overheard at the Long house

a quick story from the Long household tonight...

I'm getting my youngest daughter out of the tub and I'm drying her off and she asks me if she looks like Mary. This is because I've often said that to her when the towel is wrapped over her head like a headdress when I'm drying her hair.

So tonight, she asks me, "do I look like Mary?", and I say, "yes, you do." I then walk her into her bedroom to get her pajamas on and she nonchalantly says, "Mary is hot."

what is a father supposed to say to that?

Jesus is Hard

This is from a former Southeast InterVarsity staffworker who passed away this year. It struck home when I read it today...

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Excerpt from Lessons, Prayers & Scripture on the Faith Journey by Pete Hammond.

Jesus is Hard

I seek comfort – He invites me to join in his suffering.
I like acceptance and approval – He calls me to be counter-cultural.
I assume my right to safety – He calls me to personal risk.
I desire financial security – He encourages generosity.
I cherish privacy – He invites me into community.
I yearn for personal significance – he made himself “of no reputation.”
I hide for fear of being judged and rejected – He knows me fully and loves me.
I really like my pillow – He had no place to lay his head.
I want to prolong a healthy life – He calls me to die daily.
I hide in macho male bravado – He weeps for others.
I love good regular meals – He feeds others.
I ponder doctrine – He practices love.
I crave success – He wants me to oppose evil at all costs.
I seek out important people – He befriends the despised and rejected.

Jesus is hard to enjoy,
But what I find deep within me is much worse.

“Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus,
Who though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be explited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness, and being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.”
(Paul to the Philippians in Philippians 2:5-9)

Lord, help me make choices in my journey that lead
to becoming like Jesus;
by breaking the hold of sin and evil within me,
resisting my appetite for comfort, popularity and worldly success,
so I can find real joy in Jesus!

the interesting thing about memorizing parts of the Bible

So, I (along with some of my friends) have undertaken a goal to memorize the Sermon on the Mount. [Don't congratulate me, I haven't gotten very far.] One thing I'm finding that is very interesting is how the whole process is opening my eyes to old and familiar scriptures. I'm not sure how others' brains work but as I set about the task of memorizing a particular verse it is easy for me to grasp and remember the main concept of the verse.

For example, today I am trying to commit Matthew 5:18 to memory. My first attempt to recite it without looking went something like this:

"Truly, until heaven and earth pass away, the smallest letter or the least stroke of a pen will not disappear until everything is accomplished."

Not bad... I think it is pretty true to what Jesus said, but here is how my translation (TNIV) reads:
"Truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished."

So, what I am really enjoying is learning all the small details of this sermon Jesus gave that modify and clarify what he was trying to convey. Often I find it in the things I forget on the first run. Here is something I missed the first time around today:

• in the last clause Jesus modifies his statement that "nothing will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished" by saying it will not happen "by any means".

This strengthens what he is saying incredibly. They will not disappear by any means! I missed that every time for the first 31 years of my life until I tried to memorize it.

Plumbing Problems

Last night after I finished giving my son a bath surprisingly the bath tub did not want to drain. I tried various common techniques last night to get the drain to unclog. I used my humble little 1/4" snake from the the bathtub, from the toilet, and from under the sink. All to no avail. I also tried to use it from the clean-out outside but seemed to get stuck. I gave up for the night.

This morning I didn't want to deal with it but what choice do you have when you have a toilet that's not flushing and a sink that seems to work until you realize it's filling up the bathtub in the other room. So, this morning I had a couple of other ideas to try. I tried snaking from under the kitchen sink (and at one point got the snake inside the walls). I tried going up on the roof and snaking through the vent stacks. But I never got the sense that I had reached the blockage with my snake.

After lunch, I was about ready to try my last move before calling a plumber. The ole' Drano method. I had not yet used any kind of Drano product because I don't believe they really work for serious problems. But a $5 bottle of Drano is worth a shot if it can save a $200 plumber visit. I also had a sneaking suspicion that my "snake" (1/4" auger) was inadequate. So I went to Lowe's to get my Drano and check out the other options for freeing drains. While there I was looking at various methods but they all seemed hokey and unlikely to work. Then a Lowe's employee came up and asked me if I needed help. (I honestly don't think this has ever happened before.) He suggested I consider buying a more heavy duty snake. There was a flat-wire option and a 1/2" coiled wire option. I went with the coiled wire option because you could still spin it to help break through or grab debris and the flat wire is just for pushing through. I picked up some Drano as well.

I came home with renewed optimism and hope for a solution without calling a plumber. I took my new big auger and went to the clean-out on the side of the house. As I shoved it through the clean-out and the central waste line I had a good feeling. The 1/2" cable just felt more substantive and like it could do something. Eventually I felt it hit the blockage. I had never felt this with the smaller auger. I tried pushing it through but didn't feel like I was getting through. I tried spinning it to free the blockage. I wasn't sure if it was working. I pulled it out to see if there was anything on the tip that would indicate progress. And I checked inside but the toilet still wasn't flushing right. I prepared myself for defeat. The $28 solution wasn't such a solution after all. But I decided to give it one more shot. I put the auger back into the clean-out and when I hit the blockage I spun it until it felt like something changed. Unfortunately the auger must have coiled up on itself because it seemed to be stuck. But I unwound it and it seemed to free up. I gave it one more chance and this time I broke through. I was able to push the auger further into the house. Was this my solution?

I went into the house almost scared to hope that it had been solved. But sure enough, when I flushed the toilet it drained properly. To finish the job I poured the bottle of drano down the kitchen sink and gave it 20 minutes to hopefully clear out the rest of the blockage. We'll see how long this lasts but tonight I couldn't be happier. It was really rewarding to do this all by my unprofessional self.

an idea

Gandhi is credited with saying, "we should live simply so that others may simply live." Now I don't take all my cues from Gandhi but this quote succinctly says something I am very passionate about. The idea that we in this country have a responsibility to everyone- but especially our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world- to live beneath our means in order to redistribute our stuff to those in need.

The biggest problem as I see it is that we don't actually see needs on a daily basis that we can practically meet. I have not met someone truly transformed by Jesus who would look the other way as a friend goes without food or medical care or education or whatever. We give our money, we tell others, we invent ways to help our friends get the care they truly need. But most of our friends are not in destitute poverty. And we just don't see what we consider real poverty on a regular basis. Or if we see it, it's on TV, or through a donation letter, but not up close and personal, as in a conversation.

Many of us sponsor children around the world, give to our favorite organizations and do our best to be generous and make a difference. In fact, everyone I know wishes they had more to give. Because there is just something good and right about letting go of our resources and seeing them used to make someone's life tangibly better. To be the answer to someone's prayers for provision, or as Gary Haugen said, "to help people who have a hard time believing that God is good."

Well, not too long ago Matt Stauffer and I were talking about this, and with some encouragement from my friend Amy Wright decided to do something. We are a developing a website that is intended to help you free up more of your money so that you have more to be generous with. Essentially, we believe that small decisions on a weekly basis can add up enough to significantly impact peoples lives. No, we're not asking for your donations, but we do want to see you give more to the organizations that you think are doing a good job of making the world a better place. A world where there is no more hunger or pain or sickness or tears or death.

The site is FAR from finished but we're at a point where in the next couple of weeks we will need some people to begin using it to help us make it better (and hopefully) to help free up resources for what God is doing around the world. If you think you might be interested, head over to Spend Less Give More and sign up to be notified for when we launch the Beta version.

Transfer of Power

Whatever else any one may think or feel about the recent election, here's something that makes me proud. Quoting a post from Real Clear Politics:

When (George) Washington stepped aside after two terms, his old adversary King George III is supposed to have said, "If he does that, sir, he will be the greatest man in the world."

I am proud that there is a history of over 200 years and 40 peaceful transfers of power between presidents. Let's not take that for granted.

-thanks to Brian at Pixelated Pad and Pen for the link and quote.

the scales of justice

So, after 13 years of eligibility I was eventually summoned for jury duty. Monday morning I showed up at the Alachua County Courthouse not sure what to expect but slightly annoyed and slightly intrigued.

Other than getting a bit behind in InterVarsity work stuff it didn't turn out to be too bad of a day. I was glad I had my computer because I was able to take advantage of the free wireless signal in downtown Gainesville.

The most interesting part by far was the Voir Dire process. I was on the first panel that was interviewed by the state prosecutors and the defense attorney. The crazy thing was watching a couple of the potential jurors who seemed to be answering questions in order to ensure they did not get selected. Seemed pretty immature to me.

The final result? I was selected as part of the jury for a case of "battery" on Thursday.