The Trinity on Display

I shared this with a couple of 8th-graders today, and I think it's interesting enough to share here as well.

We were talking about the Trinity, and how the term never actually appears in the Scriptures, though the concept is clearly taught. In fact, there's one particular scene in the Bible in which the "Three-Personed" nature of God is undeniably on display: the baptism of Jesus.

Here's how it's presented in Luke 3:21-22.

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

In this one scene, we see all three Divine Persons. God the Son is the One being baptized, God the Holy Spirit descends in a visible manifestation that resembles a dove, and God the Father speaks audibly from heaven. This is a simple, clear, and quite beautiful depiction of the three distinct Persons in our "Three-in-One" God.

So keep that one in your back pocket, just in case you need to blow someone's mind.

It's not a picnic, without...

So the hubbo and I had a nice romantic picnic planned down by the river a couple of weeks ago, when who should decide to crash our party:



Skunks! Yep, we were right in the middle of the foraging area for three little stinkers! They didn't seem to mind us much, but we were verrrrrryy careful to mind them! Unsurprisingly, I whipped out my camera for some spontaneous nature photography:

Book Review: The Reason for God by Tim Keller

In The Reason for God: Belief in Age of Skepticism, Tim Keller addresses the most common questions and doubts of skeptics that he has encountered, and offers a number of reasons to believe the truth of the Gospel. As the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, Keller is no stranger to the urban, post-modern, intellectual skeptic. It is clearly this sort of person Keller has in mind as he provides gracious answers to pressing doubts.

Before addressing these doubts, Keller presents a most interesting introduction in which he introduces his working premise: that every doubt is based on a set of alternate beliefs. He uses the example of someone who opposes Christianity because it seems exclusionary. This person argues that there can’t be just one true religion, all the while never realizing that their statement is really an alternate belief that requires faith. It can’t be proven empirically. It is not universally accepted. This “reasoning” is just as much a position based on faith as the Christian’s is, if not more so. These sorts of embedded leaps of faith reappear throughout.

After the introduction, the rest of the book’s first half is devoted to addressing the questions and doubts of skeptics. Here, Keller is at his best. It is easy to imagine him deftly answering challenges at one of his post-sermon Q&A sessions at Redeemer. I especially appreciated his analogies, many of which I will hold onto and use in my own ministry for years to come. For instance, in his chapter entitled, “Christianity is a Straitjacket,” Keller addresses the widely-held fallacy that real human freedom is a maximal lack of constraint, that the truly free person is the one who decides for herself what is right and what is wrong without having morality imposed upon her by another. Keller uses two analogies that are simple, yet brilliant, to prove that freedom is not simply a lack of constraint. First, he presents a musician who has given up hours upon hours in order to practice and perfect his craft. He was most certainly constrained by such diligence, but because of it, he is now free to express himself musically in ways he would never have been able to had he been “free” from constraint. Then, Keller turns his attention to an even more universal analogy, that of love. He writes: “If you want the ‘freedom’ of love – the fulfillment, security, sense of worth that it brings – you must limit your freedom in many ways…To experience the joy and freedom of love, you must give up your personal autonomy.” Anyone who has experienced a love relationship will be able to relate to this “trade” of personal freedom for intimacy, and will likely agree that it is worth the constraint.

The second half of the book changes focus, from answering doubts to presenting “sufficient reasons for believing.” Keller asks his reader to “put on Christianity like a pair of spectacles and look at the world with it. See what power it has to explain what we know and see.” This tour of the Christian worldview includes a review of various evidences that point to the existence of God, a discussion of moral obligation as a divine fingerprint, an explanation of the fallen world we see around as through the lens of sin, and a presentation of the Gospel.

This section did not seem as strong to me as the book’s first half did. Nevertheless, I thought the chapter delineating between religion and the Gospel was very well done. Keller writes: “The primary difference is that of motivation. In religion, we try to obey the divine standards out of fear… In the gospel, the motivation is one of gratitude for the blessing we have already received because of Christ.” Here, we hear an echo of an earlier chapter, denouncing fanaticism as modern-day Pharisaism. Moralist religion is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. By making this distinction, Keller gives himself ground to criticize the abuses of Christian “religion” in the world even as he advocates forcefully for the Gospel.

On the whole, I was very impressed with Keller’s book. He speaks powerfully, yet gently, and he addresses questions that people are actually asking. The first half seems to me especially powerful for equipping believers to address these questions as well. I would be interested to hear the perspective of a seeker or skeptic who has read the book, but it seems to me the arguments would resonate. Based on clarity, utility, and provocation of thought, this is the best book I have read in any of my classes this semester.

Happy Easter!

St. Paddy's 2010

This past Saturday was the annual St. Patrick's Day Parade, held in Old Sacramento.


It was a grand time for all things Irish!


(and not so Irish)


It's not St. Patrick's Day without some Dancin' Girls. I soooo love the big fake curly hair!


... and more Dancin' Girls! These girls have to concentrate harder, because they are dancing on a moving float... whoa~!


I absolutely adored the Girl Scouts float. Check out these proud dads!


But these must be the saddest Girl Scouts ever! Awww... =(


Doesn't this bring back high school (whether you cheered, or not)?


Nothing short of fearless:


Hope you can join us next time!

Life these days...

Hi friends, I've gotten the hint that a few of you may be interested in an update on us Westons. I'm home sick from work today, too ill to do my job, cough cough, but not too incapacitated to write, so hopefully this will work out well!

By now most of you know that we are living in Sacramento and Gary is doing full time school. We made the move at the end of last October, after four months of house hunting in the Sacramento area. The timing aligned fairly well: our housing in Concord was no longer available, Molly was heading out on her mission trip, and Gary's fall semester was starting up at the Sacramento campus of Western Seminary.

We found a home in the Natomas area that looked like a great deal - unfortunately we were outbid in cash and had to start the search over. We ended up purchasing a 2 bed 2 bath home, also in Natomas. What with the housing market crash, combined with our saved down payment, our mortgage is less than half of what we were paying for our first home. That is definitely a blessing while Gary is in full time school! We're probably a couple of miles from the apartment that was our first newlywed home, and the house we had owned prior to the World Race. We are adjusting to the smaller living quarters and looking forward to summertime BBQs on the gorgeous back patio. I just last weekend unpacked the last box in the house - a victory in and of itself! (Our garage will be the next project to tackle...) Our Shih Tzu, Billy, has a chair set up by the front window where he loves to lay and watch the neighborhood goings-on. We are walking distance from the power line easement that runs through the neighborhood, and it's got a good paved trail that is perfect for walking the dog on good weather days. We have met several of our neighbors and are developing some good relationships. The neighborhood is incredibly diverse, which I love, and most of the residents have been here over ten years.

We have found a church in the area that we've been attending: Gateway Fellowship, pastored by Mike Phillips, which has been a good place for us to land and get involved. Gary and I have been enjoying a Sunday afternoon adult small group, led by the pastor, and Molly has been getting involved with the thriving young adult ministry. A fun fact for us is that Pastor Mike had been close to our former pastor, Darrin Sligar, during the Jacob's Well days. In that sense, Gateway feels like extended family that we are just now getting to know. Gateway is a Christian and Missionary Alliance church, with a high priority placed on supporting missions. Another Gateway distinctive is their commitment to the Spanish speaking community. English and Spanish services are held simultaneously, and once a month the two congregations merge to share a powerful time of communion and worship!

Molly continues to be a valuable part of our lives and we feel so blessed to have her in our home. She first moved in with us a year and a half ago for a summer of discipleship, and since then we have grown into a family. She had spent over a year preparing for the mission field and departed last September for missions team training in Mexico. During the training, she had to unexpectedly return home for health reasons, and though she recovered quickly was told by her organization that she would not be allowed to return on that particular trip. Since then, the program she had signed up for has been discontinued.

A career on the mission field, hopefully in Africa, continues to be Molly's passion and goal, and we are praying with her about when, where, and how that will take place. In the meantime, she is optimizing her time at home by studying at a local community college for her EMT Basic certificate. She has been extremely diligent in her studies and is at the top of her class! I am excited for her that once she does return to the mission field, she will be equipped with skills in the medical field that I'm sure will be a blessing to many.

Gary is now in the latter half of his M. Div. degree program through Western Seminary. He is currently studying church history, theology, and evangelism, and at any given moment will be found reading yet another book! With the move back to Sacramento, he's had the opportunity to jump back into a weekly men's breakfast he had participated in five years ago. The group has shifted somewhat, but the core members are going strong! Gary will also soon have the opportunity for some part-time work as the Driver's Training school he worked at in Concord is expanding into the Sacramento region. I know you are all jealous of those high school kids that get to do their training in the bright blue DriversEd.com mini-cooper!

Overall, life feels as if it's whizzing by... It's frustrating at times to still be in the middle of transition and wonder where we will be two years from now, but we are surrounded by so many blessings that I have to just remind myself to keep taking it one day at a time. One thing is for sure, we're not bored!

First Hike of the Year

Last weekend, Gary and I took full advantage of the beautiful (65 and sunny) weather we were enjoying to get out on the trails. Hiking is one of our "things", and winter seems oh so long when we're cooped up in the house. This is the first hike we've done since I bought my D-SLR, so of course I was more than excited to try it out on the trail. So, I grabbed my camera, and Gary found us a great new trail in the Auburn area that leads us down to the middle fork of the American River.

Even though it's still February, spring is obviously pushing winter aside with full force. I couldn't get enough of the budding trees that lined the first part of the trail. In the picture below, I love the sense of motion as the tree branch "comes at you":


A little further up the trail, these leaves are already budding. To see the sun backlighting the buds brings back that glorious sensation of the sun on my face.


About 4/5 of the way down the trail, we snuck down the side of the hill and found THE perfect lunch spot. This is my new favorite place; surrounded by lush ferns and moss, a rushing creek at your feet with waterfalls bookending the site. There's a little ledge along one hill where you can sit and watch the water rush by. A little piece of heaven.


This next pic is kinda weird, I'm warning you now. When we arrived at the bottom of the hill, we discovered that a large swath of riverbed had clearly been underwater and just recently dried up. River rocks were either covered with sediment or decorated with bright green filaments of algae. I couldn't get over how similar the algae looked to hair, and how the rocks looked like the tops of heads. It was bizarre stepping across them and waiting for one to turn up and blink at me, as if out of a Harry Potter movie.


This was the view after we concluded our descent: beautiful, open, free, so quiet and peaceful. I often feel that these times in nature move my heart to bring me the closest to God. This is His handiwork; He is the one who invented these beautiful places that give me such joy.

2009...what a year!

1) What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Got a job that required my college degree (finally!). Fasted for six days. Attended a sunrise Easter service. Went to an American Idol concert. Moved back to Sacramento. Actively pursued friendships with our neighbors.

2) Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't really make resolutions so much as goals for the year, and I feel that I was fairly successful. Gary and I went on our first overnight backpacking trip (it was awesome). I've been closer to family, spent a lot more time with them on the phone and in person. I read a lot of books, including completing my through-the-Bible reading plan.

3) Did anyone close to you give birth?

Wow... this was indeed the year of babies! Many of our friends brought little bundles of joy into the world this past year. It's been so fun to celebrate with them! And even more are coming next year!

4) Did anyone close to you die?

Bev Roseberry left us this past year. Though I didn't know her as well as some of my friends did, there was no doubt that she'd made a great impact on a great many lives.

5) What countries did you visit?

Does Oregon count? =) I had the joy of setting up a successful Mexico mission for the Fair Oaks Global Outreach team, but wasn't a part of that mission team. We did, however, enlist as leaders for AIM's summer 2010 high school mission trips. Hopefully next summer we will be in Uganda!

6) What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

See previous question: a return to Africa! To get plugged in to a Sacramento church family. Also, a bit of time somewhere to rest and dream would be nice. 2009 was intense!

7) What date(s) from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

In early January 2009, we were stunned to learn of our imminent departure from the church where Gary had been working as youth pastor. That day was an unfortunate collision with the "business" end of ministry. It also turned the page to a new, healthier, chapter of our lives. So yeah, memorable.

8) What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I am very proud of my return into full time work; I was very apprehensive about the changes this would bring to our lives, but I have done my best and have been blessed in our new situation. The great amount of emotional healing and forgiveness that has occurred this past year has been surprising.

9) Did you suffer illness or injury?

Not physically, though the heartache of the previous year was brought to a climax.

10) What was the best thing you bought?

Our new house! What a joy to return "home" to Sacramento, and to be able to own a home again.

11) Whose behavior merited celebration?

I continue to be blessed, inspired, and challenged by the love and faithfulness that Molly has displayed in numerous situations this past year. Most recently, she brought lunch, warm clothing, and a copy of the Message to a homeless man she had befriended the week before, all of her own accord. She is really living a life of love.

12) Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

What can I say here? The life I had was shattered by others' choices. All one can do is grieve the losses and be grateful for the gains I'm discovering.

13) Where did most of your money go?

We invested our savings into the purchase of our new home. Other than that, we've put most of our money into paying off our van, and contributing towards missions.

14) What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Taking a whole week off work, and coming to Minnesota for a White Christmas with Gary's family. Awesome!

15) What songs will always remind you of 2009?

Halo, by Beyonce, and Mad World, by Adam Lambert.

16) Compared to this time last year, are you:

Wiser? Indeed.
Healthier? Emotionally, yes.
Richer? Relationally and experientially... definitely!

17) What do you wish you’d done more of?

Prayed.

18) What do you wish you’d done less of?

Cried.

19) How did you spend Christmas?

With Gary's family in Minnesota. I love them so much!

20) Did you fall in love in 2009?

There's no new love in my life, but better than that, I am falling even more in love with my sweet husband in new ways.

21) What was your favorite blog post that you wrote?

Looking Back on 2008, which this post is based on. I've reflected on that post many times over this past year.

22) What were your favorite TV programs?

America's Next Top Model (still terribly fierce! or should I say, fiercely terrible!), So You Think You Can Dance, and Glee (at least, up until the adulterous season finale).

23) Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

Hate? No. I've been deeply disappointed by a few individuals' choices, but that only leads to regret over what might have otherwise been.

24) What was the best book you read?

The Prodigal God, by Timothy Keller, and Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, have been thought provoking and potentially life-changing (only time will tell, right?). In terms of fun reading, I finally jumped on the Harry Potter bandwagon and have enjoyed the first novel so far.

25) What was your greatest musical discovery?

This year's season of American Idol was fun, inspiring, and let to great family memories. We took Molly to the concert tour this past summer for her birthday, and had a blast.

26) What did you want and get?

Believe it or not, I got everything I wanted but didn't get last year! (Answers. A coffee bean grinder. Cute brown shoes.) Also, a good camera for pursuing my photography. Plus, a good job, and a home of our own.

27) What did you want and not get?

Honestly, I'm pretty content right now. There are a few things I could use (new winter clothes, home furnishings), but the greatest unfulfilled desire of my heart is to see Molly living out her call on the mission field in Africa. Hopefully God will open the doors for that to happen in 2010.

28) What was your favorite film of this year?

Up, and The Blind Side. Both terrific and inspiring movies.

29) What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 32 this year, and celebrated with Gary and Molly by enjoying a fondue dinner at The Melting Pot, followed by picking out my present (an iPod!) at Best Buy.

30) Which celebrity/public figure did you like the most?

I don't know if Francis Chan fits this category, but he is an author/speaker who I have been greatly encouraged by. He is the pastor at my parents' church, Cornerstone Simi, and I listen to his sermon podcasts almost daily. I really identify with his heart to love God with passion, obedience and in truth.

31) How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

"Social Work Professional". This year, I couldn't dress myself everyday in T-shirts from old youth group camps. I had to save those for the weekends! Turns out I clean up pretty nicely, though!

32) What kept you sane?

My new job. Definitely. It has been so healthy to pour my energy into a job in which I am helping people every day, using and developing my skills, and supporting my family. I never could have predicted how life-giving this would be.

33) Who did you miss?

Friendships through our church that faded away after our/their departure.

34) Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009.

Life consists of different seasons, and that's not only ok, but a good thing.

35) What did you gain this year?

Healing. Peace. Confidence.

36) What did you lose this year?

I lost a fair amount of faith in "church", as might be expected. I'm getting ready to try again, though. I also feel that a sense of the youth ministry family was lost through the dissolution of Youth Specialties as we knew it.

37) Who was the best new person you met?

I've met some really cool people through my job this year. For example, one of my clients is a tiny woman with Downs Syndrome who lives on her own, maintains a beautifully clean and homey apartment, works a job, and completely dominates at Special Olympics. She loves her life and always inspires me to just go for it.

38) Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

You are the one
Who has saved us
You are the one
Who forgave us
You are the one who has come
And is coming again
To make it alright
Oh, to make it alright
You’re the remedy
Oh, in us
You’re the remedy
-Remedy, David Crowder