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Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness
  let the whole world know what He has done
Sing to Him; yes sing His praises
  Tell everyone about His miracles
Exault in His holy name;
  O worshippers of the Lord, rejoice
Search for the Lord and for His strength
 and keep on searching

--Psalm 105: 1-4, New Living Tanslation (More)

I think that it has been helpful for Guinness to weigh in at that time, see Fathers and Sons: On Francis Schaeffer, Frank Schaeffer, and Crazy for God. I pray for reconciliation between the many involved in the messy-ness of L'Abri and more broadly speaking the vocation of ministry as it is worked out in daily life in local congregations and various other extensions of the Body of Christ.  Personally, I am humbled and troubled.  Your prayers are a great blessing and encouragement to us as we seek to articulate and live out the Gospel in many contexts.  Pray for our children day-by-day to grow in godly ways for a life given to the Lord.

Note:  Earlier treatments of Schaeffer's heritage can be found at Understanding the Schaeffers and Saving the World.

3/16/08: Obama's Minister Committed "Treason" But When My Father Said the Same Thing He Was a Republican Hero, by Frank Schaeffer. I have comments to make, but they're not fully formed and maybe it's best they weren't made in such a condition.

Eden had a great first day of preschool, so her teacher told me. She didn't have any anxiety about getting dropped off. She started to play with a dollhouse right away and was fine. They had gym today and she got to play basketball. Not sure what that was like, but I was told she made a basket. Her dad will be proud.

There are questions about The Hobbit, but we definately have Indiana Jones IV on May 22 (in duel with Prince Caspian which opens May 16). The Jones trailer, see below, gives me some hope as the Harrison Ford character admits and displays how its not as easy as it used to be and we may even have someone to inherit the legacy (versus the prequals left vacant w/the loss of River Pheonix and the TV series which lacked popular appeal).  I hope Theresa and I can make it to the theatre to access for ourselves before the baby is born (due June 6).

As I've posted previously, If only Sean Connery could be convinced to come out of retirement to reprise his role as Professor Henry Jones. Hard for me to imagine Harrison Ford in action, seems like his day is done and I liked the way Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade wrapped up the series, but maybe Spielberg can resurrect both the actor and the series.

Many people have commented over the year at how big Eden looks every time they see her. She never seemed huge to me (Theresa) and has always been average for her age. Today she went to the doctor for her 3 yr. old check up and here are the official stats:

Height: 37 in.
Weight: 35.5 lbs (a few weeks ago their scale put her at 38 lbs, so I think their scale is a little fluky)

These stats put her in the 50th percentile for height and the ... 90th percentile for weight! So for everyone who thought she looked tall, she's not. I think we're just used to seeing her crawl and when she's standing she looks so much bigger. And to look at her you wouldn't say she's pudgy, so I think she must have a lot of lead in her body or something.

Tomorrow should be her first day of preschool, weather permitting. More on that later.

I spent Friday evening meditating upon Manufactured Landscapes. For me, the peak of the film was the shipbreaking beach, I was filled with prayer as I watched the children work in the oil sludge (earlier in the film I prayed through watching a village recycle computer parts/metal and need to ship water in due to the pollution). Here's the trailer

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February 22 was a full day with Eden turning 3, the twins being off school due to the snow, and lots of cooking.  I'll have Theresa fill you in on the details, but I didn't want to go to bed w/o offering praise to God for the gift of Eden's life, health, and continued development (Note:  Yesterday, Eden walked across the living room for the first time).  God the Father is so good, we know His Presence through the testimony of the creation, the incarnate Body of Christ, the powerful indwelling of the Spirit, and the clarity of His Word. 

What a joy to know we are not alone when we wake up tomorrow morning, but God is standing with us through you! 

York Moore, InterVarsity staff colleague and author of Growing Your Faith By Giving It Away, posted video from the Price of Life outreach in which he addressed the relationship between child sex slavery and the freedom available through the power of the gospel. Note:  He also brings attention to the remote consumption of trafficking victims, making the U.S. complicit in child sex slavery and forced prostitution. 1,000 students attended this event at Michigan State University in November, 2007 and over 100 became Christians through the campaign. Praise the Lord!  May the Spirit speak to you through his testimony, challenge, and witness . . .

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Please join us in prayer as we begin preparations for Jim Sire's visit to Central PA. Dr. Sire is the former senior editor at InterVarsity Press. In addition to his time with faculty and students on a number of campuses in our area, we have arranged two opportunities for the wider Christian community to hear and interact with our guest lecturer.  Please mark your calendar, more details coming shortly.

On Tuesday, April 1, 7pm, we will host a dessert at Acorn Farms where Dr. Sire will share the importance of InterVarsity's Graduate & Faculty Ministry in influencing the people, ideas, and structures of higher education. Note: Also included in the evening will be a local faculty member who will give testimony to the value of InterVarsity's Graduate & Faculty Ministry in the field. 

Second, on Saturday, April 5, Dr. Sire will lead a prayer retreat based upon his recent book Learning to Pray Through the Psalms.  Elizabethtown Brethren-in-Christ's Jim Gambini will lead the retreat's worship time.  Note: the retreat will be held from 9am-1pm at Donegal Presbyterian Church, Mount Joy, PA.

Pray for Royce, a CMU graduate student in Engineering & Public Policy, as he prepares to lead an article discussion series on A Kingdom You Can Live For. He'll begin Thursday with a consideration of Enthralling the Mind with God (Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Discovering Your Hidden Life in God, pp. 323-341). Note: In case you haven't already read it, I commend to you Jesus The Logician

Have you seen the Prince Caspian trailer posted at the official site and a longer one on yahoo movies? Is it just me or does the trailer come across a little strong and portray an older Caspian than the book . . . maybe my concern relates to whether Ellen & Hayley are ready for depictions of titanic conflict.  With this respect, the Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe crossed my children's film line in the battle scene where it tried become LOTR-lite.  In addition, a significant part of Prince Caspian is the wandering among the ruins, the forest, and the renewed Narnia. I hope there is quiet (even silence) and a sense of drift in parts of the film.

Starbucks nationwide to close for emergency re-training Feb. 26 brought some thoughts to my mind.  As a former Starbucks barista I [Theresa] have an opinion.  Starbucks is responsible for turning me into a self-proclaimed coffee snob, largely because I believed most of the propanganda they fed me at coffee school.  I also read Howard Schultz's autobiography.

As a Starbucks employee quality control was drilled into us.  We learned that the "perfect shot" was drawn in 18-23 seconds and if a shot didn't fall within that time frame it was to be discarded.  Eventually we learned to eyeball pretty accurately if a shot was "perfect" by looking at it.  But technically we were supposed to time each shot.  Each drink had a specific recipe that was to followed unless directed otherwise by the customer.  Drinks were even required to be called to the barista in a specific order ("decaf, tall, nonfat, double shot, vanilla, no-foam, latte").  The point of all this was so that the drink you ordered at Starbucks in New York City would taste the same as the drink you ordered at Starbucks in San Francisco, etc.  And that was something I appreciated about Starbucks.  I liked knowing (with a few exceptions) that the latte I ordered would taste just like the lattes I always ordered no matter who made it or where I ordered it.  For this reason I rarely order an espresso drink at an establishment other than Starbucks.  My (brainwashed) idea of what a good espresso drink tastes like is based on what a Starbucks espresso drink tastes like.  I usually find drinks purchased elsewhere taste inferior to me.  I emphasize that this is my brainwashed idea of what an espresso drink should taste like.  But I'm happy with it. 

So to hear that Starbucks quality control has been lacking lately (I don't go there enough to notice a difference) is disturbing.  I think if Starbucks ceases to make a quality product they will become a scourge as some are inclined to think.  The same would happen if their customer service suffered.  I've always appreciated their customer service and value customer service whether I'm in a grocery store, clothing store, or coffee shop.  I hope this very public display of training emphasis will indeed help the company get back to what made it good in the first place.  Just remember--get your latte before 5:30pm on 2/26/08!

Today I [Theresa] met with the IU (Intermediate Unit) to go over Eden's IEP (Individualized Education Program). Since she is turning 3 years old next week her therapy services will fall under the jurisdiction of the IU, instead of Lancaster County's Early Intervention. After much deliberation we decided to place Eden in preschool at Schreiber's Pediatric Rehabilitation Center in Roherstown.

The other night Theresa and I were discussing love languages.  One's probably not surprised to find  words of encouragement speak to me deeply, even if its only from the few [Note:  Theresa's is acts of service.  So help her out :-)].  Last night's sharing by graduate students and faculty regarding the value of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship affirmed my personal sense of call and passion for our work.  Here's a few tidbits I'm passing along to affirm your prayferful support of this brave, pioneering, out-of-the-box ministry endeavor:

I'm in Pittsburgh from February 11-16 to assist with the further development of our Graduate and Faculty Ministry (GFM). 

Pray for:
-safe travel
-insight regarding next steps in campus ministry
opportunities to connect with a number of people (note:  if you're in 'da Burgh and would like to chat drop me an email or give me a call)
-clarity in presentation
-Theresa and the girls as she solo parents while I'm gone!

Pray for these particular gatherings:
-February 11, Graduate Student and Faculty conversation regarding next steps for GFM, organizer/facilitator.
-February 12, Loving God in the Flesh in the Real World, CMU Undergrad Large Group, speaker.
-February 14, Loving God with our Minds, taken from materials which I've been developing for Emerging Scholars Network, speaker. Note: For several CMU Small Groups, presentation will be shared with follower of Christ on the CMU faculty.

Another Starr entered the Big Picture!  Congrats to Greg & Amy.  Welcome to

Collin Gregory 
 
February 7, 9:43pm
8 lbs 15 oz
20 inches long
Light brown hair 

Praise God the Father for a healthy baby knit together in Amy's womb, his safe delivery, his early signs of laid back personality, his older sister's quick embrace (so we've heard), and his mother's time of rest!  Looking forward to Collin and our newest addition, due June 6, having lots of play dates together with Emma and Eden in the mix. 

Pray for Theresa who commented in our recent e-letter "June still feels a long way off" and she's been feeling "as good as I do when I'm pregnant."

Both faculty and InterVarsity staff desire to shape lives, but many times we find our efforts falling flat. Here’s an article of interest from the Chronicle which argues students have become adults, with their identities in a lockbox before their first year and are not to be enlightened: The Myth of First-Year Enlightenment. I recently had a conversation with a faculty and undergrad campus staff worker at a small liberal arts college which waded through similar material as we discussed the potential for campus outreach which would truly engage students, faculty, and the campus as a whole. Here’s a quote from the article:  (More)

Christianity Today at the Movies put me onto the new PBS documentary The Better Hour: The Legacy of William Wilberforce, see trailer. I've been looking for such material to share with Hayley and Ellen, who turned 8 this morning. Praise God!