Goings on

I would probably have to say that my weekend was somewhat eventful. More or less.

I had to work for a few hours on Saturday, and they ended up being very productive hours. I finished things that needed finishing, and there was much rejoicing. Saturday night we had dinner with my parents and watched Stranger Than Fiction , which I enjoyed. I've seen it several times (and own it), but I think it's a pretty good film.

Chelsea awoke with a killer migraine on Sunday morning. If you're fortunate enough to have never had one (I believe I've only had one or two), you're...uh...fortunate. Dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, and, of course, the pounding headache. So, I trotted off to Lakeland by my lonesome and filled in for her with the little kids, where I had great fun getting marker ink all over my hands (some children-made kites were affixed to walls in the process). Pastor Phil expounded upon Numbers 30, regarding making vows to God. This is something God clearly wanted His people to recognize as serious business. Clearly, some of them got it.

As we began reading the text, I mentally jumped forward in time to Judges 11, which I recall from previous study of Judges. Jephthah was leading the people at this time, and vows to the LORD, "If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD's, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering" (Judges 11:30-31, ESV). This, of course, has all the makings of tragic foreshadowing. Jephthah is victorious, and heads home only to see his only child, his daughter, come out to meet him. He is heartbroken and confesses to his daughter that he has made a vow to the LORD. Jephthah's daughter, though, reacts in a manner contrary to what would make sense to the unbelieving world. "My father, you have opened your mouth to the LORD; do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the LORD has avenged you on your enemies, on the Ammonites" (verse 36). She understood that God does not take vows lightly; that when her father made his vow, the law of the Creator of the universe required that he keep it. Jephthah was not only faithful to obey the LORD, but brought his daughter up to be as well.

Sunday afternoon was most unexpected. While I fully expected Sunday to have an afternoon, I did not anticipate the direction it would take. Chelsea recovered from her malady with an unexpected vigor, and initiated a full-scale spring cleaning. We did an embarrassing amount of purging, making multiple trips to the dumpster laden like pack-animals. It was pretty intense, but we managed to get rid of a great deal of clutter, and will be donating a number of t-shirts and other seldom-worn items of clothing to Goodwill. That kept us busy all afternoon and evening.

Then I slept. Then I went to work. Then the St. Louis Cardinals kicked off the 2008 season! Then the Cardinals jumped out to an early lead! Then came the rain delay! Then came the game postponement!

Those last two statements should not be exclamatory.