Why "TULIP TIMES"?

Abu tulip writes:
It strikes me that starting a blog is a lot like having a child. First, it's something we're doing together. Second, having a child takes nine months, and if you procrastinate and deliberate enough (and are just plain busy), it can take something like nine months before a blog is produced. Third, the naming process. It's not an easy decision. You want something kind of catchy, but not to weird, and something that will actually make sense to most people. And, you kind of want to stick with it. It's not quite the commitment of naming a kid, or even a pet. However, you can't just go with the tried-and-true. "My life" or "My thoughts" is certainly already taken, and you can't have it. But when you name a kid, you can stick with John or Mary and that's fine, even if your name is Smith. So, after considerable deliberation we will go with TULIP TIMES. Why?

Well, it has a "newsy" feeling, which doesn't hurt, and alliteration is always nice (in moderation, of course).

It relates to our roots. Tulip time is a unique, slightly bizarre, festival in a town where we lived. Lots of crowds and annoying tourists, but amazing fair-food snacks, parades and klompen dancing. If you've never seen klompen dancing, let me tell you, it's entertaining in a strange sort of way. You're not sure if you're enjoying yourself with the dancers, or at their expense. Or like a car accident on the side of the highway. When you realize it's there, you can't help but look, and you hope that nobody is hurt.

Next, you may know that TULIP is a handy mnemonic device for remembering the Reformed doctrines of grace (or the points of the Canons of the Synod of Dort if you prefer). It certainly does not constitute all of Reformed theology, but is an important part of it. And since we appreciate Reformed theology, and would like to see more people come to appreciate it, it does indeed say something about who we are. I'll be writing more about that later.

So, this is our humble blog. I hope you find the name appropriate, even catchy, but at least tolerable. Enjoy!