Mr. Prof designer home

Yes, it's 2:32 a.m. And yes, I'm up, blogging.

About an hour ago, I awoke from a deep sleep with the claps of thunder. Our A/C hasn't been working and so we've been sleeping with the windows open. The thunder that jarred me awake sounded like God Himself was clapping right over our heads. Within a matter of seconds, my almost-three-year-old son came running into the room, shaking and crying. The minute I scooped him up, he settled right down and fell asleep, safe and sound, secure in my arms.

Image used courtesy of Inmagine

"For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains." - Matthew 24:5-8 (also found in Mark 13)

"You yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'there is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. " - 1 Thess. 5: 2-3

"As lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.... At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory." -Matthew 24: 27, 30

Today I want to bring up a very sensitive subject, which I'm afraid happens all too frequently in Christian marriages. Too many Christian wives have a consistent attitude of denial and excuses regarding their physical relationship with their husband.

Do any of these sound familiar?
"I'm just too tired tonight, honey."

"Ever since the last baby,
I just haven't been in the mood as much."

"That's all he ever wants; if I didn't beg off sometimes, I'd never be left alone."

"I don't understand why he thinks I would do that when we haven't talked all day!"

"I've had kids crawling all over me today-
I just want to have my body to myself for a while."

I have some ideas about the origins of these excuses:

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I've got some interesting reads lined up for you today... browse the selection- I know you'll want to read at least one. ;)

• "Common Law Church"- This Boundless.com article (have I told you guys how much I really dig Boundless?) examines what church commitment can look like, by studying a thriving church in an urban area that's growing steadily and deeply, among young and old alike. Mark Dever, the pastor of the church that's featured, says, "There are a lot of churches you can go to where your Christianity is still a very private affair. I don't think church is supposed to be like that."
  

• "Girly Church" Andy muses about the feminization of the church and what can be done to attract men into the fold. Here's a few snippets:

• The Wall Street Journal did an interesting piece about Religion's Generation Gap, highlighting the fact that an increasing number of young people are more devout and more committed to their faith than their parents were. Here's a clip:

• Muddy Boots shared these "Rules of Humility" from Mother Theresa, and I just couldn't help but think about how great it would be if Christians would apply these things to their interactions with other Christians. How many less people in the Church would be hurt if we would simply follow this advice.

• And finally, as you may know, I like to wrap these up when possible with a little humor. So, if you're so inclined, head on over to "The Sacred Sandwich" and poke around, unless you've got thin skin, at which point, don't go. But you'll have missed out on one, no-I daresay MANY, good laughs.
  

In his first letter to the believers in Thessalonica, Paul writes about his approach of evangelizing, teaching, and discipling them. He compares his methods to that of a mother and that of a father.

He makes the point that he & Timothy had not approached the Thessalonians for flattery, greed, or glory, but that they came instead gently,

"like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us."

Here we see a selflessness and commitment to one's disciples that is above just a friendly, casual relationship. Like a nursing mother to her child. As one who has nursed three children, this tells me that he was physically present, emotionally connected, and a virtual lifeline for those that he was discipling. That he knew the importance of sharing his "own self" with baby believers... all too often, these days, new believers get a pat on the back, a date for their dunk in the baptismal, and signed up for a class in a few weeks. Does

"you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God."

Yesterday morning I began reading Francine Rivers' book, And the Shofar Blew, and finished it at 2am this morning. Like I usually do with her fiction, once I started, I couldn't rest until the story was completed. Francine Rivers' writing goes far beyond typical Christian Fiction, which is often no more than a shotty romance novel with no premarital sex. Rivers masters human relationships and dialogue, and effortlessly weaves many stories into one incredible tale.

The book title comes from the Old Testament call to worship, which began with the blowing of a ram's horn, called a shofar. This rich story centers on questions about churches... what makes a church? Who can lead? Who should lead? What happens when a church is led by the power-hungry? What should church discipline look like? What about different forms of worship? And whether a church is big or small? These questions aren't in your face, but are rather different angles through which she examines the story lines of the novel.

Rivers tells stories of aging gracefully and aging with bitterness, stories of how youth are impacted by their relationships with both parents, stories of marriages wrecked by addiction and temptation, and stories of churches and the struggle between pleasing God & pleasing men.

She delves into the emotionally and biblically difficult area of what a Christian is to do when married to an adulterer, walking a fine line between forgiving with grace and requiring accountability. Contrasting the lust for physical pleasure & power with the commitment of an enduring marriage, and comparing the marriages of casual, cultural Christians to the marriages of committed believers, Rivers paints many pictures of what Christian marriage can look like, in various forms and fashions.

Borrowing the biblical names of Eunice, Lois, and Timothy for three main characters, she also tells how important godly women can be in the life of a child, while lending credence to the now-societally-recognized fact that children who do not have an admirable father need a strong man in their life who can be an anchor for them in the sea of a culture of relativity and loose morality. She also gives several rich pictures of what biblical discipleship and growth looks like in reflective-of-real-life examples.

There is so much to glean from this story filled with mini-stories. I hope you'll have the chance to read this book, as it can shed much light and raise many questions. My hat's off to Francine Rivers for this modern tale of a church's decline into moral relativity and what a few righteous men and women can do in such times.

1. You may find the sidebar helpful-- To the side, you can check out categories of topics we've talked through, or you can look under the heading "Making Home Highlights" to find some of the most popular or favorite posts.
2. In 2 boxes on the left & right sidebars, you can find my favorite books & resources.  Truly, one of my great joys in life is passing along helpful, encouraging, and insightful resources to others. [Full disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.  This fact does not change my recommendations.]
3. I love to point people in the direction of great and worthwhile information, books, and articles. I do that most often through this semi-regular feature -SHOW & TELL- These posts are chock-full of links I've found to interesting articles, blogs, people, or ideas... this is my storehouse of great "finds" on the internet!
4. And if you're new to reading blogs, this is kind of like an online magazine with the most recent articles posted to the top of the page, so as you scroll down through, you're scrolling backwards through time. You can use the archive menu on the sidebar to access previous month's articles, or choose to browse by "categories" (subject matter) so you can click on what you want to read about.

Lately, many different Christian bloggers have been writing about the virtue of simplicity. Specifically, these people are trying to slow down the pace of life, simplify the way they live, and each for his/her own specific reasons. Some of those reasons include: pace of life, time together as a family, ecological impact, and intentionally not buying into the materialism and "bigger is better" attitude that so permeates America. Essentially, opting out of the so-called "American dream", and choosing instead to design their own family life.

One reason this is so interesting to me is because when we lived in China, we lived within about an 8-10 mile radius. Occasionally we took trips up into the mountains and went farther than that, but our friends, school, shopping, entertainment, restaurants, and everything else we needed was easily with an 8-mile radius of our home. So you can imagine our reverse culture shock when we came back to the States... it took SO LONG to get anywhere! 30- and 45-minute rides in the car are just a fact of life, in most places in America.

So, my question for you is this: If you were going to simplify your life, which one of these "plans" would you most like to pursue and why?

• A: AMY'S HUMBLE LIFE: "Oh give me a home with acreage to roam, where the cows and the four-year-olds play..." Amy's plan includes buying land, having land to give to children, possibly having a vineyard and an orchard and room for some livestock, virtually living off the land.

• B: SARA'S CITYSCAPE: "Oh give me a home with no styrofoam, where the hippies and vegans eat whey..." Silly song aside, Sara lives an ecologically-consciencious life, buying locally, eating fresh and healthy, living in a very small space (382 sq. ft. for a family of three!), and even growing dreads to the glory of God!