Standing Without Support

I wonder if Namrata will start walking in Delhi.....

Peek-a-Boo!

 I like the way she tries to wake Anand up to play with her.

"The Best Marriage Advice Ever"

To carry on from the previous post, Moment by Moment Approach to Marriage, here's Shaun Groves writing about some of the best marriage advice he has ever received, in a post provocatively titled A Full Day of Foreplay

"Foreplay for a man, he said, starts a few minutes (or seconds) before…well, you know what, and my mom and dad are reading so I’m not spelling it out.

But, he said, foreplay for a woman begins when her husband takes out the trash."

The Joy of Creating

I wonder what conclusions Child Psychologists might reach from this video.....

I really like this video, but unfortunately, the quality of the video on the blog is not that great, and you really cannot see what he has drawn as well as in the original video on our computer. Do remind me to show you the original video the next time you visit us...!

9 more photos have been uploaded on Flickr

Trip to Delhi

Later today, we will be starting on a long train journey to Delhi. God willing, we should be back in Vellore by the 30th night.

Please pray for us:
-This is the longest continuous journey we have made after the children arrived. On our previous trips to Delhi, we broke journey at Hyderabad. This time, we are unable to do that.
-Arpita has conjunctivitis in both eyes. Anand has fever.
-The logistics of arranging food for the children, especially Namrata, is turning out to be quite interesting!

Does Walking Prevent Cognitive Decline?

via Journal Watch

Neurology article

"Older adults who walk frequently have lower risk for cognitive decline years later, according to an observational study in Neurology.

Some 300 adults aged 65 or older reported how much they walked per week, and then had MRI scans 9 years later. Those who walked at least 72 blocks (6–9 miles) a week had greater gray matter volume on later MRI, compared with those who walked less. In turn, those with more gray matter volume were less likely to have cognitive impairment 4 years after the MRI, relative to those with less gray matter volume.

The authors say their findings "are in line with data that aerobic activity induces a host of cellular cascades that could conceivably increase [gray matter] volume." Still, they caution that their study does not prove a causal link between walking and better cognition."

Two quotes:

The Time Traveller...

1. A New Identity (The Truth about our Past)

“The gospel is the best news we could ever hear. The gospel is about Jesus Christ and his power to transform our lives and relationships, communities, and ultimately, the nations. Through this gospel, we are freely given a new identity — an identity not based on race, social class, gender, a theological system, or a system of rules and regulations. Rather it is a new and perfect identity based solely on faith in Jesus — an identity that defines every aspect of our lives. We are now forgiven, righteous, adopted, accepted, free, and heirs to everything that belongs to Christ. So even our sin, weakness, and failures do not define who we are. Because of this good news, we no longer have to hide from our sin and pretend that we have it all together, for God knows and loves us as we are, not as we pretend to be.”

- Neil H. Williams, Gospel Transformation, 2nd ed. (Jenkintown, Pa.; World Harvest Mission, 2006)

(HT: OFI)


2. Suppose... (The Truth about our Future)


“Now suppose both death and hell were utterly defeated. Suppose the fight was fixed. Suppose God took you on a crystal ball trip into your future and you saw with indubitable certainty that despite everything — your sin, your smallness, your stupidity — you could have free for the asking your whole crazy heart’s deepest desire: heaven, eternal joy. Would you not return fearless and singing? What can earth do to you if you are guaranteed heaven? To fear the worst earthly loss would be like a millionaire fearing the loss of a penny — less, a scratch on a penny.”

Peter Kreeft, Heaven (San Francisco, 1989), page 183.

(HT: Ray Ortlund)

Moment by Moment Approach to Marriage

(via Z)

Paul Tripp:

If you are going to have a marriage that lives in unity, understanding, and love, you must have a little-moment approach to your marriage. God has crafted a life for us that does not careen from huge, consequential moment to huge, consequential moment. You can probably name only two or three life-changing situations you have lived through. Every day we lay little bricks on the foundation of what our life will be. The bricks of words said, actions taken, little decisions, little thoughts, and small-moment desires all work together to form the functional edifice that is your marriage.

So, you have to view yourself as a marital mason. You are daily on the job adding another layer of bricks that will determine the shape of your marriage for days, weeks, and years to come. Things in a marriage go bad progressively. Things become sweet and beautiful progressively. The problem is that we simply don’t pay attention, and because of this we allow ourselves to think, desire, say, and do things that we shouldn’t.

Here are a handful of helpful questions to consider:

Do you fight for your own way in little things or see them as an opportunity to serve?
Do you allow yourself to go to bed irritated after a little disagreement?
Do you leave for work day after day without a moment of tenderness?
Do you allow yourself to do little rude things you would never have done in courtship?
Do you still ask for forgiveness in the little moments of wrong?
Do you complain about how the other does little things, when it really doesn’t make a difference?
Do you make decisions without consultation?
Do you invest in the friendship intimacy of your marriage?
Do you complain about the others weaknesses? Or do you see these as opportunities to encourage?
Do you search for little avenues to express love?
Do you keep records of wrongs?
Do you regularly express appreciation and respect?
Do you swallow little hurts that you once would’ve discussed?
Do you turn little requests into regular demands?

Read the rest of this post from the Crossway blog.

Arpita's effect on Anand

(overheard yesterday)
Anand (singing softly to himself): "What shall we do with the drunken sailor?"

He stops suddenly, almost in mid-sentence, and asks himself solemnly, "Does this honor God?"

Today's Links 13/10/2010

1. Why Parenting may be your Highest Calling..

Elrena Evans writes that "psychologists are considering a shift to famed psychologist Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

Long a fixture in the training of educators and workforce managers, Maslow’s pyramid argues that humans’ basic needs (food, water, air, sleep) must be met before they can begin to seek other, “higher” fulfillments. It makes sense: bereft of basic needs, people can’t concentrate on bigger goals. I saw this pyramid again and again when in college, minoring in education, used to stress that a child who feels hungry, tired, and unsafe is really not going to care about learning algebra, and with good reason.

Now, though, a team of four researchers headed by Arizona State University social psychology professor Douglas T. Kenrick is challenging the top tier of Maslow’s pyramid. They write in a paper recently published in Perspectives on Psychological Science that Maslow’s ultimate goal, the pinnacle of human achievement, is not “self-actualization” or the accomplishment of such higher-order functions as creativity, problem-solving, and morality. It is — wait for it — parenting.

It goes without saying that the switch has stirred up some reaction."

(read more...)

For those who are interested, here's the suggested new pyramid:

2. I wonder if you have heard of Francis Chan. You can read a bit of his story on Wikipedia. Recently, he announced that he was leaving the church that he had founded in 1994, and sold his house to obey God's call to follow Him. Considering that he had started this church with only 30 people, and was now pastoring 1600, and that he said he had no idea where God was taking him, but wanted to be free to be obedient when God's will became clearer, you can guess that this was big news.

You can find an interview with him here.









3. The ECCU: An interesting Christian banking organization in the US that believes in socially responsible banking, and says that "both individuals and ministries who invest with them can have the added assurance that their deposits are always used to support evangelical ministries and missionary members worldwide, never for causes contrary to Scripture."

Do you know of anything similar to this in India? It sounds like a great idea.




4. Restaurant High Chairs Carry More Bacteria Than Toilet Seats :


"According to swabs taken at 30 different restaurants, the amount of bacteria found on high chairs was significantly greater than the amounts found on public toilets. Toilets had an average of eight bacteria per square centimeter. High chairs had 147."

(HT: Challies)

5. In the light of that previous statistic, it's probably good that the Eastern toilet is so popular in India. In case you have become Western enough to have forgotten how to use the Eastern latrine, here's a refresher video that will help you increase your 'cultural intelligence'.

What is Truth?

Pilate's famous question.(John 18:38)

We have come up with an interesting perspective over the past week.

I am referring, of course, to the Ayodhya verdict.

While I think the verdict is pragmatic, and perhaps offers a solution that may be finally acceptable to all parties, as the least dangerous option, and the one most likely to work, I am afraid the verdict seems to have been based on a suspect interpretation of 'Truth'.

I heard a BJP leader ask rhetorically on TV before the verdict, "What greater proof can be presented to show that Ram was born at this spot in Ayodhya than the fact that millions of Hindus believe this happened?".

Read these two opinions from The Hindu, and the South Asian Observer. Apparently, the court decided "that the Hindu plaintiffs in the case have a claim to the disputed site because “as per [the] faith and belief of the Hindus” the place under the central dome of the Babri Masjid where the idols of Ram Lalla were placed surreptitiously in 1949 is indeed the “birthplace” of Lord Ram." even though the weight of evidence is that it is highly unlikely a temple ever existed at that site.

I am concerned.

"Truth" is absolute. There is only one "Truth" about any question. "Truth" does not change depending on what the majority think, even if the majority is millions of people.

Take an example:
Imagine if a court in the time of the ancient Greeks ruled, "The fact that millions of people believe the earth is flat is the greatest proof that the world is indeed flat. We rule in favour of the majority: The Earth is flat."

That would not have changed the "Truth". "Truth" is absolute. The earth is not flat, even though that was the faith and belief of the majority at the time.

Majorities have been famously wrong. The majority thought Jesus deserved to die. The majority believed the sun revolves around the earth and Galileo was found 'vehemently suspect of heresy' and kept under house arrest . The majority in Germany believed Hitler was right. Peer Pressure often results in people doing something wrong

I would like to see this dispute peacefully settled, but I would also like to see that absolutes exist.......and therein lies my difficulty: What can the court decide if the "faith and beliefs" of the majority is wrong, and they have made historical mistakes, and are willing to resort to violence to forcefully take what they wrongly believe is theirs? Simple adherence to the "Truth" will result in violence and bloodshed, and hence the country is arm-twisted into a political and pragmatic solution. Not ideal, but is there any other option?

Today's Links 1/10/10

1. Following on a previous post, which talked about how a majority of teens-of-Christian-origin today have inherited a religion called "moralistic therapeutic deism", here is another article that talks of how atheists and agnostics seem to know more about religion than many Christians, and about how many people know very little about their own religion. The 'Christians' who knew the most about 'Christianity' were (hold your breath!) the Mormons!

I think the study may have been poorly designed. For example, there may, in fact, be many 'good' Protestant Christians who do not know who Martin Luther was (to the shock of those who thought this was crucial, and included this question in the study). I, myself, do not think that is a 'most basic tenet'. However, it does make an important point.

(HT: Pure Church)

2. An interesting semi-autobiographical article written by  Lila Rose, a 22-year old who has courageously and heroically taken on the abortion industry with a number of undercover video exposes over the past 4 years.

(HT: Z)

I think she is a hero, and more proof that we should expect more from our young people, instead of dumbing them down. That is the basic premise behind The Rebelution