Sienna Out, RAV4 In

The Sienna lasted 37 months, the lease ended, and we replaced her with a RAV4. The children are big enough that the large and not particularly economical minivan (average 15 mpg and four brake jobs over 45,000 miles) is now replaced with a smaller but more economical SUV. So far we've averaged 23 mpg over 6500 miles including a trip to the beach. We were able to fit the kids and all of our stuff inside with room to spare. One cool feature of the RAV4 is an optional 3rd row seat. There isn't much room in the 3rd row, but children and youth of varying sized have sat back there on numerous outings and we've not heard a complaint. A replacement for the minivan was going to cost $32,000, so the RAVS $24,000 sticker was more palatable to our already stretched family budget.

I'm still driving the Silverado and it continues to serve me well. I've averaged 18 mpg and have had to replace the transmission (warranty) and I've had trouble with the brakes. I'm beginning to think that the brake problems are not really brake problems but coming to terms with moving from the relative flatlands of Louisiana to the southern end of the Appalachians (I do live in the shadow of "Shades Mountain") of north central Alabama. I'll occasionally kick tires but the Silverado still holds more practical appeal than anything else I've considered. Plus, I'm always hauling stuff around. Right now there is an exercise bike in the back and later today I'll probably take a load of furniture to Goodwill Industries.

ELEMENTS GONE WITH THE WIND

About six months ago my wife decided her Element was going to be a problem toting kids from place to place. So we traded my Element (the older one) in on a Sienna minivan. So, she got a minivan and I took over her Element. Now I thought one Honda Element is just like another, but I was wrong. Whereas my Element was quick and fun to drive, her Element was slow and boring. Whereas my Element got 27 miles to the gallon, her Element got 19 mpg. Whereas my Element was an ugly orange with black cladding, her Element was all blue and pretty. Within two months of the reassignment, I couldn't take it anymore. I looked at my wife and said I wanted to trade in the Element.

Now, my wife is a sensible person and I've traded a lot of cars over the past four or five years. She sighed and said, "this is getting embarrassing. Go get something that you'll keep."

My first vehicle was a pickup and other than two great vans, I have enjoyed our pickups the best. So, I looked around and bought a 4X4 Silverado. It will tow my trailer and gets better gas mileage than the Element. It might be stupid to by a V8 with $3 a gallon gas, but I never claimed to be a genuis.

Honda Element(s)

We now have two Honda Elements in our garage. Some neighbors a couple of houses down have two xBs and another neighbor has two BMW 7 series. I guess we're trying to out weird our weird neighbors, especially the guy and gal with the xBs. By buying the Elements we've improved our gas mileage by 22 miles per gallon (we increased by 8 and 14 miles per gallon over our two previous vehicles). We'll use 691 less gallons of gas this year which will save us about $1800-2500 depending on the price of gas. Our monthly outlay for autos remains the same and our insurance went up by $4.00 per year. When you count in the Hondas slower depreciation over the Jeep and the Dodge, we should come out better over time. A cool website that will help you find low cost gasoline and has a side by side fuel savings calculator is here: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/.

Thinking Out Loud

I'm a bit disappointed in the church right now. There is a great push to appease the Anglican Communion for consecrating Gene Robinson. They want us to repent and show regret. I don't believe the church has any need for repentance on this issue and I don't regret that the church consecrated Bp. Robinson. I am saddened that our brothers and sisters are upset by these actions, it grieves me that my brothers and sisters in parts of the communion are distraught, but I do not regret having done it and I hope we will do it again. My gay and lesbian brothers and sisters have just as much right to exercise their ministries as they are called by God as anyone else in the church. If our sins have a bearing on our abilities to minister in God's kingdom, then I should be the first in line to be inhibited. I have lost most of my patience with others on this issue, especially those that are ordained. If we inserted black or Mexican or Asian instead of gay and lesbian, than the outcry would be seen for what it is. But, because it is still acceptable to diminish people who are gay and lesbian, we must repent and regret. Not me. If God wants to punish my gay and lesbian friends to eternal damnation, then send me to hell with them.

Christ and Commerce

"Remember when the faithful use to complain that Christmas was too commercial? Now they complain that commerce is insufficiently monotheist."

I've been thinking about Niebuhr's Christ and Culture and the whole "war against Christmas" nonsense, and I've decided that there needs to be a new addition to Niebuhr's relational models. I'll call it Christ and Commerce in Concert or Christ and Capitalism against Commonsense. This is the model of Christianity that is most fully expressed through the buying of goods and services. Christian music, books, t-shirts, self help seminars---the whole Rick Warren, Joel Osteen, Jesus as my girlfriend crowd falls into this model. Most Americans now fall into this model and is best expressed in the maxim: "the faith that is best is the faith that is bought."

Santa and the War Against Christmas

When did a visit to Santa become "photos" with Santa. Last night I took my son to see Santa and it seemed like the whole point of the visit was to "get the picture". I'm cyncial enough to know that there isn't anything pure about the commericialization of Christmas, but I didn't realize how far it had gone until my son climbed into Santa's lap. No more is Santa interested in what Billy wants for Christmas. No, it seems Santa's only concern is smiling big for the camera so that Billy's grandparents can have a nice postcard to put on the refrigerator, and I can be out another $20-30 bucks.

Fox News is making a fuss out of the supposed war on Christmas, but it seems to me that
Christians everywhere should rejoice that Walmart and Sears and Target are focusing less on Christmas and more on the holidays. Maybe if Christians began to understand that the gift of Christmas is Jesus and not the diamond from the deBeers commercials, the faith quotient in our communities would rise.

Ember Days (?)

According to the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (every Anglican leaning Baptist needs one of these in their bookcase), Ember Days are four groups each of three days, in the church year, viz., the Wed., Fri., and Sat. after St. Lucy (13 Dec.), Ash Wednesday, Whitsunday, and Holy Cross Day (14 Sept.) respectively, which are observed as days of abstinence and fasting in the Churches of the West. The name is perhaps a corruption of quatuor tempora which in Latin means 'four seasons'. Their early history and original purpose is obscure, but they seem to be tied to seed time, harvest, and autumn vintage. The connexion (Oxford spelling, not mine) of the days with the crops has now been largely lost, and they are associated to-day almost entirely with the ordination of ministers.

On a practical matter, Bishops typically use the Ember Days as opportunities to check up on their postulants and candidates for Holy Orders. While in seminary I was required to write a letter to my Bishop on or around an Ember Day and he would respond on or around the following Ember Day. As for fasting and abstinence I don't know of anyone who still practices these on the Ember Days.