Silas

My second son is Silas. He is my tiger. They say that two brothers can have different personalities - these two do. Silas has very little fear of anything and he wants to do whatever his brother does. His bravery takes him into the rain to play in the sand, into the river to pick up a newt, and into the living room to tackle his daddy.

I know that Silas's bravery may get him into mischief, but in this video from Ray Boltz, another Silas's bravery lands him in jail for sharing the gospel. My Silas dances around the room in praise to God and shouts out "Behold He jumps, riding on the towels" when we sing "Days of Elijah." As he grows in his passion for God, I believe I will often here him singing, "I will praise the Lord," no matter where he finds himself.

Isaac

Each of my wonderful children are a blessing from God. My firstborn, Isaac, is a sensative and compassionate little boy. Recently, a lady at church wore a new outfit and no one noticed until the Sunday night service. Then, the only one was Isaac. He walked up and said, "That's a nice dress." Touching the silky material with sparkles in the fabric he exclaimed, "Ooh, it feels nice." It made the lady's day.

His sensitivity means he is easily crushed. I work hard to keep others from hurting his gentle spirit and am broken to realize that I'm the one who does it most often. So as I watch this video from Andrew Peterson, I'm broken to realize that I cannot sacrifice him on my own selfish altars. Isaac is only mine to raise, he really belongs to God. That is where I choose to place him, in the hands of a Holy God.

Book Review: The Prodigal God

"Hello old friend, there's nothing really new to say. But the old, old story bears repeating, and the plain old truth grows dearer everyday," Rich Mullins sang about the gospel. Few books capture the essence of the gospel as well as The Prodigal God. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Manning and The Beloved by Nouwen are the only other ones that come to mind at the moment. In this volume by Timothy Keller, he unpacks the parable of "the prodigal son" to demonstrate that there were actually two lost sons, the real prodigal [having spent everything, extavegant] is the father, and Jesus is the true elder brother whom is missing from the story. Then Keller invites us to redefine hope and join the Father's Feast.

For the first time, I finally understand what Manning and Mullins have said about repenting of our righteousness. While we often see the waywardness of the younger son and recognize his repentance, rarely do we realize the elder son didn't go into the party. Both were trying to control their father, one through rebellion, one through good deeds. Often, this parable has defended cheap grace. But, Jesus' audience and his followership would indicate that this isn't about cheap grace at all, but about religious moralism that keeps "younger brothers" from coming to the Father.

It is the father who has spent everything, the first third to a rebellious son and the final portion to a son who is unwilling to give anything away. Keller points out that the father loses the older son by inviting the younger home again. Jesus is our true older brother who willingly gave up his inheritance so that we might be able to join our Father's party. He is the one who left home to find his wayward brothers and sisters by loving us first, by dying on the cross for us while we were still in the pigsty.

Hope is usually tied up in our sense of "home": a place when you have to go there, they don't turn you away. And home is fleeting for humans. But when we accept that Christ has found us, he gives us a home, a feast at the Father's. Curl up in your easy chair to read this one, but be prepared to move to the table for a feast!

A Sabbath Rest

In just two weeks, we'll be flying to Iowa and Missouri for an 8 week sabbatical. Scott celebrated seven years of pastoring in Coquille, OR on June 14, 2009. The Oregon-Pacific District recommends a 6-12 week sabbatical in the seventh year of ministry and the church board was gracious to grant us an 8 week leave.

When we accepted the invitation to leave the Midwest and head to the coast to pastor, we knew that leaving our families of origin would be difficult. But we believe that God called us out here to be missionaries into this wonderful and beautiful place and people. Our 8 weeks will give us the chance to rekindle our family ties, renew old friendships, and releave our hearts from the pressure of ministry back at our homes where we find great support and comfort.

This blog will be a place for us to share our spiritual journey over the next few months and we're glad that you've taken the time to find out about us.