I wrote a few weeks ago about our early-morning unwelcome visitor. Ever since then, we've been a tad paranoid about strange noises and such. Last night, Robyn was certain she kept hearing suspicious noises in the house while she was downstairs. I heard nothing, because I had earphones on while I studied. She came up to speak to me about the sounds she was hearing.
As we talked over what or who may be making the sounds, we heard a blood-curdling scream coming from Meredith and Maggie's room. I started running towards the room, having no idea what I might find there. Just after I took off, though, Meredith shot out of the room yelling with all the decibels her forty pound body could muster. She was shouting, "Maggie threw up on me, Maggie threw up on me!"
Yes, Maggie threw up all over Meredith. I'll spare you the disgusting details, but both girls needed a shower afterwards. For some reason, probably because she's been listening non-stop to "Little Women" for the last month, Meredith sometimes speaks like she's from the 1800's. So, amid her crying and screaming, she said things like "Mommy, it's dreadful!", and "I always feared this would happen to me!". Later, she apologized to Robyn for giving her "such a fright."
Ah, the joys of parenthood. We've got one sick child, and if history is any guide, we'll have four sick children and at least one sick adult before it's all over. I just hope there is a little less drama when it happens.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Presbytery in Portland
I spent Thursday through Saturday of last week in Portland, Oregon, for a presbytery meeting. This is a bi-annual meeting of pastors and elders from the churches in our region of the country, which includes Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana. My denomination, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, is fairly small, so that although the presbytery covers a huge geographic area, there are only twenty or so churches in it.
I enjoyed the fellowship there, and for the most part the meeting was positive. The one major exception was a decision that we made concerning a church and pastor that will be difficult to take for both. It was a sad vote to cast, but given the circumstances, one that I felt was necessary (as did the rest of presbytery, since the vote appeared to be unanimous).
On the brighter side, we heard an excellent ordination exam by a licentiate (a man who is preparing to become a minister). I was very impressed with how well he articulated his answers, and his ability to cite Scripture to support his views. The process leading to ordination is not an easy one, and each time I witness an ordination exam I am glad that I'm done with it!
As I think of it, there are hardly any occupations that involve as much intense scrutiny as a minister. There are exams before committees involving the whole range of theological knowledge, personal questions of life and faith before presbytery, preaching sermons before presbytery, and the theological exams for licensure and ordination, also before presbytery. In addition, the process of receiving a call from a church involves interviews with pastoral search committees, church sessions, and finally, at least one Question and Answer session with the entire congregation. After I completed the latter at Grace OPC in Wasilla, one member told me I must have felt as though I had just had a job interview before 50 people! It did feel like that, but that is just the tip of the iceberg!
Back to presbytery, one thing I noticed is that I'm the "Alaska guy." I got asked a lot of questions about the dark winters, and hunting and fishing (one elder from Washington was aghast that I have not done either yet; I agreed that I can't really call myself an Alaskan until I do!). Another frequent comment I heard, and one that I've heard a lot ever since we knew we were moving here, is that someone's uncle or cousin lives in Alaska. It seems everybody has a family relation living in Alaska. Now, I'm that relative living here!
Presbytery was a good time of fellowship, but I was glad to come back home. And it was good to come back home to Alaska.
I enjoyed the fellowship there, and for the most part the meeting was positive. The one major exception was a decision that we made concerning a church and pastor that will be difficult to take for both. It was a sad vote to cast, but given the circumstances, one that I felt was necessary (as did the rest of presbytery, since the vote appeared to be unanimous).
On the brighter side, we heard an excellent ordination exam by a licentiate (a man who is preparing to become a minister). I was very impressed with how well he articulated his answers, and his ability to cite Scripture to support his views. The process leading to ordination is not an easy one, and each time I witness an ordination exam I am glad that I'm done with it!
As I think of it, there are hardly any occupations that involve as much intense scrutiny as a minister. There are exams before committees involving the whole range of theological knowledge, personal questions of life and faith before presbytery, preaching sermons before presbytery, and the theological exams for licensure and ordination, also before presbytery. In addition, the process of receiving a call from a church involves interviews with pastoral search committees, church sessions, and finally, at least one Question and Answer session with the entire congregation. After I completed the latter at Grace OPC in Wasilla, one member told me I must have felt as though I had just had a job interview before 50 people! It did feel like that, but that is just the tip of the iceberg!
Back to presbytery, one thing I noticed is that I'm the "Alaska guy." I got asked a lot of questions about the dark winters, and hunting and fishing (one elder from Washington was aghast that I have not done either yet; I agreed that I can't really call myself an Alaskan until I do!). Another frequent comment I heard, and one that I've heard a lot ever since we knew we were moving here, is that someone's uncle or cousin lives in Alaska. It seems everybody has a family relation living in Alaska. Now, I'm that relative living here!
Presbytery was a good time of fellowship, but I was glad to come back home. And it was good to come back home to Alaska.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday night update
It's 10:15 p.m. on Sunday night, and Robyn and I are exhausted as usual at this time. We just got Meredith off to bed, and before calling it a day ourselves, I thought I would write with a quick update on the Johnson family since it has been a while since I blogged.
This picture is of Moriah in "BOB", a jogging stroller I received as a birthday present last year but never unpacked until about a month ago. It is a great piece of equipment. I can exercise and take one of the kids (Maggie, Sander, or Moriah) off of Robyn's hands at the same time. Now that summer is around the corner, I hope to be taking "BOB" out more often.
This morning I preached on Jesus' command to his disciples to "love your enemies." As I prepared for it, I remembered reading a fascinating obituary a few weeks ago about a man named Jacob DeShazer. He was a member of the Doolittle raid on Japan in the first months of WWII, and was captured by Japanese soldiers in China after bailing out of his bomber. He spent the duration of the war as a prisoner of war, suffering solitary confinement, torture, and beatings. After reading a Bible that was given to him during that time, he gave his life to Christ and vowed to return to Japan as a missionary should he live to the end of the war. And he did just that, going on to serve in Japan as a missionary for 30 years.
What a testimony of the transforming power of the gospel. A man is treated brutally by others, and by the grace of God, loves his enemies in return by giving his life to proclaim to them the love of Christ. It makes my grudges against others seem extremely petty in comparison.
I learned something interesting at the doctor's office on Friday. Sander and spent a few hours at the local urgent care to have the doctor look at his ears, which turned out to be infected. According to this doctor, new studies have shown that prescribing antibiotics for ear infections is almost pointless. They only help one in seven kids recover more quickly, and they actually have some negative side-effect in one in seven kids. He said if Sander was his son, he wouldn't bother with antibiotics. That was good enough for me. Instead, he prescribed some ear drops for the pain and the little guy has been just fine ever since.
Here's a picture from today. Moriah managed to spill a package of oyster crackers on the kitchen floor. Moriah and her partner-in-crime Brinkley gobbled up as many as they possibly could before Mom ruined the party by cleaning up the mess.
This picture is of Moriah in "BOB", a jogging stroller I received as a birthday present last year but never unpacked until about a month ago. It is a great piece of equipment. I can exercise and take one of the kids (Maggie, Sander, or Moriah) off of Robyn's hands at the same time. Now that summer is around the corner, I hope to be taking "BOB" out more often.
This morning I preached on Jesus' command to his disciples to "love your enemies." As I prepared for it, I remembered reading a fascinating obituary a few weeks ago about a man named Jacob DeShazer. He was a member of the Doolittle raid on Japan in the first months of WWII, and was captured by Japanese soldiers in China after bailing out of his bomber. He spent the duration of the war as a prisoner of war, suffering solitary confinement, torture, and beatings. After reading a Bible that was given to him during that time, he gave his life to Christ and vowed to return to Japan as a missionary should he live to the end of the war. And he did just that, going on to serve in Japan as a missionary for 30 years.
What a testimony of the transforming power of the gospel. A man is treated brutally by others, and by the grace of God, loves his enemies in return by giving his life to proclaim to them the love of Christ. It makes my grudges against others seem extremely petty in comparison.
I learned something interesting at the doctor's office on Friday. Sander and spent a few hours at the local urgent care to have the doctor look at his ears, which turned out to be infected. According to this doctor, new studies have shown that prescribing antibiotics for ear infections is almost pointless. They only help one in seven kids recover more quickly, and they actually have some negative side-effect in one in seven kids. He said if Sander was his son, he wouldn't bother with antibiotics. That was good enough for me. Instead, he prescribed some ear drops for the pain and the little guy has been just fine ever since.
Here's a picture from today. Moriah managed to spill a package of oyster crackers on the kitchen floor. Moriah and her partner-in-crime Brinkley gobbled up as many as they possibly could before Mom ruined the party by cleaning up the mess.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Death, taxes, and haircuts
Was it Benjamin Franklin who said the only certainties in life are death and taxes? I sent in my tax returns today - just in time! - proving at least the latter is still one of life's unchanging realities. I know the former is still a certainty, but at least that doesn't happen every year.
Another to add to the list would be haircuts, at least if your name is Sander and you live in our house. Here he is stoically enduring his once-a-month buzz cut.
Yesterday I finally got around to cleaning out and washing our two cars. You have to know my family to understand this, but being a Johnson, there are certain habits written into my DNA that I am helpless to change. Johnsons back in their cars whenever possible into a parking spot. Johnsons always eat cookies with milk. Johnsons like to keep things neat and tidy. And Johnsons always keep their cars clean. Which is why I felt an increasing sense of angst every time I looked at our dirt-caked Suburban. How could I let it get that dirty? I took a couple of hours and gave both it and our other vehicle a thorough, inside and out, cleaning. It was cathartic; it was therapeutic. At last, two clean cars.
We had our leadership training class tonight. One of the books we read is Children of the Promise, by Robert Booth. Booth presents a very clear and thorough case for infant baptism. I was reminded again of the grace of God in setting the sign of his promise on our children. I respect my dear brothers and sisters in Christ who see things differently, but I just couldn't imagine not confirming in this way that our children are also heirs of God's covenant mercies.
Speaking of covenant children, here are three of ours on the couch absorbed in Meredith's latest idea, writing a "newspaper".
Another to add to the list would be haircuts, at least if your name is Sander and you live in our house. Here he is stoically enduring his once-a-month buzz cut.
Yesterday I finally got around to cleaning out and washing our two cars. You have to know my family to understand this, but being a Johnson, there are certain habits written into my DNA that I am helpless to change. Johnsons back in their cars whenever possible into a parking spot. Johnsons always eat cookies with milk. Johnsons like to keep things neat and tidy. And Johnsons always keep their cars clean. Which is why I felt an increasing sense of angst every time I looked at our dirt-caked Suburban. How could I let it get that dirty? I took a couple of hours and gave both it and our other vehicle a thorough, inside and out, cleaning. It was cathartic; it was therapeutic. At last, two clean cars.
We had our leadership training class tonight. One of the books we read is Children of the Promise, by Robert Booth. Booth presents a very clear and thorough case for infant baptism. I was reminded again of the grace of God in setting the sign of his promise on our children. I respect my dear brothers and sisters in Christ who see things differently, but I just couldn't imagine not confirming in this way that our children are also heirs of God's covenant mercies.
Speaking of covenant children, here are three of ours on the couch absorbed in Meredith's latest idea, writing a "newspaper".
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Miscellaneous
Just when you thought it was safe to take off the studded tires.
It snowed four inches yesterday. We're beginning to understand what everybody meant when they told us that the winters are not bad here, they're just long.
I believe....
I spent this evening talking to a group of teenagers from the church about the Apostles' Creed. They asked some excellent questions, and it was great to see these young people show a genuine interest in the teaching of Bible. The discussion went far afield at some points, but that was perfectly fine with me.
But why is it that when I'm with teenagers I feel like I'm 60 years old? I think because when I was their age, there was no significant difference in my mind between a 38-year old and a 60-year old. And I'm sure it's the same with them.
Interesting news from Alaska.
I've been meaning for some time to post local news stories that are uniquely Alaskan. I came across one the other day, actually a sad story. A locally famous moose by the name of "Buzzwinkle" died. Buzzwinkle earned his nickname last winter after he ate too many fermented crab apples, got his antlers entangled in someone's Christmas lights, and then spent the day staggering through the streets of downtown Anchorage. If I remember right, Buzzwinkle had to be put down a few days ago by the authorities because he was dying of some natural cause.
Only in Alaska!
It snowed four inches yesterday. We're beginning to understand what everybody meant when they told us that the winters are not bad here, they're just long.
I believe....
I spent this evening talking to a group of teenagers from the church about the Apostles' Creed. They asked some excellent questions, and it was great to see these young people show a genuine interest in the teaching of Bible. The discussion went far afield at some points, but that was perfectly fine with me.
But why is it that when I'm with teenagers I feel like I'm 60 years old? I think because when I was their age, there was no significant difference in my mind between a 38-year old and a 60-year old. And I'm sure it's the same with them.
Interesting news from Alaska.
I've been meaning for some time to post local news stories that are uniquely Alaskan. I came across one the other day, actually a sad story. A locally famous moose by the name of "Buzzwinkle" died. Buzzwinkle earned his nickname last winter after he ate too many fermented crab apples, got his antlers entangled in someone's Christmas lights, and then spent the day staggering through the streets of downtown Anchorage. If I remember right, Buzzwinkle had to be put down a few days ago by the authorities because he was dying of some natural cause.
Only in Alaska!
Monday, April 7, 2008
Monday report
One of the challenges of having young children in Alaska is knowing what to do with them during the long winter months (and since we have an inch of snow on the ground, it is still basically winter here). This winter, we've found two activities that have worked: ice skating and sledding. Today, being a Monday and my day off, we took the kids sledding at a place just outside of Wasilla called Hatcher Pass.
What a gorgeous day to be outside! The sun was shining, it wasn't too cold, and the mountains were beautiful. As far as I can tell, Hatcher Pass could be a Vail or Breckenridge were it ever fully developed. The only drawback was the sled hill had about six inches of fresh powder on it, making it hard build up any steam on a plastic sled.
The day's comic relief was taking Brinkley for a ride in the sled. She hunkered down on the sled with her head on her paws; I think she might have been praying. The next time I tried to take her down, she bailed out right away. Brinkley is a old and wise dog, and knew sledding was a bad idea. After all, she hasn't live to be over 80 dog years by pulling stunts like that.
We treated the kids and ourselves to some hot chocolate later. Then, we came home for the usual routine: dinner and bedtime.
Robyn and I finished the day by reading together. Our current book is "1776", by David McCullough.
Friday, April 4, 2008
Our daughter, bookworm extraordinaire
Our oldest daughter Meredith, age 7, loves to read. So we were not surprised by her enthusiastic response when Robyn told her about a reading contest she could enter. The rules are simple: read 40 age-appropriate books by September 15th and submit a list of them to the contest organizers (a homeschool curriculum company). The first 250 students in each age category to submit their book list receives a $10 gift certificate for the catalog. And all those who finish their books by the deadline are entered into a drawing for cash prizes.
Meredith is not the type who has trouble focusing on a goal once she is determined to reach it. As soon as she heard about this contest, like a world-class sprinter exploding from the blocks at the starting gun, Meredith began her mad dash to finish her 40 books. Nothing else in life mattered. Mealtime, which for most of us is a pleasant break from our daily activities, was for Meredith an annoying interruption. Even her piano playing took a hiatus. Instead of hearing the halting notes to "The Entertainer", we heard the regular flutter of pages as Meredith methodically worked her way through book after book after book.
Meredith tore through our personal stash of qualifying books in no time. So, Robyn took her to the library to plunder their selection. That was yesterday morning. By yesterday afternoon, Meredith was back at the library for a new stack. And then today, she had to go back to the library a third time for yet another supply. She must have been the talk of the librarian break room. Every one of them expressed amazement that she was back for more.
This evening, less than 48 hours from the time she began, she finished her list. Forty books, all duly read and noted on her list. By my calculation, she read about twice as many books in two days than I read in four years of college. She is the Princess of Print, the Queen of the Tome.
I told her tonight at dinner she is a genuine bibliophile. She asked, "What's that?" Drawing on my seminary language training, I explained to her with all the erudition I could muster what the Greek roots of the word are, and what it means. I know that at this rate, she'll be smarter than me soon. But, at least I still know a few things she doesn't.
Meredith is not the type who has trouble focusing on a goal once she is determined to reach it. As soon as she heard about this contest, like a world-class sprinter exploding from the blocks at the starting gun, Meredith began her mad dash to finish her 40 books. Nothing else in life mattered. Mealtime, which for most of us is a pleasant break from our daily activities, was for Meredith an annoying interruption. Even her piano playing took a hiatus. Instead of hearing the halting notes to "The Entertainer", we heard the regular flutter of pages as Meredith methodically worked her way through book after book after book.
Meredith tore through our personal stash of qualifying books in no time. So, Robyn took her to the library to plunder their selection. That was yesterday morning. By yesterday afternoon, Meredith was back at the library for a new stack. And then today, she had to go back to the library a third time for yet another supply. She must have been the talk of the librarian break room. Every one of them expressed amazement that she was back for more.
This evening, less than 48 hours from the time she began, she finished her list. Forty books, all duly read and noted on her list. By my calculation, she read about twice as many books in two days than I read in four years of college. She is the Princess of Print, the Queen of the Tome.
I told her tonight at dinner she is a genuine bibliophile. She asked, "What's that?" Drawing on my seminary language training, I explained to her with all the erudition I could muster what the Greek roots of the word are, and what it means. I know that at this rate, she'll be smarter than me soon. But, at least I still know a few things she doesn't.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
The wait is over
Spring has finally arrived to Alaska. Almost all the snow is gone, the sun is shining long hours, and the daytime highs are in the 40's (yes, that means Spring around here).
But a far more significant harbinger of the new season is Opening Day for the 2008 Major League Baseball season. Unfortunately, the Cardinals' Opening Day on Monday was a disappointment. It started out great, to be sure. The Cards had a 5-1 lead over the Colorado Rockies and seemed to be cruising towards their first "W" of the year. Albert Pujols hit a home run (which at the time, put him on pace to hit 162 homers this season!). Things were looking up. Maybe the Cardinals were putting last year's woes behind them and were back to their winning ways.
But, the game was rained out, and since it didn't last five innings, the whole thing was scratched (even the individuals stats don't count - so much for Pujol's first homerun). They played the game the next day and lost 2-1. The winning run was walked in. This does not bode well for the season.
But, there are 161 games left. And, thanks to the amazing technology of the internet, we are able to listen to every single game of the season through our computer. So, even though St. Louis is far, far, from Wasilla, we'll be able to hear Mike Shannon and John Rooney call what we hope to be another run at a pennant this year.
But a far more significant harbinger of the new season is Opening Day for the 2008 Major League Baseball season. Unfortunately, the Cardinals' Opening Day on Monday was a disappointment. It started out great, to be sure. The Cards had a 5-1 lead over the Colorado Rockies and seemed to be cruising towards their first "W" of the year. Albert Pujols hit a home run (which at the time, put him on pace to hit 162 homers this season!). Things were looking up. Maybe the Cardinals were putting last year's woes behind them and were back to their winning ways.
But, the game was rained out, and since it didn't last five innings, the whole thing was scratched (even the individuals stats don't count - so much for Pujol's first homerun). They played the game the next day and lost 2-1. The winning run was walked in. This does not bode well for the season.
But, there are 161 games left. And, thanks to the amazing technology of the internet, we are able to listen to every single game of the season through our computer. So, even though St. Louis is far, far, from Wasilla, we'll be able to hear Mike Shannon and John Rooney call what we hope to be another run at a pennant this year.
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