Edifying play in New York

Our family, including my three grown children, went into New York the day after Thanksgiving. We saw the highly recommended off-Broadway play "Freud's Last Session", which has been plugged by various Christian sources. It is a depiction of a meeting between a soon-to-die elderly Sigmund Freud and a roughly 40 year old CS Lewis. Though no one knows if this happened, it is quite possible, as they lived in the same area in England in 1939, and had mutual friends. Freud's diary speaks of him meeting and spending much of the day with a "young professor."

The two intellectual giants spar over the meaning of life, the existence of God, the problem of suffering, and all sorts of other issues. It is funny and thought-provoking. Go if you are in NYC.

Great verse for today

This verse was really quickened to me recently- Isaiah 45:3- "I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places."

Please pray for me that I finish successfully this building in time. It has been an enormous amount of pressure and stress. But I am convinced God will do incredible things through us with it when we are done. He will send us the hidden riches!

What was in the ark?

The ark of Moses contained 3 things. The 10 commandments on tablets of stone were there, reminding of God's authority and sovereignty. The manna was there in a jar, speaking of God's provision. And the rod of Aaron, speaking of God's salvation. These are 3 things we need to be continually reminded of. I wonder where the ark is today, if it still exists?

This is from "Leap Over a Wall", reflections on the life of David, a great book I am reading, by Eugene Peterson, the author of The Message.

Angel on assignment?

I had a funny experience on my first flight to Grand Rapids, to Cleveland. The plane was full, and the man in front of me cleared a space in the last overhead bin. He then turned to me and said, "I can't fit my bag in, but you could fit yours. You'd better take it, it is the last one on the plane" (he was right, and I did). I had a funny feeling about him.

When the plane landed I had almost no time till the next plane left, maybe the last one, for Christina and Grand Rapids. I pulled my bag off and ran, making it on with only about 3 minutes until they closed the door.

After I realized that I would have had to check my bag otherwise and wait for it, which would have taken maybe an extra 10 minutes, and I would have missed my connecting destination flight.

I wonder if he was an angel. The whole incident felt unusual.

Grand Rapids

Today is my third and last day in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Christina had emergency surgery for a twisted ovary Monday morning. This is when an ovarian cyst (or something else) tangles the ovarian tube, and cuts off blood flow to it, which is dangerous and very painful. Fortunately, I was able to get out here by Monday night with the help of God (see future post on angels).

Christina is recovering from surgery and is home, but still tired and with significant pain. Thanks for your prayers, she is getting better. It was scary to be so far away from her when something like this happened so fast.

Another dream

I dreamed that my three children and myself were with a group of about 20 people (Louise was in the group), who were sending us off on a long and important journey. Part of it was a hike.

I am sure this is prophetic, but not at all about what it means. Any ideas?