I couldn't resist posting this WPA poster from the Library of Congress after seeing it on another blog. Read about its history here. Then go and read the books you've always meant to read...

Poverty and The Gospel

Milton Vincent:

Like nothing else could ever do, the gospel instills in me a heart for the downcast, the poverty-stricken, and those in need of physical mercies, especially when such persons are of the household of faith.

When I see persons who are materially poor, I instantly feel a kinship with them, for they are physically what I was spiritually when my heart was closed to Christ.

Perhaps some of them are in their condition because of sin, but so was I.

Perhaps they are unkind when I try to help them; but I, too, have been spiteful to God when He has sought to help me.

Perhaps they are thankless and even abuse the kindness I show them, but how many times have I been thankless and used what God has given me to serve selfish ends?

Perhaps a poverty-stricken person will be blessed and changed as a result of some kindness I show them. If so, God be praised for His grace through me. But if the person walks away unchanged by my kindness, then I still rejoice over the opportunity to love as God loves. Perhaps the person will repent in time; but for now, my heart is chastened and made wiser by the tangible depiction of what I myself have done to God on numerous occasions.

The gospel reminds me daily of the spiritual poverty into which I was born and also of the staggering generosity of Christ towards me. Such reminders instill in me both a felt connection to the poor and a desire to show them the same generosity that has been lavished on me. When ministering to the poor with these motivations, I not only preach the gospel to them through word and deed, but I reenact the gospel to my own benefit as well.

- from A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See The Glories of God's Love, pp 38-39

HT: Justin Taylor

Global Warming Today

I found this blog post by Doug Wilson pretty amusing. It is rather odd, isn't it, that an entire world can believe something semi-false just because an "authority" on the matter told them it was so. The money and power that resulted from the global warming theory was really astounding. Even more so was the way people bought into it hook, line, and sinker, purchasing their carbon offsets because they were told to do so. No one ever thought to question where the money might be going and whether it was a truly effective program for climate change. I have long thought that the buying of carbon offsets was something akin to the medieval purchasing of pardons: do something bad (like fly your private jet, as Al Gore and his celebrity minions do), confess that you know it's not the best thing for the environment - but hey, I'm going to make it up for it, okay?! - then purchase your pardon in the form of lots of carbon offsets. I'm not saying don't take care of what God has given. I am personally sad to think that it will take thousands of years for our plastics to biodegrade. At the rate we use and throw away plastics, what will our earth look like even just a hundred years from now? That said, I refuse to buy into a science that was created by a group of people to further their own careers. If people would stop checking their brains at the doors of climate change conferences, we might do more good than harm in helping to solve waste problems around the world.

Just an observation in closing, but this has been a record winter here in Texas. For the first time that we can remember, we had a white Christmas. Then, only two weeks ago, we had a mighty 12.5" snowfall. God does indeed make foolish the wisdom of the world...

Yes, I'm Still Here

It's been awhile, I know. Life is crazy, and I thank you if you still check this blog. I'll try to be more worthy of your time and attention. :) I got interrupted from the visual look back at last year, and then when I wanted to return to it, I thought that so much more had occurred, so much had happened that wasn't caught in pictures. I may continue to post some photos as a look-back, but for now I just want to resume blogging. I do miss it and hope to be more regular.

For starters, I took a break from my emails, essays, and work to check a few blogs I haven't read in awhile. One is Radical Womanhood by Carolyn McCulley, who is, simply, an inspiring woman. In her most recent posts was a link to this story from the Washington Post, which addresses a new technology being used to find brain activity in people who are in a vegetative state. Not surprisingly, people in comas are capable of using their brains even though they often have minimal or no physical activity/function. Ms. McCulley went on to reflect on this amazing story, of a young man who was thrown into a coma after an accident. After four years of loving care from his parents and girlfriend, he has made an amazing recovery. Please read the story, you can't help but be moved and inspired. On their blog, I saw this post which could be one of the best responses to suffering I have ever seen.

Looking Back: 2009

April

Easter

Kathryn hunts for eggs

Main Street Arts Festival

The ducklings are growing

Ellie is born!

(she is actually a couple of weeks old in this picture, if you couldn't already tell) :)

Dad and brothers take a fishing trip to Arkansas

where they visit a fish hatchery

see some nice scenery

and bald eagles, too

run, Parker!

Looking Back: 2009

March

brilliant Texas skies

Parker celebrates a birthday

and Lexi celebrates, too

Ashley and I travel to Orlando for the annual Ligonier conference

signs of spring are everywhere...

Amazing...

is the difference a week can make. You can be blogging one week full of excitement about a new year, looking back fondly at the old, planning new things, reflecting, pondering, saying goodbye to 2009, hello to 2010... and suddenly an uncle dies unexpectedly, you get slammed with the flu, your cat has to have a surgery that's just enough expense that you're searching craigslist for a temporary p/t job, you look forward to getting back to "normal", which includes going back to work (I was really, for once, excited about going back to work!) and then even that suddenly becomes impossible due to the flu, then the uncle's funeral, and then, of all things, an arctic front closes work on the day I was finally able to start back, my online store is suffering from neglect but I haven't had the time or the energy to get it all together again - and yet another friend sees her prayer for a relationship answered while I sit here in my status quo of singleness and wonder all over again, is it me? do I need to find a different job, go to a different church, get out more, meet more people, do more things, pray more, fast more, beg God more, trust Him more?... and at the end of it all, at the close of an emotionally draining, financially-stricken, flu-filled, record-breaking cold weather week, you just have throw yourself on the mercy of God every morning and tell yourself over and over that he is sovereign over life and death, money, jobs, sickness, cold weather, singleness... and then cling to the joy that Christ - he in himself, in his being, in the very essence of who he is - offers to his children.

Remebering 2009

February

we visit the new observation deck at the airport

where we wish that we could simply take the next flight out... :)

esp. on this airline, just coming in from London

Landon celebrates a birthday, then Trent celebrates a week later

a little cousin comes to visit while his parents pick up new baby sister, and we make a trip to the zoo

where Kathryn takes in some parrots, who do some observing of their own

Kathryn at 14 mos.

we celebrate the visit of a newborn cousin

Spring-like weather produces blooming flowers

flowing waters

and happy ducks

Remembering 2009: January

A pictorial look back at our year...

January
on a trip down south, we made a run through Austin where we drove past (but did not stop) at the Capitol

and where we drove past (and stopped) at Hey Cupcake!
yes, that's an Airstream in a parking lot on Congress. Only in Austin...

we then ended up in San Antonio

where we attended a film festival

and ate the world's best mole

at this restaurant

(which we visit on every trip to San Antonio)

Kathryn at 13 mos.

creatures flying,

swimming,
and all-around-nuisances!