considering...

This week marked the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Its a touchy issue to say the least. I came across these "truths" for consideration. They seem compelling. What do you think?

1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother's womb (except in the case of abortion).

2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.

3. Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.

4. Living on its own is not the criterion of human personhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.

5. Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.

6. Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three-month-old babies.

7. Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic make up.

8. Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.

9. Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.

10. Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.

11. Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.

12. The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.

13. What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.

14. There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.

15. Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.

gulch creek holdup

An article written by my cousin, originally published for the Rover Arts in Montreal. Though I don't remember this particular showing (I was only one at the time) these family movies are classics in the Paterson clan.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Looking Back on Gulch Creek Holdup
By Mark Paterson
29.12.08

HIPSTER, FRET NOT. Gulch Creek Holdup is not a film you’re supposed to have seen. Gulch Creek Holdup is a four-minute home movie drama shot for fun in the mid-1950s. I saw it on Christmas Eve, 1981, during a gathering at my grandparents’ house when I was ten.

My grandfather wasn’t in the mood; a monumental campaign of begging and prodding had to be waged to convince him to dust off the projector and haul out the movie screen. He then grudgingly went about finding an appropriate dictionary-atlas combination, one just the right height for the projector to sit atop. Finally, he delicately removed the round reel of Super-8 film from its can and carefully fed it into the projector. Clearly, my grumpy grandfather was the only person in the room who possessed such extraordinary expertise.

Gulch Creek Holdup followed a simple, Old West storyline: a bandit, (played by my father, age 10) wearing a ten gallon hat and bandana, carries out a daring bank heist. The hapless bank teller (my father’s youngest sister) is a baby and too cute to be blamed for giving up the loot without a fight. The outlaw makes off with the goods, callously gunning down an innocent bystander (my grandmother) during his getaway. The venerable town sheriff (my uncle) and deputy (another aunt, this one out of diapers at least) quickly mobilize. They mount broomstick steeds and set off in pursuit. The murderous thief leads them on a furious chase across the back yard and into an adjacent field, where he is finally apprehended.

The final scene is Gulch Creek Holdup’s best. A large, upside-down playpen stands in as the jailhouse. The bandit is locked up, joining a previously captured convict played by none other than my grandfather. Dressed in a white t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of thick horn-rimmed glasses more the style of the 1950s than the 1850s, he strikes a gruff prison pose. His ill-tempered expression up on the screen is the same look he gave when asked to break out the equipment in the first place.

But after the movie ended, as I watched him lovingly rewind the film, I realized he had been acting in both settings.

Gulch Creek Holdup is my earliest significant art memory. It struck me that the very people sitting in the room, my supposedly grouchy grandpa included, had made this thing. For the first time, I thought about art as something that is created, and not simply consumed. It was a trigger moment; the desire to create was as much a physical sensation as a conscious thought. I began to conceive of art as something I wanted to make.

As far as gifts go, this one ranks among the best I’ve ever received.

Mark Paterson is the author of the short story collections A Finely Tuned Apathy Machine and Other People’s Showers. Though writing is his game, he knows his way around his Super-8 projector and is only too happy to haul it out upon request.

itunes dilemma

Well, as part of the bounty of Christmas I received $45 in iTunes gift cards. However, I am feeling out of the music loop. I am looking for some suggestions of your top two current artists or songs. Please comment with your ideas!

st. nicholas letter

This year was the first year that Ashlyn and Caleb sent letters to Santa. They were drawings of what they wanted for Christmas. Mom and Dad forgot to scan them before they were sent off in the mail, but Ashlyn's picture was of her on skis and Caleb's had him sitting in a snowfall (with a little help from Dad).

In the grand tradition of Tolkien, they received their first letter back from St. Nicholas on Christmas Eve:



And a picture of St. Nicholas' home in the North Pole:



I think it's the beginning of a fun tradition!

advent coming

In a dark place...
  LIGHT!
To me a gift...
  WONDERFUL!
There is no end...
  PEACE!
There is one response...
  TURN!

too big to fail

While I don't get too much time to listen to the radio, I stumbled upon this commentary by Dave Ross the other day in the car. I laughed out loud while I was in the car alone. It's ridiculous:

Fill In The Blanks: Wall Street

group silence

Today we sat in silence.
The question floated between us.
Nothing said.
Much thought.
Much felt.

To speak was to break...
something that we could not name.
A voice spoke
hesitant
but hopeful.

A group in silence.
Some could not stand.
Side conversation.
Words whispered.
The moment lost.

What did the Lord wish?
In silence as a group we waited.
The Spirit moved.
Subtle.
Simple.

We are left with more questions.
Nothing answered.
Only the memory.
Silence.
Community.

Is a community forming?
Out of silence.
Out of prayer.
So we wait.
Patience.

Now we go as one.
United in our quest.
To seek the Kingdom.
Much stirred.
Much hoped for.

my father. my shepherd.

My Father. My Shepherd.
   You've been all around me.
You offer me all I need, if only I
   would receive it
   and be satisfied.
You will order my life well,
   if I will seek you.
You are always seeking to
   help me in hardship
   and temptation.
You are delivering me from
   the pit of my sin.
May you get all the credit
   for my life. I am sorry
   for when I try to claim
   the credit for myself.

Amen.

creation speaks

Let me sit and listen
   to creation.
Its expanse. Its beauty.
   Its majesty.

The heavens declare
   the presence of God.
The plants speak of
   His goodness.

The seas cry out
   for God's power.
The animals bleat
   for His care.

Rise my soul and
   join in the song.
Sing His praises,
   sing of Him.

proverbs 31 husband

Yesterday I was asked if I knew about the Proverbs 31 Husband. One usually here's all about the Proverbs 31 Wife/Woman, since that's what most of the chapter is about. Here's the description of the husband:

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. - Proverbs 31:11 (ESV)

A lot of my mistakes in the last 7 years would have been avoided had I heeded/knew this scripture before yesterday.

Then I read the post below this morning. Take heed men.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(Author: David Mathis from Desiring God Blog)

The apostle Peter writes,

Husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7)

This is strange at first glance. How does caring for your wife connect to having unhindered prayers?

Here's Wayne Grudem's challenging commentary:

So concerned is God that Christian husbands live in an understanding and loving way with their wives, that he "interrupts" his relationship with them when they are not doing so. No Christian husband should presume to think that any spiritual good will be accomplished by his life without an effective ministry of prayer. And no husband may expect an effective prayer life unless he lives with his wife "in an understanding way, bestowing honour" on her. To take the time to develop and maintain a good marriage is God's will; it is serving God; it is a spiritual activity pleasing in his sight." (1 Peter, 146)

Christian husbands shouldn't feel that time given to their wives is "time away from the real ministry." Time invested with our wives is time well spent. It's God's will—"a spiritual activity pleasing in his sight."

solo

I have really enjoyed THE MESSAGE//REMIX: SOLO An Uncommon Devotional. I'm not usually a fan of daily devotionals, and I definitely don't have the discipline to sit with a 365 day devotional over time. However, this has a different aspect I love as a person struggling to pray and as a pastor wanting to lead others deeper into prayer.

The whole thing is based on a short reading from The Message paraphrase and then leads you through a form of Lectio Divina. It uses the basic structure of READ the Scripture, THINK and meditate on the main idea, PRAY through what God is saying to you, and the LIVE in a different way. Each devotional has specific questions, instructions, or leadings to help you engage the passage. For those wanting to learn how to read the Bible, those wanting to pray through the Bible, those wanting to learn how to hear God's voice, and those wanting a more holistic experience of their relationship with God this is a great buy!

Did I mention if you are a pastor, teacher, small group leader, etc. that its a great way to lead others into those things as well? We have been using the devotionals on "Prayer Cards" each week at Crossroads to help develop our church into a "house of prayer." I have been able to look up the subject of the teaching each week, or the passage that was taught on, and find a devotional that will help our congregation during the week. Even when I wasn't able to find something that fit right, it was a great guide to writing our own!

Bottom line: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! The applications are endless. Students, pastors, adults, teachers, small group leaders... I was even thinking for parents wanting to start their own family devotionals this would be a great tool or model since it often has activities to do as you READ, THINK, PRAY, & LIVE. Check it out.

scattered seed

Scattered seed…
truth flies

Hardened path
seeds bounce far and wide
barren and dry
the path begs for birds
Relief from the “burden,”
truth lifted.

Rocky soil
truth a gift
welcomed, sprouts
trials as hot as the sun
Parched for living water,
hope withers.

Among the thorns
truth pushes through
fighting for life
weeds twisted and deep
Choked by cares,
life fades.

Sown on good soil
truth takes root
growing rich
living water flows
Bearing fruit, multiplied
one hundred fold.

Truth flies…
scattered seed