In all truth, the day was rather uneventful:  No insane midnight tactics were needed.  No 20 hours of labor for Meghan.  No intensive care was needed for Charlotte like it was for Abigail.  All and all it was a normal day (aside for the surgery – a c-section).

Meghan and I arrived at the hospital at 6:30 a.m., at which time the nurses prepped her for surgery (the interval between her last food eaten at 7:15pm on February 10th and her first sip of water after the birth of Charlotte was probably the hardest).  Meghan went back at 9:25 a.m.(ish) for surgery and we had a baby by 9:50.  Charlotte weighed in at 7lbs 12oz and 20 inches long (Abigail was 7lbs 10oz and 21 inches long).  After the recovery time they moved the ladies upstairs and we have been having an awesome time ever since (except for the tar-like poopy diapers which I have to change since Meghan is incapacitated).

Gigi (a.k.a. Mrs. Cindy) brought Abigail to visit about 5:30 p.m.  Abigail enjoyed identifying baby parts (the baby’s eye, ear, nose, etc.) and she laughed when we kissed the baby (I think she thinks that Charlotte is an expensive babydoll) but she wasn’t a fan of Charlotte getting to lay with mom while she watched.

In other news, Dr. Moore (one of my mentors from the seminary) came to visit and left a present for Charlotte and Dr. Elieff (one of my other mentors) brought his family; they prayed for Meghan and our family.

Below are some pictures of the days events, enjoy.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians

Rick Riordan masterfully relocates a Greek mythological world into twenty-first century America.  Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, leads the heroic charge throughout the five books against the rise of the Titan, Kronos.  This story is full of monster flaying, demon slaying, and demigod fighting; there is even a love story that weaves its way through the books.  With wit and humor Riordan beckons his readers to delve deeper into world that many thought ended with the Greek and Roman empires.  I highly recommend this series; indeed, it is a fun read for all ages!

On another note, as I read this series I was reminded of how peoples, ancient and modern, have sought to explain this world apart from the Triune God of Creation.  The story compelled me to revisit the early chapters of the biblical narrative (especially Genesis 1-3) in which the Scripture paints a vastly different picture of God.  For one, God is singular, not plural, he alone rules over the creation at the beginning as he speaks the universe into existence (Gen 1:1); this is a truth repeated throughout the Scripture (Deut 6:4; Mark 12:29).  Additionally, in contrast to mythological gods like Zeus and Kronos who clamor for power and fear their own demise the Scripture teaches that the God of the Bible alone is sovereign, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.  He alone rules over the chaotic waters at the beginning of the world (Gen 1:2) and his enemies are no match for him at the beginning of the New Creation (Rev 20:10).  Once again, fiction is a helpful medium that enables careful readers to think more deeply about the biblical narrative and the story all Christians are called into in Christ (Eph 2:13).

The Graigs and The Johnsons

This week Meghan and I had the opportunity to spend some time with another NAOBC couple preparing to declare the gospel of Christ to people who have never heard that Jesus saves before. Like good Southern Baptists, we fellowshipped over food-breakfast to be exact.  It was great, we ate Adam’s burnt biscuits with some gravy, eggs, and fruit while we talked about family and what the next several months of their life will look like.

As I prepared to teach Acts 10-11 this week in our BFG, I was reminded how the gospel often calls us to do unexpected things for the sake of the mission of Christ.  Adam and Andi, like countless others devoted to Christ, will take their family to a distant country, learn a language not their own, eat foreign food in a foreign city around foreign people so that other people have the opportunity to know that Jesus does indeed love them.  It is amazing to reflect on what the gospel of Christ compels us to do.

On another note, Meghan celebrated her 26th birthday this week!  When we came home today, our front door had been decorated by one of Meghan’s best friends-Rebekah Drahosh.  To celebrate, I took Meghan for a birthday breakfast at IHOP.  While there, I asked her “How does it feel being 26?”  She replied, “It feels great! After a year of being odd (i.e. 25) it feels great being even again (i.e. 26).”

The basic premise of Gymboree is learning and development by play and music, so while there is a teacher who is structuring the class, most of our time (especially since they’re so young) is spent playing with Abigail on Gymboree’s really cool equipment!  We also sing together, pop bubbles, and play under a parachute :)

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week, the day of rest.  Shabbat begins on Friday evening and is commenced with a dinner.  On Shabbat, Jews recall the biblical creation account (Gen 1-2) in which God spoke the world into existence, creating the Heavens and the Earth in six days and resting on the seventh day.  For Jews, Shabbat is a festive day when Jews are freed from the regular labors of everyday life.  It offers them an opportunity to contemplate the spiritual aspects of life and spend time with family.

We began our Shabbat dinner by lighting 2 candles after which the women of the family recited a blessing in Hebrew.  Next, Cori’s dad read a Hebrew prayer over the wine (which Meghan and I did not drink…but Abigail had a few sips) and then said another prayer over a loaf of challah bread.  After the prayers and blessings, the meal began…at which point I became most helpful :)  We ate salmon, spaghetti squash, potatoes, chicken, and cauliflower (all kosher, of course…and awesome!).  There was an hour interval before a dessert of brownies.  Traditionally, the interval would have been closer to six hours to give time for the meat digest so that it would not mix with the milk that is in the dessert (since this would not be kosher).  But, we just waited an hour :) and enjoyed the brownies with some awesome hot tea.

The evening was wonderful!  We talked, we laughed, and we silently snickered as Abigail ran away terrified from their huge black dog all night.

Meghan and I saw this as an opportunity to practically live out 1 Corinthians 9:22.

Below are a few pictures from our evening

Aside from the technical difficulties we experienced when we tried to live stream the game from our computer to the TV, it was a fun evening.  We ate chili made by Suzanne, avocado dip made by Hannah, Hummus dip made by Laura and cookies made by Meghan…basically the guys and I enjoyed the handiwork of our wives!

Here are some pictures of our time together.

Alexander does more than creatively tie narrative themes together, he labors to make clear that there are two types of people: “those who display a positive attitude toward God (the seed of the woman) and those who are fundamentally opposed to him (the seed of the serpent)” (18).  The most visible difference between the two types of people is that the moral behavior of those within the kingdom distinguishes them from those outside of the kingdom (149).  As a result, the book is applicational as well as deeply theological.

It is an easy book to read (only 168 pages) and will help you read Scripture narratively. I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to further understand the one story told between the Old and New Testament.

“So that was a friendly Christian person?”

After making that statement, one of my coworkers—a divorced, unbelieving, agnostic man working two jobs to pay child support—tossed a credit card receipt with a circle around the subpar tip he had received from a Christian individual sitting at his table.  In fact, the tip was less than subpar—barely 10% on a $90 bill.  I might have let his comments go in one ear and out the other if it was an isolated incident, but sadly it was not.  I thought about ignoring him, but I have been attempting to share the gospel with this coworker for quite some time.  “Not all Christian people treat others that way,” I said softly.

I have been serving tables at a restaurant for several years in order to support my wife and children and to pay my way through graduate school.  Over and over again I have observed Christian people (or people who identify themselves as Christian people) come into the restaurant at which I work, pray for their food after acting rudely toward their server, leave a 10% tip (give or take a few percent) and a gospel tract with the check, and then leave.

Whether Christians are aware of it or not, a subpar tip left for a server (especially an unbelieving server) is a stumbling block in communicating the gospel.  It causes unbelieving servers to think that we, as Christians, value money over everything and everyone else (1 Tim 6:10).  So, my coworker, like many other servers around the country, interprets such actions (poor tips from alleged Christian people) as stingy-greed.  Tragically, the result—though it may be unfair to some degree on their part—is that many servers have identified the majority of Christians as a contingent of people who care little for others.  Why?  Primarily because they hear Christians promise them that God is just and fair and that he is a generous King who is lavish with his mercy and kind toward others.  Christians promise them that the gospel they preach is for all people right before they metaphorically clinch their money in their fist and tip poorly; refusing money to laborers who are worthy of their wages (1 Tim 5:18; Matt 10:10).

Now, to be sure, believers and unbelievers can leave poor tips; believers and unbelievers can leave fair tips.  But, the Scripture teaches that Christians, more than all people, should be a people characterized by generosity and love, not simply “fairness”, because they were first loved even though they were most underserving (1 John 4:19).  It seems that the deeper issue is not a knowledge of what is culturally fair or economically acceptable when it comes to tipping restaurant servers.  Rather, the issue is a lack of recognition by Christian people that they have received out of God’s fullness (John 1:16); that they have received because God generously provided his Son for us and for our salvation (Rom 5:8; 1 John 4:9).

Poor tipping by Christians endangers the Great Commission

What Christians may not realize is that they are in danger of living inconsistently with the gospel they preach by tipping restaurant servers poorly.  Indeed, poor tips are the equivalent of what Moses teaches in Deuteronomy 25—muzzling an ox when it is treading out grain (Deut 25:4 – later, the Apostle Paul would say the same thing in 1 Tim 5:18).  It is relinquishing responsibility to the Great Commission because the gospel is about grace.  Of all the people in the world, Christians should be a people who understand that they are unworthy to be recipients of the great mercy, grace and generosity shown them in Christ.  Even an unbelieving person can tip fairly, but Christians should be more than “fair” tippers, they should be generously-fair because God has generously provided redemption for them through his Son, Jesus Christ (see the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Matt 18:21-35; Lk 7:47).

On another occasion, a local pastor came in with his wife to eat and left a 13% tip, which made his bill an even number.  The question we should ask ourselves is, “Did his less than generously-fair tip compel this women to visit his church or believe the gospel he preaches when the laborer, whose wages he has kept back for himself, cries out against him (James 5:4)?”  The woman I work with who served his table has been separated from her husband for over two years.  She desperately needs the gospel, but she has identified the gospel that Christians preach with their stingy restaurant tipping.

Again, it seems that the deeper heart issue in a moment like this is that many Christians have deceived themselves into believing that this action is trivial and does not matter in the grand scheme of God’s providence.  They believe that no one will ever see or know about how they defrauded another person.  But that is not the picture that the Scripture paints—indeed, the Scripture teaches that Someone does see and hear and is paying very careful attention to all of the actions that we think do not matter in this life (Josh 7; 2Cor 5:10), whether one is a Christian or not.  In an attempt to communicate that there is something far more cosmically significant at stake (i.e. the salvation of the server) Christians should tip their servers generously-fair.

For the Christian, generously-fair tipping shouldn’t be contingent upon the dining experience

When a Christian determines the tip percentage of their bill based on quality of service or uniqueness of the dining experience, they contradict grace and flirt dangerously with greed.  They flirt with greed because they forget, at least momentarily, that underserved grace is shown to them everyday.

Recently, I have dialogued with a variety of Christian people whose argument on why it is acceptable to tip poorly—or less than generously-fair—goes something like this, “Servers understand that their job is to sell themselves to me so that I tip them well.  So, if they fail to meet my dining expectations then I am not obligated to reciprocate with a fair tip after paying for the meal.”  Though this may seem reasonable, it is precisely this desire to prefer the self (in this case, by preferring the dining experience) that must be crucified when it comes to tipping generously-fair, especially by a professed Christian person.  When the patron, especially the Christian patron, prefers himself by preferring their dining experience he fails to communicate that the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gospel of grace, that the gospel of Jesus Christ is for people unworthy of its blessing (Jesus came to heal those in need of a physician, Mark 2:17), that because of the gospel of Jesus Christ there are things that are far more significant than a pleasurable dining experience.  The real heart issue when it comes to poor tipping by a Christian is a lack of awareness of how great and vast the debt was that God generously and graciously forgave because he loves us.

Now, the reader needs to understand that I am not saying that patrons do not have the right to communicate that their dining experience was poor.  I am saying, however, that leaving a subpar tip does not communicate that the dining experience was poor (unfortunately, it often happens, as in the two accounts mentioned above, when service was superb and when the patron had no complaint).  Rather, the Christian patron should tip generously-fair and then notify a manager or supervisor of the lack of service.  The Christian tips generously-fair for two reasons: firstly, they recognize that the importance of their dining experience is irrelevant when it comes to communicating the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ and, secondly, they recognize that they too have received grace upon grace though they were unworthy to be recipients of it.  Regardless of the dining experience, all persons created in the likeness of God deserve a fair wage (Gen 1:27).  For the server, tips are wages, not donations.

Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly: generously-fair tipping

So, what is a generously-fair tip at a restaurant?

Before I give a percentage on what seems to be the minimum tip that I think should be left for a server at a restaurant, the reader should consider at least two things: firstly, there are two types of people working as servers: Christians and non-Christians.  Both deserve fair wages, just like any other person deserves a fair wage, simply because they are humans created in the image of God (Gen 1:27) and, secondly, when Christians sit at a restaurant table they assume the role of a master or boss; the Scripture commands that they treat their slave/server justly and fairly because they too have a Master in heaven (Col 4:1).

For the sake of the success of the Great Commission among employees in the service industry, Christian patrons should understand that 18% gratuity is the new 15% in 2012.  This is the reason that restaurants ask, for a big party, if the check should reflect an 18% or 20% gratuity (formerly, restaurants asked if you wanted 15% added to the check).  Due to the economy and cost of living, 18% is considered a fair wage for a server now.  Just as minimum wage increases every once in a while to accommodate for rising costs of living, so it is for servers and the percentage that is considered a fair tip.  But again, fairness is a standard that anyone can provide—even the Gentiles do this (Matt 5:46-48)—the Scripture calls Christians to be a people who are generously-fair in hopes that through their generously-fair tipping, especially in circumstance when it is underserved, that they might declare the excellence of him who calls sinners out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9; Col 1:13-14).

Responding Appropriately

Sadly, a large portion of the people that I work with have received less than generously-fair tips from many customers who have identified themselves with the gospel.  As a result a significant portion of non-Christians working as servers have distanced themselves from the gospel preached to them by Christians.  It seems that the only way to rectify this is if Christians recognize their position in Christ—they are the recipients of unmerited grace by a generous God—repent of their greed, refuse to cling to their money, store up their treasure in heaven and give generously-fair so that others may know that their treasure is indeed found in Someone else—Jesus Christ (Matt 6:19-21).

First, I tried my hand at making a little beanie for Charlotte to wear during the first few months of her life which will be in the middle of freezing weather :) This project was probably not the best one to start with considering that I’ve never ever ever sewn a thing in my life!  It turns out that the material used to make the beanie (jersey knit) is incredible difficult to work with, and for that reason, you are viewing a picture of my second attempt, the first one being quite ugly :) My skills could definitely use some improvement, but this one will do…
I am also planning to make some more flowers (and maybe bows?) to go with the hat.  You can see from the picture of the purple flower (which is actually the back) that I’ve included a button, which corresponds with a button hole on the beanie, so that the flowers are interchangeable!

My second project was to make a couple of zipper pouches that could accommodate all the necessary items for Charlotte and Abigail during nursery time at church or any other outings really.  I decided that I didn’t want to be carrying a purse and 2 diaper bags to church 3 or more times a week (and we aren’t super fans of the diaper bag we have right now anyways…don’t worry, it was free), so my solution is to keep these “diaper pouches” in my purse (which is now a big one that can definitely accommodate these pouches and my own personal items…thanks to a dear friend) and just drop the pouches off with each child during nursery time.  Each pouch is about the size of a piece of paper and is about 3 inches deep on the bottom.  The one on the left is Charlotte’s and the right is Abigail’s.

So after becoming slightly acquainted with a sewing machine and successfully (I think) accomplishing a couple of projects, I’ve added a sewing machine to my “I wish I had…” list :) Though I am definitely not even a little bit jealous of all the women before me who had to hand stitch all their family’s clothing, I definitely enjoyed the feeling of making something useful for our family (and its cheaper than buying them!)