Road Trippin' with the Boy

Last week, we drove from Louisville to Chambersburg, PA to spend Thanksgiving with the Locke side of the family. Normally a not-so-ambitious undertaking, the drive is a beautiful tour through West Virginia and Western Maryland that takes about 8 hours. But this time, we had a complication...it was the first trip for our boy, just a week shy of 3 months old.

The packing was excruciating: did we remember burp cloths? Do we have enough diapers? Are the wipes where we can reach them? Then there was the planning. When will we feed him? What about stopping to change him? What will we do if he just screams his head off for 8+ hours?

Fortunately, our fears were without merit. As it turns out, Aiden loves to ride in the car (or more accurately, loves to sleep in the car). Kristen had to wake him up to feed him, and he was otherwise happy as a little clam.


Thinking ahead, Kristen bought this toy bar so that in his rare moments of wakefulness, he could entertain himself. He seemed to enjoy it once he realized he could hit the various parts and they would spin and make sounds.

He did great with feedings too! We ended up scheduling it so that he only had to eat twice on the trip, and once was with a bottle while the other coincided with a lunch and gas stop (I could see in his eyes that he wanted my Hush Puppies at Long John Silvers). Of course, the last hour of the trip, he was fussy, but who doesn't want to wail and scream after 9 hours in a car? As it turned out, the trip only took us an hour longer than sans Aiden, and we consider that a victory to be sure.

It was a great trip, and when I say that, I'm including the traveling. We were blessed with safe driving and a great time with family. And now Aiden has been inducted into the tradition of the Groves Family road trip. There will be many more to come!

Turkey Psalm

Thanksgiving inevitably brings about the question: "What are you thankful for?" While I could fill pages and pages with my answer this year, I was struck this morning by my daily reading in Psalms. Perspective is critical in any discussion of thankfulness and blessing, and this Psalm brings it to me. Have a happy thanksgiving, remembering the unending faithfulness of God!






²²for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
when he delights in his way;
²⁴though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the LORD upholds his hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
²⁶He is ever lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.

²⁷Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you dwell forever.
²⁸For the LORD loves justice;
he will not forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land
and dwell upon it forever...

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰The LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.

- Psalm 37:22-29, 39-40

Psalm of the Day

I enjoyed reading this Psalm late last week and dwelling on the symbolism in my thoughts over the next few days. So I thought I would post it for all of you to read and think about as well.

1Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,

ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

2Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;

worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

3The voice of the LORD is over the waters;

the God of glory thunders,

the LORD, over many waters.

4The voice of the LORD is powerful;

the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

5The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;

the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

6He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,

and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire. 8The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;

the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth

and strips the forests bare,

and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

10The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;

the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.

11May the LORD give strength to his people!

May the LORD bless his people with peace!

- Psalm 29

Paul, Prayer and Persecution

A week ago, I preached on Philippians 1:18-26. If the reference doesn't automatically jog your memory, it's the passage where Paul proclaims "to live is Christ and to die is gain." I spent a great deal of time unpacking that main idea, but it's what Paul says just before this famous quotation that I've been thinking about this week.

"Yes, and I will rejoice, 19for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death." (Philippians 1:18b-20)

In this long sentence spanning two and a half verses, Paul states that he will rejoice and have confidence despite his circumstances (he was writing this while imprisoned, most likely in Rome and possibly awaiting execution) because all was being worked out for his deliverance ("salvation" is a better translation, to mean something like "the Gospel is being worked out in me") and that ultimately, God would be glorified. But I think what is most interesting (and applicable) is how Paul knows all this will turn out for the Gospel and God's glory.

Paul says "through your prayers and the work of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." The English translation seems to separate these two things, simply listing them as a series, but Paul was expressing a much closer relationship than that. Both the prayers of the Philippians and the work of the Spirit are grammatically organized to emphasize their unity and interrelation. As Gordon Fee says, "the Philippians...are inexplicably bound together with him [Paul] through the Spirit. Therefore, he assumes that their praying, and with that God's gracious supply of the Spirit of his Son, will be the means God uses yet once more to bring glory to himself through Paul and Paul's defense of the Gospel."

This Sunday is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. Across the globe there are thousands of believers who are facing persecution; they are imprisoned, beaten, separated from the ones they love all because they claim the same God for their Father that we do with relative ease. They are living today the same life that Paul was living when he wrote this letter to the Philippians, and we are those bound inextricably together with them. Our prayers are not just an expression of our sadness at their predicament or a plea to the Father for their comfort, but much more than that.

The work of the Holy Spirit allows them to rejoice in their circumstances and have the surety that Paul expresses: the Gospel is being worked out in their lives, and God is being glorified. And the means that we have a critical role to play: we are called to pray for the persecuted church, knowing that our prayers are a means by which the Holy Spirit works in their lives. As Moises Silva says, "The Spirit's help itself is...manifested through the koinonia [common fellowship, unity] of fellow-believers." They are not just people we don't really know, but a part of the same body that we belong to, members of our family, our brothers and sisters.

So pray, not just on Sunday, but begin to pray daily for the part of the body of Christ that suffers daily for the Gospel. Pray knowing that your prayers have an effect, that through the Spirit, the joy your persecuted brothers and sisters have in the midst of these dark hours and their certainty of God's glory in their situation is directly related to your prayers. And pray that He would hasten the day when their faith shall be sight and all that is broken will be made new.


For prayer updates, click here or go to persecution.com to sign up for email prayer updates.

Parenthood

"I'm becoming pretty obsessed about parenthood right now," said my wife yesterday. Was she referring to the all-consuming, late night feedings, or the constant stream of laundry, or perhaps the way a baby takes over your entire schedule? An involuntary obsession with parenting might be a good way to characterize our lives right now. But that's not what she was talking about...she was talking about the show Parenthood on NBC.

We've watched it from the beginning (it's in the second season now) and I have to say that it is without a doubt one of the best shows on television. It follows the lives of four very different siblings and their children as they navigate the crazy world of parenting. One of the siblings is a single parent, another has just recently met his 6 year old son for the first time, yet another has an autistic boy and the last struggles to balance her high-powered career and her family.

It sounds a little formulaic, right? Maybe a little cheesy...well, it's not. Check out this video clip:



Parenthood has an authenticity to its writing and a depth of talented acting that is rare on television, especially on NBC. Nevertheless, the show has underperformed in ratings. So, watch it. The multiple plot lines and large cast mean that it migh take an episode or two for you to really get everything that's happening, but it will most definitely be worth it. Parenthood has all the ingredients for a good, solid show with talented actors and excellent writing. But it also has the intangible that takes the show from good to great; it has a moment. The drama draws you in an compels you to continue watching...you will laugh, cry, struggle along with the characters. It really is a great show. Check out Parenthood at 10pm Tuesday nights on NBC.

Ad of the Year (or Century)

In a season of campaign ads that were at times as vitriolic as they were laughable, as irrelevant as they were aggressive, this ad for the 2010 Winnipeg mayor's race stands alone. (by the way, I did a little research and I'm pretty sure this is the real-ish deal)

One Year

It was a year ago today that I started sending out resumes for ministry positions, and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that. In the last 365 days, we went from a family of two to a family of three, I added an M.Div to the end of my name and we've seen the nature of our ministry in Louisville change and taper off. The last year has been a mix of incredibly exciting events and difficult challenges, a pattern that I am sure won't change much in the coming months.

It's tempting to be discouraged when I remember how optimistic I was as I sent off my first resume on November 2, 2009 to New Hope Baptist Church in Pelzer, SC. It really does seem like that was forever ago, and in moments of weakness I wonder when this time of waiting will ever end. But God has been so faithful in our lives over the past twelve months. I think about the incredible ways that God has provided for us financially, the deep and enriching relationships that have ministered to us in the last year and the story of Aiden's birth.

When I look back all of this, how can I not trust that the Lord will continue to be faithful? As we begin to face the possibility that Kristen may have to return to work in a few weeks and wonder how we might be able to make that work, He is faithful. As I wait to hear back from the many churches still holding and considering my resume, He is faithful. As this time of waiting stretches past one year, God will continue to be faithful. Please pray with us that we would remember, celebrate and trust in this truth.

²³Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.
-I Thessalonians 5:23-24