unAnchored

Two weekends ago my sister stayed with us to help me care for Wesley while Hillary was with family. We visited Celebrate West Hartford, which like a town fair. There was face painting and since there was now way Wesley would sit still for that he got an anchor tattoo. Looking back, this has been a month where we've felt as if we're moving all over the place. Family has been in town, Hillary has gone on vacation and visited family. I'm gearing up for our annual missions trip with our teens and then we're off to the Poconos for a few days of vacation. It has hard to imagine it slowing down, though I know that time will come.
While all this is happening there have been times where we are deeply anchored despite the activity. I've been reading through 1st John and in there I keep running into the theme of "abiding:" abiding in Jesus, his love, his commandments, and the opposite, abiding in death, the ways of the devil, indifference, and hatred. Even amidst busyness and stress there are times when we have been abiding, in a right way, and it has made all the difference. I want to grow in abiding, not just because it helps me deal with life, but because I love God and it is what he deserves. That is a huge idea to unpack, because often we think of what we deserve and are owed. Thinking about what God is owed helps me all the unanchored times in perspective. This isn't some wooden legal sort of things but the dynamics of a real relationship. Maybe I'll write more in the future.

diverse scolding

Our church has community groups where people who live in a local area get together on a Sunday night to spend time together, talk about the sermon, and pray for each other. This Sunday night we had people from two groups at our home and Hillary related this neat interaction. Fabi, from Nicaragua, and her son (7yrs old) were there early and he was exploring and playing with different toys. Another woman who is Ukranian arrived a little later with her son (2yrs old). Both of these boys were getting into things they shouldn't have and one mother was scolding in Spanish while the other mom was scolding her son in Ukranian. It was a neat picture of life in the body of Christ. We come from different places but have similar difficulties and are working towards the same ends.

The splash park - part of Wesley's daily regimen

Wesley's usual day: sleep, eat, play, eat, splash park, sleep eat, play, eat sleep. In the past week and a half that it has been open we've gone pretty much every day and Wesley enjoys it more each time. At first he would only stick his hand into the smallest jet of water shooting out of he ground. Now he goes in face first, mouth open, as he dashes around the area, running right into the jets of water and even braving the purple tunnel which sprays you from all directions. This park is about a block and a half from our house so it is super convenient and we've had so much fun taking him there. We usually get pretty wet when we go because he'll want to be picked up every now and then or he'll get knocked over by another child running around and need to be held. This past week was my (Jarrett's) first night on my own with Wesley as Hillary traveled with a friend to Newport, RI to get a little break. It was good for Hillary to be away and I enjoyed my time with Wesley. This week I'll have another two nights on my own with Wesley. Fortunately my sister will be in town, so that will help. I'm looking forward to the time spent together, but a little cautious as to how it will all work out. We are heading into a busy few weeks as school winds down and summer begins. This is an exciting, but stressful time for teens as they transition from the challenging finals season to the relaxation of summer. I need to do my best to care for them well.

Demons, and I'm not strange

It was my sophomore year of college and I was taking a history class focusing on the time of the protestant reformation (just fulfilling gen. ed. requirements). At the beginning of the class the professor asked the class what we believed in, or some question like that. It was a broad question designed to reveal the way we looked at life and then help compare our worldview with a person living in the 1500's. There were various respones from the class and one of the guys said, "angels and demons." I recognized him from a Christian orginzation on campus and though I agreed with him theoretically, I couldn't help but smile to think that someone really believes in angels and demons. Saying it outloud in the class room setting almost seemed ridiculous and my response revealed my own unbelief in something the bible clearly teaches. Even as you read this, you may think I'm a little wierd. I probably would have to, at certain points in life.

Now, fastforward nine years and the reality of the demonic is something I can't get away from. I'm still working on a very practical belief in angels and how they fit into the story of God and his people, but I'm convinced about the demonic. This has been a process, that has been solidified through learning, faith, and experience. As I've continued growing in Christ and serving him I'm seeing more and more of the dark side of the spiritual world. While this came up some in seminary, it has been my time in New England and my three weeks in Africa, where I've run into this the most.

When people talk about the demonic we can tend to think of wierd supernatural stuff like we see in the movies. This is a part of it, but there is also the subtle deception, accusation, and slander that come from the devil and his minions. What I'm trying to do is fit these different pieces together. Right now I'm reading a book (see picture) on the demonic and it has been very interesting. Though I don't agree with the author on everything he is helping me pull together things that I have observed, but not realized, and then connect this to what we see in the bible.

hungry?

This weekend teens from our church participated in a 30 hour famine event, where they fasted for 30 hours and spend the last 15 of those hours together. We hung out, cooked a meal for a local rescue mission, talked about poverty, memorized a bible verse, had times of teaching, prayer, and singing, then broke our fast with pancakes and sausages Sunday morning before church. The time of bible study and prayer Saturday evening was really neat as God met us. The picture to the right is a white board covered with 14,000 dots. The teens were wondering why we did this, and then found out as I played a clip about global hunger from World Vision. 14,000 children die every day from hunger and this visual representation helped connect the somewhat abstract statistic to reality. I'm so glad that we did this event and look forward to fasting together in the future.

Whenever one of the teens was feeling hungry, they were supposed to say so out loud and the rest of us would respond with Jesus' words from Matthew 4 "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." This was a neat way to connect their present experience of hunger to the bigger reality that we are completely dependant upon God.

A Towering Figure

I just finished this biography of Edwards by George Marsden and I agree with the Wall Street Journal that it is "magesterial." Marsden is very even handed in how he handles Edwards, helping the reader unerstand his excellencies and weaknesses by bringing us into his 18th Century context. This books is wonderfully written and rarely dry. You get a feel for Edwards, his family, and his times. There were a couple things I got out of this book: First, Edwards was incredibly disciplined. It is amazing to read of all the ways he ordered his life to pursue Godliness. Such discipline is worth striving for. I need to continue growing self-discipline and cutting the unnecessary out of my life. Second, for Edwards it was all about the glory and beauty of God as seen in the face of Jesus Christ. This was a man who, above all else, was captivated with a vision of the ineffible pleasures of Jesus Christ and allowed this compulsion to steer his life. The exciting thing, is that though such a life can seem far off, the same God who filled Edwards' life with light can do so in mine. Third, there was much conflict surrounding Edwards. Some of this was related to his own sin and weakness, but much arose because he was a man of principle and passion. I know that both my strenghts and weaknesses will cause difficulty as I follow Christ. I need to be aware of my failings and sinful tendancies because they will drag me and others down. I also need to understand that conflict will come when I am doing the right thing. Fourth, when God moves in a powerful way it is impossible to know what will happen. During the revival in North Hampton where he was a pastor and through the time of the First Great Awakening the gospel broke loose upon society and truly shook things up. When I pray that God would do the same here and now, I need to realize what I am asking for. Do I truly want my life shaken up? There is so much in this book and in the life of Edwards that we can learn from. I'm so glad I read it.

birthday fun

Last week we celebrated birthdays: Hillarys (Fri) and Wesley's (Thurs. with a Sat. party). It was a lot of fun as I was able to take Saturday off for the party and have some time Friday afternoon to take Hillary out to lunch and spend around the the home. Family came into town Saturday for Wesley's party and had a lot of fun with him. As you can see Wesley enjoyed the birtday cupcake. Prior to this he was playing in the dirt, then the water, and then he combined the two until he was a complete mess. We stripped him down and hosed him off in our driveway and then the fun continued. His cousin Lindsay, who is normally pretty clean, was caught up in the fun as Wesley was throwing dirt around and got her. Most of the family were able to have some time with him and he did really well. When it came to opening presents, he liked tearing the paper but was distracted by all that was going on. As Hillary and I were looking back on on last year, it seems like so long ago. It has been an amazing and kinda crazy year. Asking Hillary what she thinks of the year, she said that she is beginning to feel more settled. When I asked her what she meant, she mentioned being here almost three years now, getting used to being a mom, and more tied into life here. As we talked about it, I have a similar feeling as to our experience here. Though it seems like there is something we're always figuring out or adjusting for, there is a greater sense of stability and it is nice.
Yesterday we, also had some birthday fun as we traveled up to Bridgewater, MA to visit an art gallery. Hillary found out about this guy and his studio on Craig's list when she was looking for a sandbox for Wesley. To make a long story short she bought me one of his paintings for my birthday. I turn 30 this November and we thought it would be a neat way to celebrate. John Deihl, is the artist and he has a grand opening tomorrow. Since his works are reasonably priced we wanted to get there before the opening so we took Wesley up yestarday. It was a fun excursion and somewhat of a test case for bigger trips to Boston or NYC. I'm not sure where I'll hang this yet, but I've got some ideas.