So what's a mere month?

Ok, so now it's been four months.
Just thought I'd sneak a comment in here before the new year.
I went spinning off the highway this morning on the way to work in Sturgeon Bay. Thank God I was not hurt and the truck was undamaged.

Catch you later...

Yipes, it's been a whole month!

Image by the LOCAL via Flickr

I'd better write something today before September rolls in. I've been so busy with keeping busy that I haven't taken any time to write. And there is always so much to write about that I can't think of anything to say (?)! You know what I mean...

So my son Josh has sold another t-shirt slogan! That makes 3 in 5 months and 1200 dollars in his pocket! If he can keep making money like that sitting in a chair, my poor back will have something to say to this old man. I am very proud of him! Oh, you want the slogan? "If your pants are on fire, being a liar doesn't seem so important." I may not have that exactly right, but you get the idea. Go to www.threadless.com and check out 'puppetmeat' to see his previously printed ideas.

Victoria is off for the weekend at her boyfriend's parents' farm. She met Jeremy's Mom before but just met his Dad last night. She said that he was drawn to her like a bee to honey (and he used to raise bees!); and I said, of course! She is quite the girl, and she has finally met the guy who just may (barely) deserve her. He treats her well.

We are all looking forward to Noah's coming home for the weekend, but it looks like that will be next weekend. Everyone misses the young man, but it should work out better next week for a lot of reasons.

While I'm on the subject...

Image by cafemama via Flickr

So many dish washing memories are coming to the surface.

When I was a kid (number 6 out of 8) there were always a lot of dishes to wash, and we each had to take our turn being in charge of that chore. It seems that the one around 10 years old was responsible for the task, and of course, there always was someone around that age.
I kind of think that I probably got really gypped by this system. When I was 10, there were still 4 or 5 older siblings in the house, and two younger ones! By the time Barb (the youngest) was 10, who was around to make dirty dishes? Not too many!
The up side to that problem was that I got to practice my engineering skills to the max. Let me tell you, the dish drainer did NOT look like the picture here! 10 place settings plus all of those serving bowls and pots and pans? It was a veritable mountain of delicately balanced trip wires. With a well thought out foundation of plates and bowls, one could achieve quite the megalith. Pity the poor kid who was assigned to disassemble the monstrosity, though he could use this training to be on the bomb squad!

Once that intricate pile was established, however; I found it to be a great place to send in the troops. Dozens of my little green army men could find refuge in there, scouting and taking aim over the low country of the mesa (table) far below. They were perfectly safe in there until some uncaring troll of a sibling came along and reduced their sanctuary to orderly stacks of plates and bowls!

Ah, the good ol' days!

Ok, the coast is clear...

Image by eiratansey via Flickr

Did I say that I love to wash dishes? I did. So now I'll have to explain.

I like any job that lets me take it from chaos to order, from messy to neat, or from dirty to clean. There's just so much satisfaction in such a process! Washing dishes (by hand of course) is the prime example. The used dishes are a dirty, disorderly pile of germs and useless clutter, but within short order can be transformed into a ready stack of practical, hygienic utensils.

The real value in all of this for me is the analogy potential. I think about washing, and what it means, and what it means for me. Washing, according to merriam-webster(definition 6a in the link below), is separating.

http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wash

When I apply soap and water to a dirty plate the stuck on foodstuff gets separated, and goes down the drain. So as I wash, I think about how Christ separates my sin from my spirit! It is said that we are 'washed in the blood'. My first thought there has always been 'yuck!'. Wouldn't all that blood just make you stained red? And that's not very clean. But when an ore is 'washed' in a chemical bath the valued mineral is separated out while the washing agent flows away with the waste.
The same holds true for we who submit to being 'washed in the blood'. It is only the shed blood of the sinless Savior that has the capacity to separate the dirt of my sin from the image of God created in me. The blood doesn't just pour over me and soak me till I'm stained red; it does a separating, and thus saving, work in me that makes me new and prepared to go into God's presence.
So yeah. I like to wash dishes. But I would also like you to wash the dishes!

Here she comes.

Image via Wikipedia

more later...

Don't tell my wife!

But I love washing dishes!

ASKIMANYTHING: Number One

Image via Wikipedia

OK, question. IF REAL magic/sorcery existed... Could it, would it "save" the world? No more hunger, no more genecide, no more misery?

No, this question wasn't directly directed to me, but I thought I'd steal it and attempt a good answer. My nephew posed it on Facebook and most of the answers were some form of 'NO'.

My answer also was no, and I will explain.
First of all I would define 'real magic/sorcery'. The real part simply separates out the fictional. And if this question was inspired by the latest Harry Potter movie, then we all know what that's about. Mysterious powers using mind over matter; telekinesis, levitation, transmogrification (to borrow a term from Calvin and Hobbes), etc. We might enjoy seeing it portrayed with special effects technology in the movies, but then there are still claims of genuine sorcery out there. But how can it be? Where does it come from?

Even fictional magic must have an explanation behind it. Usually, however, the answers referred to in the books and movies are about the same as the ones given in real life: vague and mysterious. The 'underworld' or the 'dark side of the force' seem to get a lot of credit. The word occult itself means hidden doesn't it? So the mystery itself, it would seem, is intentional.

In my view, we live in a supernatural world. It was created by a being, God, who is above and beyond our everyday, 'natural' world. In fact, there is no ultimate 'natural' explanation for our existence or that of the solid objects around us other than that we and they were created 'ex nihilo', out of nothing, by a super (above) natural God. For that to happen, then, there must be some type of 'magic' or 'sorcery' if we define these as the ability to interfere with, or interrupt, the natural, physical laws we find so otherwise resolute. These powers are safe in God's hands.

When God intervenes in our world, it is always for our good, and usually in answer to a prayer made according to His preexisting good will. So if we see evidence of some good outcome where only bad was expected, or even already established, we call that a miracle, and we give God the positive credit. We don't call that magic, or sorcery, because it was God acting like Himself.

Magic can be defined as man's attempt at imposing a godlike power on a situation or circumstance but without the agreement or support of God. Rebellion against God, refusing to obey His simple instructions for our own good, is one thing. Usurping His authority and trying to control nature as if one were God, is quite another step down that dangerous road.

So what follows when a man tries to impose a supernatural effect where it doesn't belong? Bad things only can result. Just as when man attempts to impose an ungodly order on society through politics or tyranny, or when a man uses violence to take what he wants from his neighbor or wife, the sorcerer who hopes to overcome God's order with some form of 'power' will only end up producing suffering and calamity.