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Today we visited Nauvoo, Illinois. It seems to be Mecca for Mormons. The city was settled by the LDS in early 1800’s as they fled from persecution. During the LDS occupancy it became the second largest city in Illinois. They constructed a temple similar to the one pictured which is currently the center piece for Nauvoo today. The original temple was destroyed by a tornado and a later fire after the forced exodus of the Mormons from Nauvoo following the death of Joseph Smith, Jr and his brother at the hands of a violent mob. In its prime, it was an idyllic place. Today many Mormons make pilgrimages to Nauvoo. We saw a lot of families visiting. There are lots of exhibits and activities that tell the LDS story.

Today was an exciting and special occasion. Meredith had a birthday party for her dog Sugar (3 years). She invited some friends and their dogs. It was a grand affair complete with a dog talent contest ( the boys were the judges). Sugar came in third place and Pal took first followed by Teddie. There was a doggie fashion show and a special dog birthday cake and treats for the dogs. You can see a slide show from the party HERE. What would you expect when your favorite TV channel is Animal Planet?

(Original post 2007-02-03)

N. T. Wright in Simply Christian challenged me this morning as he wrote about what Christianity is about. He first clarifies what Christianity is not about:

Christianity is not about a new moral teaching as though we were morally clueless and in need of some fresh or clearer guidelines. … Christianity isn’t about Jesus offering a wonderful moral example, as though our principal need was to see what a life of utter love and devotion to God and to other people would look like, so that we could try to copy it. … Nor is Christianity about Jesus offering, demonstrating, or even accomplishing a new route by which people can “go to heaven when they die.” … Finally, Christianity isn’t about giving the world fresh teaching about God himself though clearly, if the Christian claim is true, we do indeed learn a great deal about who God is by looking at Jesus. …

After reading the above, I felt somewhat stripped bare. But, Wright offers a challenging and encouraging definition of what Christianity is about.

Christianity is all about the belief that the living God, in fulfillment of his promises and as the climax of the story of Israel, has accomplished all this … the finding, the saving, the giving of new life in Jesus. He has done it. With Jesus, God’s rescue operation has been put into effect once and for all. A great door has swung open in the cosmos which can never again be shut. It’s the door to the prison where we’ve been kept chained up. We are offered freedom: freedom to experience God’s rescue for ourselves, to go through the open door and explore the new world to which we now have access. In particular, we are all invited, summoned, actually, to discover, through following Jesus, that this new world is indeed a place of justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty, and that we are not only to enjoy it as such but to work at bringing it to birth on earth as in heaven.

What Wright has to say has profound implications on what my life in Christ should look like