Love is Triumphant

No disrespect to any parents who sent their kids to school today with Avengers, Dora, or Batman "Flashy foil" valentines day cards, but the Betts family has always been more into the homegrown, construction paper ones.    And, while I'm not sure what I even think of this over-marketed, fairy tale exalting American holiday, I do know this:

Love is Triumphant! 

And, that's really what we were going for when we made these heart's with flaming wings valentines cards for Jack to take to his 2nd grade classmates.

We didn't really write anything on them.  We thought of a few phrases, but while cutesie quotes may have their place on heart-shaped candies, balloons and teddy-bear t-shirts, we wanted to communicate something more meaningful...more real....more true!  So we stuck a glow stick on the front -because everyone wants a glow stick!  And we hoped the colors, the artistry and the FLAMING WINGS!!! would be adequately provocative.  

And, if given the chance, maybe Jack can explain that  there is One who lights hearts on fire and his name is Jesus Christ!  He takes cold, hard hearts of stone and powerfully brings new life!   Because he so loved the world -and not because we loved him first -he conquered sin, sacrificed his very life to bring us back to God.  He rose and he's alive.  He is Triumphant! 

Gorges in the Sun

Hey friends,

It's time for us to get back in the schedule of updating this blog.  As i've emphasized before,  our goal is to update this thing about every 4 days.  The fall semester has started and things are going really well on campus so far.  I'll write some news on that later.

For now though, i just wanted to share some pictures.  As I write this now, the rain is pouring down and has been for hours and days!  But last Monday the Sun was out and it was a perfect day for a Staff Picnic.  We gathered with the Simpson's, Brenner's, Wright's, and our intern Charlene and went out to Taughannock Falls park up the road and hung out and enjoyed the outdoors together.  Nic and Christy took some great pictures!

We were hanging out in the shallow's under a little waterfall. Jack and Joe loved standing beneath it!

Hudson Simpson is getting big and joining in the fun!  He'll be one year old on Oct. 18

I just love the different facial expressions!

Jack Critiques Alan Jackson

On our way out to Wildwood, NJ the other day (for our summer project) we were listening to the radio; Country music as usual.  The Alan Jackson song "Where I come From" came on and Stephanie and I were talking.  I like the song and I've heard it often, but I wasn't listening intently to it when my son Jack yelled from the back seat -"Is this song based on lies?"  


I wasn't too sure in the moment what he was talking about.   Thinking about verse two I said "Well, I think he's just talking about some good food bud."  
But then the Chorus came on again, I turned it up and I knew exactly what he was referring to.  Here's how it goes:


I said where I come from
It's cornbread and chicken
Where I come from a lotta front porch sittin'
Where I come from tryin' to make a livin'
And workin' hard to get to heaven
Where I come from


I asked leadingly "What was the lie that you heard in there bud?"  And Jack proceeded to expound the theological truth that we don't work hard to get to heaven.  Salvation is free -a gift from God because he loves us.  "God doesn't love you because you work hard" he said.  And then I asked my boys "So why does God love us?"  And Joe shouted with passion and authority "For no apparent reason."  


Amen my sons.  Sorry Alan Jackson -bad theology! 
We've been talking about Grace a lot in our home and how God saves us not because we are "good" or because we "earn it" or because we are "better than anybody else" or because we are religious, or because of anything that we do, but simply because of his loving kindness -which we totally don't deserve. 


Ephesians 2:8,9 ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.


Titus 3:3-7 ³ At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, ⁵ he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 

Sports Glasses

This past week we got our little man Johnny some new glasses –Sports glasses! My hope is that these babies can take the abuse that 5 year old boys unleash on their eyeware…...and their face! The technology these days is amazing! It really is. When you go to buy kids' glasses the salesperson will show off all the cool different ways that the new glasses will bend and and fold and then spring back into their proper shape! But that hasn’t stopped Jack from finding ways to regularly tweak his almost beyond repair.

But that’s how it goes. So hopefully these special forces grade spectacles are up for the challenge! They’re made for sports, but Jack is gonna wear them most of the time. When you’re 5 –life is a sport!