No, thank God, we cannot...

I sing the birth, was born tonight,
The author both of life, and light;
The angels so did sound it,
And like the ravished shepherds said,
Who saw the light, and were afraid,
Yet searched, and true they found it.

The Son of God, th' Eternal King,
That did us all salvation bring,
And freed the soul from danger;
He whom the whole world could not take,
The Word, which heaven, and earth did make,
Was now laid in a manger.

The Father's wisdom willed it so,
The Son's obedience knew no No,
Both wills were in one stature,
And as that wisdom had decreed,
The Word was now made Flesh indeed,
And took on him our nature.

What comfort by him do we win?
Who made himself the prince of sin,
To make us heirs of glory?
To see this babe, all innocence;
A martyr born in our defence;
Can man forget this story?

Ben Jonson (1572--1637)

What could be better than a tour of Israel?

If you haven't been to Israel, because of the expense or the real or perceived danger at times, at least check into Todd Bolen's Bible Places website, blog, and newsletter. For many years, this gifted Bible teacher and photographer has lived, with his wife and children, at the IBEX campus of the Master's College, in the Judean hills northwest of Jerusalem. The popular press, when it covers news of biblical and archaeological significance at all, is usually not reliable at all. Let Todd sort it out for you; and enjoy the thousands of high resolution aerial, ground, and historical photos on his site. I bought the CD set. Let me know if you would like to borrow it; it's awesome.

From our "Now why didn't I think of that" department

"So Merlyn sent you to me," said the badger, "to finish your education. Well, I can only teach you two things--to dig, and love your home. These are the true end of philosophy."
T. H. White, The Once and Future King, p.191

A marginal blog you should see

Piety has gotten a bad rap in recent decades. Basically, I think it means sincerely and persistently trying to do the healthy/holy things that put us in a position to receive God's grace. If you know Mary Lofthus, or even if you don't, but want the daily encouragement of a Diary of Personal Piety, check out her Wide Margins weblog.

Check this beauty out!

I want to point you to a website, not because of what it says (I haven't even thoroughly read it myself yet), but because of two things: how it looks, and who it is by. We're talking about beauty and trust, two things that should characterize authentically Christian interaction. One of my concerns, which are many, with much current church youth ministry, and "contemporary" church stuff in general, is that it is frequently so visually ugly, displaying the same dark, random, hyperactive characteristics as the world incessantly throws at us. We must recover a love of beauty if our witness is to be effective. Secondly, one of the most useful things we can do for our children is to teach them how to learn who to trust, which messages in all the noise headed their way is reliable, truthful, helpful (edifying!). So, when I first logged on to the abondanteliving.com/ website, I was wowed by its visual beauty and I know, by reputation, the people behind it. That will draw me back to hear what they have to say. Check it out and let me know what you think.