Archive for June, 2010
Beauty Kills
Last week one of the world’s top male models was found dead, having either fallen or jumped from his hotel balcony in Milan. Probably suicide.
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Taken from Daily Mail:
“An anonymous posting by a fellow model on the fashion website Issac Likes shed light on the giddy world and said: ‘People think we are young and beautiful and rich and happy. But we’re not. We go to castings and the directors take one look at us and then we’re dismissed.
‘You spend your whole life wondering what’s wrong with you. Why didn’t I get that job? You’re competing with your friends, you’re away from your family. The pressure is huge. It’s not the fairytale life people would expect.’”
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The world says pursue beauty, but even the beautiful don’t feel lovely. We must go somewhere else for this need, to an unconditional love that doesn’t see deformities or wrinkles. We can be rescued from all of this. The Almighty waits to give you significance. God says that beauty has much more to do with character and heart than body shape and hair color.
I think we need to spend less time in front of mirrors and more time going for walks with people we love. That will make you feel beautiful.
Idols Aren’t Statues
I’ve been reading Tim Keller’s book, Counterfeit Gods. He writes on the dangers of money, sex, and power. I thought I was doing pretty good with these possible pitfalls, thinking I was perhaps possibly free of idols in my life, until the last chapter. He writes,
“Archbishop William Temple once said, “Your religion is what you do with your solitude.” In other words, the true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention. What do you enjoy daydreaming about? What occupies your mind when you have nothing else to think about? Do you develop potential scenarios about career advancement? Or material goods such as a dream home? Or a relationship with a particular person? One or two daydreams are no an indication of idolatry. Ask rather, what do you habitually think about to get joy and comfort in the privacy of your heart?”
BP CEO Goes Yachting
Oil continues to gush, and the BP CEO goes to a yacht race. Here’s an excerpt from the article:
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VENICE, La. (AP) – Just when it seemed Gulf residents couldn’t get any more outraged about the massive oil spill fouling their coastline, word came Saturday that BP’s CEO was taking time off to attend a glitzy yacht race in England.
Tony Hayward’s latest public relations gaffe didn’t sit well with people in the U.S. who have seen their livelihoods ruined by the massive two-month oil spill.
“Man, that ain’t right. None of us can even go out fishing, and he’s at the yacht races,” said Bobby Pitre, 33, who runs a tattoo shop in Larose, La. “I wish we could get a day off from the oil, too.”
› Continue reading
Repentance with Rejoicing
I was reading the final pages of Counterfeit Gods yesterday. Keller makes the point that repentance without rejoicing can lead to dread. It can be depressing. It can keep us bogged down in the memories of our mistakes. The rejoicing comes because the rescue arrives. The work of Jesus is enough for our crap, our mistakes. So we repent as to rejoice.
Lie #24: Repentance is just for people who have murdered someone.
I used to think repentance was simply the tool God used to turn non-Christians into Christians, or perhaps it was for the horrible people confessing adultery or murder (clearly I was forgetting Jesus teaching on lust and anger being just as horrible). Recently I’ve begun to learn repentance is for everyone, everyday. I’ve learned it isn’t necessarily a dreaded thing but a freeing thing. It’s a recognition of our crap, that we don’t always do life right.
If I want to be a better father it’s not just about trying to be better. Perhaps the most profound thing I can do is embrace the ways I’m not a good father, repent of them, letting the grace of God rescue me from shallowness and selfishness. Then and only then am I ready to father or live or teach, breathing out of grace and gratitude not duty and obligation.
The grace doesn’t excuse my behavior or propel me towards apathy. It calls me to something higher, a life of obedience and joy, fathering, living, or being a person who knows what it means to be free.
The Best of Lately
Perhaps this will become a regular post…below are a few great bits I’ve seen online lately:
1. Not your ordinary conversion story over at Huffington Post.
2. Two killer posts over at Mockingbird:
- Great commentary on the ump who blew the call, costing a pitcher a perfect game – Forgiveness and Baseball.
- Should we view ourselves as sinners or saints, and if we join the Apostle Paul are we a Debbie Downer?
3. Hilarious video about super cool churches.
Katy Perry On Bible-Thumping Parents
On the flight back from Jackson Hole I read an article about musician, Katy Perry. She grew up in a Christian home and has wandered from those roots. Whether you like her songs or not her honest comments on her parents’ reactions to her life choices can perhaps teach us something as we aim to live and love people towards truth.
“The road to stardom was rough – she had to work a string of odd jobs and had two cars repossessed – and Perry had yet to reconcile her independent streak with her parents. “In the beginning, it was a bit difficult because my mom, if I had a problem, the retort would always be scripture. Sometimes I just wanted her to be my mother rather than, like, a walking Bible.” (Delta Sky Magazine, May 2010)
I think we should direct people to scripture as it is truth, but thumping folks doesn’t seem to work.
Marvelous Things In Jackson Hole
We are back from the West. Here are a few pics of the marvelous things we saw last week. (I’ll have more thoughts on faith starting back up later this week.)
The Little One and I in Grand Teton National Park, on the shores of Jenny Lake:
Kristy and the Little One in Yellowstone, looking into the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone:
The whole family – some came from Seattle, others from Virginia, and my mom and our little family flew in from Atlanta.
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