The Inverted Kingdom of God

Every day during Advent, Diana Butler Bass is sharing her reflections on her Advent Calendar over at the Sojourners website. I found her comments yesterday particularly impactful, especially in light of the lesson I heard last night at church, from Luke 1:46-55:

46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 52He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

It's a hymn of praise to the God who works in unexpected ways, and who breaks into our world to turn everything upside down.

Here's Dr. Butler Bass' thoughts:

A set of double doors marked “17″ on my Advent calendar opened to a charming image of a minister surrounded by children.

My first thought was of one of the most famous passages in the New Testament:

People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the
disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them,
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of
God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive
the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the
children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them (Mark 10:13-16).

This biblical story inspired a picture that hung in my childhood Sunday school room. I remember children all around Jesus—sitting on his lap, hanging over his shoulder, sitting at his feet—with him smiling and hugging them, obviously enjoying their company. As a child, the scene was warm and reassuring to me, an invitation from Jesus himself.
The same passage was also the subject for the major paper in my first college New Testament course. Sitting in the college library, surrounded by commentaries, I was surprised to discover that children were not considered cute or lovable in ancient society. Instead of being cherished and coddled in the ways we treat our children, our ancestors assigned children one of the lowest rungs on the social scale. Their worth was equal to that of women, dogs, and servants. They had no status, no rights, and were not understood to be fully human. Children were essentially the possessions of their parents to be used as those parents wished.

For the first time, I realized that Jesus did not welcome children because ancient people liked them. He welcomed them to make a political point—those who are least in this world will be first in the kingdom. God’s reign embraces the outcast, the lowly, the unacceptable, and strangers. Jesus is acting the role of the social revolutionary, the tender prophet who upsets the status quo. Mark’s story was not of a cozy, homey Jesus. It was a story of the wild, unpredictable Jesus who offered God’s radical hospitality to those whom society marginalized.
Thus, the passage from Mark became for me part of my passage to adult faith. The Sunday school wall art moved to the space of sacred memory, and the Jesus of scripture called me to leave comfort behind to receive the inverted kingdom of God.

LH

The gift that keeps giving...

About a month or so ago, Sweetie and I were discussing what to get the other for Christmas this year. We really couldn't think of anything all that important, and we really didn't feel the need to add to the ever-growing pile of crap/junk that tends to pile up when one has a couple of young kids in the house.

So instead of giving each other gifts this year, we're pooling the money we would have spent and we're going to lend it at www.kiva.org.

Kiva's tagline on their website is "Loans that change lives." They act as the middleman between organizations in third-world countries who want to make micro-loans to people in extreme poverty, and individuals like you and me who want to fund those loans. It's really a pretty cool concept, and it's very well run.

Take this example--Mrs. Yi Thy is a married 35-year-old woman that grows rice and raises pigs to earn a living. Her husband is Ngeng Vanna, age 38, who works on the farm along with his wife. They are the parents of two children and live in the Kompong Cham Province. Yi's goal is to provide her children with a higher education. She has applied for a loan to purchase more piglets, feed, and a cow for her family's business activities. Mrs. Thy Has applied for a $150 loan to be repaid over the course of 10 months through Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), a partner of Save the Children. There's already 3 people...one from the United States, one from Japan, and one from Australia, who have given a total of $75. So when $75 more is given, the loan will be funded.

Let's say Sweetie and I provide the other $75 through Kiva. Mrs. Thy will get the loan through Hattha Kaksekar, and as she repays them, the $150 principal eventually comes back to Kiva, and our $75 share comes back to the Kiva account Sweetie and I set up. We then will be free to loan it to someone else on Kiva's site.

They have hundreds of people from all over the world who have applied for loans from anywhere between $100 and $2000 dollars. Many of these people are women, all are small entrepeneurs trying to provide for their families, and these microloans are for them very real ways to break the cycle of extreme poverty. Reading through the lists of individual situations and business plans from so many parts of the world--it's eye opening.

As these are loans to real people, there's always the chance of default. But Kiva's default rate is only about 3%, which is very impressive when one considers some of the places these loans are made.

It's giving a hand-up to hard working people who want to provide for themselves and their families. And personally, I think it's a really cool way to serve our neighbor, affirm their dignity, and give a gift that literally keeps on giving.

Check them out. www.kiva.org. Good stuff there.

LH

To Kiddo on his 5th birthday

Dear Kiddo,

I know you can't read yet, and you probably wouldn't be all that interested if I tried reading this letter to you, since there won't be references to Spiderman or LazyTown or Moxie. But I'm going to write it anyway, because I'm your dad and this is the kind of sappy thing parents do when their kids have birthdays. You'll understand someday.

Mommy and I try every day to tell you how much we love you and how proud we are of you. You're growing up into such a cool person--even if you weren't my son, you'd still be one of my favorite kids. You love to make people laugh...you've always had a way of doing that. But you're caring and sensitive, too. You genuinely care about others, and are sensitive to their thoughts and feelings. I hope you continue to develop and nurture those two traits especially, because as you get older, other boys might not see them in the same positive light that your parents do. There will come a time in your life (maybe not too long from now) when being caring and sensitive hurts, and you'll be tempted to grow that same shell of cynicism and selfishness that so many other people have. It will protect you, yes, but it will come at a cost.

It will come at the cost of being able to feel anything--even joy, or love. And once it's grown, it's so hard to crack. And even harder to shed. Some people carry that shell around with them their entire lives, and its tremendous weight eventually distorts them almost beyond recognition. May you continue to remain caring and sensitive, even though that means being vulnerable and sometimes unprotected.

What an incredible big brother you are, too. Pumpkin is very lucky to have someone like you to watch out for her and who loves her the way you do. Already, Mommy and I can see that she's starting to look up to you, and that's only going to grow. The bond between siblings is a special one.

And your faith. My son, your faith in God is a sight to behold, and an inspiration to your dear old dad. I just love our conversations in the car to and from preschool--just yesterday, you told me that God must really like to joke, because he keeps fooling all the weather forecasters. You know that Jesus is your friend, and he's always the first thing you say you're thankful for, followed usually by your family and the world. As you get older, your questions will become more complicated, your thoughts will be more in-depth, your faith will be more mature. But your love for God...my prayer is that your love for God and your assurance of God's love for you may be as strong as it is today.

Five years ago this morning, Mommy and I were checking into the labor and delivery floor of the hospital. Little did we know that we still had 14 hours to wait until we got to meet you (your birthday was ALMOST tomorrow!). It seems like so long ago, but yet not so much. Time flies...and it doesn't. All at the same time. I know that sounds weird, but that's the way things get when you become an adult. Someday you'll be feeling the same way.

I love you SO much, Kiddo. As you like to say, I love you all the way to heaven and back. And I'm so proud of you, and who you are becoming. You are an articulate, compassionate, funny, curious, confident, and intelligent young man. May God bless you on this special day, and on all the rest of the days to come.

You'll be getting plenty of gifts, but I want to leave you with two special gifts right now.

The first is a song. My mom--your grandmother--gave me a gift of a song many years ago. It wasn't her song...it was originally written by Bob Dylan, in fact. But it may well could have been her song. I want to give you that song, too. It's called Forever Young, and is Mommy's and my prayer for you. Our favorite rendition is by Joan Baez:


And here's the lyrics:

May God bless and keep you always,
May your wishes all come true,
May you always do for others
And let others do for you.
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous,
May you grow up to be true,
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you.
May you always be courageous,
Stand upright and be strong,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy,
May your feet always be swift,
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift.
May your heart always be joyful,
May your song always be sung,
May you stay forever young,
Forever young, forever young,
May you stay forever young.

My second gift is this: I know you like to look at pictures--here's a very small sampling of pictures of you from the last five years:

Love,
Daddy

LH

Christmas is Waiting

Yesterday, I posted a critique of a piece of poetry that I've received via email on more than one occasion. In case I wasn't abundantly clear in that post, I thought the poem got it all wrong and was more hurtful to rescuing the meaning of Christmas than it was helpful.

Today, I'd like to post a different poem. I think it does a good job of reflecting the tension we live in everyday--Christmas has already come, Christ has already entered the world...but at the same time we still live in a state of Advent. Preparing. Waiting. God's kingdom has come, but at the same time it has not yet come. And for some, that sense of waiting and longing for a savior means much more than making sure the house is properly decorated and presents are bought and wrapped. How are we called to serve those for whom, in a different but very real sense, Christmas has not yet come?

Christmas is Waiting
by Gerard Kelley

Christmas is waiting to happen.
Outside, a vacant hillside
Lies silent, strangely empty
Of any angel’s choir.
A stable waits
For bookings at the inn to multiply.
Distant Kings study charts
And keep gifts in cold storage,
While shepherds plan their memoirs
In expectancy of unexpected fame
And keep a chapter free
For miracles
A small velvet patch
In the black night sky
Stands ready to hold a new born star,
And oppressed peoples everywhere
Cling wildly to prophecy and song,
And whisper the word: Messiah.

They’ve switched on the lights
In Oxford Street,
Counting off the buying days
Like Guardsmen on parade
Shops are stocked and standing by
Revving up the engines
Of their debt-powered swiping machines
And history watchers mark another year
To start the slow count to 3000.

But here, an old man lies
In the stairwell where he fell three days ago
And no one knows.
And here a young girl loiters
In a streetlight’s unholy halo
To sell the only thing she owns
That men will pay for
And here an infant sleeps
On a sack on the hard earth floor
Where even a mother’s hand
Is empty
And there are places where Christmas
Is still waiting
To happen

LH

And to all a whiny night...

***SIGH***
Every year, the same recycled pieces make their rounds of the internet. Some are of better quality than others. I received the following Christmas poem--one that I've received many times before--in my email inbox the other day. For the record, this is one of the *ahem* "lesser quality" pieces:

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
The politically correct police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a " Holiday ".

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Rama dan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was nowhere to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate "Winter Break" under your "Dream Tree"
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

It is time, as my favorite English teacher used to say, to "explicate and analyze."

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
If that is indeed the case, we Christians have nobody to blame but ourselves. Time to look in the mirror, point the finger inward (no, not THAT finger...the index finger!), repent of of the flippant way we often approach our faith and the Christmas celebration, and be renewed by the hope of the Christ child.

The politically correct police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a " Holiday ".
Um...nobody can take away the reason for Christmas. The reason is still there. Maybe it's been covered up or forgotten, but if that's the case, then again we (Christians) have nobody to blame but ourselves. The "reason for the season" can never be taken away...it can only be given away by those who have been entrusted with the story and the good news that the story brings. As for no pageants in the public schools...public school has never done a very good job of telling the Christmas story anyway, has it? Or should it? The creator of the universe showing ultimate, unconditional love for humankind by entering humankind's story as a helpless, vulnerable baby born to an unwed teenage mother in Palestine? I'd much rather have the church be telling that story anyway.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
How many of those pushy shoppers do you think would identify themselves as Christians? We can't accuse others of taking away our celebration's meaning when we have so willingly given it away. Christmas has been sacrificed on the altar of consumerism, and it's not just the rest of the world that's to blame.

Retailers promoted Rama dan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was nowhere to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
May God have mercy on the church if we depend on big box retailers for evangelism. Don't blame the stores--their bottom line is to do whatever it takes to sell stuff. If that means saying "Merry Christmas," then they'll do it. If it means saying "May a reindeer spike your eggnog," then they'll do it. With very few exceptions (Hobby Lobby and Chick Fil-A are two I can think of off the bat) big chains don't do things like that solely for principle. I'll take a genuine "Happy Holidays" over a prostituted "Merry Christmas," said just in the hopes of keeping my business, any day.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Really? Christians intimidated by inclusiveness? Sensitivity? Diversity? If our faith system can't stand on its own when placed side by side with others, then maybe we need to examine the validity of our faith system. Those words shouldn't be intimidating. They should be challenging, exciting, and incredible opportunities for witness.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
Jesus never became part of the "establishment," religious OR governmental. He was too busy working on the edges of society. The de-centering of Christianity from public life may well end up being one of the best things that ever happened to the faith, as it forces Christians out of a position of comfort and into the big, murky questions of faith. We're called to be counter-cultural. When religion buddies up with politics, each helps make the other fat and lazy. Give me a church on the fringes, a church more comfortable showing the love of Christ than complaining about the language politicians use.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
Come on. Seriously. Nobody's taking away anybody's faith. Faith is a gift that can never be taken away...it can only be willingly given. We're called to be in the world, but not of the world...but for some reason we expect the world to be "of us?" There's not much more unbecoming than a whiny Christian. Instead of complaining that the world's not hearing our message, and that they're not doing things our way, maybe we ought to be working to make sure the message the world's hearing (and seeing) is a worthwhile one. To make them wonder in a positive way instead of a negative way, "why do they act the way they do? What is it that compels them to love and serve like that? And where can I get me some of that?" Of course, the gospel, the true message of Christmas, IS a worthwhile message, but too often along the way much gets lost in the telling, by both our words and deeds.

So as you celebrate "Winter Break" under your "Dream Tree"
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!
This Christmas, may you be filled with the wonder of Mary, the obedience of Joseph, the joy of the angels, the eagerness of the shepherds, the determination of the magi, and the peace of the Christ child. Almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit bless you all now and forever.

LH

Turner Gill--Coach of the 2008 MAC Champion Buffalo Bulls

Turner Gill just led the Buffalo Bulls football team to their first MAC title ever. And in doing so they'll be going to their first bowl game. Ever.

And they did it by beating Ball State--the 12th ranked team in the country. Which, as someone on HuskerPedia pointed out, gives them exactly one more win over a top-15 team in the past six seasons than my beloved Huskers.

Buffalo was invited to the Tangerine Bowl in 1958, but they declined the invitation because the bowl didn't allow black players to play. And the Bulls had 3 black players on their roster that they refused to leave behind.

And now, with a black coach, they're going to their first bowl game.

Coach Gill is a man who just EXUDES character, class, and faith. He doesn't see himself as a coach as much as a campus minister who works with football players. But he does a heckuva job of coaching, too. Check out these stats:

* Buffalo has won 8 games this season....in 12. Prior to Gill's arrival at Buffalo, it had taken Buffalo 54 games to win 7.

* Gill has coached Buffalo now for 36 games (not including tonights contest). Buffalo is 14-22 in those 36 games. Prior to showing up in Buffalo, you have to go back 92 games to count Buffalo's prior 14 wins.

* Gill was 5-7 last season. Buffalo hadn't won 5 games in a season since 1996 when they were 8-3. You have to go back to 1986 to find the next 5+ win season.

* Buffalo has now put up 13 wins over the past 2 seasons. You have to go back to 1985-86 to find the last 13 wins over 2 seasons.

* In the nine seasons before this one, Buffalo was 17-89 in Division 1...with only Duke having a worse overall record.


And in the postgame interview, he was the very picture of humility. He told the interviewer at first that he was "speechless." I think he was trying to find the words to describe the enormity of what had just happened, and of his own struggle and journey...and they just weren't there. His voice cracked and he shed some tears when talking about how proud he was of his players, and afterwards, when his athletic director came over to hug him, Turner broke down completely, sobbing in his arms.

Gotta admit, my own eyes got a little sweaty, too... =)

(Here's the YouTube clip of the end of the game, including the postgame interview. Amazing.)


I've written about Turner Gill before. Here and here. The man is my hero.

Congratulations, Turner. You deserve every bit of success that comes to you and your teams. God bless you for doing what you do and for being someone who helps show young men what it means to be part of something larger than yourself, what it means to love sacrifically, what it means to lead by serving...and for pointing to God as the source of your strength and your example for service and love.

9-9-08 EDIT--I found the following nugget about Turner Gill on KLIN's website. John Bishop (one of my fave Husker radio guys, btw) put into words much better the thoughts that I was struggling to express. Here's the link, and here's the text of what he had to say (pay close attention to what I bolded near the end...that, I think is the key to understanding who Turner Gill is and what he's about):

JOHN BISHOP'S SUNDAY SCHOOL
Buffalo 42, Ball State 24
Welcome to a special MAC Championship edition of Sunday School.
I am going to admit, I sometimes find writing this column to be tedious. After a long week at work and a long day at the game, all I want to do is lay down and do nothing. But tonight is different...oh, so different.

If you call yourself a Husker fan and didn't get excited for Turner Gill and the University of Buffalo Friday night, then please turn your Husker fan card in at the door. We not only saw a program go from irrelevant to relevant, we saw a Husker legend solidify right before our eyes.

Turner Gill as a player and an assistant for the better part of the years 1980 to 2004 had already established a permanent place in Husker lore. But with his Buffalo program becoming MAC champs in three short years under his tenure, Gill just took "the Nebraska way" and planted its flag in upstate New York.

But did you see the postgame interview? If not, then you need to. You Tube. ESPN. Buffalo Bulls website. Find it. Because in two minutes of national TV airtime, Turner Gill went from Husker legend and U. of Buffalo savior to Husker icon and the epitome; the definition of what a leader of young people should be.

Again, go find the tape. It was on SportsCenter, I'm sure you can find it somewhere. If there was any recruit sitting on the fence about going to UB, they probably fell right off. There had to be other coaches watching, some of them tired of the long grind, ready to take a break, frustrated by the rigors of the job of herding young boys-to-men who might just have received a wake up call about why they do this job in the first place. Why they wanted to make a career working 18-20 hour days and living on the edge every gameday with their careers and livelihood hanging in the balance. Turner just showed us all in two minutes what motivates men to excel, to push harder, to work for something and someone greater than ourselves. And then give all the credit to the right people and give all the thanks to his Maker.

I know it got me off the couch and on this computer to write this column.

Way to go, Turner! A Buffalo Bulls nation and a Husker nation are very proud of you.


LH

A couple of Kiddo updates

Two stories:

Thing #1: A couple of evenings ago, Kiddo was watching the TV show LazyTown (which Sweetie hates...not that it's a bad show, just very annoying to her). Sweetie told him, "I bet your perfect day would be to curl up on the couch with your blankets and Mr. Bear, watch LazyTown, and drink Moxie" (a soft drink that I've let him have a few sips of and he loves...and Sweetie hates. Almost as much as she hates LazyTown. She thinks it tastes like Robitussin. Poor, misguided Sweetie...).

Kiddo thought that sounded like fun...so he announced that he was going to tell US what OUR perfect days would be.

"Daddy, your perfect day would be to sit on the couch, watch The Office, and drink Moxie."

I laughed. "Pretty good, Kiddo."

Then he turned to Sweetie with a mischevious gleam. "And YOU...YOUR perfect day would be to go to work..."

*pause for effect*

*giggle*

"watch LAZYTOWN and YO GABBA GABBA..." (even more annoying than LazyTown, btw)

*pause*

*giggle*

"and drink LOTS OF MOXIE ALL DAY LONG!!!!!!"

He seriously could not have picked anything worse for Sweetie's "perfect day." And he knew it. The kid's got quite the teasing sense of humor.

Yep, he's a big brother all right.

Thing #2: Next Thursday, December 11th, will be Kiddo's fifth birthday. Be prepared for the obligatory sappy "I can't believe my little baby is growing up" post next week.

Today, I've gotta tell you what we'll be having for supper that night. We told him he could have whatever he wanted. So here's what he came up with for the menu:

pancakes,

sausage patties,

sweet potatoes,

corn,

and...






Moxie.

Sweetie can't wait. Heh heh...

LH

Advent Conspiracy

This is one of the best little videos I've seen in a long time...what could happen in Christians stopped focusing on what our consumer society has turned Christmas into and turned Advent...a time of preparation for the coming of Christ...into a time for remembering Christ's call to love and serve our neighbor? How much more meaningful would Christmas be, rather than a relief to just get through the season? And how much more of a witness could we be as Christians to God's love for humanity by being counter-cultural in this kind of way?

The video's only 2 and a half minutes long. But its impact will stay with you much longer, I promise:



Check out http://www.adventconspiracy.org/ for more ideas on restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption.

LH

Is this the way to Bethlehem????

Kiddo's in his second year at a church-sponsored preschool. Every year, they have a Christmas program where they sing songs and re-tell the Christmas story.

This is a picture of Kiddo at last year's program:

Yes, he's the one in brown standing off to the side next to one of the teachers, holding his lower lip. That's pretty much how he spent the entire program last year. Poor kid was just scared out of his wits in front of all those parents.

This year's program is Friday night the 7th. When I picked Kiddo up from preschool today, there was a note attached to the weekly newsletter with a piece of news that I never would have expected last year at this time.

The teachers picked Kiddo to play Joseph.

That's right, the biggest, most central male role (other than the doll that will be representing Jesus). My son. Joseph. The kid who cried and wouldn't even get on the stage last year. Joseph.

For me, this isn't about "my kid needs to have the biggest and best parts" or anything like that. Yes, I'm proud, but the biggest source of pride for me is just seeing the change in him. His self-confidence has just soared...he used to be timid and quiet around new people and new situations, he used to be afraid to try new things. And now...Sweetie and I were at church last Sunday, talking to someone after the service was done, when we realized Kiddo wasn't with us. After scanning the atrium, we noticed him over in the middle of a crowd of 7 or 8 high school kids, just being part of the conversation. Now remember, he's all of four years old.

My son is starting to spread his wings before my eyes, and I just couldn't be any prouder of the human being he's becoming.

Joseph. I still can't believe it.

LH