Happy Nap-time

Tim and I lay Abigail down in her bed and let her cry herself to sleep.  Usually she starts crying right when she touches the bed, but today she had a little fun.  Here is the video I captured.  I just think she's precious! :-)

Reading Revelation Responsibly - Book Review

Gorman, Michael J.  Reading Revelation Responsibly: Uncivil Worship and Witness: Following the Lamb into the New Creation. Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2011.

Since I am taking a class on the book of Revelation this summer, I have to read a host of books on the Apocalypse.  I am not too deep into my reading, but for a monthly book review, I wanted to mention the last book I just finished.  It was very good, very practical, and very insightful.  Gorman's Reading Revelation Responsibly gives an outstanding approach to Revelation.

Here is a basic overview.  Gorman is primarily arguing from the idealist interpretation of Revelation.  Although he does see certain visions pointing back to the Roman empire, by and large the book is timeless (and missional).  The more I read, the more I see a prevailing view in modern interpretation of Revelation that says it is not so much an encouragement for those being persecuted as it is a warning or prompt to non-conformity to the empirical cult of the day.  It is a work of apocalyptic to encourage believers of Jesus, the slaughtered Lamb, to be anti-assimilation from the empire.  Gorman treats that very practically for American evangelicals who have pretty much divinized patriotism and turned it into a civil religion itself.  Thus, the way he reads Revelation  has a great relevance for the American Christian church for today, who have as much if not more loyalty to a nation and its cultic-civil practices as for loyalty to the Lamb.  If we were honest, this is indeed the situation in many churches in USA (just observe many services on or around the 4^th of July in the Bible belt).

Gorman also sees Revelation to be very missional, which I appreciate.  Since the community of Christ is a multi-ethnic and global community, patriotism to one nation makes little sense, especially since we are part of God's empire/kingdom and no longer citizens of this world (Phil. 3:20-21). 

What I appreciate is that his view of empire and the call for believers to come out of the worship of that empire (for example: Christian's swearing fidelity to even the flag of a nation).  No matter the goodness or badness of the empire, conformity should be to the suffering Lamb not to the conquering nation.  Perhaps his greatest insight is how the mission is accomplished through non-violent action.  In other words, Jesus conquers not with the sword in his hand but the sword in his mouth (through his word).  He wins by dying.  The lion king overcomes by being the slaughtered lamb.  And the mission of the church is to overcome injustice in the same way.  We don't take up the sword ("for God and country") to win the day.  We stand apart from the empire with dying to self, bearing our own cross, and suffering for the sake of Jesus.  It is when we are comfortable in the empire we live in that is the true danger for the churches to repent of.

Perhaps a major flaw is that his politics do seem to creep in to his critique of what an (bad?) empire is, America being the prime example.  It seems that the capitalistic and nationalistic society of America has encouraged the empire of America which leads to injustice on all levels and social categories.  Whether he is correct in that assessment is not for me to decide here.  But there is a negativity towards those systems, something I am not altogether comfortable with.  Every political agenda is flawed (communist, socialist, or capitalist) because it is a system of sinful humans.

Lastly, Gorman is very critical of the dispensational, futurist view.  He critiques it repeatedly throughout the book (most especially the Left Behind series).  Let me say that I am in full agreement with his critique.  However, knowing the fundamentalist, dispensational mindset very well, many who would normally give Gorman a fair hearing will completely turn him off with the over-critical nature in his presentation.  Has the futurist view terribly distorted the meaning of Revelation and thus the political practices of many in the church???  YES!  But I wonder if his constant barrage of the futurist view is helpful to win the argument.  However, I feel confident that his concern was not to win an argument, so I may be offering a moot point. 

In all, this brief presentation of a responsible way to read Revelation gets 2 thumbs up from me.  It is a simple and short book for all sorts of readers (student to scholar).  It is presented well and full of practical insights that make it tremendously valuable in seeing Revelation as a vital part of the churches devotional, spiritual, missional, worshipful life.

Most Dangerious Diaper Change

Here is our story for the day...
   

You may already know that our car broke down this past week (one of many times and different problems).  The battery just died and the car stopped running on our way down the mountain.  We got the car back to school and had the maintenance men work on it.  They said it just needed a battery charge, and it's working fine. Uh huh.

We drove it to church today and out to lunch.  On the way UP the mountain, it just stopped again and it happened to be on the worst curved incline ever.  Friends pulled up behind us and jumped the car.  Tim told them once the car starts we're just going to take off and see how far we get on the charge.  A kilometer later it stopped again, and this time Abigail needed a diaper change.

I started changing her diaper while we waited,  and our friends caught up to give another jump.  At this point Abigail is still on my lap, and I'm cleaning her poopy butt.  The jump was complete, and Tim took off (Abi is obviously not in her car seat, Tim fully unaware)! I'm trying not to let the poop get all over us or let her fall off my lap while we're flying up the bumpiest part of the mountain.  The hysterics in the car were quite comical. 

"Be careful!
"Is Abi not buckled in?"
"No!  I'm changing her diaper!!!"
"What!?!?  Why would you pick now to change her diaper?"
"I didn't; I started a while ago before they got here."
"Hold on!!!  It's going to be bumpy ride!... Here comes the speed bumps..."

This was by far the craziest diaper change EVER!  Right when I get her new diaper on and put her in her seat, the car stops running again.  But praise the Lord we were at the school gate.  Tim and I switched places, and he pushed the car the rest of the way.  :-D

I would have taken a picture but my hands were full.

Abigail is Changing

I love that each week there is always something new going on with our little girl.

I just think she is absolutely adorable!!!!!

1)  When I put Abigail down for a nap then check on her later she's never in the same area of the crib!  She is a squirmer (if that's even a word).

This is not how I put her in the bed.

2) Her favorite way to be held is to hang over my arm and look out at what's happening.  Laying in my arms rarely happens unless she's asleep and I put her that way.  I'm already starting to miss some of the little baby things (except for the lack of sleep).

3) Abigail is already sleeping an average of seven to eight hours every night, and I'm so relieved!!!  Especially now that I'm working again. On the rare occasion she sleeps 10 1/2 hours like last night!!!!!  (Those are my favorite!!!)

We still have our unhappy moments but she's still adorable!!

4) She eats so well and is actually up to about 6 ounces at night before bed.  She's growing so much! Believe me, I've noticed when I carry her around all the time since we don't have a stroller yet.

5) It's so nice to put her in her little rocking seat, and she's content.  She likes to watch TV already!

So happy!!

6) When it's nap time, we put her in her bed and let her cry herself to sleep.  At first it took FOREVER!! But now (at least most of the time) it only takes 5-10 minutes (sometimes less) and she's out.


I love being a mom to this little sweetheart!  It's still hard to believe that she's our child and we're responsible for her.  There is no sending her back with her parents like I did with my nieces and nephews because we are her parents.  It has definitely been a life changing experience that is totally worth every minute!!

Grandparents Visit!!!

Abigail was finally able to meet one set of her grandparents (Liz's parents).  Once they finally received their passports, tickets were ordered, bags packed, and they headed this way.  We were so excited to have some parents visit Honduras for the first time, but even more so that family was finally able to meet Abigail.

Abigail with her grandparents in Valle de Angeles!

Some of my favorite memories were when they walked through the airport and saw Abigail for the first time.  It was a very special moment even though it was in the midst of a crowd.

Tim recorded the experience

Another memory is of my dad walking around the house with Abigail because she was crying.  My mom was a big help in the week she was here helping me get Abigail on a schedule and staying up late with me to get her to go to sleep.

This is a man we met at the park.  My Dad worked really hard to talk to him. (notice Tim's new favorite shirt)

Because we have a car now we were able to take them site seeing.  My dad really enjoyed talking to anyone he came in contact with even though they had no idea what he was saying.  Tim did a great job translating during the week.

We went out to dinner at El Patio.  I'm not a fan of Honduran food but they have great steak!

The worst part of the week was dropping them off at the airport.  Things were really busy and lines were long.  By the time we got to the spot where Tim and I couldn't follow them we didn't even get a chance to really say goodbye.

My Dad is an electrician and had a hard time with how things are done here. :-)

I loved working in the kitchen with momma!

Pray for Liz

Today is the day we have not been looking forward to.  Liz's maternity leave comes to an end, and she is off to work today.  I know it will be hard to leave behind Abigail with our nanny, not to mention getting back into the swing of elementary school teaching.  Pray for Liz today.