Ramblings...

"You're still in America in the monastery, and in Hope Church-- these absurd and holy places-- you're still in the modern world. But these places demand that you give up any notion of dominance or control. In these places you wait, and the places mold you." -- Kathleen Norris describing her church, Hope Church, in Dakota: A Spiritual Geography.

"Dakota is a painful reminder of human limits, just as cities and shopping malls are attempts to deny them." -- Also from Dakota.

The concrete and steel that is under our feet and over our heads have brought us together. They make it possible for someone like me to live in a place where my neighbors are most assuredly not like me. On most days these elements serve as catalysts for an economy that provides enough to survive, if not thrive.

But the ease of life created by cities has removed us from the desperation that has driven many over time into the arms of God. So we turn inward and find the struggle there. And at the end of that struggle, the one with demons of pride, lust, and gluttony, we may find ourselves needing God. But it all seems a little cheap in the end compared to people whose very existences are literally at stake.

Being in school is invigorating in many ways, but it has its drawbacks. Most notably is the sense that everybody is just passing through. Add that to the fact that I'm a part of a church whose life revolves those just passing through, and it is no wonder that despair can sometimes set in.

This is why I live for the times I get to sit around a table with my friends who live in this place. Though we may not have a lot of ground to plow and the weather patterns don't necessarily thrust us into reliance on God, we recognize that there is dirt inside us that needs cultivated in order for this long conversion toward being God's people to spring forth. And although we may not be here forever, we are more than just passing through.

Of course there is nothing wrong with just passing through. There have been nomads from the beginning of time. In fact, the tendency to roam may, as a survival instinct, be more wired into our DNA than the tendency to stay. But I've often felt that the desire of some to always be looking to the next thing can be more of a refusal to admit that one day they will die.

Today, in the middle of this city of steel, concrete, and of people just passing through, we spoke out loud. We spoke words from Paul that rumble beneath the ground not just during the Easter season, but during seasons of loss and despair. We spoke them out of the depths. Together, those transient and those with feet planted on the ground, we spoke those words to each other, into the dry and dusty places waiting to be sanctified... "Where, oh death is your victory? Where, oh death is your sting?"

Do you think?...

This is bound to be controversial, but haven't we all been thinking the same thing for the last decade or so?

I Often Do Not Heart Customers...

Somewhere along the way I became a smart ass. I suppose this is the lot of anyone working retail for an extended season of their life. Just when I get tired of belaboring the point of rudeness and immaturity, someone ups and does something that just elicits a hearty "Wow!"

Sometime in the a.m., in the kids section.

Can I help you with something m'am?

Yes, my brother bought these magazines for me yesterday and the guy up front says I can't return them.

Yes m'am. I'm sorry, but we have a strict return policy on magazines. We technically aren't allowed to return them at all, but especially if it's not on the same day of purchase.

Well, it's been less than 24 hours.

I understand and I apologize, but its not within the same calendar day.

This really disappoints me.

I really am terribly sorry. Is there something I can help you find?

No, not really.

Ok, well just let me know if there's something else I can do.

(Halfway between the children's department and the door, throwing the bag of magazines up at a velocity that it hits the high ceiling...) You can keep your damn magazines!

(In a state of disbelief...) Wow. M'am, thanks for responding with so much maturity.

I'm going to remember this!

Well, we hate to lose your business.

You can kiss my ass!

(Continued state of disbelief, only without words.)

(As the lady exits the door, approaches entering customer) Don't by anything from them, they won't take it back!

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I have no pretensions that my zingers were especially funny. In fact, like George Costanza I have since come up with numerous comebacks that would have been much more devastating. But alas, you only have the moment and you can't go back.

Here...

Ok, I'm back to low-expectation blogging. After a season where I began trying to write like a writer and people read my blog like readers, I came to a point where I was afraid the next post could never live up to the past. But I'm done with that and ready to share things about my day without any pretension of profundity.

I have had the day off. I spent some time this morning at the Laundrymat on Waco Drive to wash clothes. I am getting closer to my goal of of reaching the high score on Mrs. Pac Man there by the end of the year. Only 70,000 more points to go.

The rest of the day has been spent studying, watching the economic collapse, and trying to figure out what is going on with Jane. She used to have no problem going outside for a few hours at a time, but now I chase her around the house and have to force her out. Not quite sure what's going on there.

I'm about to head up to Truett for the preaching convocation sponsored by the Kyle Lake Foundation.

Interesting Article...

Terri Jo Ryan had a good article in this morning's Trib. You can read it HERE.

The print edition of the story had two statements with two boxes beside it. The first statement read (loosely): Be next in line to the most powerful position in the world. The box next to it was checked. The next statement read: Lead a local congregation. The box next to it was X'ed out.

I understand there were some straw men (or straw women?) in the article, but it's good fodder for discussion.

On Palin...

I went in to this political season with a soft resolution to refrain from talking much about the presidential race on my blog. The longer I continue updating this site, the more embarrassed I get at things I said years ago and I didn't want to make any ridiculous uninformed statements that I would look back on years from now with regret. But the Sarah Palin event is too compelling for me to resist. So here goes, one of my first hesitant postings of the election.

I really like the lady. Has there been another political figure in recent memory that is more literally a "person of the people" than Sarah Palin? She is someone I can imagine running into at H-E-B and having a real conversation with about her kids, local news, or sports. I heard Joe Biden today say that in her entire speech she never said the words "middle class." I think this is humorous and proves out out of touch he actually is with the middle class. Her very story screams middle class. I think it is possible the Democrats could greatly underestimate the connection someone like Palin can make with certain blue collar voters that would never consider voting Republican.

What I really loved about her speech is that it took the gloves off of the McCain campaign where it came to questioning Obama. I think because of the obvious historic nature of his candidacy, no one really knew if they could treat him like a normal person who wants to be president. Palin's attacks on Obama actually marks, in my opinion, at least as great a stride in race relations as the possibility of him being president does. It means that we are finally not only not considering race as a barrier for upward mobility, but also that we are no longer afraid to criticize someone of color that we disagree with on principles. My gut feeling is that this is something Obama appreciates as well. The greatest attack line (which is really all the VP in an election is good for) was the making fun of "community organizers." This is honestly a job that I had never heard of until Obama's story became a part of our national consciousness. I thought I was the only one, but I guess I wasn't.

Okay, enough of the praise. There is a huge concern with Palin I have that could possibly make me rethink voting for McCain. I am actually shocked that the liberal media (and I'm increasingly believing the truth of that) has not jumped on. Did anyone else notice Palin's lapel pin? It was incredibly small, but it appeared to me to be the Israeli flag. Now, I have no problem with Israel and believe them to be a valuable ally of the United States in the Middle East. But I have run in evangelical circles enough recognize that her wearing that pin wasn't simply a mark of solidarity with one of our friends. If it were she would also be wearing flags of Britain, Australia, and of all the East European countries. But the Israeli flag pin alone reveals something disturbing to me-- it is an obvious wink to those who believe our alliance with Israel is a divinely ordained one, and one that allows us to see our military as an arm in the arsenal of God. These people, led by guys like John Hagee and Rod Parsley, are anticipating Armageddon and have no problem using our military (and our nuclear weapons) to speed up the process.

I hope I am overreaching in my assessment. It'll be interesting to see if the media makes anything of this. I think it is probably something that is on their radar, but fear of appearing anti-semitic is likely keeping them from bringing it up as an issue.

So, that's a lot of rambling. I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'm open to being reproved...
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Edit: After posting this I did a little further research on the lapel pin. There are some saying that it was a pin worn by family members of those in the military who are in harms way-- which makes sense because of her oldest son. I stand corrected-- but it still looks like the Israeli flag to me.

Catching Up...

In all likelihood, my blog will probably return to being more like what it was in the early days-- a place for me to catch everyone up on what's going on in my life. The essay-type posts will diminish some as I focus on studying. I really hate this, but time is what it is, and I have less of it.

I stuck around through some rough times at work over the past couple of years just to get the extra week of vacation that comes with having five years behind my belt. An it is proving useful. I am taking one of those weeks right now so I can hit the ground running with school, and I am thankful I did. I have needed this time to get my mind back into the mode of thinking necessary for "structured learning."

Ten years after gaining a Bachelor of Arts in Religion, I am taking my first Greek class. And my head is swimming. My other classes will require a good deal of hard work for me to do well. Greek will require a good deal of hard work and substantial doses of divine intervention. I am open to any free advice you veterans have for me.

Today I went to see Step Brothers in order to reward myself for the hours of work I put into Greek this morning. It wasn't much of a reward. But being at the movies got me to thinking how excited I am about the release of The Road coming out this fall. If you haven't read the book yet, I highly recommend it before the movie comes out.

That's about it for now. I need my sleep now more than ever.