THIS is a blatant copycat post

When my brother, Capt. Wordy, posted his last blog entry, I was overcome by a sense of deja vu. Knowing that I'd seen the scene before, I went to my old photograph collection (the ones that were printed from APS film) and found similar photographs from a trip to Portland in 2003.


I imagine that this one was taken from nearly the same outlook, but facing in the opposite direction. I also had a nighttime photograph of the skyline, but it was entirely blurred, and not worth posting here. Kudos to Capt. Wordy for getting a much better picture than I did.

Happy Birthday, Allie!

I love my wife!

The audacity

On my drive to work this morning, I followed a Mercedes SUV with a simple bumper sticker that read, "Got Hope?"

Initially, I believed that this person was advertising their faith, reminiscent of the old "Got Milk?" marketing campaign. I usually try not to respond to bumper stickers, but my heart warmed at the thought of seeing another believer subtly voicing their faith in a meaningful way.

Then I read the fine print.

The bumper sticker was not intended to inspire thoughts of God, but of a presidential candidate. I felt deeply wounded and shaken, then... sorrowful. Political leaders are usually fallible. Hope, here, is misplaced. The best (or worst) president only holds power for eight years, usually with their hands tied by opposing parties, lobbies, and campaigns for reelection. Public opinion can turn in an instant when our expectations go unfulfilled, and hope is left unsatisfied.

Is there any wonder why Jesus resisted being made king by force? He was bringing about the one thing that was truly worth hoping for, and couldn't be swept off course for man's own purposes and definitions.

Real hope is only found in him, the true hope of all nations.

What's in a name?

I think the whole concept of baby names is ludicrous.

Don't get me wrong, baby names can be fun to think about. A Google search of "baby names" yields about 16 million results, including name generators, dictionaries of names in every language, and forums for parents to solicit naming advice. I'm perfectly fine with all of that, and appreciate some of those resources.

The problem is that babies don't remain babies, and baby names don't remain baby names.

I realize that I'm playing semantics here (pun intended), but baby names eventually become toddler names, which in turn become child names, and those grow up to become teenager names, adult names, and with enough passage of time, senior citizen names. Sooner, rather than later, we hope that our children's names will also be recorded in the Book of Life.

That's a lot of pressure for finding just the right name.

The Biblical tradition of naming is an interesting study, as children were often given names according to the circumstances of their birth. This was good news for Asher, but not so much for Jabez, as these names served as constant reminders throughout life of how they were received into the world.

Then there are cases where the Lord renamed people to identify new purposes for their lives. (See Jacob/Israel and Simon/Peter.)

There is also the less-documented, self-imposed name change of Saul/Paul, who seems to have changed his name for the sake of better evangelizing the Gentiles.

Even Jesus was given his name to describe his life's work.

All of this, however, is visible in hindsight. These names and name changes were divinely inspired knowing that the name-bearer would prove it to God's glory. How am I supposed to name our child without knowing the type of person he will become? How can I know which virtues he will embody when we haven't been formally introduced?

Shel Silverstein told the tale of "A Boy Named Sue," about a young man whose father gave him a name guaranteed to build strength and character. While the story is farcical, I believe that's similar to what all fathers want for their children: a name of depth, strength, character, and rich tradition. It should be something they grow into and from which they take all of the best qualities. The name does not guarantee those traits, but it can certainly help them along that path.

As for our son, Allison and I like the name Samuel Griffin. It is a name of great Biblical and familial significance. We dearly hope that he will take on all of the finest characteristics of his namesakes.

Christmas in July

Isaiah 9: 2, 6-7
The people walking in darkness
     have seen a great light;
     on those living in the land of the shadow of death
     a light has dawned.
For to us a child is born,
     to us a son is given,
     and the government will be on his shoulders.
     And he will be called
     Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
     Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of his government and peace
     there will be no end.
     He will reign on David's throne
     and over his kingdom,
     establishing and upholding it
     with justice and righteousness
     from that time on and forever.
     The zeal of the LORD Almighty
     will accomplish this.

This passage illustrates one of the main reasons why I chose the title of my blog, Live in Contrast. The "land of the shadow of death" can also be rendered the "land of darkness." Contrast is the difference between darkness and light, between sin and redemption.

Imagine walking in darkness with no end, and suddenly seeing light approaching over the horizon! I take this very personally, because I remember working the late shift (4:30pm until 3:00am) for six months after college, seeing at most an hour of sunlight every day that was quickly absorbed by the night. Every day of my existence literally began as light was fading and ended with the coldness of a Chicago winter in the dead of night. It was depressing and despairing. It was after nearly five months of this that I began to understand the words of the Christmas song, Oh! Holy Night:

The thrill of hope!
A weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks
A new and glorious morn!

The contrast between darkness and light, despair and hope, cannot be displayed any better than when the darkness of night is pierced by the rising of the sun at dawn. Seeing and feeling the daylight breaking was the most wonderful thing in the world to me after months of living in darkness. Out of darkness, light was entering the world! Out of sin, new hope appeared!

How great is our God, who conceived of all of this and sent light into a darkened world!

It's a boy!

...and we have the images to prove it!

The doctor told us that she's "95% sure" that we're having a boy based on the images, so we could still get a surprise. Apparently our child was a little too modest (or camera shy) and didn't entirely cooperate. I suppose we'll have to get used to that. Both Allie and I see fairly convincing evidence that it's a boy, and you can judge for yourself in the first picture above.

More importantly, the baby looks good and healthy now just past the halfway point. The doctor went through a checklist and showed us that everything seems to be developing normally. She also said that based on our son's size, his due date may be as early as November 13, a week ahead of the original estimate of November 19. At the same time, she told us that first children tend to arrive late, so we may have a very big boy when he is born!

Independence Day - Part I

Allie and I had a great Independence Day weekend in Michigan visiting with my extended family. After much consideration (and several blog drafts), I've decided that there's just too much to say in this space. I have many good memories, and a few good photos. Since it would take too long to share all of my memories, I'll just share the photos.

This first section will concentrate on our fireworks celebration.

Independence Day - Part II

The rest of our weekend was spent enjoying the company of family, including my cousin's Basset Hounds, Sadie and Zoe. Don't blame the photographer if the dogs happen to be photogenic.

Grandpa's Tractor

I'll try to post an update on our Independence Day trip to Michigan soon. In the meantime, you can view some of the pictures on my photos page.

Groundbreaking

About two weeks ago, our pastor exhorted everyone in the congregation to read the Bible.

This is not terribly groundbreaking, but like most people in our church, I knew I should be reading the Bible but didn't do it nearly often enough. One way or another, I had become jaded. Growing up in church, I had become familiar with the stories. Going back to at least high school, and through college, I had read through the Bible several times independently or with groups. After a while it began to seem repetitive, and even with the best intentions I could not keep up with any serious commitment to maintain a daily devotion. I have a good memory, and in my own wisdom I reasoned that if the Bible never changed, then surely I'd heard it all before.

Taking our pastor to be a man of greater wisdom than myself, I began going through the reading plan he outlined. (It's probably the best reading plan I've ever used. See the "Life Journal" link to the right for more details.) This morning, while reading through a passage of 2 Chronicles, God opened my eyes to a wonderful kernel of truth:

God's word is unchanging, but we are not.

We have to keep reading the Bible and studying it because we change throughout life. The last time I read most of these passages I was probably in high school or college. Now I am married and looking forward to the birth of our first child. My frame of reference is completely different. The things that I gleaned from the Bible as a teenage boy are not the same as what I see as a father-to-be, and I'm certain that as my children grow and I reach retirement, the things that are important to me will be radically different yet again. Even if my core beliefs are the same, I am not. The world keeps changing and I keep changing, so every time I open the Bible, its going to impact me in a different way- not because it is different, but because I am different than last time. It must be an anchor, reminding me that Jesus is our firm foundation, unchanging and unshakable, and able to reshape and refine me through all of life's changes.