Isaac Jonathan Doi

On the day after Thanksgiving, the Pookies received Isaac Jonathan Doi.
He arrived at 8:29pm, measuring 8lbs, 6oz. and 21"


This is his other side.


We could just look at him all day.


The Pookies are now working on learning how to feed and sleep.

More later.

The Dinner

The spread was beautiful.
and of course, we all overate.


This is the last bite I couldn't finish.
This rarely happens.

crouching pesci, hidden willie

62 points

that's how much using all my tiles to spell "minutiae" earned.
and i still only beat john by 4 points.

Happy Thanksgiving.

via

us... parents??

day 2.
still no baby.
wifey felt the need to shower last night at 2am.

i felt the need to have my blood drawn and saved in a tube this morning.
urine, too.

my need was brought on by requirements of my new life insurance policy, set to begin... whenever the lab results are integrated with the policy actuation.

nobody kill me for a couple weeks.


In other news, i'm shopping for a new mouse online for work (With the increase of frequency in blog posts, comes the decline in substance. But hopefully, baby news in the next few days will improve quality. By the way, did you know that it's not proper grammar to begin a sentence with 'Hopefully, …??').

Speaking of contentment with lackluster purchases, this morning the Pookies discussed their frugality, following up on a date night dinner conversation last night at Alder Market Bistro (Did anyone know they have "Half-Price Tuesdays?" We shall continue to know this...).

What else...

Here's a picture of Pookie's 98-year old grandma at Taco Bell!!

Bored meetings

I often grow weary of my profession, longing for employment in a cause I'm passionate about.
I do care about public transportation, especially as oil-conserving and socializing (though now I'm stretching it) tools, but my heart is ultimately driven by the gospel, and engaging culture on the exhaustively biblical level is not something I get to do much at my job.

It is especially during the monthly board meetings I'm obligated to attend, that I get impatient and ungrateful for my job.
(One of the great things about blogging, I've discovered, is the honest introspection that results. "impatient" and "ungrateful" are two words that I hadn't yet stumbled onto until I wrote this.)

It doesn't help to get an email the same day from RZIM offering apologetics curriculum at Oxford.

So here's my question: If I were to indulge my love of bible study and Christian apologetics by attending seminary full-time, what unseen consequences might result? I've heard of evangelistic fires quenched, marriages strained, doubts injected.

Hopefully this is just a season of discontentment, enhanced by my anxiety of an imminent due date.

we'll see...

11:22am on the day and still holding...

Last night after work, the Pookies went shopping and the bored husby took pictures of his wife's belly…

it's a balloon! it's a superball! it's a baby!


…and of himself hiding out in Clinique products


Today, I'm feeling achy (anxiety? sympathy pains?). For one thing, I think I'm coming to grips with the arthritis in my right shoulder that my doctor predicted back in chicago. My back has been aching, too, I guess that's from all the work around the house lately.

It was a sad moment last night when pulling up the covers in bed made my arm ache. just sad. I'm only 33. I hate to think that I will eventually look back on my acrobatic antics and become a voice of caution for young people.

expecting a delivery

tomorrow is the day the doctor told us we could be delivering a baby boy.

at this point, all i can say is that it's unlikely that we'll be early.

new observable behavior in the wifey is nesting, which means bursts of energy at inopportune times to clean surfaces at home while saying things like, "the baby could come at any moment!" she's cute.

she emailed me at work to tell me that the nesting continues as she runs errands, shopping for additional Christmas presents for our family.

i'd like to take this moment to remark how amazing nesting is, this preparatory instinct that shows one more detail of God's design of woman. My female coworker claims she didn't experience this phenomenon, but it's apparently common knowledge, and part of Kaiser's childbirth classes.

I'm not only excited to see my baby boy and raise him at every stage of his life, but I'm constantly comforted by the revelation of God's creativity and purpose along the way.

any day now

The Pookies' due date is November 20th. One week.

When Pookie goes into labor, my first of two 3-week installments of paid paternity leave begins.

The Pookies made the decision recently to curtail our ministries a bit. As with everything else in our lives, we've much to do in too short a time, and we want to be as prepared as possible when our little boy comes home.

Another, more important reason, is that we want to be doing what we do worshipfully and restfully, not rushed or even efficiently. We'd rather do a few things with eye contact and exhalation, than do several things in a blur.

Quality, not quantity.

So Sunday was the last Sunday School we will teach for a couple months or so. I'd just finished 1 Samuel, so instead of going into 2 Samuel 1 and then leaving, I taught on Psalm 103 about God's praiseworthiness. It was fun.

We've also stopped meeting with our friends Tuesdays for prayer and conversation. Although it's always rich, we thought we'd instead spend the evenings preparing a comfortable, restful, and organized home for what will be several weeks confined primarily to it.

Lastly, although we love our church's youth, we have taken hiatus from meeting with them every other Friday.

We'll continue to sing every other Sunday, and I'm continuing my study with the church leaders through MacArthur's book "The Master's Plan for the Church."

We also want to prepare ourselves (along with our homestead) for family worship, that is, a situation with fewer distractions (because things are put away and easily accessible), and habits of prayer, music, and bible study.

I don't want to miss one opportunity to teach my son the joy of Jesus Christ, be it by my demeanor, example, or explicit instruction. We have hope in a Savior, comfort and advocacy in the Holy Spirit, love from a heavenly Father despite the recognition of sin, and a future inheritance.

My thoughts on this day are one of increasing joy of seeing, hearing, nurturing, and raising my son, Isaac Jonathan. His parents love to laugh, and we hope he will, too. Pookie chose "Jonathan" one morning when we sat in on the 1 Samuel Sunday School class when our friend was teaching it. Jonathan was the rightful heir to King Saul's throne, what would be the second king of Israel. He instead recognized God's anointing of David, and not only supported and protected him towards his kingship, but loved him as a friend, above nobility.

Good night.

A Spot of Religious Freedom in Iraq

There's an excellent post by Michael Yon demonstrating an Iraqi situation about as contrary to the Media's portrayal as possible:
Christians and Muslims working together to restore a cross to a Baghdad church, and thanking Americans for their freedom.

Here's an excerpt:

"A Muslim man had invited the American soldiers from "Chosen" Company 2-12 Cavalry to the church, where I videotaped as Muslims and Christians worked and rejoiced at the reopening of St John's, an occasion all viewed as a sign of hope. The Iraqis asked me to convey a message of thanks to the American people. "Thank you, thank you," the people were saying. One man said, "Thank you for peace." Another man, a Muslim, said "All the people, all the people in Iraq, Muslim and Christian, is brother." The men and women were holding bells, and for the first time in memory freedom rang over the ravaged land between two rivers."

The rest of the short piece and beautiful photos can be found here:

Review of Dinesh D'Souza's The Enemy at Home

I recently finished listening to the audiobook of Dinesh D’Souza’s recent work “The Enemy at Home: The Cultural Left and Its Responsibility for 9/11.”
Because I don’t have much time to read but do make time to work out, I thought I’d get through it faster if I listened to it for half hour each day (which is more than I usually get for reading). The problem I noticed, though, and a caveat to those reading this review, is that it’s hard to back up one’s iPod and verify things. In the end, however, this isn’t a formal or complete review, but rather a handful of things I found interesting, and a couple things I took issue with, or at least with what wasn’t included. I recommend much of this book, having learned a good deal. Taking notes and writing this review has also helped me better consider American-Islamic relations.

Summary
D'Souza begins by explaining that he is not accusing the cultural left of intentionally co-organizing the actual attack on the Twin Towers. His premise is that, to the Muslim, the most appalling thing about the United States is not our foreign policy, as many on the left would have it, but rather our defense and propagation of immorality. The reason the U.S. is called “The Great Satan” is because it is the ultimate global tempter, exporting cultural depravity to Islamic countries.
Muslims recognize both the depravity and the allure of the U.S.’s immoral entertainment, and they hold us accountable, aware of the shameless American promotion of immorality that takes hold in Muslim countries despite the depth and influence of Arab traditional morality.
Incidentally, D’Souza remarks, Muslims acknowledge that they, like us, are not immune to western vices, but nonetheless hold to an enforced moral law, even if it’s one the Islamic populace and its leaders fall short of.

Notes
20 years before 9/11, the goal of radical Muslims in the middle east (a term against which D’Souza mildly cautions, as it betrays our geographic ethnocentrism) was to overthrow the “near” enemy, Islamic governments too nominal for radical Islam, and to replace them, as in the successful installment of the Khomeini regime. The death toll during this period, therefore, was primarily Muslim. Because this strategy wasn’t working, and because Arab civilian deaths incited protests in the Muslim community, a then-unknown Ayman al Zawahiri changed tactics to fight the “far” enemy, Israel and America, and soon met Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, who had also changed focus to the far, U.S. enemy. Together, they formed Al Qaeda.

D’Souza cites moderate Islamic scholars to posit that there is less antipathy for the Christian or Jew than for the effectively atheistic cultural left. I found this point in need of more convincing, as I wonder how the Christian crux of Christ’s sonship and deity – blasphemy to Muhammad – is reconcilable with an alliance on traditional morality. How much weight should we attribute to a shared outworking of our religions when ultimately the Muslim is called to fight until the religion is Allah’s (and not of the God of the bible)?

The same point is absent in D’Souza’s closing call to action, as he criticizes the castigation of Islam itself as if it were not culpable in its doctrine.
I believe much of the Qur’an sorely needs to be defused before we skip on ahead with D’Souza’s recommendations. The following is from Surah al-Taubah (9:29ff) of the Qur'an:

Fight those who believe not in Allah nor the Last Day, nor hold that forbidden which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger, nor acknowledge the Religion of Truth, from among the People of the Book, until they pay the Jizyah (poll tax) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.
The Jews call Uzayr (Ezra) a son of God, and the Christians call Christ the Son of God. That is a saying from their mouth; (In this) they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s curse be on them: how they are deluded away from the Truth!

I originally read this in Emir and Ergun Caner’s book More Than A Prophet. These Christian ex-Muslim authors have likely had the most formative influence on my own understanding of Islam, and their book is a wonderfully written and valuable resource.

Christians and conservatives do need help in combating immorality and I’m grateful that D’Souza has brought to light this blight on America’s culture, but D’Souza doesn’t address even the perception of the Qur’an’s volatility. Regardless of how many Muslims don’t follow every letter of their scriptures, there’s nothing preventing an orthodox believer of Islam from choosing subjugation of non-Muslims through dhimmitude and jihad over any collaboration against profanity and immodesty.

Although he is reasoned in his worthy objective of cleansing the culture, D’Souza would’ve built a stronger case if he had made even brief reference to interfaith inhibitors like the Qur’an’s commendation of Christians to the fifth level of hell, especially since his book will be most welcomed by conservatives. While the Christian gospel states that all sinners are deserving of hell, the same gospel of Christ has made provision for all sinners (regardless of particulars) to receive equal access to salvation through the one sacrifice made for all people, Jesus Christ. This is a crucial point for secular audiences who don’t differentiate between evangelical Christianity and Islamicism, and it should be as well for D’Souza.
D’Souza recognizes how inextricably linked Islam is to all aspects of the Muslim’s life. He also recognizes Christianity’s (if not Christ’s) domination of the obedient Christian’s life. To ally for cultural morality gains means aligning irreconcilable beliefs in the very source of our morality, and this, for many a Muslim, is something they will not abide.
It is up to proponents of Islam to open up the Qur’an to free, thorough, and linguistically unhindered dialogue on their scriptures, or neither the Muslim’s interfaith or intrafaith unity will go very deep.

Wisdom from Willard

I listened to a free download of Dallas Willard and thought I'd share two bits of his unique wisdom:

Taking notes (writing things down when you hear them) is equivalent to reading it eight times. Think about that next time you're handed a sermon outline in church.

Love is: The intention to act for the good of the object.
This means that much of what we label love is actually desire.
His example was, "I may say 'I love chocolate cake.' But my intention is not to act for the good of the cake. That's desire."


What problems could be avoided if we ran everything through that filter!

Disaster Relief Training

Thursday evening, the Pookies and Pastor began a weekend of disaster relief training with the Southern Baptist Convention, which has the largest number of trained volunteers, more even than the Red Cross (which has the largest number of volunteers period).
We signed up for Water Purification and Clean-up and Recovery, with training on a front-loader called the Komatsu.

Friday, we got our training on the Komatsu.


Sit, Komatsu, Sit!


Upon hearing about the fires in southern California, I considered volunteering, but we decided that between our busy schedule before the baby arrives, and the chance of an early delivery (Pookie's brother came a month early, and my coworker delivered three weeks early), that we weren't committed to me going. Upon deciding against it, I found out my boss is taking nine business days off in a row starting tomorrow. That helped our decision settle well, though I'm not certain it counts as a sign from the Lord.
I still wish circumstances were more ideal to help, especially since this isn't the kind of thing that should be done only when convenient.

birthday for pookie! birthday for pookie!

b-day for pookie the wife began thusly:

Thursday, Oct. 11 - The Pookies Go to the Symphony

This is the only symphony experience I can recall, and my initial reaction to the strings was one of sublime wonder. I was enraptured, albeit briefly, by the first strains (what an inappropriate-sounding word for violins) but I guess that's also because I rarely pursue such artistic indulgences.
The uncultured and simple side of me thinks it silly that the conductor goes off stage so often only to come right back on. That, and shaking hands and giving hugs to the first chairs. Seems snooty. On this night the solo was by a tubist, or whatever tuba players are called. Very Pookie-appropriate.

Friday, Oct. 12

As we sat in 5:30 traffic, we enjoyed talking about Carol's exhortation that day to slow our daily pace enough to hear God's voice. This is one of a couple truths we have yet to implement that is as elusive as it is simple, the other major one being scheduling one-time tasks for an actual date, rather than just leaving it at the bottom of the pile while we tend only to the new stuff dumped daily onto the top.
We seem to think less of worship when we don't do ministry stuff, and that's our mistake. Props to Carol for her insights.
We listened to the wife's SCBC mix on the way to Ikea (It's so much fun singing "Come to Jesus' together). It was fitting that, since we mainly just returned stuff there, it was the first relaxing and short trip we've made to Ikea.

I recited to my Pookie-kins a poem I wrote on my Blackberry:

My oh my
I testify
to wonders nigh
within my bride.
I always find,
when at my side,
she strengthens my
resolve to try
that which to me doth sanctify
of God, our loving Adonai.
And in His marriage plan from high,
I joyfully with you abide.
Enjoying all your treasures thy
good nature gives in great supply.
You draw from me a love so high
and give so much to just one guy.
The best companion for my life,
I'm thankful for the knot we tied.
Each morning you're an easy sight
on tired eyes
from restless nights.
And evening brings such soft delight
upon your back and arm and thigh.
Each word and song and laugh and sigh
befriends the heart and piques the mind.
Of all won over by your style,
your husby most of all must smile
at merits smartly reconciled
in one so sweet and lacking guile,
one who prefers bamboo to tile.
At home for solely you I'll strive
until that day when he says, "I!"


(The "he" in the last line is our little boy Isaac, due next month, and the "I!" is something Grace joked that he would shriek as shorthand for his name, or just for no reason at all.)


Saturday, Oct. 13

In the evening, we attended Bayside Church's evening service and were impressed with their overview sermon on James.
Towards the end, I felt God reminding me that nothing is accomplished for His glory at SCBC apart from His power. I'd been guilty of a man-centered view of our church's stagnant condition and of my own abilities.

In the end, we were both blessed by the service, though it's good that we don't live closer because we might be tempted towards more comfortable service, and away from a church and city that seem to need us more.


Monday, Oct. 15
We met Sara and Peter for Korean BBQ at our favorite place, Oz, where they let you spin the super fun happy wheel on your birthday!

Deacon

A couple Sundays ago, I began a leaders' study at our church, one initiated and led by our English-speaking pastor. We're reading through John MacArthur's book "The Master's Plan For the Church," in hopes of improving communication between the English-speaking and Chinese congregations. It is also for me a closer look at the office I've been offered, that of deacon. My guess is that I won't want this added responsibility when I'm to make the decision in early '08, and less so the added commitment of time, the handiest example of which is attendance in Sunday meetings.

Nonetheless, I reminded Pookie the Wifey that this study is great for my spiritual growth (and fun, too), largely because of what I'm studying, and not solely dependent on who I'm studying with, which is to say, if we achieve none of the aforementioned goals, it will still have been worthwhile. Independent study as a means to growth is far more enjoyable and effective for me than for her and this point will bear repeating in our marriage.

It's been wonderful seeing the Spirit's work in my sanctification, but it does require that I keep in mind the lack of growth my more biblically experienced wife is experiencing.

Know what you believe and stand by it

I discovered this Mark Steyn article via Gene Edward Veith's Cranach blog.
It's an engaging argument for a national, cohesive and consistent ideology in place of our current mishmash of fraudulent "rights," political correctness, and politicking.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071015/COMMENTARY08/110150014/1012/COMMENTARY

Pray Through Ramadan

For the last couple of weeks, I've been learning and praying through 30daysfire.net's calendar online now for the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Today's entry is worth relaying, and the site is well executed and well worth five minutes of your time.

(The following is excerpted from today's prayer focus: Brunei and Christian Oppression)

"The national constitution states, “The religion of Brunei Darussalam shall be the Muslim religion”. Islamic Shari’a law in Brunei supersedes civil law, and it regulates all aspects of life. Life is difficult for Christians in Brunei. Some have lost their jobs without any notice, while those seeking opportunities for higher education must leave the country to access universities. Evangelism is strictly forbidden, and some Christians have been arrested and detained for planning local outreaches. Expatriate schools must give instruction in Islam to all students and are not allowed to teach Christianity. Recently a foreign English teacher who simply prayed for blessings on a Malay family during the Eid al-Fitr celebrations (at the end of Ramadan) was given 48 hours to leave the country."

Hamlet, Saudi Arabia, and The Dangerous Book For Boys

The other night, the Pookies watched Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet and thoroughly enjoyed Shakespeare.
It was interesting to see how much more I enjoyed it ten years after first seeing it. Back when this was in my movie collection as a copy from laserdisc, I was primarily interested in cinematography, editing, and acting, so Branagh’s long and beautiful steadicam shots always give me a thrill (I know, I know. NERDDDDD!). I also was impressed with Branagh’s long takes because Shakespeare is even more impressive when it’s not cut up.

I’d like to think that it’s a gauge of my maturation, though, that when so many of the movies that were my favorites four or more years ago, have seemingly paled in the light of sanctification. A year ago, I revisited some of my favorite titles through our Netflix subscription, because the films (and movie-renting with even monthly regularity) were new to my wife. But I was surprised to see how much clearer I saw the ugliness of immorality or the decadence of character superficiality. If nothing else, my movies just seemed smaller, less significant.

By contrast, quite soon into the first two and a half (out of four) hours of Kenneth Branagh’s easily accessible 1996 version of Hamlet, the poetic Pookies were relishing Shakespeare’s dialogue with big grins. For the record, I do not consider myself a familiar fan of Shakespeare, formally speaking (I just say “Hoisted by my own petards” a lot).
But the enjoyment I derived from his writing is in keeping with the satisfaction I’ve been receiving from (relatively) wholesome and edifying entertainment.


Before Hamlet, we enjoyed “The Ultimate Gift.”
I had dismissed this title out of hand before our friend recommended it, figuring it was more well meaning than well made, but I was surprised in the beginning by it’s use of G.K. Chesterton and Psalm 116:15, and wished in the end that more movies like it were being made.
It does pull at the heartstrings, but competently so, and one of my favorite scenes was one of bad news.

Next in our queue is “As You Like It.” We’re continuing the Branagh-Shakespeare trend.


The Kingdom
Nothing in global affairs holds my attention more than Islam in world culture. It stems from my love for Jesus and an all-nations overflow of that love, contrasted with Muslims’ convictions that outweigh the hope available to them outside of martyrdom.

So I was eager to see The Kingdom as soon as I saw the trailer. It also helped that Peter Berg was directing, a name I’ve come to respect since seeing The Rundown, of all things, and watching him turn a molehill into a mountain, visually speaking.

Perhaps it’s my age (33) or the kind of person I am (serving at church is my hobby, to give you an idea), but I’ve never experienced more thrilling action on screen.

I mention that both as praise for the film (props to the stunt coordinator and editors), and as a revealer of my latent enthusiasm for vengeance. There’s an awesome highway action scene, where the bad guys try to kill the good guys, and the good guys try to stop the bad guys from killing them and from escaping, and the thrill for me, I noticed, escalated from the visceral excitement of a car crash, to seeing one bad guy get shot, and yearning, almost, for the rest of the bad guys to get killed. It triggered in me enough of a reaction to give me pause at the movie’s last bit of dialogue (and social commentary), instead of dismissing it altogether as simplistic and anti-American. (Once I’m done pausing, however, I’ll most likely dismiss it as such.)

Reflecting on the whirlwind that is The Kingdom, I see a contrast of sinful nature and imputed righteousness in that I could have tears in my eyes watching a jihadist detonate himself at the beginning of the film, and an hour later relish in the battle deaths of similar jihadists.




The Dangerous Book For Boys
By God's mercy, I've avoided developing an interest in video games.
After college, I developed a serious DVD habit, but since being married, even this has diminished to the point where I periodically argue for canceling our Netflix subscription.

So, as we prepare to raise our first child, my wife and I have set our sights on a noble non-video upbringing, and The Dangerous Book for Boys is, I hope, something that will prove a valuable resource in shaping both little Isaac's recreational direction and our own parenting mindset. Theology aside, I want to instill in his mind (and body) good and varied, constructive hobbies, not choices merely in game system and CDs.

The Dangerous Book For Boys is a compendium for all interests. Not all of it interested me, but that's a necessity of it's scope, not to mention what makes it so fun to read—if you don't enjoy the 1-3 page segment you're reading, the topics change quickly and dramatically. My favorites were: The 7 Ancient Wonders of the World (of which I was familiar with only 2), The 7 Modern Wonders of the World, Latin Phrases Every Boy Should Know, Five Knots Every Boy Should Know, Sampling Shakespeare, wrapping a package in brown paper string, and extraordinary stories, from which comes this quote by Robert Scott, expeditionist to Antarctica in 1911, "Make the boy interested in natural history if you can. It is better than games. They encourage it in some schools."

I'm hoping I'll be able to give the book to Isaac, and he'll quickly find something that appeals to him, setting him off on a pattern of constructive interests, keeping derivative digital entertainment at a distance. I may have to give this book to the parents of his contemporaries as well, though, to ensure he's not the lone battery-making, latin-studying, treehouse-building boy on the block.

It is extremely rare that I read (and recommend) a non-theological book, but this one wonderfully champions my new cause, wholesome edification for a much-needed revival in maturity. Play marbles, not Halo.

Up with Down

Joni Eareckson Tada wrote a compelling article in last week's WORLD that is just a little closer to home in light of our imminent Isaac late november.

Among the anxieties of child birthing and rearing is the (admittedly infrequent) worry that our baby will be developmentally disabled.

Though never in my life have i felt so content and confident in the love and sovereignty of God, as well as in His perfect purposes fulfilled in us within the anti-humanistic constraints of child-rearing. i believe joy in servanthood awaits the victor in humility, and few things i imagine humble a parent like raising a child who's difficult through no fault of his own.


Tada writes about a college senior who volunteers to work with disabled children. This senior, Doug, discovered he had a knack and love for Down syndrome kids, so much to the point where he said, "when I get married, I hope that my wife and I will have a child with Down syndrome."

Tada writes that she "chalked it up to youthful idealism" at first, but came to believe him, noting that Doug "observed a special joy in children and adults with Down syndrome, as well as a godliness that strengthened his faith. He could also tell these children blessed the lives of the moms and dads to whom he administered over the years."


The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, however, seem to advocate for a different view. They recommend that all mothers-to-be undergo prenatal testing for Down syndrome. The problem is that over 90 percent of pregnant women given this diagnosis choose to have an abortion.

In response, there are parents traveling across North America to speak to the blessings and advantages of raising a Down syndrome child, among which is the child's aid in bringing a family closer together.

I'm reminded of our premarital counselor who told us that problems in marriage are inevitable, but depending on how you face them (and face them together, not selfishly), you can use them to deepen your love by working through the challenge as a team and seizing upon those humility-enriching experiences. If serving was never difficult, everyone would do it.

I'm also comforted by the fact that a loving God is in control of our offspring, and nothing happens outside of His will. Course, this is exactly the kind of thing that Christians extol and then subsequently regret when they fall into difficult circumstances and have to put their money where their mouth was. But it's easy to imagine a child that loves and daily wins his parents hearts while trying their patience. he is, after all, a child.


Tada closes with this commentary:

"A person with Down syndrome may never understand how to keep up with the Joneses or how to get over his head in debt. He or she may never be clever enough to sneak behind his spouse's back and look for an illicit affair (yes, men and women with Down syndrome do marry, and some of those marriages are honest-to-goodness models to neighbors and friends). They won't be cunning enough to know how to cheat, weave lies, or how to stab a friend in the back."

She closes by citing the ruling by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as a continuation of the societal trend towards discounting the disabled, devaluing people "as things that can be dispensed with, altered, aborted, or euthanized."

From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
--Acts 17:26-27


i generally feel prohibitively timid in praying for the nations of the world, as if i'm putting on airs, and should instead reserve my prayers for the things with which i interact on a daily basis.

This is an excellent way to make yourself the dominant subject of petitions to an everlasting God. It's also an effective way to limit by habit familiarity with God's sovereignty. My prayers are so local most of the time that it seems somewhat hollow when I lift up Richard Dawkins or the Muslim world.

i think i need to vary my prayers more, extend my scope commensurate with the omniscient omnipotent God to whom i pray. and change the topics of conversation with the God i know.

and yet it seems the only time i pray consistently for specific people(s) is when i have a realistic forecast of time to inspire a daily intercession, like a calendar with which i can keep myself accountable.


and it only adds to the posture of humility to lift up a people, a tribe, a sect whose name you're not sure how to pronounce.

modesto, california

Paul Wright at Clix
The Pookies saw Paul tonight and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
Paul Wright, singer, guitarist, freestyler, man of amusing voices… his new album is out, Kingdom Come, and the Pookies will be after it. tomorrow.

goodnight

stockton, california

car on fire today at work.

Parenting as Worship

There is a wonderful blog called "Till It Was All Leavened," and the author's thoughts on theology's place in parenting is worth reading. Here's an excerpt:

(The following is taken from: http://leavened.blogspot.com/2006/11/is-this-parenting-blog.html)


Why so much theology?
Parenting necessarily begs the question of meaning. And if we're too tired from waking up in the middle of the night with the new little one, by the time that little one reaches 2, she or he forces the question: "Why?" For this reason, new parents often become more religious. I use that word to refer to constructing, or ascribing to, a system of meaning. For many parents, it includes going back to mosque, synagogue, or church after a long absence, although that is certainly not the path that all take. Yet every parent has an answer (ill-considered or well-considered) to the question, "What matters most?" It comes out in the way that we live. Like it or not, we live by our values. Our children are often the most astute observers of what matters most to us. They watch us carefully and imitate us vociferously, and so we often see in them little mirrors of ourselves and what we value. So parenting not only begs the question of meaning, it forces the question.

Every person has a way of understanding the world and its meaning, which Lesslie Newbigin calls a "plausibility structure." It is a statement of what we believe about reality, and what is valuable within that reality. The pervasive story in Western culture says that what can be known by scientific inquiry is that which is real, and that what is truly valuable is not intrinsic to reality, but a matter of personal opinion. Some value golf above all, others power and influence, others fame, others family, and so on. But it is without exception that we all value many things, and that there is an order to those values.

So the long answer to "Why so much theology?" is: It is the answer to the question of meaning. God created and sustains all things, and has designed all of human history to display His beauty in mercy, and to bring all things in subjection to Jesus Christ. That is why theology is central to parenting.

A neighborhood cat's view of our new kitchen.

Labor Day Retreat in 106 degree weather

Friday night, August 31st, through Sunday, September 2nd, the pookies spent in the Santa Cruz area, enjoying SCBC's annual retreat in 106 degree heat.

and this is the only photo we took.

D. James Kennedy in the Land of the Living

February 23, 1996 – Evangelism Explosion International becomes the first Christian organization in history to establish its ministry in all 211 nations of the world.

2006 – Nearly five million people profess faith in Jesus Christ through Evangelism Explosion.



The founder of Evangelism Explosion, D. James Kennedy, PhD, died this morning, leaving behind a legacy, of which EE was only a fraction. I've taken the EE course once in Chicago at The Moody Church, two or three times in Stockton at SCBC, and my pastor and I are getting ready to resume EE follow up with visitors to our church.

For those lacking the gift of evangelism, Dr. Kennedy's EE outline and program are an amazing tool for those with a burden for the lost. Thank you, Dr. Kennedy. Thank you, Lord for Dr. Kennedy.



“Now, I know that someday I am going to come to what some people will say is the end of this life. They will probably put me in a box and roll me right down here in front of the church, and some people will gather around, and a few people will cry. But I have told them not to do that because I don’t want them to cry. I want them to begin the service with the Doxology and end with the Hallelujah chorus, because I am not going to be there, and I am not going to be dead. I will be more alive than I have ever been in my life, and I will be looking down upon you poor people who are still in the land of dying and have not yet joined me in the land of the living. And I will be alive forevermore, in greater health and vitality and joy than ever, ever, I or anyone has known before.”

D. James Kennedy, Ph.D.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and do good; And He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Ahh, children

The Pookies sat their first babies on Saturday, experiencing 1-yr old and 2-yr old boys and the feeding, changing, crying, playing, and sleeping entailed therein. We take comfort in what their parents and what our own logic tells us- that our ineffectiveness Saturday night and resultant feeling of helplessness diminishes or disappears with familiarity, and when our little boy is the age of their youngest, we will be more of a comfort to him than we were to other parents' children.

It's especially comforting to know that God does wonderful things within institutions of selflessness. Marriage, for example is an incomparable means to what I call the liberation of servitude, a humility of mind that frees you up to serve your beloved spouse unconditionally. Love keeps no record of wrongs.

Raising children is also a humbling experience. Yet, "Children are a blessing from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward… Blessed is the man who fills his quiver full of them!" (Psalm 127:3,5)

Today Al Mohler commented on the reign of selfishness in the hearts of those who eschew children for self and comfort in the context of Europe's endangered population replacement rates. Mohler shares insights from Azure magazine's Noah Pollack on http://almohler.com/

"The explanation for Europe's turn from reproducing its civilization is, in fact, as simple and self-contained as how children themselves are viewed. People avoid having children not because they are irreligious, lack financial means, fear the possibility of divorce, or carry university degrees. Rather, people do not have children because they do not want them: They find the curtailment of personal freedom and the assumption of the decades-long obligation inherent in parenthood unattractive, and they do not want to accept the basic restructuring of life that having a family requires. This is not a product of objective economic or social factors; rather, it is a subjective judgment about the meaning and purpose of one's life and the civilization in which that life is lived. It is, ultimately, a moral answer to a moral question: The question of the value people ascribe to their own families and their own heritage, in a broader cultural context."

two years, two months - part seven

The Photographer.

We found a wedding photographer who put us at ease when we talked with him on the phone. This was important because he was offering his services free of charge. It would be an off season, after all, and it would build his portfolio.

Come December, however, he failed to check in with us, and even ignored our calls. We know he ignored our calls because anytime we called from a number we'd given him, he wouldn't pick up, and whenever we used an unfamiliar one and he did, upon discovering what the call was about, he'd feign a bad line. He did this twice.
Happily, though, Grace had initially asked Nathan if he would shoot our wedding. He felt unqualified, though, and agreed only to supplement whichever professional photographer we got.

The night before our morning wedding, we realized that Nathan was in fact our only photographer, and we called him as he was en route to LA. Ever a servant, he agreed and had a nice, new camera with which to shoot. So new, in fact, that he was still reading the manual in the car on the way to the church.

Nate took such good pictures of his first wedding, that we consider it a blessing that he was the sole photographer, and that we can commend his talents and humility whenever we recount our wedding story.

two years, two months - part six

Around the beginning of autumn, I brought my car in for a tune-up or something, and the mechanic gave me a list of too many things that were wrong with my car, repairs of which far exceeded the worth of my 11-year old, second owner's low-end Mazda. This would've been a much bigger problem had the mechanic not wanted to sell his daughter's car, and had he not been familiar to and trusted by my dad.

So, with my parents' help, I was soon re-acquainting myself with a manual transmission in a '97 Ford Taurus through the thankfully desolate streets of my neighborhood. In retrospect, I can't think of a better place to learn stick in the city of Chicago than my neighborhood near United Center.

This is worth noting because it was this newly mastered skill that would serve me weeks later in California.

In looking for a job in the Stockton area, a prospective employer in Manteca flew me out in November for an interview. Grace's long-time Stockton friend, Clarence, and his wife, Sandra, graciously put me up and offered me the use of their stick shift car.

I had misgivings about the job I interviewed for, but while there, was able to interview for the job I now have. Kimberly, the wife of another of Grace's long-time Stockton friends, Nathan, worked in Stockton and had a connection to he who would become my future boss. She got word that a good marketing position was open, and I followed it up.

I returned to Chicago and soon ran into the nerve-racking course of decision-making that is being offered a job you don't want in light of another potential one.

Soon, however, time yielded God's will for my employment, and I was offered the position of Marketing Senior Specialist. I had a job waiting for me in Stockton.

Coincidentally, Grace's contracted position with MBI was to end that December and news came that her position would not be renewed. Her leave of employment in Chicago was facilitated at the end of December.

God was continually gracing us with His providence, putting in place the requirements for our new life in California.

The end of the year cumulated with a December 17th wedding in LA, a short 3-day honeymoon drive through Napa, Christmas in Stockton with Grace's family, a return at the end of the month to Chicago for Grace's and my final days at our jobs, Christmas with my family, and a New Year's Eve celebration for those who didn't fly to LA for our wedding.

Our one-way flight to Sacramento airport would bring us into Stockton Sunday, January 8, and my first day of work would be the 9th. Clarence and Sandra graciously agreed to house us for two weeks, and out of God's abundant blessings, Nathan and Kim, found for us a house in a wonderful neighborhood.

Catch up

Sometimes the only time I have to journal is when I have nothing with me but my BlackBerry. This is the delayed accumulation of the best of the past few weeks...



Friday, July 20
In the past year and a half, the most demonstrably excited I’ve gotten was when my friend told me that Alec Baldwin had received Christ as his Savior. It seemed particularly sweet because I naturally assumed that his brother Stephen had led him to Christ. It turned out my friend had actually mistaken Alec for Stephen, but my initial reaction was nonetheless so animated that it even struck me as an unusual outburst of excitement. I’m generally not given to boisterous expression of things that excite and delight me (Grace excels at that trait). I therefore deduced from this that the ultimate passion of my heart, the cause for greatest celebration, is to see people reconciled to God.
Recently, a friend told me that three of our friends in college, solid Christians at the time, have become raging atheists. This shocked me. In fact, it’s rare that I’m this shocked. It stuck with me. I suppose it follows, then, that what would bring me the most excitement would also bring commensurate shock when the formula is reversed.




Tuesday, July 24
Spent most of the day hanging around a video shoot for Allison Transmissions, which will incorporate Bill Nye the Science Guy. I got to take lotsa pictures of buses. This will aid me when I look for material for print ads.


Monday, Aug. 6
At 4am, Pesci’s wailing woke me up, so I went out to give him some assurance. I don’t know what a cat is thinking when he yowls in the middle of the night, but meeting him seemed to turn his wailing into purring. Willie was not far behind, so I visited with my two kitties in the dark of the front hallway. I sat briefly on the floor and enjoyed the sound of dual purring and the feel of cat heads visiting my hands.

I listened to a Ravi Zacharias podcast on Jonah while on the treadmill, and Ravi made the point that when Jonah was heading away from the will of God, he was making the mistake of declaring the Ninevites immoral while forgetting that immorality is always preceded by impiety. We as a nation are wrong morally because we are irreverent in our hearts.

Jonah was asleep in the boat en route to the opposite direction of Nineveh. God said, “Arise!” In the Hebrew, this means, “Wake up!”
When we know what we are doing is wrong, we have to keep moving, lest our morality convict us. Jonah couldn’t afford to stop and give his thoughts pause. He didn’t want to hear God’s voice.
I thought of what a friend once told me about a girl who didn’t like to be alone and left to her own thoughts. We cannot flee our morality. Many of us go on flirting with danger, afraid to stop, lest the consequences, the implications, the doubts catch up to our attempts to outrun them.

My shins have begun to itch once again, and so I must apply flucinonide twice a day. I don’t mind Stockton, but I hate central valley air.

two years, two months - part five

I had decided to propose to grace on her birthday but some time before that, her mom became ill.
Two days before grace’s birthday, on Thursday, October 13th, I was leaving Bible Study Fellowship when she called. As I stood by my bike on the sidewalk outside of the Ravenswood church in which BSF met, she told me that her mom had been diagnosed with colon cancer.
Grace had decided that she would move back to Stockton, California to be with her mom, and I had already told her that I’d follow her anywhere (within what we determined was God’s will), so I had no trouble continuing with my proposal plan.

I suggested we go to Evanston beach and when we had settled on the big rocks there, I asked her to marry me. Grace looked somewhat concerned in her silence. She expressed her desire to marry me, along with her reservations about the timing in regard to her mother’s uncertain future.

Let me state here that marriage is a daunting undertaking when considered soberly in all its implications, even when circumstances are ideal. It is, as the pastor who married us said, “the second most important decision you’ll make in your life.”
But the overriding peace that passes understanding for followers of God’s risen Son gives tremendous confidence to those who acknowledge marriage as God’s plan for refinement of character, and that which brings him glory. It is a transaction between Creator and creature wherein the recipient not only enjoys the gift of wedded bliss but also finds the incentive to use it as a testament to God’s greatness.
It is the confidence that comes from godly submission (humility in marriage informed by humility before the living God) that girded me and freed me to be excited about participating in God’s plan for creatures He designed for relationship.

So we prayed to the author of marriage, the creator of man and woman. In praying about it there on the lakefront, the Holy Spirit gave Grace the peace of mind to say yes. Grace apologized for taking away from an idyllic, uninterrupted marriage proposal, to which I replied that it’s nonetheless ideal because too much confidence in ourselves could hinder a greater prayerful reliance on the Lord.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

We celebrated our decision over Ethiopian food, sharing injeras and beef cubes at Diamond in Edgewater.

One of the extraordinary blessings of our history together is the abundance of godly counsel we had at our disposal, taken as pre-marital counseling. Since time was of the essence, we wanted to marry as soon as possible, rather than on some vague summerish date next year, the way we’d casually discussed when we were carefree and giddy and given to reckless talk of marriage.

We met with our Sunday School pastor, Steve, whose mother had died from cancer. He encouraged us to marry soon and get out to California to be with her as soon as possible.
Our next point of counsel were a couple of professors at Moody Bible Institute. One was Dr. Sauer, our beloved Song of Solomon teacher.

Dr. Sauer said that normally he’d give greater caution against a rushed engagement (After all, we hadn’t had our first fight yet), but he recognized the difference our age and maturity made.

Dr. Sigler, a professor with whom Grace worked on a biblical hermeneutics (interpretation) course, agreed and, knowing Grace well, blessed our decision.

At some point, Grace’s best friend Angie offered a suggestion which would determine the date and location of our wedding. Angie and her husband Dan were in preparations for becoming long-term missionaries to Senegal, and had Grace Community Church in LA booked for December 17th to raise support. After some deliberation and prayer, my parents and we agreed on a morning wedding at what had been Grace’s church when she was at UCLA.

Grace is a caring friend an an exuberant communicator. She cherishes her friendships and it shows. She, unlike me, can talk for hours with friends of like gender, and genuinely prize the unadorned engagement of minds above all other social activity. Her friends are similarly giving of themselves, and they set about doing the various tasks a wedding requires.
We, meanwhile, set about creating invitations (grace has wonderful handwriting… small, but wonderful), recording mix CDs, filling registries, and giving direction for the myriad components of our west coast wedding to come.

A sweet young engaged couple in the college writing class that Grace taught at Moody offered to take our engagement pictures, and we made the most of it, frolicking down Chicago Avenue, eating at Iberico, posing on Magnificent Mile, praying at 4th Presbyterian, dancing at Water Tower Park, climbing a tree by the Lake Shore Drive S-curve, and scampering through the sand at Oak Street Beach.

I stayed late at work scanning childhood photos of us and designing our CD packaging while Grace used the A/V resources at MBI to duplicate our wedding mix and cut the chocolate brown and pink paper (from Paper Source’s yearly warehouse sale) into invitation components.

We worked hard for two months preparing a wedding, looking for work, and packing for California.

awww nuts.

i just dropped my cheese stick on the floor and rolled over it with my chair.

You Are On Our Side

... and everyone on the side of truth…

"You are a king, then!" said Pilate. Jesus answered, "You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." — John 18:37

Bethany Dillon sings a beautiful song called "You Are On Our Side" worth plugging here. Take a read and go find her site.




The orphan clings to Your hand
Singing the song of how he was found
The widow rejoices
For her oppressors are silenced now

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

The runaway falls at Your feet
You are what he has searched for
The rich man is broken
When he stands beneath a sky full of stars

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

You sit at the table with the wounded and the poor
You laugh and share stories with the thief and the whore
When You could just be silent and leave us here to die
Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

Still, You sent Your Son for us
You are on our side

Legacy by Nichole Nordeman

I've been listening to this song for 2 or 3 months now, but it affected me profoundly today.

I count it an incredible privilege that all the trinkets and temporary trappings of this world fall short of the joy of knowing the One from whom I want to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I wish all my friends knew this.

Here's Nichole Nordeman's beautiful rendition of those sentiments...



Legacy

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who
blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile
To make a lengthly list of all that I enjoy
It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile
Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...

Great article by my favorite Democrat commentator...

http://victorhanson.com/articles/hanson071707.html

This is also useful as an introduction to Victor Hanson's site. All his articles are good.

It's a boy! (Trust us)

We found out Monday night from multiple views on the ultrasound, that our little heathen (as Martin Luther referred to his baby) is a boy.

Working title: Isaac

Stay tuned.

Sermon up...

... and it's GOOD!!

wifey got my june sermon to play on her xanga site, so if you want to hear 20 minutes of 1 corinthians, click her. I mean, here

five days in kauai

June 30, 2007

DISCLAIMER: While i try to write in an entertaining way, i am thorough in my histories so as to have detailed reminders the next time i travel or complete memoirs for posterity, etc. Since I am publishing this as a blog, I do strive to make it an enjoyable account and guard against a tedious account whenever possible.

I awoke to the alarm I set for 5:20 am on June 29. Our trusty friend, John accompanied us to the BART station in Pleasanton so he could drive the car back. Our vacation had begun at the end of a busy week of remodelling, and one week after I had gotten run-down and sick from sleeplessness, stress, and sermon preparation. I've still got a phlegmy cough as I write this, on day 9 or 10 of a virus I initially thought was allergies. allergies in stockton at the beginning of summer seem for grace and me like the onset of a cold.
Even after giving my sermon and putting that behind me, sleeping was still restless and crowded out by remodelling errands and discussions. God's grace really does carry us newlyweds - He sent us our competent and confident friend, John to do the work cheaply, thoroughly, efficiently, and graciously. It's been nice having him around as a friend even after five or so weeks. He's low-maintenance and sensitive to his friends.
Our granite countertop contractor seems to be another Godsend (though he happens to follow on the heels of our craigslist wedding photographer debacle (see "the story of us" for details)). God helped us with our decisions as we negotiated the unfamiliar territory of kitchen countertop construction this week by narrowing our choices with smooth progression and unexpected blessings along the way.

Commenting on how God continually blesses our indadequate selves right after a well-timed phone call from our contractor, I described us to grace as bumbling idiots who walk around like video game characters like the modifiable players in Monkey Ball for WII. we make one of two sounds: "bonk" when we bump into things (symbolizing our cluelessness), and "pook" when, well, whenever we feel like (it's usually just our greeting to one another, though)


anyway, a busy week before our departure for the island of kauai (affordable package trip through AMEX) meant no time to prepare before we landed and got to our hotel room. Narrowing down our options and scheduling them was a bit of a hassle, but then, we are on vacation, so i'm thinking it's a bit arrogant to call anything a "hassle."

my brunch on air travel day was a turkey wrap from a place in SFO. it made me sick on the plane and about six hours later at the Hertz office in Kauai's airport, I decided to end my misery by leaning over their toilet and subtracting a meal from the day's history. come to think of it, though, maybe it had red peppers. the red peppers at dominick's in chicago made me vomit on two different occasions. hm.

i believe the woman at the counter upgraded us to a ford fusion, but we ended up paying more for a full tank than we would've if the toyota corolla she initially set us up with didn't have its "maintenance required" light on. at any rate, we depleted the tank driving around the island (if only inefficiently) every day.

our first night, we ate at one of fodor's recommended budget eats, Hamura Saimin, an interesting take on the diner,


off the tourist path, and loved it. order the special, a bowl of noodles, dumplings, fishcake, and egg.



day two: lines on maps are so hard to translate into hours hiking.


we decided on a 6.5 mile hike for our first full day on the island.
however, because of poor estimation, we ended up hiking for about 13 miles. now, we're all about burning calories and indulging our pride, but the problem stood that we hadn't scheduled accordingly, and because we began our trek at 12:40, we hiked the last two or three miles in the dark. i carried a big stick to whack anything furry that might come at us (we both like furry things, but figured anything furry that comes out of the forest at night because of us only wants to eat us).

we started the day off great, though, sleeping in, and having a nice, big, tasty breakfast. we even had some coconut banana pancakes saved for the hike. shoulda started earlier, though. oh, well. live and learn. "bonk… bonk…"

still, the views were spectacular.





we got to our car under a full moon at 8:40 or 9:40, and drove a cruelly long and winding road back to town on an empty stomach, already lowering our standards for restaurants, just hoping that something was open and near.

we've never been so excited to see McDonalds.


day three: the road to becoming a charismatic

i'm not sure i can cite a greater blessing on this trip than the sunday morning service at Kapaa Missionary Church, a stone's throw from our hotel.

more to come...

two years, two months - part four

grace’s birthday is October 15. toward the end of september, my mind was made up that I wanted to marry this woman, and around the beginning of October, I called her mother to ask her permission. She didn’t hesitate to say yes. I must’ve indicated something to the effect of, “well, that was easy.” And her reply was simple and sufficient:

You love God. And you love her.

Oftentimes one of the benefits of being a Christian is short answers.
Grace’s mom simultaneously put me at ease and negated all my marriage proposal financial planning efforts. She had a diamond ring that she wanted me to have.

two years, two months - part three

This wasn’t just any instructor. This was Dr. Ron Sauer, Greek teacher and Bible expositor extraordinaire. After grace’s hype, we signed up and spent the next several summer Sunday evenings at park community church’s rented ballroom space on germania place, learning about king solomon’s design of romantic prose, and God’s design of romantic life. Dr. Sauer has a strong southern accent and a passionate, straightforward teaching style. He also incorporates grammatical terms like “epanadaplosis.” Grace and I quickly acknowledged that we both shared a love for words and she declared us “word nerds.”

It’s a point of pride we share that it was Dr. Sauer’s class on Song of Solomon that helped initiate our true dating period.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Over the summer, we maintained the habit whenever possible of meeting after work and walking to millennium park and chicago’s summerdance series on Michigan avenue. Grace knew east coast swing and I knew salsa dancing from a year or so of classes at latin street dancing on lasalle, so we used what we knew and learned whatever they offered.

It was early in our relationship when I discovered grace’s inventive, tasty, and healthful culinary prowess, as well as her generosity with it. She’d pack me a little dinner for the park and we’d dance and talk the nights away.

Talking has always been easy with grace, and communication has been foundational in our relationship ever since.

I recommend to my male readers that are in relationships that you be intentional in elevating communication to the top of your list of goals. It can easily drop off along with the newness of the relationship. Initiating and nurturing communication is difficult for many men (myself included) yet vital to healthy marriages.

After a few months, we began talking casually about marriage, it was just so easy.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

2yrs2mos – part 2

… Toward the end of our first month of communication (emails and the occasional long phone call), our schedules opened up to allow our first in-person meeting.

Grace worked as instructional designer for the moody bible institute and I was a graphic designer at crain communications, and about halfway between is L’appetito at the bottom of the hancock building. It was there that, on a windy day at the end of april, we would meet for the first time.
It was also the first time I listened to my new iPod mini, which grace would come to call “greenie.” As I walked down Michigan avenue to my date, I listened to five iron frenzy’s “dandelion,” which would become one of “our” songs, if not the one.
I got there early, having bought one yellow tulip for the woman who would become my bride.

We talked easily and at length, and left for sushi a few blocks southwest at Naniwa. Afterwards, I showed her my condo, and drove her home to her condo at clark and touhy. I’d soon come to dislike crossing the Ashlandic distance between us.

Shortly thereafter, grace took me up on my invitation to Rhythm, the smoke-free drum-circle nightclub on Randolph in the west loop gate.
Grace at the time played the djembe in the single adult ministry worship band at the moody church. I knew Rhythm from my associations with Gingarte Capoeira. I recommend this club to anyone.
That night, grace wore what became my favorite cool-weather outfit- chocolate brown pants and camisole, and a pink sweater. These would become our wedding colors.

I soon began attending grace’s church (which, in the summer, meets across the street from Park Community Church). With one foot still at Park Community, I got commissioned to design a church bulletin ad for a Sunday evening bible class on Song of Solomon. When grace learned of this, she noted that the instructor was a colleage at the moody bible institute

i preached a sermon yesterday!

a couple months ago, my pastor gave me the opportunity to preach as the final bit of training he's been giving me, which started a year ago with instruction on how to outline bible passages and present them in a bible study format.

i lost sleep and i got sick, but it all bore fruit yesterday.



my voice often trembles when I sing praise to God

nervous about preaching in a matter of minutes, I was humbled as I trembled before the God that I live and love to exalt.
I noted impromptu as I took the pulpit that it was ironic to feel nervous before preaching since I love the word and that’s what the congregation was there to here. I’m just there to point to the cross (as I did this literally), but pride is such that my body worries about how I’m perceived.

I’ve really been relishing nichole nordeman’s music lately. It’s enrapturing to enjoy Christ-exalting music when I’m (all too infrequently) able to turn off the rest of my thoughts and distractions. I’m actually excited about a number of Christian artists lately: Bethany Dillon, Vicky beeching, and sara groves. If iTunes hadn’t jacked up their prices, I’d be buying a lot more. Such as it is, I’m considering (Heaven help me) BMG.

two years, two months

i began writing the story of the last two years and two months of my life, so that i would have an exhaustive document to which i could refer my friends when they ask questions like, "how's married life?" a lot has happened since i left gingarte capoeira, chicago dance crash, and chicago (in that order), and i wanted to do it justice.

The following is the first installment written a few weeks before the actual date shown (I just pasted it into my blog so it could go live and stop languishing on my desktop). i hope to write the subsequent stages sooner than later, but for now, here's chapter one. I will probably intersperse the occasional thoughts and commentary as well, but will set apart the "two years, two months" by its heading.

journals are important, i've determined. they will prove invaluable when we look back on the times we've forgotten. what helped jump start this was my friend and best man, John, who inspired me with his blog content and habits. he also inspired me to look at The Reagan Diaries, which begins with Ronnie lamenting the fact that he didn't start a diary sooner.

a

It’s 12:36am and I can’t sleep. Not sure what the reason is, but I’ve had trouble sleeping the week before and the week and a half since we returned from vacationing in costa rica.

This is as good a time as any to begin the story of us: pooky and pookie under the grace of God.


March 2005

I love Christian apologetics.
It became attractive to me when I realized that, contrary to secular wisdom, Christianity is wonderfully logical, satisfying the queries of the mind and the heart. My mom, a tremendous influence on my life, shares my interest in defending Christianity, and forwarded me a weblink she knew I’d have time to peruse.

For once, the web ad became the focus, and, thanks be to God for a busy and aesthetically dismal homepage, I went straight to the link that said: christiancafe.com.


The first week was free and answering their questions to create my profile was fun. Nine years of minimal career productivity and maximum downtime had led to this.

I became an addict.

pouring over profiles of women defined my days immediately thereafter, and it wasn’t long before I’d singled out a few to know better.

One of my biggest regrets in life is how insensitive I‘ve been towards women, whether they knew it at the time or not. a single man can justify most anything. Unfortunately, since women are capable of the same thing, the consequences for poor judgment in relationships are rarely subtle. Four dates in one week can be deception if your desire for just friendship is never stated.

i never knew just how different my heart was from the women I’ve met until meeting the woman who became my wife. i flirted, misled, and betrayed throughout friendships and romances. I delayed or omitted verbal truths in favor of vague gestural ones. With an ignorance of the depth of difference between the sexes, i became quite careless quite effortlessly.

In the end, I’ve learned that interaction with the opposite sex requires constant sensitivity and self-control. And just because men are less sensitive and thoughtful doesn’t mean we can employ selective ignorance to justify our behavior.

My advice to women is this: a man who cares for your heart will want to know just how it interprets his behavior, and will not want to mislead it for his own ends.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

That’s something you won’t read in Maxim.

So, back to the spring of 2005, when a young man’s fancy turns to e-dating.

New relationships are exciting and I ended up pursuing three at once. This wasn’t as illicit as it sounds. However, I did resemble a call center at work, receiving emails from three different girls and sending off responses, even to the point of getting a little confused as to what I’d told whom. Ultimately, it was a woman named grace on whom I focused. She quickly revealed herself to be someone who didn’t elicit any change in my communication style, and with whom I became fast friends.

A little backstory. Part of the excitement these courtships brought was a shared love of Jesus Christ and His Word which tells all about Him. For the first time, I was interested in girls who worship Jesus, and our email relationships often produced wonderful little bible studies. I was a kid in a candy store. Understand that I’m sold out to Jesus Christ as my first love, and at this point was also on my way to getting a girlfriend.
Having recently renewed my walk with Christ (that means I stopped remanding God’s salvation for my sinful soul to mere intellectual assent, and embraced the humbling repentance necessary to actually know Jesus’ love), the excitement of e-dating was compounded by a growing spiritual maturity.

I was joyful.