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Together for the Gospel, Day 1

April 10, 2012 in Life in General with 6 Comments

Day 1 of Together for the Gospel has been fantastic. I wish I had the brain power to blog about it properly, but I can’t. It’s midnight here, and I’m already on information overload. If you want detailed notes, Aaron Armstrong at Blogging Theologically has posted notes on all three sermons today. So head over to Aaron’s if you’re curious about talks by C.J. Mahaney (When a Pastor Loses Heart), Al Mohler (The Power of the Articulated Gospel), and Mark Dever (False Conversions: The Suicide of the Church). It also looks like you can watch the videos here.

The highlight for me was connecting or reconnecting with people who for most of the year are just pixels on a screen. First I attended Band of Bloggers, which was fun and edifying. Here’s picture I took with my phone. Sorry the quality is so poor, but it’s the best I can do:

(That’s Owen Strachan, Justin Taylor, Collin Hansen, Tim Challies, and Tim Brister.)

I also got to say hello to Cruciform Press founders Kevin and Bob (Tim was there too, but he was busy being on the panel). I also got to spend time with my friend Kim Shay and her husband Neil. Neil blogs at the Calvinist Gadfly, and Todd and I got to meet two of his fellow gadflies, David Kjos of The Thirsty Theologian and Pyromaniac Frank Turk.

So yes, the teaching has blessed me, but having the time to sit and talk has been my favorite part. Some other quick thoughts, since this is taking longer than I thought.

Here’s a picture I took from my seat of the crowd:

Lots of people. I’ve heard that the there are 8,000 people here, about 90% male. This means two things: short lines in the women’s restrooms, and awesome singing time. When over 7,000 male voices are belting out hymns like “The Solid Rock” it’s really wonderful to hear.

All in all, a blessed day. Now to get some sleep, so I’ll be ready for tomorrow.

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Got Questions?

April 9, 2012 in Life in General with 1 Comment

Last week a friend called me with a medical question. This happens from time to time, since before I started filling my days writing and raising children, I was what people refer to as a pharmacist.

The question was simple: “Does this problem warrant a trip to the doctor?” The answer was simple, too: “Yes, it does.”

As we hung up she said, “I’m sorry to bother you with a medical question.”

I guess I’ve developed a reputation, because I often don’t like fielding medical questions. This one, however, I didn’t mind at all. What, I wondered, was the difference?   I’ll pick on myself first. I didn’t mind this question because I knew the answer. I like to know the answer, so it’s uncomfortable to have to shrug my shoulders as say, “Heck if I know.” So yeah, there’s the pride thing.

But that’s not the only reason. You see, my friend really wanted to hear my answer.

In my experience, most people with medical questions have an agenda. They either want to be told that they don’t really have a problem or that a super-secret quick fix exists (or both). They seem to think that pharmacists and nurses have a stash of little-known home remedies that will take care of any problem.

Pfft. Your doctor’s a quack. It’s all a conspiracy hatched up by the pharmaceutical companies! You don’t really need to take that blood pressure/diabetes/cholesterol medicine!

Or…

Oh, that? Just rub some witch hazel on it and tie a packet of oak leaves around your neck. You’ll be cured in less than 24 hours.

So when the person looking for that answer instead hears either, “Your doctor’s right,” or, “I don’t know of any other solution than the one you’ve already been given,” they usually aren’t happy with the answers.

I’m not saying everyone has to agree with me and take my advice. I’m also not saying people shouldn’t ask for clarification if the answer doesn’t make sense. But there’s a point at which “asking questions” turns into “spoiling for a fight” and that just wastes everyone’s time.

I’m sure you’ve figured out that I have an application here. Because this mindset carries over into every aspect of our lives, whether it be religion or politics or where to go for lunch.

Sometimes it’s legitimate. I may not realize how badly I want to paint the living room red until Todd argues for blue. But I need to own that. Rather than pretending I want his advice, I need to switch to “I have my heart set on red, how do you feel about that?” Then we can go from there.

The most hurtful things I’ve encountered in the church were not when someone had an issue that they felt was a deal breaker and decided to go a different way, but when someone already had their mind made up and refused to admit it.

Disagreements are inevitable, and some things are worth fighting for. We just need to be honest about where we stand, instead of pretending to be seeking answers when we’re really just getting set to argue.

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In Which I Go to Traffic Court

March 21, 2012 in Just for fun, The Organized Heart with 8 Comments

Last month, I got a ticket because my license plates expired. Alert readers will remember that this happened to me last year. I am a slow learner.

When the policeman pulled me over (half a block from my son’s school–it was delightful), my surprised comment was, “Wow, I can’t believe they’re expired already. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long since I renewed them.”

Yes. Because when you renew them late, that expiration date comes up even faster. And I know it may make you feel helpful to remind me that they mail you a card a couple of months before they expire, but there is something about that little postcard that renders me unable to remember its existence. I cannot explain it.

Here’s the thing. If one has difficulty paying online because the ticket number is illegible, and one puts it aside to call during business hours, and then one forgets all about it. Well. It can end up being stressful.

Because yesterday evening (fifteen minutes after city hall closed) it hit me that my court date for said ticket was TODAY. And then on the helpful information sheet it says, “If you wish to plead guilty and pay the fine, you must do so by the day before your court date. (emphasis theirs)

Now, the rational side of me says that this just means I have to appear before the judge before I pay. The imaginative side of me says that they are going to throw the book at me.

Mrs. Eastin, you were supposed to pay this yesterday. Now you’ve wasted our time. May God have mercy on your soul.

I was home alone when I realized this. By the time my husband got home with the kids I was, um, upset. I told my husband of my forgetfulness. He read the paper. Then we had one of those interesting times in a marriage when we were using the same words but meaning entirely different things.

You see, his response was, “Well, to avoid trouble, I would call this number first thing tomorrow morning.”

Now, his definition of “trouble” is having to sit through a long, boring session of traffic court. My definition of “trouble” is getting hauled off in handcuffs. I may have teared up a little until he figured out how worried I was.

Once he quit laughing, though, he offered incredibly supportive reassurances. Such as: “Well, they probably won’t let us bring the dogs up to the jail to visit you, but maybe we could bring them by when you’re picking up trash by the side of the highway.” And, “You’ve been saying you would like to work out more. I’m sure the chain gang will offer quite a bit of cardio.” That sort of thing.

So today I showed up for traffic court. I was the first one there, and one of the few that actually dressed up. The judge smiled at me. I paid my fine. I am no longer a fugitive from justice.

And let me add that I am SO THANKFUL that I managed to remember this before my court date. Because if I would have thought of this after the date had passed? I might not have survived. It says right on the paper they will issue a warrant for your arrest if you fail to show. But Todd assures me they generally don’t storm your house with the swat team if you forget to pay a fine for a non-moving violation. He’s probably right, but I hope to never find out.

And of course, the irony here is that I’ve written a book on staying organized, but yet I can’t seem to get my act together. It’s a good thing I don’t believe in karma, because then I’d be afraid to do anything. Humility is often best learned through humiliation.

It’s like I always say: Sometimes the punchlines just write themselves.

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Thanksgiving on the Blah Days

March 8, 2012 in Thankful Thursday with 5 Comments

This morning I lectured my husband about the shelf life of cheese.

Yes. Cheese. Because out of all the important things we’re doing together–serving God, raising kids, owning a home–I needed to make sure that we were on the same page about when cheese is edible and when it is not. And sadly, that was the high point of the morning.

It’s easy for me to give thanks when things are good. And though it’s not necessarily easy for me to give thanks when things are bad, I do tend to reach out to God in those times. Not always in the right way or for the right reasons, but the struggle reminds me how much I need him.

It’s in the blah days that I have trouble. Nothing is wrong today. My family is healthy, nothing pressing is visible not he horizon. But it’s only 9:30, and everything so far has been more difficult than I planned. The fifteen minute project took an hour, the quick trip to the grocery store had to be done in the pouring rain, my husband did not understand that just this once I was going to suspend my obsessive (but well grounded) preoccupation with food-borne illness.

(Remember Listeria? The contagion that killed all those people with the cantaloupes last year? I have the proud distinction of being one of only a handful of people in Missouri who contracted Listeria food poisoning in 1994. They never discovered where I got it. I was on a first-name basis with the head of the St. Louis County health department for a while. I’m entitled to my crazy.)

(Unless I feel like you’re implying that I haven’t cleaned out the refrigerator in a while, then you best just put the cheese in your scrambled eggs and be quiet about it.)

(And for the record, he didn’t. The cheese was tossed. And although I still say that cheese was okay, I now realize that he wasn’t criticizing the state of the refrigerator, he just didn’t want to get sick.)

(But really, I’m totally over it. Really, I am.)

I should always be thankful. And I am. I’m thankful that the project got done. I’m thankful that getting food is so easy that I think a rainy parking lot is a burden. I’m thankful that my husband remained civil even though my insistence that the cheese was still good contradicted everything I’ve said about food safety over the last 18 years.

It’s important to express gratitude. Everything we have comes from the hand of a good God, and we need to honor him by giving thanks. Especially when we don’t really feel like it.

Don’t forget to enter my birthday giveaway!

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Thoughts on Turning 40

March 7, 2012 in Mercy of God with 1 Comment

A few days ago a childhood friend posted a video on Facebook. It showed a pep session from our Junior High years, around 1984. It was fun to see all my friends as young teenagers, but the shocking thing was seeing the teachers.

Why? Because most of the teachers shown in the video were about the age I am now. All those adults that I thought were so old and hopeless back then were actually in their late 30s or early 40s. That no longer seems so old.

I turned 40 this week. That’s a reality.

I’ve never been particularly worried about my age. I’m the youngest of my sisters and seven years younger than my husband. By the time I hit all the birthday milestones, they feel like old news.

Forty? Oh, I did that years ago…

I do have to say, forty feels a little different. Thirty still seemed young. At 30, my kids were babies and I had the feeling of just starting out in life. Oh, sure, I had aged, but not that much. The face in the mirror wasn’t that altered from the one I saw at 20 and 25. Especially if I didn’t look to close…

But 40? I’m not the same. I’m older. I’m never going to be as young or as strong as I was at 30. Diet and exercise could definitely improve where I am now, but the chasm is too large to cross completely. There’s no going back now.

For the most part I’m okay with that. I was silly at 20 and still foolish at 30. I’m wiser at 40, but I’ve still got a way to go. I’d love to have the body and energy of my 20-year-old self, but I don’t want her ridiculous concept of what’s important in life. As for my 30-year-old self? She was awfully anxious and fearful. I don’t want that either.

I try to look at it from that perspective. At 50 my hair will be grayer, my chin will be even less defined, my wrinkles more prominent. But hopefully I’ll be wiser. Maybe I won’t be as self-centered and lazy. Perhaps I’ll be more thankful and more serene.

We live in a culture that puts great stock in youth. People would rather inject themselves with plastic than appear their age. I scoffed at such antics once upon a time, but I’m more sympathetic now.

I don’t see our society changing anytime soon. As much as I would like to see wisdom revered, I’m not holding my breath. All I can do is hope for the Holy Spirit to finish what he started in me.

By the grace of God, let it be so.

Don’t forget to enter my birthday giveaway!

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You Say It’s My Birthday Giveaway

March 6, 2012 in Just for fun with 24 Comments

Today is my birthday. Since it’s been forever since I’ve done a giveaway, I thought I’d give you a present.

It’s been such an interesting year. The publication of The Organized Heart was a highlight, of course, and last fall marked my seventh year of blogging. A couple of you have been around since the beginning, and I’ve made a lot of new friends along the way. I’m not the most prolific blogger, which makes me even more grateful that you continue to stick with me and my sporadic updates.

Anyway, since I’ve been around 40 years now, I’m giving away a $40 gift card from Amazon.

All my other giveaways were done the old-fashioned way, with people leaving comments and me drawing names out of hats. This time I thought I’d try out some of the new-fangled giveaway widgets. We’ll see how this works. The giveaway just after midnight Sunday night, so (Lord willing) I will draw names on Monday and contact the winners then.

So, have at it.

**Update** To get an entry for the giveaway, please “Like” below through the widget, not up above the post. I think I’ve given everyone who liked above credit, but you can ensure an entry if you “Like” through the link below. Thanks!**

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Finding God’s Will

March 6, 2012 in Theology for Girls with 3 Comments

I’ve been listening to the audio from the Finding God’s Will Conference. I just finished Kevin DeYoung’s first talk, which I highly recommend.

I also recommend Kevin’s book, Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will.

This subject trips people up a lot. I’ll admit, it has tripped ME up a lot. I’ve wasted a lot of time in fear and anxiety because I felt that I had to figure out ahead of time what God wanted me to do (trying to read circumstances, promptings, and “checks in my spirit”), rather than just trusting that God was in control and would take care of me.

As Kevin says in his first talk, we need to stop looking to God to show us the future and start trusting God because he holds the future.

In the first sermon, he discusses the inherent problems in the common view of finding God’s will. This is the belief that we need to wait for God to provide a sign before we make morally neutral decisions.

The problems with the conventional view of finding Gods will:

It focuses almost all of our attention on non-moral decisions.

It implies that we have a sneaky God.

It encourages a preoccupation with the future.

It undermines personal responsibility, accountability, and initiative. (It’s tempting say “God told me to” when people disagree with or question you, rather than taking responsibility.)

It enslaves us in the chains of hopeless subjectivism. (Is this a sign or a temptation? Is this a closed door or a test?)

He, of course, elaborates on all these points–and then some. I haven’t listened to all the talks yet, but I highly recommend Kevin DeYoung’s first one.

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First Lines

March 5, 2012 in books with 3 Comments

You wouldn’t know this unless you happened to catch it on Twitter, but a few weeks ago I started working on a fiction idea I have carried around in some form or another for about, oh, six years now. Well, the characters have lived in my head for six years. I only thought of something that could happen to those characters a few months ago. (Does that make sense?) It was just supposed to be for fun until I thought of something else to do, but since I’m over 50,000 words in, it looks like I at least need to finish.

Anyway, because of that I’ve been reading and thinking about fiction more than usual. This article on The Best 100 Opening Lines from Books was interesting.

The opening lines of any book are important, but more so in fiction. Opening lines are also not immune to trends. (Have you ever noticed that “chick-lit” tends to start with the heroine engaging in “witty” banter with her best girlfriend?) The best opening lines, in my opinion, are not only memorable but also encapsulate the overall theme of the book–even though you probably won’t realize how at the time. This is not as easy as it looks. Not that it looks particularly easy.

Here are some of the first lines of novels that didn’t make the list that I think fit the bill for a great first line: clever, memorable, and subtly indicative of what’s coming up.

(None of these books are written from a Christian worldview, and it’s been awhile since I read them, so I can’t remember if there’s anything offensive that I should warn you about. Reader beware, if you will.

From The Poisonwood Bibleby Barbara Kingsolver:
Imagine a ruin so strange it must never have happened.
And later (because this book is told in multiple first person accounts, and because this is what I thought was the first line before I checked:

We came from Bethlehem, Georgia, bearing Betty Crocker cake mixes into the jungle.

The real genius (to me) of this book is how well the Kingsolver pulled off the multiple narrators. The voices were so distinct that I could always tell which character was doing the talking.
The Accidental Touristby Anne Tyler:
They were supposed to stay at the beach a week, but neither of them had the heart for it and they decided to come back early.

That line seems so matter-of-fact, but it speaks volumes about the characters and what happens next.
A Patchwork Planetby Anne Tyler:
I am a man you can trust, is how my customers view me. Or at least, I’m guessing it is.

A Patchwork Planet is my favorite Anne Tyler book, although it doesn’t seem to be anyone else’s favorite Anne Tyler book. It says so much about how we let other people’s perceptions of us define us.
How to be Goodby Nick Hornby:
I am in a car park in Leeds when I tell my husband I don’t want to be married to him anymore. David isn’t even in the car park with me. He’s at home, looking after the kids, and I have only called to remind him that he should write a note for Molly’s class teacher. The other bit sort of…slips out. This is a mistake, obviously. Even though I am, apparently, and to my immense surprise, the kind of person who tells her husband that she doesn’t want to be married to him anymore, I really didn’t think I was the kind of person to say so in a car park, on a mobile phone.Hornby’s ear for dialogue is spot on. How to be Good fascinated me, as it’s a non-Christian’s attempt to come to terms with the realization that all the good things we do are ultimately fueled by our own self-interest. There’s a lot of truth in this book, even though it falls far short of offering the solution.

So, what are your favorite first lines? Does a first line need to communicate something that’s coming in the book?

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Lord Willing

February 29, 2012 in Life in General with 3 Comments

When I went to bed last night, I thought I knew exactly how this morning would go. I was going to get up early, finish editing a short story I plan on submitting somewhere, and take my son to school. He had plans as well: up early to finish homework, then on to school.

Then tornado sirens jarred us awake at four o’clock in the morning, so we both slept later than we planned. I didn’t lay today’s clothes out last night, so in the rush I threw on a stained shirt and bleach-spotted yoga pants with frayed hems. Then he realized that something he needed for school was not where he thought it was and apparently not in the house. (In his defense, he had checked and been mistaken, so I couldn’t even lecture him–it’s the kind of mistake his mother makes all the time.) (Okay, I might have still lectured a little bit.)

I took my sloppily-dressed self and we made a quick trip to Walmart, getting him to school just after the bell. (The threat of his first tardy was less worrisome than the potential wrath of the later teacher.)

In other words, today has been a living object lesson for James 4:13-15:

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

In hindsight, we could have done better this morning. We could have gotten up as planned. We could have done a better job last night getting ready for the day. I would not have hit the snooze button if I had known a trip to Walmart was in the works. I would have gone to bed earlier had I known tornado sirens would wake me up at four.

Each decision we made seemed sensible in light of the information we had. I thought I was dressing for a morning of housework. My son thought sleeping later would only cost him a bit of free time. It’s tempting in hindsight to say “shoulda, coulda, woulda,” but in this case, it wouldn’t have changed much. It was just a series of honest mistakes stacked on top of things we couldn’t predict.

And all of these things, so, so minor in light of the devastation just east of us. (Ten deaths. So tragic.)

And another reminder that we aren’t the ones calling the shots.

Update: A peek through my blog history tells me on March 1, 2011, I spent the wee hours of the morning under a tornado warning as well. I might want to write that on next year’s calendar.

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Status Report: February

February 2, 2012 in Status Report with 4 Comments

Sitting…on the couch.

Wishing…this headache would go away.

Thankful…that though my headaches are technically migraines (I get auras and everything), they’re not debilitating like a lot of people’s migraines are. But ow! Pain!

Sorry…that this status report started with me whining. I’ll try to do better.

Reading…The Distant Hours and Excellent Women. Both good.

Wondering…if you’ll notice that both those books were mentioned recently by Lisa on her blog. I seem to read everything she tells me to. Maybe I should have her tell me to clean my office today.

Enjoying…the sunshine. It’s been so warm here lately. I guess the warm days are nice, but it’s supposed to be winter now. I have a feeling we’ll pay for this mild weather later by having winter weather in March or April.

Thinking…about a book I finished a few days ago called The Borrower (not to be confused with the children’s book about miniature people). I hope to review it soon, but need to think through some things first.

Hearing…my washer beep at me. Time to move a load to the dryer.

Deciding…to get on with the day.

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