5 Things: Random Videos

1. Amsterdam to San Francisco night flight footage
2. How to fit in at almost any church
3. I think my wife's a Calvinist
4. Matt Chandler on "silly preaching vs. gospel preaching"
5. When missing your free throws is a good thing

How an Infant Sees the World

(Click to enlarge)

First Eye Exam

I examined Michael Sage's eyes yesterday. Michelle posts about it here. He's a bit on the chunky side, but his eyes are fine.

A few quick notes on pediatric eye exams ...

While pediatricians perform a base-level eye screening, looking for any gross abnormalities, it's important to have an eye care professional perform a more comprehensive eye examination. There have been many cases in which I've found a subtle problem that was not detected at a screening which, if not addressed early, could have turned in to a much more significant problem later on.

A child should have his first exam between 6-12 months of age. If no problems are found at that visit, then the next exams should be every 18-24 months.

Some of the things I look for at a pediatric eye exam may include:

• gross visual acuity
• refractive errors (myopia/hyperopia/astigmatism)
• eye teaming and alignment (vertical/horizontal phoria or strabismus)
  
• development of eye muscles (accuracy and range)
• comprehensive examination of eye health (from lids/cornea to the retina/optic nerve)
  

Vision and eye health problems in infants are not common, but it is important to identify children who have them at a young age, as they are easier to correct if treatment begins early.

Prevalence of Vision Problems and Eye Diseases That Will Develop in Children

• 1 in 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed vision problems
• 1 in 30 children will be affected by amblyopia – often referred to as lazy eye – a leading cause of vision loss in people younger than 45 years
• 1 in 25 will develop strabismus – more commonly known as crossed-eyes – a risk factor for amblyopia
• 1 in 33 will show significant refractive error such as nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism
• 1 in 100 will exhibit evidence of eye disease – e.g. glaucoma
• 1 in 20,000 children have retinoblastoma (intraocular cancer) the seventh most common pediatric cancer

To learn more about pediatric eye problems and InfantSEE, a program designed to offer free eye exams to infants in order to diagnose and treat these conditions, go here.

To learn more about a child's developing vision and eye health, go here.

Cash

via Justin/Mars Hill,

Johnny Cash was born 77 years ago today. Here's a video overview from Mars Hill Church:

see more Cash videos/related resources here.

Russell Moore is always worth reading, especially on his beloved Cash. Here's how he closed one essay:

Johnny Cash is dead, and there will never be another. But all around us there are empires of dirt, and billions of self-styled emperors marching toward judgment.

Perhaps if Christian churches modeled themselves more after Johnny Cash, and less after perky Christian celebrities such as Kathy Lee Gifford, we might find ourselves resonating more with the MTV generation. Maybe if we stopped trying to be “cool,” and stopped hiring youth ministers who are little more than goateed game-show hosts, we might find a way to connect with a generation that understands pain and death more than we think.

Perhaps if we paid more attention to the dark side of life, a dark side addressed in divine revelation, we might find ourselves appealing to men and women in black. We might connect with men and women who know what it’s like to feel like fugitives from justice, even if they’ve never been to jail. We might offer them an authentic warning about what will happen when the Man comes around.

And, as we do this, we just might hear somewhere up in the cloud of witnesses a voice that once cried in the wilderness: “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash.”

More Photos from Sheryl's Birthday Dinner

Check out this face ...

Sheryl's Birthday Dinner

Last night, we celebrated Sheryl's birthday. Marcia made some delicious manicotti and I got crazy with some seafood. I made California rolls (sushi grade rice, nori (seaweed), crab leg, English hot house cucumber, avocado, mayo) served with soy and wasabi.

I also made some butterflied U/8 (very large) shrimp with hoisin and peanut sauces.

Want to learn how to make California rolls? Watch this video (I substituted the roe with toasted sesame seeds):

Main Dish:How To Make A California Roll Uramaki

Ash Wednesday

Check out Cornerstone's Blog, A Glad Surrender, for a daily Psalm and prayer that will encourage you and prepare your heart as we lead up to the celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

1 piano, 5000 voices, 19 hymns

Last week I commended the Sovereign Grace music and book sale to you. Only four days left to get in on these deals. I am especially enjoying one of the CDs that I purchased.

Here's a little background on the CD project from Bob Kauflin, who put it all together:

"Last April I had the privilege of leading over 5000 folks (mostly men) in worship a the Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, KY. The sound was overpowering at times, particularly when we got to verses that unpacked the salvation Jesus secured for us through his substitutionary death.

As we worked on the mixes I was often overcome by the truths that were being proclaimed and the responses of those who were singing. It’s a different experience when there are no drums, no synths, no bass…just a piano and voices. Besides the piano accompaniment, there’s not a lot there to grab you except for the truths that are being sung. What a concept."

You can read more from Kauflin here.

I'm convinced that this album will benefit you in several ways:

• It will increase your understanding and appreciation for the immeasurable sacrifice that took place at the cross and all that it purchased for you.
• It would be a great tool to use in family worship, or a great way to start a time of family worship. In other words, get the CD and sing the songs with your kids.
• It has songs that are easy to sing and yet have remarkable depth and meaning.
  
• It will increase your love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
  
• It is full of the sound of passionate people (in this case, mostly men) singing about their great God.
• Albums like this are very rare. It's tough to find so many excellent songs that engage both the mind and heart.
  
• 19 songs (not one bad one), $6 ... comes out to 32 cents per song.
  

You can download three songs from the album for free. Go here and get the last three songs (they are listed as bonus tracks, but are not actually on the CD). Click "Buy mp3" and then download.

One more thing ... I put together a document that has the lyrics in columns so that they can be cut out. If you think this might be useful, you can download it here or you can let me know (via comment or email) and I'll get it to you promptly.

Melissa's Shower

Ella in the Afternoon

Ella spends one afternoon showing her belly, picking her nose, organizing her goldfish crackers, and dancing with her daddy.

Night @ the Mattern Home

Ella's Head Wound

Involved a punk kid named Dylan, a doll, and the corner of a wall.

Thankfully, she didn't need any stitches and she quickly returned to her happy ways.

G & G Schulz

Grandma and Grandpa Schulz are visiting for a couple days.
Ella is loving it.

Visualizing the $819 billion

From the WaPo (click through),

Josh's Photo Tricks

My friend, Josh, is back at his old photo tricks again. In almost every one, he edits a photo so that I'm attacking or killing some sort of animal or arachnid. He's not very creative. He also has bad breath.

iPod. ESV. Ears.

Want to memorize Scripture? Got an iPod? Dig the ESV?
Go here.

Who's Making the Decisions?

I've been following this issue for some time now, and am finding that some of my fears regarding the stimulus bill are being confirmed. I am particularly concerned about some of the health care language that can be found buried in the bill. Two things concern me:

1. Obama promised that before he signed any non-emergency bill, he would allow time for the public to review it and voice any concerns. Something about "transparency." On the bill presented to the Senate (the largest, most expensive, and most far-reaching in the history of our nation), we had from midnight until 8am to read over 1,000 pages. No one read it.

2. There is language in this bill that will start us on the path toward nationalized/socialized medicine. Read Cal's article, or the one from Bloomberg that I referenced last week. Whether you give a rip about politics or not, it's important.

Here are two simple reasons why the idea of a nationalized health care bureau is a bad one:

1. You can decide better on issues related to your health than politicians can. This is an easy one, and yet millions would rather suck stale milk from the government teat than exercise our freedom (and responsibility) earned by previous generations. Please forgive the colorful word-picture, I grew up around pigs.
2. Placing medical decision-making in the hands of government agencies, primarily made up of individuals who have no medical training, will lead to tremendous inefficiencies, fewer options, and further devaluation of human life, starting with the aged. It will. I'm not being an alarmist here. It has happened in every country in which these policies exist.

There's a reason that people come from all over the world to receive health care in the U.S. And it's not because our government has done such a stellar job at running the show.

Read Mr. Thomas's article here.

Stimulating Cartoon

(click to enlarge)

(HT: Justin)

Kristin's Shower

Melissa, Marcia, Kristin

Melissa & Marcia

Kristin & Melissa

Failure to Think

Tim Challies writes,

"In John Stott's little book Your Mind Matters I found this quote from Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He was commenting on Matthew 6:30 in his Studies in the Sermon on the Mount and offered a great critique to those who feel that faith and thinking are opposites; that a person who has faith is a person who refuses to use his mind. Instead, says Lloyd-Jones, a person who exercises faith must use his mind.

Faith according to our Lord's teaching in this paragraph, is primarily thinking; and the whole trouble with a man of little faith is that he does not think. He allows circumstances to bludgeon him. ... We must spend more time in studying our Lord's lessons in observation and deduction. The Bible is full of logic, and we must never think of faith as something purely mystical. We do not just sit down in an armchair and expect marvelous things to happen to us. That is not Christian faith. Christian faith is essentially thinking. Look at the birds, think about them, draw your deductions. Look at the grass, look at the lilies of the field, consider them. ... Faith, if you like, can be defined like this: It is a man insisting upon thinking when everything seems determined to bludgeon and knock him down in an intellectual sense. The trouble with the person of little faith is that, instead of controlling his own thought, his thought is being controlled by something else, and, as we put it, he goes round and round in circles. That is the essence of worry. ... That is not thought; that is the absence of thought, a failure to think."

Valentine's Day 2009

Having fun before heading out.

Big gulp.
Dinner @ Cool Basil

California rolls, Pad Thai, Yellow Curry, Thai Cucumber Salad

Women Drivers in Action

Hilarious. I'll say up front that there are plenty of men who are bad drivers. There. I said it. Now enjoy this ...


(HT: The Blazing Center)

5 Things: Valentines Day

1. FREE SONG: Marvin Gaye's classic "Let's get it on." Click the link below to get it.

2. DATE IDEAS: 15 creative date ideas from The Art of Manliness
3. TRUE LOVE: a touching article written by a man living with aggressive prostate cancer whose wife is loving him faithfully in his sickness. Here's an excerpt,

"Deb has taught me that love is in the details. Humid professions of undying love and tear-stained sonnets are all well and good, but they can’t compete with the earthy love of Deb helping me change and drain my catheter pouches each day when I first came home from the hospital."

4. ELLA: Valentine's 2008
5. MUSIC: YouTube vids of some great Valentine's Day sonnets

It's Done

Melissa has been pushing me to sign up for Wheel of Fortune for years. I don't want to brag, but I've been known to solve the puzzles with only one or two letters. I'm really that good. Really. So today, we learned that our friend, Jeremy, tried out for Wheel in Memphis.
I received this email from the wife this morning:

"You are too smart, good looking, and funny to let your talent go to waste. Try out already!"

So it's done. I emailed Sajak my application this morning. I'm expecting a call from Vanna later this week. Big Money! Big Money!

"Repeating the Lunacy"

Sovereign Grace Ministries is having another crazy music and book sale during the month of February. From SGM,

Last year, during the month of February, we reduced the prices of our CDs and books. The response was overwhelming. So we decided to repeat the lunacy. Here’s the deal:

From February 1–28, at the Sovereign Grace store, you’ll find these prices:

• Sovereign Grace books (23 of them, including Worship Matters, Worldliness, and Living the Cross Centered Life): $7 each

• all CDs produced by Sovereign Grace Music (including Together for the Gospel Live, Psalms, Come Weary Saints, Awesome God, In a Little While, and Valley of Vision): $6 each

• all books in our Pursuit of Godliness series (Why Small Groups, This Great Salvation, and others): $4 each

An Interview with Dr. Piper

John Piper, pastor for preaching and vision at Bethlehem Baptis Church in Minneapolis, MN, doesn't grant many interviews. C.J. Mahaney recently sat down with him and mined some gold. Here's one concise exchange that I found helpful:

Q: What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?
A: A great tree will fall with many small chops. Pray for daily grace to keep chopping.

Go here to learn more about Piper, including exactly how many paces from his front door to his church.

My Beautiful Girls

Another great night at the Mattern home.

(this is always how I feel after a great meal at the Mattern's)

5 Things: The Economy

1. At Obama's town hall love-fest meeting yesterday, a young man named Julio enthusiastically worships asks a question:

"Oh gracious God!"

2. Thomas Sowell on Welfare (from 1980)

3. Dave Ramsey's reaction to Obama's press conference

4. Milton Friedman schools Donahue

5. Ruin Your Health with the Obama Stimulus Plan (an article from Bloomberg)

Grandma Schulz's Mid-Life Crisis

My mother is jumping headfirst into a mid-life crisis. In the last week, she turned 60, traveled to Texas, cruised to the Caribbean, bought a new bike (she already has a bike), and (gasp!) pierced her ears. Oh yeah, and now she's on YouTube. YouTube!?!



I'd like to think that my sister is helping with the situation, but that's obviously not the case. Go here for all the details.

Caught in the Act!

This morning, I caught Ella trying to get stuff out of her bag.
What a little rascal!

Hangers & Receipts

I was surprised last week at the angst that I received over not posting two or more photos of the kid each day. To keep that from happening again, here's Eller playing with a hanger and double-checking a receipt.