Becky's first baby shower

On Sunday our church (Stephanie organized) threw a baby shower for Becky. Thankfully I was not forced to participate, but when I showed up at the end of the shower to help pack-up the goods, I couldn’t believe how much stuff there was. There were tons of socks, blankets, and clothes… even a little baseball mitt. A couple of women made a blanket and an "Ethan Andrew McCown" pillow. Becky and I are really blessed to be part of the family at Bayside. It’s gonna be really tough to leave in August.


And on Saturday night Becky and I saw Amazing Grace with some friends. It’s the true story of how William Wilberforce helped end the slave trade in 19th century Britain. The movie was very well done, and it was inspiring to how much good this man was able to do by letting God work through him.

Dungy & company: Super Bowl champions

Last night the Indianapolis Colts played an impressive game, knocking off the Chicago Bears 29-17. Becky and I had a great time watching the game (and celebrating her birthday) with a large group of friends over at the Reaves’ home (now that I’ve seen a Super Bowl in high-def, I don’t think I can ever watch it in low-def again ). I was pulling hard for the Colts since I wanted Manning to get his first Super Bowl ring, and because of the tragedy that the Dungy family had been through the previous year.

This was a momentous Super Bowl because it was the first time either team (in this case both teams) had a black head coach. But that distinction wasn’t what Dungy thought was most important. Here’s what he said during the trophy ceremony:

I'm proud to be the first African-American coach to win this, but again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only African-American but also Christian coaches, showing you can do it the Lord's way. We're more proud of that.

Dungy and Lovie are both roaring lambs, guys that exemplify Christ in a demanding, stressful job. There's a website that talks about their story and their search for something "beyond the ultimate." Now if only we could get one of them to take the head coaching job in Dallas...

Best Super Bowl commercial? My votes go to Kevin Federline ("Federline! What? Fries!") and the slap commercial.

The ACLU and nonsectarian prayer

Last week, a federal judge dismissed a Fredericksburg City Council member's lawsuit challenging the council's nonsectarian prayer policy. Ironically, the ACLU of Virginia is fighting in this case to limit the liberties of an individual rather than protect them. It’s not quite so surprising when you learn their opponent is a Christian who desires to use the name “Jesus Christ” in an opening prayer for the city council.

A lawyer friend of mine who is intimately familiar with this case offered the ideal ACLU prayer, guaranteed to be as nonsectarian as possible:

"At this point we would like to call on a genderless, nameless higher power than ourselves and invoke that being (or those beings) intervention (or non-intervention as the case may be) upon this governmental body."

If it ever does come down to that, most of us would rather have no prayer at all. That’s exactly what the ACLU is hoping as well.

Immediate action required now

I was just reminded this week of the dangers of pornography when a friend of mine shared his personal struggles with it. It is ripping his life apart. There’s no doubt about it… this stuff is poison. It will poison your relationship with your spouse, your friendships with members of the opposite sex, and your soul. Don’t mess with it.

There’s a really good article about Steve Holladay and his struggles with pornography addiction in the Christian Chronicle (April 2006). Steve talked to our church one night about struggles with pornography and his ministry to reach out to youth who struggle with pornography addiction. (Steve was finishing his Ph.D. here in town at Regent University.)

One point the article made that I will share here is that pornography today is a much more dangerous beast than it was just fifteen years ago, and for that reason, it deserves your attention now. The three A’s - accessibility, affordability, and anonymity – illustrate this change. Fifteen years ago you had to physically visit a store selling pornography, pay for it, and reveal your identity. Today you can access pornography for free in your home or office and remain totally anonymous. And even if you don’t have any intentions on viewing pornography, it is emailed to you daily and appears in search engine results. You just can’t get away from it.

If you are concerned about your spiritual health and know that pornography is a strong temptation for you, there is absolutely no reason why you should not be using a filtering service like the American Family Filter. Of course filtering software isn’t going to block everything, and I’d recommend you go one step further and use accountability software like Covenant Eyes.

We owe it to ourselves and to our spouses to keep our conscience and minds clear of sexual immorality. God doesn’t ask anything less of us, and He has promised to give us strength to overcome it.

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."
- Isaiah 40:29

"And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
- I Corinthians 10:13