Yay for Old Friends!

This Weekend was marked by two special connections:

1) Katie Van Gilder (who is currently living in Philidelphia, PA) and I met half way in Aberdeen, MD for lunch on Friday. In a few days Katie will be heading off to Romania to work with New Horizons (a.k.a. Viata). Read more about her adventures here. I'm so excited for her as she steps out in this new venture!


2) Gary Ulrich (the Ulrich family attended GCC a while ago), his sweet new bride, Carol, and I enjoyed church and lunch together today. It was SOOO fun to hear their story!

It is absolutely wonderful to reconnect with old friends. What a treat!

Stuff I Should Know By Now

Stuff I Should Know By Now:
1) Missionary dating is rarely effective (and often far more trouble than it's worth).
2) When you have to throw up, do it and get it over with. Though the impending action is awful, you know you're going to feel better when it's over. (Yes, that statement is laden with double meaning.)

Giving Up Religion for Lent

My friend, Dave Richarson, coined a great phrase that has been running through my mind today: I'm giving up religion for Lent. Here's an excerpt from the song he wrote (copyright 2005):

i'm giving up religion for lent
i'm giving up this halo and my pseudo-holiness
i know the way i live and it's not the best i can
i'm just a dirty, ragamuffin man

you're not just the way to heaven
you're the truth exposing me
you're the life that I could never live and it covers me
the truth that exposes me is the same truth that sets me free...free

and i've got know grand illusions
i can hear the rooster crow
and i know before this night is through i'll deny i ever knew you
and what's worse is i can not be sure that i will even care
but i want to...i want to

i'm giving up religion for lent...

Art, Child Soldiers and Uganda

Tomorrow I'm getting together with a guy who just returned from from doing art workshops and photography with former child soldiers in a refugee camp in Northern Uganda. I'm really excited about this meeting; I think it's pregnant with potential. I'm intrigued because what this guy is doing is so much in line with my heart and passions: 1)Using art/creative communication as a processing tool & 2)Working with children in Africa. Further, the artwork kids produce could provide a MAJOR platform for advocacy work in the U.S. -- perhaps something along the lines of the Born Into Brothels documentary... Who knows where this could lead...?

I'm not an Oprah fan, but...

Just received an email (excerpt follows) from a friend today re: Oprah's Valentine's Day show:

Emmanuel [one of the Lost Boys of Sudan] is a close friend of mine. I have known him since hearing him a persecuted church conference in Columbia, SC in 2001. He is one of the most humble lovers of God I have ever met...

...help [Emmanuel] get his story to Homeland Security which has prevented him from getting any US and Canadian agreement to grant his wife a visa to move to the US with him where he is attending pre-med schooling at UNC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

For more information, check out Compassionate Action's web site.

Adventures in Odyssey

I feel like I’m on some kind of wild, crazy adventure. Granted, it doesn’t always feel like an adventure: quite often it feels like purposefully plodding along; sometimes it feels like I’ve altogether lost my way; at other points, it feels like waiting for an answer from a cold, hard stone. But when I take a step back and get a better perspective, the trail I’ve been on and web of connections is so complex and yet so...God-ordained.... And I know I’m not the only one on this journey.

I’m meeting some cool people here in DC. The network of Africa advocates never ceases to amaze me... Who knows where this will lead? It’s an adventure.

Bring it On Home

Before parting ways over Christmas, Shell (my dear NH roommate) gave me a CD to listen to – Little Big Town, The Road to Here. Knowing that I would be preparing to leave for DC while she was gone, she said, “I think you might appreciate some of these songs right now.” She was right on! Though I’m usually fairly careful about pirating (stop laughing, Doug), I couldn’t resist copying one (and only one!) of the songs from this CD into my music library: Bring it On Home.

I often associate seasons of my life with particular songs. Sometimes lyrically and musically, certain pieces just so aptly describe who you are, where you’re at, what’s going on in your head... Bring it on Home has been one of those for me. I remember cleaning out my room in Shell’s condo, listening to this album, and this song just striking such a deep chord in my heart....

Bring it on Home
You got someone here wants to make alright
Someone who loves you more than life, right here
You got willing arms that'll hold you tight
A hand to lead you on through the night, right here
I know your heart can get all tangled up inside
But don't you keep it to yourself

[Chorus:]
When your long day is over
And you can barley drag your feet
The weight of the world is on your shoulders
I know what you need
Bring it on home to me

You know I know you like the back of my hand
But did you know I'm gonna do all that I can, right here
I'm gonna lie with you till you fall asleep
When the morning comes I'm still gonna be right here (yes I am)
So take your worries and just drop them at the door
Baby leave it all behind

[Chorus]
Baby let me be you safe harbor
Don't let the water come and carry you away

[Chorus]
You got someone here wants to make it alright
Someone who loves you more than life right here

Granted, the audience here is obviously a lover and the context is some type of romantic relationship. Yet, I can’t help but take this as the heart of God, speaking to me. Theologically, I know there are issues with that approach (romanticizing God, self-centeredness etc.), but I don’t really care.

I especially love the line “I know your heart can get all tangled up inside, but don't you keep it to yourself...” I feel like my heart gets tangled up inside quite often - tangled up in relationships, in theology, in over-analyzing, in trying to do the right thing, in my own self-centeredness... and all I really know to do is “bring it on home”.

Joy in the Journey

Quite a few years ago I remember reading a poem that has stuck with me. I don’t remember the specific wording, but I can paraphrase:

First, I was dying to finish school, get a job, live on my own.
Then, I was dying to get married.
Then I was dying to have kids.
Then I was dying for the kids to grow up and move out so I could enjoy the empty nest.
Then I was dying to retire.
Then I realized I was dying, and I had never really lived.

I had a conversation last night with a woman in her first year of marriage. We chatted about the human tendency to long for “the next best thing” – whatever that may be. I’m struck by how often I do this in my own life, rather than cultivating an attitude of contentment and living in the present. I wonder about the tension between healthy discontent (I do think there is a place for this) and enjoying the present...

The Heart of the Matter

"When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed."

- Mother Theresa

My friend, Tara, passed that quote along to me. WOW. Man, that's convicting... I'm in the middle of trying to figure out how I need to respond to this concept -- how am I to live my life in light of this? Because it's not just some great quote from Mother T; correct me if I'm wrong, but this concept seems to be pretty much in line with the heart of God:

James 1:27
James 2:15-26
1 John 3:17
Isaiah 58:10-11
Psalm 146:5-9
Luke 3:10-11
Matthew 25:31-40
Acts 2:42-47

But here's the thing, there's also this nice little scripture in 1 Corinthians 13 that says,"If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing." This scripture seems to imply that it's possible to "...give that person what he or she needed", but from completely wrong motives (i.e. without love). I'm not suggesting that the possibility of action springing from wrong motives should demobilize us, I'm just recognizing that the heart of the matter starts with my heart in the matter.

"How can you worship a homeless Man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?" There's a great story behind this quote, involving Shane Claiborne (best known for his book The Irresistable Revolution) and his experience with homeless folks who were living in an abandoned church. Definitely worth checking out. Also, my friend Sue D. raises some great points along these lines in her blog entry entitled, "Prayer Summit."

Thoughts?