the birth mom

Meet Tinkerbell, the first-time mom of five puppies. We are not only honoured to be on the exclusive family list of adoptees, but happy to find that Tink gave birth to two extra pups for us to choose from. The roly-poly white girl in the middle is the one we plan to introduce as Herbie's new sister in a mere 8 weeks! This baby's going to need designer sweaters and daisy leashes in her wardrobe.

neighbourly

We live in a cul-de-sac. A space known as a dead end also used as a basketball court. Ours is conducive to the idealised notion of neighbourliness otherwise known as community and often feared as nosiness. Our neighbours are known for their love of gossip, yet are busy enough to keep from knocking down our door for attention.

We meet over yard work. As one of us plants a flower bed or rummages about weeding, the others are looking on and wander over to exclaim over the new salvia bushes and admire with generous envy the colourful fruits of our labours. This very afternoon, Kermit dug out holes for the lavender, sage and thyme in the front beds while I potted English ivies and Gerber dasies for the front porch. Herbie watches and chews up plastic planters as he awaits the true climax of his day: a walk to the Little Beach.

Right Here, Right Now

Electra and I had a great discussion this afternoon regarding the manner in which God has brought us to be in our relationship with Him. I in particular have a very difficult time looking back at the personal failings in my life and accepting God's faithfullness and forgiveness through it all. I know that I was never the good Christian that I was expected to be. But I am okay with that now. I am ok with the fact that I never fit in with the evangelical cool crowd. I am ok with the fact that I was the only one not praying in tongues. I am ok with the fact that I never had praise filled reports of how God was working in my life. I am ok with the fact that I had failed relationships before I got married. I am ok with all of this because I know that when God looks at me, He sees His Son standing in my stead. And I am definitely ok with the fact that God is constantly in the process of redeeming us, restoring us, creating, and forgiving us.

I never will be a part of the evangelical cool crowd...in fact, I never want to be. I want to be, in the words of Joseph Arthur "Redemption's Son." I want to rest in the fact that while I am constantly changing, God is constant.

In light of this I have found a prayer that rings true to my heart in the form of the suscipe of St. Ignacius: "Accept, oh Lord, my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my will. All that I am and have, you have given me, and I give it all back to you to be governed by your will. Give me only the joy of your love, and the comfort of your grace; With these I am rich enough, and I ask for nothing more."

More of the Song

Redemption Song

Picture Of The Day

Thanks Mom for the picture...more serious pictures...those of our completed work are forthcoming.

It's a done deal

Hear the angels singing over our Castle in the Garden: the last coat of paint went up in the entryway/stairwell. Kermit did most of it on an enormously tall (60'?) ladder and three coats later we have a milk-chocolate coloured hallway! Lots of pictures were taken along the way, so you'll get the visual tour soon.

Hurry up and....Paint!

Painting is our latest skill. Practiced daily, one finds that the walls take on a fresh look and forever alters that way you wake up in the morning. Anyone desiring a visit from us will have to pry us loose from the house like a barnacle from his rock. It's not going to be easy.

The cable guys came over last week at their appointed time and after rummaging around with furrowed brows for an hour, announced that our cable lines--the whole bunck of them--had been cut and they were stumped. Not knowing where the other possible lines could be, we got our real estate agent on the line (yes, ours is kindly accomodating) who got to the former owners who were able to tell us why, look right under the staircase. Why didn't I think of that?

Maybe next week we'll be writing from our own desk. The necessity of internet pushes us not further away from personal contact with our neighbours, but quite the contrary, has brought us into more visiting and testing of friendly boundaries than ever.

Still......Moving.....

Today the movers finally came...three weeks after the left...but our internet is still 1.5 weeks away from connected. We hope to be back soon!

Genesis, the Movie

Robert Capon's book, a sort of Jacob to his Esau of a prequel entitled The Fingerprints of God is a gem with quotable philosophy:

"...the best theology is always a game of playing with language until it becomes an image of the Word beyond words."

Of Augustine, he quotes:
"[God] made things he already knew; he didn't have to wait till they were made in order to know them."

And this is but the introduction to a book about "watching the Bible as a tissue of images woven together by the Holy Spirit, not reading it as a handbook of theological, moral, or religious information."

I'm out of work for the semester, done with my list of 12 points to complete today before Kermit gets home from fishing down at the South Padre Isle and made the best double choc M&M cookies to date (5 batches later) and have only to enjoy dinner and minor grocery shopping before we crash on the couch for a $1 movie and rejoice that one more grey day in south Tejas draws to a dark moonlight close.

Electra's New "Castle In the Garden" otherwise known as Kermit's New Tax Write-Off-----We both call it a blessing.

How Shall We Then Read?

Reading is not a passive affair. One can not read a romance and not be drawn in by the passion and desire of the two main characters. Likewise, one can not read an adventure and fail to not lose at least a few hours of sleep in finding out what happens next. And surely, when reading an instruction manual, one can not help being actively engaged. Whether the engagement takes on the form of anger and frustration, or the form of an epiphany...being passive is just not an option.

So what are we to make of the Bible. How do we read such a book? Is it a novel, romance, instruction manual, or adventure? I grew up seeing the characters in the Bible as soft little felt figures on a green background. I knew that that the figures had great things to teach me, but I did not see the direct application to my life. As I grew older I knew that I needed to read this Book, it needed to be the centerpiece of my quiet time. But the question remained...how? There are so many questions that the Bible does not answer. Often the what, why, and where is left out. And Jesus...occasionaly the way that He would reply to those who questioned Him would confuse the dickens out of me. It was obvious to me that He did not care what people thought of Him.

Now, I often meet three kinds of people who read the Bible. There are the conservatives who read it literally and consequently make rediculous laws for themselves and pollute the Christian bookstores with their lack of grace. Then there are the liberals. These folks allow for the Bible to be changed. They say..."well, I think what he meant was"... and..."surely Jesus would have just loved them"... Finally, I run into the capitalists. These guys are the smart ones. They know that God wants to bless us. You just have follow seven steps, lead the life you deserve, pray certain prayers...just like Jabez... Read MY book they say and all will be well with you. Right.

How we shall then read? With wisdom, in prayer, and under shepherding. The prayer I leave to you, but as far as wisdom and shepherding goes, I have some suggestions...You have to read more...for you literary geniuses this is the best news coming, for you King of the Hill junkies, this may be a problem.

Robert Farrar Capon's Genesis The Movie is a great place to start. Father Capon is a phenomonal writer, you feel as if you are sitting in his living room drinking wine and following all kinds of wonderful "rabbit trails" to find Truth. His approach is wise and witty. Here is a snippet:"Literalists and anti-literalists alike went forth conquering and to conquer. ""Truth itself is on the line"" they said, and ""and we're willing to die for it!"" But as it turned out, they didn't die for the Truth of Scripture (which went grandly on being whatever kind of truth that it pleased); they died in the trenches of their own narrowness-and they were buried in the commom ditch of literalism. That is what happens when you let your enemy choose the field of battle: even if you think you are winning, you are losing".

Second, buy The Act Of Bible Reading. This multi disciplinary approach to reading the Bible is worth its weight in gold.

Finally, to wrap it up, read C.S. Lewis's Reflections On The Psalms. This particular work is a challenge to modern evangelical Christians. It looks at the Psalms in a very non-traditional manner. Consider this: "The human qualities of the raw material show through. Naivete', error, contradicion, even (as in the cursing Psalms) wickedness are not removed. The total result is not ""the Word of God"" in the sense that every passage, in itself, gives impeccable science or history. It carries the Word of God; and we (under grace, with attention to tradition and to interpreters wiser than ourselves, and with the use of such intelligence and learning as we may have) recieve that word from it not by using it as an encyclopedia or an encyclical but by steeping ourselves in its tone or temper and so learning the overall message"".

This is a work in progress for me. I wish you well in your endeavors. But, as you "steep yourself in its tone and temper", I would ask for any insights you have gained, and of course, your prayers are coveted.