Some Bullet Points

• "Kiss the Son." That's the tagline I put on the free business cards I made to hand out to people when I go knock-knock-knocking on strangers' doors. It's taken from Psalm 2, "Why do the nations rage?" I like it because it's a good summary of the blessed life; submission to the Lord isn't like putting on an iron collar but giving a kiss. And kisses are nice. 
• Speaking of nice, we have a children's book titled Colors Are Nice. Some editor somewhere actually approved that title. It's not like a board book for kids who don't understand English, either; it rhymes and has nice pictures and the whole shebang. Among the worst titles I've ever seen, after "Some Bullet Points." And we bought it! (Confession: I can recite most of it.)
• We've been going through a series on Haggai in church. The theme of the book, as I'm giving it, is "God speaks abundant life." 
• College football starts today. Go Vols! (Don't embarrass me!) There aren't a lot of NCAA football fans around here, so there are fewer people who hate Amy when she says offensive things like "Roll Tide."
• A nearby high school's mascot: The Irrigators. "Drown 'em!"?
• Oh, we visited Mount Rushmore. I promptly lost the pictures I took because my phone had to be factory reset, so I can't prove it. But if you come to our house, you can see the souvenir magnets that the boys had to buy on our fridge.
• Hank loves school. Making friends like it's his job. Kicking butt at the competition for who can spend the most time at home reading. An anecdote: Last Saturday night, we're at a PTO back to school bash with popsicles and bouncy houses and all that junk, and I round up the dogies and tell them to get in the car. As we're walking out, some little rapscallion friend of Hank's shouts, "What, Henry, are you leaving already?" Hank shoots back, "Yeah, but at least I get to go read and get more points!" I wish I could adequately describe the puzzled look on this kid's face. Priceless.
• Rory and Darby, when attending high school football games, spend most of the time running around with a group of kids pulling a wagon and pretending it's an ambulance. They pick up kids, tell them to pretend to cry, and take laps. Weird. Kids are weird.
• Lindsay continues to bite faces and gouge eyeballs with crinkly nosed shrieks of delight. Girls are like cats.
• The seminary semester has started back up. Hitting ethics and Greek right now, and omega, I mean oh man, had I forgotten how time-consuming grad school classes can be.
• Thanks for the kind words of encouragement we've had from so many of you. Your prayers are being answered. Though loneliness is a struggle that reflects some besetting sins in my life, friendships are developing, and I'm able to walk a little straighter knowing that God is stepping into this part of my life, too.