My son is reading...

Green Eggs and Ham, all by himself!!

A good movie: The Nativity Story (2006)

I saw this movie just before Christmas an I enjoyed it. What really struc me was the portrayal of St. Joseph. In most nativity movies I have seen he is sort of just "there". In this movie he fulfills the traditional role as his family's provider and protector. He brushes off some pick-pockets, for instance. To be honest, I never thought of St. Joseph as a shrewd and capable protector, though I did always think of him as a protector.

Also very interesting is the protrayal of Mary and Joseph's relationship. While not portrayed as a romance, there is some affection and an emotional bond between the two.

Seven Things I have Learned in Life

Pr. Weedon, who's blog I really like, tagged me for Seven Things I Have learned. Well, here they are:

1) When I looked at other communions, I always found the same or worse problems than I find in the LC-MS. This is how God taught me that the Church is under the cross, and though she is his spotless bride today, we are likely only to see her warts if we look with fleshly eyes, and every confession has warts.

2) Watching Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox argue over the fathers looks a lot like Protestant arguments about the Scriptures. In both cases, it comes down to first principles, and a Lutheran's first principle is Christ--i.e. we do not seek to set up an elaborate epistemology to justify our beliefs after the fact: papal infallibility, apostolic succession, hermeneutic assumptions etc. The starting point is faith in Christ and his promises, and his promises are as clear as we can expect.

3) Having your child greet you with a big smile when you come home from work more than outweighs the difficulties.

4) When I sin and seek forgiveness, the Sacrament of the Alter is very, very comforting. I mean, it is Christ giving himself to me again, even though I rebel against him.

5) Arguing with atheists can be dangerous to my faith. Not because their arguments are so powerful, but because the sinner in me likes tidy arguments, and these can subtly encroach on simple faith in the promises of God. I can sometimes place reason above faith ans the Scriptures.

6) "Better to remain silent and have the world think you a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt" is a really good proverb. I should think before I speak, and read before I post. I get better at this all the time because I have learned from painful experiences.

7) When we moved and sought a local church, we learned that it is not always about our wants and needs, God sometimes has other ideas. The "best fit" for my life situation may not be where I am supposed to be.

So, who do I tag?

Chris Jones at http://pleroma.typepad.com/

Pastor Fleischmann at http://resqrev.blogspot.com

Members of St. Matthew Lutheran Church

We have been attending here since we relocated to Albany in January. I am happy to say the worship is "liturgical" and we use the familiar (to us anyway) "Red Hymnal". The assistant pastor is a "traditionalist" in things liturgical. For instance, we chant the Psalms, the Introit, which we did not do at our previous parish. All in all, it was not too much of an adjustment. I have come to like it quite a bit. I believe the lirutgy is a valuable teaching tool--I can remember the first time I realized I could read: I was able to follow along with the Creed! Unfortuantely, the congregation is mostly compose dof elderly people--65 years plus. Tania and I felt called to be there though and so here we are! We hope and pray that God will use us to help this congregation, and no doubt we will grow in the process.

What touched Tania and I though, was an old couple, married for 65 years, who sit in front of us. They cannot stand or kneel when it is required, and sometimes they seem to be uncomfortable. Yet, they come just about every Sunday to praise their Lord for the life he gives them through his death and resurrection. I pray that we will have as much faith and desire to see our Lord when we are old as this couple do.

On a lighter note, here is a corny joke I actually used:

My wife asked me if she should make the check out to St. Matthew.

I replied that since he is in heaven, he might not be able to cash it.

Ba-Da-DUM!

The faith of a Child

When we were first married three years ago, my wife was interested in my religious beliefs because she had little or no knowledge about Christianity. Like most Russians, my wife was baptized, and so she was Russian Orthodox. Her mother and father brought her to the church to be grafted into Christ as is the custom in that country--my wife was baptized when the yoke of Communism was the ruling orthodoxy in Russia. After her Baptism, however, she barely ever darkened the steps of a church, which is another custom in Russia.

So, when she came to America she was very intrigued with my religious beliefs and practices; even in the North East, we are much more "churchly" than in Russia. She would ask questions and I would answer them as best I could. One day she asked "Why don't we pray before our meals?" I didn't have an answer, because the only reason I didn't pray was because I cared more about stuffing my face than with giving thanks to God for his gifts, with which I could sustain my body.

I felt embarrassed and we immediately started praying at every meal. How could I be so callous? I had a pretty good understanding of doctrine, of what was the "right teaching" or orthodoxy. I could answer questions, describe why the Lutheran teaching is actually what the Scriptures teach etc. But I had to be thought by my wife, who had little or no understanding of doctrine or right teaching at the time. All she had was a simple understanding that when someone gives you a gift, you should thank him for it. In this matter, she had the faith of a child and I had the faith of an intellectual, or, (gasp!) a scholastic theologian.

So now, we pray before and after every meal. And by doing so we teach our two year old son by our actions, and thus pass down what we received. So I want to thank God for my wife, who with a simple question helped me be a better disciple. But I also want to thank God for her parents, who presented her to the Lord for Baptism, which set in motion a train of events by which I could learn from my wife what it means to have the faith of a child.

Nut allergies

My son is allergic to walnuts and pecans; he is sensitive to other "tree" nuts, as well as peanuts. I am sure others have said this or have written about this phenomenon, but I would really like to know where this came from. When I was growing up in the '70s, I didn't know a single person who had a nut allergy, now I know several kids with nut allergies. How could something go from basically unheard of to common?

Nut allergies wouldn't be a problem if they weren't so dangerous. In my Long Island congregation, we lost a 15 year old girl because she accidentally ate some candy.

Unfortunately, our allergist has no firm answers as to the cause, and the "treatment" is to avoid all nuts, plus carry antihistamine and an epi-pen in case our son eats a nut and has a reaction. There is no explanation for this besides vague theories, and all "sensitivity" levels, except the very lowest, can be deadly.

What gives here?

Just wondering, like the medical professionals do, I think. I hope there are some answers soon.

Here I am, come and get me!

Well, I finally did it. I finally managed to relocate my family and start a blog. I, my wife Tania and our son Eddie will live in Albany, NY as I start my new position as a Network Security Administrator. We will move to Albany from Long Island New York. This is the result of over a year of prayer and job seeking. My whole family gives hearty thanks to our Father for the blessings he heaped upon us.

So, what will this blog be about? Mostly about living out the Gospel this side of eternity, but also about family life, some current events and what ever else takes my fancy--blogging is idiosyncratic, after all.

So, if you like, stop by, leave a comment, or what ever.

Here is a theological thought:

"He whom the world could not enclose, doth in Mary's lap repose!"

Now THAT is mind-boggling!

Amen!