Queso Quote: It Is Better

“It is your part now to believe, and suffer, and hope, and wait on…nay, whether God come to his children with a rod or a crown, if he come himself with it, it is well. Welcome, welcome Jesus, what way soever thou come, if we can get a sight of thee. And sure I am, it is better to be sick, providing Christ come to the bed-side, and draw aside the curtains, and say ‘Courage, I am thy salvation,’ than to enjoy health, being lusty and strong, and never to be visited of God.”

—Samuel Rutherford, 17th century Scottish theologian
(Thanks, Scott Ketrow!)

Lamentations Of The Father

In honor of my husband, who is an amazing father to our three kids, I bring you…

Lamentations of the Father*

Laws When at the Table

• If you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were. Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me. Yes, even when you have an interesting bandage to show, your feet upon the table are an abomination, and worthy of rebuke.
  
• Drink your milk as it is given you, neither use on it any utensils, nor fork, nor knife, nor spoon, for that is not what they are for; if you will dip your blocks in the milk, and then lick them off, you will be sent away.
  
• When you have drunk, let the empty cup then remain upon the table, and do not bite it upon its edge and by your teeth hold it to your face in order to make noises in it sounding like a duck: for you will be sent away.
  
• When you chew your food, keep your mouth closed until you have swallowed, and do not open it to show your brother or your sister what is within; I say to you, do not do so, even if your brother or your sister has done the same to you.
  
• Eat your food only; do not eat that which is not food; neither seize the table between your jaws, nor use the raiment of the table to wipe your lips. I say again to you, do not touch it, but leave it as it is.
  
• And though your stick of carrot does indeed resemble a marker, draw not with it upon the table, even in pretend, for we do not do that, that is why.
  
• Sit just as I have told you, and do not lean to one side or the other, nor slide down until you are nearly slid away. Heed me; for if you sit like that, your hair will go into the syrup. And now behold, even as I have said, it has come to pass.

On Screaming

• Do not scream; for it is as if you scream all the time. If you are given a plate on which two foods you do not wish to touch each other are touching each other, your voice rises up even to the ceiling, while you point to the offense with the finger of your right hand; but I say to you, scream not, only remonstrate gently with the server, that the server may correct the fault.
  
• Likewise if you receive a portion of fish from which every piece of herbal seasoning has not been scraped off, and the herbal seasoning is loathsome to you and steeped in vileness, again I say, refrain from screaming. Though the vileness overwhelm you, and cause you a faint unto death, make not that sound from within your throat, neither cover your face, nor press your fingers to you nose. For even now I have made the fish as it should be; behold, I eat it myself, yet do not die.

Various Other Laws, Statutes, and Ordinances

• Bite not, lest you be cast into quiet time. Neither drink of your own bath water, nor of the bath water of any kind; nor rub your feet on bread, even if it be in the package; nor rub yourself against cars, nor against any building; nor eat sand.
  
• Leave the cat alone, for what has the cat done, that you should so afflict it with tape? And hum not the humming in your nose as I read, nor stand between the light and the book. Indeed, you will drive me to madness. Nor forget what I said about the tape.

Final Complaints and Lamentations

• O my children, you are disobedient. For when I tell you what you must do, you argue and dispute hotly even to the littlest detail; and when I do not accede, you cry out, and hit and kick. Yes, and even sometime do you spit, and shout "stupid-head" and other blasphemies, and hit and kick the wall and the molding thereof when you are sent to the corner.
  
• And though the law teaches that no one shall be sent to the corner for more minutes than he has years of age, yet I would leave you there all day, so mighty am I in anger. But upon being sent to the corner you ask straight-away, "Can I come out?" and I reply, "No, you may not come out."
  
• And you shall remember me: before, after, and until you are twenty-one. Hear me then, and avoid me in my wrath, O children of me.

*These are adapted from an old email meme, source unknown.

MIXTAPE: 8-Track Days

Theme: A Tribute to my Dad

The month of June finds me in a sentimental mood. Kids out of school and hot sunny afternoons spent at the pool have brought to mind that time-honored American summer tradition: the family vacation road-trip.

For me, like many other middle-class American kids of the 1970’s, a visit to Grandma’s meant hours spent in the backseat of a station wagon, haggling over space with my little brother. (Of course there were no seat belts utilized in those days to keep us in our place.) Our family was the proud owner of a sky blue Chevy Grand Safari.

We spent the passing hours playing “car games” like looking for VW Bugs or “woody” station wagons, the “alphabet game”, or “I’m going on a camping trip and I’m going to bring a …”. My family were even good enough sports to let me slip in a Mad Lib every once in a while.

But what I remember most about family road trips is the soundtrack. My dad is a music lover—I get that from him. When we drove around town, he usually listened to R&B and “golden oldies” stations. But on family trips his tastes ran more toward singer-songwriters and country artists.

The 70’s were the heydays of the 8-track tape, and our station wagon had a built-in player. Sometimes my dad bought pre-made 8-tracks; other times he recorded his favorite LPs onto tapes with an 8-track recorder that he jacked into our old console stereo. In honor of Father’s Day, I’ve put together this mix of some of my favorite songs from those days.

My family will be heading on our own road trips this summer. We have substituted a minivan for the station wagon, and an iPod for the 8-track player. But my kids are now the same age I was when I first learned to love these songs—and I think this collection still makes the perfect soundtrack.

8-Track Days: A Tribute To My Dad

1. I’m A Ramblin’ Man – Waylon Jennings
2. Forever In Blue Jeans – Neil Diamond
3. Ring Of Fire – Johnny Cash
4. It Don’t Matter To Me – Bread
5. Wichita Lineman – Glen Campbell
6. Cecelia – Simon & Garfunkel
7. Let Me Be There – Olivia Newton-John
8. Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady – Helen Reddy
9. Sunshine On My Shoulders – John Denver
10. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain – Willie Nelson
11. The Best Of My Love – The Eagles
12. Rainy Days And Mondays – Carpenters
13. Okee From Muskogee – Merle Haggard

Selected Commentary:
Forever In Blue Jeans – My parents both came from humble backgrounds. Although they would eventually become very wealthy, this song seemed to express the commitment they had to each other early in their marriage—that they would stay together even in they remained poor.
Ring Of Fire – One day my husband and I went to pick up our oldest son from Sunday School. He was about 3 years old. His teacher reported, “We had each of the kids stand up front to recite our Bible memory verse from the week. But when it was your son’s turn, he recited the chorus to ‘Ring of Fire’ instead.” Was I wrong to be proud?
It Don’t Matter To Me – David Gates went to high school with my parents, so Bread was required listening for our family. Other famous classmates of my parents: Leon Russell and Anita Bryant.
Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady – Yeah, “I Am Woman” was what I lip-synched to in the mirror. But this is the song that has stuck with me over the years.
Sunshine On My Shoulders – My oldest son has a melancholy streak a mile wide, just like me. He recently came into my office while I was playing this song and fell in love with it. (I mean, how can you resist the ache in Denver’s voice? And man, could he write songs.) I’ve decided it’s the perfect song to express the ache in my own heart for my son.
Okee From Muskogee – My Dad loved this song. (He was from Tulsa, after all.) And my Mom would always smile and roll her eyes in exasperation when he played or sang it. Now I understand that that was part of the appeal.

PS: This mix is a little shorter than others…old-school 8-track tapes could only hold about 46 minutes of music!

To check out my other mixtapes, click here.

Tehran, Tornadoes, and Twitter

I’m still fighting off the forces seeking to suck me into the Twittersphere…but it may be a losing battle.

I’m still not convinced Twitter will replace Facebook as my social networking system of choice any time in the near future. (Heck, I’m still working on getting more of my similarly-aged friends on Facebook; Twitter is pretty much out of the question for them.)

But the aspect of Twitter really tipping the scale for me is Twitter Search—it just can’t be beat for tapping into real-time, up-close news coverage.

The elections in Iran, for instance. The role of Twitter in the resistance movement cannot be understated. The Iranian government knows this, and has attempted to block access to Twitter from within its borders. They understand what a vital tool Twitter is for demonstrators in organizing each other, as well as keeping the outside world on top of what is really going on there. I was fascinated that the Twitter folks themselves actually postponed a major network upgrade (that would limit Twitter availability) previously scheduled to occur in the middle of the night here in the U.S. earlier this week…because it was actually prime Twitter time in Iran.

Closer to home…last Thursday a tornado passed right over my neighborhood. (OK, the next day the weather service said it was only a funnel cloud…but the skies were black and green and eerie, and windows were blown out, and trees and fences were blown down.) What I found fascinating was that the local meteorologists were utilizing Twitter to track live, up-to-the-minute updates from “men on the field"--only those “men” weren’t paid reporters, but simply civilians with cell phones. Twitter was much more useful to me than TV in finding out what was actually going on in my neck of the woods.

Lastly…I was watching the breaking news about the Continental pilot who died in the middle of a trans-Atlantic flight on CNN this morning as I ran on a treadmill at the YMCA. Actually, what I watched was a reporter in the CNN newsroom relay Twitter updates to me as he read them off the screen. I figure if CNN is looking to Twitter to get their news, it would be a good place for me to go, too.

This is one of the first pictures I saw of the "tornado" that went through my neighborhood last week, posted instantly on Twitter by someone who lives a few blocks from me.

Meditations On Humility

Barbara Francis, one of the national leaders of the ministry I work for, recently sent out a prayer exercise on humility to our staff. God has used it in my life significantly over the past couple of weeks. I asked her permission to share it with you, in the hopes that it will bless some of you as it has me. May God be glorified!

"The pursuit of humility cannot be a solitary endeavor. That’s why the next practice—Invite and pursue correction—has a prominent and vital place on my list of ways to mortify pride and cultivate humility. Pride not only destroys; it deceives. Sin in its deceptive power so often blinds us, leaving us unaware of flaws that others notice clearly … Talk to others close to you and ask them questions like these: Do I confess my sin consistently? Do I confess specific instances and not just general categories or general references to sin? Do others find it easy to correct me? Do others know the areas of temptation in my life at present? Do they know the most pronounced patterns of sin in my life at present?" -C.J. Mahaney

Growing up in a home where criticism and needless cutting remarks were the norm, I am not good at inviting and pursuing correction. I am too easily hurt and even offended when approached by helpful comments given to accelerate my growth in Christ-likeness. While the sweet presence of the indwelling Holy Spirit has helped me grow in this area, I still have a long way to go.

I suspect we all do.

Quite simply, inviting another person to enter into our lives in such a delicate way requires a character quality that is pristine in the eyes of our Father and maligned in the eyes of the world: humility.

Listen to a few ways humility is referred to in God’s word:

-Isaiah 66:2: “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”

-I Peter 5:6: “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”

My personal applications are in prayer. I want God’s best for me. I want to live a life that brings him pleasure because humility is an ever growing quality.

My external applications are with a few close friends and dearest loved ones. I plan on asking the questions posed at the top: Where am I blind to pride’s corrosive influence?

Below are additional scriptures to pray into our lives so humility can grow. Read one a day for a week and ask the Spirit to kindly yet specifically point out where development has occurred and where more needs to happen.

Meditate on one verse a day. Put it on a 3x5 card, journal about it each day asking, like the boy Samuel, “Speak, Lord, for you servant is listening” (I Samuel 3:9). And then tell a close friend what you are learning about humility. Consider asking them to pray for you in this area.

Monday:
Jesus described himself in a way that I am praying into my life, “I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). What would that look like in your life?

Tuesday:
“My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me” (Psalm 131:1-2).

Wednesday:
“Once more the humble will rejoice in the Lord; the needy will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 29:19).

Thursday:
“The Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar” (Psalm 138:6).

Friday:
“He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

Saturday:
“For this is what the high and lofty One says—he who lives forever, whose name is holy: ‘I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite’” (Isaiah 57:15).

Sunday:
“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:15-17).

If you’d like to read more of Barbara Francis, check out her new blog here. She has also recently published her second book, Grace and Guts: What It Takes To Forgive. You can order it through Amazon.com here.

Queso Quote: Waiting on the Lord

“There is only one thing harder than waiting on the Lord—and that is wishing that you had.”

—O.S. Hawkins

Real Life Spotless Minds

One of my favorite movies of all time is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Besides being a really well-made movie, I find the themes it explores fascinating.

Is it truly better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all? If you were given the opportunity to erase the painful memories of a romantic relationship, but in doing so would have to erase all memories of that relationship, would you take it? Would doing so make your life fuller, or emptier? Would you be destined to repeat the same “mistake”, because by having the memory erased you didn’t learn and grow from it? Are two people destined for each other, no matter how much they hurt each other?

Although fun to ponder over, answers to some of those questions were simply semantic, since it wasn’t really possible to erase a relationship from someone’s mind.

Until now. Kind of.

Newsweek ran an intriguing article a couple of months ago called, “To Pluck A Rooted Sorrow”.** Motivated by easing the negative effects of post-traumatic stress disorder, researchers are conducting experiments in this very arena as I type this. What they have discovered is while an actual memory is stored in one part of the brain, the feelings associated with that memory are stored in another. Scientists haven’t figured out a way to erase actual memories, but they have already been semi-successful in changing the feelings connected with those memories. While research so far has focused on utilizing drugs to alter the feelings, I wonder if it’ll only be a matter of time until those working in deep brain stimulation and other areas of neurotechnology (which I find fascinating, too) get together with these folks and figure out how to erase or suppress the memories themselves.

For fellow geeks, who also didn’t get completely lost in that last run-on sentence, feel free to read the Newsweek article in its entirety here.

For fellow movie lovers, click here to access the accompanying slide show called “Hollywood’s Memorable Amnesiacs”. But to make it more fun, see how many movies you can recall that feature the theme of “memory loss” first! (FYI, #3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 11 are all movies I love.)

And lastly…if you could erase painful memories, would you? What if you could just separate the emotion from the actual memory (what it seems they have been able to do)? Is there true joy without corresponding sorrow? How would the erasing of painful memories affect our creativity?

**Bragging rights to anyone who can name the source of that phrase. Without googling!

My Son, The Budding Author

At the end of the school year, my kids’ teachers sent home several backpacks’ worth of their schoolwork. I’ve spent the last few days sorting through it all, trying to decide what to keep.

My favorite to read (and most likely keep) are their “published books”: short stories written and illustrated on half-pieces of construction paper, stapled together in booklet form.

The published book that made me laugh the most was my kindergartner’s first effort, entitled The Person Who’s Allergic To Snow. The text reads:

“The house on a hill. I better get out of here because I’m allergic.”

You gotta start somewhere.

Accompanying illustration

A Different Take On "Taking Thoughts Captive"

“…for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…”
--The Apostle Paul, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

I have heard this passage quoted often to believers who are wrestling with their own, personal, “thought life”.

But Michael Craven, in his book, Uncompromised Faith (which I reviewed recently), proposes an alternate view on the concept of “taking thoughts captive”:

“This passage…is one we often misunderstand or misapply. The apostle Paul is urging Christians to engage in intellectual discourse and persuasive debate whenever they find themselves confronted by false ideas that contradict the biblical understanding of life and reality. This passage is not to be understood in purely individualistic or private terms related to taking our own thoughts captive; we need to understand the ideas and thoughts of others that keep them from the knowledge of the truth. Practically speaking this means we are to be actively engaged in pressing God’s truth into every aspect of life and the world.” (p.24)

This interpretation certainly seems more consistent with the context of the passage. What do you think? In what context have you heard this passage used, by others or yourself? Bible scholar friends, what’s your take?

MIXTAPE: Get Your Clap On! (From Guest DJ, Christy Fassnacht)

Theme: Songs you can’t help but {CLAP} to

Rules:

• This one is pretty straightforward (see Theme).
• The length of the mixtape must not exceed 90 minutes.
• Only one song per artist.
• I must like the song.
• Numbers next to each song are not a ranking, but a track listing. The order of the tracks is very important in the creation of a great mixtape.
• Each mixtape must, if at all possible, conclude with a great quote.

Please hold your applause until the end….

Get Your Clap On!

1. Into the Gap – Thompson Twins
2. Let’s Go - The Cars
3. Take the Money and Run – Steve Miller Band
4. Little Red Corvette – Prince
5. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) – Michael Jackson
6. Jack and Diane – John Cougar Mellencamp
7. Head Over Heels – The Go-Go’s
8. Tenderness – General Public
9. Close to Me – The Cure
10. Genius of Love – Tom Tom Club
11. Another One Bites the Dust – Queen
12. Centerfold – J. Geils Band
13. Hey Mickey – Toni Basil
14. I’ll Be There for You – The Rembrandts
15. Faith – George Michael
16. I Want You Back – Jackson 5
17. Private Eyes - Hall & Oates
18. “The stars at night are big and bright...” – from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure

Selected Commentary:
1. I love to listen to Sirius Radio, my two favorite channels being “1st Wave” and “80s on 8.” When carpooling around town, my children and their friends do not know that these songs are ancient. And I cannot contain myself when a clapping song comes on. Most recently, the girls have requested that “east is east, west is west” song and everyone claps. And one of my dear friends and her sister were called the Thompson twins! Hence the inspiration for putting these songs down on paper.
2. A close second for all time popular clapping song in my book, but my mind always drifts to that cool pool at the Hearst mansion in the other silly Cars video.
3. My friends Cheryl, Abby and Lissie can do that deep growl perfectly (“oooohhhhh yeah!”)…and we all had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Miller at the Houston rodeo after the annual lamb auction in the late 90s. And now I sing the changed lyrics “Billy Mac was a detective down in Texas” after my littlest guy.
4. I remember vividly the night my and my high school BFF Vicki went to Willowbrook Mall to catch Purple Rain….and that naughty double by entrendre artist formerly known as…..
5. One of the best albums, ever.
6. Have you ever seen a pair of Bobby Brooks? Did I want these or the Gloria Vanderbilt jeans?
7. I once rode up the elevator in the early 2000’s with Belinda Carlisle (fat phase) and Jane Wiedlin in the Denver airport….I lurved them and wanted to burst out singing “I want to go to cool places with you”. They looked old.
8. This song is in one of my favorite movies in high school, “Weird Science”. My brother and I would always open doors like Chet did….and that crazy skunk haired guy in the G.P. video is memorable.
9. I went to the Cure/Depeche Mode concert in ‘86ish and thought the crowd was nuts.
10. Loved this song before it became a sampling staple.
11. We had this song on our jukebox growing up…it must have been a B-side to “We Will Rock You.”
12. Early guyliner. Britney’s handlers must have gotten some early inspiration for “Baby Hit Me” with this video. This album reminds me of my 8th grade trip to Taos, NM. I listened to it about 1 million times on the bus ride from Denver.
13. The most infectious song. Ever.
14. I went to drama camp before my senior year in high school to Texas Tech. We were supposed to go to a bar to see this band, but sadly none of us had I.D.s. And we always wanted to dance in the fountain at college, just like Manniston.
15. That George has got some serious dance moves. And the jukebox reminds me of ours (see #11.)
16. Michael carried the band way back then, too.
17. Just a great example of a studio shot video….with the superimposed
18. My college roommate Shannan and I watched Pee Wee on Saturday mornings in our very small dorm room…can’t wrap my head around the fact that Lawrence Fishburne (who I like on CSI but not as much as Gil) was Cowboy Curtis. And the quote referring to Texas brings it all full circle for me!

Have a fun idea for a mixtape? Want to submit your own mixtape, and attain "guest DJ" status? Send your ideas and/or mixes to me here. I'm always happy to give you a shout out!

Remembering Tiananmen Square

Twenty years ago today, the month-and-a-half-long protests led by Beijing university students against their government came to a halt, as military tanks and gunmen mowed down hundreds, possibly thousands, of those involved. Watching on TV from America, we sat helpless and aghast as the events unfolded. During the late 1980's, communism in Eastern Europe had begun to crumble; but here in China, it showed itself strong.

I got to travel to China in the 1990’s. I was fascinated to learn, from Westerners who had lived there in 1989, that the student demonstrations weren’t limited to Beijing. In fact, university students across the country had gone on strike and taken to the street, crying out against a repressive, authoritarian regime.

While there I asked Chinese students, “What is it you want most out of life? What is most precious to you?” I expected their answers to be “material success” or “happiness”. But across the board their reply was, “freedom”.

Certainly in the past twenty years more freedom has come to the people of China. And yet, when the PBS show “Frontline” interviewed a group of four undergrads from Beijing University in 2006, and showed them the iconic picture of the “Tank Man”—the lone student in the white shirt and black pants standing in front of a column of tanks—not one of them could (or would) identify the significance of the photo. (To watch the interview, click here.)

For all the brave, young Chinese students who died in June 1989, I’m posting the following video. Today’s Chinese students may not know of you, but we do. And we honor you.



(Click here to watch if it doesn't show up in your browser.)

What It's Like To Be A Christian In North Korea

North Korea from Acts1v8 on Vimeo.