ice games

All things considered, I'd rather have power to heat our home and keep our food cool or frozen and to give light for nightly encounters with great books. And, yes, television and computers. There is nothing like chaos, however. Walking through the frozen streets together amazed at the force of nature. Sitting around a table lit only by candles and a battery-operated lamp, playing board games and laughing with each other. Maybe we can make an agreement with Mother Nature: Once a year, we'll turn off our man-made power for 48 hours and live off the Light that's within us. And, in return, she can spare us the storm that knocks out power and puts us into a deep, deep freeze.

Mommas, Daddies, Babies and Money

Three stories above the fold on Page 1 in today's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette offer a glimpse into our culture's misguided priorities. The lede story is on the proposed "stimulus plan" -- more money, more money, more money. Another story is on the decline of the family unit as seen in recent research on marriage rates, divorce rates and the number of couples who live together without any formal commitment. The third story is about the new president lifting bans that made it more difficult to kill babies before they are born.

quotes of interest.

"They (folks who live together but aren't married) can amass a good financial foundation and still be sexually satisfied."-- Rebecca Ward, social worker and family therapist.

Comment: I wonder if Ms Ward believes that or is stating that she thinks it's the reasoning many non-married sexually active couples would give for not getting married. Most research I've read shows that married couples report much higher levels of sexual satisfaction than non-married couples. I can't recall research on which couplets do best at amassing financial fortunes, but is that really the measuring stick for happiness, success, joy, peace?

"America can survive a financial crisis, it already has survived several of them, but it cannot survive the demise of it's most basic unit of civilization -- marriage and the family." --Dennis Rainey of FamilyLife, noting that there were 430,000 unmarried couples living together in America in 1960 and 6.4 million in 2007.

Comment: is it a stretch to think that our transition from a country that valued life and commitment in marriage and the importance of good mothers and fathers into a country that values self-focused goals and ambitions might somehow form a connection to the greed and the lack of accountability/personal responsibility that brought on our national economic crisis?

Finding my inner Tender Warrior

With thousands of great books out there among the millions of titles available, reading the same book more than once has never made much sense to me. I skim through books I've read in search of some particular points, but I don't re-read books -- except, of course, when I do. Right now I'm re-reading Tender Warrior by Stu Weber. I'm pretty sure this is the third time I've read it, and, other than the Bible, it's one of the few books I've ever fully read more than once. There are other books I'd enjoy reading again, but they always stay on the self because there's always a never-read book on my desk or nightstand.

Tender Warrior holds a special place in my life journey. It was a gift from a friend, but I can't recall why he thought an agnostic like me would be interested in a biblical view of manhood. But I promised him I'd read it, and I did. That was some 14 years ago, and here's the biggest, most important thing I learned from it: My authority isn't the highest authority. Men who lead with real authority and influence always live under real authority and influence. With this realization, I then had to decide under what authority I would place my life. Having long studied the major religions of the world, I knew all of them were lacking but one: Faith in Christ.

But Tender Warrior isn't one of those books written to convert heathens like me to the Way. It is, most of all, a wonderful description of biblical manhood -- the tender warrior. I know that if I live out the principles in this book, I'm a better man for it and my wife and family gain. And I know I need a constant remember of what those principle are. So I should re-read this book far more often than I do. The lessons are based on timeless truths, so they never get old.

When Gone Ain't Gone

My father died when I was in college, so it always hits me hard when I hear that a friend has lost a father. It's never easy to lose a parent, no matter how young or old you are, no matter how young or old your parents are, no matter how "good" or how "bad" they were as parents.

The father of a friend of mine died this week, and, as it so happens, the father had lived a pretty long life by today's standards. He had children and grandchildren. And he had been a man of influence on the lives of many, many people. He suffered a great deal at the end of his life, and the people who knew him are glad he has relief from that pain. His son helped take care of him until the very end, sitting with him when he took his final breath, always honoring him through his actions.

They'll miss him, but only for a short time. They know his death is not eternal, because he was a man who long ago embraced the greatest gift ever offered to the human race -- salvation. And they'll see his legacy on earth for as long as they are here, because the people who knew him are part of that legacy. He touched them, and they're touching others.

Ella Bird

My little Ella was a bird
Living among the trees.
She hid within the branches
and play among the leaves.
-- By Ella Caldwell and Podge Caldwell
January 2, 2009

Christmas inside the box