Life, the Universe, and Everything

Now comes the first installment of what I hope will be a short series of (at best) helpful and (at least) entertaining posts about…ahem…God Stuff. I want to record and share some ideas that have been rattling around in my head for quite some time: about my faith, why I have it, why I teach it to my children, and why I think everyone else should too.

In addition to the Bible itself, I have been influenced by the writings of many people in developing my own little worldview. I can’t possibly give them all credit, but here are a few: C.S. Lewis, Ravi Zacharias, R.C. Sproul, Martin Luther, John Calvin, St. Augustine, Wayne Grudem, Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Apologies to anyone omitted. Oh, and I suppose it would be inconsiderate to not mention Douglas Adams as well.

I read a.lot.of.blogs too. It can be tough sometimes to tease out my own ideas and words from those of others. If you happen to read something here that you think borrows too heavily from someone else, please let me know and I will make every attempt to give proper credit.

So here goes…

It’s fashionable in this era to go on endlessly about the conflict between science and religion, between reason and faith. But the older (and hopefully, wiser) I get, the more that particular debate seems ludicrous to me.

I am a relatively educated modern girl; I have great respect for science. But by its very essence, science cannot answer questions about things outside of nature. That is not its job. Science looks at the measurable, the observable, the empirical. It seems to me that intellectual honesty compels us to admit that the question of How It All Began can’t truly be answered by any scientist, because none of them were around to observe it. Sure, we have computer models and experiments and so forth, but those things can only take us so far. We should use them, and pay attention to them, but also respect their limitations.

Even more to the point, the How never tells us the Why. Describing something, however accurately, should not deceive us into thinking we have truly understood or explained it. I know exactly how babies are made. Yet I find the whole process breathtaking in its beauty and weirdness. I suspect most people feel the same; how often do people refer to the ‘miracle of birth’, although technically birth is the perfect opposite of a miracle, in that it is a normal, everyday human event. It is the very essence of natural, not supernatural.

I love science. Me and science are old dear friends. But I humbly submit that questions about purpose and meaning and ultimate origin are not appropriate fodder for the scientific disciplines. Those topics belong to religion and philosophy.

Stay tuned.

It's All Good

Dear few and faithful readers:


By this time most of you know that I was recently diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, which I will describe in brief as an autoimmune disorder that causes ulcers in the colon. Symptoms shall go undiscussed, but suffice to say that 2011 has not been the best year to be me. (Or to live with me. Sorry, Shane and children). But right now, I am feeling much, much better. So much better in fact that I can honestly say thanks to God for letting me go through the pain, if only so that I can now be so tickled about feeling good for a change.
I don’t know if it’s the medications I’m taking, or the feeling better, or the alignment of planets, or some combination thereof, but the last 2-3 weeks have been some of the best I can recall. Ever. Not because of any particular circumstances, but merely because of a new-found awareness of my blessings. Colors are brighter, jokes are funnier (especially my own), God’s love and mercy seem almost a tangible presence in every moment.
I have spent most of my life in a state of anxiety, insecurity, and depression. To one degree or another, I have always been kinda mopey. Recently, this fog has simply…evaporated. Nothing is different. But everything is different.

It’s probably the drugs.

But even if it is, I thank God for leading me down the path to take them, just for these few weeks. If I revert to my old gloomy self once they are gone, I pray that the memory of these days will remain bright in my mind and help sustain me evermore.

My husband may well tease me about this entry (and some planned future posts), because this is mostly intended as a simple blog about the kids. But as I realize more each moment, Speck’s World is profoundly affected by my attitude and worldview. So I will ask for your patience in coming days as I present a few ramblings that are a bit off the path of Life with Small Children. I promise I will soon go back to lots of pics with captions.



And for those of you who come just to see my freakishly adorable children:

An Open Letter to My 20ish-year Old Self (with apologies to various musicians and songwriters)

1. It’s the end of the world as you know it, but you’ll be fine.




2. You still haven’t found what you’re looking for because you are trying to find yourself. That is a fool’s quest.




3. There is only ONE answer to these questions pointing you in a crooked line. You may not like it, but truth doesn’t need your approval.




4. The light and the heat you see in someone else’s eyes is only a reflection of something much larger and better.




5. You are not the Rain King. Or Queen.




6. You don’t have to let it linger.




7. The only thing that is just like heaven is Heaven itself, and glimpses of it on this plane of existence should make you look upward and not back down to the dirty earth.




8. It really is a shame about Ray.




9. Killing your television actually isn’t a bad idea.




10. You can go ahead and send an SOS to the world, but the world isn’t going to pay attention.




11. You are a creep, and you don’t belong here, but everyone else is in exactly the same boat. Some people just fake it better. (See #12)




12. Everybody has prosthetic foreheads on their real heads.




13. These are days you’ll remember.




14. For goodness sake, lay off the emo music, dear.




15. That's you in the corner, losing your religion. But it's just a phase, ummkay?




16. You are stupid and contagious. But it's just a phase, umkay?

PS: The best is yet to come!

That's Amore!

Cameron has this painfully adorable way of putting 'a' on the end of words. As in: "I like-a the cupcake Mommy!" She sounds like the goofy fake Italian accent from old cartoons.

Unrelated: lately when I crank up a playlist on the Xbox, the kids grab guitars and jam along. Often one of them thinks of it first and will actually go fetch both instruments and hand one off to the sibling. It's a big ol' pile of heartwarming coolness and hilarity.

Is it a long day?

Apparently I declare a day to be 'long' a bit too often, as Spencer will now often ask this question. This week the answer has been YES, every day.
But there are bright spots. I just got a spontaneous 'I love you mommy!' from sick, snotty little Cameron.
So it's all good. Even when it's long.










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