the unlikely orange

in a recent interview with the associated baptist press, author scot mcknight argued that social justice outside the church is not "kingdom work."  okay, i know, for most of my readers that's not a very compelling way to start a post.  i get that.  but, if you bear with me for a second, we can unpack it and you might find the conversation to be not only worthwhile, but perhaps even critical.  mcknight is arguing against those groups and individuals on the left who would be about the work of social justice without also preaching, teaching, or offering Jesus.  in other words, if i'm part of an organization that helps reach out to the jobless, offering career services like resume writing, interview skills, some professional clothing, etc., but i don't also try and save their souls, then i'm not really doing what he calls "kingdom work."  at first i thought that this was really just a more religiously disguised way of echoing glenn beck's ...

we have a dear and generous friend from the first church where i served in toms river, new jersey, who has blessed us with a beautiful cross stitched handmade gift at the birth of each of our three children.  i would NEVER be able to make something that looks so clean and neat, and i think they just look really fun and whimsical.  we've hung each one as we've received it, and just last week we received our third to complete the collection.  it's already hanging in quin's room, and i thought we'd share the whole collection with you.  sorry about the angle on the first two, but they are hung up high, and i didn't feel like taking them down just to take the picture.  i like how each one ends with an owl and a nest.  thanks, Gail, for these wonderful pieces, which will be cherished in our family for many, many years. 

"the standard is the standard," quips coach tomlin quite frequently, making clear that his expectations don't drop off when backup players have to step up into important roles, like foote, carter, sylvester, lewis, butler, and others had to do this week.   far be it from me to ignore this BIG win by the pittsburgh steelers on sunday.  now don't get me wrong, a win is a win, whether we win in overtime by the skin of our teeth, with ben running for his life and limping to the finish line, or we dominate on the scoreboard and on the field.  either way, it looks the same in the standings.  and while i agree with the football adage that "we are who our record says we are," i think there is an added emotional element to the game that the standings can't communicate.  if you just barely beat the pats, because they make some crucial mistakes or get the short end of the bad-officiating stick, you take the win but it doesn't feel the same as what happen...

happy halloween from the milinovich family.  as you can see, we've got a little buzz lightyear, and a skeleton (who hastens to add that he has glowing eyes, but you're just going to have to take my word on that).  we carved pumpkins in the snow on saturday, and took these pictures yesterday, since tonight will be kind of crazy (and probably getting dark) between eating mummy dogs, getting costumes on, and trick-or-treating.  enjoy some pictures of our halloween-y (love that word) weekend.  our little lobsty.  we bought this costume a few weeks ago.  and wouldn't you know?  it doesn't fit the little pudger now.  couldn't stuff his chubby arms into the sleeves, and his legs just barely fit into it.  poor guy was stiff as a board in there, so we softened him up in a pot of water.  above:  cade's lightning mcqueen on the left (made by mommy), and mommy's owl on the right below:...

well, as i sit here on the 29th of october in central pennsylvania, i am looking out the window.  and i see snow falling heavily.  in october.   we are expected to get 6-10 inches.  of snow.  in october .  are you kidding me?  nope. so, after carving the pumpkins, i'll be lacing up the snow boots.  therefore, for our saturday song, i thought i'd choose a song by a band named " snow patrol."  this is my favorite song of theirs, called "chasing cars."  this video just shows the lyrics.  hope everyone has a safe and warm saturday.  in october .

above:  coloring by caedmon. below:  cuteness by caedmon.

thursday seems a bit late for a reaction to sunday's steelers game against the cardinals, but, what can i say?  i've finally got around to doing it.  the picture above was just my way of celebrating not only the steelers important road win over pittsburgh west arizona, but also the ravens monday night debacle which put the steelers into first place in the division.  antonio brown, the second year receiver, has been coming up big for the steelers this year, and is clearly a comfortable target for roethlisberger.  it's really great to see his maturation, and it seems to me that his upside is amazing.  this one-handed reach catch on sunday was spectacular.   i just loved this picture of troy, so i turned it into a poster. i absolutely love this picture.  it is from sunday's game in arizona, and in this particular view, i don't think you can see one cardinal fan.  there is nothing - NOTHING - like steeler nati...