GroshLink

Dr. Seuss has recently provided much care to our family, as There's a Wocket in My Pocket must be read almost continuosly while Eden checks her back pocket for a Wocket. Although she doesn't sound out many of the words in this book, the sounds in Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You? find much repitition . . . in addition to the Leapfrog fridge phonics which is going off as I type and the new animal see-n-say.  In an effort to introduce other similar rhyming Suess books to Eden's repetoire, mom checked out a stack from the library.  Alas, none can compare in popularity to Wocket. 

Today, Hayley was sent home w/pink eye, she doesn't appear to actually have pink eye as she lacks discharge and even if she would have it, the cephalexin she's on for strep throat is already addressing it.  But the doctor instructed us to add the rotation of 3x day trimethoprim.  As she's been on cephalexin since Sunday afternoon, the doctor says she's not contagious whether its pink eye or a viral infection.  So she's back to school tomorrow.  Eden appears to be over the bronchitis, we've stopped the nebulizer.  What a winter!  All the girls just headed over to see Theresa's mom and share their stories. 

It's finally quiet in the house, as we started with Eden's Occupational Therapist (OT) at 8:15am and the action kept going . . . although I missed some when I joined a Penn State Harrisburg faculty book discussion on Letters From a Skeptic: A Son Wrestles with His Father's Questions about Christianity and ran a few errands. I think I'll take some time to dig deeper into Praying with the Church: Following Jesus Daily, Hourly, Today.

Jim, Thank-you for the loan! I've found it helpful as our family enters Lent, as I prepare for leading In the Shadow of the Cross at Elizabethown Brethren-in-Christ, during an extended converesation regarding prayer in the context of the faculty discussion group this afternoon, and as I anticipate hearing/chatting with Scot McKnight at IVCF's upcoming Graduate and Faculty Ministry National Staff Conference.

Michael Murray welcomed the attendees to F&M's 11th Annual Philosophy Symposium: Philosophical and Scientific Perspectives on Love, briefly sharing his enthusiasm for next year's collaboration of Biology, Philosophy, and Psychology.  We then quickly moved to Eleonore Stump's, Philosophy, St. Louis University, presentation Love By All Accounts.  Below are some notes.  I found the whole conference quite stimulating (more posts en route), but this talk was most helpful for me personally.  In particular, the consideration of Aquinas' understanding of Love.

Eleonore opened by comparing two popular competing accounts of love:

Just returned from 'da Burgh. I had the opportunity to participate in Church of the Ascension's Ash Wednesday service. While receiving the imposition of the ashes, I was filled with Joy. Not how we're supposed to start Lent, but God may be calling me to give up brooding. That will be new one!

Not sure how this will affect my Adult Education Class:

In the Shadow of the Cross: Reflections on daily life through the window of Lent, the Cross, the Resurrection, and the Kingdom of God . In addition to walking through the Lenten guide provided by our local congregation, we will meditate upon and discuss several pieces by N.T. (Tom) Wright. We'll dedicate a significant number of weeks to viewing, discussing in small groups, and praying responsively to the material presented in his DVDs on Evil and Resurrection, based on Wright's book Evil and the Justice of God (note:  earlier post on Evil and the Justice of God).

As I posted on Peter and Becky's blog (note: praise God for passports and the opportunity to be with your children in 24 days), I'm looking for input regarding good material to incorporate into the class (note: beginning on March 4). If you have suggestions post here or email me. This week I'll move in the direction of the new class by wrapping-up Questioning Evangelism with a look at the Parable of the Lost Sons.  Visit Finding the Lost for some material I'll be using. More will be posted when Eden gives me the opportunity

Did your family ever fall for something like an on-line IQ test with related spam and purchasing opportunities? Well at least I (Tom) found my true self, w/129 points I'm an Insightful Linguist, i.e., highly intelligent and have the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. These skills contribute to my creative and expressive mind.

And it's good to have married a Visionary Philosopher such as Theresa. Being highly intelligent and w/a powerful mix of skills and insight that can be applied in a variety of different ways, her Plato-like exceptional math and verbal skills, which make her very adept at explaining things to others — and at anticipating and predicting patterns provide vision and direction to our family (and our housing project).

Due to our high intelligence and strong self-understanding, we decided not to make a further investment of $12.95 in this exercise, not even tempted by the superIQ test . . .  Hayley and Ellen just came off the bus, so onto the pursuit of vision, knowledge, and artistry as a family 

Conversation after conversation, speaker after speaker at CCO's Jubilee 07 encouraged me in the call to campus ministry, highlights included:

1. hearing excerpts from my Grove City College Church History mentor Andy Hoffecker's soon to be released new worldview piece
2. an extended lunch conversation with David Naugle, who referred to Hoffecker's work in his Worldview seminar, focused on 'Why be a follower of Christ in academia' and the various programs he's developed at Dallas Baptist Univeristy, check out Paideia College Society
3. picking Byron Borger's (Hearts and Minds bookstore) brain on resources for addressing 'Why be a follower of Christ in academia'
4. exploring the possibilities of partnership with Geneva's Higher Ed program
in developing material for the Emerging Scholar's Network
5. staying up way too early in the morning (posting this at 2:30am to see the Amazing Grace the soon to be released film on William Wilberforce's efforts to end slavery in Britain. Wow! More tomorrow. Time to take a rest.

Thank-you to Miller for passing this along.  I never had the opportunity to meet or hear Bruce Metzger.  But it was hard to miss seeing the name of one who in his prime there was no greater authority on New Testament textual criticism again and again.  The Kingdom of God has been blessed by his training of many pastors and teachers of the New Testament.  Here's the link to John Piper's tribute in which he prays that he will fill his days as diligently as Bruce Metzger. His life gave the word assiduous flesh and blood meaning. May John's ministry continue to be a blessing to many and may each of us not forget the work of the saints who have gone before us, preparing us under the direction of the Father and inspiration of the Spirit of God to bring the Word of God to Life.  Note:  NY Times Obituary.

For the past several months, Jim (check out Pilgrim Musings with some of my thoughts expressed on Sunday, February 11) and I have been leading an adult elective based on Randy Newman's Questioning Evangelism.  As we prepare to wrap-up the class over the course of the next two Sundays, I have not been able to put down several pieces by Kenneth Bailey [Presbyterian author and lecturer in Middle Eastern New Testament Studies New Wilmington, PA, USA; Canon Theologian of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh; Research Professor of New Testament at the Ecumenical Institute (Tantur) Jerusalem (Emeritus)] regarding Luke 15.  

Among many helpful explorations and applications of the text, which I'll get to at a later time, below is an extended quote from Jacob and the Prodigal regarding evangelism (Note:  If you have to chose one of Bailey's InterVarsity Press Pieces over another, the production and commentary upon "Two Sons Have I Not" in The Cross & the Prodigal is one of a kind and shares a lot of the same material with his other IVP work).  Having heard both Bailey (and it's hard not to mention that his son is the musician Dave Bailey) and Walls in person several times, they have much to offer not only to the academic, but also to anyone who seeks to be a follower of Christ as presented in the New Testament:

The snow has finally come, put on the shades  and watch the event cancellations roll into the email box.  Hayley and Ellen came home from school early yesterday and school was canceled today.  What to do with all that day-late Valentine candy?  Dad might have an answer while the girls are out on another sledding adventure.    The sugar would help me keep going while I'm holed up watching Eden (who has a cold), reading Kenneth Bailey's Jacob and the Prodigal, catching up on piles of email, and giving spurts of energy to packing for my trip out to 'da Burgh for which I leave tomorrow (and will be joined by the family for the weekend).  But that wouldn't be loving . . . yesterday Hayley shared about St. Valentine with her teacher.  A story of true, tough love.

Our water is good to drink! Theresa just turned on the instant hot water and flushed out the line. Good to have that hot tea as I wrap up preparations for leading a Philippians 4 Manuscript study on Sunday at the Mid-Atlantic Grad Student Retreat.

Check out the NY Times' piece on Rural Colleges Seek New Edge and Urbanize. I admit that F&M (Franklin & Marshall College)'s coffee shop is quite good, a rare opportunity for the community to come to campus. And faculty living close to campus in a small city such as Lancaster reminds me of the faculty families being involved in Grove City and at Grove City College. I found knowing faculty families (husband, wife, kids -- some of whom I went to college with), visiting their homes, seeing their faith in action one of the most significant parts of my education at the Grove

But when I come across statements such as It’s often said of a college education, "It’s a shame it’s wasted on the young,” I am disturbed by how much of these explorations little more than the provision of an entertainment driven package to address the desires of the young and the old. Yes, this will provide more to cash for college facilities, but toward what end? The institution's educational goals will need to be clearly outlined. We must be wary of romanticizing the interactions between young and old when the focus is on goods and services and not toward a shared common good.

Roman Catholic orders which provide education on-site as part of their community's purpose provides a beautiful picture of linking retirement communities and college campuses (or retired faculty at any institution which continue to mentor, periodically speak, research part-time, etc) . . . and I might add, returns us to the origin of the university. May God grant grace and insight to those which administrate and teach institutions in Higher Education, particularly those still connected to religious bodies. That these colleges and universities would give testimony to ways in which the community, both young and old, might bless one-another, breaking down the town-gown distinction in the pursuit of growth in heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Less than a mile from us on Cloverleaf Rd, but before you enter the crossroads of Milton Grove, a house caught fire yesterday afternoon (Note: picture taken from this local news article). Lots of fire trucks, tankers, an ambulance (or 2) blazed past our place while I explored the possibility of applying to become part of a ministry pioneering cohort within IVCF. All the equipment set-up at the Melon Man, across from Theresa's Grandparents (Ralph and Margaret) house and we kept in close contact with Ralph to discern how the situation would impact the twins' bus route. The road was blocked when their bus attempted to make the turn our direction and via a series of cell phone conversations, the bus driver dropped Hayley and Ellen off w/one of their friends that lives in Milton Grove. Later an acquaintance of ours picked them up, along with her daughter, and dropped them off in time for dinner.

Hayley and Ellen could see some of the fire and lots of smoke from where they were in Milton Grove. Hayley had butterflies in her stomach when she came in the front door. They both were concerned about their friend's houses along the whole road and the provision of housing for the affected family.

Theresa and I had several conversations and times of prayer with the twins. Ellen had difficulty sleeping. We'll be revisiting this one today, particularly since their bus goes past the site and all the kids from the neighborhood will be talking about it. The 2 hour snow delay enabled us to unwind a little bit this morning, although the physical therapist showed up around 8:20am and Eden was off the races with her walker giving them not as much space to play.

Please remember Hayley and Ellen in your prayers as they process/pray through this event on their own, with friends at school, and with us this evening. Also pray for grace and provision for the family who lost their home.

News flash: Eden's cornea is much improved. It is no longer irritated as it had been in her January 8 appointment. We'll continue the use of eye drops and she'll have a return visit in 2 months.

As to the slight drift in her left eye, it is not bad enough to require surgery. Her brain probably views images together even though the images not completely aligned. Pray with us for the continued correction of her left eye.

As a proud Father, I wanted to post Eden's developing words, i.e., what has gone beyond mama and dada. Our every-other-week house visit speech therapist has been a great encouragement to us as we (and our extended family) seek to teach communication skills to Eden, remember when she started about 1 month ago?

Eden needs to increase her sound repertoire to include sounds other than m, d, g, k and to articulate these sounds with clarity. Three particularly special pieces are

1. Deedee (Eden, how she refers to herself) can be found in the living room with her baby doll saying Ah deedee (ah, baby . . . sometimes sounds more like ah, dayday), singing Ah, la, dee, and feeding her baby a gah (bottle).
2. Watching Deedee pulling up to and using Ack-ah (the walker) in the living room to get around.
3. Her improvement in imitating sounds, particularly songs such as trying Happy Birthday for Eyen and Hiyah.

Other words, and context does matter with regard to meaning, include:

Marketers place a lot of faith in the appeal of the Super Bowl, both the game and the commercials . . . They should work harder on half-time. We turned off Prince or the one who used to be known as and didn't tune in again until the partway through the 3rd quarter.

Theresa found nothing to come close to EDS' Herding Cats. Although, the Nationwide Financial commercial of a fry cook at a fast-food joint imaging rapping fame was funny. I might add the General Motors factory robot obsessed with quality taps into the emotional pull of my years caring for them and their creators at CMU ;-) FYI: Check out ESPN's list which doesn't forget to bring our attention to Apple's 1984 and the e-Trade Monkey -- good voting from the readers!

So we begin Monday into the wide world of consumerism, to replenish our stock of beer and doritos . . . BUT for the testimony of the coaches! So good to see the popular press wrestling to cover the counter-cultural nature of the Gospel -- hard to believe such a perspective could come out on top from time to time in the NFL, even come in 2nd. Must have something to do with the way the creation is ordered and how we relate to one another in sport/vocation as we apply our gifts in the way they were intended to be used :-) FYI: More at Super Bowl Coaches Value Family, Faith

Good to be on the same team (by the grace of God), seeking the same prize in Christ Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. As we return to our daily life, may we too witness in words and actions to another prize than those of the flesh, the devil, and world. Father grant us your Spirit to play your game your way to your glory in our family, relationships, neighborhood, and vocation. In the Name of your Son Jesus who played the game as one of us and suffered the price for the prize, Amen.