My faithful red Jeep is struggling.  She was my very first car purchase and I have had her 11.5 years! She has been a wonderful vehicle with hardly any problems.  She only has 114,000 miles on her but 11.5 years is a long life.

This week while on vacation she started flashing her "check engine" light for the first time.  And she sounds bad . . . hacking and shaking.  Poor thing.

As you can tell, I’m somewhat attached.  We’ve been through a lot together.  She was my first. I’m known by my red jeep.  Former students and youth drive by to see if my red jeep is at the church.  My nephew often asks to ride in "Aunt Moe’s red jeep".  However, if these problems turn out to be expensive, it is car shopping time.  And I don’t know what to get next.  I feel disloyal even thinking about it.

So, if you have any suggestions on my next car purchase, let me know.  I’m open to ideas.

Mark Driscoll – This wink’s for you!! For the background on this wink movement, read Adam’s recent post.

For those readers who haven’t heard of Mark, he is a vocal and popular fundamentalist who I disagree with on most things. He is the founder and pastor of Mars Hill in Seattle, Washington, as well as an author and leader. He is loved and defended by many.  But to many others, he has said some unbelievable things (well, unbelievable to a lot of people other than Mark.) Probably his most infamous comments related to the Pastor Ted Haggard’s firing for sexually immoral conduct. 

I have learned that there is little point to debating such individuals. But it doesn’t meant that those who disagree should be silent about giving another voice to issues under debate. Mark attacks individuals like Brian McLaren and Rob Bell – ministers who have done amazing things for the Lord and for many individuals who have been turned off to God due to the rants of people like Mark.

So – I’m adding my wink to the list.