Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp

UPDATE 10.30.12: Use coupon code PASTORS and get the hardback book for $4.60 (80% off!).

I watched this video today (below) for Paul David Tripp's new book, Dangerous Calling. I immediately went searching for my wife so she could watch it with me. By the end she was tearing up a bit and then we had a 30 minute conversation about the last 8 1/2 years of pastoral ministry and the struggles and pain we've experienced in our family & relationships. It was very difficult to be this honest, but it was very fruitful.

I'm buying Dangerous Calling right now, as well as the conference DVD's (10 - 25 minutes sessions | grab the free leader's guide and discussion guide). WTS bookstore has great deals for the next 6 days: hardcover $12 (48% off, or 5 for $10 a piece) and conference DVD's $15 (62% off). Kindle is out on October 31st. 

Dangerous Calling from Crossway on Vimeo.

Tim Keller | New City Catechism

Tim Keller posted on his blog today about New City Catechism...

One of the reasons to develop intermediate catechisms like New City Catechism is to fill a gap between children’s catechisms and the longer and more extensive older ones. New City Catechism is short—52 questions and answers, one for every week of the year. It is based on Calvin’s Geneva, and the Westminster Catechisms, and perhaps most of all on the Heidelberg. As such it gives people a strong dose of each, introducing them to the practice of catechesis, and developing in them an appetite and capacity for going deeper. It can therefore be used by church leaders as a bridge toward teaching members the older and more extensive catechisms of their respective denominations.

Read Dr. Keller's post "Why Write New Catechisms" as well as his previous post "Why Catechesis Now?" I'd also love to hear from those who have started using New City Catechism. What do you think about it?

I Am Aware of Breast Cancer

Mom died in 2007 of breast cancer, so it's impossible for me not to be "aware." But just to be sure I didn't forget, my daughter made me wear this for a few minutes today (outside), and my wife is begging me to wear it to the "Pink Out" high school football game tonight. I'm sorry for whatever trauma this may cause.

Miss my Mom!

What Shapes Your Ministry, Pastor?

Paul Tripp writes on the 29 things that shape a pastor's ministry. Here are a few that hit me, in the form of questions...

1. What does he really love?
2. What does he despise?
3. What are his hopes, dreams, and fears?
4. Is he committed to his own sanctification?
5. What are the anxieties that have the potential to derail or paralyze him?
11. Does he see pastoral ministry as a community project?
14. What character qualities would his wife and children use to describe him?
17. How robust, consistent, joyful, and vibrant is his devotional life?
19. Does he hold himself to high standards, or is he willing to give way to mediocrity?
25. Is the public pastor a different person from the private husband and dad?
29. How successful has he been in pastoring the congregation that is his family?

You see, it is absolutely vital to remember this: A pastor’s ministry is never just shaped by his knowledge, experience, and skill. It is always also shaped by the true condition of his heart. In fact, if his heart is not in the right place, all of the knowledge and skill can actually function to make him dangerous.

Go read all of Paul Tripp's 29 excellent questions. Be challenged by them, and changed by them.

Phriday is for Photos 10.5.12

My daughter Sarah (15) makes some wicked-cool art. This is in process.

Phriday is for Photos

Trying to capture a memorable moment during a sporting event isn't easy. You never know when it's coming. You make guesses and take lots of pictures that are just ok at best. I think I got a good one with Elijah running in a cross country meet. You can also check out the rest of my photography.

Date Your Wife

Dating my wife has taken a more creative turn over the last few years, after my wife had two brain surgeries, after she started wanting to sleep before the sun goes down (which she didn't struggle with before Chiari). We've had to be creative, and we haven't kept at it as we used to. It's not easy. Kids getting older, life keeps getting busier. But we realize how important it is to keep dating.

With that in mind, I'm glad to have Date Your Wife by Justin Buzzard to keep me focused on my beautiful bride. I want to encourage everyone to grab yourself a copy!

Phriday is for Photos 8.17.12

Two photos: First, Sarah fishing while on vacation in Branson, Missouri. We were surrounded by storms. Second, Sarah can't just let our first day of school photo be normal. She's a treat!

First Day of School 2012

2012 - Danny (9 - 4th) | Elijah (11 - 6th, 1st year of middle school) | Jack (13 - 8th, last year of middle school) | Sarah (15 - Sophomore)

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

Phriday is for Photos 7.13.12

From July of 2007...

This is Danny in 2007, who is now 9 years old. See all of my photography.

Phriday is for Photos 7.6.12

Jack & I took in The Amazing Spider Man midnight show this week. Go geek or don't go...

Molly & Chiari Update 4.27.12

Here's the latest on Molly, with a bit of an overall recap because I keep getting questions that I have only answered in some places. Here's where she (and we) arel. I have been cautious about posting some of this because when improvements come, sometimes they go away again. But things, at least at this point, are looking up in all areas.

MOLLY'S CHIARI SYMPTOMS

Molly's Chiari symptoms have included brain fog (significant difficulty thinking about most anything), balance, muscle fatigue, being easily overwhelmed, and more. I can say today that all these symptoms have been slowly going away for a couple of weeks now and mostly gone! She is back at work at our local elementary school. It's still more difficult than before all this, but she can do it now. Because the symptoms are going away, she's also able to be more involved with our church. Just a couple of weeks ago the slightest bit of loudness or being in a conversation with friends could easily overwhelm her. She would walk out during songs because it messed her up. And then it would devastate her ability to do anything for the rest of a day. Now those moments aren't happening nearly as fast or often, during gathered worship or elsewhere. I'm still protecting her quite a bit until I'm confident she's stable in her health, but things are improving significantly and she is able to do a lot more. God is so good.

MOLLY'S SLEEP

Molly's biggest problem at this point is sleep. Bad sleep = worse symptoms all around. But praise God her sleep is improving too!

Until a couple of weeks ago, she only had a slightly better night's sleep here and there, but nothing to write about. And when I say "slightly," I mean she slept maybe a couple of hours a night, and even that was intermittent. Now she's about 5 days in to an improving sleep schedule. A few days ago she mentioned that she was sound asleep when the alarm clock woke her. That was the first time that happened in months. Typically she was not falling asleep, not staying asleep, and wide awake long before time to wake up (which was 5am!). Now, all elements of sleep are getting better. But this is the area of greatest concern at the moment and we are guarding her sleep schedule.

Just to be clear on a couple of things...

• MRIs: Nothing shown to be wrong. Nothing can be surgically fixed.
• Neurologist: Dealing with symptoms and sleep issues. Seems to have helped slowly but surely. Probably won't meet or change anything with these solutions for a while.

Thanks for all your prayers. Pray her health and sleep continue to improve!

Molly & Chiari Update 4.12.12

Update 4.13: Molly slept terrible last night. Terrible. She is exhausted. She saw her neurologist today. He is trying to manage her sleep, or lack thereof, and we have no idea whether it will work. Nothing has helped so far. We should know in a couple days. I'm not sure I've seen her this frustrated over her health since 2008. Thanks for continued prayers.

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Brief update (4.12): Molly had about 5 better days in a row after some significant time off of her part-time job at the school and a lot of rest. Still not great, but better. More functional in daily life. Some of her brain fog issues have gone away for the most part, though she has remained easily exhausted.

The last two days things have turned worse again. She's barely sleeping, and we can't figure out why. We assume it's making symptoms much worse. It's been linked to times of increased symptoms in the past. I'm taking her to her neurologist tomorrow morning in the hope he'll take this another step and figure out what, if anything, can be done.

We are hoping for answers soon. We are praying for God's help and healing, and for her to continue to place all of her hope in Christ when circumstances at times feel hopeless.

Molly & Chiari Update 4.5.12

MRIs

Molly's neurosurgeon has now seen her new battery of MRIs. He says from a surgical perspective, there isn't anything wrong. Spinal fluid flow is excellent. Decompression (space created for flow from first surgery) is still good. They thought a lumbar puncture (spinal tap) might help if there is increased pressure from too much fluid, but she's had that looked at twice in the past and it's never been an issue.

They don't really have any suggestions otherwise. It's basically out of their hands. And that means we don't have reason to believe surgery of any sort is even a thought, at this point.

So for the moment we are keeping with the strategy Molly's neurologist has in place to relieve some of the intense & overwhelming reactions Molly is having to everyday things through some medication. So far they seem to be helping. It may just be that life is a bit more intense for her, and we just deal with the symptoms. It may be that over time the symptoms will subside, and we are certainly hoping that will happen.

MOLLY

As I said, Molly is having some positive reaction to some medicine she recently started. I can say that clearly the last three days have been significantly better than the last 30-40 days. She has more energy, though it's still not anywhere near normal. Yesterday we went shopping at Wal-Mart to see how she would react. She was better than weeks ago, but after coming hope fell asleep on the couch. 

Today, Molly went to work. So far she is a little overwhelmed, but seems to be dealing with it ok the last I heard. She is going to call in a bit during her lunchtime to let me know how she's doing.

We are encouraged by the last few days, but still very concerned and guarding her time until we see if this is a genuine turn toward the better. 

OTHER

Our church and community has been so generous. We've eaten well as many meals have been provided for us. Bags and bags of groceries have been bought and brought to us. Steaks for the grill are marinading in the fridge as I type. We are blessed and thankful for the many local friends who have helped so much.

We are overwhelmed with the many who have prayed, called, written notes and emails, given gift cards, and blessed both locally and from afar. We love all of you and you have made this difficult time more bearable. We don't know if we may be seeing a light at the end of this tunnel for Molly's struggles or if things could turn worse again. But we know you all have our back, and we are very, very thankful.

Last word for now: We have seen our kids learn to pray and trust God better during this time. God has been good to us and is teaching us a lot. I want to talk more about that, but I'm not ready to yet. And we are confident that He will continue to bless Molly and our family far beyond our expectations. To God be all the glory. 

Autism: 1 in 88

Many of you know we have an autistic son. Today is World Autism Awareness day where you are encouraged to "Light It Up Blue." When he was diagnosed 1 in 250 people were diagnosed with autism. Today it's 1 in 88. Remarkable and awful. Take notice.

Molly & Chiari Update 3.26.12

As we continue to wait for some news of Molly's MRIs from her neurosurgeon, we decided it would be good today to have her see her local physician. She got to see Molly's symptoms in full bloom. Really bad. Lots of tension, emotion, frustration. But those things helped her doctor to see all that's wrong and the need to do more.

Molly had a blood test to check a number of things. Her neurosurgeon thinks it's possible there are other issues that are making her symptoms worse. It's at least worth a try.

Molly now has a neurologist appointment tomorrow at 11:20am. We are hoping that will offer some answers, or at least get some fresh eyes on her problems and see what comes of it. 

Just trying to keep everyone in the loop. Thanks for your prayers! Many local friends have been generous and supportive. Very thankful for that.

Side Note: Notice in the picture how Molly is gripping her knees tightly with her hands. She didn't know I was taking this, but she is continually experiencing that kind of physical tension and mostly can't help it. Thought it might be helpful for you to see something like that, which I didn't notice until after I took the picture. Also note, the room was decorated in Cubs paraphernalia, which means she's doomed to at least 100 years of frustration. :)

Molly & Chiari Update 3.21.12

MEDICAL

Molly had her MRIs done on Friday at the University of Wisconsin Hospital. They went relatively quickly, but it was a long day. Saturday we mailed the CD of the imaging to Dr. Frim at the University of Chicago Hospital. Hoping to hear from him today or tomorrow. I'll update when we know something.

MOLLY

As best as we can remember, the last 10 days have been the worst stretch of the worst symptoms ever for Molly, including the weeks leading up to her previous surgeries. Mentally for her this has been really difficult. She almost never finishes a sentence or thought without significant pauses to gather her thoughts. About half the time she just gives up trying to say it. 

She has very little balance. Extreme fatigue and weakness. She was so bad on Monday that when she got to work (part-time at local elementary school) a couple of friends in the school office saw how bad she was doing and had to drive her home. She's probably done driving unless things improve. She pretty much never walks anywhere unless she has something to help keep her balance. She's almost fallen a couple of times. 

As a whole, life itself is very overwhelming for her. Just leaving the house and being around anything that isn't very familiar causes her great mental stress and leads to physical tension. Her whole body will tense up very tight and see has difficulty stopping it. It's an internal reaction to things she can't control. 

With a couple of days off of work and staying home more, she's at least feeling a little less tension. The symptoms are still there, and she's very emotional. But we hope a rest might help.

ME

I'll be honest. I feel very frustrated. It's tough looking at my beautiful wife and see so much pain and frustration and sadness in her eyes. It's tough seeing her struggle to say even a simple thought. It was painful last week to see her near meltdown in a grocery store. I had to spend several hours last week dealing with doctors & insurance & hospitals on the phone and email because the hospital required something unnecessary from our insurance company. It was a total mess. In the end we got it straightened out. And I'm sure it was a simple mistake. But it made my week miserable.

GOD

We can't help but wonder about these difficulties and what God is doing. The things we are working on most in our church are the things we are finding most complicated now with Molly's needs and struggles. Spending time with others, even those we know the best at Doxa, is great strain and increases her tension, quickly leading to exhaustion and other symptoms. The spiritual warfare aspect of this seems clear. It's changing the way I'm praying.

We continue to talk and pray together about the goodness of God, His ability to heal and our request that He would heal Molly, and His power made perfect in weakness and the possibility of the weakness remaining rather than being taken away.

If you would, say a prayer for Molly and our family.

Molly & Chiari Update 3.7.12

UPDATE 3/7 at 4:20pm: Molly's MRI has been scheduled for 2:30pm on Friday, March 16th at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison. Last time it took just over 3 hours (if I remember correctly). 

__________

It's been a long time (over a year) since my last post on my wife's 4 1/2 year struggle with Chiari I Malformation. Find out about her diagnosis, symptoms, surgeries, and more in my series of posts: Molly & Chiari. Here's a brief, but important, update.

Molly's symptoms are returning in a significant way. This has happened before, as you can note from previous posts. A few times they have subsided. But they don't always, which is why she's had brain surgery twice. We live with the understanding that at any point something can happen that causes her spinal fluid flow to decrease and that would result in another surgery. Her stent could dislodge or clog. Scar tissue could form around it. Or maybe something else we don't anticipate.

Currently her symptoms are headaches (significant ones, some have led to vomiting), numbness in hands/feet, difficulty thinking or "brain fog," balance problems, continuous physical fatigue and weakness, nausea, waking without feeling rested, etc. She is easily overwhelmed. A trip to the store with all the colors and sounds and busyness can be difficult for her to endure. At times she has to find a quiet place and just stop because of the sensory overload.

This time around the symptoms have started and have kept increasing over a longer period of time. That may not mean anything significant and she may eventually recover. But it's bad enough right now that her neurosurgeon, Dr. Frim, wants another set of MRIs done. I've been emailed the MRI order just a few minutes ago and we will be working today to schedule an appointment as soon as possible at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. After reviewing those images, Dr. Frim will be able to see if something is wrong and if we need to make an appointment with him.

We'd appreciate your prayers for healing and strength for Molly. For comfort. For peace in times of great frustration. For a deep trust in the goodness of God. For me as I need to serve her well, help with the house and kids, help her shop, etc.

Thanks as always to the many friends (and many others we've never met!) who have been prayer warriors on Molly's behalf. To God be the glory.

Cheap Kindle Books 2.13.12

Kindle does a good job of offering good, cheap books. Buy a Kindle ($79), Kindle Touch ($99), or Kindle Fire ($199). Or simply get a free Kindle app to read these books for cheap!

FREE

• The Transforming Power of the Gospel | Jerry Bridges

$1.99

• Big Truths for Young Hearts | Bruce Ware

$3.99

• Shepherding A Child's Heart | Tedd Tripp
• Instructing A Child's Heart | Tedd & Margy Tripp
• Broken-Down House | Paul David Tripp
• Forever | Paul David Tripp
• Lost in the Middle | Paul David Tripp
• Herein Is Love: Genesis - A Commentary for Children | Nancy Ganz
• Everyday Talk | John Younts
• Christ Formed In You | Brian Hedges
• When Sinners Say "I Do" | Dave Harvey
• A Proverbs Driven Life | Anthony Selvaggio
• Get Outta My Face! | Rick Horne
• Red Like Blood | Joe Coffey & Bob Bevington

Also check out...

• 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or Less, such as...
• Gotham Writer's Workshop: Writing Fiction - $3.79 - The Practical Guide From NY's Acclaimed Writing School

2012 Reading Plans

I'm working on choosing (or tweaking) a Bible reading plan for my family for 2012 so the kids can each work through some of their ESV Student Study Bibles, and so we can enjoy daily family discussions on what we are all reading at the same time. Thought it might be nice to list a couple of resources I'm looking at for the Bible as well as other good theological and devotional resources. 

Justin Taylor has a wonderful (fairly comprephensive) post on many reading plans out there, including options you may not think of on your own. He also has a post that includes a reading plan for Calvin's Institutes.

Joe Thorn's reading plan for the Puritan prayers found in Valley of Vision might be a great way to start the year devotionally.

The ESV has a number of plans available, and the ESV Journaling Bible I now use daily has a plan in the back I'm considering. 

David Murray, who has quickly become one of my favorite thinkers through his blog and Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary podcast, has a yearly children's morning and evening Bible reading plan. The explanation is here, and the plan is here.

Please feel free to share other plans you recommend or the plan you are using next year.