Maurice Sendak, author of Where the Wild Things Are, on his impending death…

“It’s what happens to all of us. We’re all orphans, and all our friends die. It’s the story of life, and it stinks. You go on feeling that you failed. I don’t sit here and say, ‘I’ve got all these books, and isn’t that nice?’ ” Then, inadvertently (and charmingly) morphing into Pierre, the epically indifferent boy he created in 1961 (A Cautionary Tale), he blurts: “Who cares! I don’t care anymore.” more>>>

So sad he is dying an orphan when adoption is available.  Contrast Sendak’s words with J.I Packer’s thoughts below…

“Adoption is a family idea, conceived in terms of love, and viewing God as father. In adoption, God takes us into his family and fellowship – he establishes us as his children and heirs. Closeness, affection and generosity are at the heart of the relationship. To be right with God the Judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the Father is a greater” [Knowing God, pp. 206, 207].

Lying on his family room floor with assault weapons trained on him, shouts of “pedophile!” and “pornographer!” stinging like his fresh cuts and bruises, the Buffalo homeowner didn’t need long to figure out the reason for the early morning wake-up call from a swarm of federal agents. more>>>

The Hourglass from Ikepod on Vimeo.

The Mountain from Terje Sorgjerd on Vimeo.

“The lessons of the cross are ones we never outgrow, for the further we go the deeper we get.” – Rebecca Pippert, Hope Has Its Reasons (New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1989), 159.

I would add one thing to the quote in light of Easter approaching: “The lessons of the cross and the resurrection…“.  I think we need to hold both up as high as possible whenever we talk about the Gospel.

Don’t believe me?  Check out what the Freakonomics blog said today:

Every day, something significant to human history must happen … right?  Wrong. Last year, the computer program True Knowledge concluded that the most boring day in human history occurred, 57 years ago today. Using algorithms that used weighted values for more than three million facts including historical events, birthdays of significant people, etc., it determined that April 11, 1954, was really, really uneventful.

William Tunstall-Pedoe, a computer scientist in Cambridge, U.K., who created True Knowledge, told the Telegraph: Nobody significant died that day, no major events apparently occurred and, although a typical day in the 20th century has many notable people being born, for some reason that day had only one who might make that claim – Abdullah Atalar, a Turkish academic.

Apparently the only other significant event that day was a Belgian election.

I guess the “boring rating” is in the eye of the beholder. Any challenges to Freakonomics assessment of April 11, 1954?

“God redeemed us in his Son so that he might love us and delight in us even as he loves and delights in his eternal Son. Adoption is God’s act of making room within his triune love for prodigals who are without hope, and providing them with homes in this world and the world to come.” — Dan Cruver, Reclaiming Adoption (Adelphi, Md.: Cruciform Press, 2011), 14