A Gospel Primer for Christians

Rick Joyner once wrote a story about the Christian faith in which he explains that going back to the basics is very rich. Milton Vincent has more eloquently provided that richness in a simplistic treatise. The book postulates that one should continually go back to the gospel again and again for the entirety of Christian life is found in the gospel. Indeed, the entire New Testament is the gospel.

I especially like his testimony at the end of the book. “Released from the burden if having to maintain my righteous standing with God...” is a profound statement that many Christian may hear, but do not let sink into their hearts. Indeed even in my house, we struggle with appeasing God in hopes of winning His favor. Too often we forget that His favor has already been won by Christ’s work on the cross.

I also like his idea of writing the gospel truths down and carrying them with me. I carry around loads of other baggage, why not carry this too?

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

This is the story of Ichabod Crane, the schoolmaster of Sleepy Hollow. Needless to say, the story is a short read, but written over 200 years ago. The language challenged my vocabulary. The other peculiarity is the way the story is told. It was as a third person narrator without much “he said / she said” conversation. But rather as a “this is what happened, once upon a time.” It was a fun read and the end is different than I had expected.

Obituary for a rat

We gather today to pay tribute to Pippi Shortstockings, our beloved pet rat. She was a good rat. She was brought into our family upon the kind and gentle request for a more expensive guinea pig. Being a stern and cheap father, I acquiesced to a much lesser expensive rat.

Pippi brought joy and concern into our family. The idea of having a pet rat ran contrary to the ideal pet with her long, furless tail. Yet she fit into the family well, even finding herself in the front seat of our moving van.

Pippi’s death was an untimely one. The cause is still to be investigated. All that we know is that with the recent addition of another new pet, Clementine the cat, Pippi did begin feeling a bit lonely and paranoid. Currently, foul play is not being considered.

Pippi will be laid to rest later this afternoon in a Great Value sliced ham container. Pippi is survived by close friends, fellow pets and her owners. Condolences can be sent to Hannah, Pippi’s primary owner.