tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-93994162024-03-19T07:58:11.828-05:00the sometimes excessive musings of a seeking soulLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06105359386954620460noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-68523962884682843432011-10-17T15:22:00.001-05:002011-10-17T15:22:18.163-05:00our greatest fear<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">I wanted to briefly share with you these words that my good friend Dwayne shared with me today, when I needed them badly. Perhaps you need them too. May God bless you with them.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; "><b>Our Greatest Fear — Marianne Williamson</b></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous,</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">talented and fabulous?</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">Actually, who are you not to be?</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">You are a child of God.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">Your playing small does not serve the world.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">people won't feel insecure around you.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">We were born to make manifest the glory of</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">God that is within us.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">And as we let our own light shine,</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">we unconsciously give other people</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">permission to do the same.</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; min-height: 16px; "><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">As we are liberated from our own fear,</p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Georgia; ">Our presence automatically liberates others.</p><div><br /></div></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-21408452860800057732011-04-21T22:43:00.004-05:002011-04-21T23:00:33.039-05:00theology of eating<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This week for my New Testament ethics class, we've looked at the ethics of eating and food. Kind of frightening to learn more about the food industry—what we're actually eating and how it's gotten to us. It's already making a difference in how I'm eating, or at least in how I'm <i>thinking</i> about eating. For example, our house is hosting Easter lunch this Sunday, and </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I'd been considered ideas for a main meat dish. Unluckily (or luckily?) for our guests, however, my assignments have had me reading about the ethics of food and watching <i>Food, Inc.</i>, and... well, let's just say after that I'm thinking more along the lines of a vegetarian meal.</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Below you'll find posted the text of my very brief theology of eating paper that I turned in today, but before we get to that </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;">I wanted to share a couple of resources with you that you might find enjoyable and helpful.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> I'd absolutely recommend </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;"><i><a href="http://www.foodincmovie.com/">Food, Inc.</a></i><a href="http://www.foodincmovie.com/"> </a>(nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary) and Michael Pollan's book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Food-Eaters-Manifesto/dp/0143114964/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1303444361&sr=8-1">In Defense of Food</a></i>. Additionally, you should check out the <a href="http://www.betterworldshopper.org/">Better World Shopper website, book, and iPhone app</a>.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;">Here's the paper. I'm wondering, what would you see as the most important change <i>you</i> could make to your eating to make it more ethical?</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-family: Georgia, serif; "><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rJG4Yu9Z124/TbD9AopJc6I/AAAAAAAAAS4/ZLRiqepzHwE/s1600/00164_cattle-feedlot-002.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rJG4Yu9Z124/TbD9AopJc6I/AAAAAAAAAS4/ZLRiqepzHwE/s320/00164_cattle-feedlot-002.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5598252524173357986" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 174px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center;">(Photo from the <a href="http://www.oklahomafarmreport.com/wire/news/2011/03/00163_COFMAR2011_143355.php">Oklahoma Farm Report website</a>.)</div></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:georgia;font-size:medium;"> <!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:-.5in;line-height:200%"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"></span></span></b><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>A Christian theology of eating and food will take into account at least three fundamental issues: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">that</i> we eat, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">what </i>we eat, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">how </i>we eat. I will here focus on our eating as a practice that illustrates all our relationships. Eating exposes our identity as humans in comparison to God, depicts our bonds to the rest of creation, and allows for the formation of individuals in relationship to one another in community.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:-.5in;line-height:200%"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The indispensible practice of eating says much about the identity of humans, who are created in the image of God but are not themselves God (Gen 1:26-27). Taking for granted the necessity of everyday functions like eating ignores the possibility that God <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">could have</i> created us to be more efficient and self-sufficient—not needing to breathe, eat, or sleep—but chose not to. Instead, God created inherently limited beings who were intended to recognize their finitude and rely on God to meet their needs. Even in determining <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">that</i> we would eat, God made it irrefutably clear who is God and who is not.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>In addition to delineating our relationship with God, eating—particularly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">what</i> we eat—both establishes and depicts our relationship to the non-human creation. Eating is a way of manipulating and controlling the world for our benefit, and how we do so exhibits how we conceive of our relationship to the world. Is the dominion over the earth imparted by God (Gen 1:29-30) a right to be exploited or a privilege to be handled carefully? Was God’s concession that humans could eat meat (Gen 9:1-3) a natural progression to be celebrated or a result of the fall to be mourned? A number of conclusions to these questions are theologically defensible, but common to their viability is a profound respect for God’s creation and our place within it.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Finally, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">how</i> we eat is significant, for it demonstrates how we are formed (or malformed) as individuals and as communities. Meals are meant to be times of fellowship and community building (for example, the many feasts throughout Scripture, including the Lord’s Supper), in which the people of God proclaim their kinship to one another through Christ. How we eat—alone or together, with intention or haphazardly, lavishly or moderately—demonstrates who we are in relation to a world of hungry, aimless, and lonely people (1 Cor 11:20-22, James 2:15-16). To build upon the adage, perhaps we are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">how </i>we eat just as much as or more than <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">what</i> we eat.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>With all this in mind, I believe the most important change I can make to my own eating (and hopefully therefore influencing the world around me as well) is to be more knowledgeable about where my food comes from and what process it goes through to reach me. I would like to be more ethically conscientious about my eating, but in order for me to make good choices, they will have to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">informed</i> choices.</span> Therefore, since <span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";">I truly know very little about the foods I am eating and the ethical dilemmas they would pose if only I looked closely enough, I commit to doing more research about the food industry, especially its treatment of animals, adjusting my diet appropriately based upon what I learn.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="Times New Roman"font-family:";"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The St. Ann Community already participates in a community garden and plans to cultivate a portion of a 4-acre plot of land we have access to. We have purchased shares in the Brazos River Farms CSA so that we can receive a greater quantity and variety of foods than we can grow ourselves at the moment without turning to the non-local grocery stores as much. We buy cage-free eggs locally and even hope to have our own chickens and goats in the future.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>These steps forward, while important, are only initial steps toward a larger lifestyle change. They improve the sources of our food somewhat, but they do not change our diet drastically. As I continue my research for this class, however, I hope to come to a clearer understanding of what it would mean for us to embrace a healthier relationship with creation through our eating. At the least, I believe my findings will lead me to buying ethically- and locally-raised meat and to eat and serve less of it than I do now. Throughout the process, rather than framing my conclusions negatively, in terms of what I am giving up, I would like to speak them positively and in a life-giving way, in terms of a healthier lifestyle and relationships.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in;line-height:200%"><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> </span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-66870478768901415672011-04-13T22:50:00.006-05:002011-04-13T23:11:50.978-05:00the Voice and the Vision<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;">I've been working on this poem throughout the day today, and while it's probably not done, it seemed done enough to share with you all. As you'll see, the first stanza is from a prophet's point of view, while the rest of the poem is the word of God that the prophet has heard and is speaking to the people. Also, this is a relatively obscure reference, but the clause "I am the patron saint of lost causes" comes from the Anberlin song "Dismantle Repair" that I was listening to earlier this morning before all this starting coming together. Gotta give credit where credit is due. And though it's not at all on par with his poetry, when you're reading this, think of the kind of quick rhythm of David Bowden, whose <a href="http://www.davidbowdenpoetry.com/home">website</a> you should definitely check out. All that aside, whatever the merits of the end product, the process of writing has been incredibly enjoyable.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:Helvetica;font-size:12px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:14px;"></span></span></div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I am</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">the patron saint of an almost lost cause</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">the hopeless prophet…</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">of hope</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">hearing the words no one will speak</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">and speaking the words no one can hear,</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">words followed…</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">by tears</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">THUS SAYS THE LORD:</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">mercy and justice,</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">the goodness of God</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">forsaken, forgotten, untried, and ignored</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">ignored in your hearts</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">untried in your lives</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">you don’t know where to start </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">and you won’t — </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">you’re not mine</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">a law that can’t save you</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">a law you can’t keep</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">is the law you embrace</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">and the “life” that you seek</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">seek ME and live</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">yet you’re dying inside</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">decomposing within</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">and this death you can’t hide</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">you’re caught in your sin</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">disregarding your call</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">forgetting your God</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">and the voice of your Lord</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">plotting and praising</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">a life of your own</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">the things God’s abhorred</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">are the things you’ve adored</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">what is the point?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">and how will you cope?</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">this “life” you can’t live and this “hope” you can’t hope</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">this is what you’ve embraced</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">and it’s who you’ve become</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I see you, I ache and </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I am</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">undone</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">but what you’ve become </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">is not who you are</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">so come back to me, please —</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">please, I implore!</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">embrace who I AM</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">and let me provide</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I know you can’t see it but</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’m on your side</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">in a world misaligned, so misled and confused</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">you’re starving for hope, for guidance, for food</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">but I am your bread and I am your wine</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I give you myself</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I give all that is mine</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">if only you’ll eat and if only you’ll drink</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I’ll heal every wound</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">bring you back from the brink</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">I give you my hand and I give you my heart</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">take them and live and</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">make a new start!</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">mercy and justice</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">the goodness of God</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">consulted, accepted, extended, explored</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">this is the life that I have for you</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">live it and love it, and let it be true</span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div><p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:14px;"><br /></span></span></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-85860659091083077942011-03-29T22:56:00.007-05:002011-03-29T23:41:17.050-05:0027 million most terrifying secretsJust an hour ago, I finished watching a documentary entitled "Call + Response." I was thrilled to hear about the screening on ACU's campus since I'm passionate about its cause and have been wanting to see this film for over the past year. <div><br /></div><div>In case you've never heard of Call + Response, you should definitely check out the <a href="http://www.callandresponse.com/">website</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H9HFpD3azs">a trailer for the film</a>, but to summarize it far too quickly, it's a film and a movement to end modern-day slavery.<div><br /></div><div>That's right, slavery. You thought that ended 150 years ago, right? When the North won the Civil War? Not so much. That's actually only one very limited (though of course lamentable!) expression of slavery.</div><div><br /></div><div>Believe it or not, there are actually more slaves today than at any other time in human history. Forced labor, forced prostitution (often of CHILDREN!), debt bondage, child soldiers... The twisted schemes of slave traders are overwhelming. Over <b>27 million people</b> are enslaved worldwide at this very moment. And 80% of them are women and children. And in 2009, slave traders made more than <i>eight times</i> the UN's entire budget -- yes, 8 times what the <i>United Nations</i> spends!</div><div><br /></div><div>Find it hard to believe? Check out the US State Department's annual <a href="http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/">Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report</a>. You'll be astounded. And disgusted. And grieved.</div><div><br /></div><div>Or at least I hope you will be.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because that astonishment, that disgust, that grief... that is the beginning of a change.</div><div><br /></div></div><div><img src="http://www.callandresponse.com/downloads/eyes_468x60.gif" width="398" height="51" /></div><div><br /></div><div>(More to come soon...)</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-54660284291376778012011-03-21T23:01:00.003-05:002011-03-21T23:11:51.125-05:00praise God from whom all blessings flowWell, I must say that it's sad that my first post of 2011 doesn't come until March is nearly over. It's also sad that it's not going to be a long or particularly eloquent one. All sadness aside, however, I just wanted to share quickly a few things that I am thankful for.<div><br /></div><div>It's wonderful to be a part of the most amazing community of roommates and friends here in Abilene that truly make this home. Whether it's an excellent dinner of beans and rice prepared by Rosten, or an evening of communal discernment around an important life moment, or finally finishing the Lord of the Rings movie "marathon" we started a month ago, there's always something to appreciate about this family I'm a part of.</div><div><br /></div><div>And over the past two days or so, I've been experiencing the wonderful blessing of God-given joy. There's nothing in particular different about what's been going on in my life recently, but I've noticed for the past couple of days that I have more lightness and yet more substantive goodness in my heart and in my attitudes toward life and other people. It can't have come from anywhere but God, and I can't help but say thanks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, it's time for me to be off to bed. My prayer for you tonight is that you may also experience the blessing of community and the blessing of the joy of the Spirit of God in your life!</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-45561817929936862232010-12-03T01:10:00.001-06:002010-12-03T01:10:37.820-06:00the way of life<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14.1667px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">As my last assignment for this semester (besides studying for a Greek test on Tuesday), I </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">was asked to compose a rule of life</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> for my Christian Spiritual Formation class.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A rule of life, if you're not familiar with it, is a guiding set of principles for your life before God. Rules can be written by individuals, but they are also often written for communities of faith. While a rule of life usually does contain challenges as far as who you want to be and what you want to do, it is far from a set of New Year's resolutions. Rather it is a covenant with God in which you pledge yourself to a certain way of life.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Since it's a highly personal kind of thing, the rule and its contents can take any number of forms. As I began contemplating my own rule of life, what came to mind as a focusing concept was a quote from the Didache, which we just covered in Greek recently: "</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There are two ways, one of life and one of death, but a great difference between the two ways." A rule of life, it seemed to me, should be something which describes and calls me to the way of life. And what better way to focus my life than on what Jesus calls the greatest commands: love God and love your neighbor as yourself. Everything else, Jesus says, hangs on these things.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">So, as I began to write this rule of life, I chose to center it on those precepts, looking at a couple of different aspects of life (relationships, stewardship, ministry, etc.) through the lense of what it meant to love God, love my neighbor, and love myself. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Though thi</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">s was written basically in on</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">e sitting and could use some time for reflection before it is finalized (if it ever is), I wanted to share with you what I came up with as my rule of life. It's much more theoretical than some other people's are, but that seems to fit me, as I tend more towards focusing on </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">habits of being</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> rather than </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">habits of doing</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. That may in some ways be a weakness of my rule, but I can also see it as a strength, enabling this rule to serve me for years and years to come because it lays solid foundations that can be further defined as specific situations arise. Anyway, enough talk already. The formatting's off a little (no lines should continue on to another line without being indented), but here it is. I'd love to hear your thoughts!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13.8889px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; text-align: center; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">To this way of life I am consecrated:</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">to love the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">to love my neighbor.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">to love myself.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For there is no commandment greater than these.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">First established in flourishing relationship</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">with my creator, redeemer, and sustainer,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">with my fellow sojourners in faith</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">and those who have chosen a different path,</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">with the unique image of God I carry within,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I give my fully alive self to the community of Father, Son, and Spirit, to the community of faith, </span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">and to those in the world who are without such wholeness.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Centered in attitudes of joyous expectation and love-filled self-emptying,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I magnify my Lord, humbly submit, and hope unceasingly in divine promise.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I reverence the other as an irreplaceable likeness of our multifaceted God.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I dedicate my all to the service of the kingdom and the praise of God’s glorious grace.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Exceedingly blessed, my life is an incarnation of appreciation for all gifts bestowed upon me—</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">joyously received from my generous God,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">graciously extended to others as theirs,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">earnestly cultivated as they are entrusted.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Time, money, talent… each provision an offering back to the one who first imparted it.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Though the materialist myth proclaims unlimited resources, I live instead in moderation,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">abstaining from crimes of excess so others may forgo crimes of need.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ardently I nurture God-given favors—empathy, wisdom, intellect, health—</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">and employ these endowments of heart, soul, mind, and strength.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For justice and mercy I extend myself,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">as one who has received unending mercy from the God of justice.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">as one who sees the world crying out</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">for justice in its fallenness</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">and mercy in its brokenness.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">as one called to and graced with the ministry of this inextricable pair—</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">two sides of the same coin, two expressions of the same love.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">To character and virtue I devote myself,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">growing always in thought and in deed towards purity of heart before my holy God,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">living from this stance of integrity as the presence of God in the world,</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">salt and light to flavorlessness and darkness,</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">seeking always the fruit of the Spirit and the audacious balance</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">of a God-centered life in a perilously self-centered world.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; min-height: 15px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "></span><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Times New Roman'; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This is the true way of life. This I choose. This I will be.</span></span></span></p></span></span></div></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-15034454322620227952010-10-21T16:38:00.003-05:002010-10-21T16:45:44.955-05:00thankful thursdayInspired by my wonderful friend <a href="http://deemeredith.blogspot.com/">Deanna</a>, I've decided to post a Thankful Thursday post today. Basically, that means that I either don't have much of anything else to write about or that I don't have the time and energy to do so, so I'll be satisfied with giving you a little insight into things I'm thankful for today. Never a bad idea, though, right? So, right now, I'm thankful for:<div><br /></div><div>1) an absolutely gorgeous day outside today here in Abilene</div><div>2) amazing roommates who are wonderful to and for me</div><div>3) a good conversation with <a href="http://wecareabilene.org/">Brad Carter of CCC</a> this afternoon</div><div>4) a good time back home with family in preparation for my brother's wedding</div><div>5) Nellie being my sister-in-law!</div><div>6) getting to spend some time with my nephew, Jakub, who's insanely cute!</div><div>7) the photographs I've printed off and hung on my wall</div><div>8) lime potato chips -- AMAZING!</div><div>9) the MRNA crew and getting to see them later tonight</div><div>10) an hour or so last night that I spent reading FOR FUN!</div><div>11) slowly developing relationships with some of the people in the College Heights community</div><div>12) the OPPORTUNITY to study Greek and pass a test on Tuesday :)</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-17203659020154540092010-08-17T23:01:00.003-05:002010-08-17T23:11:09.625-05:00colors of summer<div style="text-align: center;">As summer is winding down and school is about to start, I just wanted to share a few pictures of how beautiful summertime out west can be. Two of the three are from last summer, but I'm still a fan. There are plenty more where these came from, but they're a few of my favorites. Enjoy!</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TGtcmzfuKDI/AAAAAAAAAQA/5JcEww_WTaY/s1600/Palo+Duro+Canyon+(58)edit.JPG"></a><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TGtcJYcQ8tI/AAAAAAAAAP4/zX1p0P6_cUk/s1600/Palo+Duro+Canyon+(33)edit.JPG"></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TGtbTKhrOCI/AAAAAAAAAPw/bQLaRvdMjNI/s1600/DSC00128edi.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TGtbTKhrOCI/AAAAAAAAAPw/bQLaRvdMjNI/s400/DSC00128edi.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506595354191804450" /></a><div style="text-align: center;">thunderstorm and sunset on the 4th of July in Kansas</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TGtcJYcQ8tI/AAAAAAAAAP4/zX1p0P6_cUk/s400/Palo+Duro+Canyon+(33)edit.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506596285640143570" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 267px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Palo Duro Canyon, last summer</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TGtcmzfuKDI/AAAAAAAAAQA/5JcEww_WTaY/s400/Palo+Duro+Canyon+(58)edit.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506596791118604338" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;">Palo Duro Canyon again</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-87474904687732317522010-08-15T15:52:00.002-05:002010-11-24T23:40:58.299-06:00a glimpse back<div style="text-align: center;">Today I'm sharing with you a journal entry I came across from sometime during the fall of 2007 or spring of 2008. I praise God that things are no longer this way in my life, but this is an accurate portrayal of what I experienced for a number of years. Those years very much shaped who I am, as I think you will understand better after reading. For that reason, and also so any of you who have also experienced such a time will know that you're not alone, I decided to share this with you. No pity wanted, just understanding and encouragement.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TO32z7X8C5I/AAAAAAAAAQ8/TspJmtE7F_0/s400/doodle-swirl-line-blk.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543358088334805906" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 134px; " /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center; ">I feel my soul begin to plunge again into the unfathomable depths of despair. It is an abyss I have become quite familiar with -- an enemy more dreaded than any other I have faced, yet at the same time a comfortable friend. None, not even I, can understand the mysteries of the transformation that occurs within me. It's a bad case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, only less predictable. A whirlwind or tornado that appears as if out of nowhere, wreaks havoc on my spirit, and then vanishes back to God knows where, leaving a perhaps troubled yet strangely tranquil sky behind it and nothing but a trail of destruction and disaster in its wake. And I am left to sort through the mess, the ruins of what once was my life, trying to put back the pieces to give some semblance (to the world? to myself?) of normalcy, all the while mourning with bitter tears as I compare the devastation that surrounds me to the peaceful, joyful, and whole life I once led.</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; ">This malaise that has taken possession of me -- what is it? Can I give it a name? I have tried, though none seems suitable, or perhaps it's that all of them do -- depression, despair, frustration, hopelessness, exhaustion, confusion, anger, bitterness, emptiness... What is this ghost that haunts me, a specter I can at times avoid and at other times against which I am utterly powerless?</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; ">I cannot understand the inner workings of my heart, the processes of my mind. I do not know why I feel like I do or what it is in me that changes, that begins the dreaded metamorphosis. As regular and yet as unpredictable as the weather here in my northwest Arkansas home, my mindset and my heart move from one end of the continuum to the other. Sometimes it happens gradually, building throughout the day until I have inched my way into this diseased way of thinking and feeling, and other times it is as sudden and as painful as a gunshot. Whether it's a word, an action, a circumstance, or a lack of one of those things, my mood swiftly transitions from the typical gray twilight in which I seem to live into total blackness, like the darkness that surrounds you on a night with no moon or stars and not a single light to be seen.</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; ">Every word I hear, every thought I think becomes twisted and dangerous. "Are they talking about me?" It's either, " Yes -- they must have awful things to say," or "No -- no one cares enough to give me a first thought, much less a second." If I take a look in the mirror, it's "Yikes! I look horrible today. If you look closely, you can even see the ugliness of my soul in my eyes." Or there's the despairing "I look all right, or maybe even good, but what's the use? No one is ever going to care anyway. Why try?"</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; ">Any faint glimmer of hope is immediately snatched away and turned easily into a weapon to further the piercing darkness that surrounds me and envelops me. Why cannot hope abide? Why must it flee so easily? Why must I be left in my aloneness, seeking always for comfort and companionship and finding none that promises to salve the wounds my heart has had inflicted on it?</div><div style="text-align: center; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: center; "><a href="http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/darkness.jpg"><img src="http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/darkness.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="cursor: pointer; width: 413px; height: 310px; " /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><div style="text-align: center; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">photo found through Google image search at </span><a href="http://www.paranormalknowledge.com/articles/does-darkness-scare-you.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">http://www.paranormalknowledge.com</span></a></div></span></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-38120205952605849302010-07-21T14:45:00.005-05:002010-07-21T15:38:27.275-05:00symphonyYesterday I had a song stuck in my head half the evening. I don't know how or why it came to mind, but once it did, it could not be dislodged. I thought perhaps listening to it would satisfy the craving my heart had to hear it, so I pulled up the youtube video, but that did nothing more than capture my attention more fully, enchanting me with the lyrical, poetic theology of the lyrics and the magnificent talent and artistry of the music. I was enthralled. A number of times over the ensuing hours I was drawn back to the song. It fed something ravenous within my soul.<br /><br />It's a song that, though relatively new, I've sung a number of times to my God. "Your love is a symphony/All around me/Running through me..." My God's love for me fills every moment of my days and nights, surrounding me in beauty as the majesty of a symphony surrounds its listeners. It pierces to the very depth of my being and cannot be forgotten. This is true art, true beauty, true love -- this love is music that changes lives.<br /><br />As I praised my God in this song, though, I began to catch a glimpse of another truth. What if this song isn't about God's love for me and my appreciation of it? What if it is rather about my love for God, and God's appreciation of it? While there's nothing in the song to explicitly suggest this interpretation, I cannot help but see the beauty in this discovery as well.<br /><br />God speaks to me and says, "Your love is a symphony, all around me, running through me. Your love is a melody, underneath me, running to me. Oh, your love is a song!" What if -- maybe, just maybe -- God cherishes my love for him in the way I cherish God's love for me. Is it my love -- our love -- that sounds as a symphony in God's ears, filling God's existence with beauty and appreciation? Does God exult in the artistry of love that he sees going on among us? Does God crave the presence of this kind of love just as we do? Can I -- one person alone, and one very messed up person at that -- delight God through my love for him the way a favorite song delights its hearers? The thrill of beauty that leaves me gratefully speechless -- is this the kind of effect I have on God?!<br /><br />As these thoughts came to mind, I could not help but think also of Tolkein's majestic creation myth, Ainulindalë. When I first read this tale, also called "The Music of the Ainur," about a month ago, I thought it one of the most beautiful pieces of art ever fashioned. In this story, Ilúvatar, the One, created the Ainur (or Holy Ones), who sang before him, "and he was glad." Ilúvatar delighted in the songs of his creatures, their expression of loving existence before their creator. He was glad. And though Tolkein made it clear that he did not mean his tales allegorically, I cannot help but read my faith though their beauty and wisdom. God was glad for the way his creation expressed itself in beauty because of love.<br /><br />Tolkein's story goes on, "But for a long while, they sang only each alone, or but few together, while the rest hearkened; for each comprehended only that part of the mind of Ilúvatar from which he came, and in the understanding of their brethren they grew but slowly. Yet ever as they listened they came to deeper understanding, and increased in unison and harmony." Through the harmonies of the Ainur, a new world is brought into being. It is only the "turbulent sound" of one self-important, rebellious Ainur that threatens to upset the beauty of the songs of the symphony the Holy Ones have created in their response to Ilúvatar. I wonder, then, as beautiful as the melodic love of one disciple is to God, how it cannot compare to the unimaginably stunning symphony of millions, billions of voices of love in harmony -- powerful enough in their beauty to create new worlds and please God. <br /><br />Remember, our love is a symphony. What kinds of beautiful things can we sing into being?<br /><br /><object width="298" height="193"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uH6tXZxFaWA&hl=en_US&fs=1?color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uH6tXZxFaWA&hl=en_US&fs=1?color1=0x3a3a3a&color2=0x999999" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="298" height="193"></embed></object>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-17592850377865393852010-06-07T16:23:00.000-05:002010-06-07T16:25:17.882-05:00gotta love summer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TA1jpos4skI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/IasXkUMxGgU/s1600/DSC00127edit.JPG"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/TA1jpos4skI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/IasXkUMxGgU/s400/DSC00127edit.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480145888531231298" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-59264982763853822232010-06-03T09:04:00.001-05:002010-06-03T09:04:50.638-05:00powerful beyond measure"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us most. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and famous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in all of us. And when we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."<br /><br />~ Marianne WilliamsonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-83583437894182329632010-04-10T23:38:00.003-05:002010-04-10T23:43:23.848-05:00portfolio preparationJust in case anybody's even remotely interested in why I haven't been blogging lately... Well, I have. Just not here. As part of my degree program here at ACU, I'm required to put together a portfolio blog that demonstrates my development and competence in certain expected outcomes. The portfolio is reviewed at the end of every year to determine my candidacy for the next year. So my first portfolio review is coming up on the 23rd, and everything was required to be posted by yesterday, the 9th. It's pretty much done, and, honestly, I'm pretty happy about how it's all come together. If you're interested in checking it out, here's your link:<a href="http://blogs.acu.edu/leb09b"> to the praise of God's glorious grace.</a> Happy reading!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-1143020580005612312010-03-12T11:13:00.001-06:002010-03-12T11:14:45.849-06:00This Too Shall PassI've been a fan of OkGo's videos for a while now, and this one absolutely lives up to the high standard they've set for themselves. Amazing!!<br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qybUFnY7Y8w&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qybUFnY7Y8w&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-40597122264112465622010-03-07T00:30:00.004-06:002010-03-12T11:17:20.933-06:00We Don't Need No More Trouble<object width="480" height="289"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fgWFxFg7-GU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fgWFxFg7-GU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="289"></embed></object>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-6843746787928290592010-02-25T22:57:00.003-06:002010-02-25T23:15:38.088-06:00thankful thursday<div>1. laughter</div><div>2. finding joy in even the most mundane tasks</div><div>3. friends' smiles</div><div>4. exciting dreams for the future!</div><div>5. a good lunch: poppyseed chicken, green beans, and salad</div><div>6. my mentoring group - every single one of them!</div><div>7. the prayer labyrinth on ACU's campus</div><div>8. getting a fair amount of homework done this evening</div><div>9. not feeling too overwhelmed this week</div><div>10. God's grace and the encouragement of others which got me through the past few weeks</div><div>11. snow sharks :o)</div><div>12. Tatia and her crazy stories :o)</div><div>13. Paul and the fun I have chatting with him</div><div>14. getting to talk to Ivan, my first and always best friend, and catch up with him and his lovely wife, Ariel</div><div><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 136px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S4dYbK09BVI/AAAAAAAAAN8/OeoAk9AHZlw/s200/n20607448_31902523_5840.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5442415898486703442" /></div><div>15. the bowl of cereal I'm about to eat - the traditional family bedtime snack</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-26633204384176270222010-02-08T13:03:00.004-06:002010-03-12T11:18:49.604-06:00just a thought...Instead of fields, then, buy souls that are in trouble, according to your ability. Look after widows and orphans and do not neglect them. Spend your riches and all your establishments you have received from God on this kind of field and houses. It was for this that the Master bestowed wealth on you, to perform this ministry for Him. <br /><br />(The <i>Shepherd of Hermas, First Parable, </i>8) - quoted in Joseph A. Grassi, <i>Informing the Future: Social Justice in the New Testament.</i>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-64953681492869509292010-02-04T18:04:00.005-06:002010-02-04T18:18:12.573-06:00overwhelmed?<div><br /></div><img src="http://www.cluttercontrolfreak.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/overwhelmed.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 322px; " /><br /><br />Well, I've just made out my list of things to do for the next couple of days. Is it a bit overwhelming to think of an estimated 56 hours worth of homework, including over 600 pages of reading, to wade through in the coming week? On top of 9 hours of class, 8 hours of GA work, mentoring group, church, meals, and hopefully some sleep in there somewhere? If anybody out there feels inclined to pray or encourage as the week progresses, all would be welcome!<div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://becksplusworld.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/overwhelmed-lady-desk.png"><img src="http://becksplusworld.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/overwhelmed-lady-desk.png" border="0" alt="" style="cursor: pointer; width: 385px; height: 384px; " /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-26037812882378584722010-01-28T22:49:00.004-06:002010-01-28T23:02:14.999-06:00thankful thursdayThankful Thursday sounds like a good tradition to join in on, right? Here's today's list...<div><br /></div><div>1. thunderstorms, even when they soak me through and through</div><div>2. a nice new friend who gave me a ride home in the rain so I wouldn't have to bike back</div><div>3. a dryer to dry my drenched jeans</div><div>4. my mentoring group</div><div>5. seeing Kaylynn, even if only for a few seconds</div><div>6. a day that's been <i>relatively</i> homework free, meaning, I only spent 2 hours on homework</div><div>7. a wonderful dinner tonight at the Childers' house</div><div>8. new friends I made at dinner</div><div>9. great dinner-table conversation, with lots of laughing</div><div>10. wonderful roommates!</div><div>11. a moving Holocaust remembrance chapel service yesterday</div><div>12. Pre-MAC retreat tomorrow & Saturday</div><div>13. Carol & Penny to ride with to the retreat</div><div>14. my hair on good days</div><div>15. the warm blanket that's covering me now</div><div>16. hot chocolate!</div><div>17. LOST coming back on soon!</div><div>18. good times with friends at lunch yesterday</div><div>19. REVIVAL at Hope</div><div>20. the really cute picture of Jakub, my nephew, that's my computer background - see: </div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S2JruTXLnVI/AAAAAAAAAN0/wvPrSRpNviE/s1600-h/January+2010+038.jpg"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S2JruTXLnVI/AAAAAAAAAN0/wvPrSRpNviE/s320/January+2010+038.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432022543777897810" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></a></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-44699581508283442352010-01-20T23:20:00.004-06:002010-01-20T23:28:53.603-06:00creative weapon of love<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(56, 56, 56); line-height: 15px; font-family:'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif;font-size:11px;"><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">My recent review of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "><a href="http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/kingpapers/article/chapter_8_the_violence_of_desperate_men/">“The Violence of Desperate Men”</a> </span>and<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; "> <a href="http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/encyclopedia/documentsentry/doc_beyond_vietnam/">“Beyond Vietnam,</a>” </span>two examples of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s amazing insight and dedication. If you'd like, you can click the links above to read (or even hear, in the latter case) the texts. It's absolutely worth the time to catch a glimpse into the life and passion of this amazing man.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:17px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S1flcr5jmEI/AAAAAAAAANc/CesI934TYYw/s1600-h/martin-luther-king2.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S1flcr5jmEI/AAAAAAAAANc/CesI934TYYw/s320/martin-luther-king2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429060156801652802" style="cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 277px; " /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 20px; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S1fl5pirORI/AAAAAAAAANs/qJr1vREVg0A/s1600-h/king-martin-luther.jpg"><img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S1fl5pirORI/AAAAAAAAANs/qJr1vREVg0A/s320/king-martin-luther.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429060654385019154" style="cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 320px; " /></a></span></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In “The Violence of Desperate Men,” Martin Luther King, Jr., tells the story of the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56, an important event in the African-American Civil Rights Movement, which was beginning to take shape at the time. Faced with discriminatory treatment in the public transportation system, the Negro residents of Montgomery, Alabama, confronted the political and social powers of their community and took a stand against the injustices perpetrated against them by boycotting the transit system. These dedicated men and women relied on one another not only for means of transportation but also for reassurance of the importance of their cause. Opponents of the boycott and the Civil Rights Movement attempted to intimidate and divide the Negro community; they spread rumors about leaders of the group and issued false reports of a settlement regarding the city’s transit laws. They arrested and imprisoned Dr. King for a minor speeding violation, and someone went so far as to bomb the Kings’ home. Even in the midst of such disheartening circumstances, however, the members of this fledgling movement withstood the temptation to resign or retaliate. King, despite his own doubts and feelings of inadequacy, sensed a calling from God to continue in this fight, and so he pressed on, leading those around him in a campaign which sought justice and righteousness by promoting the values of peace and Christian love.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Over ten years later, with America deeply embroiled in the Vietnam War, Dr. King continued to speak out for these values, for although the scope of the situation differed, the issues at the heart of the matter were quite similar to the Civil Rights Movement with which King’s name is nearly synonymous. Addressing his fellow Americans and his government, King begins his “Beyond Vietnam” speech with the statement that “a time comes when silence is betrayal.” This time, he emphasizes, has come regarding Vietnam, and his conscience compels him to speak out. Prominent among his reasons for opposing the war are its detrimental effects on American society, his general abhorrence of violence, belief in a spirit of freedom and integrity for America, and his commission as a leader and a Christian to work for the brotherhood of humanity and the salvation of all into the love of God. King gives a brief history of the struggle in Vietnam, speaking from the perspectives of various groups which have remained voiceless. He strongly indicts the powers which have destroyed the lives of the Vietnamese people. He gives immediate and definite steps which should be taken by the American government to resolve and withdraw from the conflict, and he suggests ways for the audience to demonstrate its commitment to peace. He concludes with an extended oration on revolution, quoting John F. Kennedy: “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Calling on his fellow Americans to support a positive revolution of values and to fight against injustice, King presents his audience with the choice they must make: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:initial;"></span>The most notable premise of these works of Dr. King’s is that resistance to injustice is a Christian duty which must be undertaken in a Christian manner. Even before the influence of Gandhi was felt and the terminology of “nonviolent resistance” was used, the philosophy which enlivened and directed King and many of his fellow protestors in the Civil Rights Movement was that of Christian love. King continually emphasizes that both his support for civil rights and his censure of the Vietnam War are based upon his Christian convictions. A belief in the equality and brotherhood of all humans as God’s creatures and a commitment to promote love, as both a means and an end, are the driving forces behind what King does and says. He continually entreats others to follow these philosophies as well, advocating—in a very Christlike way—nonviolence even in the face of hardship and the embrace of those who might be considered enemies. He calls on his listeners to “protest with the creative weapon of love.”</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; color:initial;"></span>An important secondary theme of these words and deeds of King’s is the acknowledgement that our actions in the present have an immense influence on the future and must therefore be carefully chosen and employed. One the one hand, if not chosen wisely, they may set into motion a series of events which proves detrimental or even disastrous. The mess in which America found itself in Vietnam is an excellent illustration of this premise. Knowing this, King worked intently during the bus boycott to avoid an escalation into violence, enabling the movement to successfully avoid calamity. On the other hand, if chosen prudently, our words and actions may favorably change the face of society forever. King reminds his audience that they are living in revolutionary times and that there is an urgency to act in a positive way before it is too late and the opportunity is lost; indecision and uncertainty must be conquered if the world is to move forward. Even small actions can have a momentous impact, as is illustrated by one astute elderly woman who struggled to take each symbolic step to her destination during the Montgomery Bus Boycott: “I’m not walking for myself. I’m walking for my children and my grandchildren.”</span></span></span></p></span>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-86649713516317799412010-01-20T23:09:00.004-06:002010-01-20T23:19:50.882-06:00MLK Day March Reflections<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" color: rgb(56, 56, 56); line-height: 17px; "><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I'm going to go ahead and share here a blog entry I wrote for my Contexts of Ministry class earlier this week. The assignment was to attend Abilene's local Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march and to write a reflection on my experience of the event, where people gathered to commemorate the man who has done so much in the fight for justice and equality in our world by walking in solidarity across a bridge bearing his name. To read the reflections of my classmates (and professor) visit our </span></span><a href="http://blogs.acu.edu/1020_BIBM64001/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">class blog here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">.</span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 17px; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S1fj0FZz8FI/AAAAAAAAANU/sH3gJiypAEQ/s1600-h/mlk.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/S1fj0FZz8FI/AAAAAAAAANU/sH3gJiypAEQ/s400/mlk.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5429058359761563730" style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px; " /></span></span></a></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">(</span></span><a href="http://www.reporternews.com/photos/2010/jan/18/52082/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Photo</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> by Nellie Doneva of the Abilene Reporter News.)</span></span></p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></span><p></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">As I reflect on my own experience at the MLK Day March, and as I read about the experiences of my classmates, I struggle to put into words what exactly it is that I saw and felt and thought during the event. I think the main reason I struggle to verbalize it all is that my expectations were not met in the ways I had anticipated they might be. I, too, had never participated in any events to commemorate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and ministry. This was new to me. Even though that was the case, however, I still came into the event with expectations—not so much expectations about what would happen, but rather expectations about how I would react to it. In light of the ministry of Dr. King, which I wholeheartedly appreciate and support, how would I act in this situation? How would I be affected? </span></span><em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; font-size:13px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Who</span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> would I </span></span><em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; font-size:13px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">be</span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">?</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">There were encouraging and inspiring things about the march, to be sure, and I don’t want to forget those or lay them aside too easily. So that is where I begin. People gathered for a purpose, an important purpose. They took time out of their day to make a statement about their beliefs, their hopes, and their goals. The crowd which gathered showed some diversity. Those very important beliefs and dreams are shared by people not only of various skin colors, but also of various ages, economic situations, genders, and educational levels, among other things. The name of God was spoken reverently and in connection with a cause which (I at least believe) God supports and champions. All very good things which deserve more attention that I am going to give them here, but my focus is elsewhere.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Perhaps I allow myself to be too much of a cynic. Perhaps, for that very reason, I should take the time to focus on those kinds of positive aspects above rather lament the fact that the fullness of meaning which could have lay behind the events of the afternoon was conspicuously absent, at least in my own heart. In many ways, I identify most fully with Josh’s and Keith’s descriptions of the march, especially with the sense of purposelessness and even loss which Keith experienced. And I know much of that is of my own doing. My heart was not completely invested. I had an amazing opportunity to be a part of something meaningful, and instead of embracing that opportunity, I mostly squandered it by staying within my own comfort zone of known acquaintances and predictable and (dare I say?) hollow rhetoric and actions.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">“Hollow.” Now that that particular word comes to mind, it is a fitting descriptor for experience. “Meaningless” is far too dire a take on the afternoon, for I know that there was meaning there to be found for those who earnestly sought it. “Hollow,” however, seems in many ways appropriate to my own participation. I gathered, but I gathered without purpose. I prayed, but my prayer does not always touch my life. I marched, but I marched without focus and without meaning. I was present, but I was absent. I was hollow.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">As I reflect on the march and its purpose, I can’t help but think about the power(lessness) of the march as a symbol. To some, both participants and observers, this event was surely a potent symbol of the good that has been done as well as the long road that is left to traverse in issues of justice and equality. At the same time, I wonder just how much of an effect this statement had on the individuals, the community, the larger culture, and the world as a whole. Was the symbol itself hollow in some ways? It’s wonderful, yes, but was anyone paying attention? Did it really mean anything? Did it </span></span><em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; font-size:13px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">change</span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> anything?</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I wonder, also, how would my experience have been different if my history and my perspective were different? Doubtless, it would be. I am the majority, the person of power, the elite in many ways. True, within my religious culture I have experienced discrimination as a woman, but for the most part, I know only what it is to be privileged. I’m an educated white upper middle class American. That definitely places me among the elite in the world, places me among those who have had little experience with suffering and oppression. And despite my burning internal commitment to the causes of justice and righteousness, sadly, my outward commitment often remains untested or falls short, leaving me with merely theoretical protestations of the abominations I claim to fight against. Surely this is one decisive reason this event was hollow for me?</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px; font: normal normal normal 11px/normal 'Helvetica Neue'; "><span style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; letter-spacing: 0px; color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">To finally confront the cynic in me, I have to remind myself that while this event may have regrettably been bereft of much significance for me in the particular way it played out, there is yet another, more redemptive, aspect of the term “hollow.” Something which is hollow is prepared to be filled. So the questions with which I end this reflection are similar to how I began, only looking further toward the future: How will I act? How</span></span><em style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline- font-weight: inherit; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; font-size:13px;color:initial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span></em><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">will I change? Who will I be? I pray that “hollow” is nowhere in the description.</span></span></span></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-6865474294449498042010-01-17T22:47:00.001-06:002010-01-17T22:48:59.448-06:00today's thanksgiving<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Skia Light"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">- my church family at Hope</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Skia Light"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">- authenticity</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Skia Light"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">- friends at ACU - old and new</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Skia Light"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">- Gilmore Girls</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Skia Light"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">- a wonderful afternoon and evening of fellowship and fun</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Skia Light"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">- singing in church and knowing those around me actually believe and live by what they’re singing</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Skia Light"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">- Martin Luther King, Jr. - his dedication, his conviction, his insight</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Skia Light"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px">- good long conversation with Tatia, accompanied by hot chocolate</span></p>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-79400559889156148792009-12-31T06:13:00.007-06:002009-12-31T18:04:50.298-06:00bookwormHere's the visual summary of what I've read this year. For the most part, I had some great reading material this year. Some serious, some silly, some deep, some superficial. Some for fun, some for spiritual encouragement, some for classes I was taking. And I'll admit up front that there are a few that I still have to finish (or that I was only assigned part of for class), but since I've read the majority of those, I'll count them as read in 2009.<br /><br />My top three picks from the year are: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Acedia-Me-Marriage-Monks-Writers/dp/1594489963/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262303822&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style:italic;">Acedia and Me</span> by Kathleen Norris</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Depth-Riches-Trinitarian-Theology-Religious/dp/0802826695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262303903&sr=1-1"><span style="font-style:italic;">The Depth of the Riches: A Trinitarian Theology of Religious Ends</span> by S. Mark Heim</a>, and easily the hands down favorite, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gilead-Novel-Marilynne-Robinson/dp/031242440X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262303833&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style:italic;">Gilead</span> by Marilynne Robinson</a>. All in all, though, it's been a good year for reading, and there are lots of books here you should check out. Click on any one of them to be taken to the amazon.com description. What are some of your favorite reads from this year? Please feel free to share them with me so I can add them to my list for this next year! Here's to another great year in 2010!<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Than-You-Think-Becoming/dp/0830833730/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262297699&sr=8-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.intervarsity.org/images/database/5355.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Well-Meet-Again-Higgins-Clark/dp/0671004565/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262304204&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0684835975.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Romance-Drawing-Closer-Heart/dp/0785273425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262304192&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.bookschristian.com/images/products/_large/24/9780785273424lrg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerors-Stone-Rowling/dp/B0011CWKFE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262304176&sr=8-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.sd68.k12.il.us/schools/orchard/lmc/Book%20Covers/sorcerers_stone.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#000000;"></span> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/When-Wallflowers-Dance-Righteous-Confidence/dp/1415865329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262298430&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://lpsmag.com/original/files/2009/02/wallflower.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Great-Terrible-Beauty-Gemma-Trilogy/dp/0385732317/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262304265&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:3AKxwofhTtOl8M:http://winfieldya.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/greatterriblebeauty.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sisterhood-Traveling-Pants-Book/dp/0553494791/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262304245&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:dfOl0DADs65SjM:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/2f/Sisterhood_of_the_Traveling_Pants_book_cover.gifg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/When-Wallflowers-Dance-Righteous-Confidence/dp/1415865329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262298430&sr=1-1"></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Flabbergasted-Novel-Ray-Blackston/dp/080073453X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262304226&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:2HgnClBssAgeFM:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/01/Ray_Blackston_Flabbergasted.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Chamber-Secrets-Book/dp/0439064872/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262298611&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.sexbuzz.com/pics/12,0001a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Castle-Memoir-Jeannette-Walls/dp/074324754X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262298675&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:QJHqvMK3y12ixM:http://www.kdl.org/image_attachments/0000/4734/419l4z7i6rl.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Wants-Save-Christians-Manifesto/dp/0310275024/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262298697&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:9BToDufYEQvryM:https://www.robbell.com/work/images/JWTSC.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Spring-Kim-Sawyer/dp/B002UXRZNU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299400&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.kimvogelsawyer.com/PromiseForSpring.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Where-Yesterday-Lives-Karen-Kingsbury/dp/1590527534/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299421&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:mG_880qyy-bkyM:http://www.littera.co.za/images/Where%2520yesterday%2520lives.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Acedia-Me-Marriage-Monks-Writers/dp/1594489963/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299443&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/1594489963.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Daddys-Little-Girl-Higgins-Clark/dp/0743460529/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299458&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://images.swaptree.com/images/Books/45/0743206045.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Gilead-Novel-Marilynne-Robinson/dp/031242440X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299482&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://wayofthewest.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/gilead-by-marilynne-robinson.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Delirious-Summer-Novel-Ray-Blackston/dp/0800759583/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299582&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.bookschristian.com/images/products/_large/39/9781589266339lrg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/PORTRAITS-PAST-TALES-GRACE-CHAPEL/dp/B001OYZYFM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299628&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/ciu/5f/62/f6bdc0a398a0061ddf633210.L._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Back-Again-Tales-Grace-Chapel/dp/0824947002/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299650&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc335/derbybookshelf/scan0138.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Hidden-History-Tales-Grace-Chapel/dp/0824947096/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299687&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/history-books/625-5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Woman-White-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199535639/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262299104&sr=1-2"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:2Yih-cOzPC2G7M:http://www.coverbrowser.com/image/greatest-novels-of-all-time/126-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Prisoner-Azkaban-Book/dp/0439136369/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262301892&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:9BMSiQIB3_I6aM:http://z.about.com/d/bestsellers/1/0/d/2/-/-/prisoner_azkaban.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Atonement-Ian-McEwan/dp/0307387151/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262301919&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:0h13I3LVvVJruM:http://www.osubookstore.com/images/catalog/18375374.JPG" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Poland-James-Michener/dp/0449205878/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262301940&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:GT5_AYcD050zoM:http://silverbaybooksinc.com/4/129a.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Cloister-Walk-Kathleen-Norris/dp/1573225843/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262301971&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:IrqcpT8kXATcPM:https://www.inspire4less.com/productimages/9781573225847.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Praying-Psalms-Engaging-Scripture-Spirit/dp/1556352832/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262301989&sr=1-3"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:mL2dWjC4Cv0-oM:http://imshopping.rediff.com/imgchkbooks/220-220/books/pixs/32/1556352832.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Governors-Daughter-Denton-Whitson/dp/B000NZ6SR6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302008&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:pnt1Han92Euj0M:http://i.biblio.com/b/203l/157193203-0-l.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Vintage-Classics-Charlotte-Bronte/dp/030745519X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302031&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:9OxuL8G9JGZ-GM:http://rkahn.files.wordpress.com/2009/08/jane-eyre-charlotte-bronte-338465.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/How-Think-Theologically-Howard-Stone/dp/0800638182/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302077&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:XG_SpY19Ac0DeM:http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0800638182.01._SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Practical-Theology-Earth-As-Heaven/dp/1570756147/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302093&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:m4Nu26266GmxiM:http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/research/theology/ejournal/aejt_6/images/veling.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Expect-Seminary-Virginia-Samuel-Cetuk/dp/0687017289/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302117&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:_v6GKlT3O5AWsM:http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51BXAJ35V2L._SL160_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Courage-Calling-Embracing-God-Given-Potential/dp/0830822542/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302137&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Wc4W3grALb9pbM:http://www.parable.com/ProdImage/46/9780830822546.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Canonical-Theism-Proposal-Theology-Church/dp/0802862381/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302171&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:IsHsmBloru943M:http://www.labible.co.kr/KCBSFileUpdate/BookIMGS/0802862381.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Christ-Horrors-Coherence-Christology-Theology/dp/0521866820/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302193&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31e6WHeliNL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Mystical-Theology-Spirituality-Challenges-Contemporary/dp/1557869073/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302251&sr=1-2"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="https://www.inspire4less.com/productimages/9781557869074.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Powers-Submissions-Spirituality-Philosophy-Contemporary/dp/0631207368/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302310&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://img.flipkart.com/bk_imgs/368/9780631207368.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Depth-Riches-Trinitarian-Theology-Religious/dp/0802826695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302394&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51W9wGrndWL._SL160_.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindness-God-Metaphor-Religious-Language/dp/0198269501/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302445&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:5mkliXZcTKz4EM:http://www.eden.co.uk/images/300/9780198269502.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Philokalia-Complete-Compiled-Nikodimos-Markarios/dp/057119382X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302462&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:Y0yM6q6bykuKdM:http://media.us.macmillan.com/jackets/500H/9780571193820.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Theories-Culture-Guides-Theological-Inquiry/dp/0800630971/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302498&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://www.bu.edu/cpt/files/2009/09/tanner-3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/After-Spirit-Constructive-Pneumatology-Traditions/dp/0802828914/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262302544&sr=1-1"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 218px;" src="http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:E9dcIDMApI_ZeM:https://www.eisenbrauns.com/assets/book_images/R/ROGAFTERT.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-65571779943217213262009-12-23T09:09:00.002-06:002009-12-23T09:26:09.966-06:00faith and hopeJust a few words along the lines of some of my recent contemplations...<br /><br />Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.<br />- Louisa May Alcott<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/SzI2e83mTeI/AAAAAAAAANM/DMyy6ccvivE/s1600-h/Sunset+from+Home+(4).jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 214px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2D81A9pSCzo/SzI2e83mTeI/AAAAAAAAANM/DMyy6ccvivE/s400/Sunset+from+Home+(4).jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418453207043427810" /></a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9399416.post-58723993717537743542009-12-08T17:17:00.003-06:002010-03-12T11:17:20.933-06:00Advent Conspiracy<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I know, I know... another video and no "real" blogging. But honestly, this is one you should really see. Give it some thought. Give it some prayer. Give it a try. I think we'd all be blessed if we did, and that's not to mention the many others whose lives might be impacted in untold ways if we were to take this seriously. Many Advent blessings!</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eVqqj1v-ZBU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eVqqj1v-ZBU&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0