December 1

I hate to say it, but I am SO glad that November is over. This was one of the longest, most hectic months I can remember. It started off well with me becoming an uncle (congrats, Nate and Sarah!) but quickly turned to mourning with the passing of my grandfather a week later. His funeral came just halfway into the month. Days later, my manager and four coworkers were let go, a heavy blow to my already battered sense of stability. The next week brought our son's first birthday and my grandmother's 80th, and finished off with Thanksgiving, all without fanfare. December 1 arrives with great anticipation of peace and hope that we can restore our priorities and regain a sense of normalcy before Christmas and the new year.

EDITOR'S NOTE: After I completed writing exactly what you see above, I opened up our church's daily scripture reading for December 1. The first five verses for today are Romans 5:1-5: "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

Grandpa Griffin

My last post included two pictures each with four generations of my family. I’m glad my brother took the one with my Grandpa Griffin, because Grandpa went to be with the Lord while he slept on Saturday night.

To be perfectly honest, I’m not sure I really believed this day would ever come. Grandpa was always a hard worker, and didn’t know how to quit. He retired before my older brother was born, but retirement didn’t suit him and he un-retired a year later to begin a new career spanning two more decades. Even when we visited as kids, he was up and out the door by dawn. I remember that in his free time, he loved to work with his hands. His masterpieces included (but were not limited to) the house where he and my grandmother lived, a hand-turned wooden lamp that he made for my parents, and a gliding rocking chair we used to play on in his living room.

In 1994, we almost lost him when he suffered a devastating stroke. The doctors did not know if he would live, let alone recover any normal function, but he surprised us. He worked hard at his rehabilitation and while he never quite made it back to 100%, he lived a much better life after his stroke than I would have thought possible. It was a joy afterwards to sit in his living room and throw a ball back and forth with him, knowing that this simple game was a small triumph for his once-strong hands.

Ten years later when my grandmother died, I was again worried that he would not be with us long. He loved her deeply and depended on her care following his stroke. Once again, he surprised us. I think he needed to prove to all of us that he could make it, and he did for five more years. During those five years he saw two of his grandchildren get married and was alive for the births of two great grandchildren. He met my son, who is named after him, on two occasions. I have memories of Easter and his 89th birthday that I will cherish, along with photos to share with Sam as he gets older.

I appreciate that his eyes were always full of life and the wheels were constantly turning. I remember the Rubik’s Cubes, wooden puzzles, and brain teasers he kept on the table next to his recliner and our shared excitement when we would solve one of them after hours of trial and error. His wit was also never lacking. Last week when my mom told him that his second great-grandchild was born with lots of red hair, he told her slyly, “I don’t care much for red hair.” When my mom, also a redhead, pointed out that she too had been born with red hair, he replied with a wink in his voice, “I didn’t care much for it then either.”

I read through Grandpa’s obituary several times this afternoon, still surprised at how much he lived in 89 years, yet profoundly saddened that such a full life could be summarized in less than 300 words. To those words I add all of these, as I remember a man with a sharp mind, skilled hands, unyielding determination, and a deep love and appreciation for his family.

We miss you Grandpa.

Genealogy

Dad's mom's side:
[Photo credit: David]

Dad's dad's side:

The icing on the cake

I watch a lot of Food TV.

In one show, professional cake decorators compete by creating unique, often elaborate designs based on a particular theme. Most of the time they construct their towers out of edible components like cake and crisp rice and marshmallow treats, then cover them with frosting, fondant, or even chocolate and candies to incorporate the theme in their decoration. Sometimes, they are also allowed to use non-edible components, such as Styrofoam blocks or wooden rods, as long as they are still decorated and covered with edible material.

While I enjoy watching these programs, I hardly think of this as useful knowledge, and I certainly didn't expect it to come up last night in Bible study group. We are going through a series by Chuck Colson about the basics of the Christian faith, what they mean, and why that matter now as much as (or more than) ever.

Part of this week's session was a discussion on God's grace and the relationship of "works" to our faith. Two key scriptures are often quoted in reference to works: Ephesians 2:8-10, and James 2:14-18. While these passages are not at odds with one another, they can lead to some confusion. In our study, we were asked to consider the implications of having a life of faith that was void of good works, and whether or not it was possible to do good works without having a life of faith.

In many ways, the relationship between faith and works can be demonstrated in terms of cake decorating. Think first about a cake that is expertly baked, stacked high, and cut to form, but has no frosting on it. The structure is all there, but it is completely unattractive. It is crusty, porous, and after a short time it will begin to dry out. The cake may be delicious, but without any decoration there is nothing about it that draws us to it or makes us want to eat it. Think next of a piece of Styrofoam decorated with beautiful frosting to look like a cake. As good as it looks to everyone on the outside, it is inedible and tasteless. Once you get past the frosting, there is simply nothing there worth consuming. In order to have something truly worthwhile, you need both elements: a delicious cake covered in beautiful frosting.

Our faith in God is like the real cake, the kind you can sink your teeth into. Our works are like the frosting. Without works, our faith in God is not attractive to anyone else. Like a cake without frosting, there is little to draw people to it no matter how good it may be. At the same time, no amount of good works will turn us into a Christian, any more than decorating a Styrofoam block will turn it into a cake. It may fool a lot of people, but it is ultimately useless without faith at the core. It is only when good works are added on top of our genuine faith that people understand what they are seeing is real and come to find something that truly satisfies.

Oh My!

My Beautiful Flower

Therapy (or, "Tell me how you really feel")

Time goes by

It's been another month since my last blog posting. I hope I haven't lost too many of my readers since the previous update.

For once, it is not a lack of activity that has led to my lack of activity. On the contrary, we have been so busy that I simply have not had enough time to sit down and write a coherent post. In the last month, we have:
- celebrated Allie's birthday
- celebrated our third wedding anniversary
- been to two different zoos
- babysat overnight for a sick friend's baby
- been in a parade
- attended a Cubs game in a suite box
- taken Sam swimming for the first time
- learned to use a new photo editing program
- attended Allie's high school reunion
- thrown a baby shower for my sister
...and so on.

As you can see, we've had a ton going on, with plenty more to do in the next few weeks. As always, I'll post more when time allows.

Summertime

World's Cutest Baby

The Green Bean Mistake

Would you like coffee with that?

Our son is an ambitious fellow. He's already begun biting off more than he can chew.

Go Cubs Go!

My brother and I took Sam to his first Cub's game on May 14. They beat the Padres 11-3. Sam is officially on his way to becoming a life-long Cub's fan. Maybe (just maybe) they'll win the Series in his lifetime.






Many thanks to my brother for taking such excellent photos at the game!

Genesis 1:20-28

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.







And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.






Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."

The Great Easter Road Trip

For Easter, we took a trip to Michigan to visit Sam's great-grandparents.

Blast from the past?

We went to the Volo Auto Museum this past weekend. Most of the "museum" is actually a classic car dealership where you can purchase restored and very highly polished vehicles. There was one room, however, which was worth the price of admission.

Waking Up

I (can't) do it myself!

I suppose I don't find it coincidental that my last post was about learning obedience and trusting in God's authority, and now He's challenging Allison and I do to exactly that. We are looking at a couple of big decisions (nobody be scared... it's all good!) but so far we are only at the point where God is giving us a general direction and telling us to get going. We don't know the ending point, and we certainly don't know how we're going to get there. Those are the details of understanding that are important and inconsequential at the same time. They are important because they need to happen, but they do not rely on our understanding. We have to trust that He is already taking care of them.

I appreciated our friend's comment on the last post as well. She said that after asking "Why?" children begin to proclaim "I do it myself!" Those words have already rung true for us. What we're looking at is much bigger than what we can do for ourselves, but I already find myself scheming and conspiring at all hours of the day (and night) about how I plan to make it happen. If this is truly from God, we need to follow as he leads, and continue in obedience to his directions. That's not to say we won't be involved in the process too, and we still need all of the wisdom we can get so we make sound decisions. However, if we strike out to accomplish this on our own, we will ultimately strike out altogether. We can't do it ourselves, and if we did, I'd be worried about where we ended up without God going before us.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

Why?

This evening as I tried unconvincingly to persuade the three-year-old to put on his coat, he repeatedly asked me his new favorite question:

"Why?"

I answered him a few times, but when the line of questioning began to circle back on itself, I ended it by saying, "I'm not going to answer that. You just need to put on your coat."

As I pondered the situation and thought about how I will answer our own child, it occurred to me that it's all about need-to-know. Understanding was not required. Obedience was.

Sometimes that is all that God requires of us. He has His plans and reasons, but like the three-year-old our understanding is limited and unrequired. Ours is to obey and trust that His purpose is good.

My Valentine

Delight!

Mommy and baby had some fun this morning after sleeping in. Even Sam likes the weekends better.

Still alive

I bet both of you thought that I forgot I had a blog. Admit it.

I had lunch with a good friend on Tuesday. He and his wife have a baby girl who was born last summer. When their daughter was about two months old, I asked him what surprised him the most about being a father. His answer was how much attention babies need, going well beyond typical feeding and changing diapers. They know if you're distracted by the TV or phone, and want your undivided attention.

When we had lunch this week, he returned the question to me, now that Sam is nearly 11 weeks old.

My answer is that I was completely unprepared for the drain on my mental capacity. The combination of processing so much new information and consistently sleeping less (and in less healthy fragments) is a potent and dangerous combination. Within a week of Sam's birth I was carrying around a pen and pad of paper 24 hours a day because if I didn't write things down, my brain would not retain even the simplest pieces of information. That worked well for a while, but my thoughts still became disorganized, and bits and pieces were left behind on pages I'd already filled out and crossed off. I have now upgraded my pad of paper to a smartphone so I can literally store all pertinent thoughts, ideas, shopping lists, data, tasks, schedules, phone numbers, addresses, maps, and emergency numbers in a single location, keeping everything organized by type and priority. I can even check my email and facebook. At times I wonder how I ever kept all of that straight, with or without the baby.

Of the many things I took for granted before Sam was born, I miss my mind the most.

One shot

In a weird way, this photo is one of many reasons I love my wife so much. She let me buy the camera more than a year before we had Sam, so I've had plenty of time to practice with it. Sam held this pose just long enough for me to grab my camera, adjust the lens, and take ONE shot before he moved. Because she'd given me time to learn and prepare, it turned out perfectly. Thanks Honey!

Giraffe Sweater