I'm Sorry. Probably the toughest short sentence to say for most of us. We don't apologize well, to those we live with and love, much less to total strangers. Yet, back in June, apologize is exactly what a group of Christians did. Every June, Gay Pride Day is an event that occurs in most cities, celebrating people's pride in their various sexual orientations with parades, rallies and other such events. Flamboyant costumes, streakers, music, dancing, floats--and pretty much anything under the sun is fair game to show up at a Pride event. Also always present are Christians. Generally with angry protesting signs in hand. Messages such as "God hates people like you!" "You're going to hell!" "Homosexuality is a sin!" are always found lining the streets of Pride parades. And of course, this is what makes the nightly news. This is the image of Christians so many non-Christians (especially people who are part of the GLBT community) have when they think about people who claim to follow Jesus. No wonder they don't want to have anything to do with us. I wouldn't either. I've had conversations with people who are gay about this very issue. "Sarah, if that's really what God thinks of me, why should I want to have anything to do with Him? If that's really how his followers are going to treat me, why would I want to join them or get to know them?" Countless men and women have turned away from their Savior because the Church as a whole can't seem to figure out how to see past a person's outward behavior. (Yet, we turn a blind eye when someone in our congregation buys their third Lexus but there are people in our community who are still hungry. But that is a whole different post...)
A group of Christians who are taking seriously the idea that Jesus calls us to go out and love others had an idea. At this past year's Pride Parade in Chicago, a group of about 30 young adults from various Chicago churches showed up in matching t-shirts with signs of their own. Their t-shirts were black, and simply read "I'm Sorry." Their signs were a bit different than other "Christian" signs found at the parade that day. Their signs read: "I'm sorry for how the church has hurt you." "I am sorry Christians have judged you." "I used to be a bible-thumping homophobe, I'm sorry." The impact was enormous. These 30 people became the talk of the event. People in the parade waved, yelled "thank you!", blew kisses, ran over to hug them and even led to some follow up conversations between people in the parade and those wearing the t-shirts.
Every time I see Christians on the news picketing something, holding up rude signs, or even resorting to violence and hate crimes in "Jesus' name," I want to run the other way. I don't want the word "Christian" anywhere near me. These folks give me hope. These are the kind of Christians I want to hang out with--people who take seriously the call to love first. I am not saying I'm in favor of homosexual behavior, because I'm not. I believe strongly that God created us male and female for a reason. But I also believe strongly that every single one of us is a sinner, redeemed and saved only by the grace of God, not because of any works we could do. So to be on the side of casting stones isn't our "right" or our place. We've all got stuff in our lives that doesn't line up so well with how God asks us to live, and until we figure out how to follow him perfectly, maybe we should practice our apologizing instead of our condemning.
To read more about this event, click here.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Ten on Tuesday (Take One)
I got this idea from my friend Courtney and I thought it was quite fun, answering 10 random questions on Tuesday to get my imagination and memory going! I've changed a few of the questions from hers, but the idea is still the same--thanks Courtney! Feel free to join in with your own! Today's is summer-themed since we're supposedly in the middle of summer here.
1. What is the best summer job you ever had?
I've had a lot of random office jobs over summers before, which include working for my dad and the Burger King corporate offices of Sacramento, but I think my favorite summer job was the year I was a nanny for 4 different families. I would spend mornings with one family, move to another home in the afternoon, spend all day Fridays with a third, and another day with a fourth. All the kids were under age 3, and were absolutely delightful. All four families had baby boys, who were each about 6 months old when I began with them, and I LOVED the time spent with them!
2. What was the worst?
My year at Aaron Brother's Art & Framing store took me through a summer and I hated that job. There wasn't a whole lot (other than the employee discount!) that I enjoyed about that one! Especially when I had to go in about once a week at 3:30 AM to unload our shipment truck...that was brutal...
3. What is your favorite summer activity?
I like picnics in parks, although for some reason, we don't do them that often. Grilling out or doing a potluck in a park with frisbees, volleyball, possibly some water balloons...yup that's a great summer afternoon!
4. What is the best summer dinner of all time?
That's easy! Mom's teriyaki burgers with grilled pineapple, mom's pasta salad, mom's pea salad, mom's broccoli salad, corn on the cob and watermelon. And yes, those recipes have to be specific, I don't like just any pasta or pea salad--only Sue Hanson's will work for me to be on the "favorite food of summer" list! (If anyone needs ideas, I'd be happy to share the recipes, I do now have them all!) That was our standard fare around our house each summer (or some variation on that menu, usually burgers, chicken etc thrown on the grill, a variety of cold salads, and watermelon, lots and lots of watermelon!)
5. What is one smell that brings back summer memories?
I didn't even realize it existed until last summer, actually. For those who don't know, I grew up in a suburb of Sacramento, and spent all my summers there until I graduated from college. Last year, I drove up to the Fresno area to visit my sister's in laws (my sister and brother in law were there) and it was while driving away from their house that I caught a scent that immediately took me home. It's not the scent of cows, there weren't many cows around my home in Sacramento, but it was the smell of agriculture. Of earth, soil that had been warmed all day by the HOT sun and was starting to cool. Of grass freshly mown mingling with the rich smell of soil, the stray wiff of smog, and the sticky sweet smell of tomato plants ripening. You can't smell it during the day, it's too hot, it's a scent that only appears as the sky grows dusk, the intensity of the sun dips behind the horizon, and the first starts begin appearing. All these scents blended together and all of a sudden my husband looks over and I have tears rolling down my cheeks. "I miss childhood summers," I said to him. "I think I'm homesick for a time of the past."
6. What one summer activity don't you like, and why?
I love being out on a lake in a boat--I love riding in ski boats that are flying over the water, but I do NOT like being pulled behind one for any reason. Tubing, wake boarding (yes I tried last summer, I was not a fan!) and the likes are not my cup of tea.
7. What was a typical summer day like for you when you were a child?
Glorious, that's what they were like! We'd sleep in, lounge around in our pjs reading if we wanted to, and generally changed straight in to our swimsuits. Days were spent bouncing from the swimming pool in the back yard to the swing set to dry off, to the TV for re-runs of The Brady Bunch over lunch, back into the pool until dinner or until we got a little too sunburned and would come into spend the hottest part of the day reading or doing puzzles inside. After dinner sometimes there would be more swimming, or family bike rides to an ice cream shop, or a neighborhood game of hide and go seek in our cul-de-sac. Trips to the library every week were a must--we needed to cash in our prizes for their summer reading programs! Dinner would usually be on the grill, neighbors were constantly running back and forth to various pools in the neighborhood. Some of the best days of my life.
8. What is the best summer vacation you've taken?
I have no idea how I'm going to pick just one. We traveled somewhere almost every summer (I was spoiled to have parents who valued seeing new places as much as I do). Probably the two that stand out the most are our cruise to Alaska about 5 years ago and the European cruise our family did with my cousins' family in 2001 I think it was? The four of us kids had our own rooms at the opposite end of the ship as our parents and we saw a bunch of great cities--Normandie, France was my favorite of that particular trip I think.
9. What is one thing you don't like about summer?
When it's too hot. I know, it's summer, it's supposed to be hot, but I really don't like the heat. I don't like being all sweaty if there's no pool for me to jump into, and I really hate not being able to sleep at night because our apartment now doesn't have a/c in the bedroom. So yeah mild summers are the best for me, which is why living in Seattle was absolutely perfect!
10. What is the best "Summer Time Song" that became part of the summer soundtrack of your life?
Summer Nights from the Grease soundtrack. Best summer-time song ever!
1. What is the best summer job you ever had?
I've had a lot of random office jobs over summers before, which include working for my dad and the Burger King corporate offices of Sacramento, but I think my favorite summer job was the year I was a nanny for 4 different families. I would spend mornings with one family, move to another home in the afternoon, spend all day Fridays with a third, and another day with a fourth. All the kids were under age 3, and were absolutely delightful. All four families had baby boys, who were each about 6 months old when I began with them, and I LOVED the time spent with them!
2. What was the worst?
My year at Aaron Brother's Art & Framing store took me through a summer and I hated that job. There wasn't a whole lot (other than the employee discount!) that I enjoyed about that one! Especially when I had to go in about once a week at 3:30 AM to unload our shipment truck...that was brutal...
3. What is your favorite summer activity?
I like picnics in parks, although for some reason, we don't do them that often. Grilling out or doing a potluck in a park with frisbees, volleyball, possibly some water balloons...yup that's a great summer afternoon!
4. What is the best summer dinner of all time?
That's easy! Mom's teriyaki burgers with grilled pineapple, mom's pasta salad, mom's pea salad, mom's broccoli salad, corn on the cob and watermelon. And yes, those recipes have to be specific, I don't like just any pasta or pea salad--only Sue Hanson's will work for me to be on the "favorite food of summer" list! (If anyone needs ideas, I'd be happy to share the recipes, I do now have them all!) That was our standard fare around our house each summer (or some variation on that menu, usually burgers, chicken etc thrown on the grill, a variety of cold salads, and watermelon, lots and lots of watermelon!)
5. What is one smell that brings back summer memories?
I didn't even realize it existed until last summer, actually. For those who don't know, I grew up in a suburb of Sacramento, and spent all my summers there until I graduated from college. Last year, I drove up to the Fresno area to visit my sister's in laws (my sister and brother in law were there) and it was while driving away from their house that I caught a scent that immediately took me home. It's not the scent of cows, there weren't many cows around my home in Sacramento, but it was the smell of agriculture. Of earth, soil that had been warmed all day by the HOT sun and was starting to cool. Of grass freshly mown mingling with the rich smell of soil, the stray wiff of smog, and the sticky sweet smell of tomato plants ripening. You can't smell it during the day, it's too hot, it's a scent that only appears as the sky grows dusk, the intensity of the sun dips behind the horizon, and the first starts begin appearing. All these scents blended together and all of a sudden my husband looks over and I have tears rolling down my cheeks. "I miss childhood summers," I said to him. "I think I'm homesick for a time of the past."
6. What one summer activity don't you like, and why?
I love being out on a lake in a boat--I love riding in ski boats that are flying over the water, but I do NOT like being pulled behind one for any reason. Tubing, wake boarding (yes I tried last summer, I was not a fan!) and the likes are not my cup of tea.
7. What was a typical summer day like for you when you were a child?
Glorious, that's what they were like! We'd sleep in, lounge around in our pjs reading if we wanted to, and generally changed straight in to our swimsuits. Days were spent bouncing from the swimming pool in the back yard to the swing set to dry off, to the TV for re-runs of The Brady Bunch over lunch, back into the pool until dinner or until we got a little too sunburned and would come into spend the hottest part of the day reading or doing puzzles inside. After dinner sometimes there would be more swimming, or family bike rides to an ice cream shop, or a neighborhood game of hide and go seek in our cul-de-sac. Trips to the library every week were a must--we needed to cash in our prizes for their summer reading programs! Dinner would usually be on the grill, neighbors were constantly running back and forth to various pools in the neighborhood. Some of the best days of my life.
8. What is the best summer vacation you've taken?
I have no idea how I'm going to pick just one. We traveled somewhere almost every summer (I was spoiled to have parents who valued seeing new places as much as I do). Probably the two that stand out the most are our cruise to Alaska about 5 years ago and the European cruise our family did with my cousins' family in 2001 I think it was? The four of us kids had our own rooms at the opposite end of the ship as our parents and we saw a bunch of great cities--Normandie, France was my favorite of that particular trip I think.
9. What is one thing you don't like about summer?
When it's too hot. I know, it's summer, it's supposed to be hot, but I really don't like the heat. I don't like being all sweaty if there's no pool for me to jump into, and I really hate not being able to sleep at night because our apartment now doesn't have a/c in the bedroom. So yeah mild summers are the best for me, which is why living in Seattle was absolutely perfect!
10. What is the best "Summer Time Song" that became part of the summer soundtrack of your life?
Summer Nights from the Grease soundtrack. Best summer-time song ever!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Food Glorious Food!
If you're looking for something to make for dinner tonight, check out our new favorite: Thai Turkey Wraps (modeled after the PF Changs Lettuce Wraps but with ground turkey instead and a peanut sauce). Enjoy!
God Grew Tired of Us
We have been going through a bit of a documentary phase these days in our home. We've recently watched Food, Inc., Super Size Me, Michael Jackson's This is It, and a movie that I think will stay with me for a long long time: God Grew Tired of Us, a favorite at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. This is a film that documents the lives of some of the Lost Boys of Sudan, boys who have immigrated to America and have faced immense culture shock adjusting to life here.The Lost Boys are a group of young men who are from the Dinka ethnic group. During the Second Sudanese Civil War (from 1983-2005), the government troops went from village to village in southern Sudan destroying homes, raping, enslaving, and murdering villagers, yet because many of these boys were out of the villages, tending flocks or were able to escape, they survived. These boys, ages 5-17 returned to nothing, their families were gone, homes destroyed. Determined to survive, they began walking. As they walked they met up with other groups of boys from villages who had also survived, and together 27,000 boys began the 1,000 mile walk to refugee camps on the borders of Ethiopia and Kenya. They talk of how they formed family groups, to take care of one another. So a 12 year old boy may be in charge or the "cousin" of five younger boys, ensure they stay protected on the harsh terrain of Africa. Upon reaching the borders, international aid workers received them (having heard thousands of boys were walking through Sudan somewhere) and have done their best to house and feed these traumatized boys. Many of them never made it. Death during the march from starvation, the heat, elements, no water and animal attacks was common. One 13 year old tells how it was his job to bury the bodies of his fellow brothers as they died, he was elected the leader of a group of them and as leader he needed to make sure burial happened. When they arrived experts say these were the most traumatized children from war-countries they had ever examined.
After several years of living in camps, without much hope for a future, arrangements to bring some of them to the US to live began being made. In 2001, 3,800 boys (older boys, who were now in their early 20s and could live on their own) were brought to the US and scattered/placed in 38 different cities (the largest population of Sudanese refugees is actually Omaha, Nebraska). Churches and groups throughout the country have worked to make it possible for these boys to adapt to life here in America, to find apartments to place them in in family groups, to connect them with education and medical care and jobs. Unicef has worked and managed to reunite 1200 of them with family members who were found in Africa alive, after 12 years of not seeing their parents or siblings. Yet, 17,000 still remain in camps overseas.
What was striking to me while watching this film (which actually had many humorous moments, it wasn't all heartbreaking) was the incredible faith of these young men. Southern Sudan is the Christian portion of the country, and these boys were raised with very strong faith in Jesus. After all they had been through, they were still able to talk about God. At times it was honest questioning, but mostly it was about praising Him for bringing them through their tragic lives to a place where they can now work here in America to support friends still in the camps in Africa. One of my favorite quotes explains where the title of the movie came from. John Bul Dau (one of the 3 young men this films follows as he immigrates to America) says:
"It was as if the last day, as people say in the Bible, that there will be a last day, that Jesus Christ will come, and whatever on Earth will be judged. That was my imagination. I though that God felt tired of people on earth here, felt tired of the bad deeds, the bad thing that we are doing, yet God is watching on us. I thought God got tired of us and he want to finish us. When I think of it back... it was so bad anyway. You can even think of - you can even regret why you were born. Why you were born. Now I wonder, I'm now again wearing clothes, feeling very happy, and so anyway, everything has an end. Has an end. Even if there's problem in Sudan still maybe one time, one day, one minute it will come to an end."
If you have a chance, this film will open your eyes to a world so foreign to most of us. We can't fathom living and surviving like these boys did. Yet the hope that exists in their eyes after all they have been through will remind all of us that whatever it is we are going through that feels difficult, there is still a God. And He has not forgotten us.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Summer Fun!
I'm not sure what it is about summer time. As a kid, it was always a glorious time of slowing down, getting to do things we didn't have time for during the school year, playing for hours on end. I realize I'm not a kid anymore, and that my summers as an adult aren't going to look exactly the same, but for the past several years summer time around here always gets so much busier than normal! But nonetheless, I love it :) For those not on facebook, I thought I'd do a bit of a recap of our summer thus far. Summer has found us:
Enjoying LOTS of fresh produce from Farmer's Markets
This was our dinner the other night, huge fresh salads and homemade bruschetta using delicious heirloom tomatoes.
Seeing lots of friends from years past
This is me with my dear friends Jean and Kelli from college, along with Jean's two little munchkins in San Diego.
My husband has had the chance to reconnect with a few friends from his Florida days, and we're looking forward to having another of his Florida friends stay with us in August for a night.
Leisurely Conversations
I've always loved my small group, but this summer we're going through The Good and Beautiful God together which has provoked some great conversations with one another as the evening fades away and wine is sipped over dinner.
Games!
We've enjoyed a couple different evenings with friends playing games together. 4th of July we played a lot of Banagrams (kind of like Scrabble) with friends from church, and we've enjoyed a couple games of Settlers of Catan and Ticket To Ride with other couples.
Church Stuff
GPC gets its new pastor in just 2 weeks! We're pumped! We've had some fun youth stuff this summer, seeing movies, going to a Dodger's Game, and of course, coming up in just two weeks--HOUSEBOATS! Charles has had fun playing Ultimate Frisbee with youth and leaders on Thursday afternoons (not really my thing...especially in the mid afternoon heat!).
Hiking
We have done a couple hikes around here, although lately it's been awfully hot!
Weddings!
Yes, it's the theme of 2010 for us. So far we've had three weddings this summer (I think we have a break now until October) which have all been very different from one another and very fun in their own ways!
Peter & Susan
This was the wedding Charles was able to officiate which was very honoring for him. It was quite the event, in the grand ballroom of the Hilton with over 300 people there!
Jen & Eli
This one was SO fun for me, it was a fantastic reunion of college friends in my favorite city on the planet!
The happy couple
2001-2002 Hill-Moyer Peer Adviser Staff
Roommates! Heather & I
Missy, Darbee and I
David & Joy
This was definitely the most unique wedding I've ever been to. And honestly, in many ways, the most beautiful. The wedding industry is out of control, as anyone who has planned a wedding is aware of! David and Joy are a couple from Fuller who are 100% committed to some rather counter-cultural ways of living that I think are so needed in today's society. They are both vegetarian, both very environmentally conscious, in love with nature, and completely invested in and immersed in community living more so than pretty much anyone I've ever met. They wanted their wedding to reflect all these values. And they pulled it off! About 300 of us gathered in the Redwood Forest near Santa Cruz, CA last weekend to celebrate this couple. Just about everything used in the wedding was either natural, recycled, donated, or reusable. Guests were told to bring their own plastic plates, cups and eating utensils (which did not seem to phase anyone, people literally just showed up with picnic baskets, it was great!). The wedding was a vegetarian Mediterranean feast that was also potluck. Guests were asked to bring something from their list, and we dined on hummus, pita, feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, falafel, and tabbouleh--it was delicious. Decorations were bright and festive and handmade. Table cloths were butcher paper that could be recycled. Centerpieces were glass jars with ribbons tied around them filled with wildflowers. Donated fabric from family friends was ripped into strips and woven onto fishing line for festive ambiance. The weekend was truly a labor of love, from their community to them and from them to their community (the wedding party saw their job as servers, so they served us our meals which was a beautiful touch). They also wrote some of their own vows, which I'm not always a huge fan of, but both my husband and I agreed that these were the best set of personalized vows we'd ever heard--well done David & Joy!
I'm sure there's been more to our summer, but that's probably enough for now! Stay tuned for what August will bring!
This was our dinner the other night, huge fresh salads and homemade bruschetta using delicious heirloom tomatoes.
Seeing lots of friends from years past
This is me with my dear friends Jean and Kelli from college, along with Jean's two little munchkins in San Diego.
My husband has had the chance to reconnect with a few friends from his Florida days, and we're looking forward to having another of his Florida friends stay with us in August for a night.Leisurely Conversations
I've always loved my small group, but this summer we're going through The Good and Beautiful God together which has provoked some great conversations with one another as the evening fades away and wine is sipped over dinner.
Games!
We've enjoyed a couple different evenings with friends playing games together. 4th of July we played a lot of Banagrams (kind of like Scrabble) with friends from church, and we've enjoyed a couple games of Settlers of Catan and Ticket To Ride with other couples.
Church StuffGPC gets its new pastor in just 2 weeks! We're pumped! We've had some fun youth stuff this summer, seeing movies, going to a Dodger's Game, and of course, coming up in just two weeks--HOUSEBOATS! Charles has had fun playing Ultimate Frisbee with youth and leaders on Thursday afternoons (not really my thing...especially in the mid afternoon heat!).
Hiking
We have done a couple hikes around here, although lately it's been awfully hot!
Weddings!Yes, it's the theme of 2010 for us. So far we've had three weddings this summer (I think we have a break now until October) which have all been very different from one another and very fun in their own ways!
Peter & Susan
This was the wedding Charles was able to officiate which was very honoring for him. It was quite the event, in the grand ballroom of the Hilton with over 300 people there!
Jen & EliThis one was SO fun for me, it was a fantastic reunion of college friends in my favorite city on the planet!
The happy couple
2001-2002 Hill-Moyer Peer Adviser Staff
Roommates! Heather & I
Missy, Darbee and I
David & JoyThis was definitely the most unique wedding I've ever been to. And honestly, in many ways, the most beautiful. The wedding industry is out of control, as anyone who has planned a wedding is aware of! David and Joy are a couple from Fuller who are 100% committed to some rather counter-cultural ways of living that I think are so needed in today's society. They are both vegetarian, both very environmentally conscious, in love with nature, and completely invested in and immersed in community living more so than pretty much anyone I've ever met. They wanted their wedding to reflect all these values. And they pulled it off! About 300 of us gathered in the Redwood Forest near Santa Cruz, CA last weekend to celebrate this couple. Just about everything used in the wedding was either natural, recycled, donated, or reusable. Guests were told to bring their own plastic plates, cups and eating utensils (which did not seem to phase anyone, people literally just showed up with picnic baskets, it was great!). The wedding was a vegetarian Mediterranean feast that was also potluck. Guests were asked to bring something from their list, and we dined on hummus, pita, feta cheese, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, falafel, and tabbouleh--it was delicious. Decorations were bright and festive and handmade. Table cloths were butcher paper that could be recycled. Centerpieces were glass jars with ribbons tied around them filled with wildflowers. Donated fabric from family friends was ripped into strips and woven onto fishing line for festive ambiance. The weekend was truly a labor of love, from their community to them and from them to their community (the wedding party saw their job as servers, so they served us our meals which was a beautiful touch). They also wrote some of their own vows, which I'm not always a huge fan of, but both my husband and I agreed that these were the best set of personalized vows we'd ever heard--well done David & Joy!
I'm sure there's been more to our summer, but that's probably enough for now! Stay tuned for what August will bring!Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Remember to Play
There are always reasons why people do the things they do. Everyone who acts a certain way is that way for a reason (probably a number of reasons converging to make them who they are). It's really easy to point our fingers at people and accuse them of being horrible human beings, it's harder to ask ourselves why they might act the way they do. I'm guilty of this all the time--of only seeing the behavior on the surface and failing to ask myself what happened earlier in their lives to cause them to act out in ways I disagree with.
This past quarter's magazine published by my under grad alma mater, Seattle Pacific University had a great article profiling Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson has helped to fundraise and begin tons of schools in Afghanistan and has become intimately familiar with the people, culture, and traditions of the region. There was a section of the article that caught my attention and broke my heart. May we remember to treasure the moments we have to play, to see our children play, and may we recognize that not everyone is lucky enough to have that opportunity.
The Importance of Play
We’ve had our best year ever in Afghanistan. We’ve set up about three dozen schools, and we’re going now into more volatile, remote areas, areas where the Taliban are. We were able to set up the first girls’ high schools in five new provinces in Afghanistan. And one of them is in Uruzgan province.This happened in a very interesting way: Last year we set a goal that maybe in 20 years, we might be able to put a girls’ high school in Uruzgan province, which is the home of Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban. That’s kind of our long-term goal — not short-term, long-term.
So only a few months later, we got contacted by the Shura, the elders of Uruzgan, and they said, “We want a school in Uruzgan, a girls’ school.” So I said, “Well, why don’t you come and visit a school first, and let’s talk.” This spring they came over to Char Asiab Valley. These are black turbans, armed to the teeth. When they got to our school, they saw the giant playground, so they put down their weapons and for the next hour and a half, they went on the swings and slide and had a glorious time. Turbans flying all over the place.
After an hour and a half, I said, “You know, let’s get serious now. Let’s go see the headmaster, and [we’ve] got to look at the curriculum.” They said, “No, no, we’re totally satisfied. We want a girls’ high school in Uruzgan province. But you must put in a playground first.” … So we started construction six weeks ago, and of course the playground started first. And my only worry is that they’re going to use the playground, and the girls aren’t going to get to use the playground.
But in all seriousness, I’ve talked to these men a lot, deep into the night. They had no chance to play as children. They didn’t have that joy; they were in war, they were in destruction, they were traumatized. Many of them lost their parents; they never even saw their father. When you think about it, play is really so important.
This past quarter's magazine published by my under grad alma mater, Seattle Pacific University had a great article profiling Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea. Mortenson has helped to fundraise and begin tons of schools in Afghanistan and has become intimately familiar with the people, culture, and traditions of the region. There was a section of the article that caught my attention and broke my heart. May we remember to treasure the moments we have to play, to see our children play, and may we recognize that not everyone is lucky enough to have that opportunity.
The Importance of Play
We’ve had our best year ever in Afghanistan. We’ve set up about three dozen schools, and we’re going now into more volatile, remote areas, areas where the Taliban are. We were able to set up the first girls’ high schools in five new provinces in Afghanistan. And one of them is in Uruzgan province.This happened in a very interesting way: Last year we set a goal that maybe in 20 years, we might be able to put a girls’ high school in Uruzgan province, which is the home of Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban. That’s kind of our long-term goal — not short-term, long-term.
So only a few months later, we got contacted by the Shura, the elders of Uruzgan, and they said, “We want a school in Uruzgan, a girls’ school.” So I said, “Well, why don’t you come and visit a school first, and let’s talk.” This spring they came over to Char Asiab Valley. These are black turbans, armed to the teeth. When they got to our school, they saw the giant playground, so they put down their weapons and for the next hour and a half, they went on the swings and slide and had a glorious time. Turbans flying all over the place.
After an hour and a half, I said, “You know, let’s get serious now. Let’s go see the headmaster, and [we’ve] got to look at the curriculum.” They said, “No, no, we’re totally satisfied. We want a girls’ high school in Uruzgan province. But you must put in a playground first.” … So we started construction six weeks ago, and of course the playground started first. And my only worry is that they’re going to use the playground, and the girls aren’t going to get to use the playground.
But in all seriousness, I’ve talked to these men a lot, deep into the night. They had no chance to play as children. They didn’t have that joy; they were in war, they were in destruction, they were traumatized. Many of them lost their parents; they never even saw their father. When you think about it, play is really so important.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Not Buying It
I am reading a fascinating new book right now. I’ll get back to my list of 28 books to read this year after this one, but I’m down to only a couple left on my list and I have until Sept. 23, so I’m in good shape to finish :) The other day I caught a woman on Oprah whose story peaked my interest. She and her boyfriend of 14 years decided to go 1 full year without spending money on anything besides the most essential things. No new clothes, no music, no paying for movies, no eating out, no Starbucks, no traveling, no books, no concerts etc. She was a journalist already, so of course she documented their year of “Not Buying It” in a book with that title. The amount of money they saved and used to pay off their credit card debt was incredible, but they learned a ton too, about themselves, about what each of them considers a necessity or a luxury, and about our consumeristic culture and how media does everything they can to convince us that we need x, y, or z to be happy. At first it was a challenge for them, and there were things they definitely missed (she loves going to movies, they really missed that!) but she writes that it was amazing what they did discover. They read a lot more, using their local library for books, movies, and for new music to listen to. They actually read some of the unread books on their shelves instead of just buying new ones too. They didn’t go out to eat at all but invited tons of friends over for meals, deepening their relationships and improving their cooking skills. I’m only on the 3rd chapter of the book, so I have a ways to go, and I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts along the way, but for now, I’ll just say I am fascinated, and intrigued enough to take seriously what she’s saying about consumerism in America and why we shop.
Friday, July 9, 2010
A Rather Long & Random update
It has been an insane week around here, and while I’ve been brainstorming & have a bunch of more thought provoking blog posts mulling around in my head, I find myself at Friday without the mental energy to actually write them today. That’s okay though, it’s been awhile since I’ve just done a random life update on our household, so that will have to suffice for today. In no particular order, here’s what has been going on with us lately:
My husband is about half way through one of his summer courses--Pentateuch (the 1st 5 books of the Bible), and he seems to really be enjoying it. It is an awesome class, I took it 4 summers ago, you definitely learn a lot! This is the class where one tackles the whole issue of “is everything in the Old Testament actually literal, or are some things more metaphorical?” He takes another 2 week intensive class at the end of July, and then he is DONE with school work!
I am SO SO SO excited for the month of August, and this fall--we have a TON of stuff coming up that makes me happy :) August will find us chaperoning our church’s high school houseboat trip, which was a blast last year, and then heading to the Hanson family reunion in Colorado for 5 days. September brings with it a potential trip to Japan (although that’s not set in stone yet). October brings weddings three weekends in a row, plus the birth of our new niece/nephew, my little niece’s 1st birthday, and my final assessment with my committee in Seattle so I’ll be able to start looking for an ordained call. My parents just booked plane tickets to come out here in November--it will have been almost 3 years since they will have been here, and we are so excited to show them some new LA spots they haven’t seen.
My husband and I recently counted all the weddings we are either invited to or are participating in this year, and it’s a LOT! Good thing I love weddings so much--we have 11 of them in 2010! He was/is an usher in two, and the minister in one. I’m a bridesmaid in 3 of them--including one on New Year’s Eve (so Becca’s just sneaked into our 2010 count!) We are thrilled for all these amazing couples in our lives getting married and so honored to stand with many of them as they begin their lives together.
I’ve arrived at a really peaceful place these days--which I am really thankful for. I feel like God is really giving me confidence that somehow plans will work out for our family in this whole call process. I’m content with where we are now--not thrilled about doing administrative work all the time, but I am so thankful for the jobs I have, for the church we are in, for our Fuller community of friends, and I trust that we’ll move from this place when we are called. I no longer want to cry or panic as I think about the job hunt process, I’m actually feeling cautiously optimistic about it, and peaceful.
Speaking of job hunts/ordination process--I just scheduled my next big step! October 5th I’ll be back in Seattle for my final assessment with my Committee on Preparation for Ministry! It’s a scary meeting, one I’ve been dreading for about 4 years...but I’m actually feeling ready and excited. I told my friend Becca the other day (who never seems to have any shortage of self confidence in her!) that I was ready to rock this meeting...too bad I have to wait 3 months. But it’s a TON of work getting ready for it, so I guess it’s good that I have this time. I have to preach a sermon to them, turn in my sermon research so they can check my exegesis, defend my Statement of Faith (I had to write my SOF for my candidacy meeting two months ago, but this time I really have to be prepared to defend it on the spot), and prepare my Personal Information Form, which is a very lengthy resume that will be circulated to churches as I look for jobs. It’s an “essay” resume, where you have to write and reflect on what kind of call you want, describing your theology and views of the church etc. It’ll take some work, so I’m glad I can start thinking about it now. I’m just thrilled it’s on the calendar!
My small group of women began going through The Good and Beautiful God together last night, and I’m super stoked about doing this with them. It is a phenomenal book as you have all heard me advocating for on here in the past couple months.
I awoke last Monday to a distraught phone message from my dear friend Missy. Apparently our beloved pastor from my home church in Seattle has taken a call to be the head pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church down in the LA area. I have such mixed feelings about the whole thing. I had a feeling he wouldn’t be at Bethany forever. It is SUCH a healthy church & he has done some incredible ministry there, bringing it to the place of seriously one of the healthiest churches I’ve ever heard of on so many levels. Hollywood is a bit of a mess. It’s had a tumultuous history, and desperately needs someone with his gifts and skills to come in there and let God work through them. Dan is the perfect person for this job. So selfishly I’d love to keep him in Seattle, but I am excited for both him and Hollywood in this next season of life. We have a great church community here in LA, and get our own new pastor Aug. 1st, so we won’t be switching to Hollywood just so I can listen to Dan preach, but I do have a strong feeling I’ll be attending as many evening or alternative worship services there as I can! I have learned a TON about preaching from him, he really is one of my favorite people to listen to.
So this has gotten long enough--a lot of rambling about nothing super important, but I’m on an airplane right now and that’s about all the brain power I have left. I’ll be in Seattle this weekend for a former roommate’s wedding, and then next weekend will be in the Santa Cruz mountains for the wedding of a couple from Fuller (the groom has been in Charles’ small group for the past 3 years). Enjoy your weekend everyone!
My husband is about half way through one of his summer courses--Pentateuch (the 1st 5 books of the Bible), and he seems to really be enjoying it. It is an awesome class, I took it 4 summers ago, you definitely learn a lot! This is the class where one tackles the whole issue of “is everything in the Old Testament actually literal, or are some things more metaphorical?” He takes another 2 week intensive class at the end of July, and then he is DONE with school work!
I am SO SO SO excited for the month of August, and this fall--we have a TON of stuff coming up that makes me happy :) August will find us chaperoning our church’s high school houseboat trip, which was a blast last year, and then heading to the Hanson family reunion in Colorado for 5 days. September brings with it a potential trip to Japan (although that’s not set in stone yet). October brings weddings three weekends in a row, plus the birth of our new niece/nephew, my little niece’s 1st birthday, and my final assessment with my committee in Seattle so I’ll be able to start looking for an ordained call. My parents just booked plane tickets to come out here in November--it will have been almost 3 years since they will have been here, and we are so excited to show them some new LA spots they haven’t seen.
My husband and I recently counted all the weddings we are either invited to or are participating in this year, and it’s a LOT! Good thing I love weddings so much--we have 11 of them in 2010! He was/is an usher in two, and the minister in one. I’m a bridesmaid in 3 of them--including one on New Year’s Eve (so Becca’s just sneaked into our 2010 count!) We are thrilled for all these amazing couples in our lives getting married and so honored to stand with many of them as they begin their lives together.
I’ve arrived at a really peaceful place these days--which I am really thankful for. I feel like God is really giving me confidence that somehow plans will work out for our family in this whole call process. I’m content with where we are now--not thrilled about doing administrative work all the time, but I am so thankful for the jobs I have, for the church we are in, for our Fuller community of friends, and I trust that we’ll move from this place when we are called. I no longer want to cry or panic as I think about the job hunt process, I’m actually feeling cautiously optimistic about it, and peaceful.
Speaking of job hunts/ordination process--I just scheduled my next big step! October 5th I’ll be back in Seattle for my final assessment with my Committee on Preparation for Ministry! It’s a scary meeting, one I’ve been dreading for about 4 years...but I’m actually feeling ready and excited. I told my friend Becca the other day (who never seems to have any shortage of self confidence in her!) that I was ready to rock this meeting...too bad I have to wait 3 months. But it’s a TON of work getting ready for it, so I guess it’s good that I have this time. I have to preach a sermon to them, turn in my sermon research so they can check my exegesis, defend my Statement of Faith (I had to write my SOF for my candidacy meeting two months ago, but this time I really have to be prepared to defend it on the spot), and prepare my Personal Information Form, which is a very lengthy resume that will be circulated to churches as I look for jobs. It’s an “essay” resume, where you have to write and reflect on what kind of call you want, describing your theology and views of the church etc. It’ll take some work, so I’m glad I can start thinking about it now. I’m just thrilled it’s on the calendar!
My small group of women began going through The Good and Beautiful God together last night, and I’m super stoked about doing this with them. It is a phenomenal book as you have all heard me advocating for on here in the past couple months.
I awoke last Monday to a distraught phone message from my dear friend Missy. Apparently our beloved pastor from my home church in Seattle has taken a call to be the head pastor of Hollywood Presbyterian Church down in the LA area. I have such mixed feelings about the whole thing. I had a feeling he wouldn’t be at Bethany forever. It is SUCH a healthy church & he has done some incredible ministry there, bringing it to the place of seriously one of the healthiest churches I’ve ever heard of on so many levels. Hollywood is a bit of a mess. It’s had a tumultuous history, and desperately needs someone with his gifts and skills to come in there and let God work through them. Dan is the perfect person for this job. So selfishly I’d love to keep him in Seattle, but I am excited for both him and Hollywood in this next season of life. We have a great church community here in LA, and get our own new pastor Aug. 1st, so we won’t be switching to Hollywood just so I can listen to Dan preach, but I do have a strong feeling I’ll be attending as many evening or alternative worship services there as I can! I have learned a TON about preaching from him, he really is one of my favorite people to listen to.
So this has gotten long enough--a lot of rambling about nothing super important, but I’m on an airplane right now and that’s about all the brain power I have left. I’ll be in Seattle this weekend for a former roommate’s wedding, and then next weekend will be in the Santa Cruz mountains for the wedding of a couple from Fuller (the groom has been in Charles’ small group for the past 3 years). Enjoy your weekend everyone!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
It is for Freedom...
I have developed a bit of a tumultuous relationship with the 4th of July over the past few years--it used to be one of my favorite holidays--and in many ways, it is. I love BBQ's, picnics, hanging out with friends in the dusky summer evenings as fireworks light up the sky. Everything about that is fun and quite enjoyable to me. (We won't talk about the 4th of July of 2006 where I was "elected" by the Presbyterian student leadership team here at Fuller to join our very determined leader at 6 AM to stake out our spots for the fireworks display that night. Yes, I literally sat in a park for 15 hours waiting for fireworks to begin. Or the following 4th of July where a group of us went to Long Beach to see the fireworks and never saw any of them--it seems we were facing the wrong direction and never saw or heard them being shot off behind us. Then it took us at least 3 hours to get home in traffic....yeah we won't talk about those years....)
I am all for remembering our nation's history, and I think having celebrations of our country is important. I may not be 100% pro-military or completely on board with the current war we are fighting, but I am 100% for honoring and remembering the sacrifices our service men, women, and families have made. I think it's important to ask veterans to stand during the announcement portion of our worship service and let people see who around them have served our country so selflessly. Where I tend to get a bit wary (okay, maybe flat out frightened) is when our worship services on the Sunday surrounding a patriotic holiday turn into a worshiping of America. I am so grateful that I was born here, that I am a citizen of a terrific place to live, but I am also very aware of the tragedy that can (and has) happened when people confuse God and country, and begin to see them as they same entity. We've seen throughout history what has happened when individuals begin to look around for something to place their trust in, for someone to rescue them when things are difficult. Jesus knew our human propensity to want someone to believe in, to follow, to trust. He also recognizes that while we're on earth, there has to be powers and systems in place to govern how society functions. He commands his disciples to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's--there's a distinction and separation here that I think is essential. I don't believe teachers should be teaching our kid's how to pray in school (I want to be the one to shape that in my child and I imagine my child's Muslim or Jewish friends would feel the same way) and I don't think our worship services on Sundays should venture into the realm of patriotism.
A friend of mine was asked to preach a few years ago on 4th of July weekend. The choir anthem immediately before the sermon was "America, America, we Give Our Best to Thee." My friend was appalled--the lyrics of the song bordered on flat out blasphemy--yet no one else seemed to have a problem with the fact that this was sung as the sermon preparation hymn on this particular patriotic weekend. There was no mention of Jesus, no mention of the fact that we actually do NOT give our best to America, we serve God, and those are two entirely different things. He preached his sermon, focusing on the text of the day, preaching the Good News of the freedom we have in Christ, and later received complaints that he didn't preach a "4th of July sermon" (whatever that is). That is a very telling statement about where the hearts and focus of this particular congregation was that weekend.
As we enjoy our celebrations this weekend, let us do so with excitement and joy! But as we go into worship tomorrow morning, let us do so remembering that the only true freedom that matters, the freedom that will be there long after America has passed away, is the freedom we have in Christ, because of Christ's sacrifice. For it is for freedom from the powers of sin and death that Christ has come to set us free.
I am all for remembering our nation's history, and I think having celebrations of our country is important. I may not be 100% pro-military or completely on board with the current war we are fighting, but I am 100% for honoring and remembering the sacrifices our service men, women, and families have made. I think it's important to ask veterans to stand during the announcement portion of our worship service and let people see who around them have served our country so selflessly. Where I tend to get a bit wary (okay, maybe flat out frightened) is when our worship services on the Sunday surrounding a patriotic holiday turn into a worshiping of America. I am so grateful that I was born here, that I am a citizen of a terrific place to live, but I am also very aware of the tragedy that can (and has) happened when people confuse God and country, and begin to see them as they same entity. We've seen throughout history what has happened when individuals begin to look around for something to place their trust in, for someone to rescue them when things are difficult. Jesus knew our human propensity to want someone to believe in, to follow, to trust. He also recognizes that while we're on earth, there has to be powers and systems in place to govern how society functions. He commands his disciples to give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's--there's a distinction and separation here that I think is essential. I don't believe teachers should be teaching our kid's how to pray in school (I want to be the one to shape that in my child and I imagine my child's Muslim or Jewish friends would feel the same way) and I don't think our worship services on Sundays should venture into the realm of patriotism.
A friend of mine was asked to preach a few years ago on 4th of July weekend. The choir anthem immediately before the sermon was "America, America, we Give Our Best to Thee." My friend was appalled--the lyrics of the song bordered on flat out blasphemy--yet no one else seemed to have a problem with the fact that this was sung as the sermon preparation hymn on this particular patriotic weekend. There was no mention of Jesus, no mention of the fact that we actually do NOT give our best to America, we serve God, and those are two entirely different things. He preached his sermon, focusing on the text of the day, preaching the Good News of the freedom we have in Christ, and later received complaints that he didn't preach a "4th of July sermon" (whatever that is). That is a very telling statement about where the hearts and focus of this particular congregation was that weekend.
As we enjoy our celebrations this weekend, let us do so with excitement and joy! But as we go into worship tomorrow morning, let us do so remembering that the only true freedom that matters, the freedom that will be there long after America has passed away, is the freedom we have in Christ, because of Christ's sacrifice. For it is for freedom from the powers of sin and death that Christ has come to set us free.
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