Is all Magic evil?

I cut my teeth on comic books.  As a quiet little boy who loved to read, the fantastic powers of Superman and Aquaman and The Flash captured my anything-but-quiet imagination.  As I grew, so did my love of fantasy and science fiction; I enjoyed reading books and stories by Madeline L’Engle, O. Henry, Isaac Asimov and others.

When I became a Christian in 1975, my reading (along with my life) took a sudden, decidedly serious turn.  In fact, for the next 20 years or so following my conversion I read only one work of fiction–The Chronicles of Narnia.  Now, in the last few years, primarily because of looking for good books to read out loud to my kids, my own childhood (or childlike) love of fantasy and fiction has been reignited.

One of the authors we’ve grown fond of is N.D. Wilson, son of theologian Douglas Wilson.  I bought Leepike Ridge shortly after it was published and read it out loud to the entire family.  I’ve since read the first two books in the 100 Cupboards series to my two youngest boys, to their immense delight.  And incidentally, they’re not going to be too happy with me if I don’t get Book 3 of the trilogy (which was just released a couple days ago) ordered pronto!

So, having read several of Wilson’s books, I naturally found this quote on Justin Taylor’s blog, taken from an old interview with Wilson, thought-provoking and at the same time potentially controversial.  It did in fact spark quite a bit of discussion on JT’s blog, which may still be going on by the time I finally get around to posting this.  Here’s the quote.  It’s Wilson’s response to a question about the proper role of magic and the supernatural in children’s literature:

Another budding thespian in the family

The Music Man

Last year I told you about my daughter the director.  Now it appears that we have another budding thespian in the family.

My youngest son was selected last winter to play the part of Winthrop in a Sikeston Little Theatre production of “The Music Man.”  It was his first play.  He had always been a little shy, so I wasn’t sure how well he would handle being in the spotlight.

As it turned out, he handled it pretty well.  In fact, I want to tell you a couple of “behind the scenes” stories.  If you’re interested in those, continue reading below the video.

This video consists of six excerpts from the play, beginning with the introduction just before the opening curtain (read by my son as Winthrop, with his trademark lisp).  The clip includes “Gary, Indiana” and a portion of “Wells Fargo Wagon.”  Keep in mind that this is a small town amateur theater; it’s a lot of fun, but it’s still amateur through and through.

Two things about my son’s effort during this adventure made me very proud.  The first was his unassuming attitude.

Recovering from a 5200 mile road trip

I’m tired. Here’s a map explaining why.

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Many of you know that my wife and I and our two youngest sons just completed a somewhat spur-of-the-moment 5200 mile road trip.  Ostensibly, we made the trip so my 16 year old could visit a couple of universities in California (more about that some other time).

My youngest son on YouTube, doing what he does best (acting silly)

Still busy… busy, busy, busy… so here’s another video.  I like this one for obvious reasons.  It features my youngest son (then 8, now 9).  And, of course, there’s a story behind it.

My 18-year old daughter (the director) was watching YouTube videos of two guys lip-syncing to popular songs.  The guys went by the name of B&B Style, and their musical mime was very good and pretty funny.  This particular B&B Style video began with the song “Peaches,” which my son reprises (in his pajamas) in the video below.  Unfortunately, the audio for the B&B video has been disabled, but you may still be able to tell that my son is impersonating the B&B guy on the right, and the B&B guys are impersonating a group by the name of “The Presidents of the United States of America.”

In case you’re wondering,

Sing “Hosanna” (or the ants will get to)

Palm Sunday

My youngest son likes to listen to music at bedtime.  Sometimes it’s whatever’s on his Shaker, sometimes it’s a CD, but most of the time it’s just one song, played over and over (and over) until he falls asleep.

A couple of weeks ago he chose a song by Taylor Sorenson entitled “Sing (or the rocks will get to)” and listened to it several nights in a row.  It’s based on Jesus’ response to the Pharisees when they wanted him to silence his disciples as he rode into Jerusalem.  (I’ll get to the ants in a minute.)

You know the story.  A large crowd had gathered for the Passover feast.  They heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.  They were overjoyed and went out to see him.  As he rode into the city, some cried out “Hosanna, blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (John 12).  Others shouted praise and spread their cloaks on the ground in front of him (Luke 19).  The Pharisees just wanted all of them to shut up.

I love the vivid word pictures the Bible paints, especially when it comes to worship.  In his response to the Pharisees in Luke 19:40, Jesus painted one of those powerful word pictures.  He turned to the disgruntled Pharisees and said, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

What about the ants?

A Self-Portrait

It’s a well-known fact that all 5-year-olds are gifted artists.  Just ask any parent.  As evidence I present the following exhibits.

This is a picture of my youngest son from his T-ball days.  It was taken about four years ago, before he decided to retire from baseball.

Around that same time he was diligently honing his artistic abilities.  Below is a copy of one of his most beloved works from that period, based on the above photo and

Peanut allergies (and the glory to be revealed)

I have two children (my only daughter and my youngest son) with tree nut and/or peanut allergies.  My son’s peanut allergy is especially severe and potentially life-threatening.  His experience has been almost identical to that of the girl’s described in this article.

The first time Elissa was exposed to peanut butter, at age two, her throat began to close. Since then, she has carried an epi-pen to school to treat her allergy. She is used to asking questions at restaurants about whether her meal is cooked in peanut oil — and worrying.

Going to Six Flags

I’ll be out of pocket for a couple of days.

Today I’m taking my youngest son to Six Flags.  We’re meeting some friends from church there.  TobyMac is putting on a concert in the evening.  My son and the other boys that we’re meeting at the park really like his music.  It should be a long, tiring, fun day.

Then tomorrow we have our regular services and an all-day picnic at church.  That’s going to be a long day, too, but much more relaxing.

I should be blogging again tomorrow evening.

Ahhh… school pictures

Mine were never very good, but in my case the photographers really didn’t have much to work with.  For the most part, school pictures seem to turn out pretty well these days.  Meet my happy-go-lucky, tie-dye wearing, 8-year-old son.  He’s the youngest of five.  (My oldest is 28.)