ME FIRST

Back in the 90's our country had a president who illustrated the complexity of human nature. Everyone loved his charming ways, but no one would leave a teenage niece in his care.  It seemed the man's life was segmented like an egg carton...and none of the cups touched.  He had a section named "outside women" which hardly meshed with the cup named "wife".  Plus he had a cup called "whoppers" (no connection to Burger King) and a lucrative cup called "money talks". 

 

I guess you could say our former President just put himself first.  But before we can pick up the first stone, remember that the folks who accepted his naughty behavior in order for them to prosper financially have similar egg cartons.  It's as though people have coasted through consequence-free living until they no longer factor in any accountability.  We say that the president's personal life was his business and had no relationship to our lives.  Au, contraire'.  We are down the road now from the 90's and already we see how a generation of teens has been corrupted by making oral sex commonplace.  He stained marriage.  And he "put us in bed" with the Saudis and Chinese and whoever bought him to gain favor in government.  That all sounds pretty unsavory.  

But what is really scarey is that the 90's may just be a pre-shadowing of today's big act.  Do you sense that now we have a president who again is putting himself first?  But this time, the moral weakness has a different face.  Our current president seems to put himself first for power.  The little boy that life tossed around, left helpless and without control or acceptance, has found a fountain of power.  Even America's stage may not be large enough for him.  

So we ask again...how does that affect us?  Well, I read in Mark Driscoll's blog that Mr. Driscoll sees people having two great needs.  First, people know they have spent beyond their means, and they want help getting out.  Secondly, they want to know they are safe from terrorists.  So bottom line, they need an economic savior and a protector.  I couldn't see how Driscoll's second point about keeping us safe fit the present administration until just recently. Candidate Obama didn't meet MY security needs.  But now I see.  President Obama is 180 degrees from Candidate Obama.  Now he is sending troops into Afghanistan and changing his stance on Gitmo.  He's becoming a protector.

And the first point about economic salvation?  That's easy.  If he BREAKS us economically (how hard is that to believe?) and then FIXES us, can you just see people fawning over him? What does your 401k look like?  Remember President Clinton got a pass by providing people financial security.  What a savior Mr. Obama could be!  

So if President Clinton's egg carton separated the areas of his life, what word comes to mind describing a person's egg cups that mesh?  INTEGRITY!  Does President Obama have integrity?

Well, he appears to be a happy family man.  That's good.  So what moral corruption of Mr. Obama's could outrun the former president's corruption?  Abortion.  When our president was in the Illinois Senate, he voted to not come to the aid of a child born when an abortion went south.  That is inexplicable.  A nurse in the Chicago area who helplessly held a baby until it died (as a result of that legislation) has become an outspoken pro-life advocate.  President Obama also voted as a U.S. Senator against parental notification for abortions and for the awful Partial Birth Abortion. But what haunts me are the evil changes our president made on day two of his administration to allow taxpayer money to be spent on abortions around the world.  Am I a taxpayer?  Does that make me complicit?

God save us from ourselves.

"Woe to those who call good evil, and evil good."  Isaiah 5:20

 

       

HOME SWEET HOME

The Cruses will officially give up their homeless status when we close on this house next Monday.  In July, please send all letters to us at 5662 Double Tree Drive, Fayetteville, AR 72704.

Double Tree is the subdivision that we fell in love with and bought a lot last year.  It is in the country and we love the space and the birds and big trees.  Double Tree is just 3 miles from I540 and a little more than a mile from the kids.  We ended up deciding against building on the lot because it would take nine months and two moves.  This place will be "ours" when we paint, lay hardwoods, put new carpet, granite, change windows/doors, new appliances, light fixture and doorknobs.  Yes, she's a fixer-upper and all our new best friends are our subs.

When the dust settles, you can help us by calling to reserve your room for a ballgame or just a weekend visit.  We have two BR's down; the two BR's up have their own private bath.  I couldn't resist sending a "before" picture of the guest room (above).  Benjamin Moore called that shade "Pink Eraser", but Mike called it something else.  

By the way, my husband is committed to our move...but his personality is also strongly loyal and sentimental.  These days the flux makes him feel like he's had a "roots" canal.  I catch him playing Melancholy Delight and that's just because he's missing friends that we haven't even left yet.  So please come see us!  

When you turn onto I540 down at Alma, it's just 45 miles up to Exit 65 (Porter Street exit) in Fayetteville.  Come west out Mount Comfort Road 2.9 miles to the subdivision Double Tree on the left.  We are the second house on the right.

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I confidently trust."  Psalm 91:2

AWWW...THANKS, YALL!!!

Mike and I have said many times that we have NEVER lived in such an intentionally relational neighborhood.  The people on Wellington Colony Drive look out for one another and show their love easily.  We were the beneficiaries of that affection this afternoon as the Costolos opened their home for folks to drop in and wish us well before we move.  Apparently if you agree to leave, they will throw a party and give you gifts. Kidding aside, we felt very loved on.  Where will we find another neighborhood like this?

Here are some of the special people that we will miss a lot.  Our hope is that they will take us up on our offer of our B/B in Fayetteville (just as soon as we FIND it).   

Hosts Mark and Raebeth Costolo are in the first picture...the first/second person (L to R).

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you."  Philippians 1:3  

OH BEAUTIFUL, FOR PATRIOT'S DREAM

In the middle of the night last night, the thunder waked me and I began to think of the cannons of the American Revolution.  The cannons came to mind because Mike and I have just finished watching an HBO rental, John Adams starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney.  It was a wonderful love story that depicted John and Abigail Adams, a loving couple who combined their gifting for 54 years.  The series of seven sessions was rich in portraying not only Adams, but the other framers of our Constitution, Jefferson, Washington and a delightful Franklin played by Tom Wilkinson.  It was wonderful to see the passion that those men had as they were given a vision for our country.  Most people know that they soberly signed their names on the Declaration of Independence because it was to be a death sentence if the war had not been won.

When I started dating Mike (and making my mind up about him) back in the late 60's, he had blue eyes and black hair and a yellow Delmont Oldsmobile.  And on the front of that car was a license plate that embarrassed me.  It said "America the Beautiful, Love it or Leave It".  It wasn't that I disagreed philosophically with the statement, but it seemed to me that there was something show-off about being an uber-patriot.  Boy, that plate would put a bullseye on the old Delmont now, wouldn't it?

What makes a patriot?  As we watched John Adams, that thought was on my mind a lot.  I loved how honestly these framers were shown in all their human frailty.  Adams was completely convinced of his beliefs to the point of being socially abrasive.  Washington's humility defined him.  Benjamin Franklin was saucy as he deftly "worked" his image with the French.  It was neat that although Jefferson and Adams were patriots with differing political party expressions of their love of country...they clashed politically and hurt one another deeply...but came back together in reconciliation toward the end of their lives because of their deep admiration for one another.  You may remember that when our nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of her birth on July 4th, 1826, the last surviving signers, Jefferson and Adams, passed away within hours of one another.

I wish everyone could see such living history about the beginnings of our country.  Do people have a full appreciation for what has been given us if they do not know about it?  I learned a lot about how those early patriots shed blood for what has been handed to you and I.  And now we have come full circle.  Forrest Gump would say our liberty is biting us in the buttocks. America began as a sparkling jewel that shined throughout the world brighter than anything man could dream before or since...but now has been pulled and pushed and gouged by men's ambition for power and position and greed until freedom has morphed into a disfiguration of our blessing.

Mike and I are big movie people.  Last week we stood in line to buy tickets to the new Russell Crowe flick.  I struck up a conversation with two ladies in line in front of us and asked what they were going to see.  "Obsessed", they replied.  That was a new one to me!  Now I find that it is a black Fatal Attraction-type movie starring Beyonce.  That made me wonder if the ladies would ever go to see John Adams and where their view of patriotism had been formed.  Had they dismissed the founding fathers because they were from another culture?  Doesn't appreciation develop after understanding?  Our country is increasingly divided on parallel tracks today into two Americas.  Was that the original intent?  Think with me of the last verse of "America the Beautiful"...

Oh, beautiful, for patriot dream that sees beyond the years

Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears!

America!  America!  God mend thine every flaw

Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law.

Yes, Lord, and start with ME!

"I will refine them and test them."  Jeremiah 9:6

EASTER GLORY

If you were in Little Rock on Easter Sunday, you know that it showered most of the day. Well, the Lord graciously showered our family with blessings because we had a full house for Easter 09!  How great to have three little new lives under five years old.  Somehow in the flurry, we didn't get a picture of everyone together.  But after they all left, Mimi slipped down into a tub of hot water and a sprig of bright green Easter grass floated to the surface.  That brought a satisfied smile across her face.

Even though rain caused an indoor Easter egg hunt, no one seemed to mind.  Monday was still raining and so a trip to the favorite Wonder Place seemed just the thing.

Hooray for the sun on Tuesday!  The Saferites had gone home and Papa took the Cruses out to the country to fish and shoot and catch tadpoles and ride four wheelers.  Probably all those things were firsts for the little New York City girls.  You can see the delight in their faces. Hanna (3) was very adventurous and wanted to try everything for herself; Caroline (2) was not so sure.  As Hanna walked along the path to the lake carrying her fishing pole, her comment was priceless:  "Hey, this is just like Andy Griffith!"

There's a movie at the end to close our Easter show 'n tell (please scroll down and click on last picture).

 

A NAPKIN BY ANY OTHER NAME

Are you familiar with the Hebrew word "tallit" (pronounced "ta leet")? The tallit is a garment that God designed; the man on the left is wearing a tallit on his head.  Also translated "covering" or "scarf" or "napkin"...Jewish men were told by God through Moses (Numbers 15:37) to wear this prayer shawl forever.  This directive was given as Israel was brought out of Egypt and the Lord was trying to get Egypt out of them.  The rectangular "napkin" stretches out like a tent across the head or shoulders.  Just as the Lord was specific about every detail of His tabernacle, the tallit was made to specifications (color/number of tassels in the fringe/etc.).  Those symbols represented aspects of God's law and His name.  Everytime a Jewish man put on his tallit, he kissed the corners and that reminded him to love and obey God.

The man pictured may raise his tallit to cover his head when he is praying.  That would be in keeping with what Jesus said to his disciples (Matthew 6:6) about going into their closet to pray.  Although they perhaps were gathered in a large group, when they raised their tallit (as nowdays you might observe at the Wailing Wall), they were each in a private prayer chamber.

In the story of Balaam (the hired gun prophet who was brought in to curse Israel), Balaam looks down and says "how beautiful are thy tabernacles".  Since there was only one tabernacle, what did Balaam mean?  Perhaps as he looked down and saw 10,000 Israelites in their "portable tents/tabernacles" on the plain of Moab, it was beautiful to him.  God had made it supernaturally impossible to curse them.  And this portable tabernacle remains a tradition for every Jewish man today.

Can we assume that Jesus wore a tallit?  Yes.  In John 8:46 Jesus had been challenged about the way He taught God's words.  He asked them "which one of you convicts Me of sin?"  In other words, has Jesus demonstrated faithlessness in keeping the law?  None responded because Jesus was "kosher" in His adherence to the traditional Jewish faith.  He kept all the laws and that would have included wearing a tallit.

There are several instances where Scripture mentions a tallit.  It was a dramatic contact point in Jesus' healing ministry.  The woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garmet (Mark 5:25) actually touched the fringe of His tallit.  The little girl that Jesus raised from the dead was covered by His tallit and then when He said "Tabitha, arise", in Hebrew that actually was "little girl (covered by the tallit) arise".  The little girl sat up by virtue of what passed from Jesus through the tallit to her.  The prayer shawl was such a personal item, Jewish men were also buried with their tallit.  In John 11:44 Lazareth was said to be wrapped in his napkin when Jesus called him out of the tomb.

Jesus would have been buried in His tallit (napkin), also.  John 20:7 says "but the burial napkin which had been around Jesus' head was not lying with the other linen cloths, but was still 'rolled up, wrapped round and around' in a place by itself".  Jesus was leaving a message that he knew would click with the Jewish disciples.  He knew their first thought would be that the Romans had stolen the Lord's body.  But the folded napkin contradicted that because dead men do not fold their tallits.  They knew he had been dead three days and therefore was not in a hurry if he had stopped to fold his tallit.  By leaving his prayer shawl folded, he was saying to them that he would return.

Of course He DID return.  And one day, He will return again for His church.  That day He will not come to New York City, but to Jerusalem riding a white horse...with His tallit across His shoulders.  Jesus had Jewish parents, was raised as a Jew, lived and worshipped and died as a Jew, and one day Scripture says Jesus will return as a Jew with a name on his thigh (Revelation 19:16).  People have long wondered how a name could be written on his thigh.  Surely if it were something like a tattoo, it would be covered up by his tunic.  But remember that as He sits astride the white horse, the tallit would be draped across His thigh.  And the tassels of the tallit spell out the name JEHOVAH. 

"I let myself be seen by Abraham, Issac, and Jacob as God, the ruler of all (El Shaddai); but they had no knowledge of my name Yahweh (Jehovah)."  Exodus 6:3 

CAN YOU HEAR THE FAT LADY?

I was in a Bible study once with a girl we'll call Linda.  Linda had a mild interest in the study and most of her theology was opinion. When it came time to look up a proof text in Revelation, she protested "no one really understands that book...and the ones who try, get all out of balance and go off the deep end".  Gee.  How would you evaluate my friend's statement?  She was sorta right.  There ARE some folks who get Scripture outta whack and concentrate on the future to the exclusion of the present.  They may appear to others as wild-eyed food stockpilers who talk a LOT about the Anti-Christ.  Most people just give them a wide berth on life's highway.

But on the other hand, the Lord did include Revelation in His book.  So does it make sense to ignore it entirely?

This is about the fourth time Mike and I have been through a study of John's revelation.  My church has taught through it twice in the last ten years and we also did it last year at Community Bible Study.  Every time I study the revelation, I learn something and get a better handle on the big picture.  But every time I also find things that remain a puzzle. Bottom line for me is that I don't want to get to the end and screw up and hear "I warned you about that in the last book. Didn't you read it?"

God is so kind.  He took my whipping so I could be with Him eternally.  He gave me a heads-up as to how best to walk gingerly through this minefield of life that the enemy occupies.  He has cheered my heart by telling me how the eternal struggle will play out.  And it is over and beyond that He would leave gingerbread crumbs of proof that lead back to Himself.

Say what?  What crumbs?  Well, I'm glad you asked.  On the Lord's first journey to Planet Earth, the Book lists statements out the wazzoo about the Messiah...so that when He arrived, the people who knew the Book would recognize Him.  Those specific miracles were things that ONLY the Messiah would be able to do.  Unfortunately, many did not recognize Him although He fulfilled every prediction about His first coming.  Those crumbs should have been pretty obvious to a listening heart.

Then, there are tons of other statements about the way the Second Coming will happen.  Since they haven't all happened yet, we can't claim them as gingerbread proof.  But if the first time was fulfilled, you can bet the second time will be fulfilled as well.  Our times are lining up and many things are becoming possible in our day.  Stuff that used to sound far-fetched now sounds reasonable.  Consider these three things:

1.  Scripture says that when He comes, every eye will see Him.  That used to sound impossible.  But when the second plane hit the Twin Towers, many eyes were watching.  Never before has technology made those Bible words plausible.

2.  Scripture talks about the nations organizing a one-world government toward the end.  Hey, that's TOTALLY not far-fetched.  Can you say "euro"?

3.  Gog, Persia, Ethiopia, and Put are said to form an alliance to come against Israel in the end.  Who's that, you ask?  Russia, Iran, Libya and Turkey.  Well HELLO!  Yeah, I can see that.  Our Bible is coming alive like never before!

So here's my parting shot.  For the first thirty years of my life, I was in church regularly...but was taught NONE of this. My question, then, is "why"?  Would it sound critical of me to bemoan the fact that I was not very well prepared?  We stand accountable to the Lord for our individual walk (how we respond to His truth).  I'm not in Iraq and won't be beaten with a rod for studying the Bible.  It's here for me.

But the offer does have a shelf-life expiration date.

"Are your ears awake?  Listen.  Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches."  Revelation 3:22 The Message