You may remember that for the past year or so Becky and I have had the privilege of working with an Afghan family evacuated from the country as Kabul fell to the Taliban.  We have become friends and our friendship extends far beyond those who offer help and those who receive help.  Ask about the meal they shared with us last week!

But we still help.

Throughout this past fall and now into the winter, we spend less time with English lessons and more time with culture lessons.  It is encouraging to watch our friends successfully navigate daily encounters with the bureaucracy of government and schools and banks.  They are doing well.  But every so often something comes up that requires some inside-the-culture attention.

Late last spring our friends were able to purchase a used car – and what a good thing that has been.  A 6-month/6,000-mile warranty was included in the purchase price.  Fortunately, they’ve had no need to make a claim against the warranty. The car runs well. Continue reading →

Document storage in our garage

Whataboutism. They say the word has been around since the 1970s, but I cannot recall hearing in much until the last few years. It is way overused, but I like it. I like the word, not the practice. 

Merriam-Webster defines whataboutism as “the act or practice of responding to an accusation of wrongdoing by claiming that an offense committed by another is similar or worse.”

We learn whataboutism at an early age – in the sandbox or on the playground. When a teacher or a parent catches us in some misdeed, we are quick to look around and point to a sibling or playmate. “What about Sally?” Timmy asks, seeking to deflect blame and attention from himself.

Whataboutism comes as second nature for the politicians in their sandboxes. We see it all the time and more and more often.

A political leader is accused of some wrongdoing – often an accusation that has all the signs of being true – and we say, “Yeah, but what about_________.”  If you are not sure about the issues involved, filling the blank with the names Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton – or John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe — will probably do. Continue reading →

This being the Twelfth Day of Christmas, there’s time for one more thought about Christmas. I won’t be writing about twelve drummers drumming, however.

I have a confession to make, though not a confession in the sense of an admission of guilt. This confession is more of the “here I stand, I can do no other” sort:

I don’t much like the new Christmas song everyone likes.

The Christmas Eve worship service we attended began with the new song. I vaguely remember hearing it last year and it seemed to be everywhere this year, the perfect song for our dystopic times. Intentionally provocative, the song is called “O Come, All Ye Unfaithful,” an unapologetic play on the title (and the tune) of the old hymn of similar name.

The song, from Sovereign Grace, first hit the Contemporary Christian Music charts in 2020 and has become ubiquitous. It spoke to a Christmas of lockdowns and now to our post-Covid world. Continue reading →

I have never much liked the low church liturgy wherein the worship leader says, “God is good,” and the people respond, “all the time.”  The leader then repeats, “All the time,” and the people say, “God is good.”

In the high churches the liturgist says, “In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment,” and the people respond, “Good Lord, deliver us.”

It may be nothing more than a matter of opinion, but I find the first litany to be trite as much as it may be true.  I find the second speaking into the reality of our lives.  Maybe it’s just me.

In fact, God is good. All the time. And we must beseech his deliverance in all times of tribulation and of prosperity.

As the old year ends and the new year begins, we reflect on things just past and wonder about things soon to come.  Christians both reflect and wonder in the light of God’s goodness and our need for deliverance. All the time. Continue reading →

Luke 2:1–21

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Continue reading →