Mars vs. Venus

At supper tonight Eliza and Garrett proceeded to share their individual dreams. These are not the dreams of the future, but rather the Sunday-afternoon napping with the mouth half open and drool christening the pillow dreams of childhood. I'll let them speak for themselves:

Eliza: "I dreamed that we were playing on [the neighbors] trampoline, and then I came inside and Emily was in there because they [the neighbors, who shall remain nameless, to protect the innocent] didn't want to play with her anymore. And then I took her outside and we all became friends again and played together."

Garrett: "I was walking in the woods, and then someone came out with a sword, and then I beat him. I pressed a button, got into a helicopter, and then another guy shot a string up at me [interpret: zip line], and when he got into the helicopter I pressed a button, and then the helicopter blew up and I jumped out and landed on a motorcycle and pressed a button, and rode away."

Lost in Translation

Eliza's best friend and beau apparent is her young partner in crime Jackson (think Bonnie and Clyde, and then pray things turn out better for these two). While picking Eliza up from the Remec neighbors, the school day's events were downloaded to the adult moms.

Fellow kindergartener Mera Remec shares the day's drama: "Dobby got hit and had to get stitches."
Eliza breaks in, "Yeah, Jackson hit Dobby with a brick at recess."
At which point, Mera exclaims, "Eliza! It's not Dobby! It's Dobby!"
"That's what I said," Eliza responds, "Dobby got hit in the head with a brick."

What Eliza heard:
Mera:  "Dobby got hit and had to get stitches."
Eliza:  "Yeah, Jackson hit Darby with a brick at recess."
Mera:  "Eliza! It's not Dobby! It's Dobby!"
Eliza:  "That's what I said, Darby got hit in the head with a brick."

What Mera heard:
Mera:  "Darby got hit and had to get stitches."
Eliza:  "Yeah, Jackson hit Dobby with a brick at recess.
Mera:  "Eliza! It's not Darby! It's Dobby!"
Eliza:  "That's what I said, Dobby got hit in the head with a brick."

The adults were confused regarding the conflicting conversation amongst their kindergarteners, not realizing Darby's real name (and understanding the nuances of the conversation) until they met his mother a few days later.

Spartan Race 2012

Spartan Race 2012

Bearded Daughters

Episode 4 of Lost in Space, where our faults are no longer hidden. It seems that when our inside is suddenly our outside, we are not so attractive. More than our looks, as we advertise our sins, people cannot help but notice, and take note. Clearly seeing our faults keeps us continually thinking of them, with destructive relational consequences.
Thank God our insides stay where they belong. Forget the aesthetics; we would eventually adapt to our bearded wives and daughters. Rather, it is a great mercy that we can meet and greet without being confronted with our own failures, able to develop relationships that eventually are stronger than the sin within us.

Left, Right, and Wrong

Micah 6:8 

He has told you, O man, what is good. 

And what does the Lord require of you? 

To do justice, 

To love kindness, and 

To walk humbly with your God. 

The religious and political right focus upon justice, making sure we believe what we are supposed to believe and do not do whatever we are not supposed to do. Rules dictate. This justice is used to protect God, keeping Him and His people sacred.

The religious and political left focus upon kindness, allowing us to believe whatever we want to believe and do whatever we want to do, as long as we are nice about it. Freedom dictates. This kindness is used to endlessly extend God, defining Him and His creation such that all is sacred (and therefore, nothing is).

The right are blind to doing right to the over-extenders. The kind are blind to being kind to the over-righteous. Neither seems cognizant of their hypocrisy, sufficiently humbled by out walking with God