New Clothes

Jeannette asked me to take a picture of MelodyJoy in her new blouse from Grandma Muntz for the blog . . .

Afterwards, MelodyJoy insisted on taking our photograph . . .

Go to Hell

My blog has been little more than a family scrapbook since we moved here. It's just too much work to actually write something thoughtful . . . and, besides, I know that most of my 12 or 13 readers primarily come here for photos of MelodyJoy. Nonetheless, I thought I'd try to branch out again . . .

Last Sunday as part of his sermon, our pastor read Romans 9:1-3. In this passage, Paul writes:

"In the presence of Christ, I speak with utter truthfulness-I do not lie-and my conscience and the Holy Spirit confirm that what I am saying is true. My heart is filled with bitter sorrow and unending grief for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed -- cut off from Christ! -- if that would save them. "

Certainly it's commendable, to say the least, that Paul carries such a burden for his countrymen. His heartfelt emotions couldn't be expressed more clearly. But am I reading that correctly? What does "forever cursed" and "cut off from Christ" mean, other than to spend eternity in hell? I find it hard to comprehend that someone who really understands what hell is--and I suppose Paul would have a better grasp than most--would be willing to go there for any reason, even the salvation of another. Am I being shallow?

I've often thought I'd be willing to die to save someone's life or to secure someone's eternity in heaven, because despite all my flaws and my inconsistent spiritual walk, I do have confidence that I am saved and will go to heaven after I die. Now I've never actually been faced that that decision, of course, but I do think I'd give my life for another. (Please don't ask me if I'd be willing to endure extended pain and suffering for another . . . that is much harder for me to consider.)

However, while I'd die for someone--even for a stranger maybe--I can't imagine agreeing to spend eternity in hell for the sake of another, even for a loved one. On the one hand, I feel guilty for this. On the other, I think this position is evidence that I take God's Word literally and believe what it says. Hell is a horrible place of never ending misery and torture; of separation from friends, loved ones and God. If I believe hell is real and if it's as awful as I understand it to be, it's almost impossible for me to think of voluntarily choosing to go there, even in exchange for the highest of rewards for someone else.

Call me selfish . . . I'm just sayin' it like it is. Am I off-base? What am I missing here? I guess that's why he's called St. Paul and I'm just plain old Palmer.

Quote of the Week

“The only parts of an organization that can turn on a dime are the ones that live on the edge.”

Lev Gonick, CIO, Case Western Reserve University

Christmas Morn Photos

Pictures from this morning's gift-opening event.

I bought all three boys these stocking caps for when they have to shovel the driveway . . . or are pretending they're ninja.Phillip helps me figure out what colors my new socks are . . .

Phillip and Jameson bought Jeannette this Willow Tree figurine of a mother and her son, to put on our piano . . .

Books from Grandma and Grandpa Muntz . . .

MelodyJoy in her new princess castle tent . . .

Sometimes when you tell Jordan to smile he gives you more than you asked for . . .

Jordan and Phillip got Jameson a new sled to ride on the massive sledding hill in our neighborhood . . .

Can't Wait

For those who know Jeannette, it won't come as any surprise to hear that she thought we should start opening gifts this morning . . .

MelodyJoy, Hired Assassin

While Grandpa Phil and Grandma Deb were here, everyone had quite a good time with our set of Nerf guns, so MelodyJoy had to get into the act, too.

A Christmas Portrait

Saturday at Home

Today was a pretty lazy Saturday, with Jeannette's dad and his wife in town. I did venture out to Walmart for a package of tortillas and concluded that whoever designed the parking lot there must have been a student of Escher. I'm committed to staying away from that place from now on during peak shopping times. Inside the store was okay but the parking lot was a nightmare!

This morning, Phillip and Jordan started rough housing together so I decided to jump in, and so Jameson had to get in on the act. I was quite pleased to see that I'm still able to put all three of them down pretty easily (though after this they managed to get me down and I really didn't have the energy to shake them all off). Note that Grandma Deb isn't exactly rushing in to help the boys.

We did some early Christmas gifts with Grandpa and Grandma . . .

And MelodyJoy got a new CD of songs to listen to at bedtime (because Jeannette is tired of the old CD).

Random Photos from Yesterday

Jordan wanted us to make a human table, where everyone sits on a chair, then leans back into the next person's lap and when you pull the chairs out you form a "table" all together. In the bottom photo, you can see Jeannette's dad, who came to visit yesterday. Grandma Debbie declined to participate in the human table experiment.

Quote of the Week

"Do I want social justice for the oppressed, or do I just want to be known as a socially active person? I spend 95 percent of my time thinking about myself anyway. I don't have to watch the evening news to see that the world is bad, I only have to look at myself. I am not browbeating myself here; I am only saying that true change, true life-giving, God-honoring change would have to start with the individual. I was the very problem I had been protesting. I wanted to make a sign that read, "I AM THE PROBLEM!"

- Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz, p. 20

A Couple of Pretty Fun Christmas Music Videos

(Note on 12/24: Yesterday at church, a men's sextet sang the following song. Did a pretty good job with it, too.)

How could anyone say "no" to this face? - Part IV

(Let the record show that MelodyJoy insists on having her picture taken when she sees the camera.)

Snow Day

We woke up this morning to about eight inches of snow overnight, as expected, so most churches were closed and we had a lazy morning at home. Over homemade scones, Melody and I looked through the paper and Jeannette insisted that this should go in the blog.

YouTube Publicity

Our TUFW YouTube Challenge made the front page of yesterday's Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly. You can read the article by copying the following URL and pasting it into the address bar of your browser:

http://tinyurl.com/2zcb3v

The article's not 100% accurate but it's pretty darn close and I'm not complaining.

Quote of the Week

“Plenty of people change occupations and vocations. Few stay in their original professions, and most of us say we never dreamed of doing what we do now. The purpose of college is not to give a person a fixed set of work skills like a technical school. We give students a perspective on the world and a breadth of knowledge so they can move toward whatever they are called to do.”

- Patrick Blewett, Columbia International University

YouTube Update

Finally, at long last, we have our first entry in the TUFW YouTube Challenge. But it was worth waiting for. I can't believe that it took this long to see our first submission, but I think more will come soon. Several media outlets are interested in covering the contest but somehow it'll be a bit more impressive when there actually are some contestants.

One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Two-Year-Old

The significance of the lollipop? When I came home from work today, MelodyJoy was eager to show me her sucker, which was her reward for successfully using the potty chair today. On Wall Street, stock prices for Procter & Gamble fell 15 points on reports that Melody used her Winnie-the-Pooh potty chair three times today, amid fears that sales of Pampers will fall.

An Important Message to Share with Your Children

Rockin' Round the Christmas Tree (Not)

Tonight was Blackhawk's Christmas band concert . . . from 5th grade all the way through high school. Actually, they moved things along very efficiently, with each band--including the two jazz bands--playing just two numbers. Jordan and the brass quartet played a prelude.

I was very impressed with how all the kids played, from the beginners on up. I'm probably not the best judge (Jordan said that he messed up several times but I didn't hear it) but I thought they sounded very good.

TUFW Staff Christmas Party

Last night, we had the Taylor University Fort Wayne admissions staff over for a Christmas party. We didn't deliberately exclude the financial aid staff . . it just turned out that they had a conference in Indianapolis scheduled for today so they bowed out.

My former staffs from Klamath Falls will be quite familiar with the format for this party . . . appetizers provided by the staff, the annual Christmas ornament exchange, followed by cheesecake. Anyway, we had a good time, there was just enough "stealing" of ornaments to keep things interesting (and Jeannette snagged her favorite snowman ornament from the bunch so she's happy) and the food and fellowship both were great.

For Christmas gifts this year, I got each person a CD and I was quite proud of myself . . . At a recent staff meeting, I asked everyone what great new music they had discovered, so everyone threw in some choice that they were enjoying currently. Well, I made note of the different things each person said and then I went to www.pandora.com and plugged each artist in. From there, I was able to discover similar artists and so I ordered CD's from that group. For instance, Leo said that he was enjoying listening to Whiskey Falls so I ordered him a Dierks Bentley album while Myka mentioned Michael Buble so she got a Dean Martin CD. I hadn't heard of most of the musicians the staff mentioned so it broadened my musical horizons, too. Anyway, people seemed to like the little personal touch and it was a pretty easy way to do the gifts.

When we moved here, we hoped that our home would be good for entertaining but this was our first real foray into having company over. The house worked out great and I hope we can do more things in the future, maybe with some of our TUFW students.

How could anyone say "no" to this face? - Part III

From last night's Christmas party.

Kristmas with the Kiltys

Last night, Jeannette and I, along with MelodyJoy, went over to Duane and Joni Kilty's house for a little Christmas gathering of the Chancellor's Council. There wasn't much to it all, though Melody did play deliveryman for everyone's gifts. We just sat around and swapped stories, laughed, ate the snacks and had a good time.
On the way home, I asked Jeannette if she understood better why I enjoy going to work here. It's nice to work with people who get along well and are heading in the same direction, without competition or contention. I feel very blessed to work at this place and hope we find success in all our hard work.

Quote of the Week

“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Settin' Up the Christmas Tree

The TUFW YouTube Challenge

Here is the new and improved video introducing our TUFW YouTube Challenge. I think you'll agree that it's better than either of our first two attempts. Remember that the contest is open to pretty much anyone, not just people affiliated with Taylor University Fort Wayne.