Back from Vacation

We just came back from a brief family vacation to Washington DC on Friday, and our little man turned 7 yesterday. I haven't had too many deep theological thoughts in my head this past week, beyond the fact that I finished Jay Adams' "Is All Truth God's Truth?" in the hotel room (for the biblical counseling course I am waaay behind in, due to revisions on my own book).

Speaking of hotel rooms, don't you just love cable TV? (That was irony there). I saw a guy down 50 hot chicken wings in 15 minutes ("Man vs. Food") and several PhDs defending the oh-so-plausible theory that life on earth came from aliens of another galaxy, who systematically programmed their DNA into the embryonic human race. (I swear I am not making this up.) Wouldn't it make more sense to just believe in God, and oh...I don't know....take the Bible at face-value? We did have a good laugh, though. The Smithsonian museums were great fun. The kids enjoyed "neanderthal-ing" themselves on a computer-generated imaging screen, and the flight simulator at the Air and Space museum.

Wednesday night, the Comfort Inn where we stayed had a BBQ for guests, so we enjoyed some hot dogs - and karaoke night outside in the garden. Man, those peeps down South sure do like their bluegrass and country music! Funny stuff. Our three younger kids got into the action with a rousing rendition of "Old Macdonald Had a Farm". Loud cheering ensued. (I am not making this up, either. Even the Southerners get sick of Travis after a while.)

Well, when I get back to writing for pleasure (and hopefully the glory of God), here's a topic on my mind of late: does the source of religious artwork defile it? Strange way of wording the question, I know. What I mean is this - think of an image of the Lord Jesus Christ that you rather like. Now suppose you discover it was produced by a cult. What, if anything, does this change in your mind or view of the image? Does this affect whether or not you think it's wrong to even MAKE or have images of Christ, either symbollic or representational?

I know what I think, but I'm interested in what you all think. There's a reason behind this topic. More to come later this week.

Gettin' Jiggy With It:

Our four children bustin' out some holiday moves:

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Random Thoughts and Scattered Sharing...

"The believer is unspeakably precious in the eyes of Christ, and Christ is unspeakably precious in the eyes of the believer."~Robert Murray M'Cheyne (quoted over at Puritan Fellowship, which has some wonderful material arguing against an extreme application of Limited Atonement from historical Christianity). Kevin, your sermons and the excerpts you post are a real blessing to many of us.

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Like this gem from Spurgeon on the love of Christ and abiding in Him. Well done.

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Ha! This morning's patient just canceled at work. Thus I can stay home and blog, send my proposal to agents....and maybe, just maybe, wash the kitchen floor. Oh, the joy.

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I need snow tires. Like now. It's mid-November, and in New England, that's really living on the edge with bald tires.

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To answer the question 3 of you e-mailed me about: NO. I am NOT the same Theogeek who is on Twitter. Different person. I have 2 blogs, 2 e-mails, a Facebook account, a job and 4 kids. Twitter is the one thing I don't do (but I'm sure with a name like that, he/she has some interesting Tweets).

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To my faithful reader in Colorado, who visits every day, wouldn't it be easier to just bookmark my blog? That way you wouldn't have to search "Theogeek" every time. Glad you're here and enjoying my posts. :)

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Here's a great idea for making Christmas more meaningful, especially if you have kids: The Salvation Army Online Giving Tree, hosted by JC Penney. You don't have to do this through a church/group program to participate. All you have to do is click on the link, enter your zipcode and e-mail, and choose a needy child by age and gender from your local Salvation Army's online registry. You will see his or her gift needs - usually a warm winter jacket; boots; a toy - and you will receive an e-mail with the child's identity number and address of the Salvation Army office where you may bring the donation.

For those who don't care to go to the mall, you can shop online - and JC Penney provides FREE SHIPPING if you purchase gifts from their site. However, this is a cool way to get your own children excited about Christmas - by involving them. Choose a child the same age and sex as your own child(ren), then bring them to the store with you. Let THEM pick out the gifts, and make a personal Christmas card for their "Angel Tree" friend.

My kids have been bugging me about going shopping, and it's not even Thanksgiving yet. It's gratifying to see your children excited about surprising someone else for the holiday! The deadline for gift drop-offs is December 14th, I believe.

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I wish I had more time to read Ed Buckley's "Why Christians Can't Trust Psychology". I quoted him several times in my own book, but getting through the entire book seems to elude me. I have the attention span of a gnat. Hey - maybe I have Adult Onset Attention Deficit Disorder! Yeah, that must be it.

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One of the things I love most about God, on top of everything else I love about Him, is that He forgives instantly and repeatedly upon repentance of the believer. The tenderness of His love cuts right through the shame and the hardness that comes from self-righteousness. It's human nature to want to "run and hide", but His Holy Spirit invariably calls to mind a verse, a passage, a specific incident from Scripture that speaks directly to the sinner's current predicament.

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Difficult, unsaved relatives who you are dreading seeing during the holidays? Remember, the Lord Jesus had dinner with Pharisees who invited Him. It may be a challenge, but Christ wants you to go. He is faithful and will provide ample opportunities for you to be salt and light. (Psst...don't take the bait when they try to put you on the spot for being a Christian.) If you get into an apologetics debate, be sure you have the goods to back it up...just do so lovingly. Neil's blog has some great resources to help you brush up if need be, but most importantly stay in the Word and pray for those "Pharisees" in your life who are perishing.