What the world eats

Take a look at this photo article as  families from around the world lay out their typical weekly food consumption. The photos are from ‘Hungry Planet’ by Peter Menzel & Faith D’ Alusio. Also interesting is the data compiled at the bottom of the article which compares a host of comparative figures from median income and health care costs to fresh water resources and internet access.

video: Letter from God to Man

I happened on this intriguing music video via Peter Rollin’s blog. The British hip-hop duo goes by dan le sac Vs scroobius pip.  What do you think of it?

ambition.

Ambition. It’s a word fraught with judgment. Whether you have any or not. Too little or too much.

I’ve rolled this word around my mind and over my tongue these last few days…weeks…months, wondering where my ambition will lead me. If that destination will be a good place–or not. If I’ll find what I’m looking for once I arrive.

Can one have too much ambition?
Is ambition always self-serving, self-seeking?
Where is the balance between ambition and contentment? Does such balance exist?
What if I forgo my ambition for contentment? Does that relegate me to a mundane life?
If so, is that a bad trade? Is it a bad trade for me?
How much of life will I miss by setting aside personal ambition? How much will I miss if I don’t?

Is ambition a way of chasing happiness?

Quotes–part 2

From the previous post, here’s the second quote I’m hoping to not lose:

“In our whole life melody the music is broken off here and there by rests, and we foolishly think we have come to the end of time. God sends a time of forced leisure, a time of sickness and disappointed plans, and makes a sudden pause in the hymns of our lives, and we lament that our voice must be silent and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of our Creator. Not without design does God write the music of our lives…. If we look up, God will beat the time for us.” ~ John Ruskin

Quotes

I came a cross a couple of quotes that I’d saved. In an effort to not lose them, I’m posting them here. Perhaps you’ll appreciate them as well.

Here’s the first:

“We assume miracles arrive like bolts from the blue. But most real miracles are built arduously, stone by stone, and only when seen from the perspective of the whole are they revealed to be miraculous. For this reason, we tend to miss the wonders happening right next to us, because they are occuring in slow motion and rendered invisible by the filter of our expectations.” ~ Celeste Fremon, journalist

Book review: The Story of Edgar Sawtelle

David Wroblewski’s debut novel, The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel , sends the reader on a rare journey. The main character, Edgar, grows up on a fourth generation farm where his parents breed and train Sawtelle dogs (a fictional breed.) When Edgar’s father dies suddenly, Edgar’s plan to confront his murderer backfires. For fear of spoilers, I leave the general discription as simply as that.

This is a raw and intriguing book which made me reconsider my perceptions of words like fair, justice and legacy. The continuum of life–as generation after generation of dogs are bred and placed–is ever present. From main stage to minor support, I found all the characters–both canine and human–very believable (even my favorite: Ida Paine, a minor supporting character).

I didn’t want the book to end, and was sadly resigned when it did. I read this book after it received high praise from author Steven King. I echo King’s endorsement, jealous of those who begin this book for the first time–for they journey they’ll encounter as they turn each new page.

Responsibility of speech

A few months ago my 6-year old niece walked into the kitchen and complained, “I’m starving!”
“Really?” I asked. My daughter and I exchanged glances. She said to her cousin, “Starving means that you’re dying because you haven’t eaten for many days. You ate breakfast this morning; I don’t think you’re starving.”

I’ve noticed how careless our culture has become with speech. We use really strong words which overstate the cirucumstance. Can we really ”hate” both lima beans and racism? Would a better word–either less strong or more so–better distinguish the level of our resistance of the two?

The reckless, indeed irresponsible, use of speech accelerates the closer we get to the first Tuesday in November–Election Day. The unfounded accusations made by nearly every candidate on the national stage is appaling. I’ll not post them here; I’m sure you’ve heard them all already. Many of them continue in the wake of the national contests.

My daughter initiated her own conversation of the political candidates at Kindergarten lunch. One friend said he wouldn’t vote for McCain because “he’s just a big, old grandpa.” Another friend told her that she wouldn’t vote for Obama because “he’s evil.” It made me wonder at the conversations parents were having with and around these children. After pointing out the value and wisdom of grandpas, and my husband explaining that both men are loved and created by God, both being very smart and neither being evil, the importance of instilling in our children the responsibility of their words is more apparent than ever.

In a culture where everyone seems to have an opinion, and few filters for their words, I want to think critically of the things I encounter and my belief system. My desire, for me and for my children, is to develop discernment to be prepared to thoughtfully address the widespread thoughtless and irresponsible verbal and written word which we encounter.

The freedom of speech, which we hold so dear, carries with it a responsibility and accountability for our words. As you engage in conversation in the weeks ahead, pause. Give consideration to the words you use. Select them carefully…and responsibly.

Journal posting

Week 2: Journal Entry (1 Corinthians 2:1-5, 9:19-22)

Prior to his conversion enroute to Damascus, the apostle Paul (then knows as Saul) was, by most standards, a religious elitist. He had the best education, was well-versed in the scriptures and highly regarded fellow religious leaders. In his time, Saul was among the upper class in the social caste system. When revelation came to Saul in the form of Jesus himself, he cast off the pedigree of his former life choosing instead a new beginning with the knowledge of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection—and with it, a new name, Paul, to signify the transformation within.

 

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul writes of his detachment from his previous life. Given his social and religious standing as Saul, he had probably been a resounding orator, speaking and presenting to governing heads and religious leaders. With his newfound revelation, Paul could have argued and justified his point quite substantially. But demonstrating his superior intellect would further confuse and belittle most of the people with whom he was trying to connect.

 

In the verses selected for this week’s journaling, Paul notes his difficult but determined and humble approach to limiting himself to the perspective of his immediate listener, adjusting his frame of reference to theirs. Doing so removed the clout and influence of Paul’s perception to create space for the Holy Spirit. Paul understood that, though he had been given great skill and understanding, it would be those precise gifts which would undermine his efforts to reach out to various people groups.

 

The end of 1 Corinthians 9:22, the crux of this week’s text, is a sticky point between concept and reality. Paul writes, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some” (NIV). Earlier in the text, Paul suggests that the people groups (Jews, religious leaders, leaders of the law, etc.) are segregated which allows him to tailor his conversation. While the point of meeting the listener within the same context is the goal, I wonder how much more difficult that may be today—particularly from the vantage point of a church pastor.

 

It is difficult for a local church to be all things for all people—given the number of churches in a community and the variety of denominational differences, it would seem that we have conceded that premise. Identifying with the audience is much easier in small groups or individual conversation. Complications increase with group size. Finding common ground is obviously key, though rarely available at first brush.

 

In what ways am I remiss to consider the context of my listener? I find it much easeir to meet on their terms those who have not had like training and experience as me, as compared to those who have learned, but failed to make connections. Sometimes i get too far ahead of myself (and the Spirit) and make unfounded presumptions about the listener–mainly that they share my unspoken frame of mind. I catch myself getting impatient with others who are unable to follow my line of thought. In this week’s text, Paul would suggest that the disconnect lies not with the listener, but with me–failing to fully conisder the context of those who will hear, and to remove myself to create space for the Spirit to intervene.

Journal posting

I’m taking a course called The Biblical Communicator. The premise of the course is to develop skills in interpreting scipture and communicating biblical truths with consideration of historical, grammatical and literary study in context of different audiences. The course seems very reforming, which I find refreshing. Essentially, the goal is to approach scripture text from various points (historical, cultural, etc.) which we had not previously considered, then effectively communicate those revelations.

Part of the course requires weekly journaling about a provided text. Over the next few weeks, I’ll post here what I am submitting in my course journal. Following is my first submission.

————————————-

Week 1: Journal Entry (Exodus 3:1-4:17)

The humility and Moses’ poor self-worth in regards to God’s request is often the focus of this passage of scripture. Instead of positioning Moses as a humble servant, something traditionally considered, I found myself viewing him as a natural, everyday person—living only in that moment, with full knowledge from where he’d come, but blind to know where he would soon go.

Reading this week’s journal assignment, and considering it within the context of Moses’ journey, it was evident that Moses just plain did not want to do what was being asked of him. Every excuse he could think of exposes more his resistance of the task. He must have known that his life history had prepared him for each of the flimsy excuses he offered.

Here is a man who has struggled through his formidable years with a huge elephant in the room—a Hebrew living in the palace of the Egyptian pharaoh while his kinsmen were enslaved. Clearly he recognized the difference: the outward environment and circumstance which set him apart to be educated and esteemed as an Egyptian separated from his beaten and mistreated Hebrew brethren. In this place he was a misfit—both as a Hebrew-looking Egyptian and as an Egyptian-trained and dressed Hebrew.

While saving his own life was the immediate motivation for fleeing Egypt, I would suspect that he had often dreamed of different circumstances. When Moses fled to Midian, the geographical and emotional distance he placed between himself and Egypt was intentional. He wanted out; he had no intention of ever returning. The chance to make a new start where he would never again have to justify or deny his Hebrew blood or his Egyptian upbringing was perhaps greater than he had dreamed possible. Here, in this place of new beginnings, his past forgotten, God presents his commission to Moses: return to Egypt—the one thing Moses would intently resist with every excuse he could consider. God could have delivered the Hebrew nation without Moses. But he wanted Moses. He chose Moses. By allowing himself to be used by God, Moses’ opened the way for his past to be redeemed.

God’s redemption of one’s past is found elsewhere in scripture. From Esther’s reluctant request of a presence with King Xerxes (Esther, chapters 4-5), to Jesus’ plea to be spared the cross (Luke 22: 42) and Ananias’ vision to approach Saul (Acts 9:10-18), the human resistance to blindly heed God’s direction is apparent. Yet, through each of these examples, and many more, God is found faithful to strengthen the faith within us and to bring others into the fold.

How often do I resist God’s working through me? There are events, places, people groups found in all our pasts that we’d rather just avoid in the future. Perhaps by heeding God’s prompting, we allow God to redeem both the past circumstance and our past experience. How much we must miss of God’s revelation and future blessing when we resist our commission.

Book review: In the Heart of the Sea

Sometimes fact is better than fiction. It can be more unbelievable, more appaling, more unnerving. This kind of thing just can’t be made up.

Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick (Dover Giant Thrift Editions) is a well-known work of fiction which has engrossed readers for more than a century. But, perhaps, it gets better. Melville’s story was inspired by the real-life events of the Essex sailing crew from Nantucket 1819-1820, familiar to all the whaling industry in that time. It is a story of a whaling ship sunk far in the Pacific Ocean by a vengeful sperm whale. But where Melville’s story ends, the real adventure for members of the Essex had only begun.

Through In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex, Nathaniel Philbrick recounts the journey of the crew through their own historical accounts–journals, sea logs, published books. Philbrick weaves together the unimaginable story of being lost at sea for three months, covering 3,000 miles of open sea. Winner of the National Book Award and named to the New York Times Bestseller list, this is an engrossing nugget of U.S. history.