We were on a retreat last week (thanks for praying for us!). We spent some time talking about our need for help outside ourselves. Mark directed our attention to this prayer by Paul Tripp on page 55 of Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands:

“I need to wake up in the morning and say, ‘God, I am a person in desperate need of help. Please send helpers my way and give me the humility to receive the help you have provided.’ ”

This quote helps me remember that I am finite and sinful. I must have the help of others to see myself clearly.

Wonder who that “helper” might be for you? I’ll give you a hint: they go by “Dad and Mom.” Here’s a suggestion: go to your parents and ask them: “Where do you think I need help outside myself today? Help me see what you see.”

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I want to tell you about one of my favorite books: Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss. It’s about punctuation, and it unites readers with this self-righteous slogan: Sticklers Unite!

I realize that this may not be the most appealing topic, as it is less than a month until school starts. But in this little volume, you will find simple yet profound help for the grammatically challenged. Which is why it is so appealing to me.

Furthermore, it’s funny. The author has a wonderful sense of humor, and actually makes punctuation seem enjoyable.

Wondering about the title? It’s from a joke:

“A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

“Why?” asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

“I’m a panda,” he says, at the door. “Look it up.”

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds an explanation.

“Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.”

Get it?

So, I like this book a lot. My grammar isn’t all that great, and this book is a huge help. Any book that gives practical examples is welcome, especially one where most of the examples are about Opal Fruits (used to be the British name for Starburst candies, apparently).

You can actually take an online “Eats, Shoots and Leaves” punctuation quiz here. I missed two, which makes me an 83% Stickler.

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On Saturday night, at 8:21pm, Ashleigh put up the 1000th comment on our SovGraceYouth blog, under the “Lessons From Vacation” post.

Thanks, everyone for taking a read and taking the time to share your thoughts.

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(Teens, if your parents don’t read the blog, please make sure they see this post!)

Parents,
I want to remind you that we have scheduled a Parents’ Meeting in about a week: Saturday, August 13. We’ll meet at 6:30pm in the basement auditorium.

Parents, my desire would be that every parent of 7th-12th grade teens be at this meeting. We’re having this meeting because I want you to know where we’re headed in our youth ministry. I know that your teens will have questions from time to time about why we do what we do, and I want you to be in a position to lead them effectively.

Further, I want to have an opportunity each year to address the parents about trends that I am seeing in our youth ministry, and explain how we hope to equip you to keep the gospel the main thing in parenting your teens this coming year. And I want to give you the chance to ask questions about our youth ministry, so come with questions about our youth ministry if you have them.

Special bonus: I’m planning a unique gift for parents. See you next Saturday night!

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Parents, my RSS Feeder broke down, so I missed Dr. Al Mohler’s Monday post entitled “Should Parents Honor a ‘Zone of Privacy’ For Their Children?”

I’m so glad to have Dr. Mohler addressing this topic, since it is one that I hear about from time to time. Dr. Mohler explains:

“These days, parenting books and experts often argue that parents should largely leave their children alone — allowing them to forge their own way, choose their own path, and find their own ‘truth.’…

“Tragically, many Christian parents seem to be buying this line of argument. I was recently shocked and saddened to hear a very confused Christian parent say this: “I don’t want my son to be a Christian simply because I am.” One cannot become a Christian by proxy, and having Christian parents is no guarantee of salvation; but Christian parents must understand their duty to teach their children the truths of the Christian faith, to explain and demonstrate the power of the Gospel, and to raise children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

Dr. Mohler includes a quote by 19th century theologian Robert Dabney that is pure gold. An excerpt:

“One thing is certain, this young and plastic soul will take impress from somewhere–if not from the appointed and heaven-ordained hand of his parent, then from some other irresponsible hand, of man or evil angel.”

You can read that quotation and the entire post here.

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We got back from vacation late last night. As I promised, here are a few observations from my experience on this and previous vacations. You could say this is what I’ve learned on vacation that I want to learn to do better.

First, I found it more difficult than usual to meet with God. I think this resulted partly from being out of my usual routine, from staying up later and getting up late, and from the feeling that I had all day to get around to reading my Bible. The reality is that I need God just as much on vacation as when I’m not on vacation. Sin doesn’t take a vacation, so I need to work to be diligent to spend time with the Lord. Rest is very important, but not at the expense of my relationship with the Savior. This verse comes to mind:

“Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’” Deuteronomy 8:17.

Second, I also sometimes found myself reluctant to serve others and tempted to anger when they didn’t serve me. This is profound selfishness. Whether it is reaching out to others at a meal or looking for ways to help around the house, vacation is a great oppotunity to serve. Another relevant verse:

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4.

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