When Vermont became the first state to legalize "gay marriage" by an act of the legislature it made me sad and angry but with a fair amount of resignation. After all, they had hearings all over the state for months beforehand. There were even-handed hearings in Montpelier. It may have been a fait accompli, but it was also a well deliberated matter.
The Waxman-Markey bill that just passed the House yesterday is another matter. How many of us even knew that it was up for a vote? Of those of us who knew, how many knew what the bill would do? How many of our representatives knew what was in the bill? There was an entire 300 page amendment tacked on at the last minute. None of the representatives being asked to vote on the bill had had a chance to read it.
This is an outrage! No script for an episode of Saved By the Bell made it into production with less scrutiny, and this is a bill that will radically restructure our economy. All of us are going to feel the drastic and painful effects of this legislation.
The proponents of this legislation brush aside the accusation that its passage in the House was undertaken with a haste that is immoderate and unseemly for what is supposed to be a deliberative body. They say that the matter of global warming is real and uniquely pressing (an assertion made with frequency and warmth by people who can never be bothered to prove it.)
But it smells like something died in Washington. This rushed bill is not a reflection of the tyranny of the urgent, but the shadow cast by an urgent tyranny.
It's push back time.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Strawberry Picking
Lucy
Grace
Elisabeth & Caleb
A beautiful view!
Sarah
Stacey
Rows & rows of berries!
The taste tester.
Joel, the serious picker.
More views . . .
Free child labor. We brought 10 kids in all and 3 adults. We took everyone to the lake house afterwards but my camera batteries ran out before we got there. Fun times!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Fire and Brimstone
Reading old hymns always challenges me. Some of the differences between what believers sang 250 years ago and what they sing today can be chalked up to taste and cultural context. But very often I think that the pale, anemic material of contemporary worship services is a reflection of a pale, anemic faith.
It takes a robust, self-confident sort of faith to sing the vivid and unapologetic stuff of the English Evangelical Revival.
Take the following verses of a hymn by Charles Wesley:
Sinner, art thou still secure?
Wilt thou still refuse to pray?
Can thy heart or hands endure
In the Lord's avenging day?
See, His mighy arm is bared!
Awful terrors clothe His brow!
For His gudgment stand prepared,
Thou must either break or bow.
At His presence nature shakes,
Earth affrighted hastes to flee;
Solid mountains melt like wax,
What will then become of thee?
Who His advent may abide?
You that glory in your shame,
Will you find a place to hide
When the world is wrapped in flame?
It goes on. There are four more verses of conviction ending on a bright note of promise and hope.
Here's the thing, though: while there is nothing seeker sensitive about this, it is more specifically seeker oriented than any contemporary chorus that I can think of. It was written intentionally to be sung by believers to the unbelievers in attendance. What do you think? Is there a place for this heavy-handed, overt sort of fire and brimstone in contemporary worship?
It takes a robust, self-confident sort of faith to sing the vivid and unapologetic stuff of the English Evangelical Revival.
Take the following verses of a hymn by Charles Wesley:
Sinner, art thou still secure?
Wilt thou still refuse to pray?
Can thy heart or hands endure
In the Lord's avenging day?
See, His mighy arm is bared!
Awful terrors clothe His brow!
For His gudgment stand prepared,
Thou must either break or bow.
At His presence nature shakes,
Earth affrighted hastes to flee;
Solid mountains melt like wax,
What will then become of thee?
Who His advent may abide?
You that glory in your shame,
Will you find a place to hide
When the world is wrapped in flame?
It goes on. There are four more verses of conviction ending on a bright note of promise and hope.
Here's the thing, though: while there is nothing seeker sensitive about this, it is more specifically seeker oriented than any contemporary chorus that I can think of. It was written intentionally to be sung by believers to the unbelievers in attendance. What do you think? Is there a place for this heavy-handed, overt sort of fire and brimstone in contemporary worship?
Thursday, June 18, 2009
QOTD
If you could never read another book until you had read every book ever written by Danielle Steele, would you knuckle down and start crossing her titles off the list, or would you be done reading?
And if you read her entire ouevre over the course of a year would it change you, do you think? Your patterns of speech and thought? Your taste in literature?
And if you read her entire ouevre over the course of a year would it change you, do you think? Your patterns of speech and thought? Your taste in literature?
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Kid's Garden
Painting the fence and cleaning up the area.
Setting it up.
All done!
Sitting on their toad stools.
The little ones watching their big sisters do all the work.
Hot Dog
Garden Elf
Do you see the polka dots? Fun!
Ducks & Geese
We painted the duck shed yesterday. It is suppose to be a dark red but it looks like a bright fuchsia. These ladies don't seem to mind.
Our Yard
Zinnias in the flower box on the back deck.
Herb Garden
Thyme, Shasta Daisies, $ Quince
Daisy (My favorite)
Bee's balm & Thyme
Rhubarb
Raspberries
Perennial Garden
We are in the process of landscaping the front yard.
Pink Roses
Wild Thing Roses: This is our first bloom since we planted them 2 years ago!
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