Beautiful, Fleeting Moments

My daughter, Lydia, is almost eight months old. What a ride it's been. For those who are parents, you'll relate well to what I'm writing. For those who aren't parents, maybe this will provide you some insight to what might lay ahead in your life. I'm discovering that with a child come many, many beautiful, fleeting moments — and they're all very special to behold.

Beautiful, fleeting moments — those moments that are a snapshot of a time in their first year — fly by so quickly that you have to document almost everything. That's why parents take a zillion photos of their baby. That's why every parent has a "baby book." That's probably why I'm writing this blog. These beautiful, little moments come and go so quickly and we want them to hang around a little while longer. For example, I remember not too long ago when my daughter could barely sit up, and I would place her on my chest as I lay on the bed. Fast-forward just a mere three to four weeks and she's on the brink of crawling. Now when she sits on my chest, she's moving all over the place, wanting to crawl right off of me. I miss the days when she sat contently on my chest. Where did those days run off to?

I look at pictures of my daughter from just two to three months ago. She hardly resembles the growing, animated little girl that I see every day. Just three months ago my wife and I couldn't have imagined getting through a single day without the help of Lydia's pacifiers. Now her own fingers do the trick quite nicely and the pacies have been retired to a drawer full of clothes that she's also quickly outgrowing. Right now Lydia babbles all day long and it's adorable. I know I'll miss those babbles in a few months when they slowly become words. One of the most special moments between my daughter and I has been when I'm able to place her in a baby carrier that straps over my shoulders. She's able to rest against my chest while still exploring the world around her. I use this carrier most often in the grocery store and have enjoyed carrying her this way for months. Sadly, Lydia is getting heavier by the week and I'm sensing the nearing cessation of this great baby-bonding accessory.

Each moment of her first year has been something very special. I've enjoyed seeing her grow from a tiny infant who hardly opened her eyes to a cute, little baby who wants to play all day long. It just never ceases to amaze me how quickly these little moments come and then how quickly they leave, only to make room for the next beautiful moment. Each of these stages are unique and so very precious, and though I love each new one, I can't help but miss the moment that just passed.

Sinful Saints

There are a couple of good blogs that I follow. Only a couple, because the Internet is so full of voices, and those voices all start to sound like noise after a while. One good blog that I've recently discovered is called Sarcastic Lutheran: the cranky spirituality of a postmodern Gal. The blog's name is catchy enough in itself. However, the content is also really thoughtful and intriguing. It's written by a self-proclaimed "outlaw preacher," draped in tattoos and a love for God. She is the mission developer for House for All Sinners and Saints in Denver, Colorado. The name of the church is true enough, and this pastor seems to understand God's grace in a very down-to-earth, just-because-I-preach-doesn't-mean-I'm-perfect manner. To get a clearer picture of this church's heartbeat, check out the poster below.



















Poster design by Jim Smelser

One of this "gal's" recent blogs caught my attention. It's called "A Confession." She writes:

I am uncomfortable with a whole lot of Christianity. But the thing is, I'm Christian (note I didn't say "a" Christian...as that, to me, plays into the whole Western individualism gone amuck in the church thing ....another example of which is the "personal" lord and savior bit...you know — "personal trainer", "personal shopper", "personal assistant" and "personal lord and savior")
Here's why I'm struggling with this right now. There is an emerging women's gathering in Portland that I'm considering attending. This is a huge step for me — to be willing to step outside my tribe a bit. So I poked around on the web looking for information about the event. I found a list of the organizers and looked at the home page from one of their churches. It looked amazing with lots of street kids and crazy dreadlocked pastors, but on their "about us" page the first thing was that "we believe the Bible is inerrant and totally true", which made me want to never stop slapping them.

What's odd is that I find myself nodding and smiling as I read this preacher's blog. Within a sentence or two, she summarizes what many postmodern Christians feel. We are a sinful bunch, trying to find the balance between logic, reason and faith. We believe in scientific evidence, yet are still drawn to God. We have seen lost hope and unanswered prayers, yet still pray to our Father in Heaven. We recognize our sin, yet continue to crawl back to the Lord. Why do we do this?

These are some of the hardest issues that Christians struggle with today. We believe in the Bible, but aren't sure that it's inerrant or infallible. Authoritative? Sure. Inspired? Definitely. We just aren't sure how to reconcile the contradictions and verses that don't seem to apply to our lives today. But you don't throw the baby out with the bath water. There's much to love and to gain in this Holy book. So we push forward, striving to learn more about this loving and confusing God that we serve.

The ironic and inspiring thing is, despite all the scientific evidence and convincing arguments against God that fill bookshelves and saturate Internet bandwidth, we sinful saints still press on, seeking God every day. This is amazing and profound to me. It gives me hope and energizes my spirit. You don't have to have all the answers to be Christian. You can have serious doubts and still be Christian. God's arms are open to all: the saints and especially the sinners. This is the astonishing message of grace.

All of this should come as a relief to many. We have a Father in Heaven who loves us completely. We can love him back...and also be mad at him. We can love him and be confused by his ways. Thankfully, in the end, this phrase holds true: There's nothing we can do to earn God's love — and there's nothing we can do to unearn it.

Click here to view the Outlaw Preacher's blog.

Facebook's Often-Overlooked Accountability Factor

As I've recently been browsing the pages of my friends on Facebook, a particular theme has surfaced: Facebook, though unintentionally, promotes accountability.

I really don't believe this is intentional. Facebook, Myspace, Blogger, Twitter and other social networking sites promote individuality and creative expression, but accountability? C'mon. Facebook's the place where you can create an image for yourself. You can list music, quotes and books to define your personality. You can put your best face on, at least in the photographs you choose to post. Witty status updates? Post as many as you can think up. Facebook's like a high-school yearbook page that you can dress up any way you like.

So how does Facebook promote any type of accountability?

I've noticed that my pastor is on Facebook. So is my insurance agent. So are school teachers. And business owners. Even my mom is on Facebook. It's in their profiles that they've carefully edited what information and photos they post. And this makes sense. In a week's time you can have twenty new friends on Facebook. It can take over your life, really. I've seen people that update their Facebook status almost hourly. In this out-of-control, addictive environment (which I play along with), it can be easy to forget who your audience is. We have to be careful what we share online. I work in the field of ministry, so I better be careful as to what photos and information I post. The next time I run across a YouTube video of that profanity-laced Dr. Dre song that I liked in high school, I'll have to think twice before embedding it on my Facebook wall. And that's exactly how Facebook promotes accountability.

We love to share fun information and pictures with our family and friends through Facebook. Though in doing so, we also subconsciously make careful decisions as to what information and pictures we choose to share. We have to put on our best face, just in case our second-grade school teacher looks at our Facebook page. It's kind of fun to think about. We want to have a page that shows our true colors, but Facebook also causes us to examine those colors, just in case they're a little inappropriate. What an ironic quandary Facebook has become.

Still, this accountability issue is a good thing. We should always be aware of what we say and what things we're associated with. I'm just thinking we didn't expect Facebook to become a cyber-mom watching over us.