I'd like to post this e-mail from my pastor regarding the faith of Rick Husband, the commander of the Columbia shuttle. I confirmed it's accuracy with Steve Green's website.

A stirring testimony...be sure to have a hankie handy.

Dear friends,

I had the privilege of attending a Steve Green concert on the night of
Feb.1, just 12 hours after the loss of Columbia and her crew of seven.
What a surprise to learn that Steve Green (a Christian artist) was a
close friend of Rick Husband's, the astronaut who was selected to be
captain for this mission. Their friendship began a number of years ago
when Rick and his wife stood in line to meet Steve after a concert in
Houston. As Rick told Steve how much he enjoyed his music, Rick's wife
whispered to Steve that Rick was an astronaut. Steve said he (Steve)
made a big deal about that and soon the people were lined up to ask
Rick for an autograph instead of Steve! Thus, their friendship began.

Steve was in attendance for Rick's first shuttle launch several years
ago and was also in attendance for this launch. He sang both times at
pre-launch receptions. He said the reception for the Columbia launch
was very Christ-honoring, and that there were many unbelievers in
attendance. Steve described Rick as a quiet, unassuming man who was,
however, very vocal about his faith. He said Rick did not miss an
opportunity to give glory to God and mentioned that when Mission
Control said it was a beautiful day for a launch, Rick responded with,
"The Lord has given us a perfect day!" A suit technician shared the
following story with Steve. He said that after the astronauts suit up
they walk down a hallway and then open a door to "face the press!"
Rick stopped the crew before they opened the door and said he wanted to
pray for them. Later the technicians talked about this and one said
that in all his years he had never heard of a captain praying for and
with his crew.

The spouses of the crew each get to pick a song for them to wake up to
one of the mornings they're in space. Rick's wife selected "God of
Wonders" by Steve Green. Steve played a tape for us of Rick
communicating with Mission Control after the song was played. The
conversation went something like this: Mission Control - "Good
morning. That song was for Rick. It was 'God of Wonders' by Steve
Green." Rick - "Good morning. Thank you. We can really appreciate
the lyrics of that song up here. We look out the window and see that
God truly is a God of wonders!" (Unfortunately, we probably won't hear
that one on the news.) Steve also shared part of an e-mail he received
from Rick, transmitted from outer space! Did you know that was
possible? I didn't! Anyway, Rick wrote about how overwhelming it was
to see God's vast creation from space. He said he had never cried
while exercising before, but peddling on the bike and looking out the
window at God's incredible creation brought tears to his eyes.

Steve also shared that he had been in Texas for a concert about a week
before coming here. While there, Steve and his "crew" spent the day
with Rick's wife, Evelyn, and their two children and also Mike
Anderson's family. Mike was also aboard Columbia. During the concert
that evening, Steve had the two women stand and he asked the audience
to pray with him for these women while their husbands were in space.
It was encouraging to hear Steve say that there were at least three
astronauts (including Rick and Mike) aboard the Columbia who were
believers in Jesus.

It was a moving concert and a welcome surprise to learn all these
things. What a blessing to know that at least three of these
astronauts loved Jesus! Steve did not name the third person or mention
if there was a family left behind. But two of the families, at least,
will be relying on God to carry them through this and will have
opportunity to share God's love with families/friends of the other
astronauts. Steve mentioned that before President Bush talked to the
families, they had formed a circle and were praying.

Steve was even able to share with us pictures of Rick at different
stages of his life, his career and family. He and Rick's wife had put
this together to be set to one of Steve's songs. They had done it
awhile back for some special event. Steve had it with him and shared
it with us. He also gave us all a challenge from Rick's life. He said
that astronauts lead extremely busy lives, and he (Steve) had been
impressed with Rick's commitment to discipling his two children. Steve
asked us to think about if our lives were to end tomorrow and there
would be no more opportunity for us to disciple our kids. Would we be
happy with what we had done, or would we have regrets?

I'm guessing, from the pictures Steve showed, that Rick's son was
around 5 years old and his daughter 10. I may be off, but that gives
you an idea. They certainly are not close to adulthood. Rick made 34
devotionals, by video, before he left on the Columbia. There were 17
for his daughter and 17 for his son, one for each day he was to be
gone. So each day his daughter and son had their own "devotion with
Dad" by video. What treasures they will be to his children! Thank
you, God, for leading Rick to do that!

Well, I think I've given you every bit of information Steve gave us.
It was certainly an encouragement and comfort to hear these things. I
wanted to pass it on to bless others and to help you know how to pray
for these families in the days ahead. God IS at work in His world! To
Him belongs all glory!

Thanks for reading. Feel free to pass this along to others.

Lorie

Religion is the great enemy of science, right? Think again bucko!

She
May be the face I can't forget
A trace of pleasure or regret
May be my treasure or the price I have to pay
She may be the song that summer sings
May be the chill that autumn brings
May be a hundred different things
Within the measure of a day.

She
May be the beauty or the beast
May be the famine or the feast
May turn each day into a heaven or a hell
She may be the mirror of my dreams
A smile reflected in a stream
She may not be what she may seem
Inside her shell

She who always seems so happy in a crowd
Whose eyes can be so private and so proud
No one's allowed to see them when they cry
She may be the love that cannot hope to last
May come to me from shadows of the past
That I'll remember till the day I die

She
May be the reason I survive
The why and wherefore I'm alive
The one I'll care for through the rough and ready years
Me I'll take her laughter and her tears
And make them all my souvenirs
For where she goes I've got to be
The meaning of my life is

She, she, she

-Elvis Costello

SCENE: Rob is standing at the music sampler stand in a Borders listening to the Chicago soundtrack whilst holding the new Pearl Jam CD. He is bopping his head furiously. Dave walks up to Rob, and examines him a bit then walks away. Rob finally puts the CD and headphones away (not before switching the disk selection to Pearl Jam) and catches up to Dave.

Dave: So, how was the Chicago soundtrack?

Rob: Dammit!....sigh...it was good.

Is it wrong for a male with a unblemished history of staunch heterosexuality to love showtunes? Despite my actions in Borders, I think not.

As a follow-up to this post, I'd like to give a defense of why I believe that God commands the protection of the weak and defensless by means of deception. Much, if not most of this info comes from Jordan's Primeval Saints, a book which I hold in great regard.

The concept of lawful deception comes from the lex talonis ("eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth"). Just as Eve was decieved by the Serpent, so too must we use deception as a tool against the Serpent's seed. From Scripture we see that those who do not have the power or will to engage in confrontation are advised to use lies and deception as a means of escape from the Devil.

Some biblical examples of this in Genesis include Abraham's lies to Pharaoh (ch.12) and later with Abimelech (ch. 20 & 21), with Isaac deceiving Abimelech (ch. 26), and Jacob deceiving Laban to escape his servitude (ch. 31). In Exodus we have the lies of the Hebrew midwives (ch.1), the deception practiced by Moses' mother by hiding her baby. Elsewhere in Scripture we have Rahab hiding the Israelite spies (Josh 2) and the deception by Jael in Judges 4 & 5.

I should also mention that in these examples we see God punishing, not the righteous who practiced deception, but those who were the oppressive tyrants. Not to mention the blessings that God bestowed on those who lied. In Egypt under false pretenses, Abraham's flocks grew as they also did in Gerar in Gen. 20:14-16. God blessed Issac as well in his confrontation with Abimelech (Gen. 26:12-14). God rebuked Laban and warned him not to touch Jacob as he pursued him (Gen. 31:24). God blessed the midwives in Ex. 1:20. James spoke highly of Rahab the harlot, saying that her work in hiding the spies justified her (2:25). Jael was praised for her act in taking out Sisera (Jud. 5:24).

And howzabout this doozie, When Samuel feared Saul in 1 Sam.16 it was God Himself that provided Sam with a deceptive strategy!

Now I know your wondering, well what about Jesus' command to go not one mile but two to the evil person and to give not only your tunic but your cloak also to the person who wishes to sue you (Matt. 5:38-40). I would say that in those examples Jesus is giving us specific commands of what to do if we ourselves are personally threatened and not necessarily the lives of others who are under our care. If we are to love our neighbor, that means we need to do what we need to do to preserve the life of our neighbor as well as protect the innocent.

I think this view could be upheld by the Larger Catechism as well:

Q. 135. What are the duties required in the sixth commandment?

A. The duties required in the sixth commandment are all careful studies, and lawful endeavors, to preserve the life of ourselves and others by resisting all thoughts and purposes, subduing all passions, and avoiding all occasions, temptations, and practices, which tend to the unjust taking away the life of any; by just defence thereof against violence, patient bearing of the hand of God, quietness of mind, cheerfulness of spirit; a sober use of meat, drink, physic, sleep, labour, and recreations; by charitable thoughts, love, compassion, meekness, gentleness, kindness; peaceable, mild and courteous speeches and behaviour; forbearance, readiness to be reconciled, patient bearing and forgiving of injuries, and requiting good for evil; comforting and succouring the distressed and protecting and defending the innocent.

Well, I've finally done it, I switched from Haloscan to the Blogout system. My eventual goal is to open up the pocketbook for SP but that won't be for awhile. In any case I saved the HTML for Haloscan just in case Blogout poops out. Does that make me a double-minded man? (Jas 1.8) :-)

At any rate...it'll be cool to have the smileys.

Random thoughts to get your mind off of the previous depressing post.

- I don't know what's going on with Haloscan, so be patient if you're commenting to no avail. It seems their servers keep crashing every hour or so, as I check my comments quite often (being the bored desk jockey that I am). I'm thisclose to shucking it and becoming a Barlowite. Stay tuned.

- My take on the Living with Michael Jackson special last week? One word: "Rosebud". Do yourself a favor and dust off your old LPs of Thriller and Off The Wall this weekend and wistfully remember the days when he was second to no one in musical acumen.

- Speaking of musical acumen, it seems that Justin "NSYNC" Timberlake joined The Flaming Lips for a performance on a British music program. Yes, I'm just as shocked and disturbed as you are. The fact that the Lips allowed this guy on the same stage as they leaves me speechless. Thankfully he didn't sing. Instead he played guitar anonymously dressed in a fuzzy dolphin suit. There was no word on whether or not his guitar was actually turned on though. I wish JT best of luck as he pursues his newfound career as "children's party entertainer".

- If sowing discord and terror among the inhabitants of the USA is one of the things on Osama Bin Laden's "to do" list, then the best way he can do that in southern California would be to announce rain . IQ's will immediately drop 20 points and motorists will start slamming into each other with gleeful abandon.

- One of the most depressing things that I've noticed in Christendom of late is the seeming inability to forgive and reconcile with one another. Far too often when we are offended the first thing we do is to go look for a sympathetic ear to gossip to rather than confront the problem humbly. I'm not saying I'm "Father of the Year" material but one of the things I have tried to develop in my sons is a spirit of grace and forgiveness when offended. It makes my heart swell with joy then when I see Josh ready and willing to give a hug when a playmate (or baby brother) asks him for forgiveness. May God preserve that trait in Josh and grant the same spirit to us all.

- I can think of no better men to stand with in times of trial than the men that serve on the Nehemiah Academy school board with me. We are each other's Davids and Jonathans when the fires get turned up and hearts get discouraged.

- We went whale watching last Saturday with my mom, dad and sister. A California Gray making her way down to Baja decided to make us happy campers and breached about 20 feet from our boat. She rolled over to reveal her great flipper that slowly raised out of the water in a regal wave, then slapped down as she lowered herself back into the brine. We then pursued a school of porpoises (porpoi?) as they were making a feeding run. They swam alongside our boat and jumped out of the water much to the delight of my sons and I.

On the way back to the harbor, feeling the cold breeze and warm sun on my face I thanked God for the day with my family and thought of Psalm 104:

O LORD, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions--
This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.
There the ships sail about;
There is that Leviathan
Which You have made to play there.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
May the LORD rejoice in His works.

Note to self: Pick up the new albums by Nick Cave and Lou Reed.

Wow, last night’s episode of “24” was simply amazing. It is without a doubt, the most compelling yet difficult to watch hour of TV there is right now. The part where Jack is trying to coerce a terrorist into giving him the location of the bomb by threatening to assassinate his family right in front of him made me squirm in my seat. My jaw dropped when Jack ordered the kill on his oldest son, next thing you know, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. Hard to watch? You bet. Karlene had to look away.

This raised a conversation between Karlene and I, that still has haunted me today. Now I’m not equivocating Christianity and Islam by any means. But the glories of martyrdom are strains that run through both religions, however perverted and evil the Muslim concept is. This got me thinking about the old story that I once heard (and you’ve probably heard as well) of the Christian missionary and his family being held hostage by mercenaries. The mercenary threatens to do in each and every one of his family members until he renounces his faith in Christ. When the missionary refuses to do so, the evildoers make good on their threat. This, naturally, scares the ever-loving crap out of any parent in the audience, who walk away from the message saying “nope, not for me”.

At any rate I don’t know who started the conversation, but it eventually came around to one of us asking the other “What would you say if you and I were in the same predicament?” I told Karlene that if that the gun were to my head then I hope that God would give her the strength to say “Pull the trigger”. Her eyes shot out of her head, “No way, I would lie to get us out of the predicament”. “What about if it were the other way around” she then asked, “and I were the one with the gun to my head as they told you to renounce Christ?” After awhile I said, “I guess I would tell them to pull the trigger”. I immediately felt like the coldest-blooded bastard on the face of the earth as I saw the look on her face.

I then explained that, in the Scriptures, to die a martyr’s death was precious in the sight of the Lord (Rev. 12.11)

She then shot me a skeptical look and then said “What if they had the gun on baby Caleb”?

My heart froze, as did the words in my mouth. “I honestly don’t know” I managed to say weakly.

So I thought about it more and more. Now I know that there are ample testimonies in Scripture where God sanctions lying in the cases where the future of God’s people would be put at risk or in cases of mercy towards others. Think about Abe, Sarah and Pharaoh or Jacob & Laban, or even Rahab and the Israelite spies. The more recent example of the Dutch hiding Jews from the Nazis in WWII also come to mind as well. It seems from the Scriptures that lying to pagans in order to save and protect lives is justifiable.

Now on the other hand you have the testimony of Daniel or the three Hebrew men (Rack, Shack and Benny for you Veggietale fans out there) or the list of martyrs in Heb. 12 of whom, as Scripture testifies, the world was not worthy.

So honestly I can now say that I am confused. I can say with some certainty that if the gun were to my own head, I would say “Aim true buddy boy”, but when it came to the protection of others I’m not so sure I would go that route.

What do you think?

From Mark Horne:

"I'll allow one thought. Remember Jack Miller used to say we confess that God loves us but hesitate to say that he likes us. In line with that observation, it is an amazing thing that God gives us himself as an inheritance. But it is exponentially more amazing that he tells us that we are his inheritance, as if he is a minor waiting for the resurrection to come into his family fortune. Can anyone get their brain around that?"

You know it's time for some new sneakers when the smell starts escaping from your shoes...as you're wearing them.

Alright Davey my boy...get to work on that Scottish accent.

And no fair quoting lines from "Trainspotting" either.

Ummm...one round-trip ticket to Kentucky please.

Psalm 100

All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice;
Him serve with fear, his praise forth-tell,
Come ye before him and rejoice.

The Lord ye know is God indeed;
Without our aid he did us make;
We are his folk, he doth us feed,
And for his sheep he doth us take.

O enter then his gates with praise,
Approach with joy his courts unto;
Praise, laud, and bless his name always,
For it is seemly so to do.

For why? the Lord our God is good,
His mercy is for ever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
And shall from age to age endure.

So what's with the bright idea to air the slam dunk contest on the radio tonight?

Well done ESPN...hope you got your money's worth.