I haven’t had a “rambling” entry for 9 days now. Of course you could make a strong argument that everything I write is rambling, but it would just insult me terribly.
This afternoon we watched “Spellbound,” a wonderful documentary about 8 kids who go to the national spelling bee in Washington. It is fascinating to see how different the kids are and how different their families and backgrounds are. From smalltown kids who don’t like spelling all that much but are just good at it, to kids who are absolutely crazy to kids who are driven by their parents to greater and greater heights…they are all represented. Some parents are as proud as punch just to have their kids at the spelling bee while others seem more upset than their children when the kids do not win. It’s a fascinating look at a little slice of Americana. I highly recommend the movie. I think it is 100% clean with the sole exception of a single blasphemous use of God’s name (“oh my …”). If you have the itch for a documentary choose this one over anything by Michael Moore…
I was thinking today about honoring the Lord’s Day. After church we partook in the third Canadian sacrament which is known as Swiss Chalet (a chicken restaurant). I began to wonder how I pulled so far from my Sabbitarian roots. I grew up in the Presbyterian churches where any sort of work or shopping on the Sabbath day was strictly forbidden. We lived in Scotland for a year and they were as strict as any group I’ve ever seen. My sisters were taught in Sunday school that if a neighbourhood kid wanted to play with them they were to reply, “No, today is the Sabbath and we don’t play on the Sabbath.” So I have gone from there to feeling little remorse for Sunday shopping (or eating out anyways). I guess I have taken on the Evangelical interpretation of the day of rest. I need to add that to my ever-growing list of things to investigate – things I need to read and pray about so I can make sure I honor God in those areas.
On that same list are: women in ministry (and other church roles), speaking in tongues, laying on of hands. There are more that I’ve got written down somewhere but I can’t find the list at the moment. I have beliefs in all of these areas, but they are beliefs that have been passed on to me by church or family. I need to take the time to study all of these by myself to ensure I know what I believe, and even better to ensure I am following God’s will in these areas.
Have I ever mentioned how much I enjoy Switchfoot’s music?
Congratulations to my good friends Dan and Noelia who, after professing Christ not too long ago, were baptized this afternoon. Our church headed down to the local park and baptized six new believers. Interestingly, another area church was also down there baptizing seven new Christians, so it was a good day for Oakville! Before he baptized them, our pastor told us how he could just see a burning desire to get to know Christ in Dan and Noelia’s eyes. I couldn’t agree more. Their passion to learn is inspiring. I am privileged to have them as members of my home church and look forward to learning together with them.
A neat quote I found today. “The one we love is ever the fairest of their sex.” Apparently that can be attributed to none other than Napoleon.
Coming up this week: Several articles on “one another.” See yesterday’s entry for more details. I’ll also be doing BlogSwap 2 and hopefully writing about something that struck me while I was sitting in church this morning.
Enjoy the last few hours of your weekend!
