Leighanna’s Senior Portraits

This morning I had the chance to make senior portraits with Leighanna Mixter. She’s a wonderful young lady, and I enjoyed spending the morning with her and her parents. Enjoy the video!

Baby pics by Lisa

Yesterday Lisa shot David and Jonathan Muxlow, week-old twin boys. Enjoy the cute pictures!

Roman worship

Ed. note: Written by hand February 9, 2008 at our home at 491 S. Reed Ave. and posted later. 

History is full of treasures and surprises.  In Will Durant’s Caesar and Christ I was privileged to read about the Roman religious sacrificial system.  It turns out that animals sacrificed to Rome’s gods were thought to become the gods themselves.

Thus it was that the sacrifice was thought to be not just a sacrifice of an animal, but a sacrifice of the god himself.  I see in this the seed or foreshadow of the concept of Christ’s substitutionary atonement.  After the sacrifice was complete, the animal’s internal organs were given to sacred flames and the flesh served to the priests and worshipers.  Thus it was hoped that the god’s strength and glory would pass to the people.

There are several ways to interpret the relationship between this practice and Jesus’ Godly sacrifice.  One is that Christianity merely borrowed the concept from older religion.  That may be.  But I prefer to see in this practice a foreshadow of humanity’s spiritual center of gravity: Christ’s sacrificial death and glorious resurrection.  The Romans were no fools, and this drama, this death-of-god, is hardwired into humans past and present.  It’s a truth we know with a source we don’t.

Jesus may have had this god-sacrifice in mind when he said in John 6:53, “Unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”  He was indicating that the glory and strength of God can pass into our lives only because of his sacrificial death and atonement.

The ancients would have understood, and now I do, too.

Amazing Grace

Ed. note: Written by hand January 30, 2008 at the pediatrician’s office and posted later. Liam had pneumonia.

Dean Parento is in the hospital. This morning we prayed for his salvation. My thoughts pursuant to that prayer are wretched; a self-indictment. They wandered along a path peopled by three figures: Dean, John Newton and me. These thoughts are set to a soundtrack: Chris Tomlin’s rendition of Amazing Grace. I know I’ve written unfavorably about this song in the past. Witness me now despising my own hubris.

Tomlin’s version, coincidentally, is also the soundtrack to the recent movie of the same name. The movie portrays John Newton, the author of Amazing Grace, as an old man haunted bu the ghosts of 20,000 slaves who died in his charge while he was captain of a slave-trading ship. The committer of terrible offenses against God and man, he felt the weight of God’s forgiveness palpably. Truly amazing is the grace that would forgive such sins. This forgiveness breathes as if it was the voice of the wind. It tells me of its own miraculousness. And I know that forgiveness is always a miracle, whether applied to Dean, John Newton, or me.

Too often I see myself only in peripheral vision and assume that I’m wearing armor, that I somehow wear a clean character. When I stop and look down, though, that armor turns to filthy rags. I realize again that I’m no more worthy of forgiveness than John Newton. And that gives me tremendous hope for Dean. The fact that I’m not beyond Christ’s grasp means that Dean isn’t, either. When I pray for Dean’s salvation, I know that I’m reaching beyond possibility to the realm of miracles.

But that’s where forgiveness lives, and from thence has Christ rendered my own salvation. “And like a flood, his mercy rains (reigns). Unending love, amazing grace.”

Amazing Grace, indeed.

You all love Liam pictures

I know you do, so here are a few more to enjoy.  Happy Friday!

Quote of the day

I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
– EB White

New Look

By now you’re probably either wondering which site you’re on or cursing me for changing your beloved Andrewandlisa.org site.  Please rest assured; you’re in the right spot.  I’m playing with the look a little over the next few days.  Do you have any thoughts? Feedback?  I plan to change the header graphic at the top of the page.  And I’ve carefully tweaked the stuff that appears down the left side.  Take a look there if you never have before.  I need to get to bed!

Liam’s 13-month pictures

Ed. note: deleted and re-posted. Sorry for the loss of a few precious comments! Feel free to re-post them.

Brandon & Cori’s Wedding

Brandon & Cori’s wedding was a beautiful event filled with family and love. They were blessed with such a nice day. We are honored to have been their photographers and wish them many great years together!