Book Review: The Princess and the Kiss

My cute and wonderful wife loves to change the decor in our living room every month or two. As part of that, she puts out collections of books and magazines, related to that particular theme. Last weekend was the big Valentine's Day push. Our house is now exquisitely arrayed in reds, pinks, and purples (very manly, I know!). On a lampstand sit several love-themed picture books, including this one: The Princess and the Kiss, by Jennie Bishop. What it lacks in action, it makes up for with a strong Biblical view of courtship and a heartwarming story that brings tears to our eyes, every time we read it together.

In the story, a baby girl is born to a King and Queen. God entrusts the new parents with a most precious gift: their daughter's First Kiss. As she grows, they dilligently guard their daughter's treasure, until she is old enough to be entrusted with it. Suitors then come, asking for her hand in marriage, and the story tells the tale of how she finds the only one to whom she will trust with her most treasured possession.

It's simple, but sweet, and appropriate for any age. It reads like a fairy tale and manages to teach a moral without sounding preachy. Our son loves to hear it each year, and I think it's a great opportunity for us to impart our views of dating, on to our son (even though we did not follow those protocols ourselves).

Now, for some background...

Although our son is not yet a teenager, it's never too early to develop a Biblical model of dating, for your children. Dating and relationships are difficult topics for parents to discuss, and Farrah and I want to avoid the mistakes that we feel our respective parents made when raising us. So, a couple years ago, we attended a talk on courtship, given by a pastor in our area, and our eyes were opened.

The Bible has lots of examples (good and bad) of how men and women got together (Adam and Eve, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel and Leah, Sampson and his women, David and his women, Solomon and his women, etc...), but there is no single recipe for how God specifically wants his people to handle courtship.

While parents implement it to varying degrees, courtship is somewhere between the sterility of arranged marriages and the emotionally clouded, modern dating model. The basic idea is that the parents are responsible for their children's purity, and need to guide the process by which their children select a spouse.

Some of the guidelines include:

• A minimum age for courtship (possibly old enough to marry)
• Boy asks parents' permission first
• Boy and girl do not "go out", but get to know each other only as part of family activities
• Boy and girl study the Bible together with the families
• Affectionate behavior, including the first kiss, reserved for marriage

This may sound strict and maybe unrealistic, but it represents the moral high ground that our children and society so desperately need. Divorce rates are at an all-time high. Teen and out-of-wedlock pregnancies are rising. Domestic and same-sex "partnerships" are getting footholds as acceptable "lifestyles". If we are to salvage what's left of the traditional family and Biblical marriage as its cornerstone, we must make the effort to pass on those values to our children.

Jesus and the Good Stuff

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, "They have no wine." Jesus saith unto her, "Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come." His mother saith unto the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, "Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast." And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now" (John 2:1-10, KJV).

I was reading these verses this week, and something about what the host said to the groom caught my attention: he said the wine that Jesus made was the good stuff. Not only was it good, but the implication was that it was better than any of the other wine that was served at that feast! And rightly so, for it was made by the same Hand that fashioned the grapes from which wine is traditionally derived.

If Jesus was so good at making wine, I wonder how His fish and bread tasted to the 5000, the 4000, and finally, the disciples, on the Tiberian shore. Man, that fish must have been Heavenly! He'd put Red Lobster (not to even mention Long John Silver's) out of business!

But that's beside the point. What I see in the miracle at Cana is the subtle reminder that anything God does is better than the best that we can do on our own.

But there's more....

Back to the wine again....

At the Last Supper, Jesus told His disciples, "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom" (Matt. 26:29). And He was true to His word. The various crucifixion accounts tell us that He refused any wine, when it was offered Him. Why? Because He wasn't thirsty? Because it was gross? Maybe. But I think it was to make a point: there's something far better waiting for us in God's Kingdom, something worth holding out for.

Perhaps this is why this world's pleasures never satisfy. Perhaps this is why alcohol, in particular, is so dangerous. Perhaps it is meant to remind us of what happened that day, in Galilee; that it is but a shadow of what awaits us in that Fair City. If there happens to be wine up there, I have a hunch it will not result in drunkenness or hangovers.

I won't look down upon you for responsibly enjoying an occasional drink, but as for me, I will refrain, until my first toast with Jesus.

Leave It or Clean It?

This post has been edited from its original version

Sorry I've been absent for a while, dear friends! I've been really busy with yardwork and trying to launch a new business venture, while still working full-time at my current job. More on that later....

We found out this week that someone in our family has announced that he's gay. It wasn't much of a surprise, but what was especially hard to take was the way that he did it. Since his birthday was in June, he made his birthday party a "coming out" party and even attended a "pride" parade. He was raised in a very religious home and most of the relatives are still very religious, so let's just say it didn't sit well with most of the family.

It is certainly sad to see anyone struggle with sin, but it's even sadder when one has surrendered to it and, in this case, convinced himself that homosexuality is a socially and morally acceptable "lifestyle". But what is even worse is promoting it and encouraging others to accept it and maybe even try it themselves. This is what really, REALLY irks me about the "gay rights movement". Not only do they seek acceptance, but they want to shove it down everyone's throats. (Some accuse evangelicals of the same thing, but that's a topic for another post.)

I've been thinking how we should act around him. He lives far away and we only see him once or twice a year, but the question is a valid one. He already knows where we stand, so beating him over the head with scripture and exhorting him to repent is probably out of the question. On the one hand, we are to show everyone love, so that we can be a positive influence on them. But on the other hand, we are to "put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (1 Cor. 5:13b), who has turned from the faith, so that he will not be a bad influence to those around us, especially our children and those weak in the faith.

In my daily reading this week, I came across a great quote from Jesus: "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Mattew 24:12). This is a very poignant scripture, for the gay community and their allies push their agenda under the guise of love. They say that they want the right to express their love for each other, "marry" the one they love, and receive love from the rest of us who disagree with them. But sin is sin, no matter how many people refuse to accept that fact, and sin will drive love out of people and replace it with lust. I know this to be true, from my own experience.

I was watching a Christian speaker on video recently, and he made a great point. He said that if he were Satan, he would focus all his energy on undermining families. And that's exactly what this world is doing. Marriage has become meaningless and even to be avoided. Relationships have been trivialized. Sex had become the ultimate goal of dating. The entertainment and news industry bombards us with unwholesome material. Sin, in all its forms, is what ultimately destroys families. The question is, how should the family deal with sin among its members? And this extends to the broader question of how should the Church deal with sin among its members? These are certainly questions worth exploring in future posts.

As always, thank you for taking the time to read my rambles. I don't usually express my views so strongly, but I truly felt I needed to get this off my chest.

In the News

U.S. Elections

Yes, we all know how that turned out. I was reading an article on CNN today, that tried to explain why the win seemed so lop-sided. While the statistics are not yet fully analyzed, the percent turnout was much higher among Democrats than Republicans. This means that while Obama's supporters were energized to vote, many more of his detractors (not all of them actually supported McCain) stayed home.

But here's something very interesting, that should give us all hope. As you can see from the map above, both Florida and California sided with Obama. However, both states also voted to ban gay "marriage". In California, voters were almost 2:1 for Obama, yet a decisive majority were for the ban! Furthermore, while Floridians narrowly favored Obama, around a 2:1 majority were for banning gay "marriage"! In fact, all four gay "marriage" bans passed, which is encouraging news to me that there is still a strong air of conservative values, across our country.

For the past couple elections, I noted a very interesting statistic that most (if not all) of the urban centers lean Left (some overwhelmingly so), while less populated areas lean to the Right. This split is particularly obvious in our own Washington state. It seems something happens when you cross the Cascades! Maybe it's the thinner air or reduced humidity. Someone should totally do a study on that!

In the News

I had gotten such a good response on my post on worldviews, I was really reluctant to move on, but it was time. I've got something really neat to share, that the Lord showed me a while ago, but first...

Gay "Marriage" Vote in California

Jeff was the first to draw my attention to this latest installment of the nation-wide battle against this abomination. I counted that state as already lost, until I read this article from TIME.com. At stake on Nov. 4 is Proposition 8, which aims to ban gay "marriage" in California. Voters already approved such a measure in 2000, but a recent California Supreme Court ruling struck down that law, forcing conservatives to put the issue up to the voters again. Recent polls show that public opinion is split about 50/50. If you live in California, I urge you to vote YES on Proposition 8!

Anyway, here's a scary peek at the strategy of the pro-gay groups. As you probably know, they've been winning crucial court decisions in several states, while losing at the voting booths, by wide margins. Read what one of their main activists has to say in the article:

Kristina Wilfore, executive director of the Washington-based Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, an advocacy organization that specializes in using ballot initiatives to further liberal causes, says her group picks its battles in fighting anti-gay-marriage amendments largely because most votes aren't even close. "We would never bring gay marriage up before the voters," she says. "This is [our opponents'] strategy." She admits they've been terribly good at it.

In other words, these groups are bent on imposing their secular progressive agenda on a population that largely disagrees with their views! They want the select few (themselves and the judiciary) to force their will on the majority of the populace. But I thought this was a democracy!

But wait! There's a little more:

Wilfore says she's prepared to take the long view in California. "I am not going to be discouraged if we lose," she says. Victory will come over time in the courts, as demographics works its influence on the nation's voting patterns, she says, noting that young people support gay marriage far more than their parents and grandparents do. "A lot of people are going to have to die" before Election Day is an easy day for gay marriage, she says.

I know this isn't what she meant, but she is basically implying that those who oppose government sponsorship of the abominable sin of sodomy should die... and the sooner the better.

We need to stand together and united against the amoral, vocal minority in our country, which desires to remove God from all aspects of our daily lives, starting with laws that make it harder and harder to live the Christian life.