I Feel Pretty And Witty

The Scudders and Dulins double-dated again. We hit a wonderful Polish/German restaurant in Raleigh J. Betzki's (For Cat: I had the pumkin soup and then the Duck Confit, Polish White Bean and Sausage Stew, Cider Braised Cabbage and for dessert Chocoalte-Hazelnut Torte with Sea Salt, Caramel and Crispy Bacon!!!).

After dinner we met up with Michael and Lauren to see the musical West Side Story. We are all pretty much done with musicals that end with tragic love and gun shots. Sigh.

By the way, I am convinced Maria's song "I Am Pretty" is my personal theme song. OH, dear!

I feel pretty,
Oh, so pretty,
I feel pretty and witty and bright!
And I pity
Any girl who isn't me tonight.

I feel charming,
Oh, so charming
It's alarming how charming I feel!
And so pretty
That I hardly can believe I'm real.

See the pretty girl in that mirror there:
Who can that attractive girl be?
Such a pretty face,
Such a pretty dress,
Such a pretty smile,
Such a pretty me!

I feel stunning
And entrancing,
Feel like running and dancing for joy,
For I'm loved
By a pretty wonderful boy (man)!

Happy Birthday

I did it again. October 8th came and went and I forgot to acknowledge it was the day Danny was "born again." It was down on the National Mall at a Luis Palau festival. Anyway, above April 29, 1968 and June 7, 2008, October 8, 2005 was definitely a day of good news and celebration.

John 3:1-8 (The Message)

1-2 There was a man of the Pharisee sect, Nicodemus, a prominent leader among the Jews. Late one night he visited Jesus and said, "Rabbi, we all know you're a teacher straight from God. No one could do all the God-pointing, God-revealing acts you do if God weren't in on it."

3Jesus said, "You're absolutely right. Take it from me: Unless a person is born from above, it's not possible to see what I'm pointing to—to God's kingdom."

4"How can anyone," said Nicodemus, "be born who has already been born and grown up? You can't re-enter your mother's womb and be born again. What are you saying with this 'born-from-above' talk?"

5-6Jesus said, "You're not listening. Let me say it again. Unless a person submits to this original creation—the 'wind-hovering-over-the-water' creation, the invisible moving the visible, a baptism into a new life—it's not possible to enter God's kingdom. When you look at a baby, it's just that: a body you can look at and touch. But the person who takes shape within is formed by something you can't see and touch—the Spirit—and becomes a living spirit.

7-8"So don't be so surprised when I tell you that you have to be 'born from above'—out of this world, so to speak. You know well enough how the wind blows this way and that. You hear it rustling through the trees, but you have no idea where it comes from or where it's headed next. That's the way it is with everyone 'born from above' by the wind of God, the Spirit of God."

He Is Our Counselor

For lack of explanation about the details of my life, this particular passage I read today seems appropriate. All text is taken from a little booklet: "He Is" by Ken Hemphill. (Holly if you're reading this, I think it was in the welcome packet we got when we went to church with you and your parents and grandparents several years ago!)

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He Is Our Counselor

Isaiah 9:6
He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

We seem to have plenty of counselors today. We have both the secular and the Christian varieties, the paid and the unpaid, the good and the bad, the invited and the uninvited. It seems like everyone has a solution to our problems . . . even if they can't solve their own! A good counselor will listen, empathize, and point the way to healing, perfectly balancing grace and truth.

And during the dark days in which Isaiah wrote, the people were in great need of one. So he swept back the dark clouds, promising that the gloom of the distressed land would one day be lifted, and that those "walking in darkness" would admit to seeing "a great light."

The cause of the celebration would be the birth of a child. But not just any child! The breadth of what is said of him so far exceeds human boundaries, even the most profound skeptic would have trouble arguing that the prophet had an earthly prince in mind. He must have been looking forward to the day of the Messiah, the Anointed One, the rightful King.

Isaiah saw the child with the royal symbol of government flowing from his shoulders, yet the child was so glorious that one name proved insufficient to describe him. Therefore we find five descriptive titles, including this one: Counselor.

In chapter 11 the prophet identified him as a shoot growing from the stump of Jesse. "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him -- a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and strength, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord." (v.2). This coming one was promised to be the counselor of his people.

Look at Jesus later as he counsels the woman taken in adultery. He offers her grace but confronts her with the truth. Yes, we have a perfect counselor in Jesus. But to benefit from his counseling, we must be willing to listen to him, meditating on his Word, and taking his prescription for our healing; our total obedience.