Soli Deo Gloria

On several occasions while extrapolating within the confines of the 4F blog, I have mentioned the "Five Solas." I want to take a moment and key in on one of them. My intent here will be to show examples and keep my comments in between very succinct and to the point.

"Soli Deo Gloria" or "Gloria to God alone."

I asked my four-year-old daughter, Rhiannon, to help me with this particular entry. I searched for images of “God.” I asked her to look at these and pick the ones that she thought most looked like God to her. In this experiment, I had no theory in mind on the front end; however I did wonder whether she would lean toward the visually powerful depictions, divine or even toward pictures of Jesus. There turned out to be a theme in what she picked (and I have included those pictures so that you might see).

Out of the three pictures that she picked, two of these artistic renditions were of Christ in His

Ree's First Pick

glorified state. Another shows God and the Ark of the Covenant (clearly a powerful depiction).

So many times these days we hear someone wondering:

“What is my purpose?”

“What am I supposed to be doing with my life?”

“Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing?”

“Am I good enough?”

“Nothing that I do seems important?”

And there are a ton of new age mystics, feel-good preachers, escapist activities and issue generating fanatics to throw answers back in return. In reality, what does the whole of scripture define our purpose to be?

Ree's Second Pick

Our purpose here on Earth? I think the mission of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod says it very well in summation: “In grateful response to God’s grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments, the mission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod is vigorously to make known the love of Christ by word and deed within our churches, communities and the world.”

As a member of the church, I closely associate with this purpose and its scripture-based truth. It is fairly easy for most of us to look through the whole of scripture and come up with a summation thought such as the one above for our lives (and particularly referring to the church as well).

But what about our purpose throughout eternity?

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” – Romans 8:28

“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.” Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and


Ree's Third Pick

wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”  And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”  And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.”  -Revelations 5:8-14

Our purpose is to the glory of God alone. All that we do… all that we can do… is only enabled by the power of God. And not one good thing can come of our actions or deeds unless for the purposes of His will.

“For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.” – Romans 7:18

So, here I dwell. My purpose, as a living, breathing creation of God, and that will continue in the form designated by Him after my physical death is simply to glorify Him. Look at the below complexity describing the Trinity and the overall feeling of a glory too great for words to describe:

“For the Father is one person, the Son is another, and the Holy Spirit is another. But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one: the glory equal, the majesty coeternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit: the Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, the Holy Spirit uncreated; the Father infinite, the Son infinite, the Holy Spirit infinite; the Father eternal, the Son eternal, the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal, just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites, but one Uncreated and one Infinite. In the same way, the Father is almighty, the Son almighty, the Holy Spirit almighty; and yet there are not three Almighties, but one Almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God; and yet there are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; and yet there are not three Lords, but one Lord.” –Excerpt from the Anthanasian Creed (5th-6th Century AD).

We use the word “glory” a lot in Christianity. But if we are to glorify God, just what are we to be doing, both now and later in His presence? We glorifying him by worship and being a servant to His tasks and His commands and being about… well… and I use this word reluctantly… about His WORK.

I understand that I just alluded to works. Just remember that this exposition is about “Glory to God Alone” not glory to us and our self. I am not alluding to the value of works toward our salvation. “Sola Gratia” and “Sola Fide” may be covered later. I am describing the fact that we glorify God by being an instrument of His will.

Crown Him with many crowns, the Lamb upon His throne.
Hark! How the heavenly anthem drowns all music but its own.
Awake, my soul, and sing of Him who died for thee,
And hail Him as thy matchless King through all eternity.

Crown Him the Lord of Heaven, enthroned in worlds above,
Crown Him the King to Whom is given the wondrous name of Love.
Crown Him with many crowns, as thrones before Him fall;
Crown Him, ye kings, with many crowns, for He is King of all.

-Verses 1 & 5, “Crown Him With Many Crowns,” Public Domain, LSB 525 Concordia Publishing House

For in the end we know what will happen. One infallible truth is that at a point in the future there will be a moment when all will realize the power and the glory of God:

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” - Philippians 2:9-11, ESV

I do not quote that as a scare tactic. I quote it as an answer to the questions first listed above. What should we be doing? What the Word instructs us to do.

Our purpose is His purpose. No more, no less. Sin clouds our judgment and our effectiveness at this task while on Earth. It will not cloud our judgment in glory.

The reason I asked Rhiannon to pick the “pictures” that most reminded her of God was that I wanted to see how a four-year old views God. I think what was relayed was far more powerful than what I would have thought. I expected her to pick a picture of a “nice, friendly Jesus.”

Alas, no… she picked ones with radiance, crowns and power.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever…

Some Links:

http://castingcrowns.com/music/the-altar-and-the-door

Listen to Tracks 6 and 7 (Altar and the Door & Somewhere in the Middle)

http://castingcrowns.com/music/lifesong

Listen to Track 2 (Praise You in the Storm)

http://www.worldvieweverlasting.com/2012/01/25/the-nss-sanctifor/

Doing good...

Retro Ree and Kat of the Vine

In many previous “4F” posts (as I have came to call this blog), I have mused upon Faith, Forests (Scouting, only once so far), and the Field (EMS). I think it is high time I turn toward family. After all this upper end of the list vocation is the sole reason why I do not exit EMS forever, grow my hair and beard and collect sea shells by the seashore.

I usually laugh inwardly at those who say “you couldn’t live without being in EMS.” They obviously do not know me very well. While EMS is a passion, vocation and focus for portions of my life, it could easily be replaced by things more important. But… EMS pays the bills, so I stay. And like any vocation, the work is definitely there to be done. And that work is testing me somewhat this week…

So, with that said (let me know if you ever get tired of that entry phrase… although it probably won’t change my usage)… let’s talk about a few members of zoo for a moment. We are going to start with the girl children (we shall discuss the boys later).

Hence the title, “Retro Ree and Kat of the Vine.”

The title is simply a paraphrasing of the descriptions to come. These two daughters, one age four, the other twenty-two are in some ways a lot alike and in others different.

“Ree” is the nickname for Rhiannon, the youngest (by 5 minutes) of the Turpen girls. She is the fraternal twin of Peter Isaac (who we will explore in a later blog unless he has taken off my fingers with a baseball by that time, relegating my typing time to nil). Rhiannon is a fearless little sprite who truly claims (and mimics) a kinship with fairies and princesses.

I don’t think Ree has gained an ounce since she was two (I am being facetious of course) and she loves to climb trees, take 2.5 mile long scooter trips, ride her bike and be generally fearless. She also has not an issue one with calling out any of her brothers when something does not match her sense of right (of course she does tend to be defensive of her twin). She is very much a Daddy’s girl and always the first one to greet me when I come home in the evening.

Her other nickname is “Piggy.” She got this from eating three times as much food as her twin

Piggy (Ree) and Corky

brother when they were less than a year old. She put him to shame at the dinner table. Of course now he is the chunk and she the bean pole. However, this has given her a love of all sorts of pigs… from stuffed, to banks to even a pig shaped jewelry box. It’s all about the pig.

She likes watching music videos (and here is where the “retro” comes in). Meatloaf (I Would Do Anything For Love) and of course Stevie Nicks (Rhiannon) are at the top of her list. But she also likes the funnier stuff by Katy Perry and Psy as well.

Stevie Nicks (Landslide), Kid Rock (All Summer Long), Van Morrison (Brown Eyed Girl). As I have said before, Rhiannon is kind of a retro music kind of girl. Yes, i do think Kid Rock is sort of '70s at times...

 But then you throw in some Carly Rae Jepsen and Ree is all about that too...

Then it's back to Fleetwood Mac and "Silver Springs." I dont get it, but I can't say that I do not like her diversity in music.

Of course, I will not lie. Her first name comes from the Stevie Nick’s song “Rhiannon” which I really liked as a teenager and still am partial to today.

Rhiannon likes anything interactive. When she was two years old she learned the words to a common interchange between Commander Adama and Lieutenant Starbuck in the new version of the television show Battlestar Galactica. She usually likes the version from the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage:

Adama: “Good Morning Starbuck, What do you hear?”

Starbuck: “Nothing but the rain!”

Adama: “Grab your gun and bring in the cat.”

Starbuck: “Aye-Aye, Sir. Coming home!”

It is short, but she really gets a kick out of saying it back and forth and has wanted to re-watch the short video clip of one of the interchanges about a zillion times.  Reference video clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmqdsFq9fgs

She tends to actually listen in church (you should see it when her head spins around to ask a question about something just said in the sermon… priceless!).  Although for the longest time she thought Pastor Eckels was Jesus (she has since figured it out… but our Pastors are called and ordained servants of the Word so that association is logical to a young child). Of course, two of her brothers thought the same thing of Pastor Keller at an early age as well.

She is fairly particular about her clothing (appropriate to where she is going… and she usually picks it out herself too), hair (style), makeup (yes, I know… but she can be a little Diva at times).

She likes salad. I did not eat “rabbit-food” until my late twenties. She also likes Hockey too and is a huge Evansville Icemen fan.

I mentioned earlier that she is somewhat protective of her twin, but it does not stop there. She will jump in to defend in a moment anywhere where she feels someone or something is being harassed or abused (even the dog!). It is quite funny to see her through her 33 pound, four-year-old, stick-figure body in between two people with her chest out, arms thrown back, posture, stating, “You want a piece of me?”

Too funny.

She obviously likes to take up a cause.

Ree and Kat together...

On that point, let’s move to the oldest of the offspring. I cannot call her a kid any more as she is 22. But “Kat” is a graduate level student at Ohio State in the Veterinary Medicine program. She was accepted for early entry into the program during her third year of undergraduate studies at Purdue.

She and her Australian Shepherd “Mal” (short for Malcolm from “Firefly) live in Columbus, Ohio. She seems to be adjusting well to life on her own, but then again she has always been somewhat self-managing.

She has done well setting her own limits, adhering to her values and arguing those values as well.

“Kat” is short for Katherine. Fits well for a person who knew they wanted to be a Vet since the 2nd Grade. Kat has had an excellent GPA since around the fourth grade or so with honors classes in high school and the GPA continuing through her three years at Purdue.

I will be the first to say that I was not the most supportive parent with her decision to leave Indiana… after I love this state dearly and with there being only four other states I would like to live in (Colorado, Texas, Washington and New Mexico), Ohio still does not quite compute. But she has proven it was a very good option for Vet school.

One of my earliest memories concerning the tenacity of my oldest daughter has to be a day that I picked her up from school at what I think was her Kindergarten class. I still remember her at age 5, running to the car carrying this huge Teddy Bear (I think it was dressed in a Christmas motif kind of outfit). Here’s the set up. There had been a “Teddy Bear Tea Party” that day in the class. All of the students were supposed to bring a Teddy Bear. That is all I knew at this point… I was supposed to pick her up and make sure she brought her Teddy Bear home. She climbs into my truck, tosses the Teddy down, crosses her arms and says, “Teddy Bear tea Parties can be so annoying.” And that is a direct quote from a five year old.

So… I said, out of total astonishment: “So what was annoying about it?”

She immediately launched into a diatribe about how everyone was supposed to bring a Teddy. She then added that there were prizes for the biggest bear, the smallest bear, the best dressed bear, the fattest bear… etcetera… etcetera… never uncrossing her little arms. She was chiefly incensed over the fact that everyone got a prize.

I indicated that I still was unclear as to why the party had been annoying.

She then looked at me. The arms unfolded, straight out, palms up in the typical “why” stance and stated, “But someone brought a stuffed Rabbit. IT WASN’T A BEAR!”

Not sure if that was a “just doesn’t fit the rules argument” or a recognition of an entitlement concept, but either way it was hilarious. It took me the entire ride to get her calmed down and let the anger go (all while trying to choke down the laughter).

I guess that story serves to show that she sets lines, limits and definitions and then abides by them. She has always been that way. That said, she is now technically, by the numbers, an adult.

An example of that line drawing, not crossing thing was her waiting until she was 21 to have her first drink. We actually made it where that first outing occurred with me. That trip required a trip to West Lafayette, then to Indy to find a Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant.



Kat at Oliver Winery in Bloomington

Now this is where the “Kat of the Vine” title comes from… she has taught me to really like and appreciate the differences in various wines. I have learned quite a bit with her instruction and the idea that we should do a wine trail together. She has went from that first drink to wine connoisseur in less than 18 months. She also introduced me to my favorite wine: Reggae Red from Easley Winery in Indianapolis.

The Uplands wine trail was a great amount of fun. I also learned that our tastes in wine differ between father and daughter (we also have denominational differences in our faith as well). I am still learning. I like the sweeter wines, although I am learning to like Pinot Noir’s (which I hear is a logical progression). I like some whites also, but Kat is all about the white wines.

I will insert here: Please do not judge on the wine… the very first miracle of Christ was at the Wedding Feast at Cana where the water was turned to wine. Please see a sermon reference link below concerning both wine and marriage…

Another topic where I find Kat amazing is in the area of strategy. We have often in the past played a

St. Louis 2004

game called “Pirates.” It is a constructible strategy game where you collect and build small ships punched out of credit card sized plastic sheets. It is played on a large table top. It is not an easy game to win at when confronted by a diabolical mind such as that of my dear daughter’s.

Then there is her love for animals...

The thing though that I find the most impressive about Kat is that she has kept a straight and narrow path. Be it alcohol, smoking, relationships, school… she has made it a point to do the right thing and stay out of trouble. Her Christian character shows through at all times.

Kat & Jerad

She currently is looking to work with a specific church ministry which helps children of divorced parents. And she is doing this while in grad school.

I love my daughters dearly. In many ways, I cannot convey this in the space given in a blog. Daughters are sources of great love. You worry about them. You always know that you have not helped them enough, but they grow and succeed anyway. I thank God for them.

Lastly, there is nothing better than that little hand on your shoulder and those little lips state, “This is a secret between us… You are the best Daddy ever.” When I heard this two nights ago, I smiled on the outside, but nearly cried on the inside.

What I give is not enough. It will never be enough. Why? It is simply because we want to give our daughters the world.

And they deserve it.

Till the next time on the “4F” trail… God Speed.

Reference (and fun) links:

One of my favorite sermon texts regarding two good gifts from God, Wine and Marriage: http://lcmssermons.com/index.php?sn=1574

Battlestar Galactica (new): www.syfi.com/battlestar/

Uplands Wine Trail: www.indianauplands.com

Easley Winery: www.easleywinery.com

Winzerwald Winery: www.winzerwaldwinery.com

French Lick Winery: www.frenchlickwinery.com

Wine Styles Store Evansville: www.winestyles.net/burkhardt