All around the world

So this weekend, we're saying goodbye to some amazing people that we've had the opportunity to share life and all that good stuff with.  And while that's sad a little bit, it's also one of the best things about the military.  Germany needs a little Curtis action and we can't be greedy :)

There are awesome people that we've had real connections with scattered all over the world...from California, Colorado, St. Louis and D.C. to Oklahoma, Germany and Ethiopia.  It's not often that I say this (because I'm a fairly critical person in general), but I love the communities the we've had the chance to live in by serving in the Air Force.  I love the men and women that have shared real life with us...the people that have prayed with us, partied with us, cried with us, and laughed with us.  

Living in real community is rare today,  and we need to pursue it whenever we can. 

Discipline vs. punishment

Disclaimer - I'm not an expert in discipline OR punishment. But I did stay at a...ok, that's dumb.

Anyway, this is a topic that has been brewing in my (and Sara's) mind for about 5 years and 274 days. Before that, I can honestly say I didn't give it too much thought. But it's amazing how being a parent can help you sympathize with God more and have a little more understanding about his relationship with us.

So anyway, I used to hate reading the history of Israel...how they would walk away from God, then he would smack them down, then they would come back for a while...then they would walk away again and the cycle would continue. It honestly made me wonder if the people were idiots (and sometimes I'd wonder if God knew what he was really doing). Really...they had to go through the same thing how many times? Seriously? But if you really sit down and check out the Bible, you'll see that in almost every case, God is acting in an attempt to bring his people back to where they should be instead of just schwacking them as a punishment.

Discipline has a lot of definitions, but the first in most lists includes the idea of training. And isn't that what we try to do with our kids? We try our hardest to teach them to make the right choices on their own. We try to build up character through our own example, encouragement, praise, and sometimes through allowing some of life's harder consequences. Punishment, on the other hand, is some sort of penalty for an offense. Punishment carries with it the idea that improvement is not the goal...there will be a consequence for actions regardless of the likelihood of real change. Honestly, I've been guilty of this at times with my own kids...feeling like they have to have a consequence for their actions even if it won't instill a change in character.

So how does this apply to our justice system? Why do we lock people away in prisons when most evidence suggests that they'll come out worse than they went in? Why do we believe in capital punishment when that (obviously) leaves no room for improvement for the condemned? Capital punishment is specifically mentioned in the Bible, and there's a couple ways it could be interpreted. First, it could be seen as a way to restore the nation of Israel into right standing before God. Another way (and in my view, the one more relevant to this discussion) is that discipline is necessary for the group...not just the individual. So maybe fear of consequences can be a part of discipline.

This hit home with some great friends of ours recently. Their son was a victim of shaken baby syndrome committed by a baby sitter (thankfully...he's recovered miraculously). When the court case was complete, most people involved believed that the verdict against this person was nowhere near what it should've been. Now our friends are being offered the opportunity to join an effort seeking to legislate more severe punishments for those who abuse children by shaking them. So would increasing the level of punishment really reduce the number of abuse victims? Would it help to satisfy the anger and pain of the families who have suffered?  Do our answers to those questions impact how we see our relationship with God, or our kids?

I don't have answers...just lots of questions. But I know that God loves all of us - the parent, the abuser, the child and the murderer. And I trust that he's disciplining each one of us every day.

Punch in the gut

So I will now use my blog to recommend another blog...pretty sure that's allowed.  Over on the right, you should see links to other blogs.  Click on the Sixty Feet one and read the blog titled "The Sin of Sodom."
And no...it's not about homosexuality or anything like that...it's a serious challenge that every one of us should consider.

Why I do what I do

So this morning I had a really great conversation with some friends. It was this weird combination of theology and geek-speak from our school classes. But the ultimate point was this...why do we do what we do when it comes to God?
So...rabbit trail...I kind of took a mini-break from blogging because I recognized that maybe I should think about that question.  Why am I blogging? I had developed all these well-thought-out (and possibly legitimate) answers about having a place to express what I was thinking while maintaining some level of oversight and accountability. I also really hope that it can in some way help somebody that may be struggling with some of the concepts or whatever that I'm trying to work through. But here's the rub...I found a few weeks ago that I was suddenly much more interested in my blog 'stats' than anything else. It was kinda awesome to see that somebody in Australia or Russia was checking it out. So I stepped back for a bit even though I really wanted to put some random 'epiphany' out there that would boost my stats some more.  Silly?  Yes.  But real.
So I think I'll stop with my confessional here and bring it back to the topic.  Why do we do what we do?  Is it because we think we'll get something out of it?  Many faith traditions spend a lot of time emphasizing the idea that our actions lead to some tangible reward either here or in the afterlife.  If that's our motivation, can we really say that we're acting out of love towards God and/or others?  Or is it just a self-serving lifestyle choice?  I'm personally convinced that every one of us exists for one purpose only...to bring glory to God and serve his purpose.  This is so hard to accept from our (or at least my) perspective of entitlement!  If I do something for somebody, then they owe me something, right?  That's fair!  But God owes nothing to no one...and we owe him everything.  So is that why we do what we do?  Because we owe God...because we ought to?  Honestly, that's probably where I'm at most of the time.  But that's not where I want to be.  Because I know that actions born out of love are so much better than those from obligation.

Love God...love others.  That's why we should do what we do

13 years and counting

So I never really intended this to be a forum for my theological thoughts, but sometimes, that's just what I feel like ranting about. Tonight...it's something more close at hand.

Tomorrow, Sara and I celebrate our 13th anniversary.

While this isn't one of the 'big' years, it's still awesome. And I just wanted to take this opportunity to publicly honor my wife. I'm awed every day that I get the chance to love and share life with such an amazing woman. Although she'll roll her eyes at me if she reads this, she's truly the most beautiful woman I know.

Tonight while we were getting the kids ready for bed, Kate asked if Sara and I were getting married tomorrow. Gotta love that. After we explained it, she said "13 years isn't very long!" My prayer is that one day we can look back and know she was right.

Life like a great story

I'm reading "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" by Donald Miller right now. Good book so far. So I just hit a little section that I thought was pretty awesome...and when I say awesome, I mean challenging:

"People love to have lived a great story, but few people like the work it takes to make it happen. But joy costs pain."

The hardest experiences in life often end up being our best memories. So why do we spend so much time searching for the easiest path through life?

Think that'll do...