God is great.

Consider this from Psalm 19:

The heavens declare the glory of God,and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,and night to night reveals knowledge.

And then consider this:

Image above: How Big is the Milky Way? Imagine that our entire Solar System were the size of a quarter. The Sun is now a microscopic speck of dust, as are its nine planets, whose orbits are represented by the flat disc of the coin. How far away is the nearest star to our sun? In our model, Proxima Centauri (and any planets that might be around it) would be another quarter, two soccer fields away. This is the typical separation of stars in our part of the galaxy.

I put my hand over my mouth. Soli Deo Gloria.

Simple, but vital

Thought this little tidbit in Peter King's weekly column was interesting:

I'm sitting on the edge of a hospital bed in Massachusetts General Hospital-West when my surgeon approaches. It's Thomas Gill, the Red Sox and Patriots orthopedist. He's the third person out of eight or nine who would ask me the same question that day: "Which knee are we operating on today?'' I tell him the left one, and he takes a marker and writes "YES'' above my left kneecap. "The reason we don't put an 'X' here,'' he says, "is because if you put an 'X' there, how do you know that's NOT the one to operate on?''

You have to know that there was an event at some point that made this necessary. I can just hear the surgeon saying, "Okay so the left knee...now was that his left or my left? Scapel, please...."

Another Three Things

Before I get to the three things, I would like to offer a special thank you to Comfy Denim. Your careful consideration and comment on the Smurf-Care Bear throw down question was very helpful. Our family will consider the matter resolved.

Or not.

1. I do not take enough risks and it has crippled me as a Christian. I value comfort and quietness over helping people and winning souls. I have often used the "I-need-to-know-God's-will-on-this-matter" excuse for inaction. I heard someone say over the weekend that we will use that excuse when considering working with the poor or volunteering at that abortion clinic, but when is the last time you needed to know God's will in order to go see a movie or take a roadtrip. Yeah, sometimes I use "knowing-God's-will" as a delay tactic.*

*I am not trying to belittle knowing God's will, but if it is unclear then simply obey and serve
someone, right?

2. I now have a new phobia. We found a dead rat in our garden this morning. He was dead, but I hated him anyway. Snakes? No problem. Spiders? Okay. Roaches? Well, I guess. But RATS? DEATH TO THOSE FILTHY RODENTS! I wish they had been late to the launch of Noah's ark.

3. I haven't followed the news that closely, but I think that the healthcare debate is not really about health. It is about money. And greed. If it was really about health, we would shut down McDonald's and Wendy's.

Deep Thoughts

We have some really interesting dinner table conversations. Last night, we tried to sort out the following question: If there was a fight between the Care Bears, the Smurfs, My Little Ponies, and the Strawberry Shortcake gang, who would win?

Mrs. Underdog said that the Care Bears would win, because bears eat other animals. This seems like good logic until you consider that there are thousands of Smurfs. The Shortcakes are named after food, so they would be the first to go down. And My Little Ponies? Come on, when is the last time you heard of a pony winning any sort of conflict?

This is a debate for the ages, I suppose.

Spin class

I have grown accustomed to the pain of doing spin class with Lance Armstrong as our instructor.

I have trained my body to arise before life begins at 5:30am to get to class.

I have built sixteen gallons of water into my daily routine to combat dehydration.

But this morning, on that blasted bike, I encountered something that I never could have prepared for. Something that destroyed my workout and left me questioning my very existence. Something that emerged amid peddling and brought tears to my eyes.

What was it?

Mid-workout salsa burps.

Sentences

I was listening to a John Piper sermon while I was painting this weekend. One thing in particular stuck with me. Piper said that we all must have sentences. Sentences that we consistently return to. Sentences that we retrieve when we encounter difficult times. We cannot remember whole books. Most of us cannot remember paragraphs. But we can remember sentences.

This got me thinking: What are my sentences? What are the bedrock truths that I run to when I don't understand life. I was able to think of three.

1. God is sovereign over all things and he is doing ten thousand things around me that I am not aware of. This shapes my worldview. Romans 8:28 must be true---all thing are working for my good, whether I can see it or not.

2. This is not the end. This life is merely the preface. There is nothing that I cannot endure in this life that will not be worth what my Father has in store for me in eternity. “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,nor the heart of man imagined,what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor. 2:9). Life is but a vapor.

3. People are more important than things. This is an easy truth to say, but a hard truth to live out. I preach to my kids to "consider one another's interests ahead of their own", but their dad often places a premium on keeping things "nice". This is an area of sanctification for me.

So what are your sentences?

Recent meditation

I have been thinking a lot about these verses in Proverbs 30:

7 Two things I ask of you;
deny them not to me before I die:
8 Remove far from me falsehood and lying;
give me neither poverty nor riches;
feed me with the food that is needful for me,
9 lest I be full and deny you
and say, “Who is the Lord?”or lest I be poor and steal
and profane the name of my God.

What a really gutsy thing to ask of God. Lord, just give me enough for this day. Not more, not less........

Because You are the bread of life.

Because You have written my name on the palm of Your hand so that you will not forget me.

Because You love me more than the sparrows and they have all that they need.

Because You hate it when I worry about tomorrow.

Becuase Your mercies were new this morning.

Because they will be new again tomorrow morning.

Because You command thanksgiving.

Because You are faithful to Your children.

Becuase You know what I need before I ask.

Because You want me to desire you more than a full stomach.

Because You are good and work all things for my good.

Because you never fail and Your steadfast love endures forever.

Barely a post

Sorry for the lack of posting. Mrs. Underdog had the Strep throat and the rest of us suffered too.

I would like to dedicate this cartoon to Mrs. Underdog:

Picture

I changed the picture. It was a close contest between the picture you see at the right and the following images. You probably see the image more than I do, so if you think one of these is more fitting, comment and let me know.

Don't Waste Your Life

Will you regret the risks you did not take when you stand before Jesus?

Three things

1. I was in a Barnes & Noble the other day. They have this section with coffee table books at really low prices, but they are such bad coffee table books that I'm afraid that you might not be able to give them away. They had one entitled "Evil Serial Killers". Do you really need the adjective? Isn't being evil kind of a pre-requisite to serial killing?

2. I think that maybe we need to set some parameters around the sale of athletic jerseys. I saw a gentleman that was tipping the scales at somewhere over 300 lbs. wearing the jersey of one of the Dallas Cowboys cornerbacks. There is just something unbalanced about someone that is not fast wearing the jersey of someone that is fast. I propose that we not produce XXXL replica jerseys with the numbers and names of small, speedy players. "I'm sorry, sir, but we don't have any Deion Sanders jerseys in 3XL. Maybe a nice Leon Lett for a gentleman of your size...."

3. The 4th of July is now over. I often wonder what the origniators of a holiday would think of our celebration. I think that our nation's Founders would approve of our fireworks and feasting, but I bet they would question what we have done with the independence they purchased with their blood.

What Grace looks like.....

A recent conversation with a toddler

Dad Underdog: "Jojo, did you hit you sister (7 months old) in the head with that water bottle you have in your hand?"

Jojo, the two-year-old son (cue the voice inside Jojo's toddler brain----if I say yes, there will be discipline, probably a spanking, but if I say no and lie, there will be discipline, probably a spanking.... RATS!....this is not good....it wasn't even as fun as I thought it would be!.......all she did was scream and cry: what a woos!...and why didn't I hide the bottle? Duh!....okay, dad is waiting for an answer....what other words do I know....c'mon, vocabulary, c'mon....EUREKA! I got it...this will puzzle the old man....he will have to let me go becuase of the brilliance of my reasoning...tone is everything here, just squeak it out, sound innocent......okay, here it goes.....): "Maybe?"

Spanking commences forthwith.

Bad

Amazon has a bad policy that is forcing me to go to Half-Price Books. You see, when I want a book, I usually go to Amazon and find it. It is usually available as a used book from a second-hand bookseller for around a dollar. But they charge a $3.99 shipping fee no matter the size of the book or it origin. So my $1 bargain book now costs $5.00. And it doesn't matter if you ship several books from the same bookseller---$3.99 per book.

This is a bad thing - like abrasive parenting and speed bumps and unnecessary zippers - except about books.

Simply amazing....

How much free time would you have to invest...

Three things

1. Today is my 13th wedding anniversary. A few observations:

a. (Good) marriage requires effort. Not as much effort as children, but since it involves sinners and time, someone is bound to get offended at some point.

b. We have learned the art of fighting well. We did not know that this was important 13 years ago, but it is....

c. We produce a child an average of every 790 days. God has been good.

d. We have a real shot at fifty years. Maybe even sixty if the Lord tarries (I hope He doesn't).

e. I love Mrs. Underdog now more than ever.

2. I had a fever last night. One of those fevers where you just cannot get warm and you shiver a lot. Although I was sick, it was kind of interesting to experience that again.

3. In all of the Michael Jackson coverage, I have tried not to watch, but alas, I find it fascinating. Mr. Jackson denied himself nothing and found nothing that satisfied his soul. I wonder what Solomon would have said to Mr. Jackson? What about Job? What about Jesus?

Sunday

I think that I have mentioned before on this little blog that the song service on Sunday morning is one of my favorite times of the week. I love the joy that arises from expressing love through music---he intimate view of God that takes place as creation repeats the truth that the Creator reveals to us. I am convinced that the Lord Jesus in His complete Sovereignty has specific songs planned for specific people in tomorrow's service. He will reveal Himself to those people in the way that most fits their needs. They will sing the lyrics to a song and God will speak to them.

Worship.

Three things

1. This Father's Day will be especially cool because my Dad is here. Once you are a Dad, you Dadship is never revoked.
2. We are going to Sea World San Antonio this week. I was a little disappointed to find out that it is a water park/amusement park and not just a super aquarium. If I want rides, I can go to Six Flags. But I want sea creatures in all of their diversity and wonder. Anyone that reads this little blog been to Sea World before? Any advice?
3. This is an amazing quote that has me thinking: Sadly, it is commonly said among Christians that “God hates the sin but loves the sinner.” This is as stupid as saying God loves rapists and hates rape, as if rape and rapists were two entirely different entities that could be separated from one another. Furthermore, it was not a divinely inspired author of Scripture but the Hindu Gandhi who coined the phrase “Love the sinner but hate the sin” in his 1929 autobiography.The love of God is in fact true but sadly has been so overly emphasized in most Christian teaching that one wonders if God is love or if love is now God.- Mark Driscoll, Death By Love, p. 128

A Brilliant Fatherhood post

This is not my content, but I can't tell you how these paragraphs resonated with me. Fatherhood is the most grueling, most rewarding, most humbling thing I have ever done. Within hours of one another I have both questioned God's judgement in giving someone like me offspring and rejoiced in singing because of some evidence of grace in one of my children. Things can turn just that quickly.

Check this out:

Most fathers-to-be suppose that their old ego-centered lives will continue more or less unabated after the child arrives. With the exception of a few more obstacles and demands on their time, their involvement with their children is envisioned as being something manageable and marginal. Nothing like a complete transformation—an abrupt end to their former life—really enters men’s minds.

But then the onslaught begins, and a man begins to realize that these people, his wife and children, are literally and perhaps even intentionally killing his old self. All around him everything is changing, without any signs of ever reverting back to the way they used to be. Into the indefinite future, nearly every hour of his days threatens to be filled with activities that, as a single-person or even a childless husband, he never would have chosen. Due to the continual interruptions of sleep, he is always mildly fatigued; due to long-term financial concerns, he is cautious in spending, forsaking old consumer habits and personal indulgences; he finds his wife equally exhausted and preoccupied with the children; connections with former friends start to slip away; traveling with his children is like traveling third class in Bulgaria, to quote H.L. Mencken; and the changes go on and on. In short, he discovers, in a terrifying realization, what Dostoevsky proclaimed long ago: “[A]ctive love is a harsh and fearful reality compared with love in dreams.” Fatherhood is just not what he bargained for.

Yet, through the exhaustion, financial stress, screaming, and general chaos, there enters in at times, mysteriously and unexpectedly, deep contentment and gratitude. It is not the pleasure or amusement of high school or college but rather the honor and nobility of sacrifice and commitment, like that felt by a soldier. What happens to his children now happens to him; his life, though awhirl with the trivial concerns of children, is more serious than it ever was before. Everything he does, from bringing home a paycheck to painting a bedroom, has a new end and, hence, a greater significance. The joys and sorrows of his children are now his joys and sorrows; the stakes of his life have risen. And if he is faithful to his calling, he might come to find that, against nearly all prior expectations, he never wants to return to the way things used to be.

The whole article is great.

Dear Spring....

Dear Spring,

I really miss you. In fact, although you came and went in the blink of an eye, I developed a special affection for you. The way that you rained teardrops of rainy goodness every few days made a permanent impression on me. The days were long and filled with walks in the tender warmth of moderate temperatures. The flowers budded with your arrival and the birds sang their songs with a new joy....

Yet you left me, you wretched season! And your evil twin brother, Summer has moved in. Like the hot fires of fiery hot fire, Summer's heat and pressure has wilted my spirit and given my soul second degree burns. You brought such happiness, Spring, but your brother has made me feel like a bad haircut that will never grow out. Like a polar bear at a salad bar. Like something worse than Shredded Wheat with no milk. The rays of your sunshine that made me feel refreshed now power down on my poor head like a comination of super sharp needles, lasers, and angry porcupines. Ouch, you know?

Since you left, Spring, the rain drops never fall on my head. The birds seem bitter. Everything is worse. And did I mention that it is humid? Its like the whole state is one great big armpit after a collective marathon. You were pleasantly moist, but Summer's humidity is like having a wet cat permanently stuck to your head. It's not good.

I am pleading with you Spring, please come back. Vanquish Summer and bring balance back to the weather. I love you.

Seasonally insecure,

The Underdog