Little Pleasures

I think I'm adding this website, http://icanhascheezburger.com/, to my daily list of websites to check. It always makes me laugh.

"The Shack" revisited

Well, I was skeptical at first. I approached the text cautiously, one eyebrow raised, waiting to find the flaw, or disagree, or roll my eyes at some glib theological Christianese.
And instead I cried. I wept. I was deeply moved. I nodded my head in vigorous agreement. And now I am part of the slowly growing group of people at my church who are recommending this book in awed and hushed tones. Dale was inspired to read it just by watching me read it.
I wouldn't go so far as to say this radically changed my view on God. But of course, I already HAVE a radical view on God - this book just portrayed it for me.
It's not perfect - it's not a systematic theological treatise. But it is a beautiful picture of God, with some deep wisdom about relationships, power, independence, and submission.
This is the kind of writing I want to do one day.
Go read "The Shack." I promise you won't be disappointed.

The Gym

We have joined a gym. It's pretty exciting, this gym thing. We went yesterday just before closing time and I had my first experience with an elliptical machine - something the doctor has recommended for a while.
The elliptical was weird. It was like jogging in slow motion. I kept forgetting to relax my knees and so when the foot pads came up, my hips would twist as my stiff leg moved up. Bizarre. The best part, of course, is that after 5 minutes my LEFT knee started feeling weird. My RIGHT knee, the one I went to the doctor about last week, was feeling just great. But the LEFT knee is now complaining. I think it's jealous of all the attention Righty's been getting. Ahh, so complicated.
Anyway, I'm going back today. I'm going to learn how to do arm weights at the gym and do my 100 triceps extensions today. Cause I'm hardcore like that!

100 Triceps and "The Shack"

I did it! Today I met my goal of 100 reps of triceps extensions! If I can keep this up, then GOODBYE nasty upper arm flab!!!

In other news, Dale and I were discussing The Shack last night. This is a somewhat controversial Christian fiction book making the rounds. In it, God is portrayed as a black woman. I mentioned this to Dale and his comment was, "God is portrayed as a black woman on TV every day at 4:00." Love that man!

swollen knees

Something is wrong and not wrong with my knees. There is nothing wrong with them, yet periodically one knee or the other will swell up like a grapefruit for a few days. This is uncomfortable, but, surprisingly, not painful. My doctor is mystified. He has finally given up tentatively diagnosing ailments, and is now merely concerned with braces, leg strength, and things of that nature.
Sometimes I think God used silly putty when She made my ligaments...

Saving the World?

There has been a lot of discussion lately in my circle about saving the world. It's fair to say that many of us find our consciences roused about the many social injustices throughout our world. As we realize the extent of our own involvement - the amount of blood on our own hands - we are striving to figure out just how to improve things. How do we address the many issues that exist? How can I stay here in America and be a part of society without guilt?
First, I find it important to remember that I live under grace. I have been forgiven for my contribution to these problems, for my ignorant consumption of resources. Further, I will be forgiven for them. All of us require forgiveness for far more than we can possibly imagine, and God is generous.
Second, there is a certain amount of choosing that must go on. For example, Dale and I, although we are saddened by the mistreatment of animals in America, have not chosen to change our diets to a vegan diet. On the other hand, we are considering trying organic, pasture-fed, and humanely treated meat. I've found a local farm that raises their own free-range cows and sells the beef. There are pictures of the kids hugging the calves. Cool! Also, Dale and I for a while avoided products made in China. Gradually, as I become more educated about slavery in America and the rest of the world, I have modified my position. Sometimes we need to buy products made in China. Eventually, clothes wear out and need replacing. So now I'm more focused on finding fair-trade products to buy when possible.
Third, I'm posting websites and blogs which can enable us to live more at peace with the rest of the world. Hopefully I can find and share lots of resources which will enable me to be more responsible in my consumption.

Weekly Writing

I realized today that I need a day each week in which to write.
So, starting next week, every Tuesday will be dedicated to writing. I will not make appointments, run errands, do schoolwork, or read fiction on Tuesdays. Instead, I will write, and sit outside, and go to parks, and sit in coffee shops. I will also continue to cook dinner and meet with my covenant group. :) I've put it in my calendar until December. We'll see how it goes! I hope that this will give me the structure I need to focus on the writing instead of cramming it into the margins of my life.

Hummingbird nest

Dale found this under our cedar tree in the front yard. It's so cute and little! We haven't seen the baby humming bird, but it's probably almost full grown now, since the nest was abandoned.

Croissants

Yesterday, I started making croissants. This is a two day process. Today I baked 16 croissants, half the dough. WOW. They were so good, it made me want to speak French. Of course, I did use 4 sticks of butter. Is anything with 4 sticks of butter bad? Seriously, though, these were amazing. Tomorrow I plan to make some chocolate croissants with the rest of the dough. Yummmm.

Food experiments

So last night Kerry came over and we made vegan chocolate cake with avocado frosting.

I suppose that needs a little explanation...
So a while back, when Dale and I still had cable, we saw Alton Brown make avocado frosting, and it looked really cool. I was smitten with the idea and have been looking for an opportunity to make some ever since. No one has been terribly interested. :( Fortunately, Kerry is adventurous, and willing to try it, as long as we made it on a vegan cake. OK, no problem!

The vegan chocolate cake was superbly delicious. It was rich, moist, airy, and chocolatey. Every bit as good as my family's chocolate sheet cake. Seriously. For all you doubters: come to my house and I'll do a blind taste test and see if you can identify the vegan cake. You won't be able to. Who knew that cake could be so good without eggs or milk or butter?
The frosting, on the other hand, not so great. It was made up of avocado, lemon extract, lemon juice, and powdered sugar. It primarily tasted like powdered sugar in a spreadable form. The only hint of avocado is in the gorgeous bright green color. It's a striking color, and would be great used in tandem with other frostings as decoration. But overall, it needed something. Probably a nice big chunk of animal fat...

Meteor Shower

The wind from the sunroof and open windows ruffles my hair about in every direction. Music plays loudly, but not so loudly that we can't hear each other when we cheer about milestones: A sign to Jordan Lake! Crossing Route 55! The sign for Ebenezer Church Recreation Area! It is well past 1:00 am and no one is stressed or worried. And the whole time we drive, I stare out through the sunroof hole and see more and more stars appearing.
Later, the walk down a black road - all that's visible are is the black outline of trees against the starry sky, and a suspicious orange glow ahead. We grumble at the glow, accusing it of being a sulphur parking lot light, only to discover that it is the 3 quarters full moon, low in the sky and orange with reflected sunlight. We spread our blankets, open our vegan food and drinks, and commence to watching the moonset. Meteors the size of grains of dust streak across the sky, leaving glowing trails. They are in all quadrants, all corners. One streaks across the entire black dome, from one edge to the other, neatly bisecting the softly glowing Milky Way.
We talk, we laugh, we make bad jokes and good ones. We talk about diet (vegan, carnivore, cannibal), grave robbing, and other awesome times that we have watched the night sky sparkle with light from thousands of other suns. We fall silent at last, moved into perfect wonder as we enter the sacred space of a night sky relatively undiluted by light pollution. Our bodies cool off from our long walk from the car and we wrap ourselves in blankets.
When it is time to leave we are quieter, subdued and sleepy and happy. We ride back in contentment. I watch the stars dwindle away, their light dimmed by the lights of commercial civilization.
It was a good evening.

So cute

Duchess, resting between her acts of anarchy.

Pacifism and Suffering

We talked about just war and pacifism last night. And I realized that true pacifism requires a theology of suffering. (Pacifism being defined merely as the belief that, as a Christian, it is always wrong to use violence against another person).
We heard a fabulous story about a Greek Orthodox priest who voluntarily joined a group of Jews being rounded up for the concentration camps. The whole village joined them, and the Nazi's ended up not sending anyone to the camp from that village. But of course, it could've ended up with the priest dying in a gas chamber. Some priests did. He was willing to suffer - he knew that suffering is a part of following Christ.
Today I read a story about labor organizers in South Florida. They confronted a slave owner who beat one of his slaves (and yes, slaves are picking some of those Florida oranges). The owner didn't care b/c he expected them to file a Labor Dept. report. Instead, the group led a protest march to the owner's home, bringing the entire town with them. They were willing to stand up and say that if one slave suffered, they all suffered.
Me, a pacifist, encountering these 2 stories in the last 2 days is not a coincidence.
So here's the question. As a rich, safe, pampered American woman, how do I suffer with those who are suffering? How can I make my pacifism mean something - be an active participation in nonviolent resistance rather than a passive form of appeasement? How can I wage spiritual war?
Because remember, our war is not against the people and powers of this world, but against the powers of darkness. And our weapons are not the world's weapons, but spiritual weapons.
Whatever I do: to truly be a pacifist and defend those who are oppressed will demand my engagement with a powerful theology of suffering.

Ease

I am having a new experience. It is the experience of planning events without stress. Last spring, when Tammi and I planned the overnight Prayer Vigil, I loved the whole experience. I was calm, joyful, excited, and peaceful, even when we hit obstacles or bumps. It was by far the most enjoyable event I've ever planned or hosted.
And that's what the Film Series at Evergreen has been like this week. We hit obstacles, there were concerns, I have been attentive to details and slightly worried about things going awry. But tonight, the first night, was great. People came! And were interested! And talked! And I'm so excited about it.
Paul says that God planned good works for us "to walk in" before any of us were ever born. I think this ease is due to the fact that I've finally found that path. And I'm walking in what God had planned for me. Not that it's effortless or painless or no work, just that there is such ease and peace and joy.
Now that I've experienced, I've decided that my job MUST include this for the vast majority of my responsibilities.

Baby Tarantulas

This is a picture of Baby Duchess in her favorite place: Daddy's lap. Notice that she is sprawled out. We shared this picture with my grandmother. We thought she might enjoy looking at the cuteness and sweetness of Baby Duchess. We found out on a subsequent visit, however, that she had found it necessary to remove this picture from her wall. Apparently, Duchess' resemblance to a tarantula draped across Dale's lap unnerved her.
Ahhh, good times.

Our Delightful Cat

This is Duchess. Note her sweet, loving expression. This is her normal loving little face.
What's that you say? She looks irritated? Oh, well, maybe a little. We had just told her not to jump up onto the countertop...

Will Everyone Go to Heaven?

No, the author asserts, everyone will not go to heaven. She makes an age-appropriate case for exclusionary theology, and then she ends with this jaw-dropping statement:
"There are many people who will tell you that God is a loving Father, and that He would never be so mean as to keep out of heaven any of the people He has made. But the people who say such things have never read the Bible."
The first time I read this, I laughed out loud. I find this hilarious. I doubt that Jan Bonda, who wrote an entire book defending universalism based on his interpretation of Biblical texts, would appreciate being categorized as someone who's never read the Bible. I think it's interesting that she has chosen to deny an entire segment of Christianity which believes that universalism is, in fact, taught in the Bible. Finally, it's these kinds of oversimplifications which have caused the church to lose its intellectual authority. What will a child raised on this book do when they encounter a universalist who can defend his/her position by a rational exposition of Biblical texts? Wouldn't it be better to admit that people interpret the Bible differently, and teach that a person must learn how to read and interpret the Bible personally and in community in order to evaluate different Biblically based theologies?
OK, I know, too complex for kids. Then WHY BRING IT UP AT ALL? I mean, look at what she's saying. She's now brought up the whole question of whether God is mean for not letting everyone into heaven. But she doesn't really answer it.
Some topics just aren't appropriate for kids. And we screw them up by trying to teach them to kids. And then, people grow up to be adults and they refuse to consider any form of evangelism as valid, they have major God-Daddy issues, and they leave the church. And we wonder why.