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Stupid Cat Found the Wyze Cam

I bought a couple of Wyze Cams because they are seriously inexpensive and I am convinced that 1) Clive and Helen do funny things that I wish were videoed when I am gone (they haven’t thus far), and 2) that I would like to know when someone enters our driveway during the day or night. I have the front camera setup to send me notifications when there is movement in front of our house when I am away.

Today I received notification that the stupid cat has found the Wyze Cam.

SIDE NOTE – These little Wyze Cams are awesome and I can’t believe how inexpensive they are.

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Remastered Halo & Halo 2

Top: remastered. Bottom: original.

Thanks to Noah I bought an old copy of the Master Chief collection ((I tend to never buy games when they initially come out – I wait till they are older and cheaper)), which includes the remastered versions of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. The remastered versions of the games are seriously incredible. I loved being able to swap between the original and remastered versions during the cut scenes.  They are of such high quality that every now and then I forgot that they were computer animations.

Halo: CE, 2, and 3 are such good games. Halo 4 not so much and I can’t speak for 5 yet since I haven’t played it … yet.

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I Was Spared by Thanos

I hope I don’t spoil Avengers: Infinity War for anyone but you can go to this website (www.didthanoskill.me) to discover if you have been spared by Thanos or not.

I was spared.

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Beth Moore’s Letter & the RESV Matthew 25 Paraphrase

I have written before concerning not being the biggest fan of Beth Moore’s groupies. While I may not be real happy with the manner in which some people aggrandize her I have nothing but respect for Moore herself. I may not connect with her studies but I admire the way she seems to live out her faith in purity in spite of being a big deal. Many people who reach her status don’t seem able to do this. Beth Moore does and I greatly respect that.

Yesterday Moore posted this open letter on her blog concerning the  misogyny that she has faced as a female leader in a conservative, evangelical denomination and community of speakers.

First, it saddens me, but unfortunately doesn’t surprise me, that she has faced such behavior. She shouldn’t have to face this anywhere, let alone in the company of people who profess to follow the One Whose first witnesses (and thereby evangelists) of His resurrection were women.

Secondly, I appreciate her adding this paragraph to her open letter:

The irony is that many of the men who will give consideration to my concerns do not possess a whit of the misogyny coming under the spotlight. For all the times you’ve spoken up on our behalf and for the compassion you’ve shown in response to “Me too,” please know you have won our love and gratitude and respect.

I hope that I have acted in such a manner that the women whose lives I am a part of could and would say the same concerning my behavior. I hope I have acted in a manner that my wife, mom, sister-in-laws, female friends, and the women for whom I have been their minister and chaplain would describe me as being someone who has stood up with them and for them.

Which brings me to the point of my post.

In the small group of people that Pam and I meet with each week to discuss life and faith we are presently reading through Richard Stearns’ modern classic “The Hole in Our Gospel“. During our Wednesday gathering we discussed what we had read in chapters 4 and 5 of this great book. In chapter four Stearns created his own paraphrase of the King’s words in the parable of the Sheep & the goats in the 25th chapter of Matthew. Stearns paraphrased as follows:

For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved. (RESV—Richard E. Stearns Version)

I love this paraphrase. In light of the awareness of what has been brought to the nation’s and church’s attention through the MeToo movement I would like to add a small addition to Stearns’s paraphrased. Here’s my addendum.

I was harassed and abused because of my gender and not only did you not stand up for me and fight against such behavior with me, but you had the audacity to choose to believe and protect my abuser instead.

Some of us may have acted like sheep in regard to those who are hungry, thirsty, nude, sick and/or in prison (and some haven’t) but may have been real goats when it comes to sexual harassment. Those of us who claim to follow Christ proclaim as Lord the One Who began His public ministry in Nazareth by quoting a passage concerning the year of Jubilee. He quoted Isaiah 61.

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

When the King separates the sheep and the goats I fear that some of us are going to regret siding so often with the oppressors, rather than the oppressed. Sheep set the oppressed free because they follow a Shepherd who does so. Goats side with the oppressors. Be a sheep.1

  1. On an entirely different note this parable is why it bothers me so much when I sometimes hear Christians describe those with whom they disagree as being “sheeple” and mindlessly following their opponents ideology. Being compared to sheep should never be an insult for Christians. [↩]
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National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer in the U.S. Which means all around the U.S.  of A. there are groups gathered together talking about prayer … and maybe praying a little too. 😉

In hopes of encouraging myself and everyone else to spend more time praying today I thought I would post my two favorite prayers, one from the Bible and the other from church tradition. I feel like I mentioned both of these prayers very often at church and in chaplaincy and I know both of these prayers are on my lips and in my heart much of the time.

The first prayer is a powerful little prayer from Mark 9:24:

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

The second prayer is consider in tradition to be the prayer that by which Patrick, bishop of Ireland, opened each day. It is typically known as Patrick’s Breastplate.

I arise today through
God’s strength to pilot me, God’s might to uphold me,
God’s wisdom to guide me, God’s eye to see before me,
God’s ear to hear me, God’s word to speak for me,
God’s hand to guard me, God’s way to lie before me,
God’s shield to protect me, God’s host to secure me –

against snares of devils,
against temptations and vices,
against inclinations of nature,
against everyone who shall wish me
ill, afar and anear,
alone and in a crowd…

Christ, be with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left, Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit,
Christ where I arise, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me, Christ in every ear that hears me.

Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Christ.
May your salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.

Today may we trust in the One to Who we are praying and therefore turn to Him frequently.

SIDE NOTE – It is also apparently World Password Day, a day meant to remind us to change our password to something better than “1234” and “password”. I am not sure if this is connected to the National Day of Prayer or not. 😉

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Once Proud to Have Graduated from SWBTS

Technically I am still proud to have graduated from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary of the time. For most of my time there Dr. Russell Dilday was president of SWBTS and it was an amazing place. Dr. Dilday was dismissed, on the day Pam went into labor with Adam, because of a power struggle for the future of the seminary (he didn’t do anything wrong other than to have been moderately conservative with a board that had become increasingly more hyper-conservative). Dr.  Dilday led SWBTS in such a way that it was one of my favorite places ever. Dr. Hemphill, who replaced Dr. Dilday, may have done a good job I just wouldn’t really know because I was only there for for a few weeks while he was president at SWBTS.

What I know is that the changes I learned about after Paige Patterson became the president of SWBTS in 2003 made it more and more difficult to want to support my alma mater. I went from encouraging people to go to SWBTS to conveniently forgetting to mention it when I talked to people about going to seminaries. When I decided to start working on a Doctor of Ministry degree SWBTS was no longer a place I would consider attending. I went to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary for my D.min because I couldn’t stomach so much of the ideology in which Patterson had led my alma mater, specifically in regard to women in ministry. Patterson continues to act and lead the seminary in manners that I can’t and won’t support. A place I once loved has become a place I am no longer have pride in.

This past week there has been an uproar, rightly so, over a story that Patterson has apparently been telling for years concerning his recommendations for dealing with spousal abuse. Dr. Ed Stetzer writes about Patterson’s loony comments in his Christianity Today article “Paige Patterson and Doing the Right Thing for the SBC, Again” from April 30th. I’ll just quote part of an audio recording in which Patterson shares a story of advice he gave to a wife who was being abused by her husband. The recording can be listened to here.

 ‘Every evening I want you to get down by your bed. Just as he goes to sleep, get down by the bed and when you think he’s just about asleep, you just pray and ask God to intervene — not out loud, quietly.’ But I said, ‘You just pray there.’

“And I said, ‘Get ready because he may get a little more violent, you know, when he discovers this,'” Patterson said. “And sure enough, he did. She came to church one morning with both eyes black. And she was angry with me, and with God and the world for that matter. And she said, ‘I hope you’re happy.’ And I said, ‘Yes ma’am I am.'”

Patterson went on to explain that he was not happy about the abuse but her husband’s attendance in church (and believed repentance), which Patterson thought was from his guilt from the abuse he had inflicted on his wife. Please let me stress this.

THIS IS HORRIBLE ADVICE!

It saddens me that one of my alma maters is lead by a person who gives this type of terrible pastoral counseling.  I saddens me even more that some have probably been hurt by such counseling.

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Graduate Students Are The Worst

Saw this tonight while working my way through old 30 Rock episodes. Seriously made me laugh. The quote that they say together is:

Jack Donaghy: We might not the best people…

Liz Lemon: …but we’re not the worst.

Both: Graduate students are the worst!

That’s awesome. 🙂

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Pork Chops & The Mission

I know some of y’all are going to be watching the Avengers: Infinity War release tonight and I hope you have a great time. First, because you are my friends and I typically hope that my friends have great times when they do something, and second, because I will be watching the movie later on (this weekend or next) and hope it is a good one. Tonight instead of going to a crowded theater, I will be watching The Mission with Conor & Wesley, two friends with whom I have been reading the book “Hollywood Worldviews: Watching Films with Wisdom & Discernment” by Brian Godawa. This week we talked briefly about films concerning followers of Christ that are made by people who aren’t coming with a specifically Christian agenda – not anti-Christian just not coming with an agenda to promote Christianity.

I usually prefer movies about Jesus and Christians that have not been made by film makers that don’t have a Christian agenda. I think the reason for this is because non-specifically Christian movie makers are concerned with telling the story, while Christian movie makers often are more concerned with the message conveyed than the story itself. The thing is that the story is the message within Christianity and we have a great story (after all it has been called The Greatest Story Ever Told). That’s why Jesus taught in parables. It is why the first four books of our New Testament are gospels (i.e. stories about the good news of the Kingdom of God that was inaugurated by Christ). It is why so much of the Old Testament is told in stories. Christianity isn’t about learning syllogisms and propositions. It is about the restoration of relationship with God through God’s own sacrifice in Jesus. You get to know a person (and in this case the Messiah) through stories. In my opinion Christian films often don’t focus enough on the story because they don’t realize that the story is the message. Film makers without a specifically Christian agenda often just focus on the story and the message gets through in spite of them because, once again, the story is the message.

Anyhow, I mentioned while talking with Conor & Wesley that I loved the movie “The Mission”, a movie that does an amazing job of detailing the change that happens through Christ and the threat such Christian change posses to the powers that be. Well I discovered that neither of them have ever seen the film. Seriously! How could this be. I wasn’t going to let this stand.

So tonight while you may be watching an Avengers movie we will be watching The Mission and eating grilled pork chops and mashed potatoes. Personally I am a pretty big fan of the plan for the evening.

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The Week of Adam

My kids are really cool.  This is probably because their mom is really cool.  I can list reasons why I am proud of all three of them (2 kiddos and 1 wifeakins) but this week has been the “week of Adam”.

Thus far this week he has:

  • Been offered and accepted his first professional job in his field of study.
  • Successful defended his thesis fur his Masters degree.
  • Received a graduate research scholarship in recognition for his research.

Like I wrote earlier,  he’s a pretty cool kid. I am incredibly proud of him.

Pam and I have been discussing how this week feel like we have kind of reach the parenting “finish line” for him. We know that isn’t true, there will be other parenting things that continue to happen. Still it does still kind of feel like a finish line has been approached.

Adam with his defense committee Or as I like to cal them the gauntlet)
Adam in his spiffy defense jacket.
Adam with Dr. Tom Sather, his faculty mentor.
Adam with a couple of his grad buddies
Adam getting his scholarship award.
That’s my boy’s name in the bulletin.
Snacking at the reception.
The fam.

SIDE NOTE – We’ve been calling this “the week of Adam” in reference to Seinfeld’s “Summer of George”. Therefore, when ever you say “the week of Adam” you must shout it in a George Cosantza voice. It is more fun that way. Go ahead and try it. You will find that it is fun. IT’S THE WEEK OF ADAM!

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Changing an Alternator & Living Out the Kingdom

Monday I replaced the alternator in Fred the Minivan. I’m not really good enough to be a shade tree mechanic. I am more of a small to medium size shrub mechanic. This means that I don’t have any great knowledge or skill in working on my vehicles but I desire to be able to fix them. That’s why changing the alternator in Fred the Minivan this past week was a scary thing to me that I avoided for a week.

I’ve changed alternator in cars several times before and they aren’t really that difficult. They are usually pretty “plug and play” in their design. Typically it involves: removing the belt from the alternator, unplugging the alternator from the wiring assembly, removing three supporting bolts, and then reversing the process to install the new alternator. The problem is that everything in the engine of a minivan is tight. I was pretty worried that due to the tight shape of Fred’s engine compartment I was going to really mess something up.  SO how did I handle this fear of not being able to complete the process of changing the alternator? Well, as I wrote earlier, I avoided doing it for a week. Thankfully I had some very good resources and a very trustworthy backup, so I finally jumped into replacing the alternator.

I usually buy a Haynes and/or Chilton manual for the vehicles we own (I usually just use the library online version for our newer vehicles). These manuals do a great job of walking a person through how to do most repairs on the vehicle. Youtube now does an even better job. When I searched for changing the alternator in a 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan I found many videos of people walking through the changing of an alternator step by step. I might not always be able to read a description of a task and understand it, but I can definitely watch a video of someone doing the task and then figure out how to follow their directions. Even better I have a friend who is a mechanic and I am comfortable that if I really lose it all Conor will walk me through things. The fact that I have these two wonderful resources and a friend who is an excellent backup enables me to take chances.

Conor is my backup for Buddy.

The best part is that with this type of backup I’m not as scared to actually taking chances when working on my cars. I’m still scared, just not so scared that I don’t try anything that is beyond my meager abilities. Thanks to Conor, last year Buddy the Mustang went from having an automatic transmission to a sporty manual transmission. If things work out this year Buddy will have her engine upgraded from a 2.3l “all show and no go” to a spunky 2.3l turbo. There is no way I would try this if it weren’t for the backup of Conor and the beauty of YouTube, Chilton, and Haynes. That backup gives me the courage to take chances.

As a minister (pastor and chaplain) I frequently have conversations with fellow followers of Christ in which they worry that they will mess something up in another person’s faith exploration because they do something wrong. They worry that they will say or do the wrong thing when they are trying to portray Jesus in the best light possible. “What if I say something wrong?” “What if I give the wrong answer?” “What if I do the wrong thing?”

The truth, however, is that God wants to use you and me. When we don’t know what to say or do we have backup. First, from the Holy Spirit. “… do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:19-20) Second, from our fellow believers, church, and ministers. When you don’t know what to do or say there are other believers (myself among them) that want to help you. We don’t have to know all the answers. We don’t have to know the exact right thing. This isn’t an excuse not to prepare and study, but it does mean that we aren’t dependent upon our own abilities. We have serious backup.

Now go out there and take some risks.