocrite! Telling these unconverted people about a kind and loving Father in heaven, and not prepared to trust Him without a half-crown.'

I nearly choked. How gladly would I have compromised with conscience, if I had had a florin an sixpence! I would have given the florin thankfully and kept the rest. But I was not yet prepared to trust in God alone, without the sixpence.

To talk was impossible under these circumstances, yet strange to say I thought I should have no difficulty in praying. Prayer was a delightful occupation in those days. Time thus spent never seemed wearisome and I knew no lack of words. I seemed to think that all I should have to do would be to kneel down and pray, and that relief would come to them and to myself together.

'You asked me to come and pray with your wife,' I said to the man; 'let us pray.' And I knelt down.

But no sooner had I opened my lips with, 'Our Father who art in heaven,' that conscience said within, 'Dare you mock God? Dare you kneel down and call Him "Father" with that half-crown in your pocket?'

Such a time of conflict then came upon me as I had never experienced before. How I got through that form of prayer I know not, and whether the words uttered were connected or disconnected. But I arose from my knees in great distress of mind.
The poor father turned to me and said, 'You see what a terrible state we are in, sir. If you can help us, for God's sake do!'

At that moment the word flashed into my mind, 'Give to him that asked of thee.' And in the word of a King there is power.

I put my hand into my pocket and slowly drawing out the half-crown gave it to the man, telling him that it might seem a small matter for me to relieve them, seeing that I was comparatively well off, but that in parting with that coin I was giving him my all; but that what I had been trying to tell them was indeed true, God really was a Father and might be trusted. And how the joy came back in full flood time into my heart! I could say anything and feel it then, and the hindrance to blessing was gone - gone, I trust, forever.

Not only was the poor woman's life saved, but my life as I fully realised had been saved too. It might have been a wreck - would have been, probably, as a Christian life - had not grace at that time conquered and the striving of God's Spirit been obeyed.

I well remember that night as I went home to my lodgings how my heart was as light as my pocket. The dark, deserted streets resounded with a hymn of praise that I could not restrain. When I took my basin of gruel before retiring, I would not have exchanged it for a prince's feast. Reminding the Lord as I knelt at my bedside of His own Word, 'He that giveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord,' I asked Him not to let my loan be a long one, or I should have no dinner the next day. And with peace within and peace without, I spent a happy, restful night.

Next morning my plate of porridge remained for breakfast, and before it was finished the postman's knock was heard at the door. I was not in the habit of receiving letters on Monday, as my parents and most of my friends refrained from posting on Saturday, so that I was somewhat surprised when the landlady came in holding a letter or packet in her wet hand covered by her apron. I looked at the letter, but could not make out the handwriting. It was either a strange hand, or a feigned one, and the postmark was blurred. Where it came from I could not tell. On opening the envelope I found nothing written within, but inside a sheet of blank paper was folded a pair of kid gloves from which, as I opened them in astonishment, half-a-sovereign fell to the ground.

'Praise the Lord,' I exclaimed, 'four hundred per cent for a twelve hours' investment! How gladly would the merchants be if they could lend their money at such a rate of interest!' Then and there I determined that a bank that could not break should have my savings or earnings as the case might be, a determination that I have not yet learned to regret.

I cannot tell you how often my mind has recurred to this incident, or all the help it has been to me in circumstances of difficulty. If we are faithful to God in little things, we shall gain experience and strength that will be helpful to us in the more serious trials of life. (Taylor, Dr. and Mrs. Howard. "Hudson Taylor's Spiritual Secret." London: China Inland Mission. 1935, p25-27)

I have never been in the situation of having all my worldly savings in my pocket, and yet how often have I begrudged giving because I had a big bill and not a smaller one in my wallet!

Smiles after skating

Nothingness and unity

“The greatest task before the church today is simply to take her stand humbly but decisively upon the accomplished work of Christ upon the Cross and to go forth into all the world with the proclamation that here, and here alone, at the place where all men are made nothing, is the place where all men may be one.” (Lesslie Newbigin: Missionary Theologian p80)

Very humble and very bold

In preparing for an upcoming Sunday School lesson on influential missionaries, I have been re-reading Lesslie Newbigin: Missionary Theologian. What follows is one of many treasures to follow in days to come:

The Church, it seems to me, needs to be very humble in acknowledging that it itself is only a learner, needing to pay heed to all the variety of human experience in order to learn in practice what it means that Jesus is King and Head of the human race. But the Church also needs to be very bold, bold in bearing witness to him as the one who alone is the King and the Head. For the demonstration of the truth we have to wait for the end. (Lesslie Newbigin: Missionary Theologian p217)

First time ice skating

Yesterday Elisabeth went ice skating for the first time ever! The ice was very rough, and it started raining while we were skating, but she did an outstanding job for her first time. She could stand on her skates without falling, and could shuffle forward when teased by outstretched hands in front of her.

Last of the sledding

Elisabeth went sledding for four consecutive days until the snow became to slushy. So these may be the last sledding photos of the winter . . .

Traditions

Do you have family traditions that helped you as a child to set your eyes on Jesus through the time leading up to resurrection Sunday? Have you seen other families do things that help their kids understand the meaning of Christ's passion? Do you have creative ideas for how to walk through Lent with children in a way that is expectant and prayerful?

I'm not as interested in baptising pagan influences (i.e. how you can use easter bunnies to teach your kid about Jesus) as in traditions that connect the real historical events to our present experience.

Thanks in advance for your contributions!

Lent

Today marks the beginning of the season of Lent (which is reasonably well described historically here). Traditionally, Lent is a season to prayerfully prepare for the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. For me, one of the greatest distractions from that prayerfulness is the internet. So, for Lent I am going to use the internet only for email, news (since we don't have a TV), listening to the M'Cheyne's readings, and occasional blogging.

So if posts are few and far between, that's why.

If anyone has wisdom on how to help children to experience Lent prayerfully and expectantly, please share!

This is all that most trust in

Take heed of being deluded by common presumptions. Most men have some thoughts in general about what their state is, and what it will be in the issue; but they make no diligent search into this matter, because a number of common presumptions do immediately insinuate themselves into their minds for their relief; and they are such as all whose force and efficacy to this end lies in this, that they differ from others, and are better than they; as that they are Christians, that they are in the right way of religion, that they are partakers of the outward privileges of the Gospel, hearing the word, and participating in the sacraments; that they have light and convictions, so as that they abstain from sin, and perform duties so as others do not; and the like. All those with whom it is not so, who are behind them in these things, they judge to be in an ill state and condition, whence they entertain good hopes concerning themselves; and this is all that most trust in. (John Owen. The Glory of Christ p229)

May God the Holy Spirit use these words of Owen to shake us from the condition he describes.

Peaceful bedtime routine

We have several friends with young children who are learning from our mistakes in establishing sleep habits. We developed a number of bad habits early that have made bedtimes difficult from the first few months of life. One was nursing Elisabeth to sleep; another was rocking her to sleep when not nursing her. Essentially, we did everything possible to make her depend on us to get to sleep. Not surprisingly, that trend has persisted. Until about two weeks ago, Elisabeth rarely went to bed without insisting that one of us be in the room with her.

After a bedtime showdown two weeks ago (which was actually about staying in bed, not about one of us being present), she has turned a remarkable corner. Now after Bible story, Window on the World and prayer, she climbs in bed, we leave, and we don't hear a peep for between 11 and 12 hours! We've never had that before.

So we thank God for this wonderful turn, and recommend that if you have, or are going to have, young children that you learn from us: Don't make them dependent on you to go to sleep!

Ready for another run

I want be to be a bad girl

Yesterday Elisabeth was overtired from having been sick and woken up early in the morning. In the afternoon she needed to take a break to collect herself. Rebecca said to her, "I think you need to sit and think for a while." Elisabeth retorted:

I want to be a bad girl for the rest of my life!

I'm glad that such sentiments are short-lived!

A book about bears . . .

Today Elisabeth picked up this book and started reading aloud:

A book about bears, by Jackson Pollock and Elisabeth Addie . . .

At least she got the bears part right!

Valentine's Day 2 years ago

Phonics in the tub

Elisabeth made two notable steps forward in phonics yesterday . . . in the bathtub, and using her Aunt Haley and Uncle Gordon's names!

Elisabeth knows how to spell Haley's name because of a clever little song that Haley taught her. However, until now Elisabeth has had a hard time sequencing letters and numbers that she hears. For instance, if I say, "H-A-L-E-Y. Which letter comes first?" She would be just as likely to tell me Y as H (in fact more likely, because it was most recent in her memory). If she sees it written on paper, it is a different deal; but with auditory processing, sequencing hadn't yet come, until yesterday. We sang the little Haley song, and she was able to find the foam letters in sequence to put on the wall!

She didn't know how to spell Gordon's name, but was able to chunk it into syllables, and then identify the letters that made each sound in sequence. She's been associating letters and sounds for a long time now, but I've never see her decode sequential sounds in a word that she is hearing (and not seeing) before yesterday.

Sledding!

Elisabeth made her first runs ever on a sled by herself! We had to warm up by watching other children do it. Then we took several runs from almost the bottom of a very gentle grade - which carried her about 20 feet at slower than walking pace before friction overcame inertia. Not surprisingly, even this was scary at first. But with repeated runs, we steadily worked our way up the hill until she was riding the whole slope gleefully again and again. More photos to come . . .

When to read which Bible stories

Every night we read to Elisabeth from the Big Picture Story Bible. Like most Bible story books, it tells some of the graphic stories of the Bible, while not including all the details. The account of David and Goliath, for instance, is included in every picture Bible I've seen. It is dramatic and violent, and it is a very significant event in the history of Israel - and so it is included.

My questions here (especially for those with older children) are:

1. When do you include the violent stories of the Bible in family Bible-reading?
2. How do you do it?

I think that there are two gut instincts that pull in opposite directions. Both are partially valid, and I think that the tension between the two is precisely what I'm asking how to navigate.

1. To leave things out is wrong because we become the editors of the Bible. If this is true, then every children's Bible has made this error, because they are all selective in their presentation. Beyond that, any parent who reads to their children will read selectively and deliberately in order to impress the big picture. The question then is not if we are selective, but how and when.
2. To expose children to the violence of the Bible at too young an age is wrong and damaging. If this is true, then we ought not to tell our children about the crucifixion of Jesus until they meet our criteria of appropriate 'maturity.' Yet the message of the Gospel is that the only way to safety, healing and peace with God is through the violent death of His Son. Will we then withhold the Good News until we think they can handle violence?

What I'm asking for is wisdom. What have you learned (or observed in others) about being faithful, sensitive and rightly selective at the various stages of child development - without swinging to either of the poles I've identified?

In the market for a running stroller?

If you're in the market for a running stroller, you can learn from me before you make the same mistakes. Now some would say that the first mistake was taking the stroller out in the snow (this was two years ago).

I had such a good time that I can't agree. However, I did learn from the experience.

1. If you have metal spokes and rims, you must wipe them down until they are completely dry. If you don't, they'll rust. (Mine did. I had to sand out the rust and paint them with rustoleum.) Better yet, don't buy a stroller with metal spokes and rims.
2. Get a stroller with a front wheel that can rotate and lock in the straight position.
3. Make sure that the seat can recline!
4. Get a locking handbreak for stopping on hills or at intersections.
   
5. Get a stroller that can accommodate a car seat.
   

So here's the one we got, the Baby Trend Expedition LX (which meets 3 of the 5 criteria): (For some reason Baby Trend seems to have discontinued the LX version that comes with car seat and locking mechanism, so this image is without.)

It has been rugged, and has gone everywhere - on-road, off-road, through snow - everywhere. I have easily put hundreds of miles on it, if we haven't topped a thousand yet (and only finally had to repack the bearings of one of the wheels today).

Both the BOB Revolution
and the BOB Stroller Strides.
So what's the difference? The Stroller Strides is $20 more and comes with a handlebar console (for parent and kid stuff). Both accommodate an add-on that makes it work with an infant car seat. The downside? It is over 3 times the price of the Expedition.

If you don't have sticker shock, another good option is the Phil & Ted's E3, which has all the virtues of the BOBs (except it has smaller rear wheels and no suspension), but can easily convert to a double-decker 2 child stroller.
And if you're still interested after reading this far, there's a very helpful article here. And if you balk, like I did, at the cost of the stroller, you might be able to find a lightly used one for the price of an Expedition-and-a-half on Craigslist.

Worship: The fuel and goal of missions

"Worship . . . is the fuel and goal in missions. It's the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God's glory. . . Worship is also the fuel of missions . . . You can't commend what you don't cherish . . . Missions begins and ends in worship." (John Piper in Let the Nations Be Glad)

So begins one of the best works of theology of mission that I have read. That is the starting point for all work that truly extends the kingdom of Christ.

If the Church is defined by its mission (and it is), and worship is the fuel and goal of missions. Then it is never too early to be showing our children the axis around which our world revolves.

The praise of virtue

For so great is the influence of probity and chastity, that all men, or almost all men, are moved by the praise of these virtues; nor is any man so depraved by vice, but he hath some feeling of honour left in him. (Augustine. The City of God p69)

I think Augustine's view of depravity is part of what makes classical education appeal to me. It is not that seeing virtue will enable one to be virtuous (which would be a Pelagian notion), but that even in our fallen state, we are "moved by the praise of these virtues" in a way that convicts us of our own sinfulness, and calls us to repentance.

So the praise of virtue leads directly to the Gospel. The repentance required for virtue is impossible apart from Christ. I think this is the context in which we can read, and greatly profit from, the praise of virtue from any lips.

Big enough for 2

Who knew that a toddler bed was big enough for two?!

Developmental phonics/handwriting

I have started using Riggs' phonics curriculum with Elisabeth, as she has shown interest in learning more about letter sounds. While their website is very poorly designed, and their teaching methodology is overly structured, the concept behind it is quite clever.

They suggest a multi-sensory approach to teaching the letter names, shapes and sounds that I think is remarkably effective. Here is a rough version of the routine they suggest:

1. Show the child the particular grapheme (on a flash card).
2. Demonstrate how to form the letter on a whiteboard or paper.
3. Say the sound(s) the grapheme makes. Then . . .
4. Ask the child to say the sound(s) the grapheme makes.
5. The child writes the letter(s) in the prescribed manner.

So what are the strengths?

1. I'm attracted by the fact that the routine incorporates looking, listening, speaking and writing, since it can play on whatever the child's strong suit is to reinforce the connections.
2. I also really like that they teach all of a grapheme's sounds outright. For example, for the letter c, they teach both the 'k' and 's' sounds outright.
3. They teach how to write each letter. I think that explicit teaching makes the learning process far easier for the child - and makes their practice consistent.
   
4. They teach the graphemes in sequence by the motion used to write it so that the child has repetition to reinforce the particular strokes before moving on to new strokes.

I didn't realize how well it was working (on the writing side) until this week. We were in the laundromat, and I had brought Elisabeth's wipe clean book for her to play with while I folded the laundry. There happened to be a four year old there, and Elisabeth wanted to share her book with him. When he started to write a particular letter, I heard her say,

"No, you start here and go around and up and down."

She had internalized the procedure well enough to teach others! Hopefully all of the other pieces of instruction will stick as well.

Handwriting

I found a site that has great printable pre-school writing paper.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Licentiousness

This is our concern, that every man be able to increase his wealth so as to supply his daily prodigalities, and so that the powerful may subject the weak for their own purposes. Let the poor court the rich for a living, and that under their protection they may enjoy a sluggish tranquility; and let the rich abuse the poor as their dependants, to minister to their pride. Let the people applaud not those who protect their interests, but those who provide them with pleasure. Let no severe duty be commanded, no impurity forbidden. Let kings estimate their prosperity, not by the righteousness, but by the servility of their subjects. Let the provinces stand loyal to the kings, not as moral guides, but as lords of their possessions and purveyors of their pleasures; not with a hearty reverence, but a crooked and servile fear. Let the laws take cognizance rather of the injury done to another man's property, than of that done to one's own person. If a man be a nuisance to his neighbour, or injure his property, family or person, let him be actionable; but in his own affairs let every one with impunity do what he will in company with his family, and with those who willingly join him. Let there be a plentiful supply of public prostitutes for every one who wishes to use them, but especially for those who are too poor to keep one for their private use. Let there be erected houses of the largest and most ornate description: in these let there be provided the most sumptuous banquets, where everyone who pleases may, by day or night, play, drink, vomit, dissipate. Let there be everywhere heard the rustling of dancers, the loud immodest laughter of the theater; let a succession of the most cruel and the most voluptuous pleasures maintain a perpetual excitement. If such happiness is distasteful to any, let him be branded as a public enemy; and if any attempt to modify or put an end to it, let him be silenced, banished, put an end to. (Augustine. The City of God pp59-60)

Augustine is speaking mockingly of the Roman empire, but his passage stopped me in my tracks because of the parallels to our own day:

• "This is our concern, that every man be able to increase his wealth so as to supply his daily prodigalities . . ." Is this not the current reading of the "pursuit of happiness"?
• "that the powerful may subject the weak for their own purposes . . ." Is this not the very structure of our society?
• "Let the poor court the rich for a living, and that under their protection they may enjoy a sluggish tranquility . . ." Is there a better description of the the relationship between the under-classes and the wealthy in our society?
• "Let no severe duty be commanded, no impurity forbidden." I could hardly find a better motto for our age.
• "Let the laws take cognizance rather of the injury done to another man's property, than of that done to one's own person." I think that this is the most easily glossed, and yet perhaps the most important parallel. Augustine's critique here is that they care more about goods that virtue. I think the reason that his mockery here doesn't sting quite as much as in the preceding sentences is that we are so mired in the very state that Augustine mocks that we can hardly see it.
• " . . . but in his own affairs let every one with impunity do what he will in company with his family, and with those who willingly join him." I think this is where we get the phrase 'consenting adults.'
• " . . . let a succession of the most cruel and the most voluptuous pleasures maintain a perpetual excitement." Is not this the law of mass media?
• "If such happiness is distasteful to any, let him be branded as a public enemy; and if any attempt to modify or put an end to it, let him be silenced, banished, put an end to." That makes me public enemy #1.

Why include this on a parenting blog? For two reasons. First, both we and our children need fresh eyes to see the milieu to which we become numb by being constantly immersed in it. Second, our children need exposure to saints who have literary power to call us to repentance.

The dramatic division

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to use who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)

Paul allows the Gospel to be the great dividing line. He does not repackage it to suit the cosmopolitan context of Corinth. Instead he boldly maintains that the message he heralds is foolishness to those on the outside, who are perishing. The way to bring them in among those who are being saved is not through eloquence, marketing or revision. It is by proclaiming the message that is foolishness.

This 'word of the cross' is the means of taking people from the plight of the perishing to the hope of those who are being saved "so that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (v29). This is the glory of the Gospel - that God uses the very message that is folly to the perishing to rescue them from that sorry state. In so doing, the preacher cannot take the glory, nor the listener, but only God who uses it to save sinners.

On the sled

Despite the bare ground (in the background), we still had a number of good runs on the sled - and are hoping for snow in the night.

The role of worship

When I was in college, I had a professor who could draw the history of theology on three sections of chalkboard so that I understood it. I think that was the first time that I really experienced the power of schematics to help people understand something.

So this weekend, I set out to communicate through schematic. How could I communicate the role that worship plays in the life of the church? How could I help people to see its central role? I used the following schematic:

What role does worship play in becoming Christ-centered communities?

Worship is the center, without which study (under which I include preaching) becomes intellectual pride, prayer becomes religious duty, and witness becomes a social program. When Christ is central, the Spirit is given space to create worship. When worship is integral, it catalyzes other facets of Christ-centered life, which in turn kindle more worship. It incites us to study to know Him; and as we study, our hearts turn to worship Him. True worship calls us to trust Christ in prayer; when we ask and receive, our hearts flow back to Him in praise. Likewise, when we are most full of love to God, witness is the overflow of our joy in God; when He converts the lost through us, and strengthens the weary, our hearts are again lifted to worship Him.

I was amazed at how much the schematic helped me to understand better the role worship plays in the life of the church. I guess I am a more visual/spatial person than I had thought.

Welcome the weak in faith

As I look at the church, I think our attitude generally can be described as the antithesis of Paul's command:

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. (Romans 14:1)

We tend to reject those who are weak in faith, and if we do accept them, it is to prove their opinions wrong. Yet Paul brilliantly interweaves both conviction, "Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind" with love, "So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding" (v5, 19).

This is what sets us free to welcome the weak in faith! We can be convinced without despising; we can love without passing judgment. We welcome the weak not to convince them that we are right, but to draw them to more complete trust in Christ!

Chewing with her eyes closed

Tonight at dinner I saw Elisabeth chewing with her eyes closed. At first I thought it was just momentary, but then I realized she was drifting off to sleep even as she was chewing. I tried to talk with her to keep her alert enough to finish her food before she went to bed, and only barely succeeded. We made a hasty retreat to bed, and soon she was fully in dreamland.

I didn't think I could get a picture of Elisabeth without either startling her with the flash, or endangering her while I left the room to get the camera. So I'll have to leave to your imagination the 3 year-old chewing with her eyes closed as her head intermittently slumps forward and jerks back to vertical.

The double-edged sword of pride

Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. (Romans 12:16)

It is possible to obey the first sentence, and disobey the second. It is possible to associate with the lowly, and look down on those who do not. Pride is not a danger only to those who refuse to associate with the lowly, but also, and equally as much, to those who do.

Without altering the boundaries

For, without altering the boundaries of the empire, Jesus Christ has proved himself able to drive them [the gods], not only from their temples, but from the hearts of their worshipers (Augustine. City of God. pp135-6)

This perspective of Augustine captures, I think, the glory of the Kingdom of Christ. His Kingdom is not confined to the lands of the 'free' but can unmask and dethrone the powers of the nations even without altering the boundaries of the empire!

Sledding with Grandma

Bedtime expressions

Elisabeth tends to sleep better at home than on the road. That proved true again over the past couple of days. We visited Pop-pop and Grandma for a few days, and Elisabeth didn't exactly acclimate to the new sleeping arrangements. The first night she was awake from 4am - 5am, insisting that it was morning and time to see Aunt Kate (despite the room being pitch dark). So the following evening she was very tired and fell asleep on my lap at the dinner table. I (foolishly) thought that I would try to get her to use the potty. When I tried to set her down on the toilet, she wiggled out of my arms, curled up on the bathmat and said,

This is my bed!

I tried to pick her up to carry her to her bed, and she went limp to avoid being carried and said,

I want to sleep on the floor!

The commotion was such that when I finally did get her to her bed, she was so worked up that she couldn't go back to sleep - and stayed awake for about an hour before she crashed again.

Last night was her first night back home. She curled up in her bed, said,

This is the best bed in the world.

and the next moment was in dreamland. I'm inclined to agree with her, considering how much easier it makes bedtime.

Leaps forward in language

Yesterday was not only the first day of Elisabeth correctly enunciating the letter l, it was also the first day of consistently being able to enunciate the letter r. Until now, Grandma has been Gwandma. What a new world is that of articulation!

HaLLeLujah!

This morning Elisabeth said,

Gwandma, can you wipe my wips? No. Can you wipe my lips?

We've been trying to teach her to say the l sound, but to no avail. For some reason, this morning her little tongue was able to do that which it could not before. Now she can (with us) say,

Hallelujah!

Tech Tweaks

I've made a couple of tweaks to the blog and would welcome your feedback.

1. I added some feed links in the sidebar to make it easier to add the blog to your reading list.
2. I added a Recent Comments section to the sidebar (as well as enabling rss subscription to comments) to show the latest discussion.
3. I tried adding and image to the header. It was a success to get it up, but I'd like to figure out how to lighten the image, and and round off the corners. (Tips, anyone?)
   

If anyone knows how to make the sidebars collapsible, so that viewers don't have to scroll through all of them to get to the one that they want, I'd love to learn!

Are there other tweaks that would enhance the site?

Inspired by my subject

When Elisabeth was born, my parents and my in-laws generously contributed to buy us a digital camera. It has proved to be one of the best gifts we have ever received. It is unusual that a day goes by that I don't snap at least one picture.

Recently I was reflecting on my fetish for photography, and stumbled upon a major reason why I enjoy taking pictures: I am inspired by my subject. I take more pictures of Elisabeth than I do anyone or anything else. I love trying to capture her personality, expressions and mood in an image. It is not to say that I don't enjoy taking good pictures of other people, or of scenery; I do. But it is not the same as photographing my daughter.

In addition to capturing Elisabeth, I love sharing pictures of her. It is a joy to be able to share with friends and family through this blog, in online albums, and with physical prints. I feel what C.S. Lewis described in his Reflections on the Psalms (there speaking about the praise of God being quite natural for the one who loves God):

The world rings with praise-lovers praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game-praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, motors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians or scholars. . . . [J]ust as men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge us to join them in praising it: "Isn't she lovely? Wasn't it glorious? Don't you think that magnificent?" The Psalmists in telling everyone to praise God are doing what all men do when they speak of what they care about. . . . I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1958, pp. 93-95) [emphasis mine]

I think that photography is an extension of my God-given longing to share the joy of parenting with others whom I love. It does not merely express my feeling, but in the sense Lewis infers, completes the enjoyment - and so it is truly my pleasure to share them with you.

Back in the days of chubby cheeks...

 

Elisabeth and Dad

 

What handwriting!

Yesterday I wrote Elisabeth's name in dotted lines for her to trace. I turned around to do something else, and when I looked, she had traced her whole name far better than she had ever done before. To see it, you'll probably have to click on the picture since the colored pencils weren't very dark.

It's Cold Outside!

 

Entertaining herself

Elisabeth is starting to develop the ability to play alone (which I think is delayed by having much parental attention). Yesterday I was working in the kitchen and went to her bedroom to check on her, and found that she had made a creative seat with one of her storage bins!

Patience

In the last week I have been reminded afresh of what an essential virtue patience is to good parenting, and to walking in the Spirit. I find myself often making poor decisions precisely because of my impatience. In the midst of a moment, I see that my impatience is the hindrance to effective discipline.

Walking our stairs is a great example. I often don't plan enough slack time into our schedule. I get us ready to leave at the time that would be appropriate if I was the only one traveling to wherever we need to be. So when we get out to the three flights that lead down to street level, and Elisabeth is dragging her feet (or more accurately, not moving her feet at all), if I administer wise discipline, we're late to wherever we need to go; if I just pick her up and carry her down, we arrive on time, but Elisabeth doesn't learn to obey.

Patience requires planning. It demands that I plan the time to discipline, and the willingness to be late when I have not planned well.

Buttons!

For some time Elisabeth has been able to undo buttons, while buttoning remained a mystery. Those days are now gone. Yesterday Elisabeth sat on my lap and buttoned up and down, up and down.

I wear myself out!

Rebecca was just sitting with Elisabeth, putting on socks. Elisabeth was in a mid-afternoon, need-a-nap, giddy state and didn't want to put her socks on. Rebecca said,

Kid, you wear me out.

Elisabeth promptly responded

I wear myself out!

So, Dad, what is it?

Note: The last time I posted this picture, it was invisible on the blog, so I'm trying again.

Sleep Sound in Jesus

I have long been a fan of Michael Card, even when I was younger and it wasn't "cool" to like a guy who is balding and aging. When I was in college, he came once to our chapel service. I expected him to play a set of music from his recently recorded works. He did play a few songs, but most of the time he spent opening a passage of Romans to us. It was very clear both in his music and his message that he was one who had been mastered by the Gospel.

Recently some friends offered to lend us Sleep Sound in Jesus, and I was delighted to find the same depth of lyrics for infants as for adults. I enjoy listening to it play while Elisabeth drops off to sleep (which I cannot say for all of her music).

Charlotte Mason

In my forays into education, I have stumbled across the name Charlotte Mason several times. Most recently, my sister-in-law pointed me to a blog that posts each day a selection from her writings.

I think that I am going to be an avid reader. From my appraisal so far, she appears to approach discipline much like Ted Tripp, in that obedience is central and not optional.

Law Ensures Liberty.––The children who are trained to perfect obedience may be trusted with a good deal of liberty: they receive a few directions which they know they must not disobey; and for the rest, they are left to learn how to direct their own actions, even at the cost of some small mishaps; and are not pestered with a perpetual fire of ‘Do this’ and ‘Don’t do that!’ (source)

Moreover, she sees discipline and education as intricately intertwined, which dovetails nicely with my inclination to classical education.

However, even a cursory glance at her reading will reveal that she believes that discipline and education are the role of the mother. So, if you apprehend the same, and are offended, leave the offense there. I think she has much good to say for fathers who can read her wisdom for mothers as being wise for both parents.

If you know of other good online resources for Mason's pedagogy, please share!