The Plague, Cousins, Advice

We had the plague hit our house a couple weeks ago. If you were to walk onto our back porch, you would be instantly attacked by these little specks you can see on the tape...

They almost completely covered our kids, looking like mud moving up their bodies, biting and embedding themselves in the skin. It was terrible. Under a magnifying glass they looked like baby ticks. But our doctor sent them in and an entomologist at Iowa State concluded that they were bird mites.

Lesson: Never let a bird's nest anywhere on or around your house.

After spraying and getting rid of the nest, the plague cleared right before we welcomed family visiting from the other side of the globe. First time together in 2 years!

The cousins loved meeting each other for the first time...

Makai wears his baseball glove at all times. It comes in handy for such a time as this...

The garden is ripe...

Our connection group went to help out a family in our group clean up from the wind storm that swept across central Iowa and hit their town with 130+ mph WINDS. It looked like a tornado hit Vinton...

What would a blog post be without evidence of kids sabotaging a perfectly good batch of banana bars? Imagine me looking down to see this and then yelling, "JETT??!!!!!!" We then go on to play out the scene from Genesis 3:9-12...

Who knows how long this headless star wars figure has been riding with us? Good thing we didn't rear end anyone. He would've been dead...

I mentioned before the challenge of where to find Rob Bell's new book at Barnes&Noble, but the truly formidable task was finding a home for it on my book shelf. I think I'm happy with my decision...

...Lodged between Idiot's Guide to World Religions and Jesus Under Fire. And yet not too far from church history, as a reminder of the nugget of wisdom my friend David Churchill bequeathed upon me the summer of '98...

"When I was a teenager, I never listened to anyone over 30. Now that I'm over 30, I don't listen to anyone under 300."

"July"...Just what I've been waiting for!

I'm so stoked for the release of the official music video for "July." The song and video capture the pathos of summer. We all have our "Brookside Parks", places where we enjoy the goodness of God as we gather with friends and share life in God's good creation. The video is also a good companion to the chapter on "Hope" from Mere Christianity. These moments are a glimpse of what is yet to come.

It's great to see old friends, too. Ahh Travis and Wendy, Savannah is such a cutie! We miss Ames.

What I'm Reading and Watching

First of all, I'm trying to do more of the former and less of the latter... so I'm going to try to make this post sound like I'm doing a LOT of reading and very little TV watching- hardly any. Here's my best shot at it...

"The Online Looking Glass": Ross Douthat is my favorite editorialist. This article is prophetic, and something I have to think about all the time. Why do we feel the need to blog, post our thoughts and pictures online for the world to see? It can lead to the dark place of narcissism.

"Miami Heat Needs to Work on Their People Skills": I'm one of the "billions" that enjoyed watching the Heat lose Sunday night. But why? Mike Lopresti has a good take.

"The Reason for God": This is one of those books that I'm ashamed I haven't read yet. Speaking of prophetic, there's a reason God has put his favor all over Tim Keller's writings and ministry. He's worth hearing.

Team of Rivals: I'll be reading this book for awhile...

"Mere Christianity": This won't be the last time I talk about reading and (currently) listening to this book by C.S. Lewis. Next to the Bible, this is my most frequented book. Writing about it is my way of prodding you to take and read, not throwing out the excuse "I read it once back in college."

"Revelation: God Wins" (itunes podcast or website): Speaking of what I'm listening to... My partner's bro, Bob Thune Jr., just finished rocking this series on Revelation. People ask about my view on Revelation and end times... Bob articulates them in his journey through Revelation with his church, Coram Deo. Revelation is cyclical, allegorical, and as much about the past (the cross) as the future. As GK Chesterton said, "And though St. John saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators." God won, and he will win. God wins. We were going to teach through this at Veritas this fall, but I think we're headed for Luke's two books this fall and spring...

Samuel and the Epistles: I'm reading the ESV in a year. I'm not loving the ESV, mostly because it doesn't follow the most natural lingual paths. On the other hand, it's more literal translation colors in certain parts of the text. For example, this morning in Colossians 2:18 the ESV uses "asceticism" where the NIV uses "false humility." An argument could be made for either word choice, but I hadn't heard "asceticism" used before in that passage and it seemed to help me understand what Paul was conveying. Next year I think I'm going to give the Holman translation a shot.

Joshua 6 and related commentaries: I'm preaching on the fall of Jericho this week at Veritas. Last week Jeff took one for the team, taking on the issue of circumcision in Joshua 5.

Now to the candy section of life- what I've been watching:

I just subscribed to FreddeGredde's youtube channel thanks to Todd Wallace's twitter post.

Ryan Seiler's "Greener" music video

Sarah Palin's explanation of Paul Revere. That's just plain sad; enough to end someone's political career.

I recorded the Republican debate last night but I'm not sure if I'll get around to watching it. I'm a little jaded when it comes to politics right now, but I know I should be informed and prayerful for our leaders and country.

Truth be told, the reason for less tv watching is seasonal. NBA finals are over, who cares about baseball until late September?, and we have a 3 month lull until kickoff of college/NFL football.

For now, I'll get back to pretending I like to read more than watch tv...

The Psalm Project and Anthem

I have to commend the Psalm Project blog to you, especially to all of you aspiring songwriters and artists out there. Here's a little background.

In 2006, I started this event called "Anthem." My vision was simple: young people gathering for a night of extended worship and prayer. Nothing revolutionary. But my hope was that through this God would draw out the talent in our youth and college ministries, causing students to aspire to write and create music for God's glory. I was a frustrated youth pastor, who often watched the most gifted musicians sit in the back and scoff at our worship team, who basically just covered the Big 3 (Crowder, Tomlin, United...). The mockers in the back were so eager to throw their instruments and voices in the mud of idolatry.

There's obviously nothing wrong with using mainstream songs for corporate worship, but I wanted to create our own worship culture. I thought we might get more buy in from students. What would it be like for kids, teenagers and college students to grow up dreaming of writing Anthem songs? Not for fame or career, but as an overflow of their passion for Jesus Christ and personal time spent with Him.

Anthem has recently multiplied- the movement in Ames is still strong (April 29th, 8pm at Cornerstone auditorium), but we've also started an Anthem team in Iowa City. Some amazing young talent has quickly emerged here- so much that we're recording an album this May! But one of the highlights from the last Anthem for me was during our prayer time before practice...

Here's where the Psalm Project ties into this Anthem rant

One of our new female vocalists and songwriters, Brianna Goodman, shared about being at the very first Anthem back in the Fall of 2006. She recalled being more into athletics at the time, with no thought of ever being a musician. Well, God has lit her heart on fire for Christ, and has given her the gift to express it. People like me (who don't have the writing gift) are so glad when God inspires gifted people! We get to use their songs to inspire our own worship.

That's why the Psalm Project gets me stoked and a little choked up (though I'm sure not as much as her mom, dad, and aunt :)... many of you know the Goodmans and Erin Burmeister).

Well, here's the link for Bri and Lauren's Psalm Project blog, with some YouTubes embedded. I'm sure you'll hear a song or two on the new Anthem album...

Just a quick P.S.... many of those scoffers in the back row of youth group have since given their lives to Christ. Alex Register plays electric in the Anthem (Ames) band. And others have come to help us plant Veritas in Iowa City (Jamie, Jack). Thanks Travis Pierce- it's never in vain 1 Cor. 15:58. SDG.

Fellow artists, listen up

"Someone once asked Somerset Maugham if he wrote on a schedule or only when struck by inspiration.

'I write only when inspiration strikes,' he replied. 'Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o'clock sharp.'

That's a pro... by performing the mundane physical act of sitting down and starting to work, he set in motion a mysterious but infallible sequence of events that would produce inspiration, as surely as if the goddess had synchronized her watch with his. He knew if he built it, she would come."

- The War of Art, p. 64 by Steven Pressfield

Now, Ryan and Bobby, if you get your albums out, I'll finish my books. Deal?

Where have we been?

Great question. The last month has been a blur with our move to Iowa City. Pictures tell a thousand words, so I'll go with that. But first, the timeline...

May 1/2- Commissioned at our last official Cornerstone services. Spoke on "Worship"

May 3-25- Tying up loose ends from 15 years in Ames. Most "loose ends" didn't get tied. I can't even think about all the people we didn't get to hug and say "thanks and goodbye" to.

May 25- Left Ames for the last time. Officially closed on our house in Ames June 1.

May 25-June 2- Spent some time in Omaha

June 2-early September- At our temporary home until our house is finished. On with the pics..

Aug 25- TSC in IC kicks off

Sept 12- First church service in IC

Cleaning out my office brought back a lot of memories. This is late Grandpa Bill's (click here) copy of "Pursuit of God", which he quoted all the time. It's one of the few books I've read more than a few times. It's this "pursuit of God" (my pursuit of him and more importantly his pursuit of me) that has brought this wonderful craziness upon us... a move to Iowa City.

Above: Jeff and Ashley Thune, our new partners in ministry, lived with us for 2 weeks in May. We had a blast...what an awesome couple! We put Jett on the table and let them compete over who Jett would go to first. Jeff won in this case... I think the jar of honey had something to do with it.

Below: I was hunting for a ball in the grass- a common occurrence when I golf- when I almost stepped on this huge snake. I screamed like a little school girl. Jesse Reyes manned up on the snake and pulled it out of the grass. Then Jeff took over. Notice I'm behind Jeff, a safe distance from the serpent.

Above: Recording in Minneapolis for the new Anthem album, which is going to be awesome. It should be out in late August if all goes well. I'm very pleased with how it sounds so far.

Below: One challenge with moving was that our strategies for containing our 10 month old were becoming less effective. He's escaping and going head first into the lego bin. The problem is that he doesn't think ahead of time how he's going to get out (below)

Leatha has been building some furniture for our new house (click here for link to knock-off wood.com). Dad helped us take it to the next level on our new dining room table with his finish carpenter skills.

Above: Dad playing with Jett

Below: How fitting. The very last items in our house were 3 boxes of kleenex. Leaving Ames was like losing a loved one; lots of grieving in the last days.

But we had a good time with family in Omaha after leaving Ames. I wonder how much longer Beck will see both his great-grandma's, both in their early 90's. Grandma Rena on the left, Grandma Marge on the right.

Above: All the travel and moving has been exhausting.

Below: One of the pleasures in Omaha... skating with longtime friend Curt (middle) and my brother Steven. I'm lobbying Leatha for a skate ramp in our back yard at our new house.

Above: Kids sleeping at our temporary home

Below: This is the best picture we could come up with for our support letter. The thing we realize is that the bigger our family gets, the harder it is to get a good picture.

Please pray for us. There is not a mountain ahead of us with this church plant. It's a mountain range. We covet your prayers and support ("support" is the subtle way of saying "money").

Speaking of money, I hate writing this more than you hate reading it...

But if you are interested in giving to the church plant in Iowa City (we're still deciding on a name), click here. It's easy from there (after clicking "one time gift" or "recurring gift", put in the amount and scroll down for my name). Or if you want to go old school, just write a check out to Cornerstone Church with "Iowa City- Mark Arant" in the memo and send it to Cornerstone Church, 56829 U.S. Hwy 30, Ames, IA 50010.

I'm sure I'll be doing more blogging in the days to come. Stay tuned for the adventures that lie ahead.

Cha Ching

I hit the jackpot today.

I was looking for something to engage my mind as I was cleaning the floors and windows when I stumbled upon Peter Kreeft's website. Click here for some mind calisthenics.

What better to break the monotony of our often brain dead cultural routines than some thoughts from a great Catholic philosopher? There are a lot of great downloads on the audio page for different topics that might pique your interest (i.e. pro-life arguments, C.S. Lewis insights, sex, heaven, arguments for God's existence...a little something for everyone).

Here's the opening page of the website...

Augustine tells of a vision of seeing a little boy at a beach scooping up the ocean thimbleful by thimbleful and emptying it out on the sand. Then he sees an angel who tells him that this boy will have emptied out the entire ocean long before Augustine has exhausted what can be said about God.

This site's Featured Writings and Featured Audio about the ocean of God's love are only a few thimblefuls. No—less. For God's love is literally infinite. It is the shoreless sea we are destined to swim in, surf in, and grow in forever.

Under the Mercy,

Peter J. Kreeft

I just found out that he will likely be our speaker for the Veritas Forum that we'll be hosting at Iowa State in February. I'm looking forward to spending some time with him and being a sponge for a couple bitterly cold Iowa days.

Here's the youtube link I listened to while cleaning the floors. There's not really much to watch, just visualization stuff...

On a philosophically related note- For those of you who remember Plato's "forms", I saw this car and cracked up. It's the car I drew as an artistically challenged first grader. It's the purest and most ideal form of "car".

Poetry

I love poetry, though I rarely read it, seldom write it, and hardly understand it.

More accurately, I've always wanted to want to enjoy poetry.

A few things have converged recently to stir this in me.

1. Cameron has been reading a lot, and he loves to read Mother Goose nursery rhymes. For Cameron, these rhymes seem to be unlocking a door that is opening the world of literature to him.

2. I've been working with our Anthem song writing team to write music. Song writing is poetry- and there's a big difference between tasty and trite.

3. I spent the day with a good friend who shared one of his poems with me. It's actually one of our church's founding pastors, Harold Nesbitt (now working in Kazakstan)...

You Can't Trust A Nigger With A Gun

The graves we dug in the pourin' rain
With enemy fire still a comin' down.
The mud so deep, feared I might be drowned
And laid 'side them who was done with pain.

And the thunder rolled,
And a baby cried,
And a soldier cried,
But I's feelin' bold.

Said: 'Yanks I'll shoot jus' cause they's down here.'
'Cept muskets waren't meant for colored men
Who's fit to dig but not to dig in-
To save our homes- all that we hold dear.

And the thunder rolled,
And a baby cried,
And a soldier cried,
But I's feelin' bold.

A gun I grabs from the Union dead;
'Twas loaded and cocked and good to fire.
I's aimed and fixin' to vent my ire
When bullets exploded in my head.

And the voice of a Reb who knew me said,
'You can't trust a nigger with a gun;
'For sure, he'll shoot his Massah and run.'

And the thunder rolled,
And a baby cried,
And a soldier cried,
And so's I died.

This is the progression- Your first thought might be something like mine, "What does this poem mean?"You re-read it and realize, "It obviously takes place during the civil war. A slave wants to help his master fight against the North. So he picks up the gun of a fallen Union soldier and begins to fight alongside the Confederate army. He was just joining the war when he was shot by a Confederate soldier who told him he wasn't fit to carry a gun."

Someone dies at the hand of a fellow countryman while fighting for the same cause. All because of skin color. You can feel the dissonance in the refrain, "And the thunder rolled..." In other words- it's not how the world should be. It's not right.

My mind fast forwards to modern America. I wonder if some people might not vote for Obama because of his skin color or middle name. An African American seeking to join the fight for his country- and is shot.

It's not a political poem. The author (or me) is not saying you should vote for Obama. But it raises these questions and makes me think.

The poem took me to another place, then helped me reflect on life. That's good poetry.