Christian Conservative

Welcome to Mobiforumz.com. then start blogging ur own wap site!

Free Mp3’s 4 Ur Mobile

Free Full Games 4 Ur Mobile

Free Mobile Applications

Free RingTones 4 mobiles

All my Sunday posts are in the form of a question. To be fair, I prefer topics I feel some ambivalence for, and hope to get a wide spectrum of comments to consider new insight, and new entries are welcome throughout the week. These Sundays posts are not designed to inspire debates, but honest answers.

This weeks question is about you. Who are you? If you are a wall flower on blogs and rarely leave comments, this is your time. All persons must henceforth be made known to all. Spill your guts. Do not be afraid. No one will track you down and harass you. Help me get to know you and our anonymity will no longer be veiled by cyberspace. No one may cross this bridge unless you answer these questions please:

1. What is your age?
2. What is your religion and denomination?
3. Where do you live?
4. What is your vocation?
5. What do you look like - actual links to photographs would be ideal
6. What is your marital status and include children
7. What are your hobbies?

Sad news. Bob Denver who played Gilligan in the classic Gilligans Island sitcom has passed away.

Denver, who was 70 and mostly retired to West Virginia, died Friday at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, leaving some of his fans with thoughts of their own mortality - and fond memories of his show.

So long lil buddy.

Happy Friday! While America still grapples with the after effects of Hurricane Katrina, we will also, in a couple days, be exactly four years past 9/11. Can we deal with both at the same time? Looking back and comparing how Americans have dealt differently between each of these tragedies, it is clear we have changed since 9/11, and not exactly for the better. Granted both of these events brought out many of our heroes. I remember the NY Firemen rushing into the burning World Trade Center buildings to save people. They deserve the same honor as the boaters in New Orleans taking gun shots while trying to save people stuck in the flood. But partisanship rivalry, which grew slowly after 9/11, took only hours to react to Katrina. The anti Bush crowd and the anti anti Bush crowd were quicker to respond than any local or Federal government, I would add. Read The Over-Responders by Tony Snow for a case in point. What if we have another terror attack? Are we in a position to deal with it?

I present this as a consideration because if I were Osama bin Laden, I would make this — today — an opportune time to strike again. America is wrapped up in a political and social pretzel, and I fear our partisanship has crippled us. It’s like 10 people in a room with the lights out, and you hear one gun go off. Everybody panics, blames the guy to their right, and are at each others throats a minute later.

If another terrorist attack occurs, and I pray it doesn’t, I can promise you figureheads on the religious right will chime in again. Unfortunately, they might become too specific and erode their credibility by saying “God has punished America because of X, Y, and Z.” I’m on the religious right, and can tell you squarely that no one has that kind of special knowledge from God. Nevertheless, however clumsily worded their messages will be, they will say it, and we will have to deal with the prospect they might be correct. But what is the purpose of prophecy?

For evangelicals like me, the temptation these days is to say “Repent! Or else God will punish us all with His wrath!” The easy part of this position is we can always count on tragedies of one form or another, so it’s only a matter of time before the next one hits and we can say “Ah hah! See? I told you so!” I imagine environmentalists have to restrain themselves from attributing Katrina to global warming in a similar way that I must deal with my own agenda to propagate the message of Christ on this blog as God enables me. But we have to be honest. The idea behind prophetic warnings was never intended to give cultural icons of piety higher ground from which to preach. The idea of prophetic warnings is not to sow despair among a people, but to carry them through it…if they are a true people of God.

Paul Johnson in the History of Israel said this of the Prophet Jeremiah who would see his fellow Israelites fall under Babylonian rule:

[Jeremiah] said the people and their rulers were themselves the authors of their danger through their wickedness. The enemy was merely the instrument of God’s wrath, and was thus bound to prevail. This seemed like fatalism…but what his contemporaries missed was the other part of his message, the reasons for hope…Jeremiah was not preaching despair; on the contrary, he was preparing his fellow Israelites to meet despair, and overcome it.

In Matthew ch 24, Jesus’ famous discourse on the Mount of Olives describes the “signs of the end of the age.” Whether we take this as a fulfilled prophecy or future is immaterial. The message of this prophetic teaching was not to clue believers in on the secret master plan to make them feel special, but to prepare them for what was to ultimately come. This message was also not aimed at unbelievers, but Jesus’ own chosen disciples, who would pass through the same tribulations brought on by the wickedness of those outside the faith.

Matthew 24:21-25

For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand.

Note the last clause: I have told you beforehand. We can even infer from Jesus’ previous sentence that it is NOT possible to lead the elect (true Christians) astray. The point is that this is a message directed at Christians, not the world, and the purpose was to warn us and prepare us to overcome…and indeed Jesus makes it clear we will, provided we are indeed truly of the elect.

Sorry to make my Friday post heavy duty. I normally like to keep it light, but lately American life has not lent itself to light material. Have a good weekend, and pray for our leaders…which brings us to… (drum roll)

The “comment of the week,” which is awarded to Pat McGee

The issue for any Christian is that we are to pray for our leaders, whether we agree with them or not; live quiet lives to keep out of trouble; honor God at all times. Christianity is not concerned about the form of government; one should be concerned with how the Christian life is to be lived.

I just finished cleaning vomit off my sons bedroom carpet with a sponge. No problem. What is Christian contentment? This question is answered by Jeremiah Burroughs, Puritan and author of Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. It is a good read. If you can “do” Puritan literature, this one is filled with good pearls of wisdom. After completing this book, I thought it worthwhile to summarize my notes into bullet points which I have made available below. Please forgive me for not including the scriptural references beside each one, I typically make summary notes as I work through my reading and in this case didn’t think the result would be a blog post. A Christian is as frail and helpless as all of Gods creatures, the difference is the foundation which secures us.

I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. (Phil 4:11-12)

Christian contentment
It is the sweet inward work of the Holy Spirit in the heart. It is a state. This state soothes the heart making it quiet.

This condition is opposed to murmuring at the hand of God, to fretting and worry, and to an indignant spirit, like the Hebrew nation soon after God liberated them from Egypt. We do however cry out to God in the Spirit of meekness, like Moses did when his people were about to stone him.

We should freely give ourselves over to Gods disposal when we are struck by his hand. We should be in a ready state to accept calamity.

The mystery of contentment is this: the world will never be enough to satisfy the heart. If God were to give us the entire world it would not satisfy. A truly contented man is in fact NOT satisfied with the world, or any part of it. I would argue he should be turned off by the things of this world and see them as empty and meaningless. “Vanity,” said Solomon.

The Christian comes to contentment not through addition, but through subtraction. Seeking to add something to us will not bring contentment, but only by subtracting from our desires until we are satisfied with Christ alone.

A contented heart lives in the present tense, not the future or the past. He is engaged only with the worries in the present condition.

A contented heart will allow his desires and will to melt into Gods desires and will.

The mystery consists not in bringing anything from the outside in to make the condition better, but purging out something that is already inside. What we need we have already in the heart, the free gift of grace through faith.

What a man has, he knows it is from Christ. We can be happy knowing what little we may have has been sanctioned by the Creator. And what little we may have is but a first installment, a guarantee that the rest is sure to follow after.

A gracious heart has contentment by getting strength from Jesus. When I am weak I am strong. What does this mean? That we receive supernatural powers to bear up under our burdens? No - we receive this strength through faith, not through feelings.

A contented heart holds confidence and strength from the Covenant God has already made with him. “My grace is sufficient,” says the LORD.

If there is any good in wealth or physical comforts today, it is to be appreciated to the degree that it points us to its source: God Himself. Its reference to God is what we enjoy - more than how it benefits the body.

The poorer our condition, the less our trouble. The more wealth, the more worry. With all prosperity, it carries a burden that is dangerous to the soul. It burdens us with a greater duty towards man and God, and will serve only to increase our accountability before God. To be given over to our hearts desire will surly lead to evil, not good, since our hearts are inwardly corrupt.

Above all else, we must receive our condition - whatever condition it is - as a part of Gods providential dealing with us. We should want what God wants, desire what God desires, hate what God hates, and love what God loves.

Gods ordinary course is that people BE afflicted in this life. We should not be perplexed when we have trouble, in fact, we should be surprised when we are prosperous.

Contentment is not dependent on creature comforts.

Murmuring is the seed of rebellion against God.This is where all forms of rebellion begin.

When God humbles us, we should JOIN in this work WITH God.

A hard thing makes a loud noise when it is struck. A soft thing makes no noise when it is struck. So it is with a hard heart. When it is struck with a hard truth it stings all people, but the quiet heart of a contented man makes no noise, but subordinates himself below it. A hard heart however reacts violently to this attack on him.

The idol man finds discontent with everything. The man who takes no hard positions but stands on the sidelines making no contribution, the person who desires safety behind the walls of his house and takes no chances is the most restless and is the most noisy and irritating to be around. His heart is easily troubled.

A contented soul in the middle of strife is more amazing to see, more wonderful than the greatest of Gods creations. People are more amazed with a quiet man while he is torn apart by the world than with the highest mountain or the largest sea.

A discontented man might justify his murmuring by claiming he is grieved by the sin that brought him trouble. But this is a form of self delusion. Ask him if he was as grieved by his sin before it brought him disaster! He is likely more upset over the consequence of his sin, than the sin itself. Which troubles you more? Something to meditate on.

A good reaction when we are afflicted: our sin is greater that our affliction. God has punished us less than we deserve: note the consequences of the first sin, and weigh ours against it.

God loves a servants heart, not an accomplished man.

God chose to deliver his people to Canaan, not Egypt. In Egypt, there was a steady flow of water - but Canaanites depended on Gods daily provision of rain for survival. The people of Abraham were to live by faith day to day. This is a portrait of what Gods design is for all Christians, to depend on Gods daily provisions, and live by faith day to day.

The trial of Socrates took place during the Intertestamental Period - the time between the Old and New Testament. This era, which lasted from 432 BC until Christ, is surprisingly eventful, but we have no scriptural insight; in fact, the period begins after the deaths of the last Old Testament prophets Ezra and Malachi.

In this period, Alexander the Great conquered Palestine, Egypt, Babylon, and finally the Persian Empire. Soon after Alexander died of a fever, and his kingdom was parceled up between 4 of his generals, whose territorial disputes became known as the Diodochi Struggles. General Seleucides’ portion eventually dominated the world in 201 BC and 198 marked the date which began the Hellenistic assault on Judaism. Eventually a Jewish High Priest named Mattathis rebelled, and led an assault against the Syrian King Antiochus and the corrupt Jewish High Priest Menelaus, in what we call the Maccabaean struggle. It ended when the Jews secured their Temple in 164 and purified it for rededication that December. Hanukkah is celebrated today to remember the 8 day festival that followed to commemorate the temples’ rededication by the Maccabee’s. The period of time prior to the Maccabaean revolt is gruesome to describe, and parallels can easily be drawn between them and the prophecies recorded in Daniels ch 11. But one thing about the Intertestamental Period worth noting, is how it begins with apocryphal signs recorded by the historian Thucydides at the beginning stages of the Peloponnesian war in 431 BC, only one year after the beginning of the Intertestamental Period. This is what Thucydides describes in History of the Peloponnesian War:

The greatest war in the past was the Persian War; yet in this war the decision was reached quickly as a result of two naval battles and two battles on land. The Peloponnesian War, on the other hand, not only lasted for a long time, but throughout its course brought with it unprecedented suffering for Hellas. Never before had so many cities been captured and then devastated, whether by foreign armies or by the Hellenic powers themselves (some of these cities, after capture, were resettled with new inhabitants); never had there been so many exiles; never such loss of life — both in the actual warfare and in internal revolutions. Old stories of past prodigies, which had not found much confirmation in recent experience, now became credible. Wide areas, for instance, were affected by violent earthquakes; there were more frequent eclipses of the sun than had ever been recorded before; in various parts of the country there were extensive droughts followed by famine; and there was the plague which did more harm and destroyed more life than almost any other single factor. All these calamities fell together upon the Hellenes after the outbreak of the war.

With these events ushering in the time between the Testaments, they bear a remarkable similarity to the description of the end times by Jesus recorded in Matthew 24:

”when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Scholars are divided in three ways as to whether this chapter in Matthew is describing the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the end times yet to be fulfilled, or a perplexing mix of both. Some are beginning to argue argue we are seeing a higher frequency of man made and natural disasters. No doubt 9/11, the War on Terrorism, the Tsunami of Southeast Asia, the series of hurricanes to our south and earthquakes to our west, one can’t help but to take a closer look at Biblical prophecy, which leads us to endless and sometimes pointless speculation which I will shamelessly undergo beginning with a look at this time between the Old and Testaments.

Socrates is the father of philosophy. He had no vocation, would not accept fees, and spent most of his time discoursing over political and social theories still probed today. Unfortunately Socrates left behind a wealth of questions, but precious few answers. His fascination with absolutes led to absurd conclusions. Unless something could be defined with complete certainty (like justice or virtue or courage) with no exceptions to the rule, Socrates would claim to not know what it was. Still worse, he would frustrate anyone with endless debates who dared to take a stab at it also. Today we can read his dialogues and note the endless circles he would take. Why did he hope to accomplish? What was his ultimate aim in life?

Eventually his probing questions with a deliberate attempt to leave people as perplexed as himself revealed his neutrality and ultimately turned his fellow citizens against him. He upset the Athenian system. We must appreciate how Athenians, and the Greek city-states married the soul with the city. Certainly in Athens, taking a neutral position was considered poor citizenship, minding your own business made you good for nothing. Socrates was a non conformist who attached himself to no political party, avoided holding a position in public office, and with the exception of Charmides (Plato’s uncle), never encouraged his students to do so either. His motivation to remain politically neutral, and deliberate efforts to leave his hearers perplexed, would have been a mystery if not for the revelation of a certain oracle at Delphi.

This oracle claimed Socrates to be the wisest of all men. However, Socrates thought it was a test of some kind because he did not think of himself as wise. In fact, he was more alert to his ignorance than anyone he knew. So, following the oracle at Delphi, Socrates began questioning everyone around him to see if there could be found anyone wiser than he, and his search yielded nothing. He discovered the only difference between himself and others was how Socrates was aware of his ignorance, while no one else was aware of theirs…until he was able to expose it. And that is what he decided to do. From that point on Socrates would pummel anyone with a series of questions designed to expose human ignorance as to the definition of everyday terms such as virtue, justice, wisdom etc. He was an absolute perfectionist. If he could identify a single imperfection in any philosophical or political idea, he would dismiss it altogether.

There were two political worlds of ancient Greece: oligarchic Sparta and democratic Athens. The oligarchic system of government in Sparta was led by the ruling elite, or the “rule of the few”, and the Athenian state was led by the people themselves, or the “rule of the many.” Socrates supported neither the “rule of the many” or the “rule of the few,” neither would protect the state from corruption or incompetence, therefore the perfect city would be, in Socrates’ estimation, be led by the “one who knows.”

Socrates distinguished himself from the other Athenians in that he was aware of his ignorance while they were not. Christians must also recognize we are separated by the world by our union with Christ only, we have no other meritorious characteristics. One invisible difference between us is how Christians acknowledgment all souls are corrupt at birth, something the world does not see. Note the two houses Jesus described Matthew 7:24-27, one built on the rock, the other built on sand. The two houses were in every other way identical, but the foundation it was built upon made all the difference before the storm, a foreshadowing of the coming judgement day which will ultimately divide us into two groups.

To what degree was the Socratic vision of the perfect city a glimpse into the Kingdom to come? Before answering that question here’s another: Why is it Jesus left no political philosophies behind?

Would Jesus be a Republican or Democrat? A Libertarian, Conservative, Liberal, Independent? We don’t know, and only fools would claim to. Take for example the four religious sects of Jesus’ day, the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and Zealots, Jesus aligned with none of them. Like Socrates he would not hold an office in government, but stood outside the Sanhedrin to make his appeals to the people. The only references he made to government was to inform these citizens of their duties to submit to state authority. God did not endorse Israel’s impulse for a King, but advised against it in fact. The absence of God’s political vision in the Bible in fact leads us to only one conclusion, Gods design for the perfect city has already been engineered, and awaits to be recognized when Jesus comes again to claim his citizenry. In the meantime, no government of man will reach God’s gold standard of perfection, therefore why would one be advocated? We are, for better or worse, in political limbo.

The Socratic “rule of the wise” is a secular notion, but it has never been realized because - it is perfect, or so he claimed. In Socratic fashion, I will have to leave this question unanswered, because… it is unanswerable.

All my Sunday posts are in the form of a question. To be fair, I prefer topics I feel some ambivalence for, and hope to get a wide spectrum of comments to consider new insight, and new entries are welcome throughout the week. These Sundays posts are not designed to inspire debates, but honest answers.

I know of a certain Jewish man who prohibits of all electronic media during their Sabbath, and this got me thinking about doing the same. I am going to post this question, than unplug the computer the video games, and the TV tomorrow, in order to reduce the worldly static that disrupts what should be a day of reflection. I am interested in feedback:

would you consider it to be in keeping with the commandment to honor the Sabbath to take a media diet for a day?

Happy Friday! Comment of the week award goes to…well, I won’t reveal his name since I received it via email.

I read your entry about Hurricane Katrina, and I really must tell you that you are, quite simply, a dumb ass. Biblical response? Are you kidding? How about a a response based on your basic decency as a human being?

In the future, I hope human decency can be added to my writing style as exemplified above. In the meantime I want to encourage a phenomenon which has evolved here that I appreciate, recognize and wish to establish as an unwritten rule (which I will write in the next sentence): don’t dignify foolish comments with a response.

Most of us can sense a closed mind when people write “Mr. Bush is nothing more or less than an anti-christ and he is leading millions of Americans on the path to hell.” Either our President has supernatural powers to lead millions to hell and decimate entire cities with terrorist attacks and hurricanes, or there’s a screw loose somewhere. The CC response? Brush the dust off your feet and move along my friends. Wasting time engaging people this far gone is a waste of precious time.

Again, let us pray for Katrina’s victims, donate cash, and perform a little self examination. Be well, and may God be working in your soul calling you to Himself during this time. Have a good weekend.

Insurers estimate up to $25 billion in damage. Thousands are feared dead. Pump prices are jumping through the roof. Relief efforts are mobilized. The President said recovery could take years. Secular lefties can attribute the disaster on global warming or the President himself, and religious righties can blame it on sin.

I have much more to write on this topic, but for now I want to offer the Biblical response.

1. We don’t know what is at work, so lets not pretend we do.
2. Get yourself right with God, just in case.

As to the first one, I quote from Luke 13:1-5

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

Jesus was responding to the knee jerk reaction of the self righteous. It was easy for Jobs friends to look down their nose at Job as he suffered and attribute his calamity to his own sin, as it was for Pat Robertson to blame this generations sin for 9/11, and for us now to wonder if Hurricane Katrina is God’s judgement. But the truth is we don’t know and should be afraid to pretend to, fearing we also might perish.

As to number two: anytime is a good time to get right with God. The scriptures are filled with warning after warning, and we don’t know when our lamp will run out of oil. The Biblical response isn’t complicated: repent, get right with God, be ready at any given moment for judgement day.

Dial 1-888-58-CHILD and pledge your support, or go to the Red Cross and donate through their website. Whatever you can give, even if it’s $1.

This post is part of a series narrating our cruise to Bermuda, wherein each day of our trip is detailed one post at a time. We will return to our regularly scheduled program in one more day.

Saturday August 20 • Coming Home

We woke up early for the sunrise but it was too overcast to make out. We had breakfast at the Seven Seas, our first restaurant breakfast. Our server was Helina which is pronounced Gelina, she was from Belarus. Unfamiliar with this country, I asked what it was famous for. She really had to think hard! But did talk a little about Aleksandr Lukashenko, their President who Helina claimed was more of a corrupt dictator whose political opponents mysteriously disappear from time to time. Helina was very sweet.

We went up to deck 11 afterwards and I sat in a lounge chair in the sun and read more of Studies on the Sermon on the Mount by Lloyd Jones for a little while. Afterwards I returned to wake Andrew up and had him take a shower, I took one after that. Cher was in the room by the time I got out, and the three of us went to poke though the shops on board. During which, we bumped into the ships Captain! He was making himself available for people to take his picture and talk to him. When he saw Andrew, he remembered him he said, “Ah yes, I remember you were the one who asked a lot of questions.” He was referring to the night he visited the Kids Club. Of course this was delightful to hear, and so characteristic of Andrew. I later asked him what questions he asked the Captain. They were “have you ever hit an iceburg?” and “do birds ever poop on the windshield.” Another question was “who is driving the ship while you’re down here?” to which the Captain replied, “I put it on auto-pilot.” Of course this was when the ship wasn’t moving!

Andrew and I went alone to the top deck to read our books on deck 11. It was very sweet, both of us up there reading in the open air in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Cher met us and we spent some time talking. Later Andrew and I changed into our bathing suites and hit the swimming pool then the hot tub. I thought Joey was kidding before when he told me the pool carried salt water, but that what they put in it. Duh! The Atlantic Ocean is right there - I hadn’t thought of that as a resource before. However the hot tub used fresh water and we baked in that for a little while after. Boy when you have sun burn, those things will rock your world.

Cher went over to us after lunch and blurted out “I ate everything!” I replied by telling her that was selfish - there’s a lot of other people on board who have to eat, too.

After that I decided to go to my room and begin packing. I was already wandering what emails would be waiting for me at home and work. We later went to a pizza making party, where the kids could make their own pizza’s, but Andrew chickened out. I had a Heineken and we met with Neil and Marty. We discovered they were Jewish. It was funny, but I had told Cher before I had that sense about that. Naturally I told him as Christian, I’m favorable disposed to the Jews.

That day was mostly spent wandering around the ship not doing anything special, I think we were running out of excitement and desiring to slow the pace in preparation for the real world. The kids on board tended to congregate in the stairwells for some reason. It was cute at first, but it got obnoxious when they would literally be sitting in ways that blocked people from passing by. Apparently, this is a common complaint among the passengers. The problem is the staff are reluctant to tell the kids to move on for fear of upsetting anyone. Their livelihood is dependent upon favorable reviews, and all they need is one bad report from an angry parent to get them fired. Indeed, at no point was I asked to “take my feet off the furniture” or “you can’t eat that in here.” Make the guests feel comfortable…but what if that makes other guest uncomfortable? That didn’t jibe. So, I felt the burden to politely ask the kids to make a hole and keep it open for others. If I had known about this situation earlier I probably would have dealt with it more aggressively to start a precedence.

We tried to hit the Seven Seas to visit our favorite server Jaffery one last time, but he had called in sick. We wrote him a get well note and passed it to the Reception Desk Manager for delivery.

That night we took Andrew again to Kids Club, the theme that night was “Pajama Party.” They all were given T-shirts to color with permanent marking pens, and then had a pillow fight. Andrew got roughed up a little, but got back into it in good spirits. He was a riot, when describing how the girls fought, she said “when they hit each other, they would say ‘oh I’m sorry!’ ‘oh I’m sorry!’ ‘oh I’m sorry!’” They also viewed the movie “Are we there yet?” While signing him out, I noticed one of the girls actually referred to Andrew as sir, a common way staff addressed us with. My little Andrew, a “sir”? I was charmed, and for a moment I envisioned the joy God the Father takes when His own son is honored.

We took Andrew to bed. We didn’t have any more diapers. He could not pee tonight. I was very clear. Cher stopped in to pray with him then said goodnight. We watched the Fellowship of the Rings late into the night, and I had Andrew pee one more time before we settled down for sleep.

Sunday August 21
We woke up and arrived in Boston. Everyone had been emotionally preparing to walk back into reality, and I don’t use the term lightly. Cruising is indeed a surreal experience. It is the very absence of reality. This is its prime draw. I must say after it all that the character building lessons that are available throughout life nevertheless were not absent from even this vacation of ours. In so many ways I was challenged to rethink so many things about life, to observe another culture, and to weigh it all against the things I know to be true in the Bible. We are alive today, and are better people in fact. Oh, and Andrew didn’t wet himself that night.