Neil Cavuto just seems like a nice guy. And he says what I wanted to say with so much more depth and so much less ranting.

I wanted to address the dangerous manipulation of class envy that is empowering our government to near the point of tyranny.

Spellbound

Please permit this beaming parent to brag on his kids for just a moment.

We, as a family are striving toward - and hoping to maintain - a simple lifestyle.

I have referred before to what Dave Ramsey calls keeping life in "big chunks" so it is more easily managed.

Because of this, our kids are busy but they are not involved in a bunch of things at one time (over the past couple of months it seems that this activity/involvement level has been ratcheted up a couple of notches too high but we are working on reducing it back down again).

AA missed little league this year and I feel sufficiently guilty, however I did not think it wise to carve out two to three more nights during the week that we would be obligated to be some place.

Now I say all that in order to tell you about something in which they both are involved.

This Friday, we drove to Kennesaw, Georgia for the ACSI (the accreditation association for our school) Spelling Bee. It was AA's first time to be in the Spelling Bee and he worked pretty hard at representing (along with 3 others) his first grade class.

Ab, on the other hand, is something of a veteran, having participated in Spelling Bees in the 2nd and 3rd grade and having won both the local Independent Schools spelling bee and the ACSI Bee last year.

We didn't get to watch this competition. The parents just sit in another room ... waiting until it's over. . . then watching for some sign on the face of your child as they re-enter the room.

AA was back in the room with us first. He had survived 8 rounds but had gotten busted on a word he knew... pint. Apparently he strayed from the "say it- spell it - say it" format and as the judges waited for him to say it after spelling it - AA assumed they were waiting for more letters. So he added the obligatory "e".

He was fairly devastated. I think because his sister has been so successful in this arena - he set his sights too high. I also hear in him a desire to just be recognized... maybe he senses that he is in the shadow of his big sister.

Ab, again, won for her age group. We were very proud. If you read this blog much, you know something of this girl's diligence. She literally amazes me.

She and her Mom have worked on these words on a regular basis since around Christmas. She excels because she is intelligent, but also because she works hard and I am very proud of her.

So how do you properly celebrate the success of one child, while at the same time, being sufficiently conciliatory toward the other child that did not win?

On our way home we stopped to eat lunch at a restaurant and something happened that was so perfect in it's timing that it had to have originated in the heart of a kind God. . . and it had to be played out in the obedience of a very considerate person.

As we sat at lunch, a woman stopped by our table and told us she had seen us at the Spelling Bee where she had been one of the judges. She singled out AA and said the he was in the group she adjudicated and she pointed out what a nice job he had done. But then she went on to tell him, and us how that he had just brought joy to the judges.

That's what my boy does. He brings joy and a smile. He loves to make people laugh and many times without even trying - he just evokes joy.

I couldn't tell for sure if her words had any immediate effect on that boy; but since I believe they originated with God and His words do not return void - I must believe that they did some good.

The woman then spent a moment or two congratulating Ab as well.

Let me tell you - I am so proud to be my children's Dad!
I hope you feel the same way about your kids!

Like, WOW!

I ran across a line a couple of weeks ago while reading Crazy Love, by Francis Chan.

He said something about all parents wanting their children to like them. That just sort of struck me as something that I hadn't really thought about. I guess I thought most kids wanted their parents to like them - not the other way around. But as I thought on it, I realized that that statement is VERY true for me.

I really, really want my children to like me.

We inherit that desire from our heavenly Father. I think that pretty much any good thing around here on earth is a facsimile of the real thing in heaven.

And God wants His kids to like Him!

...not in some neurotic, co-dependent way ... He just wants us to like Him.

I think that is amazing. . . remarkable . . .

and I'm glad, cause I really do like Him!

In the Catbird Seat

The following post had to be embargoed until it could be determined that the outcome would be pleasant. Frankly, it was just too tense around our house to even begin to write about it ... too tense - and I was the target of all that tension!

I am getting it out now because my wife over at God's Design Not Mine will probably write her version and I want to influence history by putting my side out first!

Here is my story...

The weather was beautiful at our house last weekend. Temperatures rose to a very congenial level, the sun was shining, the birds were singing and tender plants were beginning to emerge from the ground and the limbs of trees. I was off, my wife was off, our children were riding high on a week of off days as spring break came to a close.

It was a wonderful spring weekend.

Yet some time Friday night, a pall engulfed our once happy home as tragedy stalked the house.

What horrific event had ensued, that would be vast and dark enough so as to distract our attention from the beauties God had flourished upon us?

Our cat got stuck in a tree.

Now there are, in this world, "cat-people" and "dog-people".

Personally I am just plain people but I tend to lean ever so slightly toward the canine persuasion. My wife, on the other hand - is a "cat-person" and she has managed to align the affections of both our children toward cats - and against dogs. This leaves Tanner - our old chocolate Lab, and me on the "outs" at times with the rest of the family.

When R. approached me about getting the kids a kitten this past Christmas, it soon became a point of contention.

I was against it.

Now I was against it, mainly because I feel that it is my obligation as a Dad to be against things.

It just seems natural for my first response to be "no". It was how my Dad did things and I am sure it was the way his father before him, did things.

Now, I have mentioned the idea of husbands and wives coming into agreement over things. This is the practice of agreeing to wait until both sides can agree on an issue - and honoring your spouse enough to sacrifice the issue if you can't reach a place of agreement.

Well, we didn't exactly come into agreement on the kitten. I gave in. After all, I don't mind a cat and there are probably some very helpful services they can provide. So I gave in.

Anyway, we got "Angel" and the kids love her and Mom loves her and even Tanner - tolerated her.

But before long -because it was widely known that I had not been completely in favor of getting a kitten- everyone began to view me as "the enemy of the cat". And no one misses an opportunity to go on and on about the superiority of cats to dogs... and possibly even to dads!

"Look how sweet! She's cuddling with the kids!"

"Oh isn't that precious! Look how she's cleaning her paws - cats are so clean - not like dogs who leave their markings in the play area!"

"It's okay if she eats out of your plate - cats are clean!"

On the other hand, it is constantly pointed out that dogs smell bad, they shed, they tend to stick their noses in embarrassing places at inopportune times, they are not considerate as to the timing or location in which they relieve themselves and the list goes on.

So late last Saturday morning, when I discovered that the latest addition to our happily family had somehow gotten herself stuck some 60+ feet up a Georgia Pine Tree, it was with delicious pleasure that I began to sarcastically point out all of those "supposed" advantages that the feline holds over man's best friend.

After all, my dog never did get stuck up a tree; and if he had - I think he would know how to get down.

As the weekend progressed, the mood turned ugly. My solution was simple, when she got hungry, she would come down.

A fairly constant vigil was maintained. I am pretty sure that I saw either a hawk or a buzzard circling overhead.

She stayed up the tree all night Saturday night. I had promised Ab I would do something if she didn't come down by Sunday. So on Sunday, after waking up to muse about at around 4:00AM, I arose determined to cut down the tree.

However, R. believed that cutting down the tree was not a good idea. After enduring about all the disapproval I could, I went to the nearest fire station and asked if they still got cat's out of trees. For those of you keeping score at home... they do not.

Oh and I prayed, I prayed alone, I prayed with each child, we prayed as a family. I really wanted the cat down.

She spent Sunday night up the tree as well.

By Monday, my Father-in-law had made a connection with someone with a bucket truck and Monday morning... Angel was rescued. The guy didn't even charge us!

I would love to attach some deep spiritual meaning to all this, but honestly I can find none. God did answer our prayer, though not at all as I expected. I really thought He would come through - the cat would climb down and everyone would say, "Dad - you were RIGHT all along... right not to get all panicky... right to pray ... right in your preference of dogs over cats..."

Instead God came through (Oh I pray about these kinds of things and make no mistake - it was Him) but in a way that didn't make me look good at all.

He does that sometimes.

Busy Hands

I just want to record this:

Right now, as I sit here typing, my kids are busily cleaning up the kitchen.
And its a happy sound.

I do not hear the beeps, buzzes and incessantly pulsating music of their handheld electronic games. Instead I hear water running and feet scampering back and forth, and happy conversations. . . also the occasional clinking of a dish or two.

How did we -as parents - finally figure out how to harness that childish energy and channel into a force for good, you may ask?

And when will our picture be appearing on the cover of "Parenting" magazines across the nation?

Actually I don't know the answer.

And I don't why my kids were suddenly "smart" (that's what my Mom used to call it when I would suddenly become a thrifty worker).

But, I like it.

Maybe it's because they are on Spring Break this week.

One night Ab decided she wanted to help in the kitchen and she got on a roll (not literally, I think we had toast that night) and did a thorough job of cleaning.

Maybe it was because they had a good bit of free time this week - time that wasn't packed tightly with activity - flitting about from destination to destination.

Maybe it was just the general attitude of Spring's new start that caused them to take on the challenge of doing some cleaning themselves.

Maybe they made the connection between my lectures about the intrinsic value of hard work and reality. Perhaps the light finally came on as they realized that there really is a strong sense of self-worth that accompanies a job well done.

Or maybe it is because that Ab got to avoid taking a bath the other night because she spent so much time cleaning up the kitchen...

Or perhaps it is because we are planning to go to Walmart this morning so that Ab can spend some of her savings on a major purchase and we couldn't leave until the kitchen was clean...

Woe! There is a major lesson there about how people acting in their own self-interest will often-times accomplish much good for themselves and for those around them - even if it is not done for all the right reasons.

That is something akin to what economist, Adam Smith referred to as "the invisible hand".

And if God is glorified when we are happily working to bless others - then maybe Brother Lawrence had something there when he talked about experiencing God's tranquility while in the "noise and clatter" of his busy kitchen.

We've got to teach them this stuff at home... it is not prevalent in our society.

Lord, teach us to teach them!


"Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith
"Practice the Presence of God" by Brother Lawrence

Hilarious Casablanca Clip

Congress this week demonstrated hypocrisy rising to the level of Captain Renault, as they erected a facade of fake drama and outrage surrounding the AIG Bonuses.

Their ridiculous antics bent on fomenting the fervor of class envy would be laughable were they not so dangerous.

When did it become okay for elected officials from congress to the president, to go after and bemean ordinary citizens?

All the time turning the focus off of their own incompetence and graft.

Safe

As referenced in a previous post, I am reading Francis Chan's, Crazy Love. R. and I are also going through the book in a Sunday School class we're attending.

I am not sure what I was expecting but with a title like Crazy Love - I guess I was maybe thinking we would get M &M's and Sweet-Tarts and instead we get turnip greens and large Lima's. . . okay, I may have lost you with that analogy. . .

The book is heavier than I thought it would be (how's that?).

The book is challenging me and making me ask myself some uncomfortable questions; it's making me re-examine the way that I approach my time with God; it has caused me to begin to take a hard look at my priorities.

Today, in a chapter that challenges the reader to become "obsessed" with Christ, he hit me hard with a note about being safe.

The point of the section was that people that are "obsessed" with following Christ aren't consumed by their own comfort or well-being. He started by reciting a very familiar prayer...

not "Now I lay me down to sleep..." or even "The Lord's Prayer" ... it was the prayer we pray before we take a trip. The prayer for "traveling mercies".

Now most times when all four members of our family are in one vehicle and going in one direction (and those times are too rare lately), we will have a prayer before we start. In recent years, R. and I have delegated that duty to the kids. So someone leads us.

It was Ab that first inserted the line and then later AA started including it at the beginning of the prayer he leads. It goes like this:

"Lord Jesus we thank you for this day.

We pray that no one will get hurt...."

Did you hear that cry for safety... that was something like the prayer that the Fran-Chan-man talked about in the book. How it seems that our greatest desire is for safety.

I think God has already been dealing with me about this in recent years. I have felt His nudging as I prayed earnestly for Him to surround and protect my children. I wonder, is safety God's highest goal for them?

What if we prayed instead - that He might be glorified - even if there was some pain in that process?

Frankly, I know that is what we should do, but it scares me.

Today I thought about the Puritans gathered in the harbor Europe in the 1600's. They were preparing to leave their homeland and sail to an unknown land - the New World. I don't know for sure, but I doubt that safety was their highest priority. In fact there was an underlying sadness as they said good-bye to loved ones because they knew that many would never meet again on earth.

Their trip to establish Plymouth colony and to found many of the "first principles" that came to define America was a grand adventure and if you want to partake in adventure - you can't concentrate solely on safety. Otherwise you'd best just stay at home.

You know, people that are more concerned about being safe... undisturbed. . . than they are about participating in the adventure Jesus would create for them, will give up all kinds of things in the name of safety. Do you ever look around at all the freedoms we have given up in the name of safety?

I have a very fond memory of riding part of the way home from one Florida vacation, on the top of the back seat, warming in the sun filtering through that back window....

I remember other times when I could catch a neat catnap snuggling in the floor of the car's back seat while my older sister stretched out on the seat... these practices are unheard of today.

It is with some regret that I make AA pull his bicycle back into the garage so he can put on that hot helmet, when I know there is a special wonder that comes from coasting down a hill on a bicycle with the wind blowing through your hair.

Once my cousins and I found an old skateboard under my grandparent's house. It was probably left behind from some of my older cousins. It had those skinny metal wheels with ball-bearings in them, and the wheels were pretty much rusted out.

My cousin and I said good-bye after that visit and we each took home with us some pretty impressive scars and road-rash, because we had ridden the wheels off that skateboard.

It hurt, but we had a great time and we drained that old combination of wood and rust of all the speed and adventure she could provide.

When the apostle Paul was heading back to Jerusalem for his last visit, people who were in positions to know kept warning him not to go. There was trouble ahead, it was common knowledge that he would likely be imprisoned. Yet he continued on.

Do you think Paul's biggest concern was safety?

No, he was allowing God to squeeze all the usefulness out of him that he could muster. He was not playing it safe, he was all about delivering the gospel. He would deliver it in the way he lived or in the way he died - it seemed to make no difference to him - just so long as God was glorified.

That trip to Jerusalem did end bad. Paul wound up in jail and eventually was transferred to Rome where he would die for the cause of Christ. Yet he wrote to Timothy just before he died:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Timothy 4:7 NKJV

I don't hear any regrets in that statement.

I will confess to you: I'm not where I think I should be on this issue. I hope God is taking me there.

I'm not saying we shouldn't pray for our children's safety or perhaps even our own.

But I am wondering if there shouldn't also be an even greater desire for God's will to be done -

for His adventure to unfold in our own lives and the lives of our children.