The Brett Favre-John Piper Controversy

From Stephen Altrogge,

I’ve stumbled upon a conspiracy of epic proportions. Let me fill you in.

FACT: On February 11, 2009, Brett Favre announces his retirement from football season, saying that he is concerned about health risks and other various factors.

FACT: On April 30, 2009, John Piper releases a book entitled Rethinking Retirement.

FACT: John Piper lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

FACT: In May, 2009 Brett Favre begins to “rethink” his retirement. Maybe he doesn’t want to quit football. Or maybe he’s worried about wasting his life. He meets with Minnesota Vikings head coach Brad Childress to discuss playing for the Vikings.

FACT: The Vikings play in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

FACT: On August 19, 2009, Favre signs with Vikings, saying that he’s willing to take a “chance” with the Vikings.

All these facts lead to one obvious conclusion: John Piper convinced Brett Favre to play for the Vikings.

Rumor has it that other prominent evangelicals were also trying to win Favre to their team. Apparently Mark Driscoll had a book in the works entitled Death By Retirement, but Piper, who is capable of writing three books per week, got to Favre first.

Need further proof? Look at this picture of John Piper about to catch a pass thrown by Favre.

And my favorite comment:

My grave concern is did Favre come of his own free will at the open invitation of Piper or did he receive an irresistible call and had no choice? Deep theological implications.

Those who know Piper will find this remark to be quite appropriate.

Schulz Circus

Sometimes it's a circus after dinner. I happened to grab the camera and shoot a 2-minute video of an average night at our house. We know, we have weird kids.

Free Christmas Music

Amazon is offering one Christmas song per day for the next 25 days.
Click the link below.

25 Days of Free Christmas Songs

Jack & Grandma Mattern

Hickory Park

Following Jack's dedication service, we headed to Hickory Park with the Matterns and Sheriffs.

Jack's Dedication Service

Last night, in front of our church and family, we:

• Acknowledged that Jackson was a gift from God.
• Recognized that we have a tremendous responsibility to shape him so that his primary delight is in God and not blankies, food, cars, or people.
• Asked for God's help in this wonderfully serious task.

Jack in a Hat

"It's a Raccoon"

Ella and I often watch videos of animals on YouTube. Since we recently encountered some dead possums, Ella has been interested in the more reclusive four-legged furballs. So this morning we watched some funny possum and raccoon videos. Here's a screen recording of us watching a raccoon:

Recent Photos of the Kids Playing

Jack enjoys playing with big sister ...

usually.

Thanksgiving - 2009

Sneaky

Earlier this week, Melissa posted a photo of Jackson wearing one of her old outfits. It was actually Ella, and not Jackson in the photo. She posted it to see if anyone would notice. Congrats to Sarah for being the only one (that we know of) who picked up on Melissa's haberdashery:

Yes, Sarah, you are crazy. And they do look alike.

Jackson

Here is Jackson in one of my outfits from when I was a baby.

Happy Birthday Heather

We hope you had a special day. We miss you!

5 Things: Fill up that iPod

Many of our readers are traveling for the upcoming holidays. Here are 5 suggestions to fill your ears this season.

1. Desiring God audiobook (free in November from Christian Audio). This is John Piper's foundational work. A hundred years from now, people will still be reading this pivotal book, giving it credit for much of the reformed resurgence that occurred during our lifetime. Get it and listen to it once a year. You will be changed for the better. I promise.

2. Fernando Ortega's Beginnings CD (Beginnings - 2 Cd Set). $5.49 for 34 songs. Tremendous vocals, piano, instrumentals, a few Spanish songs ... bought it today and will be enjoying it for some time.

3. Fernando Ortega's Christmas CD (Christmas Songs). If $9.90 for the whole album is too steep, consider buying Let All Mortal Flesh ($0.99 ... I wrote about it last year). You can also watch a short video of Ortega describing this album below:

Fernando Ortega - Christmas Songs from fernando ortega on Vimeo.

4. Daniel Renstrom's On The Incarnation, reviewed here, here, and here (scroll down).

5. Lots more Christmas Music on Amazon.

Ella: 2 Year Stats

Weight: 27 lbs 15 oz. (67%)
Height: 33 3/4 in. (50%)
Head: 18 1/4 in. (22%)

Jackson's weight @ 7 months: 19 lbs 11 oz

*Both kids are H1N1 and regular flu vaccinated. We did find out Jackson had a double ear infection today though. He is a tough little guy and hanging in there.

Jackson Up Close

5 Things: Black Friday Myths

When it comes to finding the best deals on tech gear, I let TechBargains.com do all the heavy-lifting. They recently listed 5 Black Friday myths:

MYTH #1: The deals are over-hyped.
MYTH #2: All deals go quickly.
MYTH #3: You need to wait in store lines.
MYTH #4: The deals are cheaper in-store.
MYTH #5: Black Friday sales begin on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

Read more details here.
Also, check out their sister site, PlanetBargains.com, for deals on other stuff.

Irony

Those following the rise of the "new atheists" will find this photo and its accompanying article quite ironic.

From the Times,

The two children chosen to front Richard Dawkins’s latest assault on God could not look more free of the misery he associates with religious baggage. With the slogan “Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself”, the youngsters with broad grins seem to be the perfect advertisement for the new atheism being promoted by Professor Dawkins and the British Humanist Association.

Except that they are about as far from atheism as it is possible to be. The Times can reveal that Charlotte, 8, and Ollie, 7, are from one of the country’s most devout Christian families.

Read the short article here. Also, if you have a good explanation as to why religious education of children is not "brainwashing," I'd like to hear it.

It's Very Safe to Operate

Actually, I didn't have it locked. You have to lock it ...

New Sleeping Position

I found Jack sleeping like this when I went in to wake him up this morning. He usually cries when he ends up on his tummy. Maybe we have made a breakthrough.