Almost Heaven Blog

Tim Tebow’s “Controversial” Commercial

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:35:14 -0600

Technically, it’s not Tebow’s commercial... it is Focus on the Family’s. Regardless, CBS will be airing an ad during the Super Bowl that revolves around Pam Tebow’s decision to ignore medical advice that encouraged her to kill Tim while he was still in the womb.

This has set off a media firestorm that will only get more ferocious over the next 2 weeks. See the USA Today column HERE.

The USA Today article quotes Jehmu Greene, a representative for a coalition of women who oppose the Super Bowl ad, as saying, “An ad that uses sports to divide rather than to unite has no place in the biggest national sports event of the year.”

There are several things that annoy me about this whole ordeal:
It’s sad that Greene (and others who share the same opinion) cloak words like “murder” behind the ideal of “unity” and the desire to not be “divisive.”
It’s odd that with all the things being “shoved down our throats” by commercials in general (and Super Bowl commercials specifically), THIS message of a mother choosing to not kill her child is the one that many will choose to attack.
It’s amazing that so many in our culture will see the Tebow ad as being the only commercial with an agenda during the Super Bowl.
It’s amazing that so many in our culture will see the Tebow ad as being the only commercial with a PHILOSOPHICAL, RELIGIOUS, or THEOLOGICAL agenda during the Super Bowl.

I hope that CBS doesn’t give in to the many voices that will surely be whispering (and screaming!) in their ear over the next couple weeks. I pray that even if CBS does acquiesce, that God will use the surrounding hype and controversy to spread the Tebow’s message even further than if the opponents would have said nothing to begin with!

Tim Tebow isn’t Superman. He isn’t the Savior. He just seems to be a solid believer who desires to use his platform to explain the hope, peace, and joy that he has in Jesus Christ. Press on, brother!

Martin Luther King, Jr. and the OT Prophets

Sun, 17 Jan 2010 23:14:05 -0600

I wanted to share a couple things on this day when we remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. First, HERE is an article from Christian History that I just received via email today.

Second, below is a short paper I wrote a couple years ago on King’s use of the OT Prophets. Enjoy!

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
AND THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS
When listening to any given public address by Martin Luther King, Jr., one can hardly tell whether he is standing behind a podium or a pulpit. His famous thundering speeches given at the end of marches and demonstrations sound very similar to his messages given in the context of a Sunday morning church service. Perhaps this is true because he felt that any chance to speak before people was a chance to speak the Word of God as in a sermon. On the other hand, maybe it was because he felt that the themes of freedom and justice must be brought to the fore at church just as if he were speaking for racial injustice. The reality is most likely a little of both, but it is certain that no matter where he was his eloquent words were always infused with the divinely inspired words of Scripture – specifically the writings of the Old Testament prophets.
After listening to a couple of King’s speeches,1 there are two themes relating to the Old Testament prophets that are impossible to miss. The first is that he viewed the black-American, or in King’s terminology, the “Negro”, as being in exile much like the Israelites to whom the Old Testament prophets were speaking. Second, whether King cited the specific prophet or not, his speeches were packed with language that should immediately remind the hearer of the words of the prophets.
Delayed Promises and Exile
It seems clear that King saw a parallel between the oppression that his people were suffering and the position that Israel was in while under Babylonian captivity. The main factor here is none other than a promise that had been made. Israel’s entire hope and identity was wrapped up in the promises they had received from Yahweh as He made a covenant with their nation. God had said to Abraham, “Go forth from your country… to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing… And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”2 Then, after God brought Israel out of Egypt, He said, “You shall be my own possession among all the peoples…you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”3 These promises were in stark contrast to Israel’s situation in exile. They were promised land, seed, and blessing, but they were out of the land, dying, and feeling more beat up than blessed.
The promises that Martin Luther King, Jr. felt short-changed on were the promises of the United States Constitution. Here is the depiction, in King’s words:
In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked ‘insufficient funds.’4
When King uses the words “promise” and “sacred obligation” he seems to be viewing the black-Americans in the 1960s as a modern-day Israel; sitting bankrupt on promises that should have been cashed in already. God the Father had promised Israel land and they were in exile; the Founding Fathers had promised Americans liberty and they were being oppressed. King lamented that one hundred years prior to the speech he was given, Abraham Lincoln had signed the Emancipation Proclamation. However, King observes, “One hundred years later the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land.”5
Therefore, to instill hope in his people, King banked on the fact that the promises would one day be fulfilled. This is the same message of hope that we read in some of the prophets. Listen to the prophet Haggai, who also linked hope with promise as Israel was being called to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem: “‘I am with you,’ declares the Lord… ‘As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst, do not fear!’”6 We also hear this message resound from God through Jeremiah: “‘They shall be My people and I will be their God… I will make an everlasting covenant with them… I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul… Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them.”7
It was not just the fact of the Negro’s oppression that reminded King of the days of the Prophets, but it was also the nature of that oppression as well. He has many descriptions of the situation that are shared by the Old Testament Prophets. In both his speech in Washington and his speech in Detroit, King spoke of their lack of rights in the language of bondage and chains. In Washington, he spoke of “the long night of captivity” and the “chains of discrimination.” This is reminiscent of prophets, like Isaiah, who proclaimed freedom from the shackles of oppression: “The exile will soon be set free, and will not die in the dungeon…”8 King felt like the Negro was also in a dungeon, but it is important to not that even while in that dungeon, the way out was not to be a violent one. He said,
[Non-violent resistance] has a way of disarming the opponent. It exposes his moral defenses… If he doesn’t beat you, wonderful. If he beats you, you develop the quiet courage of accepting blows without retaliating. If he doesn’t put you in jail, wonderful. Nobody with any sense likes to go to jail. But if he puts you in jail, you go in that jail and transform it from a dungeon of shame to a haven of freedom and human dignity.9
One can hear the attitude of Jeremiah resounding through Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Thus says the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles… ‘Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce… Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.’”10
The Prophetic Message
Not only did King see his circumstances as being similar to that of an exiled Israel, but he proclaimed the same prophetic message as did the prophets. In Washington, D.C. he saw justice coming through “whirlwinds of revolt,” which is very similar language to how we see God bringing justice and judgment in the Prophets.11
Most importantly, King seemed to be able to paint a picture of ultimate, glorious hope, just like the Prophets. In both D.C. and Detroit, he quoted Amos 5:24 as his vision of what would one day occur. Here are his words from Detroit on June 23, 1963:
Yes, I have a dream this afternoon that one day in this land the words of Amos will become real and ‘justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream.’ I have a dream this evening that one day we will recognize the words of Jefferson that ‘all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’12
It was this quest for justice that drove King – it was his life’s work. In most of his speeches, social-justice was of primary concern. He had a desire for all God’s children to be seen as equal just as they really are and for no one to be enslaved and oppressed. Justice is mentioned over sixty-five times in the prophetic books of the Old Testament, and King’s words sound much like words of old: “Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.”13
Another great prophetic passage that King quoted in both Washington and Detroit was Isaiah 40:3-5. He proclaimed, “I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together… This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.”14
It is precisely King’s knowledge of the Prophets and his fondness of quoting them that leads the listener familiar with Scripture to believe that he was not just speaking of earthly freedom, but also of an eschatological hope as well. The prophets often refer to “that day” or “in that day” when speaking of the end of days when the hope of Isaiah 40 will be fully realized. With King’s obvious familiarity with the prophets, it is no accident that he ends both of these speeches with the following language of eschatological hope:
In Detroit, he ended by saying,
With this faith, we will be able to achieve this new day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing with the Negroes in the spiritual of old: ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we are free at last!’ (emphasis mine)
Similarly, he ended his speech in Washington, D.C. by saying,
When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, ‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’ (emphasis mine)
King had a dream of justice, peace, and brotherhood. His values and worldview were obviously shaped by his exposure to the Word of God. Martin Luther King, Jr. was not just another preacher or social activist, he was a prophet proclaiming release to the captives and freedom to the oppressed.
------------------------
1 The two speeches I listened to were (1) his famous “I Have a Dream” speech that was delivered in Washington, D.C. on August 28, 1963 and (2) his “Speech at the Great March on Detroit” that was delivered on June 23, 1963, two months prior to his most well-known speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
2 Gen 12:1-3
3 Ex 19:4-6
4 Speech at Washington, DC. He also talked about promise in his speech in Detroit, saying that it was time to “make real the promises of democracy.”
5 Ibid.
6 Haggai 2:4-5, emphasis mine.
7 Jer 32:38-42, emphasis mine.
8 Is 51:14
9 Speech at Detriot.
10 Jer 29:4-7.
11 See Is 5:28, 29:6, 66:15; Jer 4:13; Hos 8:7; and Nah 1:3.
12 Speech at Detroit.
13 Is 1:17. For “justice” in the prophets, see also Is 42:1-4; 59:8-15; Ezek 18:5-27, 33:14-16; Hos 12:6; Amos 5:15; Mic 5:1, 6:8; Hab 1:4; Zeph 3:5; Zech 7:9; etc.
14 Speech at Washington, DC.

3 YouTube Videos

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 23:34:12 -0600

Here are 3 videos we’ve posted on YouTube:

Pre-Delivery:               

Post-Delivery: (There’s an inside joke here with Kim’s “PUSH KIM” toes. The Vietnamese ladies at the nail salon thought my name was Push. :) )       
         

First Bath and Other Maintenance:

Sydney Mei Seville

Sat, 2 Jan 2010 21:19:53 -0600

Sydney Mei Seville was born on December 31st at 4:56 pm. She weighed 8 lbs, 1 oz and measured 19 3/4”.

I woke up at 5:00 am on the 31st to the sounds of Kim dealing with some pretty heavy contractions. We started timing them and after a couple hours decided to go to the hospital (Presbyterian in Denton). We checked in around 8:00 am.

When we arrived, Kim was at 4 cm. We walked a lot and Kim bounced on a stability ball as well. At noon, we had our doctor come and break her water (or “bag of waters” as the medical community seems to favor).

That accelerated things quite a bit and her contractions got more and more intense. She started pushing around 3:30 or 4:00 and gave birth to Sydney at 4:56. Kim was able to deliver naturally without the use of any drugs.

It was the most incredible, yet most painful thing I’ve ever seen. The hardest part for me was to see Kim in so much pain and to not be able to do anything about it. I couldn’t ease the pain and I couldn’t help the delivery progress. All I could do was pray and encourage.

Childbirth is indeed a miracle. My dad told me after her birth that he has always said, “If I never see another miracle in my life, at least I can say I saw one.” True.

Below is a slideshow from Pixel Perfect Photography. You can also stay tuned to our YouTube channel for video updates (though I’ll probably post them here as well).             

Sonogram

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:07:09 -0600

I was only going to post this video as a test, but I was able to edit it down to Kim’s liking. :) Enjoy!

Baby Guesses

Sat, 19 Dec 2009 12:04:45 -0600

Below are some of the guesses made by friends and family. I think I went WAY too large... but we’ll see. Feel free to add your guesses in the comment section.

Kim: Dec 23rd @ 2:24 pm; 7 lb, 6 oz, 21”
Jason: Dec 29th @ 10:00 pm; 7 lb, 15 oz, 22”
Delores (Kim’s mom): Dec 30th @ 2:38 pm; 7 lb, 8 oz, 20.5”
Gary (Kim’s dad): Jan 9th @ 3:00 am; 7 lb, 2 oz, 21”
Teresa (Jason’s mom): Jan 5th @ 3:00 am; 7 lb, 3 oz, 19”
Larry (Jason’s dad): Dec 25th @ 3:17 am; 7.2 lb, 20 7/8”
Kelly (Kim’s sister): Dec 20th @ 8:15 pm; 6 lb, 7 oz, 18”
Mike Masters (Kim’s uncle): Dec 31st @ 10:00 pm; 7 lb, 8 oz, 20”
Michaela (Kim’s cousin): Dec 28th @ 3:00 pm; 7 lb, 11 oz, 18”
Mike Riggleman (Jason’s brother): Dec 31st @ 10:49 pm; 5 lb, 15 oz, 18.5”
Sarah Riggleman (Jason’s sis-in-law): Jan 1st @ 1:48 am; 6 lb, 2 oz, 19”
Nicki Pauley (Jason’ sister): Jan 3rd @ 6:28 am; 7 lb, 12 oz, 20”
Dan Pauley (Jason’s bro-in-law): Dec 23rd @ 4:00 pm; 7 lb, 8 oz, 20”
Braeden Pauley (nephew): Dec 31st @ 4:56 pm; 8 lb, 8 oz, 22”
Mason Pauley (nephew): Dec 29th @ 2:29 am; 6 lb, 8 oz, 20”
Carter Pauley (nephew): Dec 27th @ 7:00 pm; 6 lb, 4 oz, 19”

Here are some guesses from some folks in our LifeGroup:
Abe Lawless: Dec 28th @ 5:00 am; 6 lb, 10 oz, 18”
Jacki Lawless: Dec 21st @ 3:00 pm; 6 lb, 4 oz, 19”
Brandon Copling: Dec 26th @ 3:40 pm; 6 lb, 5 oz, 16”
Lauren Avery: Dec 31st @ 3:00 pm; 6 lb, 4 oz, 19”

Here are some awards for your guesses:

*WISHFUL THINKING Award: Kelly
GIGANTOR Award: Jason
TINY BABY Award: Brandon
WE CURSE YOUR NAME Award (the cursing is because these guesses most likely have us in the hospital in both 2009 and 2010, which would double our expenses!): Lauren, Mason, Braeden, Sarah, Mike R., Mike M., and Delores.
CREATIVE NUMBERS Award: Larry (runners-up: Braeden, Mason, Nicki, and Delores)
AWESOME NUMBERS Award: Braeden (my baseball # was 8 growing up and my football # was 22)
KIM’S BELLY WOULD EXPLODE Award: Gary

Abe suggested that the winner get to be the God-father of the baby. Probably not, but we’ll at least give you recognition in your very own blog-post.

Sorry - Blogging Hiatus

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:46:05 -0500

It’s been over TWO MONTHS since I last made a post on this blog...

I blame most of that on the busiest school semester that I’ve ever had. I am taking the following classes this semester:
Exegesis of Romans (the 5th and final Greek class required for ThM students. In this class, we translate the book of Romans twice... plus write 2 exegetical papers... plus a theology paper on sanctification... plus 8 translation quizzes.)
Principles of Discipleship (a Christian Education elective)
The Mission of God (this is an Independent Study I’m doing with a professor centered around Christopher J.H. Wright’s “The Mission of God”)
Seminar on John Owen (this is a Historical Theology class where we do nothing but read John Owen and discuss. Pure gold.)
Thesis on John Witherspoon.

I was talking with my brother today and he said he knew that my semester must be busy from the fact that I hadn’t blogged in months. He’s right. But, that’s not it, I don’t think. I’ve just lost interest in general. I’m starting to wonder if I started to blog because I like to write and needed an outlet for creativity... but not, I have PLENTY of writing “opportunities” so my blogging has taken a back-burner. Who knows.

Maybe I’ll get a creative jolt again that will lead me to get back on top of things... but for now, the posts will probably continue to be sporadic.

DownLine Men’s Summit

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:05:48 -0500

Here is a video for an upcoming Men’s Conference in Memphis, TN. I’ll be heading up there with a couple other guys from the Dallas area. Let me know if you are interested in carpooling and/or caravaning.           

To sign up, go to www.downlinesummit.com. If you register before the end of August, you can get 33% Early Bird Discount.

For the women out there, don’t despair. Their Women’s Conferene - “Legacy” - is coming up in February!

For a little more on DownLine, see their website. Here is also a great video intro:             

Feeling a Twinge of Injustice

Sat, 8 Aug 2009 11:55:47 -0500

The following is cut-and-pasted from my Facebook page. Last night, I made a post about feeling injustice over being charged $375 for getting towed at a friend’s apartment complex. This set off a firestorm of people (without all the pertinent information) arguing over whether this was truly “injustice.”

Here are my posts in response, which I thought would make a good blog post as well, for the 2 of you who aren’t on Facebook. :)

Post #1:
Kim and I went over to another couple's place to play a board game. I know that they have visitor spots and so I parked in what I thought was a visitor spot. Apparently, the meager 5 visitor spots near their building were filled and I parked 1 spot away (unknowingly). When we came out (a little after 11 pm), our car was gone. I wish you guys could see the layout of this place... it would make more sense. The spot I parked in was surrounded by probably 20 empty spots (except for the 5 filled visitor spots) and that row of parking is nowhere near an apartment building (i.e., no resident spots were being taken).

Post #2:
HOWEVER - for the record - the injustice that I felt doesn't come from the fact that I got towed. I deserved to get towed because I got parked in a spot that wasn't marked "Visitor" (though even that was a little ridiculous in my mind).

So, I would never argue the FACT that we got towed. Kim and I both felt like "this sucks, but let's just pay the (deserved) fine and move on."

The injustice comes from the $375 part of the whole ordeal. This isn't a government regulated thing in the state of Texas. Believe me, Kim and I spent all day on the phone yesterday talking with local and state law enforcement, better business bureau, justice of the peace, department of transportation, etc. EVERY person we talked to regarding the fee said, "Wow. That is unbelievable... that is an outrageous fee. That is way too high." But, because towing fees aren't regulated, towing companies can charge whatever they want.... and so there is nothing the local or state folks can do about it.

Post #3:
We even called other towing companies and discovered that this company charges 3 or 4 times what other companies do. Even an employee at the towing company said that she agrees that they charge too much and has been getting on the owner to lower the fees... because they are losing business because apartment complexes drop them after getting so many complaints.

Here's the itemized breakdown:
1) $150 for non-consent hook up fee.
2) $40 for 10 miles of towing at $4 per mile (double what other companies charge).
3) $120 for "special equipment" fee (which they use for every tow, which begs the question, "Why so special?" :) )
4) $25 for fuel (which makes me wonder where they're buying their gas when 20 miles = $25 in gas).
5) $20 impound fee.
6) $20 for storage.

Anyway... hope this helps fill in some of the gaps. Please don't lose any sleep over this one, guys. :) Kim and I already did that.

Post #4:
To give a positive spin to this whole thing, Kim and I both have learned much through this whole thing (the least of which deals with parking). This was one of those helpless/brokenness experiences through which the Good Lord takes us sometimes. Through much prayer and discussion, Kim and I are deeply impacted by several things.

First, palpable "injustice" like this is an exception in our lives. There are many who live with injustice on a daily basis. We are grateful yet saddened and moved to prayer for persecuted and oppressed people around the world.

Second, things could have been much worse for us than they were in this situation. It wasn't fun... and we don't have a ton of money to be forking over $400 for towing... but it could have been much worse.

Third, we long for the return of our Savior Jesus Christ - when we will see Him in His glory. We will know Him fully and be fully known by Him. We can't wait!!!

Lord, Have Mercy... Lou Holtz for Congress

Tue, 4 Aug 2009 11:08:49 -0500

I just heard that Lou Holtz (or “Holtschz” in Holtz-speak... sorry, I couldn’t resist) is considering running for Congress. Hello, Sports Illustrated - can you say “This Week’s Sign of the Apocalypse”?

Cons:
Subjecting the fine people of Florida (and all C-SPAN watchers) to hearing Dr. Lou speak on a regular basis.
Having a senile and/or intellectually dishonest congressman who seriously thinks Notre Dame will win the national championship every season.
The national pain of having legislation passed ensuring that (1) Notre Dame will always have a TV contract; (2) ND will never have to pony up and join conference; (3) ND will always be ranked in the pre-season Top 25 regardless of how abysmal their previous season was; and (4) a national Rudy holiday will be in place where every network must run a Sean Astin marathon.

Pros:
The Sean Astin marathon would be pretty cool.
I no longer have to endure the agonizing torture that is seeing him on ESPN.

Hmm.... GOOD LUCK CONGRESSMAN HOLTZ!!!!

(HT: Ashley Moser)