GroshLink

Christianity Today's Church History quote for the week caught my attention:

Wherever we find the Word of God surely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ, there, it is not to be doubted, is a church of God. -- John Calvin

Not bad, but ... I'd like to see the larger context for this quote.  In particular, was this a response to a question or small part of a larger section which gives reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit?  Tough to have one's numerous writings chopped up, analzyed, and stereotyped over close to 500 years!  If you're unfamiliar with Calvin and from Baptist circles, I'd encourage you to take a few minutes to read "What Baptists Can Learn From Calvin: The Genevan Reformer's words are still worth hearing today" (Timothy George). Below are two sections which I pass along for your consideration:

Over the past couple weeks, Eden has mentioned again and again how much she can't wait for her new teacher.  And the first week of preschool has been great, not only with the new teacher but also with her therapists.  Recently Eden's begun mentioning her enthusiasm for her new Sunday School instructor.  Praise God! 

Pray for her ability to stay on her two feet as kids run around at Sunday School, Preschool (Tuesday & Friday mornings), Children's Choir (Wednesday evening), and Playhouse (Thursday morning).  And join us in rejoicing for how well Eden's playing inside/outside at various intergenerational social events, such as today's pool party with some friends from Grove City College.  Note:  there were 9 adults, 11 kids. Pics coming, but at present it's time for some rest.  

They know of You in Hong Kong, they know in Baton Rouge
They know in Carolina, they know in Kathmandu
They know of You in Baltimore, they know in Germany
They even know of You in Nashville, Tennessee

It's amazing, so amazing, it's amazing how one man gets around
It's amazing, so amazing, it's amazing how one man gets around. ...

Yes, Charlie Peacock is in the background as I catch I few minutes to blog in a surprisingly quiet house on the threshold of a day which will be filled with the joy-filled playful shouts of kids at a friend's pool party. And what do I have to share in a few brief moments of time? 

School's in session!  Last night the Grosh family dinner devotions kicked off the new year with The Jesus Storybook Bible written by Sally Lloyd Jones and illustrated by Jago.  The girls are drawn into (and their parents affirm) the cliffhanger Story-telling approach of...

No, the Bible isn't a book of rules, or a book of heroes.  The Bible is most of all a Story.  It's an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure.  It's a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palance, his throne -- everything -- to rescue the one he loves.  It's like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life!

You see, the best thing about this Story is -- it's true.  

There are lots of stories in the Bible, but all the stories are telling one Big Story.  The Story of how God loves his children and comes to rescue them.

It takes the whole Bible to tell this Story.  And at the center of the Story, there is a baby.  Every Story in the Bible whispers his name.  He is like the missing piece in a puzzle -- the piece that makes all the other pieces fit.

And this is no ordinary baby.  This is the Child upon whom everything would depend.  This is the Child who would one day -- but wait.  Our Story starts where all good stories start.  Right at the very beginning ... (2007, p.14).

And they didn't want me to stop reading when I reached this part, but I did and picked it up this morning. ...

What a trip north to Old Sturbridge Village, The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, and the Northeast Graduate & Faculty Ministry's Regional Staff Conference at Toah Nipi Retreat and Training Center. On the way back we even swung by Millbrook, where Theresa spent her early years.  We rejoice in your prayers.

Praise be to the Father for 

1. the Word (delving into John 4), Spirit, prayer, and people of God (both those praying for us and those physically present with us).  We received much encouragement, stepped into renewed accountability, and embraced greater clarity of focus for family/ministry in the context of the larger 09 Fall Campus Mission.
2. safe travel, even with the wipers giving out on the way back in the rain. The 4 girls did surprisingly well in the car, taking to the straight through Friday/Saturday return trip. Praise God for the provision of good housing and plently to occupy us for the whole journey (in and out of the car).
3. engaging vacation for our family (although we do need to unwind this week).  As the days passed Eden and Lily slept through the night better and better, despite the change of location partway through. What a joy to re-connect w/Heather and her kids at Old Sturbridge Village!
4. a week to adjust before school starts for the twins next Monday.
5. time for last minute preparations for the upcoming Tuesday - Friday class on The Brethren in Christ Theology of Salvation with Dr. Luke L. Keefer, Jr. Pray for Theresa as she's currently with three of the girls visiting the animals and entering items in the Elizabethtown Fair.  Note:  Can you hear Lily wailing the background.  Gotta go, but here are two teaser pics ...

 

We're ready to hit the road for vacation with some time at Old Sturbridge Village ... followed by Graduate & Faculty Ministry's Northeast Regional Staff Conference at InterVarsity's Toah Nipi Retreat & Conference Center, Rindge, NH.

Pray for

1. the Father, through the Word, Spirit, prayer, people of God (encouragement and accountability), to bring renewal and clarity of focus for our region as we enter the Fall 09 Mission.
2. safe travel. For the 4 girls to handle the car sitting time well. Note:  we've packed lots of books/car materials. Praise God for the provision of housing for the vacation part of our travels!
3. restful vacation time for our family, in particular that Eden and Lily will sleep through the night in the unfamiliar locations. Praise God for the opportunity to connect w/some friends to walk through Old Sturbridge Village!

We rejoice in your prayers for our family during last week's Mid-Atlantic Undergrad RSC.

1. Theresa pressed through with caring for the four girls and preparing for our road trip, we leave tomorrow.
2. My supervisor and I received a hearty reception from Dakota, the regional director, and a number of the other staff at the Mid-Atlantic Undergrad Regional Staff Conference. I must comment that it is so exciting to witness and be a part of the growing alignment of vision with the desire to 'get practical.' God the Father is bringing greater unity and shared purpose as we invest in the call of being used by God on campus in extending the call of the Gospel to the whole campus. Students and Faculty Transformed.  Campuses Renewed.  World Changers Developed. 
3. For those of you interested in more of the details:  I had a number of good conversations over meals, in the hall, and at the ESN/Faculty Ministry Table during which I passed along helpful resource materials in how to connect well with faculty/emerging scholars.  In addition, I explored the possibility of visiting several new campuses in the fall. In September, we'll seek to identify several 'pilot' ministry partnership campuses.  Can't wait to get this initiative going.  Hoping to build off of and replicate developing ESN opportunities such as Jesus for the Academy: Freeing Christ from our Agendas (Sunday, October 11) and last spring's How to Be a Culture Maker with Andy Crouch.

Pray for Theresa as she watches the girls while I'm at the Mid-Atlantic Undergrad Regional Staff Conference (Camp Hebron, Halifax, PA) to explore opportunities for partnership in 'Students & Faculty Transformed. Campuses Renewed. World Changers Developed.' Pray for me as I prepare, share, and have further conversation regarding ministry with and among scholars (emerging and current faculty/researchers). Note: Just finished off a significant display revision this morning. Can't believe I finished it. To God be the glory!

Keeping an eye on the calendar, pray for our preparation for and time away next week: On Sunday we head to Massachusetts for a vacation at a friend's home with visits to Old Sturbridge Village followed by a Northeast Graduate & Faculty Ministry Regional Staff Conference at InterVarsity's Toah Nipi Retreat & Training Center. After we return, I have a week long class on The Brethren in Christ Theology of Salvation with Dr. Luke L. Keefer, Jr.  Then it's September with three of the four girls back in school!

As some of you know through Facebook, word of mouth, etc, Theresa's at Rehoboth Beach, DE, w/some family friends. Pray for her to receive refreshment.

Yes, Mr. Mom has the 4 girls. At present we're doing fine

This morning I posted on Facebook:

too much going on to post last night as the power went out (I did have battery back-up for my computer system) and the younger ones wouldn't settle. Not much more time this morning as the two younger one have been up on/off for some time. Gotta run to respond to the cries for breakfast followed by the opening of the front door.

But the day improved with  (More)

How do you define lying, deception, and truthtelling in your own mind, as you interact with others, as you train youth/children?  The NY Times hosted Errol Morris's provocative series Seven Lies About Lying, based upon an interview with Ricky Jay. According to Morris, "Jay is an actor, bibliophile, historian of magic, arguably the greatest living sleight-of-hand artist, and a master of the art of deception."   

Seven Lies About Lying (Part 1)
Seven Lies About Lying (Part 2)

As various elements of Joseph's story are regularly told in our house, I have found the piece of particular interest.  Here's the conclusion of Seven Lies About Lying (Part 2) and one of the paintings referenced, be sure to go back to Seven Lies About Lying (Part 2) for the other painting along with his critique of popular definitions/understandings of lying.

Note: Sent to our Partners in Ministry e-list.  If you're not on the list and would like to be added, then drop us a line.

Take time. Give God time to reveal Himself to you. Give yourself time to be silent and quiet before Him, waiting to receive, through the Spirit, the assurance of His presence with you, His power working in you.  Take time to read His Word as in His presence, that from it you may know what He asks of you and what He promises you. Let the Word create around you, create within you a holy atmosphere, a holy heavenly light, in which your soul will be refreshed and strengthened for the work of daily life. -- Andrew Murray. The Secret of Adoration. Quoted in They Found the Secret by V. Raymond Edman (Grand Rapids, MI:  Zondervan, 1984), p. 118. Posted on http://www.groshlink.net at They Found the Secret -- Andrew Murray on waiting upon the Word/Spirit*

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Pray that above quote will be true for our family and those with whom we connect on campus as we prepare for and journey through the fall term. 

With regard to the summer, it has been full!  Full with family, friends, and financial provision.  As in our last email, we encourage you to visit our family blog http://www.groshlink.net, keep up with our posts on Facebook (if you'd like to be friends, let us know!), and pray through our August prayer calendar (click here. Tom's recent posts at http://blog.emergingscholars.org include Academics Coming to Faith, A Land Full of Mystery, Danger, and Wonder, and Dumbledore as a model admin?   Lots of good comments on a variety of posts.  Would anyone have something to add in response to Quote: Simone Weil on Studying?

A friend in higher education asked me about the impact of the unapproved budget on money to state colleges/universities. Quite frankly, I'm not sure. But I noticed in Q&A with Gov. Ed Rendell on Pennsylvania's budget (The Patriot-News, 8/05/09), the below quote.  Anyone else have information to share?

Question: Now that the workers will get paid, do you think there will be less pressure on all sides to get this budget done?

Rendell: No. The reason I line-item vetoed everything is to make sure there is still pressure. For example the county governments are screaming bloody murder because all of their lines are out. The universities, the PHEAA grants ... none of the PHEAA grants can go out. Students are going back to school and won't know what their full aid package is. The providers, like the pre-K accounts and the Head Starts, they're going to run out of money by the end of August, so there's still plenty of pressure to get this done.

In the State of Pennsylvania, we're still wrestling with our budget.* The state library system faces funding concerns, so much so that the local library which we most frequent, has chosen to close on Fridays during the month of August and may continue to do such in the fall to address financial concerns.  Here's a quote from a recent interview w/Governor Ed Rendell:

Question: So you think in the coming weeks, this stuff will start making an impact on real people beyond Harrisburg?

Rendell: There's no question. I just got off a phone call with the library board, and they understand what I did because the Senate budget cuts the library funding in half, and they understand that it's worth fighting to not make that happen, but they're going to feel the pinch in a few weeks. And of course, education, you know, some of the school districts are going to start feeling the pinch, so there's enough pressure points, no question about it. All Dwight Evans has to do is have a conference committee meet six days a week. Then believe me, there'll be a settlement because the last thing they want to do is be on television six days a week. -- Q&A with Gov. Ed Rendell on Pennsylvania's budget (The Patriot-News, 8/05/09)

Early last week I called the Governor's office in support of the public library system.  In addition, several members of our family shared quotes highlighting the value of the library (follow the link at the top of Elizabethtown Public Library's page), see below.

The library means to me that I have a better chance of reading the books that I want than spending the money to buy them. I'll finish more books and have more of a choice of books to read. -- one of our girls

According to today's Chronicle of Higher Education, Economic and Environmental Pressures Lead to Less Mowing at Middlebury College.

Comment: It's about time we let large unused stretches grass, flowers, trees, etc grow instead of being the subject of pictures.  As you may have guessed, in my to my desire to get close to the earth/creation and go natural as much as possible,* I've not been the biggest fan of mowing.  I confess that this may largely stem from all the mowing I did as a youth, during which I questioned whether it was the best use of my time (in comparison to reading).  When in the City of Pittsburgh, we did our best to reduce our carbon footprint at our house, by using a push reel mower and later an electric mower.  There was also the issue of fines, which are not applicable at our current residence where grass has grown a little more and Theresa is the one motivated to mow.

At our house, we're using more and more of our space for gardening and I would advocate colleges such as Middlebury to explore the development of community garden plots for education (biology, chemistry, microenterprises, nutrition, life skills), community service, and the supplying of fresh foods to food services for at least part of the year (larger crops could be canned, even sold).  In addition to practical education opportunities (nutrition, chemistry/cooking, skills for life after college, development of fruit/flower stands), such locations could supply campus food services and provide food (and/or garden plots) for those in need in the community (continuing education, donation of space, resources, training, even produce to those lack).  I guess one could charge based a scale of economic need/available resources, providing income for an institution under economic stress.  Which brings up the question, does one really think Middlebury's doing this for environmental over economic reasons?  Praying for employment for those who are loosing jobs or finding their hours reduced.  Maybe I should forward to them the idea as a work project vision, providing a possible next step for those currently/previously employed, whether students or members of the local community. 

*Related article: Air conditioning as cultural artifact.

Andy Crouch raised the question of Air conditioning as cultural artifact. As Theresa and I reflected on the topic, we processed through our experience of the hot air rising in our City of Pittsburgh house.  We added a new electric line for a computer, but it also received an AC unit for the home office/guest room which at times became our bedroom before it served as the bedroom for the twins.  Later it took an AC unit in the dining room below, sometimes we were sweating so much in our bedroom (w/window fan and overhead fan) that we choose to sleep in the living room.  

I tend to look at such circumstances from the optimistic perspective of Being thankful for what we have.  No doubt this is linked to my desire to get close to the earth and go natural as much as possible.*  But in what era and in what form of architecture does one become close to the earth?  How does one establish oneself in a place such as North Eastern U.S., where even some of the Native Americans itinerated through the seasons instead of staying in one place throughout the year to take in all the weather, crops, and hunting as provided?  Would one consider nakedness and lack of buildings in the Garden of Eden the intended direction of creation? It does not appear to be what one finds in the new heavens and the new earth.  I have envisioned a Pilgrim's Progress like entry into the New Jerusalem, can I take a more 21st century vision which might include AC or will our bodies be able to take it all in? (More)

Theresa's Aunt Ann passed along these Zucchini Recipes. We'll have to wait to try her recommendations for zucchini appetizer, (crab)cakes, and parmigiana until after we've spent a few days at Roxbury Holiness Camp, but maybe someone can test them for us and pass along their review ;-)

1.  ZUCCHINI APPETIZER

3 C thinly sliced zucchini
1 C Bisquick
½ C finely chopped onion
½ C grated Parmesan cheese
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 t oregano
1 t garlic powder
½ C oil
3 eggs, slightly beaten

Combine the zucchini, baking mix, onion, cheese, parsley, oregano, garlic powder, oil and eggs. The mixture will be stiff.
Spread in 9 x 13 pan.
Bake 350, 25 minutes

Although our zucchini has not performed well (in contrast to our cucumbers, tomatoes), some of Theresa's relatives have had quite a haul.  As such, zucchini has been coming out of our ears.  Last night we had Hearty Zucchini Bread (tasty!) and Stuffed Shells (w/zucchini added to the ricotta cheese).  The other day we had Ravioli Zucchini Lasagna.  Excellent.  There was interest on Facebook, so Theresa posted the recipe for Ravioli Zucchini Lasagna.  I've provided it here for those of you not on Facebook. Enjoy. 

PS.  Hoping for the incredible chocolate zucchini cake to show shortly!