Pictures from Mr. Squire

That (to him) basically sum up his week with Junior as I've been gone.

Hehehe.

I actually think they're pretty accurate.

Excerpt from MLK's Mountain Top Sermon

Delivered the day before he was assassinated:

Let us develop a kind of dangerous unselfishness.

One day a man came to Jesus; and he wanted to raise some questions about some vital matters in life. At points, he wanted to trick Jesus, and show him that he knew a little more than Jesus knew, and through this, throw him off base. Now that question could have easily ended up in a philosophical and theological debate. But Jesus immediately pulled that question from mid-air, and placed it on a dangerous curve between Jerusalem and Jericho. And he talked about a certain man, who fell among thieves.

You remember that a Levite and a priest passed by on the other side. They didn't stop to help him. And finally a man of another race came by. He got down from his beast, decided not to be compassionate by proxy. But with him, administered first aid, and helped the man in need. Jesus ended up saying, this was the good man, because he had the capacity to project the "I" into the "thou," and to be concerned about his brother.

Now you know, we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn't stop. At times we say they were busy going to church meetings--an ecclesiastical gathering--and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn't be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that "One who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony." And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jerusalem, or down to Jericho, rather to organize a "Jericho Road Improvement Association." That's a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the casual root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effort.

But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that these men were afraid.

You see, the Jericho road is a dangerous road. I remember when Mrs. King and I were first in Jerusalem. We rented a car and drove from Jerusalem down to Jericho. And as soon as we got on that road, I said to my wife, "I can see why Jesus used this as a setting for his parable." It's a winding, meandering road. It's really conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, which is about 1200 miles, or rather 1200 feet above sea level. And by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 2200 feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road. In the day of Jesus it came to be known as the "Bloody Pass."

And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure.

And so the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: "If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?"

Dear Junior

Dear Junior,

We are apart for the first time ever as Mommy goes on a business trip.  Ten days! We sure jumped in with both feet first on this. 

Mommy left on Monday and it is Friday evening.  What a long week it has been.  I'm so grateful that your grandparents (Mommy's parents) came to help Daddy out.  You've been having a lot of fun with them, and it has made me very relieved and happy to see you having fun in my absence.

You've been giving Mommy besos and trying to hug the iPad when we FaceTime.  It breaks my heart but warms it as well.  Thanks for not getting mad at me (yet) for leaving you.  I'll be back within a week.

In the meantime, Mommy has been learning a lot and practicing a lot of trial advocacy skills.  It's been an encouraging week; I'm learning a lot of the things I need to know to do my job well, and I've been seeing what my strengths are in the courtroom.  For the first time, I'm seeing what my gifts are in the courtroom, and I'm really experiencing the fact that God has prepared--and gifted--me for all of this. 

Daddy and I pray that for you all the time: that you would discover the gifts that God has given you and use those gifts to bless others.  It truly brings joy and meaning to life.

I miss you so, so much.  I can't wait to give you a gigantic hug, smother you with besos, and pretty much not let you go when I get home.

Have a great weekend, my little.  Mommy loves you tons.

Love to Junior,

Mommy

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