Yes, Nicole has finally pushed me over the edge: I now arrange my shirts in rainbow order.

Alarm clock goes off at 6:30 this morning. I hit the button to turn it off… and go back to sleep. Thankfully I woke up only fifteen minutes later, but it still threw my morning routine out of whack. I try to get ready and out the door in a decent amount of time, but it never really works. I’m tying my necktie when I look up at the clock and realize I’m already a half-hour late.

I grab my lunch, give Nicole and Joshua kisses (Katie got some earlier; we’re trying to train her to stay in bed ’till 8am so Mama doesn’t have to hit the ground running), and I’m out the door. Nicole reminds me (granted, she had told me the night before and as the daily commuter it was my fault anyway) that the car was on empty. And oh yeah, it’s raining and generally miserable outside. I try to suck it up and just head off to work—er, I mean the gas station.

Pull up to the cheapest station in the area, wondering why $3.02/gal sounds like a bargain to me. Get out to pump, and I realize the pump’s overhang isn’t going to keep the rain off of me; it’s really just going to pool the rain into bigger drops. Unscrew the gas cap, hit the “CREDIT OUTSIDE” button, reach for my wallet…

…where’s my wallet?

…

I DON’T @%$%$ BELIEVE IT. I LEFT THE @&!!& WALLET AT THE HOUSE?!

…

Screw the gas cap back on. Sheepishly climb back into the car. Wonder who in this busy station (cheapest in the area, remember?) is watching my strange behavior. Meanwhile, those minutes just keep ticking by. I consider leaving the car running while I buzz the entrance and have Nicole meet me with my wallet, but it’s so late now that I might as well forget about getting into the office early anyway.

I walk in the door and I’m greeted by Katie. I knew she’d be up, though; it’s already a quarter past eight. Nicole asks what’s wrong, I tell her about the wallet, and then… she and Katie sit me down on the couch for hugs and snuggles.

I tell ya, I walked out that door with a little spring in my step and Dido’s Thank You playing in my head.

“And even if my house falls down now, I wouldn’t have a clue…”

Lousy weather, high gas prices, being late for work, forgetting your wallet… how tough can those things be if a couple of hugs can best ‘em all, hands down?

I still love that bride of mine, too.

Nicole is now on Squidoo. I feel so proud… Go on, check it out! I’m sure you’ll find out something you didn’t know about her!

I still can’t figure out what to do different with the 4400 and Desiring God lenses (figured out what to do—they’re gone!). :/

But can they really be called Puritans? Yes, they eschew certain pleasures; yes, they want others to do so as well… but the article is clearly playing off of the modern Puritanical stereotype, rather than what the Puritans really were.

In fact, just yesterday I passed along to David Gerstein a page about John Winthrop, which summarizes the “Puritan Distinctives” this way:

The Puritans’ devotion manifested itself in three important ways.

First, they believed that man should be in the world but not of the world. The believer’s true home is not on earth but in heaven, so he must be careful not to lose his heart to the all the things that this world has to offer–pleasures, material wealth, achievement, human love, and so on. On the other hand, the goodness of the things that God created should not be denied. There is nothing wrong with enjoying good food, music, love for your spouse, sports or recreation–as long as you don’t become frivolous and crowd God out your heart.

Second, they believed that man has a duty to use to the fullest extent all of the talents and abilities that God has given him. They were strong supporters of education. They worked hard in their professions and became doctors, lawyers, scholars, businessmen, and statesmen. They didn’t believe in doing anything halfheartedly. If something was worth doing, then the man should do it with his best effort for the glory of God.

The third conviction that made the Puritans unique was their belief that God’s covenant promises in the Old Testament did not just apply to ancient Israel, but to every society and every generation. These promises are well summarized in Exodus 19:5-6: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” If any nation observed God’s laws and commands, God would give protection, prosperity, and the spiritual blessings of knowing him and living as his people. On the other hand, if a people rejected God’s decrees and turned to idolatry and sin, God would eventually reject them. The Puritans of seventeenth-century England were greatly concerned about the future of their nation; they saw the corruption of government and church officials, growing immorality, materialism, and lack of concern for the poor as signs that their nation would either have to repent or experience the cleansing fire of God’s wrath.

Why do the Puritans have such a bad reputation in modern times? [...] I believe the fundamental reason why the twentieth century looks down on the Puritans is that the secular mind cannot understand the satisfaction and joy that comes from serving God wholeheartedly. [...] Much of the modern criticism of Puritans stems from the American appetite for over-indulgence. It also stems from the fact that to those who have no hope in heaven, this world is all there is.

First and foremost, being a Puritan is about the supremacy of God. God is the “chief end,” the “be all and end all” of life. Thus, a Puritan will pass on things like getting drunk, sleeping around, cheating on his tax return, etc., because he knows those actions to be at odds with living a life dedicated to savoring and trumpeting the glory and majesty of Jesus Christ. No other motive leads to Puritanism.

I have some good news, though: there is a new generation of Puritans rising up. You won’t find them slashing SUV tires, though. You’ll find them here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, etc.

That’s my darling wife right there. I tell ya, it’s stuff like this that I find so endearing. How could I not love a woman who’s an endless source of quotable quotes?

We had a wonderful time… there was a slide show running in the background during communion, and with each successive slide showing another scene in the Gethsemane-to-Golgotha story, Katie would point to the projection screen and whisper, “Jesus?” She was a little confused, though: there was a picture of Jesus on the cross, being raised into the vertical position, but Katie must’ve thought there was a strong wind or something… when that slide came up, she asked, “Jesus fall down?”

Another funny moment was after I told her one of the slides was of “a lamb; a baby sheep.” Next time around, she looks at me and (as loud as she can) goes, “MOOOO.” Yeah. We’re still working on our animal sounds.

It was great catching up with old friends! Which reminds me, I’d better e-mail Josh…

One of the most important things a father can do for his daughter is to give her plenty of fatherly affection. That way, she don’t go runnin’ after the neighbor boys to get it another way.

I love that Katie Bug! We have so much fun together… we drive Nicole nuts with how goofy we can be.

Oh, and she loves it when I put on puppet shows for her with my leather gloves. Every glove she sees is now officially a “puppet.”