Nov
28
Posted by Eric F. Langborgh on
November 28, 2005
Concerning the fall of Congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham over his accepting bribes, my friend Dan Flynn hits the nail on the head on what the real issue is in his post today, ‘GOP Congressman Sells Out To Big Government’. The issue is the Constitution and the necessity to govern according to its strict limitations on power.
As Dan wrote:
Since electing uniformly honest men has always eluded the electorate, the best safeguard against bribery is smaller government. This requires conservatives to govern as conservatives — to make government smaller.
This was self-evident to America’s Founders. Why is it that today’s so-called conservatives fail to see this? The issue isn’t who is in power or what party is in the majority. The issue is that the federal government has grown so far beyond the Constitution’s limits that the power is there to grab and abuse in the first place. The Founders didn’t trust themselves with this power. Neither should we trust anyone today with such power — even men as widely praised for their heroism and strength of character as Duke Cunningham once was.
Nov
28
Posted by Eric F. Langborgh on
November 28, 2005
Linked here is a very good and thought-provoking exhortation by Doug Wilson marking the first Lord’s day of Advent.
Many of us evangelicals, who are all too Gnostic in our view of material things, need to hear this message over and over again. The Lord Jesus did not come to take us out of this world, but to redeem this world, to create it anew. We will not be raised to mere soul immortality upon our deaths or the Lord’s Second Coming. Like our Risen Savior, we will be raised bodily and enjoy forever material blessings purely and eternally, once we are finally stripped of our sin; once we, like this world, are made new creatures in Christ.
Nov
26
Posted by Eric F. Langborgh on
November 26, 2005
I found this little gem from the past over at Doug Phillip’s blog at Vision Forum. I paste it in its entirety here:
“The Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving”
It may be I am getting old and like too much to dwell
Upon the days of bygone years, the days I loved so well;
But thinking of them now I wish somehow that I could know
A simple old Thanksgiving Day, like those of long ago,
When all the family gathered round a table richly spread,
With little Jamie at the foot and grandpa at the head,
The youngest of us all to greet the oldest with a smile,
With mother running in and out and laughing all the while.
It may be I’m old-fashioned, but it seems to me to-day
We’re too much bent on having fun to take the time to pray;
Each little family grows up with fashions of its own;
It lives within a world itself and wants to be alone.
It has its special pleasures, its circle, too, of friends;
There are no get-together days; each one his journey wends,
Pursuing what he likes the best in his particular way,
Letting the others do the same upon Thanksgiving Day.
I like the olden way the best, when relatives were glad
To meet the way they used to do when I was but a lad;
The old home was a rendezvous for all our kith and kin,
And whether living far or near they all came trooping in
With shouts of “Hello, daddy!” as they fairly stormed the place
And made a rush for mother, who would stop to wipe her face
Upon her gingham apron before she kissed them all,
Hugging them proudly to her breast, the grownups and the small.
Then laughter rang throughout the home, and, Oh, the jokes they told;
From Boston, Frank brought new ones, but father sprang the old;
All afternoon we chatted, telling what we hoped to do,
The struggles we were making and the hardships we’d gone through;
We gathered round the fireside. How fast the hours would fly–
It seemed before we’d settled down ’twas time to say good-bye.
Those were the glad Thanksgivings, the old-time families knew
When relatives could still be friends and every heart was true.
(Edgar Albert Guest, 1881-1959)
Nov
24
Posted by Eric F. Langborgh on
November 24, 2005
To be truthful, Thanksgiving this year is not as joyful as I would have hoped:
Samuel and Maggie are both sick — Samuel especially so.
Bonnie is still exhausted from dealing with two very sick, clingy children alone while I was away on business for the better part of three days, and I am probably still feeling the effects of lots of driving earlier this week.
Bonnie and I both have hints of the same illness that our children have, and for all these reasons we haven’t been able to enjoy the outdoors like we wanted, but instead have been closed inside for the most part.
Etc.
And yet, I/we have so much to be thankful for today:
Though Samuel and Maggie are both sick, they have each presented little joys even today. Samuel, feeling quite weak and tired and without appetite, laid down with me for an extra nap this morning (something he never does!), and provided some special snuggle time for Daddy that I usually don’t get with him. Maggie is coming out of being sick, so even though she isn’t 100%, we got some special time alone picking up onions at the grocery store and breakfast at McDonalds this morning, and then walking together for a very, very brief visit to the playground early this afternoon.
Despite their current illnesses, Bonnie and I have been blessed with children that are very healthy in body and mind, amazing us nearly every day with their intellects and contagious wonder for the world and clever imaginations.
Despite Bonnie feeling somewhat run down, her deep love for me and the children and our guests is again most evident today as she carefully and lovingly prepares a feast for tonight.
This Thanksgiving we are especially grateful for the blessings of an expanding family, as the Lord has blessed Bonnie’s sister Karen, my brother Adam, my brother Andrew, and Bonnie’s niece Jamie with more children: Damien Joseph Kelliher, Joshua Victor Langborgh, Hannah Theresa Langborgh, and Molly Maureen Durbin, respectively.
Last night before turning in for bed we had the privilege of seeing the season’s first snowfall, even if it was gone by sunrise.
Tonight’s feast will actually be our second Thanksgiving dinner, as we enjoyed an early one last Saturday with many friends from church, hosted by a wonderful couple we have been delighted to get to know better this past year, Anthony and Deanna Stacy.
We received a beautiful Thanksgiving card that reminded us again what a special and deep friendship our family has developed over the past year with the Burchards: Kyle, Veronica and their delightful children, Aidan and Julian.
My brother Jon received a well-earned promotion at LendingTree.com a month or so ago. How grateful we are for his and his wife Jen’s successes this year after what we know was a difficult year for Jon last year in moving to a new job.
Another brother, Adam, also received a promotion from the Air Force in a great year that also brought the aforementioned Joshua, and received word that he will receive a dream assignment that will bring him and his family close by us here in Northern Virginia.
An old friend, Clif Morris, survived and we trust is recovering nicely from a triple-bypass heart surgery late last week.
I am blessed with a very fulfilling job and work under a most capable and graceful boss.
We enjoyed great times with many friends and family members this year, including all our parents. And have so many other blessings that haven’t been written about here but for which we are most grateful.
All that, and we still have to look forward to dinner tonight when Samuel and Maggie’s Aunt Karen and Aidan, Nora and Damien come join us, although they will be leaving Uncle Joe behind as he recovers from recent outpatient surgery.
Thank you God for all these blessings and so many more. And thank you most of all for the hope and life we enjoy in your Son Jesus Christ, our glorious Lord and Savior. Amen.
**************************
UPDATE (8:55 pm): Thanksgiving dinner is over and our guests, Karen (Bonnie’s sister) and her children, Aidan, Nora, and baby Damien, have left and Bonnie and I have just put Samuel and Maggie to bed. All in all, a most wonderful evening. The company could not have been better, as conversation was good and the kids all playing together was a delight to behold. Bonnie made a very delicious Thanksgiving feast complete with the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn-on-the-cob, cranberries, and biscuits. It all went down well with the Mondovi Cabernet Sauvignon. She prepared deviled eggs and veggies and crackers with spinach dip for an appetizer. To finish it all off we had some delicious pumpkin pie that Bonnie made and very tasty key lime pie that Karen made, both topped with whipped cream. Samuel and Maggie didn’t have big appetites as they still are both recovering from being ill, but they were each in good spirits for the most part, thanks to long naps. Praise God for a wonderful end to this day!
Now, I’m off to finish the dishes. ;o)
Nov
24
Posted by Eric F. Langborgh on
November 24, 2005
From RC, Jr’s blog:
…”O Lord, thank you for blessing my wife and our home with such a spirit of diligence. Thank you for the energy you have given my wife, and her strength of character. Thank you for how well she runs our home, that even though she doesn’t know how to hang toilet paper, she always keeps plenty in the house.” Prayers such as this will remind you that it is God who wills in your wife both to will and to do His good pleasure. Prayers like this will encourage you toward a joyful and thankful heart. And they will in turn delight your wife, who delights to know that she is a delight to you.
Amen!
Nov
15
Posted by Eric F. Langborgh on
November 15, 2005
Q. But how does this fit in with predestination? Surely we can’t *change* that destiny?
This, at least: “we are to pray for others because our freely chosen prayers are part of God’s appointed means to bring a people to Himself, or to accomplish any of His other foreordained ends.”
None of this negates the fact that you freely and sincerely offered your prayers. God simply used your free will to accomplish His appointed means — and how inscrutable they are! Or as Paul put it, “beyond tracing out.” Now, while what I said about God using our freely-chosen prayers to accomplish His means is true, it is also true that He may use our lack of prayers for the same reason. This verse comes to mind:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:13-15)
This should drive us to our knees — and to action (evangelism, good works, etc) — but not to desperation. After all, it is God working through us. So we balance these two truths: “pray unceasingly” and “rest in God. ” In other words, “run the race with confidence,” not like some maniac with a god-complex that everything is up to you. It is not. We are just blessed to be tools in the hands of the Potter, just as we ourselves are jars made by the same Potter.
