It is funny how the perceived value of certain events changes over time, but it is still worth reflecting a bit on the year gone by.  These things, in no particular order, seem important today:

– During prayer times, there was a recurring theme of thankfulness for knowing Jesus.  It can be called by a number of names: born again, called by the Spirit, given faith to believe; but the bottom line is an assurance of receiving wisdom and understanding so that I can know God better.  I also know that some people don’t comprehend this, and I continue to pray for friends and family who have not yet responded.

– Frisbee is always a wonderful Sunday evening activity from May to August when the days are long.  Playing on the grass makes it less hurtful to run or fall, and others will pick you up.  A few  14-year olds came this summer, so I was 4 times older than some participants.

– Diane and I reached a milestone – we reached the point(s) where we have been married twice as long as we were not married.

– Our Michigan Knapp Family Book Reading times have been serious for prayer and study and hilarious for discussion.  We finished A Praying Life and Taking God at His Word, and started Show Them Jesus.

– I learned a lot by participating in the church task force petitioning to change denominations.  There are important things to know about orthodoxy, acting out what your documents say, and what I truly believe. I also learned more about the blessing of working with strong brothers in the process.

– Diane’s position change – she is now a focus teacher at the same school she taught in last year– has been a wonderful thing.  She is as skilled at helping other teachers plan as she was at teaching the kids herself. And she doesn’t bring home as many papers or prepare grade cards or have parent conferences!

– I worked more than full time for the first six months of the year, with two clients.  I learned that was too much.  I am grateful for the work and grateful to have just one regular client for now.

– We had a delightful Knapp family reunion in July in St Louis, arranged by sister Cindy.  The events included a Cardinal game, Grants Farm tour, two different nights of fireworks, and lots of time to visit.

Whenever I see a verse like Psalm 144.15 (Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!), it reminds me of television in earlier times.  Back in the day, people had to be present to run the programming; the automated process of starting and stopping a tape, disc or DVD had not yet been invented.  There was lots of “dead air” time because there weren’t enough customers watching in the late and early hours of the day and you had to pay the technicians to broadcast the shows.

In the 1950s and 1960s, as far as I can remember, the stations in the St Louis area would put up a test pattern of varying shapes; the only one that made sense was the Indian head at the top. Google tells me it was some sort of card that was originally transmitted by RCA from New Jersey in 1939 and became the iconic dead air viewing option.  And, you can purchase retro t-shirts, ties and other garments that display the pattern.

I knew about the Indian not because I was staying up too late, but because I would get up too early on Saturday mornings, hoping the cartoons would be available.

The Indian head went away about the time color came along – by that, I mean color TV became more prevalent.  I do not hold with the teachings of Calvin’s father (of Calvin and Hobbes fame), who famously told his mischievous little boy that color wasn’t invented until the ‘60s – that’s why all the old photographs are black and white.  In any case, the new test pattern often included vertical slices of common colors and the dead air projections became much more varied.

In the 1970s one of the local Lansing stations would have a picture of an American flag, with the words of Psalm 33.12:  “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD!” That was when you COULD and you WOULD do such a thing. COULD, not because there were any legal limits, but because you did not have so many reruns, infomercials, and reality shows to choose from – it seems that every channel fills up all its time with programming that someone must think is more entertaining (or lucrative) than a test pattern.  For the WOULD part of 1970s dead air broadcasting, I like to think that someone preferred a Bible verse with a flag more than some colored stripes.

I’ve been having an ongoing conversation with a friend about God, Jesus, evolution, naturalism, and agnosticism. Our differences appear to be at the worldview level – the presuppositions and biases that affect the way someone thinks about the world. Long ago in German class (or maybe it was World Religions?) I learned the word ‘weltanschauung ’ – literally world view, made popular in the mid-19^th century.

My worldview is encapsulated in the first two sentences of the Apostle’s Creed:  “I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.  I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.” The one true sovereign God is maker and sustainer of everything. He works supernatural miracles according to his almighty plan and purposes.

I believe the Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible as the authoritative self-revelation of the creator, providing (incomplete) information about the origins and purposes of life, the nature of man and evil, and the clear, miraculous, good news plan of redemption for mankind. There are many additional documents and much recorded history that support the facts presented in the Bible.  There are assertions in scripture that we cannot prove or disprove by observation; faith (… the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen – Hebrews 11.1) is required.

My understanding of a Naturalist worldview is that Darwin’s theory of evolution provides a basis for believing that all of creation occurred according to natural laws that can be observed through scientific methods.  I base this on quotes found in the initial chapters of Undeniable, Evolution and the Science of Creation, by Bill Nye.  “There is no way to make sense of these issues (cloning and genetic engineering) outside of an evolutionary context.” (p5)  “…natural selection is a means by which small changes can add complexity to an organism.  With each generation of offspring, the beneficial modifications can be retained.” (p23)  “You can see why people might think that these changes (small changes in DNA that occur during an organism’s developmental stage) result from conscious or willful acts, but they don’t.” (p27)  “Perhaps there is intelligence in charge of the universe, but Darwin’s theory shows no sign of it, and has no need of it.” (p46)

Darwin’s work On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection is central to Bill Nye’s worldview.  There are many scientific articles, cultural inferences, and much research that support Darwin’s theories.  Naturalists will agree there is no way to prove or disprove the existence of God.  It appears that especially on matters of the origin of life, the nature of evil, self-consciousness, and maybe the lack of a fossil record of the expected millions of creatures representing the small changes the theory talks about,  faith is required to hold a naturalist weltanschauung.

My friend sees the volume of support for Naturalism as greater than the support for a Christian worldview.  Stay tuned as we continue our discussion.

Hannibal Smith, the main character of the venerable TV show “The A-Team,” is famous for his quote, “I love it when a plan comes together.”  A similar sense of purpose happens frequently when following a “Read The Bible In A Year” program.  There are many good such frameworks out there; I like the ones where you concentrate on one book each day and don’t jump around so much.

The plan-comes-together part happens when this day’s reading makes reference to or sheds light on some other recent reading.  The gospels and epistles quote the Old Testament often, and sometimes you have just read the passage in Genesis or Isaiah that is being talked about.  I have found it helpful to have a good study bible that gives citations on both ends – NT quoting OT and OT pointing to places it is quoted – because sometimes I need a nudge to understand the context and content.

The latest instance happened today while reading in Ezra, one of the historical books describing activities in Jerusalem after the Exile. Verse 14 says, “And the elders of the Jews built and prospered though the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo.”  Two weeks ago the reading from the Prophet books was Haggai, and last week was the first part of Zechariah.  Maybe now I will remember that Haggai and Zechariah come right together in the Old Testament; more likely I will remember that they were contemporaries who had a wonderful impact on the Israelites who returned from Babylon and other places where they had been scattered.

I greatly enjoy the flow and continuity of the Word.  There is a Big Plan that runs from Genesis through Revelation, and we can see the plan continuing in our day – it is coming together!

Molly was in the house on the day before Halloween.  It was still pleasant and warm-ish outside; there were a few leaves on the trees and a jacket sufficed for warmth.  The word cards took longer than usual because we were making sentences and then we had to group them (numbers, colors, people words, etc.) like all good data analysts would.

We decided to check out a park and picked the closest one – Crego Park just re-opened this past summer with a nice couple of docks jutting into the lake, plenty of parking and a spur off the River Trail. Last time we visited, we didn’t get to walk out on the big dock, so our goal was to get that done.  After checking it out, Molly starts off on the grass path that leads away from the parking lot.  “Let’s see where this goes.”

Turns out it goes all the way around the lake.  On the north end, we took a side trail to check out the railroad tracks.  When we got back to the main trail, Molly looks both ways, puts on her serious face and says, “Let’s go this way.  Follow me.”

We noticed that the leaves had stacked up in the lake on the north end because the wind was blowing that way. On the east side, we could see across the lake to where we had parked the car, and we could look through the fence at the private lake that was full of geese.  Wonder why they like that lake better?  Must be food.

The path went up and down; there were several places where trees had fallen to block the trail but short people could get through easily and wait for lumbering giant people.  Our friends down the block had tried to circumnavigate the lake this way, but were blocked by undergrowth; maybe it was easier this late in the fall.

On the south side, we could see the houses by the park, and we came out at an unexpected, secret-looking arched tree entrance that we marked in case we ever want to go the other way around some day.

Nice afternoon, with just enough mystery for  a grand adventure.

We had several wonderfully warm and sunny fall days last week. Molly and I went outside to rake the leaves one day last week; raking might sound like work, but it is always preferable to homework.

Here is what we have learned: Rakes work better than brooms for moving large quantities, but brooms are easier to handle. There used to be mostly green leaves with a few brown and yellow ones; now there are just yellow leaves remaining, and the squirrel nests are easy to see. Some like the leaves in piles; some want to put them in bags. Wait for the pile-preferrer to leave and you can have your way with the bags.

When the wind started blowing strongly I caught a leaf out of the air and a new game was started. We dropped the tools and started chasing after falling leaves. We listened for the wind in the trees and knew the leaves would be dropping just after.

Some fell quickly straight down, but most darted and swirled as the wind took them away. Many flowed across the yard next to the deck and since the grass was softer than the wood, we did our diving out on the lawn. The wind would drive large groups of leaves from the high branches up and up and the lot of them would tumble down all around. That seemed like the best opportunity for a catch, but last second, quick movements made them very elusive. Finally Molly caught one against her belly, and we had to trumpet our success to those inside the house.

Here is what else we learned. You have a choice. Trying to catch one leaf as it falls is a hard proposition, but you get a lot of exercise. Or you can stand in one place, and let them come to you. The latter works best on the windiest days when there are cascades of leaves coming off the branches. Unfortunately you don’t usually know about those events until the following morning when your whole yard is covered. In either case, when you get tired of the leaves, you can blow bubbles.

In last Friday’s blog we looked at Moses’ proclamation in Deuteronomy 4.8, “And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?”

I was amazed to see this truth in action as many members of our church Consistory (elders and deacons) attended the denominational Classis meeting last week.  The particular commandment area we saw was love – love God, love your neighbor, and speak the truth in love.

Our church is moving through the steps of leaving our current denomination.  I confess that our committee leading the process has often worked itself up in anger at the documents we would read about church politics, practices, and statements. Some of us attended a very contentious General Synod meeting in 2012 and prickly Classis meetings the last couple of years. The atmosphere and process were way different Tuesday night as a different church in our Classis had moved ahead of us and reached the stage where a vote was held on whether to allow them to leave.

The other church had set the tone with a well-written petition, telling the differences they have with the denomination, but concentrating on the Book of Church Order phrase “for the good of the kingdom.” The Classis committee that reviewed their petition reciprocated – they appreciated the concerns, expressed their disagreement, but spoke well of the Peace people and process.

There were three settings where I saw and felt the blessings of God’s righteous statutes:

1. Table discussions. This was a good idea to let delegates discuss issues in small groups.  At my table, my preparations paid off when the fellow on my left asked “what are the issues?”  Other delegates did not all agree with my interpretation but we reached an understanding of each position.

2. The parliamentary process discussion was more than collegial; there were wisdom statements about the appropriate way for the Classis group to proceed.  Several people had clearly been thinking and praying about what to say.

3. The votes were astounding – first to eliminate any requirement of a large payment by the church to the Classis, and then to allow them to leave with their building.

The patient approach of the other church was marvelous – striving to be clear, striving not to offend, humbly appealing to the established denominational rules.  It could have been a powder keg, but love and peace reigned.

And, as a bonus, our van stopped at Culvers afterwards for milk shakes.

If you get ever get tired of playing balloon games with your six year old, or if the crazy thing pops, you might try what Molly and I did yesterday.  A sunny October weekday is great at Potter Park, because they don’t charge for parking and there aren’t too many people around who will complain about throwing acorns.

The Park has an abundance of oak trees, which means a plethora of acorns all over the ground.  There are acorns in the small boulevards in the parking lot.  You park at the upper side of the lot and lob the acorns down the pavement.  With a little encouragement, those things bounce and roll forever.  Throw one at a time or throw a whole handful.  Leaping, jumping, bounding acorns flowing down the hill.

Then you find one of the small pavilions with a sheet roof. Dang. What a rush when you chuck a handful of acorns high in the air so that they land noisily on the metal and roll off at unpredictable angles.  Clanging, bouncing, falling acorns raining down around you.

Then you start targeting one of the open waste receptacles.  Hitting the side is sort of fun, but flicking it in is even better.  See how far away you can be and score a goal.  Flying, arcing, airborne acorns landing in the trash.

And look for the nature lesson along the way.  You find a couple of acorns that have sprouted and explain how these are seeds that can take root and grow into giant oak trees.  And remind the girl about all those helicopter maple squirts we swept off the back deck and how those can take root and grow into maple trees.  And then when you get home, point out the tiny pears on the front yard tree that the squirrels eat in the winter when snow is all over the ground – those are seeds, too.  Sprouting, rooting, quiet acorns growing into oaks.

I was in downtown New Orleans, near the French Quarter, for a conference last week.  The streets were narrow, the houses had upper floor balconies, the river wound through it, hookers and homeless people were on the streets at all hours, the trolleys were special – all these were anticipated. 

I had heard about Southern Hospitality but was still surprised at the pleasant and friendly manner of the natives I ran into. Linnea and Diane had suggested Beignets – deep-fried pastry with powdered sugar on top; these were delicious, as advertised (see below).  I was pleased for a couple of unexpected opportunities to pray for people in our group.

But the weirdest, most unforeseen happening was walking out of the air-conditioned hotel into the sultry 90 degree heat and having my glasses fog up! This was the opposite of Michigan fogginess, which only happens when you come inside from the frosty winter weather.

Today is Allan and Diane’s forty-second anniversary.  We were both 21 when we wed, so we have been married twice as long as we were single.  We had previous anniversaries on 9/9/99 and 09/09/09. Those are all cool, countable, numeric attributes.

But our marriage is about more than that.  Risking hyperbole by drawing on the prior two posts about infinity, I would have to say that Diane has provided a countably infinite number of beautiful moments during the last 42 years, and God has provided an uncountably infinite number of grace-filled blessings to us.