Big Pines Lodge

Life as we knew it is no more. Big Pines Lodge, our favorite catfish place on Caddo Lake near Marshall, burned to the ground tonight. We have gone there for thirty years, and most of our visitors have gone there with us. So sad.

This is highly out of character for me, but I stumbled across this post today and thought it was worth sharing. If Mike had been around when I was at ACU I might not have left the CofC with a bad taste in my mouth. I hope this is a positive sign of the way the CofC is moving.

Desperately Seeking Legalism

2009 May 30

by Mike Cope

Here’s a pastoral observation from over a quarter of a century in ministry: people are desperately longing for legalism.

Once you get a taste of it, you will do almost anything to find more. It’s maybe the ultimate addiction.

Legalism comes with secure boundaries, clear authority, cleanliness, and disgust. It vacillates between pride and self-condemnation. It produces a kind of guilty depression that is itself addictive.

Ok, let me be clear. We think we don’t want legalism. We think we want grace. So, we dumb down the idea of grace — the robust, gospel-shaped kind would scare us to death! — into a sort of Grace Lite. We convince ourselves that because we have more “freedom of the Spirit” or more “freedom in worship” we have left legalism for grace.

Hardly.

Legalism beckons us. It makes us plead for more authority — from husband, from father, from church leaders. We want structure . . . we want to be told what to do . . . we want to fall in line.

Our need for legalism is so great we’ll break family ties to keep it (all the while priding ourselves on our freedom). We want the rules; we want the structure; we beg for order.

One of the challenges of ministry is helping legalism addicts. They flit about from place to place, but they can’t “rest” until they find it. It helps explain the popularity of some religious cult heroes — whether wackos or well-coiffed preachers — who will speak with authority and with confidence that they are absolutely right.

We say we want grace. But most don’t. Real grace — God’s grace! — is radical, unfair, against-the-grain. It messes with our addiction.

Senior Moment Here--I can't remember if I put this one up, and figure if I get out of this to go look, I will forget what I was doing, and never come back to it. So bear with me, if you can. Generation 1 is Violet Snow, Gen 2 is Dave Snow, Gen 3 is Nancy Davis, Gen 4 is Aron Bonner, and Gen 5 is David Bonner. Are you getting the idea that David Bonner might show up a lot? This was taken at Christmas, when Grandma came to Marshall, and David was about two weeks old. Grandma was delighted to hold a little David after 71 years since the last little David.

The rest of the pictures are of various other great grandchildren. The one you never see in these pictures is Luna, because Luna lives too far away.

More Pictures of My Great Ones

Hailey again, at a family reunion. I think the issue here was whether there would be any more chocolate cake on her plate. After she told me her mommy (not present) wouldn't let her eat that much, I decided not to, either, in the interest of good relationships with mommy, since Hailey was in my care.

Same day: The one of the two girls at the shelf was Grandma (Dave's mother) watching the girls make a choice of the goodies in the shelf. A good time was had by all there.

I have a feeling that Hailey is a lot like me in the determination (stubbornness to other people) area.

Let Me Show You My Great-Grandchildren's Pictures

So far, I have not been one of those grandmothers who carried those little photo albums--sometimes not so little--but you don't have to look at these. There have not been many updates lately on the blog, so here is one. The one I am holding is the newest, David. He has grown since this was taken, of course. The birthday girl in the pick is Hailey, now age 4. Her mom and dad are Melissa and Aron. Right behind her is Beth, Jami's five-year old, who will be in "kinnergarden" this fall. The group picture is (left to right) Beth, Caroline (Jessica's), a neighbor child, and Hailey. The horse was a gift from Nancy, Hailey's grandmother, and was the hit of the gifts, as shows in her face. Katelynn was also there, but somehow missed the pictures.