You Can’t Be “A Little Bad”

Joshua and I were playing action figures, and he kept insisting on being the bad guys. Jana alerted me to this trend, and we’ve been curious about his shift from good guy to bad guy.

Apparently it’s all about the weapons.

Which is comforting in a sense, but nevertheless made me wish that he wanted to be the good guy only. So both Jana and I tried to gently push him that direction. Then he came back with, “You know what’s the best? The best is if you’re just a little bad.”

I get that, especially since to a 5-year-old it means that you can still be the hero and yet have an awesome gun. So you get the best of both worlds.

But isn’t this how most people in the world, even the “good” ones, approach matters of spirituality? Even those of us that call ourselves Christians try to be mostly good and entertain just a very little bit of bad. One of the most striking places this world view is blown apart is in the writings of John the beloved disciple.

Have you ever noticed how black and white it is with John? Everything is either light or dark. It’s truth or lie. It’s death or life. No middle ground at all. He’s constantly saying that the light has no part with the darkness. Or that the truth has no place in a liar. For John, there’s no such thing as “dawn” or “dusk.” There’s only light or dark, all or nothing.

So where does that leave us, the people who want to be mostly good and just a little bad?

This same John, for which there is no middle ground, is the one who recorded in John 3 the words of Jesus, that we must all be “born again.” And for John, either you are or you aren’t. The first time you were born, you were bad. Oh, you might have moments when you stumbled into goodness just like an occasional star might temporarily light up the night a bit, but the darkness is still overpoweringly present.

But the second time? Well, that birth is of the spirit. And the second time, we came out good. Because the second time, we got the goodness of the One who was all good and no bad.

For those of us who want to be just a little bad, we would do well to be careful with what we want. Perhaps we are more bad than we think we are. Either that, or we need to remember that we’re good because of Jesus. And we need to quit pretending we’re something we’re not.

Weekends Are For Kids

The day started off with a bang around here.

With Thanksgiving over, we set about ringing in the Christmas season. And we love Christmas.

L-O-V-E Christmas.

So we hauled out the tree, added some lights and a snowman to the house, and listened to Christmas music all morning. Joshua started feeling pretty sluggish, and by 12:30 he was sleeping on the couch under a blanket.

1:15 rolled around and you guessed it – he woke up with fever. So off to the hospital we go.

And if I could vent here for just a moment. We moved into a house built in 1957 about a year and a half ago, and we love it. It’s a great house in a greater neighborhood. But moving in, we got a home warranty protection from America’s First Warranty cause we knew some stuff would break.

Well, last Friday night the heater went out. It was blowing, but it was blowing cool air. So we called the warranty company on Saturday morning. We didn’t hear anything back until Monday, when we learned that apparently they “misplaced” the work order. A technician came out on Monday and said they had to order a part for the heater.

Tuesday came and no part.

Wednesday no part.

Thursday was Thanksgiving.

Friday, no part.

This morning they told me it would be Monday before they could come. That’s 9 days without heat. Now I know I don’t have much to complain about given our status in the world at large, but man – I am upset. I can’t help but think that going 9 days without heat might have contributed to my son going to the hospital. As you might imagine, I’ve had several really fun conversations with the company already today, none of which have been close to satisfying to me, especially since this is the 4th service call we’ve made about the heating / AC unit in the last year.

So any chance there’s a high level exec from America’s First reading our blog? If so, boy – I’d love to grab about 10 minutes of conversation with you.

Hopefully Joshua won’t have to stay overnight. We’ll keep the blog updated…

Fridays Are For One Question

Thanksgiving is a great time to reflect about who God is and what He has been faithful to do in yet another year of our lives. It’s also a great time to eat. So rather than going with the standard “What are you thankful for this year?” question, let’s talk about food.

“What did you eat this week that knocked your socks off?”

**The goal of “One Question Friday” is simple: To show that everyone has something funny, engaging, creative, and worthwhile to say. So comment away! Be real. Be creative. Think hard. And check back to see how others answered the question.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Swedish Chef

10 Things to Remember When Your Child is Disobedient

Let’s face it – we as parents are all in the business of discipline. It’s a huge chunk of what we do. I found these suggestions to be very helpful.

From Ruth Simons:

1. You disobey the Lord…and He is the perfect Father.

2. His kindness leads us to repentance.

3. God disciplines those He loves.

4. Your child’s disobedience does not measure your value any more than his obedience showcases your achievement.

5. Your child’s disobedience teaches you dependence on God.

6. And sometimes it’s more than dependence He’s after, it’s complete desperation for Him.

7. Your child is clearly a sinner, and needs to hear the truth of the Gospel, and see it lived out through you.

8. Times of correction serve to remind, or establish within your child, his own sense of need for a Savior.

9. It’s not good behavior you really desire…you want his heart.

10. Your child is a person, not a project.

I also had this thought. If so much of our job as parents involves correction, doesn’t that translate over the Lord as the perfect parent? I tend to pay little heed to the fact that the Lord is in the business of disciplining me. Perhaps He is doing so far more than I would care to acknowledge.

(HT: Z)

Great TV Commercial

(HT: Z)

The Ultimate Christian Novel

Tim Challies has come up with a stellar idea for the ultimate Christian novel, one that “seamlessly blends today’s most popular genres into one beautiful, compelling, cohesive whole.” So here it is:

Cassidy: Amish Vampiress of the Tribulation

That’s right. It’s an Amish novel; it’s a vampire novel; it’s an end-times novel. It’s the best of all worlds.

Here is the back cover text:

He is handsome. He is romantic. He is Amish.

Twenty-three year old Cassidy lives a simple life in the Amish countryside of Lancaster County. Simple, that is, until Slade Byler moves into the old Lapp farm. Cassidy finds herself irresistibly drawn to the handsome Slade; but she fears to share the secret that she alone knows. For Cassidy is an immortal, a princess in the long line of ancient Amish vampires. Will Slade’s love grow cold when he learns this great secret? Can she give to him a heart that does not beat?

Meanwhile, the strength of the Antichrist grows as he consolidates his power and seeks to destroy the peace-loving people of Pennsylvania. A blossoming romance unfolds between Cassidy and Slade as the world around them changes forever. They must fight to stay alive, they must fight to keep their forbidden love a secret, but, as Amish, they must not fight at all.

In this irresistible tale of intrigue and adventure, set against global upheaval, the bonnet meets the cape in a story sure to span the ages.

Click here to read an exerpt from this genius concept.

Weekends Are For Kids

Sometimes worlds collide at playtime.

Joshua is pretty much consumed with Star Wars. At dinner, his hands become x-wing fighters. At playtime, he’s either a droid or Boba Fett or someone called Phlo Kuhn.

Andi, on the other hand, likes baby dolls. Alot. Pretty much every grown woman is someone’s mommy (always interesting when we’re walking through the supermarket and see a lady and Andi asks, “Who’s that mommy?”).

But sometimes worlds collide.

For example, on the playground today, Joshua was busy fabricating a Star Wars light saber battle. Andi was running a pretend concession stand at the swings. Then they both run up, determined that they both want to play Ninja Turtles. Here’s how it went:

Joshua: “We’re gonna play Ninja Turtles. I’m that guy with the long weapon. What’s his name? That guy. The one with the stick.”

Me: “Donatello.”

Joshua: “Yeah, I’m Donatello. And our enemy the Black Tiger, is over there. And we’re gonna get him. I’m going to get him with my sword. I mean, my stick.”

Me: “Okay. Andi, who are you going to be?”

Andi: “I the Lucy.”

(Pause here – Andi thinks Lucy from The Chronicles of Narnia is the girl superhero. So in these scenarios, she is frequently Lucy, or as she says, “The Lucy.”)

Me: “Sounds good. Go get ‘em, guys.”

Andi: “And after he dead, we going to get ice cream.”

The perfect end to any battle.

Fridays Are For One Question

One of the things I love about our church is the music. There’s alot of old music – mainly reworked hymns. I appreciate that for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that music teaches you stuff whether you recognize it or not. And hymns have great, concise theology that gets into your heart and soul and holds on. I love it, too, that my kids are going to immersed in musical theology as they grow.

That’s the subject of this week’s question:

“What’s the one song you think it would be important for your children to know by heart?”

**The goal of “One Question Friday” is simple: To show that everyone has something funny, engaging, creative, and worthwhile to say. So comment away! Be real. Be creative. Think hard. And check back to see how others answered the question.

Mass We Pray

Seriously? I mean, seriously?

I don’t know whether to laugh, cry, or scream. I’ve got a pretty good idea which one Jesus is doing though.

Somebody tell me this is a joke.

(HT: Challies)