Thought of the Day

Unsurprisingly, I spend a lot of time staring at Oliver. Doing so causes me to reflect upon many things.

The next time you're holding an infant, I encourage you to ponder just how mind-blowing is the Incarnation. The second person of the Trinity created galaxies, and then he soiled his diaper.

The humiliation of it all. Why would he do this?

Oliver's Baptism

Yesterday was a special day for us as we gathered with friends and family for a worship service which included Oliver's baptism. It was also pretty emotional, because I couldn't help but think of Anne Marie and the day she was baptized. I've now come to realize that so many of our most joyous family times inevitably will be mixed with sorrow because of how much we miss Anne Marie. And yet along with sorrow there is profound gratitude to Christ for what he has done for Anne Marie and for our family.

I also sat there yesterday remembering all my kids' baptisms -- Lincoln, Lillie, Mary Margaret, Jack Henry, and Anne Marie. I remember all of those days so clearly. And yesterday during the sermon I was so grateful to be reminded again of what Christ has done for us. Because of his redeeming work, I can say of all my children, "This one was born in Zion."








I saw this book in World magazine and got it for Oliver for his baptism. When he gets older we'll read it to him and remind him of the day he was baptized, never letting him forget that he is a covenant child.

Inconvenient Truths About Welfare

I discuss a few over at the OCPA blog.

Sooners Later

Photo credit: Norman Arnold

Over at The Washington Post you can read about the Legends Alumni Game that took place at the Lloyd Noble Center this afternoon. My uncle, Bill Dutcher, who was a Sooner 50 seasons ago, played in today's alumni game on the team coached by Kelvin Sampson. Here's Uncle Bill, a 68-year-old hoops junkie, launching a jumper. And here at the 1:08 mark Michael Neal drains a three, with an assist from Uncle Bill.

August 31 update: I talked to Uncle Bill today, and he wasn't too proud to admit that he got "posterized by Longar Longar." No shame in getting dunked on by a 7-foot Sudanese, I always say.

Lillie and Blake

Here's Lillie tonight with NBA Rookie of the Year and midsize-sedan hurdler Blake Griffin (or as I call him, Coach).

Will Your OB-GYN Perform an Abortion?

Over at Freakonomics we learn that while 97 percent of OB-GYNs reported having encountered women seeking an abortion, only 14 percent said they were willing to perform one.

Interestingly, when broken down by religious affiliation, we learn that 40 percent of Jewish doctors were willing to provide an abortion, which is a higher percentage than among doctors with no religious affiliation (27 percent said they were willing). The number was 9 percent among Roman Catholics or Eastern Orthodox, and 1 percent among evangelical Protestants.

Cut Off the Money

Yesterday in The Washington Times, OCPA distinguished fellow J. Rufus Fears said the Founders left us a way to stop all this mischief.

Oliver's Travels

Usually we like to go to the mountains for our family vacation. We've been to Breckenridge, Denver, Colorado Springs, and our favorite spot -- Crested Butte. We hike, ride the lifts, walk to town for coffee in the crisp morning air, and stroll through town in the evenings. This year we decided to go to the beach, so instead of sweatshirts and hiking shoes, we packed up our bathing suits and flip flops and headed south.



We left the 100-plus degree temperatures of Oklahoma and went to the still warm but milder temperatures of Gulf Shores, Alabama. We pulled out early on a Wednesday and took two days to drive -- 5 states in 2 days, stopping at our usual road-trip spot, Cracker Barrel. We stayed at the beach for 6 days and wanted to make the trip home in one day, so 18 hours after we left the beach we pulled into the driveway. Home to long green grass that had been brown when we left, a fence that was blown over, and an air conditioner that didn't work because it had been hit by lightning while we were away -- apparently there had been storms and rain in Oklahoma while we were gone. But the weather had been perfect in Gulf Shores and we all had lots of fun. I didn't think about all I had to do for the upcoming school year or didn't check my e-mail. I didn't look at my calendar or my to-do list. It was a great trip and just what I needed!



We spent lots of time at the beach and at the pool. The kids stayed up late watching movies and eating popcorn and ice cream. Brandon and I sat outside early in the mornings with Oliver, drinking coffee and talking (again) about how Oliver is "too good to be true." We went out to eat at different places along Orange Beach and spent a day at the outlet mall. It was all fun, but my favorite thing was -- just being together.

Are You Ready for Some Football?

In years past it was Lincoln, but recently Jack Henry and I had our annual ticket-separating party. The boys and I are ready for kickoff on September 3.

Already Missing Him

As I write this, it's late Sunday night. The house is quiet and still and I've just checked on Jack Henry one last time before I go to bed. He's been crying because he already misses Lincoln. He's not the only one.

Saturday we spent the day moving Lincoln's things to the dorm, making a trip to Wal-Mart for last-minute things he needed, buying his books, and getting him all settled at the dorm. But he slept at home Saturday night and on Sunday we finished up -- one more trip to Wal-Mart, back to the dorm to drop off one last load, and then goodbye. Yes, I know he's not far, and yet I'm still sad because I know things will be different. He won't be here in our house, right across the hall from Jack Henry. There have been a lot of emotions and thoughts running through my head. On one hand I am excited for him -- these are going to be some of the best years of his life and we are glad he's moved in to the dorms and is starting college. This is our job, to train him to be able to leave home. On the other hand, I'm thinking what all mothers think -- time went by too fast. There's a lot I could say, but really the simple fact is I'm going to miss him. A lot.

I'll miss him coming home after work or class and going straight to the kitchen to find something to eat. I'll miss him at family dinners and on Sunday mornings when we all ride to church together. I'll miss him and Jack Henry playing the Wii in the living room, playing basketball outside on the driveway, and watching Monday Night Football together on the couch. I'll miss him picking the girls up from ballet, not because it was one less ballet run I had to make, but because I liked seeing the girls come in with smiles and with Icees that Lincoln had stopped to get them -- something they would ask me to do on the way home from class but that I rarely did. I'll miss him on our first day of school and every day at lunch. I'll miss hearing him play his guitar and I'll miss calling him to dinner in the evenings by knocking on the kitchen wall. I'll miss coming in to make coffee early in the morning and seeing the one spoon in the sink that wasn't there the night before when I had cleaned the kitchen one last time for the night. It was the spoon he had used when he would come in late at night to get a midnight snack -- a few bites of ice cream straight out of the container. The same spoon that would at times irritate me because I would think, "I wonder why he doesn't just put it in the dishwasher." There are a thousand things I'll miss -- mostly just his presence here in our house.

As a mother I know I've complained about the never-ending work, the seemingly constant cooking and picking up, the never-empty laundry basket. But I look forward to those times when Lincoln comes home with his laundry bag full of clothes for me to wash, kicks off his shoes right in front of the door, and wants me to fix him something to eat.

Starting to Empty the Nest

"Jack Henry doesn't know this yet," Susie wrote in 2006, "but one day Lincoln will go off to college. Actually, that day is coming in about four and a half years."

Actually, that day is today.

Gulp.

There's a lot of sadness in this world, and if I weren't a follower of Christ -- if I thought this world was my home -- I am quite confident I would want to have some mood-altering substances in my toolkit. Thankfully, God's grace is sufficient. As Susie wrote,

As a mom, thinking about having your firstborn leave home is hard. Thinking about Jack Henry having his brother leave home is even harder. Thankfully, we serve a God who has planned our days before the foundation of the earth. He loves my boys more than I do and more than they love each other, and He will use temporary hardships to teach them that His grace is sufficient for them. Lincoln knows this and one day Jack Henry will know it too. No matter how far apart they are in distance they will always be brothers and friends. 

Our Six Youngsters

Gulf Shores

The Breathtaking Bankruptcy of Liberal Theology

There comes a time when liberal "Christian" ministers simply have no answers. People need a direct announcement of good news.

HT: Craig Carter

Selfless

There are plenty of words I could use to describe Susie, but that one pretty much gets to the heart of it.

I was reminded of this anew a couple of nights ago. It was 2:00 AM and I couldn't sleep, so I was sitting up in bed for a couple of hours working on an article. Susie and Oliver (he sleeps with us) were next to me. I'm telling you, the boy's a human cacophony over there, what with all the rooting and snorting, the slurping and burping, the gasping and spitting. And I haven't even mentioned the grunting and the fussing and the intense straining. I mean, why does it always have to be some sort of gastrointestinal death match? Just go already.

About the only thing the boy doesn't do is cry. He doesn't really get an opportunity to cry, because Susie is there holding him close -- nursing him, burping him, patting him, caressing him. I noticed for about an hour he was asleep on her chest. The lad isn't going to have attachment problems. He is loved selflessly.

Beach Pics

37 Days

We had Anne Marie for 37 days -- not nearly long enough, and yet we are grateful for every day we had with her.

I remember Anne Marie's first night. We had lots of hard nights during our time in Dallas, but for me that first night was one of the hardest because I thought I might lose her before I even got to know her. At about 2:00 in the morning two neonatologists and a pediatric cardiologist came into my hospital room to wake us up. They came to tell us that Anne Marie wasn’t doing well on her ventilator and that she probably would have to go on ECMO. The cardiologist also told us there might be a problem with her heart that we hadn’t known about. A lot of things happened that long, long night, and I remember being more scared than I’d ever been in my entire life. I remember praying so hard, “Please don’t take her now. She just got here. I’ve hardly had a chance to see her. Please, don’t take her now.” And He didn’t. He gave us more time with her. Time to see her smile and her bright eyes. Time to stroke her and talk to her and sing to her. Time to have her baptized and time for our close friends and family to see her. Thirty-seven days that God sovereignly ordained for her on this earth, and yet I still struggle with trusting in his sovereignty because for me 37 days wasn’t nearly long enough.

As today comes to a close, we have had Oliver for 37 days. For 37 days we have held him, seen him smile, and stared into his bright eyes. I have nursed him and rocked him and sung to him. We have sat on the couch with him and studied him up and down and talked about how beautiful he is. One of the hardest things for me has been wishing I could have given Anne Marie all that we are able to give Oliver -- again, my struggle with God’s sovereignty. I hold Oliver and nurse him and think about how Anne Marie never got that. When Oliver cries I pick him up and do everything I can to soothe him. Eventually he settles down and falls peacefully to sleep. I think about when Anne Marie used to “cry” -- even now just thinking about it makes me cry. She would open her tiny mouth and yet she wasn’t able to make any sounds. And I would stand by her and rub her little face and rub across her forehead trying to soothe her. I can’t begin to understand God’s plans. I don't know why Anne Marie’s 37 days had to be so hard. But I do believe that she now has quite a reward because of it.

None of us knows how much time we have with our children. It could be 37 days or 37 years. But no matter how long it is, it wouldn’t seem long enough. And yet God has ordained our days even before the foundation of the earth. Even though I don’t understand God’s ways, there is great comfort in resting in the knowledge that his plans are perfect. I am grateful for the 37 days we had with Anne Marie, and the 37 days we’ve had with Oliver.

Anne Marie's first night

Oliver's first night

Just Livin' the Dream, My Friend