From ISBN to Excel File for your Library

I have flirted around with a workflow for scanning my books' barcodes and getting them into a library. Here are the steps that I've tried. Full disclosure: It's been over a year since I've done anything with it and I had not worked out all of the kinks.

1.) scan the barcodes with my iPod touch using any of a number of apps. I think the one I used was zbar? 

2.) If I remember right, this will export the ISBNs to .csv file. 

3.) Upload .csv to Goodreads––a social media site for bibliophiles. (GR will allow you to upload like 200 books without a paid account. But I think that I may upgrade. Last I checked it was a onetime fee for unlimited books on my shelf.) I also considered using Google Books for this, but their "shelf space" was too limited. If Google has given more space in the meantime, it would be cool because you could then electronically search your paper books.

4.) From here, Goodreads will fetch the book info from the ISBN and put it into a database. 

5.) At this point I downloaded a spreadsheet which I uploaded to Google docs. I can consult my own library easily and can also keep track of book lending. 

Advent Recommendations

Recently a friend asked for book recommendations for Advent. Here are my answers. First, some caveats: I definitely didn't feel confined to books, they are in no particular order, and I haven't read all of these. Second, Advent is the beginning of the Christian year. This beginning is reflected in several of the offerings below. (Note: some of the green text are linked.)

1. My first thought was Circle of the Seasons, by Kimberlee Conway Ireton (@kconwayireton). Last I heard this book is (sadly) out of print, but you can still find them for sale (at CBD they're currently only $4!). As her subtitle suggests, Ireton does more than introduce us to Advent, she introduces us to Meeting God in the Church Year. 
2. My second suggestion is also broader than Advent––and it's my first suggestion that's not actually a book. Our church talks a lot about living into the Christian calendar––to orient our lives by this calendar rather than the other competing calendars (fiscal, January 1, semesters, etc.). One way that we do this is by using this calendar: Salt of the Earth: A Christian Seasons Calendar. (I'm not sure if there's a pun in that title or not?) The art is beautiful. The year is divided based on seasons of the church year––the seasons of the biblical story of which we are a part.
3. Now for the first (of several) books that I've not read by one of the best names in biblical scholarship, Verlyn Verbrugge: A Not-So-Silent Night: The Unheard Story of Christmas and Why It Matters. This book comes highly recommended by Scott Duvall and Scott Jackson. Verbrugge explores the birth narratives in the gospels and opens our eyes to what the text is telling us about Jesus' humble origins. Find it at CBD or Amazon.
4. There are books containing Advent reflections by Bonhoeffer and Nouwen that come recommended to me (though I've not read them). When I asked one of my best friends, she said that hands down Madeleine L'Engle's The Irrational Season was her favorite Advent book. I look forward to picking it up as soon as the semester's out. 
5. Now for a couple of "kids" recommendations. (But as with so many kid's books, they're really for adults!) Song of the Stars by Sally Lloyd-Jones (@sallylloydjones, of Jesus Storybook Bible fame) is fantastic. 
6. For the last couple of years, Terese and I have walked Nathaniel through Jesse Tree. This is kind of like those advent calendars with chocolates inside. Instead of chocolates you read a bible story––beginning from creation and culminating in the birth of Christ. We don't give Nathaniel the chocolates, but we do make an ornament for each day. Even as a two year old, Nathaniel was able to share what every ornament was and, in effect, tell the whole story of the Old Testament. It was incredible to see. You can find the Jesse Tree that we use here. 
7. And I've saved the best until last: Behold the Lamb of God, an album by Andrew Peterson. I love Christmas music. And while this is music, it's more than music. It's an album that tells the story of Advent. In our home we loop this album during Advent. Through it, we find ourselves living into the story. Perhaps I'll write a review of the album soon. (Oh, and if Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God tour stops near you, don't miss it!)

Finally, I'm on the lookout for a book that tells the story of St. Nicholas (as opposed to our culture's Santa Clause) that I can read to Nathaniel. Anyone know of such a thing?

An Update on Our Weekend in the Hospital

Not everyone knows this about Terese, but she’s a great question-asker. So yesterday while we were on a walk at our friendly, neighborhood forest preserve I was not surprised by this question: What have you learned from this weekend?

To be honest, we’re both still processing the events of the weekend. I’ll list what we’re learning a little later. But first, 

HERE’S WHAT HAPPENED:

[Note: This portion was written on Saturday afternoon.]

Small-Fry was admitted to Lurie Children’s Hospital on Thursday and diagnosed with ITP. As we understand it (and no, we did not stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night––just at the children’s hospital) ITP is a condition where the spleen destroys the platelets faster than the marrow can create it. It seems to be triggered by a virus––any virus will do, maybe even one from a routine vaccination. The low normal count for platelets is 150K and Smalls was down to 3K. 

The treatment for ITP in little ones is pretty straightforward. Treatment is 2 doses by IV within 24 hours of one another. Smalls had his first treatment last night with no complications or allergic reactions. The prognosis for little ones if the treatment is effective [which it almost always is], then the platelet count rebounds within several weeks and they’re fine. It doesn’t typically recur in children. In the meantime, we wait and monitor him by taking blood-work every couple of weeks. 

Here’s our story of ITP. Sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday we began noticing bruising on Smalls. Mostly on his head/forehead, but in other places, too. Within a couple of days, we began noticing (what we now know are called) petechiae around his diaper and sock line, on the backs of his knees, and even on his face and tongue. So we took him to the Dr. who rushed blood work to the hospital. Her immediate concern (and worst-case scenario) was the possibility of leukemia. 

It’s amazing how one word can sit with you. And so we went on about our Thursday carrying around that one word: leukemia. In those couple of hours while we waited for the blood work to return, Terese resumed work and I went to class. At work, T met with her good friend who offered to take Than indefinitely. I lectured in my doctoral seminar. Showing up just as class was beginning, I shared with my colleagues (and friends!) who opened the class in prayer for us. I was able to present my lecture––in huge part thanks to the support that I felt in the room. 

As I was finishing my lecture, Terese called me. Our doctor was sending us to Children’s downtown.

HERE’S WHAT WE’RE LEARNING

So, in answer to Terese’s question, we’re currently processing on a couple of levels. 

First, our community––our family in Christ––were just that: family. We had a meal waiting on us when we arrived home, a safe place for Than to crash, and untold prayers––prayers that sustained us and through which the peace of Christ met us. 

Second, we were placed on the oncology and hematology floor at the hospital. This was the hardest part of the whole weekend––even harder than sitting with that word and not knowing if it were something that described our Smalls. Over the course of the weekend, we sat in the playroom with little W, who’s Small’s age and has cancer in his abdomen. W has been in and out of the oncology wing for several months for his chemo treatments. W has a big brother who’s Than’s age who loves visiting his brother at the hospital (not least because he gets “chocolate-milk-ice-cream!). 

As we left on Saturday afternoon, another little boy who was obviously receiving treatment was playing in the play room. His mom watched us as we walked down the hallway––carrying our bags and our boy. Our eyes met and locked halfway down the hall. That was a long and heartbreaking walk. I felt a tinge of guilt that she had to watch us leave. And I felt the weight of that word again––a word we were too close to owning ourselves. 

Our hearts break for these children and their families. 

But it’s in the broken places that good news is the Gospel. This past Sunday, before we knew of any problems with Smalls, a church member (and member of our small group) shared her story of miscarriage. Through her grief she was reminded that our children are not our own. We are only stewards of God’s good gifts. How we have clung to these words. These are the same words that our friend’s parents said upon losing LJ a year ago. Now these words have brought us a deep peace. 

We’ve also been reminded that every day is a day we’ll not get back. Even if we’re blessed to care for these guys until they’re adults, I’ll not get back this season. We are stewards of these little ones every day. 

These words are good news! Even the bleakest vision that we had painted for ourselves––a vision where we had to walk our Smalls through terminal cancer––is a vision where the slain Lamb reigns victorious. This Lamb––who was slaughtered––will come and make all things new. 

"Pirates Live for Tomorrow": Learning from a Major League Loser

There’s a lot of talk these days about how we form our kiddos in sports. If our kiddos get trophies just for going on the field, what are we teaching them? 

But we shouldn’t give our kiddos trophies just for trying. Life is full of loss and failure. Sports are a great, low-stakes venue to learn these lessons. And we don’t have to play sports to learn the lessons. Those of us who are fans can learn, too.

I think some of the best teachers of losing are baseball coaches. Baseball coaches are some of the best losers around. 

Recently, the Pirates lost a game. Big surprise, right? In fact the Pirates have lost more games than they have won for 20 seasons in a row! (Maybe someone should re-make Major League with the Pirates?) To put that in perspective, that’s the longest streak in major league history. More damning, the Yankees have had a losing record only 21 times since 1903!* But this year things are different. The Pirates guaranteed a winning record a few weeks back. Even more shocking, the Pirates are going to the playoffs!

After this particular loss, their coach made one of those classic baseball coaching statements––ironic in light of this history: “The Pirates live for tomorrow.” “Yeah, right,” I thought. “For 20 years the Pirates have been living for ‘tomorrow.’”

But unlike football, where every game is a big deal, baseball expects loss. In almost every aspect of the game, baseball players fail. Right now the Red Sox have the best record in baseball––yet they’ve only won 60% of their games. If an NFL team only won 60% of the time, they might not make the playoffs. If a college football team won 60% of their games, they’d play UTEP before 47 people in the New Mexico Bowl. And what quarterback would have a job if he completed 11 of 33 passes each week? Yet getting a hit 30% of the time is successful in baseball.

Losing and failing is part of baseball. And because the Majors offer a grueling season of 162 games, these baseball coaches know how to lose.

“The Pirates live for tomorrow.” It’s something I learned while riding the pine during high school ball: We can’t change the loss. If we dwell on it, we’ll probably lose tomorrow, too. The only thing we can control is the next pitch, the next swing, the next play. And this has a flip side. Baseball players can’t celebrate a win, either. (Unless, of course it’s the championship game.) Today’s victory means nothing in tomorrow’s game.

“The Pirates live for tomorrow.” Which is to say something that won’t surprise anyone: the Pirates know how to lose. But the Pirates, by way of knowing how to lose well, have made the turn. They’ve changed the culture of baseball in Pittsburgh. They’ve started winning. And that is an important life skill for any of us. Let’s just hope that we don’t lose quite as much as the Pirates. 

“Raise the Jolly Roger!”

*Note how difficult it is for me to write a sentence with the word “Yankees” in it without also including another word.

Reflections: Deuteronomy 15

This morning I read Deuteronomy 15. It’s one of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible. I was first introduced to the chapter by Christopher Wright––you can listen to a fantastic sermon here.

OVERVIEW OF DEUTERONOMY 15:

The chapter addresses a question: In the nation where YHWH is king, how should citizens live in the space where interpersonal relationships and money intersect? 

As with all of the Bible, the setting of the chapter is important. It is an exhortation by Moses––who sees his eminent end––to an obstinate people. But this obstinate people is YHWH’s people, citizens of the kingdom where YHWH is King. 

THE TENSION OF DEUTERONOMY 15:

(4) However there will be no poor among you

   because YHWH your God will bless you

      In the land 

         that he is giving you to possess as an inheritance 

(5) If only you listen obediently 

      to YHWH’s voice

   to keep

   to do (i.e. to carefully do)

      all these commands which I am commanding you today

…

(7) If one of your brothers is poor among you

      in any of your towns

      in the land 

         that YHWH your God is giving to you

   DO NOT harden your heart

   DO NOT close your hand 

      from your poor brother

Verses 4-6 discuss the ideal: there will be no poor among you. But it gives more than the ideal: it gives the action steps for achieving the ideal: 

1. YHWH’s blessing
2. YHWH’s land––i.e. the material-means of YHWH caring for his people
3. Meticulous obedience
• It’s hard to state this as emphatically as the Hebrew does. 
• LISTEN/OBEY: Here there’s not a separate word for listen and obey––Deuteronomy frequently uses the word for listen (i.e. shema) + a preposition to convey the concept of obedience. I’ll propose a progression: hearing, listening, obeying. We hear stuff all the time. Listening requires cognition––the sounds must camp out in our brains for a bit. Obedience requires our bodies to act. Here Moses emphasizes the obedience with an emphatic construction that doesn’t literally translate. Something like: If only by obeying you will obey the voice of YHWH… 
• IF ONLY: this is a strange and strong construction. I hear Moses pleading with the people. 
• TO KEEP, TO DO: Usually the first verb (to keep) is used as an adverb: carefully or continually. We have a similar use in English: keep doing.  

In light of this ideal, there will be no poor among you, Moses continues with reality: If one of your brothers is poor among you. In other words, “I know that YHWH’s blessing is amazing, I know that YHWH’s land will provide (because it listens to his voice), but I’ve been camping with y’all for nigh on 40 years and I know about your obedience.” 

So, whenever a fellow citizen is poor, here are some instructions:

1. DON’T HARDEN YOUR HEART: The heart in Hebrew isn’t the place where we feel love, but the place where we choose: “the chooser.” This isn’t the same “harden” as Pharaoh but more of a strengthening of the heart. Don’t strengthen your choices against your poor brother. Choices turn into habits and this would certainly be a bad habit. Exercising our heart against the poor makes the “chooser” stronger against the poor.
   Our chooser is the place where listening turns into obedience. If we strengthen our chooser in this way, our meticulous obedience will be compromised. 
2. DON’T CLOSE YOUR HAND: Hearing must result in listening which must result in our bodies, i.e. our hands, engaging. 

DEUTERONOMY 15 AND THE TEACHING OF JESUS

In addition to all of Jesus words about being with and caring for the poor, I hear one statement from Jesus that echoes this passage: “But it shall not be so among you (Mark 10:43).” 

This phrase is the transition point in Mark’s gospel. This is the third and final time that Jesus predicts his death. It’s the place where Jesus begins his trek to Jerusalem. It’s the final episode in Mark’s middle section where the disciples are learning––mostly through failure––what it means to be disciples/followers (8:22-10:52). 

In this section, James and John are jockeying for position in Jesus’ new Kingdom. After asking Jesus about it, the other disciples are jealous and mad. This is the space in YHWH’s Kingdom where interpersonal relationships intersect with power. (There are strong parallels between the big three sins: money, sex, and power.) Jesus’ words of correction are the last of three lessons––where the disciples begin to see more clearly (notice the blind-men bookending this section): It shall not be so among you.

Citizens in YHWH’s Kingdom don’t jockey for power. Citizens in YHWH’s Kingdom care for the other citizens by acting out of compassionate obedience to YHWH’s own actions: giving everything to impoverished people.

A BULLETPROOF ANTIDOTE TO POVERTY

Yesterday I received an advertisement for a new book: The Poverty of Nations: A Sustainable Solution which purports to offer “a new, long-term solution to poverty.” One endorsement calls it “a bulletproof antidote to poverty.” I will say right up front that I haven’t read the book. 

But when people start offering words like “bullet-proof,” “antidote,” and “solution” for a problem such as poverty, I get nervous. I get more nervous when the blurb offers that “These two experts believe the solution lies in a comprehensive development plan that integrates the principles of a free market system with the Bible’s teachings on social ethics.” What makes me nervous is a hope in something other than the work of YHWH in the world.

We don't need a "bulletproof" solution to poverty because bullets aren't the source of poverty. Sin is. And not just the sins of individuals, but the exponential effects of the sins of every person to have ever lived, save one. 

The truth is that the only solution to poverty is a Kingdom where YHWH is King. 

The only solution to poverty is citizens within this Kingdom living into YHWH’s blessing through meticulous obedience. 

The only solution is King YHWH working to unclinch citizen’s fists and soften citizen’s hearts. 

May it be so among us.

4 Books for $3

The Jesus Creed: Loving God, Loving Others by Scot McKnight
This book comes highly recommended to me, though I've not read it. In it Dr. McKnight lays out a program of spiritual formation based on Jesus' own comments on the subject. McKnight has a gift for making Scripture come alive.

Mudhouse Sabbath: An Invitation to a Life of Spiritual Discipline by Lauren Winner
This is one of my favorite books. I appreciate Lauren's take on spiritual disciplines. I also appreciate how she lays out Jewish practices that can lead Christians to life in Christ.

Beyond Smells and Bells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy by Mark Galli
Mark is an insightful writer who has the ability to help one see the relevance of church's history. I recommend this book if you're intrigued by liturgy or turned off by it.

The St. Francis Prayer Book: A Guide to Deepen Your Spiritual Life by Jon Sweeney
This book is a wild-card. I've not read it nor am I familiar with Jon Sweeney. But I'm intrigued and I think you should be to.

Why Did They Pass By?

Than’s asking questions. Lots of questions. Most of his questions are not worth repeating––and not only because he repeats them more than enough times. But recently he asked a question that I can’t get out of my head: “Why did they pass by?”

It was bedtime and, as we do each evening before bed, we read a story from one of his “Bibles.” This night we were reading the story of the Good Samaritan from My First Book About Jesus by Walter Wangerin. (I recommend it.)

As we were reading the story, Than asked a question that caught me off guard: “Why did they pass by?”

This is a question worth asking because it helps us identify with the antagonists of the story. In the way the story is so often told, we put ourselves in the the Good Samaritan’s sandals. We identify with the guy who did the right thing. That’s too bad. In this story we’re supposed to identify with the bad guys––the guys who were the best of the “good guys.” We’re supposed to ask ourselves, “Why did those ‘good’ guys pass by?”

Jesus tells this story as an answer to a question: “Who is my neighbor?” To answer this question, Jesus tells the story of a guy robbed and beaten and left for dead. After telling it, Jesus asks a question, “Who was the neighbor?”

The answer: not the guys you would expect. In this story, the good-guys become the bad-guys while the bad-guy turns out to be the good-guy. “Who was the neighbor?” Jesus implied answer is prophetic: “NOT YOU!”

But this answer doesn’t leave us in a lurch. On the contrary, it draws us to Jesus. If we’re not the “Good Samaritan” then we must ask ourselves Than’s question: “Why do I pass by?”

Why do I pass by? In this question we are confronted with a choice: we can pass by or we can draw near. In passing by we snub our nose not only at the person on the side of the road, but also at King Jesus.
-The King offers his blessing to the poor, hungry, and mourning.
-The King is welcomed whenever someone “welcomes one of these little children” in his name.
-The King is served whenever “one of the least of the brothers and sisters” are served.

But the kingdoms of the world have ransacked the powerless––leaving them poor and hungry, ignored and vulnerable, too dirty to even deserve a second look. It’s tragic, but too often we think that our passports are issued by these kingdoms.
-We curse the poor and hungry. (After all, they got themselves into this mess.)
-We ignore, abuse, or slaughter our children. (Or pretend we didn’t see it happen.)
-While worshipping celebrities, we ignore the homeless or treat our co-workers in ways we would never treat Jesus.

But it is in these simple and ignored places that the Kingdom of God crushes the kingdoms of the world.
-He’s already at work among the poor, hungry, and mourning.
-He promises to be present when we’re with children.
-And we serve Jesus himself when we serve the most “unimportant” people.

So we are left with the choice: will we pass the guy robbed and beaten and left for dead? We can pretend that we didn’t see or buy into the lie that we don’t have time or money or skills, but if we choose to draw near and be servant, then we choose to join the King. His authority to reign, after all, is a result of the definitive act of service.

For those with eyes to see, Than’s question cuts to the heart, “How could I possibly pass by?”

–––––
Father, without the eyes of Jesus we are blind to those on the side of the road. Without the boldness of Jesus, we are cowards––too pompous lower our nose or lift a finger. Without the forgiveness of Christ––through the sacrifice of the cross––we are unwilling to pay whatever cost for their well-being. Thank you for giving us eyes, courage, and grace. May we be faithful Kingdom-stewards of these good gifts. May we see your Kingdom as it breaks in at the sides of the road.

Than's Questions

Than, our 3 year old, has entered the stereotypical question-asking stage. This, coupled with his repeat-myself-until-someone-acknowledges-me stage, has pushed me into patience. (Note: The road to patience passes through the land of impatience…) A couple of weeks back, we spent the entire week teaching and rehearsing proper protocols for how to be heard:

“Dad, excuse me.”

“Than, please don’t repeat yourself.”

“I’m not going to answer that question.”

In contrast, the extent of the 15 month old’s communication is, at best, grunts and, at worst, grunts degenerating into screaming and pounding fits. But Than is not only able to communicate, he’s entered the world of curiosity. This curiosity can often wear my nerves. But lately I’ve tried to press into the constant questions and welcome them. Though this can be hard in the midst of

“Why aren’t we going outside?” (X5)

“Why can’t we have yogurt for dinner?” (X8)

“Why don’t we push our brother?” (X4)

A few week's back, some friends tagged Terese and me in a facebook conversation. In the conversation, our friend was reminded about how passionate Terese and I are about recycling. The conversation aroused something dormant inside both of us: an excitement that ARKADELPHIA RECYCLES! After the conversation had steeped in our heads for a couple of days, a question distilled for each of us: “Are we still passionate about recycling? I know we used to be, but …”

I answered this question thus: while our passion has waned, our action has not. We still do all of the stuff to care for the environment that we used to. (Maybe a future post in this statement…) But we’re not in the same position of creating change in ourselves or others. Our passion is not dead, but hibernating.

The hibernating passion met Than’s consistent “Why?” around our dinner table. When they converged, we were reminded routine parts of life like are actually in answer to this question.  We wash diapers, sort our waste into one of three bins, purchase products based on (lack of) packaging, carry our re-usable bags into Target because we value something.

So, Why?

As Christians, we’re called to filter everything we do through the resurrection. Every spent dime and moment, every thrown piece of trash, every surfed web-page, every spoken word should be an implication of the resurrection. Everything we do should reflect the fact that the world and its inhabitants are broken, yet, amazingly, are being fixed. The resurrection of the God-man, Jesus, is the first grape on the vine––our lives in him are our life on the vine.

We take every action, think every thought, spend every dime because of something. Than is on to something: Why do we do A or B or XYZ? This is a question that we’ve got to ask ourselves––and it wouldn’t hurt to have it on a Than-like repeat in our brains.

If every action, thought, dime is a step, then this is a daunting journey. But it’s the journey of our lives, one in which we are given the Word to guide our steps and the Spirit light the way. We have a lifetime to walk in the way of the Lord. Our facebook conversation reminded us of this, too. To be honest, we no longer recycle out of principle but out of habit. By God’s grace, we have re-in-habit-ed our lives so that we don’t have to think about these things. As we are re-habit-uated, we are freed to take other steps…now I’ve been lead to focus on parenting as the Father has parented me and Than is learning the habits of politeness.

Let’s listen to the Spirit as he continually confronts us with the question, “Why…?” Let’s follow him as he leads us to re-in-habit our lives––which is actually His resurrection life.

Saggy Bottoms and Supporting Seminarians

Frederich Theoford Focus, our 2005 Ford station wagon, reached a significant milestone this summer: 100,000 miles.  We hope he's up for another 100,000––but to make it there, the second half of his life will be characterized by several trips to "the car doctor" (which is how our 3 year old refers to the mechanic).  Recently Frederich had a small "health problem."  Specifically, his rear-end was sagging.  It's not that I have a problem with saggy bottoms, but Frederich's rear-end problem was wearing the tires––so his lazy-bum was becoming expensive.

After a couple of mis-diagnoses, we returned from our 5,000 mile summer and took Frederich to our friendly neighborhood mechanic.  The service was superb.  Pete communicated constantly, clearly, and candidly about the Frederich's rear-end.  Not only that, but Pete diagnosed the problem, gave us an hour to make a decision, and had the car fixed: all within a day. 

This isn't a post about Frederich's saggy bum but about supporting seminarians.  Pete's business, just a few miles from Trinity's campus, offers a 10% discount to TEDS students.  So, not only do we trust Pete to care for our dearest Frederich, we know that he's caring for us, too.  He's going to shoot us straight and not sell us an alternator to alter the rear-end.* 

Caring for seminarians is something that I think a lot about.  Terese and I are so grateful for the amazing support we've had over the last two years.  Many people have cared for us in the especially mundane parts of life.  This summer we reflected a lot on God's provision through these people.  But I know many seminarians who just struggle along.

But we saw something else this summer.  We've seen church families who simply needed a project; lacking vision for such a project, we've seen Sunday school classes wandering aimlessly through their quarterlies and churches drawing million dollar plans for buildings.  This was painful to watch––especially in light of the needs of families like Josh's––families representative of many seminarians. 

Our friend, I'll call him Josh, is in his early 40s.  Josh, feeling called to ministry, knew that he needed seminary training.  He and his wife had considered moving to Chicagoland for several years, but were consistently unable to sell their home.  Finally, they decided to take the plunge and made plans to relocate.  Shortly after they made their decision, they found out that they were pregnant.  Yet they remained committed to the Lord's call. 

Since being at seminary, Josh's family has been faced with many difficulties: they never sold their home and now rent it––trying to care for it from 1,000+ miles away.  After leaving behind a lucrative landscaping business, they feel the financial burdens of being a full-time student and a full-time mom.  Of course, having a newborn, a 4 year old, a 7 year old, and homeschooling is difficult to juggle with full-time studies.  But they also face small things that most people wouldn't see:

–Josh sold his big diesel truck and now drives a Civic. 
–They left a home on several acres that they took pride in. 
–They now pay more to rent from a less-than-interested landlord on a small suburban lot. 
–On top of all of this, Josh had been out of school for a couple of decades.  The rigors of TEDS academic life has been a steep curve for him. 

They're a thousand miles from family, don't have time for friends, and don't have money to do fun things. 

Josh's family's needs are typical of seminarians.  The equation doesn't add up:

–Seminarians are all the time having kids––an expensive and time-consuming ordeal.  (Check out this cutie on TEDS kids on campus page.)
–Debt isn't a good option because seminarians graduate with not-so-lucrative jobs awaiting them.  

(As an aside, it's little wonder that there's a "movin' on up" trend with pastors.  "Movin' on up" the ladder is usually accompanied by movin' on up the pay-scale.  Sometimes this movin' helps pay college and seminary student loan debts.)
–Finding a job during seminary is complicated––especially for seminarians who are also parents.  For example, Terese and I have decided that the following equation isn't worth it:  

($ from job) – ($ for child-care) ≠ (a little $) + (being away from our children).
–Seminarians are dedicated students.  They take their studies seriously because they take shepherding God's flock seriously.  But dedication takes time.

So why do this?  Seminarians enter this lopsided equation because of a call.  Whenever I rub shoulders with MDiv students, I'm amazed at their level of commitment to God's call on their life.  They're willing to sacrifice so much––sometimes too much––to fulfill this call.

I spent much of my professional career guiding my staff in self-care.  When I see seminarians sacrifice too much, my heart breaks for two reasons.  First, because the equation requires sacrificing stewardship toward family or studies or money.  Something's gotta give.  Second, while seminarians are breaking the bank to fulfill God's call, living as cheaply as possible, others live lavishly.

I hope to post more about supporting seminarians in the future.  But I'll sign off with some quick ideas:

–Have your Sunday School class adopt a seminarian.  S/he can come once or twice a year to teach the class (or preach!), and the class can keep up with her/his family and studies.  You don't have to be close to a seminary to make this happen––harness the power of the internets. 

–Talk to your church about hiring a seminarian during the summers or even recent grads.  (Look for a post very soon on this.)

–Talk to your pastor about her/his seminary days.  Often these are days of fond memories and good friends.  I bet s/he would love to remember. 

–Give.  While seminarians aren’t looking for handouts, they are grateful for gifts.  And it doesn’t take much: I’ve seen seminarians stretch $50 farther than I thought possible. 

–Don't know a seminarian?  I know enough seminarians all around the country and can connect you!  Shoot me a message.  

*This is just one story where folks have "taken care of" my family.  To be sure, most people who deserve the credit don't want it publicly.  We are so grateful to these people who have cared for us––especially those close to us, but also those, like Pete, who's business is committed to "taking a hit."  

**Saw = on the internet, hearing of friends' churches, or attending.

Dancing in the Minefields

Today Terese and I celebrate 10 years of marriage.  Celebrate with us with a song that has become one of our favorites: Dancing in the Minefields.

I was nineteen, you were twenty-oneThe year we got engagedEveryone said we were much too youngBut we did it anyway
We bought our rings for forty eachFrom a pawn shop down the roadWe made our vows and took the leapNow fifteen years ago
We went dancing in the minefieldsWe went sailing in the stormAnd it was harder than we dreamedBut I believe that's what the promise is for
"I do" are the two most famous last wordsThe beginning of the endBut to lose your life for another I've heardIs a good place to begin
'Cause the only way to find your lifeIs to lay your own life downAnd I believe it's an easy priceFor the life that we have found
And we're dancing in the minefieldsWe're sailing in the stormThis is harder than we dreamedBut I believe that's what the promise is for
So when I lose my way, find meWhen I loose love's chains, bind meAt the end of all my faith, till the end of all my daysWhen I forget my name, remind me
'Cause we bear the light of the Son of ManSo there's nothing left to fearSo I'll walk with you in the shadowlandsTill the shadows disappear
'Cause he promised not to leave usAnd his promises are trueSo in the face of all this chaosI can dance with you
Thanks, @andrewpeterson, for some really great music.  You can purchase his music on iTunes, or, better yet, you'll find his music and books here.