My Saturday

Little Fur Hat

The Hiding Place once again - a comical thing to many who have heard me tout its lessons time and time again, but never one to me. Some may read this book and never be moved, yet I hope its challenge continues to speak loudly to me. I've tip-toed through the first few chapters of the book, already taken aback by how much I've forgotten about the ten Boom's pre-Holocaust story, and already gripped by what could be one of the most casual tidbits mentioned in the entire book - a new lesson that I've never picked out before.

In Chapter 2, Corrie ten Boom recounts the events of the morning just before her first day of school. Corrie, who describes herself as "never [understanding] all the fuss over clothes," is getting dressed with her two older sisters, Betsie and Nollie, and describes the fuss that erupts between the two over which hat Nollie will wear that morning. Nollie will not wear the "great ugly hat" that the girls' aunt has given to her, but will instead wear the more fashionable little fur hat given to her by a neighbor-lady. Such a feat may not easily be accomplished since the Tante (Aunt) Jans will meet them at the breakfast table before the girls saunter off to school.

My solution? Hide the hat and change it out once you've left the front door! The aunt isn't upset. A potential uproar is avoided. Nollie goes to school unembarrassed. Plain and simple. Short and sweet. Corrie provides a solution along similar lines. "I know!" she says, "you can fit the fur hat right inside the bonnet! Then when you get outside, take the bonnet off!" "Brilliant Corrie!" think I.

Little did I know that a lesson awaited me in Nollie's quickly-to-follow response: "Corrie! That wouldn't be honest!"

I think some of what challenges me in The Hiding Place is the unrelenting call to be obedient in all levels of our lives. Such is a lesson that I see in this one little account. Corrie's sister identifies dishonesty and deceit in what seems to be the smallest, most inconsequential, most frivolous of events and stops it dead in its tracks. Stunning, not because of what her words prevented in this one instance, but because of what they imply on a larger scale. Nollie's rejection of sin in its smallest form prevents it from gaining any foothold in her life. Her decision to be truthful in this small occurrence will reverberate in larger decisions that follow.

How might my life have been different if I had identified and rejected sin in its infancy? How often have I brushed one of my own decisions aside as inconsequential only to find this excuse easier to use the next time as a result. What happens when deceit and dishonesty progress from covering up little fur hats to sins that we fear to admit?

Nollie's decision to be honest is still met with confrontation. Tante Jans, who seems overbearingly dramatic throughout the book, greets the "little fur muff" hanging by the door with the expected outburst, and the whole family is forced to get involved. In the end, Nollie may have wished that the whole episode could have been avoided, but she is able to walk to school in honesty... and in a little fur hat.

Currently Reading Intermediate Accounting By Donald E. Kieso, Jerry J. Weygandt, Terry D. Warfield see related

Travelers

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-

I've always liked this poem, full of vivid imagery and relative ease relating to LIFE. Yet, while its closing lines seem so often to end on a positive note, I've always wondered if there is not room for a bit of regret as well. "I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."

Good difference?

Positive sigh?


Two and three roads continually diverge in the woods,
And understanding that I cannot chose them all...

What emotion will my sigh resonate ages and ages hence?

Currently Reading The Birth of the Church: From Jesus to Constantine, AD 30-312 (Baker History of the Church) By Ivor J. Davidson see related

...Black Velvet, If You Please.

We laughed some tonight about the Grubbs Tribe's New Year's pow-wow, held on January 4th. Dad called the gathering in order to hear what each person's resolutions were for 2008. He had a few, such as reducing his Dorito's intake and praying more, and mom had a ridiculous many, such as giving up all sweets, walking daily, "eating healthy," not working late, and saying "no" to avoid overcommitment, but the braves and the squaw had very few to offer...

...until dad piped in with, "are there any New Year's resolutions that you wish somebody else would make?"

Dangerous ground to tread upon. I pity the soul who discovers a group more opinionated than the Grubbs. There was some good that came out of the discussion though. In order to keep from interrupting one another's thoughts on ending world hunger, curing the racial divide, nullifying humanity's carbon footprint, finally achieving world peace, and curing the EBC choir's wardrobe woes, we've begun raising hands when we would like to speak.

-

In other news, I've finally read Rob Bell's Velvet Elvis, noting that the book was copyrighted in 2005, with the vast majority of the world apparently discovering a pre-release of the book and reading it in 2004. I apologize for my tardiness.

By now, you've discovered that the vast majority of these blogs turn into book reviews. By now, I hope you've gotten over it, and are unwilling to let such a detail hinder our friendship.

I wonder if it would be wrong to label Velvet Elvis as "Rob Bell's book of Romans." I find the title fitting: Romans as Paul's exposé on the Christian faith, and Velvet Elvis as Rob Bell's version of the same. (Paul, of course, tended to be much, much wordier than Mr. Bell. Velvet Elvis (V.E.) lacked a paragraph that sounded anything like "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good." It's probably why I finished his book in less than 7 months.)

My poor attempt at humor hopefully leads into one of the obvious praises that must be mentioned after reading such a book: Rob Bell is a very effective communicator. Many a pastor, many a teacher, or many a common person could learn a thing or two by mimicking his style when speaking or writing to a crowd in 200X. His NOOMA videos must lead you to the same conclusion. Vivid illustrations spoken in laymen's terms sure help a guy like me.

Now, I don't know a lot about Velvet Elvises (Velvet Elvi?), trampoline springs, brick walls, or toasters for Jesus, but one of the major points that Rob Bell makes in his book is one that I have stumbled upon teaching Bible Drillers on Sunday nights. Doctrines should be examined, and re-examined, and examined once again, and the church should be unafraid to do or teach such a thing. Be they such incredibly foundational doctrines such as those found in, say, the Apostle's Creed, or doctrines of a more touchy manner, such as predestination, the age of accountability, or even baptism, it does us good as the Church to have support for the things we believe in.

In Bible Drill, there is a section of verses labeled "Doctrinal Verses," and I've lead off every lesson over these verses by asking the youth, "what does the word 'doctrine' mean?" In short, the word means "teaching," and it's been an exciting time for me to demonstrate (and learn) that our most basic teachings, our most basic doctrines, must be grounded on something more solid than "sounds good to me!" or, "but mom and dad said so!" It's an idea that is found many places in the Bible. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 is one supporting verse even quoted by Rob Bell.

So prevalent is this point in Rob Bell's book that I think it's the one idea that I will walk away with after having read V.E. There are lots of other exciting things in the book, including glimpses into what Jews said and how Jews behaved around the time of Christ, but the idea of examining our beliefs trumps all.

That said, I think it would be foolish to read Rob Bell's book and not apply the same principle to his own words. Rob Bell often speaks of Rabbis and the interpretations that they offered of Scripture both before and during the time of the Christ, and it was impossible for me to turn the last page of the book without thinking a time or two that Rob Bell was often attempting to behave the part of a Rabbi in offering his own interpretation of things. Granted, some of his teachings may be correct, but we would be foolish to swallow them blindly.

Take, for instance, the following broad statements and interpretations by Rob Bell, all of which I think need support beyond logical thinking or personal stories:

"If the gospel isn't good news for everybody, then it isn't good news for anybody."
"Good means changing and growing and advancing and producing new things."
"John is doing something intentional in his gospel..." (referring to John using the "Principle of First Mention")
"Famine, debt, oppression, loneliness, despair, death, slaughter - they are all hell on earth."

-----

"Test everything. Hold on to the good."
- 1 Thessalonians 5:21

Currently Reading Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (Cover Image May Vary) By Rob Bell see related

At Long Last!

I have friends who are able to read 32 books in a semester. I tout this fact - makes me look smart.

"He who hangs out with people who read a bunch most likely reads a bunch as well."
(Birds of a feather flock together)

Have I got people fooled!


Just finished book two from The Summer Reading List: Elisabeth Elliot's Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliot, and will begin to recommend it to others in about 5 minutes or so. I read Jim Elliot's Journals this summer, and found it quite inspiring, but find this book even more so. Not only is this biography more readable, but it quotes not only from Jim's journals, but also from the hundreds of letters that he must of written in the course of his lifetime. Elisabeth Elliot is a phenomenal writer as well, and she knits Jim's life together with certain finesse.

What shall I say of this Jim Elliot? I am not sure I agree with all of his actions/inactions that I read about, nor do I necessarily agree/disagree with all of his theology; however I find his words and life to be quite challenging. Most challenging is Jim's extremely disciplined commitment to study and know scripture and his determination to discern and implement its teachings in his own life.

You who read this blog should read Shadow of the Almighty one day. Put it on your already-lengthy reading list, but get to it before too long.

Jim is extremely quotable. Elisabeth saw fit to quote many of his most famous lines in the Epilogue to the book; however, I wanted to quote one here that I did not find listed in the Epilogue. This is one found in a letter Jim wrote home not too long before he died; I quote it - not because it was the best of what I read, but because it was near the end of the book, and fresh on my mind.

"You wonder why people choose [mission] fields away from the [United] States when young people at home are drifting because no one wants to take time to listen to their problems. I'll tell you why I left. Because those Stateside young people have every opportunity to study, hear, and understand the Word of God in their own language, and these Indians have no opportunity whatsoever. I have had to make a cross of two logs, and lie down on it, to show the Indians what it means to crucify a man. When there is that much ignorance over here and opportunity over there, I have no question in my mind why God sent me here. Those whimpering Stateside young people will wake up on the Day of Judgment condemned to worse fates than these demon-fearing Indians, because, having a Bible, they were bored with it - while these never of such a thing as writing."

Having a Bible, they were bored with it...

mmph.

-----

We just returned from the Christmas Eve service at Emmanuel. True to the paradox that is so much a part of this season, someone's neck-tie chimed "Santa Claus us Coming to Town" during the middle of the Luke 2:1-7. It is often too easy and so very necessary to criticize the many discrepancies that have become a part of Christmastime; however, I cannot help but love this time of year. The message tied up in a candlelight service can be incredibly powerful, and though handled too often with false solemnity and stale tradition, the warm glow of candlelight piercing through the darkness and its passage from one individual to the next still speaks volumes to me.

Christmas carols can be a sore spot with some; however, there is a line in one that I find very fitting for this time of year, descriptive of why the world rejoices at the Christ's birth:

"... Long lay the world in sin and error pining, 'til He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope; the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn."

Christmas in and of itself does not incase the beauty of the Redemption story - yet it introduced something long forgotten. A thrill of hope! A weary world rejoices!