Countdown!

***UPDATE*** Found it on my doorstep tonight when I got home... WOOHOO! Whoop!



I've been waiting for some time for this one... When Scott asked me what I wanted for our anniversary, the answer was EASY. Crossway Publishing is releasing the study Bible version of its new translation of the Bible on October 15th! He pre-ordered a copy, and I can't wait for it to get here!

Why am I so excited?

I love to know the context of Scripture. It shows me exactly what God intended when He inspired what I am reading. I love diving into the context of Scripture by checking out maps, using study materials, understanding the culture and traditions of the time periods, etc. Doing so helps me properly apply Scripture to my own life and truly reminds me how God's Word is living and active.

This Study Bible (in addition to being one of the most closely accurate-to-the-original-language translations) is chock-full of the following:

• Over 200 full-color maps—created with the latest digital technology, satellite images, and archaeological research; printed in full color throughout the Bible.


• 200-plus charts—offering key insights and in-depth analysis in clear, concise outline form; located throughout the Bible.
• 80,000 cross-references—to encourage easy location of important words, passages, and biblical themes.
• 40 all-new illustrations—including full-color renderings and architectural diagrams of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, the city of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time and throughout the history of Israel, and many more.

Here is a sample image from Crossway's ESV SB website: (click to enlarge)


I respect the attitude of the Godly men and women who have worked hard to put this together. Here is the stated purpose from the Crossway site (Linked to above):

The goal and vision of the ESV Study Bible is, first and foremost, to honor the Lord—in terms of the excellence, beauty, and accuracy of its content and design; and in terms of helping people come to a deeper understanding of the Bible, of the Gospel, and of Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Crossway is a not-for-profit publishing ministry and all receipts from the ESV Study Bible go directly toward the support of this ministry goal around the world.

WALL-E thoughts...Compacted (heh heh heh)

[update: on further review, I was still a little disappointed, but I didn't mean to spend so much time on the soap box below :) ]

****WARNING: If you're determined to see it and don't want anything spoiled, skip the post entirely*****


**********SPOILER ALERT*************
(don't say I didn't warn you)



We took Caleb to see his second movie in a theater yesterday. His first was the VeggieTales movie about those adorable but lowly Pirates. It was GREAT!

For his second, we chose WALL-E by Disney/Pixar. Admittedly, we didn't know much about the plot except for the vague inference of the boy Wall-E making friends with a new-fangled girl robot. We left the movie with mixed reviews. Caleb would say it was fun (but not overly enthused). Scott was very impressed with the computer animation, and rightly so! I was somewhere between non-plussed and irritated.

The characters of the movie were great: the diligent, nostalgic, and very endearingly expressive trash compacting Wall-E; the cool, determined, and sleek Eve; the petite and tenacious cleaner-bot; and steadfast, hale, and strangely charming little cockroach. The animation was truly stellar (pun intended: much takes place in space). All in all, I had no problem with the general story line: robot is lonely, meets girl robot, desires innocent companionship and romance like he has seen on film clips of Hello Dolly.

My problem lies with the premise. Enter the hero, doing this daily job faithfully: compacting trash into efficient little cubes. The problem is that he's stacking cubes into huge skyscrapers that dwarf the actual skyscrapers of the big American city he occupies. This city has long been abandoned and the other WALL-E robots have broken down, but still Wall-E remains resourceful and even finds time to glean sentimental items from the trash heaps (a light bulb, a Rubik's Cube, Christmas lights). See, the earth has been abandoned after the all-controlling BigBox store has taken over every aspect of society, society has over-consumed and trashed the world, and thus society has been relocated to a giant space cruise ship. The hope is that once the robots get everything cleaned up, everyone can return. There's just one thing (OK, maybe several): Wall-E is all that remains after 700 years, and the space cruisers have become (all of them) morbidly obese and technological hermits.

Seriously, must we brainwash our kids with hyperbole? I've taught Caleb about being a good steward since he was 2, and I'm ready to start with Anna. I want to teach them to take care of their toys, others' belongings, and why litter is bad. They need to know that having stuff is not what makes a person happy. I want them to realize that all we have is from God, and He wants us to practice stewardship and simplicity for the time that we're here on Earth.

But, good grief! I'm getting a little agitated by the current trend of promoting Eco-issues to the point that we're worshiping the environment instead of the Creator. I won't even start on what I think about Global Warming, mercury-filled halogen light bulbs, and carbon footprints. It's time that being Green takes a permanent backseat to being Godly.

Should you go see Wall-E? Use your discernment. At the age of 5, Caleb was a little oblivious to the propaganda, but I will still work to make sure he understands what the truth is. Had Wall-E been built on a different premise, it would have been GREAT. If I had it to do over again, though, I'd skip it and see that VeggieTales film again on video.

Sunday School Answer

You've heard the running jokes about "Sunday School Answers." There's even the one about the little boy...

The Sunday School Teacher asks the children to figure out the answer to a riddle:
What is gray, has a bushy tail, and collects nuts?
No one answers at first. Then, a boy raises his hand and, in frustration, answers,
"It sure sounds like a squirrel, but I'm gonna say Jesus."

Have you ever noticed how we segment out Bible stories, retelling the favorite ones, celebrating the heroes, and going over rules we find? Personally, I have loved learning from Scripture, but only in my college/adult years has it truly "clicked" for me that there is a common thread that runs through the tapestry of all of the beloved stories and even the difficult parts to read (Leviticus, anyone? :) ) There is a bigger picture to all of this than just a recounting of history, religion, and morality.

Caleb and Anna both received children's Bibles from our church when we participated in Family Dedication services after their respective births. Caleb loves hearing the paraphrased stories of true, real, historical heroes of the faith. Now, however, I've stumbled across something that I think will still encourage him to discover Scripture's stories all while pointing him to the One to which all of its stories reference, directly or indirectly.
I even find myself with misty eyes as I rediscover how all of the stories in the Word "whisper His name," and as I remember that this is not just a compilation of true stories, but the active work of the Living, Loving God who was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice to restore and redeem us, His creation, for His glory, if we will believe in and follow His Son.

Here a couple of excerpts from The Jesus Storybook Bible written by Sally Lloyd-Jones, published by Zondervan:

from "A Giant Staircase to Heaven" about the tower of Babel:

After that, people scattered all over the world (which is how we ended up with so many different languages to this day).

You see, God knew, however high they reached, however hard they tried, people could never get back to heaven by themselves. People didn't need a staircase; they needed a Rescuer. Because the way back to heaven wasn't a staircase; it was a Person.

People could never reach up to Heaven, so Heaven would have to come down to them.

And, one day, it would.

from "The Girl No One Wanted" about Leah and Jacob and Rachel:

Now when Leah knew that God loved her, in her heart, suddenly it didn't matter anymore whether her husband loved her the best, or if she was the prettiest. Someone had chosen her, someone did love her-- with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love...

...

...One of Leah's children's children's children would be a prince -- the Prince of Heaven -- God's Son.

This Prince would love God's people. They wouldn't need to be beautiful for him to love them. He would love them with all of his heart. And they would be beautiful because he loved them.

Like Leah.

from "God's Messenger" about Jonah and the Whale:

Many years later, God was going to send another Messenger with the same wonderful message. Like Jonah, he would spend three days in utter darkness.

But this Messenger would be God's own Son. He would be called "The Word" because he himself would be God's Message. God's Message translated into our own language. Everything God wanted to say to the whold world -- in a Person.

I'd recommend that every home have a copy (or borrow one from a library!)... even if you don't have kiddos! What a refreshing reminder for all of us!

You can click on the picture above to visit the publisher's website, or you can likely find it in the children's section of your local Christian book store, but I found my copy at WalMart!

Grace on the Silver Screen

Well, in a move that is completely unlike our normal pattern of life, we found a baby sitter and went to the movies tonight. We caught the prime-time, opening night showing of Amazing Grace, which is the story of William Wilberforce, who lived (and lived out his faith) in the 1700s in England. I would highly recommend this movie. Our showing here in MO was sold out! See it! See it!

Here is the trailer, if you haven't seen it on TV yet...

Do you know Wilberforce?

I must admit, the name William Wilberforce had only a vague familiarity to me. Thanks to my friend Phillip and to the movie trailer I saw today, I truly want to find out more about this man whose faith affected us and made history. You can also find out more through the recent biography of him by John Piper. I've attached the trailer here for you to see... If you know something of this man (or have seen the movie, since we never get to go to the movies), comment back and let me know! :)