blogical fallacy

Dawn

The air is cold, calm, clean. It rained last night and everything is glistening. It’s dark, and quiet. The only sound I can hear is the distant ebb and flow of freeway traffic, which I could almost swear is actually the ocean. Though most of the sky is a profound blue, the jagged mountain-lined horizon is glowing with a faint white-orange hue. It’s difficult to determine where the orange ends and the blue begins. Puffy cottonball clouds emerge and rest heavily upon the distant mountains. Will they block my view of the daily miracle? The great light who rules the day is coming soon!

A calm breeze caresses the fronds of a palm tree as if to awaken this lazy plant for the big moment. The wind picks up, and now scores of trees are dancing about with excitement. The only ones left out are the fruit trees who show no sign of life, with their naked bodies dead to the world in a winter-induced catatonic state. Is there such a smell as ‘nothing?’ Because I smell it. No smoke, no exhaust, no floral fragrance. I can’t smell anything, but I certainly smell ‘nothing.’

The silence is broken by a lone bird who awakens as the deep blue slowly recedes to the far west. She proceeds to rouse her friends from their slumber, and this morning’s heralds announce in song the good news of the dawning of a beautiful new day. A mockingbird can’t help but incessantly chatter. I imagine he is telling the others all about last night’s myriad dreams. The birds all laugh in response.

Now it is Periwinkle’s turn to show off—this is her five minutes of fame; but the warm, fiery colors will soon force her off the scene. My time is up, and I must join in the task of creating oceanic sounds for others who are quietly witnessing the dawn in their backyards. As I walk to my car, I see a thin, malnourished cloud above me, who only a moment ago was a dull gray, but now seems to have caught on fire. Pink! Orange! Red! These overused words are an insult to the radiant colors dancing off of the cloud.

I’ll have to welcome the sun from behind my windshield, and it will be more glorious than my eyes can bear. I will have to veil them with sunglasses just so I don’t go blind. But the glory will shine through; I know because it does every day.

Karis and the Problem of Evil

Rebekah told me a great story about a conversation she had with our oldest daughter the other day, and I thought it was so simple, and yet so profound.

They were riding in the car, and Rebekah heard Karis say that one of her shoes had fallen off. "Well, we'll have to put it back on before you get out of the car so that your foot doesn't get cold and dirty. Did you know that your shoes are a gift from God?"

"Yes," replied Karis.

"You should thank God that he has given you so many wonderful things. You know, there are boys and girls just like you who don't have shoes or socks, and their feet are cold and dirty. Isn't that sad?"

After a brief pause, Karis responded, "God should put the shoes on their feet."

Out of the mouths of babes...

Karis Explains the Meaning of Life

Thanksgiving at the In-Laws

Here are some pics from our wonderful time in San Diego with the Warners:

Fall in LA

Man, I had forgotten how amazing fall is in Los Angeles. Obviously, I'm not referring to the fall colors (since most of the trees here keep their leaves, and the ones that don't go straight from green to brown), rather, I'm talking about the beautiful weather. I'm sitting here, studying at school, and it's a pleasant 85 degrees, with no clouds and bright blue skies. And it's been like this pretty much since the end of September.

Can it get any better than this? I submit that it cannot.

Announcing...

Isn't She a Cutie?

Sophia and Mommy

Mas Fotos

I'm Surrounded by Girls!

Sophia Joy Richardson was born Thursday, June 26, 2007 at 3:42pm. She weighed 7 lbs 9 oz, and she was 20 1/2 inches long.

Welcome, Baby Sophia!

Still Waiting...

Erica alluded to the fact that she is annoyed that I haven't posted lately, so I thought I should give an update.

We are getting settled nicely down here it SoCal, and we are loving the church, our (extended) family, and the area very much. We miss everyone up in the Bay Area, and we hope we can see you all soon.

We've been rethinking the naming of our next child, so if you have a vote, let me know. We were going to name her Kassandra. What do you think? We're also thinking of Sophia Joy, Sophia Evelyn, or ???

Bekah was scheduled for a c-section yesterday, as the doctors thought that she'd be at risk for some complications, but after a second opinion, we were advised that going the good ol' fashioned way might actually be less risky. We'll let you know as soon as the baby arrives. Can't wait!

Back to School

I was recently accepted into the Master's Degree program at Fuller Theological Seminary (which basically means that I have a B.A. and agreed to pay them obscene amounts of money), and I was planning on beginning my studies in the fall.

I've been getting a little antsy about finding out when I can register, which classes I can take, etc., so I decided to make a trip to the campus yesterday to get some answers. When I got there and met with my adviser, she informed me that the course requirements will be changing this fall, and that almost all of my electives will be eaten up with required courses in diversity and multiculturalism... unless I start taking classes this summer. So, in order to allow myself to take more classes of my choosing, I decided to sign up for a summer course.

Although I wasn't expecting to be jumping into all of this so soon, I'm excited. I'm going to be taking a course in Theology and Anthropology with none other than Professor Colin Brown. If you don't know who he is, I would encourage you to get these two books by him:

Should be fun!

Farewell

Ok, so this is over two weeks late, but I've been pretty stinkin' busy. This photo was taken at a farewell party for my family right before we left for LA. We are now all moved in down here, and missing our friends up in the Bay Area dearly. More photo updates to come shortly (I hope).

Getting Ready for the Move

Well, we're about a month and a half away from the big move to SoCal, and it's really starting to sink in. Though there is much to look forward to (new church, seminary, hot weather, extended family close-by), there is a lot I will miss:

Much of my family lives up here, and I fear that they won't get to know my next daughter as well as they got to know Karis.
I have so many great friends here, and it will be hard to leave them behind and move to a more distant friendship. I think this will be particularly difficult for my wife, who has so many girlfriends with children of the same age.
I have a great ministry and church family here, and I will really miss Redwood Chapel greatly. Not everyone always saw eye to eye, but I trust that we all loved each other and enjoyed the fellowship.
Although I could do without the rain, this is truly a beautiful place to live. I'll miss going into the city to spend a romantic weekend with my wife at a swanky hotel, the emerald green hills of the Dublin Grade with a picture perfect barn on the west side, the picturesque views from atop Mount Diablo, the 80 degree summer days with long hours of sunlight, the best wine country in the world, and much more.

Signs that Someone Really Doesn't Like You

Ok, so this is a random post, but here goes. Have you ever gotten the feeling that someone really could think that the world would be a better place without you?

Let me first give you some background. I don't try to be trendy or cutting edge or fashionable or anything, but I seem to be known by my "spiky hair." I don't know what to do with it, and I don't feel like spending much time on it, so my hair often comes out looking messy and spiky. Every once in a while (3 times a year) I get so tired of it that I just shave my whole head really short, and recently I did just that.

So tonight, a friend of mine was telling someone that they had used my spiky hair as an inspiration for their latest haircut, and the person responded to him, "Well, Andrew seems to be sporting the 'AIDS patient' look lately." Ouch!

Somehow, I get the feeling that someone really doesn't like me...

A Change in Telos

As you all know, my life is changing quite dramatically right now: I'm moving to LA, working at a new church, welcoming another daughter into our family in July, starting seminary in the fall, and generally turning my life upside-down. One thing that of course is not changing is my telos.

However, this blog will no longer be the place where I share some of my philosophical/theological thoughts; rather, it will be the place where I keep everyone up-to-date on how my life/family is doing. This means more pictures, updates, etc., and less argument/discussion. I will continue to publish the latter stuff on the Bird and Babe.

That's all for now...

FYI

Well, some big changes are headed my way; and I'm pretty darn excited/scared/happy/sad. The following is a letter that I read to my church this past Sunday:

February 11, 2007

To the Redwood Chapel Family,

The past nine years have brought so many blessings from God into my life. I have had the opportunity to work with great and talented servants of the Lord both in the music and children’s ministry; I met and married my beautiful wife, Rebekah; we purchased our first home; we welcomed Karis Sophia into our family; and soon we will be saying hello to yet another Baby Richardson.

Our family and Redwood Chapel have been intricately woven together for many years, and we are so thankful for the friendship and love we have shared with you all. However, the time has come for my family and me to trust God as He takes us into a new chapter of life. This has not been an easy decision by any means, but we know that it is the right one. We will be moving to Southern California sometime this spring so that I can further my biblical and pastoral studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. As well, I have been invited to join the staff as a pastoral intern of a young church, where I will serve in the Music and Children’s Ministries… imagine that!

Please know that we love you and will miss you all dearly (Rebekah in particular has made some very special friends over the years). We also covet your prayers as I take my growing family to a new place full of uncertainties. Pray that we will make new friends quickly, and that opportunities for ministry and growth will abound. No matter what happens in the future, we know that God has been completely faithful in the past, and that His promises for what lies ahead are just as sure.

For King and Kingdom,

Andrew Richardson
Pastor of Children's Ministries
Redwood Chapel Community Church

Who Wrote the Bible?

A friend of mine (who happens to be in the hospital right now in a lot of pain, and could use your prayers) and I frequently get to talking about what the Bible is. We have lamented how so many Christians consider the Bible to be a sort of magical book that just fell out of the sky, or that some deistic god just took over the minds of various authors, and forced their hands to pen the words that we find in the Old and New Testaments.

Another friend of mine recently asked me what I thought of N.T. Wright's book, Simply Christian, and I told him that it was disappointing. After having given this low view of one of my favorite author's books, I thought I better reread it afresh to make sure that I still agreed with my assessment. To my delight, I found it a wonderful read the second time. To make a long story short(er), while rereading this book I found a passage where Wright puts so eloquently what I have been trying to express regarding scripture, so I thought I would post it here:

Supposing scripture, like the sacraments, is one of the points where heaven and earth overlap and interlock... In particular, it enables us to say that the writers, compilers, editors, and even collectors of scripture were people who, with different personalities, styles, methods, and intentions, were nonetheless caught up in the strange purposes of the covenant God--purposes which included the communication, by writing, of his word. It enables us to speak about God the creator (the one we know supremely through the living Word, Jesus) being himself (so to speak) a wordsmith. [It] enables us to insist that, though words are not the only thing God specializes in, they are a central part of his repertoire. It also helps us see that when this God is going to work within his world, he wants to work through his image-bearing human creatures, and that, since he wants to communicate with and through them verbally--in addition to, but also as a central point within, his many other ways of getting things said and done (182).

Any thoughts?

Growing!

Here's our latest glimps of our dear little baby Richardson sucking his/her thumb. In this image he/she is about 12 weeks old and about 3 inches long. The head is on the right, and the baby is facing down. You can make out little digits near the head (hand), and some more to the lower left (foot). Can't wait to meet you in person!

Ok, everyone, it's time to cast your vote. In the comment section, tell us whether you think it's a boy or a girl.

A First Glimpse at New Life

Please welcome little Baby Richardson! He/she is just six and a half weeks old, and about .33 cm in length. The thing that you might think is the head is really just the yoke sack (from which the baby is currently receiving all its nutrients). The little blob inside the two crosshairs is our little alien... I mean baby.

Normally you don't get an ultrasound this early in the game, but Bekah has been having some complications with the pregnancy, so the doctor thought it would be a good idea take a look. Hopefully the rest of the pregnancy will be less eventful!