New Digs

Here are the highly anticipated pictures of our new residence in Maryland! Just click on the picture below to open the gallery. Scroll over the right and left side of each picture and click on the arrows to move forward or backward through the gallery. There are little blips to the right that explain the layout of the apartment. We hope to post pictures of our community in the near future.

A Trip To Washington

Hey folks. I recently took a trip to D.C. to scout our living situation and take a look at the school where I will be studying anesthesia. While I was there I stayed with a buddy (Capt Spencer) and his lovely family. It was short trip and with the help of Spence and his wife I knocked out my objectives on the first afternoon, leaving me with an entire day to sight see. So that is precisely what I did. I hopped on the metro and enjoyed a nice forty minute ride down to the capital. Anyway. I thought you all might enjoy some of the photos I snapped.

Click the image below to open the gallery. Click the right/left side of the images to scroll through.

San Antonio Missions National Park

Recently we visited San Antonio Missions National Park as part of some activity we planned for Dan & Elaine's (Dani's folks) recent visit to San Antonio. We were sort of at a loss for what to do as we had already taken them to the usual sites during past visits. Anyway we googled SA tourism and came across this. It was a great find. The park is several separate missions spread around the southern part of SA. If you are ever looking for something to take up a day in SA check this out. Lots of great photo subjects.

Click the picture below to open the gallery. Click the right/left side of the photos to advance through the gallery.

Further Discussion

I recently decided to research a particular issues based on some assumptions made by a family member, which turned out to be misplaced. It all revolves around an idea which is part of an ongoing conversation in the emerging church, but which has (sadly) been misinterpreted and scandalized by those who don't understand the meaning behind the discussion.

That idea is about how people, both inside and outside the church, view the crucifixion and it's purpose. This is an issue with which I have been wrestling for quite a while, and I will attempt here to explain how and why. . .

When I reached my mid 20's, I started seeing the church in a whole new way, and I didn't like what I saw. There seemed to be a lot of ideas and actions, which just didn't fit with the God I believed in or with what the Bible seemed to teach. This led me on a long journey of searching and re-thinking, basically trying to find the truth. During this time, I continued my relationship with God, but stopped going to church because I felt this was where my confusion had begun. I did, however, start looking for a group of people who had questions similar to my own. Much to my surprise, there were groups all over the internet searching for answers and having discussions about the very issues which were on my heart. It was pretty amazing, and my relationship with God grew as a result of taking part in these conversations.

At the beginning of this journey, however, there was one, monumental stone in my path to growth and discovery. And that was the violence of the crucifixion. This was around the time that the movie, "Passion of the Christ" came out, and I reluctantly went to see it. I knew it would not be pleasant, but what I did not know, was that it would cause me to question God. I was completely mortified and horrified by the violence that was, as I had understood it, part of God's requirements of his son. I was confused and angry, because, up until this point in my journey, I had come to experience God as loving and caring. It felt like I had been tricked, and that God was completely different than how I had personally come to know him to be. So, not knowing exactly what to do with these feelings, I stopped all communications. . .stopped seeking, stopped praying. This went on for several months until finally I felt like I could face my questions and doubts. The first thing I did, was to talk to God about these things, and surprisingly, I discovered that he was still loving and caring. . .not violent at all.

So, now we come to the idea that has caused so much controversy. It can be summed up in the following quote, which hopefully now, after reading my story, will be easier to understand:

“How then have we come to believe that at the cross this God of love suddenly decides to vent his anger and wrath on his own son? The fact is that the cross ISN'T a form of cosmic child abuse — a vengeful father punishing his son for an offense he has not even committed. Understandably, both people inside and outside of the church have found this twisted version of events morally dubious and a huge barrier to faith."
Apologetics Index

From my own personal experience, and from the similar stories of others, the fact of the matter is this. Many people cannot reconcile the violence of the crucifixion to a God who is supposed to be loving and caring, and just because you disagree with their doubts or dismiss them as sacrilegious doesn't make the issue disappear. Especially when you have so many people out there (like myself) who are no longer able to accept the messages taught in churches and professed by other Christians at face value due to the incongruencies therein.

Fortunately, since the experience I related above, I have continued searching for an answer to who God truly is. I have found a lot of answers and have received a lot of confirmation in my search. . .but until recently, I had sort-of tabled searching further into the whole crucifixion and violence issue. I hadn't really encountered any suitable explanations or new interpretations that were different enough from what I grew up with and no longer deemed thorough enough to satisfy my questions, so I just waited and did a lot of reading and thinking. However, this recent discussion has really helped me organize my thoughts and has caused me to search a little deeper.

Let me begin the explanation of what I have recently discovered with another quote, which I found particularly helpful:

"I think the gospel is a many faceted diamond, and atonement is only one facet...Atonement-centered understandings of the gospel (can) create vampire
Christians who want Jesus for his blood and little else. He calls us to move beyond a gospel of sin management’ to the gospel of the kingdom of God. So, rather than focusing on an alternative theory of atonement, I’d suggest we ponder the meaning and
mission of the kingdom of God.”
Apologetics Index

This statement leads me back to my original post which started this whole discussion. ALL aspects of Jesus' time on earth are tied together and vital to promoting God's Kingdom. Well, for me, it was obvious how his message to live lives of peace, love and justice could promote God's Kingdom, but I was still a little cloudy on how his crucifixion fit into the picture. Anyway, I finally came across some explanations of atonement that really helped put everything together for me. Here they are:

Six Theories about Atonement (greatly condensed):
Ransom Theory - Through our sin, we placed ourselves under the authority of Satan. Jesus comes and offers himself as ransom for us. . .and we're set free to live for and with God again.

Substitutionary Theory - God's merciful act of absolute goodness and selflessness in giving himself through Jesus on the cross satisfies or cancels out or absorbs God's anger about our human evil.

Christus Victor Theory - Our enemy is death. By entering into and overcoming death, Jesus opens the door for us to enter eternal life.

Perfect Penitent Theory - Jesus' acceptance of death on behalf of the whole human race, is seen as perfect repentance for us (or, on our behalf).

Moral Influence Theory - The cross demonstrates Jesus' self-giving, his complete abandonment to God's will, for the sake of the world. When that sacrificial love touches us, we are changed internally so we want to stop being selfish.

Power Weakness Theory - By becoming vulnerable on the cross and accepting suffering from everyone, rather than visiting suffering on everyone, Jesus is showing God's loving heart. The cross calls us to welcome God's kingdom through self-sacrifice.


These may be familiar to some of you, but I was surprised that there were so many different theories. What struck me more, however, was that I couldn't agree entirely with every one of these, but I couldn't disagree entirely either. Strangely enough, I found this to be immensely helpful. It made me see that I don't necessarily have to adopt one of these theories as my own, but as a whole, they give me a clearer view. . .maybe not the whole sky, but at least a nice big window. And for me, that was all I needed.

I know, for some of you, that might be a little too inconclusive, but I would rather leave you to draw your own conclusions.

Group Discussion Continued

We began the discussion below by looking at the Kingdom of God. In the comments posted under that discussion, different views about this concept emerged. Some of us felt that the Kingdom of God is represented here on earth by following what Jesus taught as a way of life, accomplishing God's will on earth. Some felt that the Kingdom of God was accomplished through salvation and, therefore, eternal life with God in heaven. This led to a discussion about postmodernism and the Emerging Church.

I consider myself to be part of the Emerging Church, and explained that we're really all just a bunch of different groups trying to work together and build on our similarities, despite the fact that we also have differences. We want to hold on to our differences, but we also want to work toward the good that is found in our similarities. Our goal, (in my opinion) is mostly about having a conversation about who God is, and how we can act to make this world a better place, based on Jesus' life teachings.

Both my oldest sister, and an Air Force Chaplain who had joined the discussion explained the history of postmodern thought and how it was formed when "WWI made (everyone) take stock of what they were teaching as the kingdom seemed to be coming apart a lot faster than it was being built" (Chaplain). Because of these tragic historical instances, people began to realize their idea of who God was was wrong, so they started searching to find where they went wrong and to learn more about who God really is. So, Postmodernism was born "in rejection of the god of (people's) imaginations, which was caused by 1) a lack of unification in the church, 2) bad training and a bad explanation of substitutionary atonement, 3) a misunderstanding of the real message of the Bible, which caused us to 4) shy away from the biblically accurate terms and descriptions and explanations" (older sister).

Then, my "middle" sister joined the discussion by bringing up a television show she had recently watched about how the books of the Bible were selected. She "was surprised about the process and criteria used to select the books, but even more surprised about where the rejected books went," mentioning that she thought those books may have been adopted by other religions. I had heard these ideas as well and was interested to hear that my oldest sister has been researching the original documents of the bible herself (she is a very ambitious researcher).

And this leads back to Postmodernism and a search for the true God, in a sense. . .If people feel there is something missing or wrong in the current/most popular line of thinking, they're going to start searching.

So, that's where we are at in our discussion. It's been interesting, and fun so far. What further thoughts or input does everyone have?

Group Discussion

So, I've just started reading a new book. "Everything Must Change" by Brian McLaren. I've only read 3 chapters, but have already run across an idea that bears further consideration and discussion. . .

In the Bible, Jesus uses a metaphor on many occasions. The one referring to the Kingdom of God coming to earth. (For those of you who aren't really religious, just stay with me till the end. I promise it's interesting.) I've read another book of McLaren's that discusses this, and after much consideration, I have to say that I agree with him: "Something is wrong with the way we understand Jesus and the 'good news'. Something is missing." People often assume this Kindgdom of God message is about how to escape this world. However, I've come to believe that it is instead about God's will being done here on earth. Mainly, God's dreams coming true for this earth.

I don't think God's dreams include us preaching to people about how to be "saved" (from hell), or that he wants us segregating ourselves in our churches and with our Christian friends in order to be "separate from the world". I think God wants us living in the way Jesus demonstrated: Caring for the poor. Befriending the marginalized and excluded. Being a voice for justice and peace. Coming up with new solutions to old problems. This is how Jesus lived, how he brought God's Kingdom to earth, and how he encouraged those he knew to carry out that dream in their day-to-day lives. I think the whole "good news" or "gospel" message of Jesus is as simple as that. Learning to live a life of love, kindness, peace and justice, and helping others to do the same. That is what he came to teach us, and that is why he is our source of hope. He taught us a way of living that brings God's dreams into reality.

This was a new, and incredibly uplifting idea to me. What do you think about it? What sort of questions does it bring up for you?

The End Of An Era

As of today, the 12th of February, I am a Lieutenant no more. I have finally made Captain! Yeah.

Thanks,
Cpt Bancroft

Sean & Dani's Colorado Vacation

Hey folks! Here are the pics from our recent trip to Colorado.
Click on the picture below to open the gallery.

Changes for 2008

As some of you may know, Sean and I don't really make New Year resolutions. However, we happen to be making a lot of changes lately, just as the New Year is beginning. We are evaluating our lives, which is something we try to do several times each year, to make sure we are being the best people we can be in relation to God and others. Over the months that Sean was in Iraq, we both read some books that impacted us, and we have been sharing those new ideas with eachother now that he is home.

We began by checking on eachother's spiritual health. This was something new for us (an idea from one of our books), and it was pretty cool. We had some really good discussions which helped us be more in-tune to how to help and understand eachother spiritually, and to see areas where we needed to have our own hearts be more open.

Now, we are discussing how we can live our lives in a way that is not harmful to God's creation. For us, this includes everything from how we treat others, to what we purchase with our money. We see how some of these choices can support a system that takes advantage of the poor and neglected or potentially harms the earth, and we want to avoid making choices that would do that as much as possible.

One of the biggest changes, is that we are now a one-vehicle family! Of course, we had some selfish reasons for this decision. With Sean going back to get his Masters in May, he will not have time to deal with the unwelcome distraction of car problems. And, since both of our vehicles had just run out their warranty coverage and had reached the 60,000 mile mark, we decided the best option for our upcoming situation, was to sell both vehicles, and to lease a new one. This made sense particularly because we won't really need two cars when we move to the D.C. area, since we'll be utilizing the metro there. Plus, we chose a small car with good gas mileage. So, there are benefits all around. We've put a few pictures of our new car below. . .

Anyway, these changes are happening all at once for us. And, they really mean a lot to us. I guess we just had a lot to catch up on since Sean was gone for four months!

An Unconventional Holiday Season

How's 'bout we do Christmas after we ring in the New Year? Sounded good to me. Turns out it's really all about being with those we love.

Click on the picture below, then when the gallery opens, scroll your mouse over the upper right corner of each picture and click on the "Next" prompt that appears to advance forward.

Enjoy!

Homecoming!!!

Sean is home! Here are some pictures from his first day back.

Click on the picture below, then when the gallery opens, scroll your mouse over the upper right corner of each picture and click on the "Next" prompt that appears to advance forward.

Enjoy!

Sean's Arrival Date

So, we know for certain that Sean will arrive back home in San Antonio on December 29th.

True, it's not before Christmas, but it is only two weeks away! It could have been February before they sent him home, so this is much better. We're both SO excited that we'll get to see eachother so soon!

BEWARE The Golden Compass

I'm not saying it is bad to question what we choose to watch, read, etc. It just seems to me that sometimes we really make ourselves look like fools when we put up such a fight. On the subject of atheism, author Philip Pullman had this to say on the Today Show...

As for the atheism, it doesn’t matter to me whether people believe in God or not, so I’m not promoting anything of that sort. What I do care about is whether people are cruel or whether they’re kind, whether they act for democracy or for tyranny, whether they believe in open-minded enquiry or in shutting the freedom of thought and expression. Good things have been done in the name of religion, and so have bad things; and both good things and bad things have been done with no religion at all. What I care about is the good, wherever it comes from.

It's a good thing that we Christians are here on earth or there would be nothing good here at all! Sounds ridiculous, no? As I have stated before, the God I love is big enough to use anyone(Christian or athiest)or anything for his purpose. I believe my God is so amazing that he can redeem all good things...even the good things that are done by people who we don't agree with. My God is so amazing that he is in all that is good. All that is good.

Here are some links to a few online articles discussing The Golden Compass in a fair, and level-headed way:
Christianity Today
Novus Lumen
Transformatum

Thoughts of the Season

Sean wanted me to post a few paragraphs from an article he recently read. I feel like this article is so appropriate, not only for the holiday season, but for all throughout the year. . .

It’s important that we recognize God as the ultimate Owner of all things and break out of the myopic mindset that allows us to focus solely on our own needs, wants or obsessions. Sounds pretty simple to me. But not according to some. For those who subscribe to the prosperity gospel, the Bible gives clear evidence of God’s plan to make those He loves truly rich. Like all lies, there’s a hint of truth in it, and precedent has paved the way with the likes of biblical heroes such as Abraham, Joseph and David—great men of God who also found themselves on the receiving end of a swollen bank balance. But if we think their story ends there, we deceive ourselves. If we roll over and give in to the theory that God will reward our faith with financial bounty, we become just another set of narrow-minded, self-obsessed believers. We see relationship with God as the path along which we must travel toward the prize of material reward—not the reward itself.

In Hebrew, the Old Testament uses a few words for the poor: anaw, ani, dal, ebyon, and ras. Between them, they define some fairly specific circumstances, like someone who is wrongfully impoverished or dispossessed; a beggar imploring charity; or a thin, weak, deprived peasant. By the time we get to the New Testament, the main word used for the poor is ptochos, meaning someone who is completely destitute and must take help from others. Ptochos is the Greek equivalent of ani or dal, which allows us to say that the main definition of the poor throughout Scripture relates to being of low economic status, usually due to some form of disaster or oppression. So if not having money is a concern to God, doesn’t logic dictate that those under His care should have it in abundance? Unfortunately, His plans are a tad more radical than this idea of rich Christians and poor heathens.

For more of this article visit this link: The Consequences of Prosperity

Christmas Apart

This is a first for us. Our first Christmas in 10 years decorating and celebrating apart. Danielle sent me a handfull of pics of her decorating our apartment back in San Antonio with Cooper the dog and Cali the cat. That's not the only thing she sent me. I recieved a surprise via snail mail. Inside a fairly large box I was shocked to find a complete "Christmas Decorating Party In A Box". Also included were a few items from the girls in our apartment office back home. Thanks ladies.

Enjoy!

Good News!

It's official! We're moving to Maryland!!

The Air Force graduate edcuation board selected to
sponsor Sean to attend the Uniformed Services
University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland
for his program of study in Nursing Anesthesia. The
program starts on June 1, so we will be moving
sometime in May.

We're so excited for this opportunity, both for Sean's
continued education, and for a new experience in a
different part of the country.

Also, for those of you who don't already know. Sean
will be home from Iraq by the end of December,
possibly by Christmas!

Watch Wiener

This is who is holding down the fort for me. Keep up the good work, Coop.

Up On The Roof

Just a few pics I took while up on the roof of the hospital on my last night off.

Congratulations To My Amazing Husband!

For those of you who haven't heard, we recently found out that the Air Force has accepted Sean to go to anesthesia school! They will give him a full scholarship for his continued education (master's degree), as well as continue to pay his regular working salary while he is in school for the two years it takes to complete the degree.

The only thing left for us to find out is which anesthesia school he will be attending starting in the summer: The Army based school at San Antonio's Fort Sam Houston, or the Air Force based school at Bethesda, Maryland's Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. Sean has put Maryland as his preference, so we hope he gets it! If he does, we will be moving there sometime in May. We hope to know more about this in the next few months.

This is something Sean has been actively and strenuously working toward for the past year-and-a-half. Becoming a Nurse Anesthesist has been his goal since he started his college nursing education, and it's so exciting to see this goal so close to being accomplished! I am so proud of him for his hard work and determination! My husband is amazing!!!

The Cutest Ever

I was mulling through the archive of pictures I have stored in iPhoto on my Powerbook and I came accross this pic of Dani and the Coop waking up on a sunny morning. As I landed on this picture I got a good chuckle out of what I saw. I smiled all the way in to work.

By the way some of you may need to scoll down to see picture captions.

Sean

For The Birds...

I really don't consider myself a bird person (not that this is a bad thing). I wouldn't even consider myself a naturist. I have found, maybe through age/maturity, that I have an increasing appreciation for creation. One thing that I have found that I enjoy, is becoming familiar with common local wildlife and vegitation. I guess it's a fundamental part of the character that each part of the world possesses. There are some commonalities from place to place. Of course, there are also some very obvious differences.

By the way some of you may need to scoll down to see picture captions.

Sean

Shots From A Day Off

Here is some of what I see and do on my days off. I have so little time to myself that sometimes I have to make myself stop and open my photographer's eye and see the art around.

"...It was evening, it was morning."

The Night Reveals Beauty

I was walking around the base on my last night off and I couldn't help but notice a pair of trees as they stood like giant sentinels bathed in the lights of the base. Certain parts of the base maintain a high level of activity at night that requires illumination with bright stadium-type lights. The effect, is a sort of mysterious glowing skyline. It's actually quite pleasant to look at.

Take a look!

My Wife

My wife is a wild beauty. She amazes me. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Dani.

The Comfort of Family & Friends

Now that Dani is back home in San Antonio, she feels more ready to be
on her own. She went out to eat all by herself on Friday for lunch,
and spent an hour reading at Starbucks in the evening. She is finding
it's kind of nice to treat herself to special little things here and
there.

She has also decided that it just might be fun cooking for one person
and has found a bunch of healthy, delicious sounding recipes. She
enjoyed shopping for the ingredients and even picked up a bottle of
wine to compliment the food she would be preparing. :)

Dani has had fun playing, walking and hanging-out with Cooper (the
dog). They have been going over about once a day to visit with the
great people who work in our apartment community's office. She also
has some church friends who want to do fun stuff from time to time.

Another helpful activity, is Dani's unexpected new job! It's a very
part-time, very flexible job at Homewood, the assisted living center
where she currently volunteers. They needed someone to go to
doctor's appointments with some of their less capable residents to
make sure no one gets lost or confused, and also to make sure the
doctor's instructions get relayed back correctly. She will continue
to volunteer for leading morning exercises, but will be paid for
helping the residents at their doctor's appointments.

Being with family and friends in Colorado really helped Dani to move
on with a positive perspective once she returned to Texas. Below is a
link to some pics from her trip. Thanks to all for your love and support!

Click Here For Pics