James Brown Quotes

It may be Sunday, but that doesn't mean you don't need a heaping, helpful dose of some good James Brown. Like, "Hair is the first thing. And teeth the second. Hair and teeth. A man got those two things he's got it all," and "I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know," and "I used to think like Moses. That knocked me down for a couple years and put me in prison. Then I start thinking like Job. Job waited and became the wealthiest and richest man ever 'cause he believed in God." You can read many more here. I'm going to fix my hair and brush my teeth...again.

The Environment

One of the websites that I've designed and maintained is for the Apologetics Resource Center. I enjoy apologetics and thus find this to be more than just a job. It is a labor of love. As part of this work, I get to keep up with new articles on current issues. Today, ARC Director Craig Branch sent to me an article from a lecture he gave at Samford University on issues regarding the environment. I found the article not only interesting, but especially the postscript. Craig has done his homework and found that after being falsely accused, his accusers had neglected to do their homework. You can read the article here.

Global Missions Conference

I'm looking forward to our Global Missions Conference in November of this year (Nov 16-18 in Atlanta). This is a time when people in the PCA and others can come to learn about missions in general and about Mission to the World in particular. I also learned today that we will be having Derek Webb and his wife Sandra McCracken with us on Saturday night. I'm especially looking forward to that time. You can read more about the conference here.

Thoughts on Philosophy of Ministry

I’ve enjoyed getting together the past few weeks with some co-workers, informally around lunch, to discuss issues around philosophy of ministry. That probably sounds boring to most people, but it has really been both a provoking and encouraging experience. I’ve always had the desire to make the most of my efforts in ministry. Who wouldn’t want that? But knowing how to do this has often eluded me. By nature, as a human, I tend to program anything and everything I attempt (whether as an individual or as part of a team). Do we need to do better at evangelism? Well, let’s start evangelism training, and plan weekly outreach events, and have a conference with a special guest speaker? Or do we need to assimilate people better? Well, let’s have a 16-week…um, no, no one will commit that long. Let’s have a 6-week program for visitors, another for new members, and then we’ll put them in a community group. I could go on. The point is that I typically think of “doing” rather than being. Could being a better evangelist be more meaningful (even if to fewer people) than doing all these programmatic things to a larger group. Or if I was more proactive at enveloping others into the body, would that be an example and encouragement to others to do the same (more than attending a conference on assimilation)?

I’m not trying to demonize programs, or plans. But I think relationships, personal relationships, may bring more to the table in terms of effectiveness in regard to many things that we face as challenges. Discipleship? We could do it in a group, go through a book or two, and then everyone would be discipled, right? Relationships are a little trickier. How do we know when we’ve done “it?” How much more time would that take? My point is clear, I think. It can be more work and more ambiguous.

So today we were talking about presuppositions. Our facilitator (who has strong ties to Reformed University Fellowship) shared six presuppositions that ought to be in our minds, because they do affect what we’re doing in ministry. They are:

God is at work - This is true because God is sovereign as well as because He tabernacles within His people. Where we are, God is working. We don't always see how, but we can trust that He is. Even in the midst of our sin, He is able to redeem what we do.
Theology is present - Everyone has some belief about God. It may be a belief that He doesn't exist, but everyone has a theology.
The church - The Body of Christ is a shaping influence and should be considered, particularly in ministries outside of the local body. Personally, I believe that ministry should be tied to a local church. We were meant to function and serve (and learn to get along) in the midst of others.
Demographics - We must consider the "culture" in which we minster. We may consider demographics formally or anecdotally, but we must know to whom we are ministering and take into account who they are wholly.
Learning process - Everyone learns differently.
The individual - We must value the person. Everyone is created in the image of God.

There are many of these presuppositions that I have failed to factor into my ministry in the past. There were times in my ministry when I swung the pendelum toward relevance, and times when I swung it to far away from relevance. Often I focused more on the task than the person(s) I ministered to. Tasks are easier to quantify than relationships, and we (I) like to measure things. There have been moments in the "pressure cooker" of ministry that I failed to remember that God was at work. So this has been a helpful discussion for me, and my hope is that my ministry in years to come will better reflect not just what God expects of me, but who God expects me to be.

Busy Reading

It's been a while since I could post due to a number of things, mostly a certain book. Actually, it's a certain stack of books (albeit a small stack). I'm trying to finish a course in my seminary studies, an apologetics course, to graduate with a Masters of Biblical Studies. I'm not giving up on my Master of Divinity (which I'm about 70% through). But since it's taken me so much longer than I had hoped, I decided I wanted to get something to show for what I have done. I'm doing this partly for my own motivation, but also to possibly open up some doors of opportunity. So, all that to say, I've had my nose buried in the first of four books, a rather enjoyable comparison of apologetical methods, edited by one of my seminary profs, (Dr. Steve Cowan). The book is Five Views on Apologetics. I won't get much into the book here (I'll save that for later), but I will say that as much as I have been in the classical camp for as long as I've studied apologetics, I am really enjoying the writing of John Frame. I haven't finished and am not nailing down any stakes, but so far I really like what Frame is saying and the way he is saying it.

The special committee of the PCA's General Assembly to study "Federal Vision" has released their report. And as far as I have scanned over it, I'm pleased. It's available here. The heart of their work can be found in the nine declarations they made:

In light of the controversy surrounding the NPP and FV, and after many months of careful study, the committee unanimously makes the following declarations:

The view that rejects the bi-covenantal structure of Scripture as represented in the Westminster Standards (i.e., views which do not merely take issue with the terminology, but the essence of the first/second covenant framework) is contrary to those Standards.
The view that an individual is “elect” by virtue of his membership in the visible church; and that this “election” includes justification, adoption and sanctification; but that this individual could lose his “election” if he forsakes the visible church, is contrary to the Westminster Standards.
The view that Christ does not stand as a representative head whose perfect obedience and satisfaction is imputed to individuals who believe in him is contrary to the Westminster Standards.
The view that strikes the language of “merit” from our theological vocabulary so that the claim is made that Christ’s merits are not imputed to his people is contrary to the Westminster Standards.
The view that “union with Christ” renders imputation redundant because it subsumes all of Christ’s benefits (including justification) under this doctrinal heading is contrary to the Westminster Standards.
The view that water baptism effects a “covenantal union” with Christ through which each baptized person receives the saving benefits of Christ’s mediation, including regeneration, justification, and sanctification, thus creating a parallel soteriological system to the decretal system of the Westminster Standards, is contrary to the Westminster Standards.
The view that one can be “united to Christ” and not receive all the benefits of Christ’s mediation, including perseverance, in that effectual union is contrary to the Westminster Standards.
The view that some can receive saving benefits of Christ’s mediation, such as regeneration and justification, and yet not persevere in those benefits is contrary to the Westminster Standards.
The view that justification is in any way based on our works, or that the so-called “final verdict of justification” is based on anything other than the perfect obedience and satisfaction of Christ received through faith alone, is contrary to the Westminster Standards.

Derek Webb has a new album coming out this week entitled The Ringing Bell. I always enjoy Derek's music and his lyrics.

Zen Sarcasm

I got these in an email this week. Here are the ones I thought were funny:

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a broken fan belt and a leaky tire.
It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your neighbor's newspaper,that's the time to do it.
Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
Always remember that you're unique. Just like everyone else.
Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
If you think nobody cares if you're alive, try missing a couple of car payments.
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.
Some days you're the bug; some days you're the windshield
Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
The quickest way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket
A closed mouth gathers no foot.
There are two theories to arguing with women. Neither one works.
Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

Feeling Old

For McGrooter's birthday, he got to invite his cousin, Kale, over to spend the night last night. So he and I drove up to White County to pick up Kale and started the evening off by eating at McDs. I tried my hardest to convince McGrooter that we should eat somewhere else. But it was his birthday and I wasn't going to play my parental ace. So we ate at the golden arches and I enjoyed heartburn the rest of the night.

From there we went to the family fun center to ride go-carts and play games. We started off on the go-carts (or at least the boys did) and McG immediately becomes Dale, Jr. (or Jeff Gordon as he would prefer to be called...but I'm writing this, so I can use my favorite driver). He begin passing on the inside (with a few bumps of course). Kale is enjoying the drive, swerving around and smiling, having a great time. But McG is intent on passing everyone on the track, and then doing it again. One of the other kid's father came over to me and said, "Looks like you need to get him into go-cart racing." Yeah! Then I could live my dreams through him. And to think...I hated NASCAR until I married Leslie (not because of her, of course, but I started watching it with her father). We also enjoyed some video games and air hockey. Then we headed home.

We'd talked about camping out, but it was almost dark and I knew we wouldn't have enough light to setup camp. But after a phone call to the homebase we learned that mom had setup the tent. When we got home it was dark, but the tent was setup (and done quite well I might add) along with a fire ring ready to light. So we grabbed sleeping bags, marshmallows, beef jerky, and headed out. We gathered some more twigs and built our fire (without matches thanks to our handy flint and magnesium along with some dryer lint). The fire was nice and we enjoyed toasting the marshmallows, dropping only a few in the fire. But soon the boys were both asking, "When are we going into the tent." They were tired and it was getting close to 10. So we finished up, put our fire out and went into the tent. We got in our bags and then they decided we needed to tell stories. But then they noticed I was opening my beef jerky and wanted to know what that was. After trying a small piece they decided they liked it and wanted more. So we ate beef jerky for a while. McG exclaimed, "Hey this is good for you, it's fat free!" The bag said 97% (in small letters) and then fat free (in large letters). He and Kale are both reading now so they both like to tell you what things say. We hung up our glow stick and turned the lantern off and made pillows out of sweatshirts, and then zipped our mummy bags up. There was a little bit of giggling and whispering, but pretty soon I could hear Kale breathing heavily and knew he'd passed out. McG wasn't far behind him. I fell asleep finally, but then woke up about 3, my back killing me. I was able to readjust but at 4 I had to get up. My back was wrenching. I thought, "Man, I don't remember feeling this way camping before." Then I remembered it'd been 20 years since I camped regularly in boy scouts. 20 years! That sounds like such a long time.

 But as tired as I am this morning and as much as my back feels like its been twisted like a pretzel, I am thankful for the memories. We made some good ones. Leslie commented this morning that she listened through the window while we were in the tent and that it "was so cute...it sounded like a commercial." But next time I'm going to put some more leaves under the tent, and find my foam pad to go under my bag. Oh yeah, and probably get the bottle of Advil out.

Issues of race...

Issues of race have always been important to me. I grew up in a racially tense town in the South, still entrenched in many ways in issues that more modern towns had long since dealt with. The lines were clearly drawn. There was a black part of town and the rest was white. We lived out in the country so we felt little of the tension there. But no doubt that had somewhat of an impact (I remember 2 African American male students in my grade in elementary school...there may have been more but I only remember two). That aside, my parents weren't marked by what many of my classmates' parents were. My folks were transplants to the South. But my parents had a different view on racial matters that they passed along to me. My parents didn't come from the North (they're mid-westerners), and they didn't embrace that faux, ever-so-popular mentality that came from liberal academia of "we are color blind." They weren't color blind and that's okay by me because there is much to appreciate about our differences. There are differences between people, and color/race, ethnicity, nationality, etc... all play a part in that. But what I witnessed with my dad was a lot more real than simply the idea of racial equality. I saw Dad practice human equality. Dad had a number of friends at Delta (where he worked for 30+ years before retiring), both black and white. And those friends came to our house. They came to use dad's tools and workshop, they came to help him, they came to pick blueberries and muscadines, and they came to bring dad their own fruits of harvest. Black and white they came. And as I got older I heard more and more stories (mostly from my mom) of things my dad did. Most of his African-American friends were janitors and building maintenance folks. Even though the civil rights movement of the 60's was before my birth, I don't think the effects in the South were quite as clear by the 70's and 80's that I witnessed. Anyway, some of these guys were illiterate. And dad saw it as a ministry to take these guys over to the side, out of site, and help them with paperwork, and read policies to them. He became the policy master in his circle at Delta. Dad didn't make fun of these guys nor ignore them. He didn't do this in public nor draw attention to himself or them. He protected them and he helped them. These men came to love dad for it. And their families attested to this when he's been asked to carry caskets of these men. But let me say this before you see some noble white man having pity on poor black men. This wasn't the case. There were white men at Delta in the 70's and 80's who were illiterate too. And my dad did the same thing for them. And herein is the lesson he taught me. My dad taught me by example to love and respect people...not whites, not blacks, but people. And fundamentally what was behind this? It was theological. Dad believes that men are created in the image of God. Now I don't know my dad's heart, nor am I naive enough to think he's never said, done or thought anything racist. We ALL have. But I appreciate his legacy to me in this. Thanks Dad!

And the legacy continued in my church. My pastor also did this by example. Again, he isn't a perfect man, but he has made some hard choices to love and respect others (even when it cost him), because he truly believes people are created in the image of God. Howard Dial, pastor of the church I grew up in and later served in, had just left seminary in the late 60's. He moved to Atlanta and began teaching at Carver Bible College, a predominantly all Black Bible college. Not being much older than most of his students, friendships developed quite naturally. One such friend, a single young African American man began attending church with Howard and his wife Beth. This was Howard's home church. It was the church he grew up in, the church he preached his first sermon in, and the church in which he was ordained. His connections couldn't have been any stronger. But when this young black man went forward to join one Sunday (yes, it was Baptist), the deacons would not allow him because of the color of his skin. Howard had a hard choice to make: either keep quiet and deny wrong-doing, or actually point out the sin of these men who were his spiritual fathers. He opted for the latter and left the church, writing a letter to the deacons explaining their sin. Soon some families began meeting in a home with Howard teaching. That soon led into the church that I attended until I was 18. Oh, and that young African American man goes by the name of Tony Evans. No doubt we have a sovereign God. So thanks to you too Howard Dial for your legacy in my life.

So where am I going and how did I get on this path? My thoughts have been stirred by the recent Don Imus controversy. What he said was wrong, but I'm not sure how much the problem lies in the racism of his comments. He shouldn't have said that about any body. He shouldn't have said that about white girls, Hispanic girls or African Americans. It was fundamentally wrong because it showed disregard for human worth. This worth is intrinsic in all humans not because of anything they've done, but because they (like no other creature) were made in God's image. Therefore all humans have worth. Even the vilest humans. I'm convicted of this every time I watch the news or a show like cops and I see people acting completely wretched. My heart runs to the thought, "what a worthless piece of trash." But I know better. And I ought to know better.

So what Don Imus said, if it was wrong (and I believe it was), was wrong if he'd said it to anyone. It is also wrong if anyone else had said it. I don't hear anyone saying this, and I'm disappointed. I'm all for fun and games (as anyone who knows me can attest). I'm not sure this outcry would have occurred if Larry King had called Don Imus a nappy headed ho (and I think a case could be made for the nappy headed part). But here's my point. To joke about someone is typically evident to all (including that person). But to demean someone is equally as evident. And I think everyone saw this by Imus' comments. He meant nothing positive by what he said, nor did his producer by what he said.

But on top of these thoughts, I also read a good post by Mark Dever today. First I have to say that I like Mark Dever a lot. I met him at a conference in '98 on evangelizing postmoderns. This was before postmodernism was cool and before Mark Dever was cool. Okay, he may have been cool, but nobody I'd talked to had ever heard of him. Then again, maybe he wasn't cool then nor is he now, according to some of his answers at the recent Shepherd's Conference, but I digress. Mark was not the plenary speaker at this conference I attended at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Ravi Zacharias, Don Carson, and Ajith Fernando (sp?) were). Mark simply led one of the dozens of sessions. But it was a session I decided to attend (I think because of the subject). And I was so glad I did. Immediately I was mesmerized by this guy's intellect and his grasp of God. I saw it in a number of guys that week (Phillip Jensen, Greg Ganssle), but Mark really stood out to me (this conference was put into print and is a great resource: Telling the Truth). A year or so later I ran into him at a Founders Conference, and then cheered as he was recognized more and more through the years. I'm thankful God has gifted some men like Mark in our age, and given him the platform of speaking, books and the Internet so we can all learn. So all that to say, Mark wrote a provocative article on the whiteness of not only our country, but also our Christianity. And it reminded me of another guy who I've come to love quite a bit: Carl Ellis.

Carl Ellis was the plenary speaker one year at Bethlehem's Conference for Pastors, which I attended with the senior pastor of a church I served in each year I was there. I'd never heard of Carl Ellis, and I don't think many of the attendees had either. But John Piper gave an introduction before Carl first spoke that caused us all to want to listen. And Carl didn't disappoint. He blew my mind, in fact. He challenged much of what I thought, much of what I thought I knew, and most importantly much of what I felt. Here I was, a fairly grounded guy when it came to race matters (or so I thought), and Carl shook the earth beneath me. I bought one of his books there, Free at Last. I highly recommend it to you. Especially if you're white and you think you understand Blacks, Black history, and Black church history. A few years later, Carl was asked to come and teach a course of the seminary I attended and also worked at. I had the privlege of hosting Carl and taking him to meals and such. He probably wouldn't know me from Adam now, but I'll never forget him. He recently taught a course on African American Church History at the seminary and I hope to get to edit the video and produce the DVD for them since I was unable to attend.

Let me end by saying that we have to be careful not to fall for the false view of equality that the world offers. The world talks about equality, but doesn't practice it. In fact, many of the strongest proponents of racial equality propagate the opposite. What we must first get right is that people are made in God's image. We are made to reflect God's glory. We are made for His glory. We fail to do this any time we demean another human, regardless of what they do or how we see them. None of us, none of us are immune to this. We all fail in this area. I see this regularly when I talk with my friend Thad, who alone has taught me more about race issues and how far I am away from seeing all men as God created them. But in spite of our failures, we must preach to ourselves, scream at ourselves, carve it in our skulls that God has made man in His image. This is what makes murder heinous, slander despicable, and calling others "nappy headed hos" wicked.

Almost Done!

Well, our taxes are almost finished and I'm beginning to feel a great sense of relief, even though we owe the Gov't money for the first time (that part is kind of depressing). So, it was fun to watch a couple of videos posted on Fide-o tonight about the anthropocentric characterization of modern evangelicalism. As lighthearted as both videos are, they are also saddening because they contain a great deal of truth. And as easy as it is to point fingers at every other church, we are all plagued by these tendencies. None of us would openly admit that we desire to worship ourselves, but we might more readily admit that we are all interested more in our own desires. Churches that seek to be "seeker friendly" are striving to be relevant, but often lose faithfulness to Scripture. Churches that attempt to keep the pendelum swung in the other direction are trying to be faithful to Scripture, but often get locked into traditionalism. Both sides can be self-righteous in their efforts, and both, possibly unknowingly, can be seeking their own comfort and desires rather than God's. There is no doubt a great deal of tension between relevance and orthodoxy. But within this tension we all must be good students of both God's Word and the culture around us.

Anthony Carter brought my attention to another bit of silliness in the Church, a men-only church. I'm not sure how they deal with that biblically.

Jon Bloom gives insight from Martin Lloyd-Jones about the world's influence in how we think. As if the inward struggle isn't enough to pull as away from exalting God (and in turn ourselves), the world bellows this message at us constantly.

Finally, Philip Ryken has answered some questions about preaching that I found refreshing.

Jesus is Risen

Taxes are due in a few days and so every spare waking moment of mine has been dedicated to this task that I loathe. Not much time for writing. I was especially disappointed since it's the Easter season and my heart has had a lot in it that I wanted to get out. Maybe next Easter I'll have my taxes out of the way.

I've referred in a few posts to the issue of the tomb of Jesus being "found." James White has now written a book entitled, "From Toronto To Emmaus: The Empty Tomb and the Journey from Skepticism to Faith" on the subject. The Apologetics Resource Center has it available to purchase on their site here. On the back cover Ligon Duncan writes,

"James White has done a splendid job of answering questions that would have been raised in the minds of thoughtful inquirers by the sensationalistic but dubious documentary 'The Lost Tomb of Jesus' by James Cameron and Simcha Jacobovici. Readers who think Christians are afraid of hard facts will have to think again after reading this rapidly produced but superbly informed and rigorously reasoned rejoinder."

The fact that Christ is risen is not only central to our faith as Christians, but it is a fundamental motivation for living. If death had not been conquered, if Christ were merely an example, if there were no eternal hope or greater reality than the one in which we exist, why wouldn't we want to end it all. So while this controversy may seem trivial to many in Evangelicalsim, recognize that it is not. At the same time, don't become anxious about it either. There is nothing new under the sun and Christ sits not in heaven ringing his hands, but triumphant on His throne and reigning over His kingdom. In Acts 2:30, Peter (referring to David) spoke, "Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ..." Wow! Christ is now on David's throne, reigning. David foretold it "being therefore a prophet" and Peter confirmed it. That gives us a lot to celebrate at Easter and every reason to rebuff any notion that the tomb of Jesus has been "discovered." Walk in confidence this day, if you are a child of the King. He reigns!

Enjoying God's Creativity

We just returned from a week of vacation in North Myrtle Beach, SC. We had the opportunity to stay in a nice place right on the beach at no charge (my favorite part). So we took off on Sunday and headed over on what should have been a 6 hour journey. But with a stop for lunch and then a longer one for dinner, where we got to visit with family, the trip took longer. Then there was the issue of direction. The last trip I made, I used Google Maps (my personal favorite), and for whatever reason, that set of directions took me on about 10 miles of single-lane, dirt, forest service road. So I tried Microsoft's map and direction service this time. We followed the directions, but when we saw the "Welcome to North Carolina" sign, I quickly lost confidence in them and pulled out the GPS on the laptop. From there we made it to the resort about 10 PM.

We spent the week making some great memories with the kids. No Wifi/Internet, just a few phone calls, no projects. It was just beach time, movies, special snacks, walks, taking the stairs intead of the elevator, collecting seashells...fun! The very first morning the kids were up at the crack of dawn (even though we'd gotten in so late the night before). Leslie was with them on the beach by 8 (they let me rest since I'd driven the day before). It was cool, but not too cool to get some pink on our shoulders and cheeks and have some time in the ocean. One of the outdoor pools was heated as were the indoor pools. There were two lazy river pools which we enjoyed (one more than the other because it got more sun and was therefore warmer). The kids were also elated to have their own bedroom with their own TV. They loved the tub with bubbles (a jetted tub). They enjoyed the eating out, the special treats (that mom normally never buys), the desserts at meals. All things we would consider luxuries, they thoroughly enjoyed.

But these simple luxuries paled in comparison in bringing out joy in our lives with the creativity we saw in God's handiwork. The first thing is the ocean itself. Here's this monstrous beach, looking calm and serene, but packing a power that seems unrivaled. Step into it and see. The ocean brings the strongest man to his knees. If not immediately, it will eventually. And God gave us a way to enjoy this power in quite a controlled manner: the beach. Here land meet sea. The earth gives sand to the ocean and the ocean gives seashells to the earth (and her creatures). Our little creatures loved collecting seashells. And I'm not talking the pretty, ornate, whole seashells. Most of what they found were simply pieces. Some of them were just ugly oyster shells. And yet with each finding was a shout of exclamation. They were amazed. This in turn brought me to amazement. God really is an artist, and in my learning to appreciate His work in creation, I can better appreciate the reflection of His creativity in the art of His creatures.

The kids also loved the various animals we encountered. From the seagulls on the beach, which were promptly chased by McGrooter anytime they came near, to the turtles we watched swim in the water in a nearby lagoon while eating dinner, to the large coi that lumbered by in the water (2-3 feet long). God certainly was creative not only in how he made the animals (their appearance) but in how they live and move and breathe. The kids' wonder prompted my wonder (which often needs a little prompting) so that I could appreciate these creatures in ways I haven't since I was their size.

But for me, my favorite part of God's creativity is in the evening when the sun sets. There's something about the lighting, the colors, the warmth left over from the sun's efforts throughout the day, and breeze that softens that warmth to that perfect sensation that only occurs in the evening. I've always loved the evenings at the beach. And on this trip we were treated to a clear night of moonlight on the water as it rose in the sky. The intensity of that light always surprises me.

So we got creative too. That's one of the neat attributes of God that He shares with us (a communicable attribute). We're creative because He is, and our creativity reflects His even if we don't acknowledge Him. So we used our buckets and shovels and dug in the sand and ended up with somewhat of a castle. We had to explain to the Munchkin the first time we turned the bucket of neatly packed sand over to create the tower that her response shouldn't be one of kicking it over. It was almost instantaneous and was completely unstoppable when it happened. But she understood after that and managed not to do it again, as tempting as it was. We ended up with a few towers and a moat, which we tried pointlessly to keep filled with water. But we had a blast, both as adults who felt once again like kids and as parents who watch their kids with a range of emotion too great to capture with words.

You can see all of our pictures here:


And if you want to see some more wonderful creativity that creates a fine line war within (between that of worship of God and lust of metal), click here.