Homskulerz liek us

Last night we watched a movie with one of the funniest caricatures of a home school family I have ever seen. Being a second generation home schooler, it's not hard for me to see how easy it is for people (or Hollywood) to stereotype homeschoolers. I've done it myself. But this movie's homeschooling family was different than your average stereotypical homeschooling family - they were cool. No, they were very cool. They were too good to be true cool. They were, in a word, very-much-like-our-family (Yes, that's one word! My wife's an editor, so I should know.)

Dad was an All-American man, somewhere between The Good Samaritan and John Wayne. Mom was somewhere between Betty Crocker and Britney Spears. And the kids were, well, like ours, perfect in every way - musical, athletic, good looking, smart, and kind.

If there were more homeschooling families who were truly too good to be true - yes, even too good to be likable - everybody would be doing it. Until then, we'll keep trying.

And that's all I have to say about that!

At His pleasure

In the Federal government, there are many who serve our country who have not been voted into office. Instead, they have been appointed to serve, oftentimes by the President himself. They “serve at the pleasure of the President.” This terminology is included as they are sworn into office.

Not too long ago, Jill and I were watching an episode of a TV series about the Presidency. As the President was outlining some bold moves he was about to make, and outlining the new direction of his administration, his chief of staff asked for feedback from his senior staffers. Even though I disagreed with the policies being talked about, I was deeply moved as one after another jumped aboard by answering with these simple words: “I serve at the pleasure of the President.”

Is that not the kind of response the Lord is looking for from His servants today? I serve at the pleasure of the King. His will is what matters, not mine! If He says jump, I jump. If He says go, I go. It is not mine to think about whether I agree, or to strategize as to whether this is in my best interests. I serve at the Pleasure of the King.

P.S. As I was preparing this illustration for my sermon, I stumbled across another website by an Assemblies of God missionary who had written an article that was close to word for word what I just wrote here. Seems I wasn't the only one impacted by that episode.

Rising up

"Her children rise up and bless her," wrote Solomon, of my wonderful Mother. Not knowing her name, and in the interest of inclusiveness, he just called her a virtuous woman - but he was clearing writing about my Mom. Who else could he have meant???

Her worth is far above jewels

The heart of her husband trusts in her

She extends her hand to the poor

Strength and dignity are her clothing

She smiles at the future

The teaching of kindness is on her tongue

She looks well to the ways of her household

Etc., etc., etc.

Solomon had one mother, three hundred wives, seven hundred concubines, and yet when he sat down to write about a virtuous woman, he wrote about my Mom - who wasn't even alive yet. You got it right, Solomon - and I say "Amen, and well said!

AND I RISE UP AND CALL MOM BLESSED!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

And that's all I have to say about that.

I am the pastor of a small, rural church in New Boston, NH.

That's all I have to say about that!

Why did he name his blog that?

I'm glad you asked. My wife, Jill, calls me the king of one-liners. Having worked with some of the funniest people, I've picked up more than my share of one-liners through the years. As a matter of fact, Jill and I have been married for less than eight years, and she's already tired of both of them. What's up with that?

One of my favorite one-liners (incidentally, one of the two that my wife is already tired of) is, "That's all I have to say about that." This line is most helpful when I have tried to wax eloquent on a topic way over my head, subsequently stumbled all over myself, and then wrapped it up nicely by saying, "That's all I have to say about that."

I have resisted any previous urges to start my own blog in the past, but the time has finally come. Usually when I have something to say, I just say it - why would I want to save my wise remarks for later when I can write them down to be read by both of my friends and millions (I presume) of strangers?

I expect that this blog will become an outlet for both the ridiculous and the sublime. Who knows, maybe it will even become a clearing house for fresh one-liners.

And that, my friends, is all I have to say about that!