like petals falling...

In the aftermath of the recent school shooting in Connecticut, my friend Jacob wrote the following:

                                                                 Silence brings connection between past and present, present and future. Some have discovered and others will discover we are made for eternity. Even with this understanding, albeit shallow, our hearts still betray us. We know that death will arrive, announced for some and suddenly for others, like an unfamiliar person who shouts your name from behind. Separation is part of what we do here on this earth, but when the cause is a disconnected, mentally-ill youth, the effects are not unlike an atomic bomb; mass destruction at the center spreading outward causing additional damage in the form of anxiety, knee-jerk reactions and irrational fear. It eats away at our sense of safety and spills our faith on the floor, like petals falling from a dying flower.

                                                                                         The heart bleeds in times like this, unsure of what reaction to make. The questions to be answered are difficult and long. In the end the voices, disconnected from us suddenly, will be heard, not only in this age but in the age to come. For now, let us pour out our hearts as offering and spill our tears in the same way. We will never be okay with these acts, as they don’t fit even on this side of paradise. Now, let us lift our eyes to heaven, where are strength comes from for He died to heal our broken hearts.

Jacob Valdez

Charlie Peacock Sings a Classic

Get More: Go Tell It On the Mountain (Holidaze Day 2), Charlie Peacock, Charlie Peacock Videos

There Is A Season- A Limited Edition Book

The Reckoning International began its history by redeeming 150 slaves among the Tharu in Nepal and providing them with opportunities to create a livelihood. Today, the faith based organization is working in Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Dominican Republic, Ukraine and Nepal.

During Trinity's Fall Camp, a representative from The Reckoning presented a challenge to the students-

Use your creativity and ingenuity to increase $100.00

within a span of three months.

My student's solution: a hand-made, limited edition book. Every image has been hand-printed, every book has been hand-sewn. After our pre-sale initiative, there are only 30 copies available. The price is only $20.00 with 100% of the proceeds going to The Reckoning International. And, if you are ordering from out of town I will personally pay the postage. By purchasing this book you become a part of something that is bringing hope to people in desperate need. For more information regarding The Reckoning International click here.

Our three month deadline is upon us.

You have an amazing opportunity to obtain this handmade book but you must place your order, with payment, by December 1. The books will be available in the office (or mail) by December 14, making a beautiful Christmas gift for the person who has everything.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. My email is mcarter@trinityprep.com.

Here are a few sample pages:

Grace by Max Lucado

"More verb than noun,
more present tense
than past tense,
grace didn't just happen;
it happens."

Max Lucado
Grace- More Than We Deserve, Greater Than We Imagine





      Reading a book by Max Lucado is like bumping into an old friend, and Grace is no exception. If there is one concept that transcends time and culture it is grace. As Max Lucado puts it:

"Grace is God's best idea." 

Grace is also one of Max's best. By way of personal stories, confessions and historical events, Max Lucado draws a portrait of God's kindness. The word that best describes this book is honesty, from the beautiful dedication he gives his wife to the End Notes. And, as a bonus, the book includes a Reader's Guide for personal and small group discussion.

     Max begins Grace at street level, meeting the reader face-to-face, without condescension. As he weaves scripture into the conversation, the reader is challenged to continue at a pace that allows time for reflection. It is in the re-telling of Bible stories that Max Lucado displays the finesse of a true wordsmith. As he recounts the story of the woman caught in adultery, Max writes this about Jesus:

'He's prone to stoop. He stooped to wash feet, to embrace children. Stooped to pull Peter out of the sea, to pray in the Garden. He stooped before the Roman whipping post. Stooped to carry the cross. Grace is a God who stoops. Here he stooped to write in the dust.'

     The characters continue as the lineup includes Barabbas, Moses, Ruth, Joseph and Simon Peter, all leading to the character of the hour- You, the reader. 

     Whether you claim the name of Christ or not, Grace is for everyone... because we all need grace.

Laundry Days

   

"It is tempting to say that what you do with this time you save is your own business. Briefly stated, however, the Christian position is that there's no such thing as your own business."

-Frederick Buechner

"The more you fulfill yourself the less you will seek God."

-Oswald Chambers

     Lately, I feel my life is what happens between laundry days- the moments I spend between the moments I stop to remove the world from my clothing.

The Call

Watercolor

Samuel Carter

"The place God calls you to is the place where

your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."

Frederick Buechner

Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC

     The 17th Century poet, George Herbert, said, "Life is half spent before we know what it is." E.E. Cummings said, "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." 

     My life is surrounded with words of prophets and poets- the storytellers and imaginators who flavor my conversations, the men and women who share dreams and impart to me a title- Dreamer. At age ten I was an astronaut. By sixteen it was music. When my twentieth birthday arrived, I was a painter. But, musical astronauts who paint are an odd lot- too odd for most. In my twenties I was a part of the family business- a maker of tombstones... a storyteller of a different sort. Then something happened, something I did not expect. God called me to teach.

     We hear through the filter of our history. The distant voices cry, "You must ..." and "You cannot ..." 

     As I walk in the place where God calls the voices din. And it is good.

     

An Apologetic Thank You

"... our neediness is also the source of our greatest strength,

for our need requires the cooperation and love

of others from which derives our ability not only

to live but to flourish." 

Stanley Hauerwas

     Standing there, at the Walmart checkout, I realized I owe an apology and a 'Thank You' to my third-grade teacher. The clerk helping me was a young man. All went well until he scanned the paint can. $17.94 appeared on the screen. "Will that be all?" he asked.

     "The paint is 50% off," I said.

     "Oh?" 

     I pointed to the large, black lettering on the lid. He looked around for a manager.

     "Let me see if I can do this." After several buttons were pushed, he said, "There, I think I can override now." He looked around again. "If only I had a calculator."

     "I could do it on paper, if that's O.K.," I offered. The young man watched me divide 17.94 by 2 as though I was solving the 47th Problem of Euclid. I held the answer up- $8.97, but when he typed the numbers in, he added them instead of subtracting them. "Uh, that's higher than it was," I said.

     "Oh, sorry. Let me get a manager." 

     A woman soon arrived and said, "Let's start over." When she scanned the paint the original $17.94 appeared.

     "It's 50% off."

     "And that is...?"

     I held the paper up. "$8.97." I noticed the young man was smiling.

     My third-grade teacher introduced me to division. I hated it. I didn't believe I would ever have a need for the ability to solve a division problem. But my teacher persisted, and as I walked toward the Walmart exit I looked at the paint can and smiled.