This morning as I sat down for quiet time with God, I began as I always do with my journal. The first thing I do is write diagonally across the top of the page the day of the week and the date and then put a little squiggle line underneath it all before I start rambling to God, myself and what ever small critters might be inhabiting the porch at the time. This morning after I wrote "Wednesday" I went to record the date and I wasn't sure what it was; however, I knew for certain that Sunday as the 25th, so I counted on my fingers, "Monday 26, Tuesday 27, Wednesday 28.....today is Wednesday, July 28th." As soon as I had written it down and made my squiggle, I got to thinking about what I just did and realized that I do that alot. I mark time from Sunday, almost always. Granted I am a pastor and I know the date of Sunday, but I found it interesting that I was using the Lord's Day to mark time for me. It was the stationary point of truth that I knew without a doubt and could figure the rest out from there.
It seems there might be a life lesson in that revelation somewhere. Marking time with God. We do it as a church with the church calendar. It is never that we think January, February, March; rather we think in terms of Advent, Christmas, Ephiphany; Lent, Easter, Pentecost and then we end up with ordinary time. We use those events in the life of Jesus to mark the events in the life of the Church. While some write that off as the trappings of tradition that have no significance, there is something beautiful and calming about it. Rather than the boundaries of our life being marked by minutes and hours, they become marked by God and what He has done and is doing.
Along those lines I sometimes think that Roman Catholics got it right with having seven sacraments. Within their sacramental structure are the means by which we can mark the time of our life through God events. Baptism, Communion, Confirmation become markers from birth to sixish to twelvish. Marriage, Penance and Last Rites become the markers for adult life, with penance filling that large gap of space between marriage and death. There is something beautiful about marking the time of your life by the last time you experienced the forgiveness of God, which is what penance is really about. The question is asked When was the last time you experienced God's forgiveness?" The answer comes back, "Last Tuesday, when I came from confession." The spiritual becomes the boundary markers of our life rather than the practical.
How would our lives be different if we used significant God events to mark our lives? What if in addition to celebrating birthdays, we celebrated the anniversaries of Baptism? What if instead of celebrating wedding anniversaries at a fancy restuarant we celebrated them at church as we look what God has done inside that marriage over the last however many years? What if instead of remembering that Sunday was the 25th so Wednesday must be the 28th, we remembered experiencing the presence of God in a life transforming way on July 12th and it has been two weeks and two days since then so today must be the 28th? Time, as in seconds, minutes, hours and days, is always going to be the practical boundaries of our lives, but what if instead of marking life by the practical we choose instead to keep God as the center of our life and use spiritual markers as the boundaries and markers? How would that change how we think about God's interaction in our lives?
Grace and Peace be with you all,
Faron
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Book Review: Sacred Stone by Clive Cussler
by Clive Cussler with Craig Dirgo
published in 2004 by The Berkley Publishing Group
Summary: I had commented on the fiction books that brought Cussler and Dirgo together in my review of The Silent Sea (The Oregon Files)
, so I decided to go back and read all of the early Oregon Files and this was the first one on hand. It is the second book in the series and still has the huge cast of characters that was found in Golden Buddha (The Oregon Files)
, but once again Juan Cabrillo leads the Corporation from Greenland to London and ultimately the Middle East as he seeks to undo two terrorist plots from two opposing teams. One team is a Muslim extremist group who seeks to destroy London with a stolen nuclear warhead. The other is led by a billionaire business man whose grief and anger have caused him to plot the destruction of the whole of the Islamic religion. It all starts with the archaeological discovery of a meteorite shrine established by the viking, Eric the Red. This meteorite, when combined with the destructive power of a nuclear weapon, has the ability to start a plague that can destroy the earth. Juan and bunch, working with Overholt and the CIA, has their work cut out for them as they once again attempt to save the civilized world.Review: Sacred Stone (The Oregon Files)
is a good read, but it does have the same problem that Golden Buddha (The Oregon Files) had and that is a cast of characters that is entirely too large. You do not have the opportunity and the writers do not take the time to help you connect with the characters. The DuBrul portion of the Oregon Files is much better, but you can still enjoy Sacred Stone and Buddha for that matter. I would encourage you if you have not read any Oregon Files, to start with the later books and then go back and read the first two. By doing so you will have established a relationship with the smaller cast of characters which will give you a much greater appreciation for them than is possible from the first two books alone.Reading Recommendation: YES, but only after you have read some of the later Oregon Files books.
Sermon: Audio File from July 25, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, July 25, 2010. It is titled "The Agony of a Failed Marriage," and the text is Hosea 1:2-10.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, July 25, 2010. It is titled "The Agony of a Failed Marriage," and the text is Hosea 1:2-10.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Thursday, July 22, 2010
More Than a Porch Sitter
Greetings All,
As many of you know from having joined me or others from having driven by and seen me, perhaps my most favorite pastime these days is porch sitting. If the temperature is right you can find me late at night or early morning kicked back on my front porch with my guitar, or the Bible and my quiet time materials, or my children, or Christa, or friends. The porch is the place where you can just be, there is no doing allowed on the porch; no projects or tasks or "to do" lists. It is the place of being; being alone when I need that time to myself, being with God, being with others. With the exceptions of the times I need to have those "dad talks" with the kids, it is a place of great peace and comfort. If you don't have a porch, you need one!
Yesterday morning, I had finished treadmilling and was ready to sit down for quiet time and decided to move out to the porch because the temperature was just perfect. It was still early, probably sevenish, and there was a slight breeze blowing. As I sat there journaling and reading the wind began to pick up and the sky began to darken. As I looked up into the sky the clouds were getting dark and moving fast. A storm was coming and you could feel it in the air. While I hate being caught out in the rain, I love that feeling before a big storm. The air is sort of charged with energy and you skin just kind of tingles. Well my skin started to tingle and then the lightning began to flash and the thunder began to crash and suddenly the bottom fell out of the sky. It was pouring so hard my gutters couldn't keep up and they were overflowing right in front of the house. The lightning flashed, the thunder rolled, the rain poured and I..............................sat in my chair and kept reading.
Yes, the atmosphere around me was filled with storm. Wind, rain, lightning and thunder, but up underneath my porch I was protected and safe. I was far enough back that the water was reaching me when the wind blew. I had a cover over my head so I didn't need to worry about lightning and I was listening to Diana Krall on my Mp3 player so the thunder really wasn't a factor. I kept enjoying my time with the Lord and enjoying the storm raging around me. I couldn't help but think while I was sitting amidst that storm on my porch focused on God; and the thought I kept having was that God is kind of like a porch in our lives.
The porch is the place you can retreat to during a storm to be out of the rain and wind, but it is still open to the elements. The closer you get to the edge the more chance there is of the elements affecting you and the more the storm rages the more they push in towards the back of the porch. Eventually the wind started blowing hard enough yesterday that I had to retreat inside because my books were getting wet. Isn't God the same way, we can retreat into Him when the storms begin to rage and He will offer shelter from those storms of life. He will keep the rain off our head and block the wind from certain directions, but He will never fully protect us from all of the elements because it is in the storms of life that we learn and grow. He also leaves the sides wide open so we can exercise our free will anytime we want and jump back out to play in the storm. Just as the porch is a place of peace and comfort amidst the storms of the world, God is a place of peace and comfort amidst the storms of life.
The next time the rain, wind and lightning kick up grab your Bible and head out to the porch and spend some time with the creator of that storm. He is not only the perfect porch amidst the storms of life He is more than a porch sitting companion to spend time with as you enjoy the storm raging around your little porch oasis.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
As many of you know from having joined me or others from having driven by and seen me, perhaps my most favorite pastime these days is porch sitting. If the temperature is right you can find me late at night or early morning kicked back on my front porch with my guitar, or the Bible and my quiet time materials, or my children, or Christa, or friends. The porch is the place where you can just be, there is no doing allowed on the porch; no projects or tasks or "to do" lists. It is the place of being; being alone when I need that time to myself, being with God, being with others. With the exceptions of the times I need to have those "dad talks" with the kids, it is a place of great peace and comfort. If you don't have a porch, you need one!
Yesterday morning, I had finished treadmilling and was ready to sit down for quiet time and decided to move out to the porch because the temperature was just perfect. It was still early, probably sevenish, and there was a slight breeze blowing. As I sat there journaling and reading the wind began to pick up and the sky began to darken. As I looked up into the sky the clouds were getting dark and moving fast. A storm was coming and you could feel it in the air. While I hate being caught out in the rain, I love that feeling before a big storm. The air is sort of charged with energy and you skin just kind of tingles. Well my skin started to tingle and then the lightning began to flash and the thunder began to crash and suddenly the bottom fell out of the sky. It was pouring so hard my gutters couldn't keep up and they were overflowing right in front of the house. The lightning flashed, the thunder rolled, the rain poured and I..............................sat in my chair and kept reading.
Yes, the atmosphere around me was filled with storm. Wind, rain, lightning and thunder, but up underneath my porch I was protected and safe. I was far enough back that the water was reaching me when the wind blew. I had a cover over my head so I didn't need to worry about lightning and I was listening to Diana Krall on my Mp3 player so the thunder really wasn't a factor. I kept enjoying my time with the Lord and enjoying the storm raging around me. I couldn't help but think while I was sitting amidst that storm on my porch focused on God; and the thought I kept having was that God is kind of like a porch in our lives.
The porch is the place you can retreat to during a storm to be out of the rain and wind, but it is still open to the elements. The closer you get to the edge the more chance there is of the elements affecting you and the more the storm rages the more they push in towards the back of the porch. Eventually the wind started blowing hard enough yesterday that I had to retreat inside because my books were getting wet. Isn't God the same way, we can retreat into Him when the storms begin to rage and He will offer shelter from those storms of life. He will keep the rain off our head and block the wind from certain directions, but He will never fully protect us from all of the elements because it is in the storms of life that we learn and grow. He also leaves the sides wide open so we can exercise our free will anytime we want and jump back out to play in the storm. Just as the porch is a place of peace and comfort amidst the storms of the world, God is a place of peace and comfort amidst the storms of life.
The next time the rain, wind and lightning kick up grab your Bible and head out to the porch and spend some time with the creator of that storm. He is not only the perfect porch amidst the storms of life He is more than a porch sitting companion to spend time with as you enjoy the storm raging around your little porch oasis.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Book Review: The Silent Sea by Clive Cussler
By Clive Cussler with Jack Du Brul
Published in 2010 by Putnam
Summary: This is Cussler's latest installment in his Oregon Files series which highlight the action and antics of the Corporation led by Chairman Juan Cabrillo. This is the seventh book in this series, the first two were written by Cussler with Craig Dirgo, but from the third on he has enlisted the writing help of Du Brul and the series is better for it. The Silent Sea (The Oregon Files)
picks up where Corsair (The Oregon Files)
left off. The Oregon is done being refitted and repaired after its brawl with the Libyan warship and is back in action as the Corporation keeps up its false reputation of being a run down ship that makes its living from the underbelly of society. As the deal is going down, the phone rings and Langston Overholt IV calls on the Corporation once again to act on behalf of the United States in a clandestine, but lucrative way. Once again, the balance of world power is at sway and it is connected with a discovery by five brothers in a pit in 1941. Cussler and Du Brul lead readers on a journey of intense and suspenseful action from Brazil to Argentina to the Pacific Northwest and ultimately to the frozen wastelands of Antarctica. As the team once again works together to undermine the world dominating plans of a new national foe.Review: When this series first began with Dirgo as a co-author it was disliked by many Cussler fans because there were too many characters and the plots often felt confused as they tried to work in material about all of the characters. The other challenge was that Dirgo was as much a non-fiction writer working with Cussler on The Sea Hunters: True Adventures with Famous Shipwrecks
and The Sea Hunters II
which was taking its toll on his fiction writing in much the same way that Tom Clancy's non-fiction work, in my opinion, negatively impacted his fiction. While I did not hate the series like many others, it was definitely my least favorite; however, since the new partnership with Du Brul my opinion has completely reversed and in many ways this is becoming one of my favorite Cussler series. The cast of characters has been reduced and they are written in a compelling way that reveals each of their distinct personalities. You blush with Max Hanley in the presence of the professor because you genuinely like him and feel like you know him. You ache with Juan at the cost of a mission gone awry because you know the pride he has in success and the love he has for his people; but it is not only the compelling characters that make this a good read. The plot is very relevant to current world events and the pacing of the book keeps the pages turning until you find yourself on Amazon.com looking up the release date of the next installment of the series. This series is different from Dirk or Kurt in that it is much more espionage and clandestine black ops conducted by a patriotic yet rogue corporation. That being said it is written just as well as any of Cussler's other series and is definitely worth a read. Reading Recommendation: YES
A Poem by Thomas Merton
Good morning all,
This poem by Merton just rung so beautifully in my ears this morning during quiet time that I had to share it here.
Evening
by Thomas Merton
Now, in the middle of the limpid evening,
The moon speaks clearly to the hill.
The wheatfields make their simple music,
Praise the quiet sky.
And down the road, the way the stars come home,
The cries of children
Play on the empty air, a mile or more,
And fall on our deserted hearing,
Clear as water.
They say the sky is made of glass,
They say the smiling moon's a bride.
They say they love the orchards and apple trees,
The trees, their innocent sisters, dressed in blossoms,
Still wearing, in the blurring dusk,
White dresses from that morning's first communion.
And, where blue heaven's fading fire last shines
They name the new come planets
With words that flower
On little voices, light as stems of lilies.
And where blue heaven's fading fire last shines,
Reflected in the poplar's ripple,
One little, wakeful bird
Sings like a shower.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
This poem by Merton just rung so beautifully in my ears this morning during quiet time that I had to share it here.
Evening
by Thomas Merton
Now, in the middle of the limpid evening,
The moon speaks clearly to the hill.
The wheatfields make their simple music,
Praise the quiet sky.
And down the road, the way the stars come home,
The cries of children
Play on the empty air, a mile or more,
And fall on our deserted hearing,
Clear as water.
They say the sky is made of glass,
They say the smiling moon's a bride.
They say they love the orchards and apple trees,
The trees, their innocent sisters, dressed in blossoms,
Still wearing, in the blurring dusk,
White dresses from that morning's first communion.
And, where blue heaven's fading fire last shines
They name the new come planets
With words that flower
On little voices, light as stems of lilies.
And where blue heaven's fading fire last shines,
Reflected in the poplar's ripple,
One little, wakeful bird
Sings like a shower.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sermon: Audio File from March 21, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, March 21, 2010. It is titled "Mary and the Messiah: An Unlikely Anointer of the Anointed," the text is John 12:1-8.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, March 21, 2010. It is titled "Mary and the Messiah: An Unlikely Anointer of the Anointed," the text is John 12:1-8.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File April 4, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010. It is titled "The Mystery of the Empty Tomb" and the text is Luke 24:1-12.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010. It is titled "The Mystery of the Empty Tomb" and the text is Luke 24:1-12.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File April 11, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, April 11, 2010. It is titled "The Need for Testimony!" and the text is John 20:19-31.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, April 11, 2010. It is titled "The Need for Testimony!" and the text is John 20:19-31.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File April 18, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, April 18, 2010. It is titled "A Rock and an Instrument: the Redeemed and the Forgiven," and the text is Acts 9:1-20.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, April 18, 2010. It is titled "A Rock and an Instrument: the Redeemed and the Forgiven," and the text is Acts 9:1-20.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File May 16, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, May 16, 2010. It is titled "12+12=ONE!" and the text is John 17:20-26.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, May 16, 2010. It is titled "12+12=ONE!" and the text is John 17:20-26.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File May 9, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, May 9, 2010. It is titled, "Happily Ever After: A Redemption Symphony" and the text is Revelation 21: 10, 22; 22:1-5.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, May 9, 2010. It is titled, "Happily Ever After: A Redemption Symphony" and the text is Revelation 21: 10, 22; 22:1-5.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File May 23, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, May 23, 2010. It is titled, "Speaking to Everyone!" and the text is Acts 2:1-21
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, May 23, 2010. It is titled, "Speaking to Everyone!" and the text is Acts 2:1-21
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File from July 4, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, July 4, 2010. It is titled, "The Nature of Testimony" and the text is 2nd Peter 1:10-21.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, July 4, 2010. It is titled, "The Nature of Testimony" and the text is 2nd Peter 1:10-21.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File from July 11, 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, July 11, 2010. It is titled, "A Theological Mess!" and the text is 2nd Peter 2:1-22.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, July 11, 2010. It is titled, "A Theological Mess!" and the text is 2nd Peter 2:1-22.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Sermon: Audio File from July 18. 2010
Greetings All,
Here is the sermon from Sunday, July 18, 2010. It is titled, "A Hope to Believe In!" and the text is 2nd Peter 3:1-15.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Here is the sermon from Sunday, July 18, 2010. It is titled, "A Hope to Believe In!" and the text is 2nd Peter 3:1-15.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Friday, July 16, 2010
Sermon: Audio File from May 30, 2010
Greetings all,
I have been trying to figure out how to post the audio files of my sermons on the blog and at last I think I have accomplished it. Let's give it a try. Assuming this works you can look for these every Monday morning.
This is the sermon from Graduation Sunday, it consisted of three homilies, but only the second two are on the recording as I forgot to push record for the first one. The titles of all three are: What Does God See in You?, What Impossible Task is God Calling You To?, Independently Dependent! The texts for the three homilies are in order: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; 1 Samuel 17:1-12, 20-26, 32-37, 40-51; and Romans 8:31-39.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
I have been trying to figure out how to post the audio files of my sermons on the blog and at last I think I have accomplished it. Let's give it a try. Assuming this works you can look for these every Monday morning.
This is the sermon from Graduation Sunday, it consisted of three homilies, but only the second two are on the recording as I forgot to push record for the first one. The titles of all three are: What Does God See in You?, What Impossible Task is God Calling You To?, Independently Dependent! The texts for the three homilies are in order: 1 Samuel 16:1-13; 1 Samuel 17:1-12, 20-26, 32-37, 40-51; and Romans 8:31-39.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Anti-Social Architecture
When I was still in high school, one of my best friends had a dog named Wolf. He was a Keeshond and really looked like a wolf and my sister Lisa just loved him. To make matters worse my friend was moving from a house into an apartment and couldn't take Wolf with him and so Wolf needed to find a new home. Depending on your perspective on medium sized incredibly furry dogs his new home being my home might be considered good or bad. Lisa was happy and he was a pretty cool dog, but medium sized has only to do with body structure and not size of poop pile!
It wasn't too long after Wolf moved to his new residence that I began to develop a real aversion to privacy fences, because not too long after Wolf came our first ever privacy fence. I would like to tell you that the reason I hated it was because we didn't see our neighbors as much, but the real truth was that it confined Wolf to one area and whenever I mowed I had a massive quantity of large sized poop piles from a medium sized dog to navigate. All joking aside, looking back it did begin to create a social barrier that we had never known before.
When we lived in Springfield, Virginia we had a big backyard in a large suburban neighborhood and nobody had fences. As kids we would play football, soccer, baseball and have massive BB gun fights because the lack of fences created much larger playing areas. Our parents would have conversations in back yards with neighbors and I can remember lots of cookouts and knowing just about everyone on our block. I can still name you a bunch of families, the Pedersons, the Dedhams, the Mohlers; but time has let other names slip. What I can say with certainty is that we knew the people in the house behind us, oh yeah they were the Singers, for a couple of houses on either side of us, and four or five of the houses across the street from us. Were there social barriers then? Yes, black and white, boy and girl, civilian and military, divorced and married, drinkers and non drinkers, but all of those were able to be overcome, even if it did create some awkward moments. What there wasn't is architecture that created social barriers.
In Lake Charles the fence began to change things. When we moved into the house there was a privacy fence on the house behind us, so the back of our yard had a fence, but the yard was open on both sides. The Sims lived on one side of us and Beth's family lived on the other. Our families would talk and interact. I can remember Beth's dad getting a load of wood and a log splitter one weekend and dad and I spent the day helping him split wood and play with a very cool and manly toy. On a side note there are a few things every man needs in his masculinity tool box, the first without challenge is a chainsaw, the second should be a Bobcat, but the third I'm thinking should definitely be a log splitter. Okay back to architecture. We didn't plan the day as a helping project we were just out and talking and decided to spontaneously help, after all that is what neighbors do, or did back then. Whether it was raking, or mowing or having a crawfish boil, we were part of each others lives because we were on display to each other and it just didn't seem right to exclude.
One spring the Sims decided to get an above ground pool and there insurance company told them they had to have a privacy fence. I don't remember which came first the pool install or the fence install, but I do remember them running a hose from our house over the fence to fill it. I don't recall hundreds of hours spent swimming in the Sims' pool with them. The fence immediately began to change our relationship with them, but we still had Beth's family on the other side. It wasn't too long after the pool that Wolf came and since the bulk of our backyard was already fenced by other people's fences the logical choice to keep Wolf from wandering was to finish it off. I don't remember any spontaneous wood splitting Saturdays after that. What was a simple architectural solution to a wandering dog problem became a monumental social barrier.
In 1988 mom and dad moved to Mandeville, just north of New Orleans, and the house had a privacy fence before they ever bought it. I can't tell you the names of any neighbors. In 1995, they moved back to Lake Charles to the house they were building on their ten acres of land. On this road an old family farm was divided up into ten acre lots and due to the size there are horse fences but no privacy fences. Wouldn't you know it that we know the neighbors. The Nabours are their neighbors on one side, the Davies on the other. Across from them are the river boat pilot and the fellow who lost over a hundred trees in Hurricane Rita whose name I can't recall. No social architecture to cause barriers and the neighbors all know each other and help each other. If mom and dad are traveling to see the twins, a stranger better not pull into their driveway because Pat Davies is going to be out there confronting them from her Gator lickity split. Funny how something so simple could cause such a social impact.
I hate privacy fences today with a passion for all of the reasons I just described and none of the dog defecating issues that created the earlier aversion. It makes me sad to see what our world is becoming. At Bible study last night, Maxine who is a Mary Kay consultant commented how the most difficult sales objection to overcome for them now is "I don't have any friends," but if you think about it through architecture we have engineered ourselves into social isolation. No longer do we have front porches to sit on in the evening and visit with the neighbors as they walk past. No longer do we have carports or detached garages, we have a two car garage connected to the house that we can pull into our castle, shut the gate behind and walk into our abode without anyone ever speaking to us. Add to those two changes privacy fences and we now have an existence where we can live our entire lives without ever knowing the people living on either side of us. Architecture has become a self imposed social barrier and privacy fences have slowly begun to decay the fabric of our communities as we live with this false illusion that we don't need each other.
I am here to tell you that we do! Jesus will tell you that we do! First we need God; love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Second, love your neighbor as yourself. That is hard to do through a privacy fence. When we lived in Nicholasville while I was going to seminary we lived one house from the corner. The corner house was owned by Ronnie and Connie Scearce. We met in our backyard because neither of us had fences. Over the first two years we developed a very close and supportive relationship. Our kids played with their grand kids, Connie would play with Sarah and teach her how to "drop it like its hot," that's a dance move for those of you who don't know. I knew their adult children and their grandchildren, I hid Christmas presents and birthday presents that I didn't want Angie or the kids to know about at their house. I made them Cajun food, they fed me chitlins; but that all changed when the fence went up. I didn't see much of Connie and Ronnie the last year we lived there because their front door was on a different street than ours. We would talk occasionally, but things were just different. The only thing that had changed was eight foot sections of cedar boards.
This anti-social architecture is creating pockets of isolation in our societies that are creating pockets of isolation within ourselves. We need other people, we need Jesus with flesh on, we need to know that we are not alone in this world. Scientist want to travel to Mars, but one of the concerns of a Mars trip is social isolation for as long as that kind of trip would take, so they study it in places like Antarctica, but really they could look no further than our back yards and our social networking sites. We were never created to be alone and isolated no matter how many fences we create. We have an inherent need for connection with others. Our architecture has cut us off from our neighbors which has reduced us to having very few if any intimate relationships with those around us, but that doesn't change our need for that kind of social interaction.
While I would like to tell you that people are starting to tear down their fences and get to know their neighbors that is simply not the case. I would be even more excited to report to you that they are turning to church to make those kind of connections in record numbers, but also not the case. Where they are turning is social networking sites like Facebook. Thoughts we used to share with our neighbors we now put out there for the world to see. Things we would only tell a trusted few before we place on our wall as if it is graffiti for any passer by to see. We have traded real relationships built in backyards and on front porches for the illusion of Internet intimacy. No longer do we measure our friends by how many folks join us at a back yard BBQ, not we just look at this telling number on our Facebook page which tells us just how many friends we have. It is a number by which kids start to measure each other, "how many Facebook friends do you have? Oh, I've got a lot more than that."
This post is getting way way way too long and I could keep rambling on. I may pick this up tomorrow or later today, but let me finish with this. I hope I have made a case for the negative impact of privacy fences, garages and the lack of front porches on our social lives, but equally a strong case for our need for intimate social interaction through the evidence of how we turn to social networking. In all of that I hope you can see what a gift we have to offer people as Christians who are part of a church family. As children of God who are part of a family that is always there for each other. When we are sick, or hurting, or feeling lonely, or just need to talk we have numerous people from our church that we can pick up the phone and talk to, or jump in the car and go see. The one thing we all have in common is our belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Salvation of the World. Other than that we are like a Whitman's Sampler, lots of different candies with little in common brought together in one box. That is the testimony of the power of Jesus Christ, that many so different can become one. That people who are be definition self focused can become other focused. That the very people who have spent much of their lives walking around with a tattoo on their foreheads that says, "make me feel important," can replace with a tattoo that says, "how can I make you feel important?" The beauty of small churches is that there are no privacy fences. When we walk through the doors we are all right there warts and all with nothing to hide behind, but the Body loves us anyway. Let us in offering the love of Christ to people, offer the hope of intimate, trusting, joy filled, selfless relationships here on earth!
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
It wasn't too long after Wolf moved to his new residence that I began to develop a real aversion to privacy fences, because not too long after Wolf came our first ever privacy fence. I would like to tell you that the reason I hated it was because we didn't see our neighbors as much, but the real truth was that it confined Wolf to one area and whenever I mowed I had a massive quantity of large sized poop piles from a medium sized dog to navigate. All joking aside, looking back it did begin to create a social barrier that we had never known before.
When we lived in Springfield, Virginia we had a big backyard in a large suburban neighborhood and nobody had fences. As kids we would play football, soccer, baseball and have massive BB gun fights because the lack of fences created much larger playing areas. Our parents would have conversations in back yards with neighbors and I can remember lots of cookouts and knowing just about everyone on our block. I can still name you a bunch of families, the Pedersons, the Dedhams, the Mohlers; but time has let other names slip. What I can say with certainty is that we knew the people in the house behind us, oh yeah they were the Singers, for a couple of houses on either side of us, and four or five of the houses across the street from us. Were there social barriers then? Yes, black and white, boy and girl, civilian and military, divorced and married, drinkers and non drinkers, but all of those were able to be overcome, even if it did create some awkward moments. What there wasn't is architecture that created social barriers.
In Lake Charles the fence began to change things. When we moved into the house there was a privacy fence on the house behind us, so the back of our yard had a fence, but the yard was open on both sides. The Sims lived on one side of us and Beth's family lived on the other. Our families would talk and interact. I can remember Beth's dad getting a load of wood and a log splitter one weekend and dad and I spent the day helping him split wood and play with a very cool and manly toy. On a side note there are a few things every man needs in his masculinity tool box, the first without challenge is a chainsaw, the second should be a Bobcat, but the third I'm thinking should definitely be a log splitter. Okay back to architecture. We didn't plan the day as a helping project we were just out and talking and decided to spontaneously help, after all that is what neighbors do, or did back then. Whether it was raking, or mowing or having a crawfish boil, we were part of each others lives because we were on display to each other and it just didn't seem right to exclude.
One spring the Sims decided to get an above ground pool and there insurance company told them they had to have a privacy fence. I don't remember which came first the pool install or the fence install, but I do remember them running a hose from our house over the fence to fill it. I don't recall hundreds of hours spent swimming in the Sims' pool with them. The fence immediately began to change our relationship with them, but we still had Beth's family on the other side. It wasn't too long after the pool that Wolf came and since the bulk of our backyard was already fenced by other people's fences the logical choice to keep Wolf from wandering was to finish it off. I don't remember any spontaneous wood splitting Saturdays after that. What was a simple architectural solution to a wandering dog problem became a monumental social barrier.
In 1988 mom and dad moved to Mandeville, just north of New Orleans, and the house had a privacy fence before they ever bought it. I can't tell you the names of any neighbors. In 1995, they moved back to Lake Charles to the house they were building on their ten acres of land. On this road an old family farm was divided up into ten acre lots and due to the size there are horse fences but no privacy fences. Wouldn't you know it that we know the neighbors. The Nabours are their neighbors on one side, the Davies on the other. Across from them are the river boat pilot and the fellow who lost over a hundred trees in Hurricane Rita whose name I can't recall. No social architecture to cause barriers and the neighbors all know each other and help each other. If mom and dad are traveling to see the twins, a stranger better not pull into their driveway because Pat Davies is going to be out there confronting them from her Gator lickity split. Funny how something so simple could cause such a social impact.
I hate privacy fences today with a passion for all of the reasons I just described and none of the dog defecating issues that created the earlier aversion. It makes me sad to see what our world is becoming. At Bible study last night, Maxine who is a Mary Kay consultant commented how the most difficult sales objection to overcome for them now is "I don't have any friends," but if you think about it through architecture we have engineered ourselves into social isolation. No longer do we have front porches to sit on in the evening and visit with the neighbors as they walk past. No longer do we have carports or detached garages, we have a two car garage connected to the house that we can pull into our castle, shut the gate behind and walk into our abode without anyone ever speaking to us. Add to those two changes privacy fences and we now have an existence where we can live our entire lives without ever knowing the people living on either side of us. Architecture has become a self imposed social barrier and privacy fences have slowly begun to decay the fabric of our communities as we live with this false illusion that we don't need each other.
I am here to tell you that we do! Jesus will tell you that we do! First we need God; love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Second, love your neighbor as yourself. That is hard to do through a privacy fence. When we lived in Nicholasville while I was going to seminary we lived one house from the corner. The corner house was owned by Ronnie and Connie Scearce. We met in our backyard because neither of us had fences. Over the first two years we developed a very close and supportive relationship. Our kids played with their grand kids, Connie would play with Sarah and teach her how to "drop it like its hot," that's a dance move for those of you who don't know. I knew their adult children and their grandchildren, I hid Christmas presents and birthday presents that I didn't want Angie or the kids to know about at their house. I made them Cajun food, they fed me chitlins; but that all changed when the fence went up. I didn't see much of Connie and Ronnie the last year we lived there because their front door was on a different street than ours. We would talk occasionally, but things were just different. The only thing that had changed was eight foot sections of cedar boards.
This anti-social architecture is creating pockets of isolation in our societies that are creating pockets of isolation within ourselves. We need other people, we need Jesus with flesh on, we need to know that we are not alone in this world. Scientist want to travel to Mars, but one of the concerns of a Mars trip is social isolation for as long as that kind of trip would take, so they study it in places like Antarctica, but really they could look no further than our back yards and our social networking sites. We were never created to be alone and isolated no matter how many fences we create. We have an inherent need for connection with others. Our architecture has cut us off from our neighbors which has reduced us to having very few if any intimate relationships with those around us, but that doesn't change our need for that kind of social interaction.
While I would like to tell you that people are starting to tear down their fences and get to know their neighbors that is simply not the case. I would be even more excited to report to you that they are turning to church to make those kind of connections in record numbers, but also not the case. Where they are turning is social networking sites like Facebook. Thoughts we used to share with our neighbors we now put out there for the world to see. Things we would only tell a trusted few before we place on our wall as if it is graffiti for any passer by to see. We have traded real relationships built in backyards and on front porches for the illusion of Internet intimacy. No longer do we measure our friends by how many folks join us at a back yard BBQ, not we just look at this telling number on our Facebook page which tells us just how many friends we have. It is a number by which kids start to measure each other, "how many Facebook friends do you have? Oh, I've got a lot more than that."
This post is getting way way way too long and I could keep rambling on. I may pick this up tomorrow or later today, but let me finish with this. I hope I have made a case for the negative impact of privacy fences, garages and the lack of front porches on our social lives, but equally a strong case for our need for intimate social interaction through the evidence of how we turn to social networking. In all of that I hope you can see what a gift we have to offer people as Christians who are part of a church family. As children of God who are part of a family that is always there for each other. When we are sick, or hurting, or feeling lonely, or just need to talk we have numerous people from our church that we can pick up the phone and talk to, or jump in the car and go see. The one thing we all have in common is our belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Salvation of the World. Other than that we are like a Whitman's Sampler, lots of different candies with little in common brought together in one box. That is the testimony of the power of Jesus Christ, that many so different can become one. That people who are be definition self focused can become other focused. That the very people who have spent much of their lives walking around with a tattoo on their foreheads that says, "make me feel important," can replace with a tattoo that says, "how can I make you feel important?" The beauty of small churches is that there are no privacy fences. When we walk through the doors we are all right there warts and all with nothing to hide behind, but the Body loves us anyway. Let us in offering the love of Christ to people, offer the hope of intimate, trusting, joy filled, selfless relationships here on earth!
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Naming the Nameless
On July 29th barring court intervention Arizona's new immigration law will become effective and start to be enforced. It has been the subject of great controversy between two sides in this grand drama of impersonal rhetoric. One side says, "the illegals are taking our jobs, our money, bringing us drugs and violence," they look at so many bad parts of America and decide to blame it on the "illegals." The other side says, "the new law regarding illegals will lead to Hispanic profiling and that would not be right or politically correct and so we shouldn't do it;" for this side it is about the higher issue of race relations and equality.
have yet to encounter really loud voices on either side that move this from and impersonal theoretical debate to a personal discussion about the lives of specific human beings. Discussions about Jose or Juanita or Felix or Maria or Juan. Discussions about people working jobs nobody wants for less than minimum wage to send back to support their families in Mexico who make only pennies a day. Discussions about hope, or freedom, or love of humanity. Rather we all seem to get bogged down in this impersonal rhetoric with which we can become very self righteous. We don't name the people that this affects, we simply refer to them in a very condemning tone as "illegals," not as human beings with value or worth, not as children of God, not as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. As long as we remain impersonal, we can remain indignant; but the moment we begin to personalize it to the cute little girl named Maria at the vegetable stand; the moment we begin to flesh out a face for the "illegals," our seemingly impenetrable towers of self-righteous indignation begin to crumble.
I know this will shock you, but this morning I was once again reading Thomas Merton. An article entitled "Conquistador, Tourist, and Indian" from "A Letter to Pablo Antonio Cuadra concerning Giants" (A Thomas Merton Reader, Image, 1974). Writing post-World War II and pre-Vietnam, he is noting how the superpowers of America and Russia are likely to wipe each other out thus leaving the Third World, places like Central and Latin America as the new "super powers." Amidst that he begins to discuss our failings as a country, as a church, as human beings of recognizing the value and worth that citizens of these countries and people of these ethnicities have to offer our world. He pulls no punches, "Let me be quite succinct: the greatest sin of the European-Russian-American complex which we call the West (and this sin has spread its own way to China), is not only greed and cruelty, not only moral dishonesty and infidelity to truth, but above all its unmitigated arrogance toward the rest of the human race. Western civilization is now in full decline into barbarism (a barbarism that springs from within itself) because it has been guilty of a twofold disloyalty: to God and to Man" (pg. 305).
Writing over sixty years ago he succinctly, to use his words, captures the very problem we are facing today. Our impersonal rhetoric is a product of our arrogance towards those in the world we don't understand. We don't understand their language, their culture, their value and family systems so we get afraid and step into our protective powers of national pride and rather than try to understand we disengage in the same way we as tourists disengage the foreign cultures we go to see. The truth and reality of our situation in America is that there are millions of people who have entered this country illegally, but they are still human beings and most of them are just trying to provide for their families.
As Christians we need to enter this debate with a different voice than either side of it in the secular world. As Christians we need to begin to personalize it, because all of the "illegals" are personal to God. All of them are children that He loves and cherishes and wants to bless just as He wants to bless us. This may come as a surprise, but God's blessing is not reserved exclusively for Americans. My goal with this post wasn't really to argue the law and policy one way or the other, I was just inspired by Merton to point out how we need to move this discussion from the impersonal to the personal, from the valueless to those valued by God, from statistics to families.
Forgive me this long quote from Merton, but I think it so captures the challenge we are faced with when we as Christians try to decide how we are going to respond to our "illegal immigration problem" and so I present it as the closing statement of this post.
"The tourist never meets anyone, never encounters anyone, never finds the brother in the stranger. This is his tragedy.
If only North America had realized, after a hundred and fifty years, that Latin Americans really existed. That they were really people. that they spoke a different language. That they had a culture. That they had more than something to sell! Money has totally corrupted the brotherhood that should have united all the peoples of America. It has destroyed the sense of relationship, the spiritual community that had already begun to flourish in the years of Bolivar. But no! Most North Americans still don't know, and don't care, that Brazil speaks a language other than Spanish, that all Latin Americans do not live for the siesta, that all do not spend their days and nights playing the guitar and making love. They have never awakened to the fact that Latin America is by and large culturally superior to the United States, not only on the level of the wealthy minority which has absorbed more of the sophistication of Europe, but also among the desperately poor indigenous cultures, some of which are rooted in a past that has never yet been surpassed on this continent.
So the tourist drinks tequila, and thinks it is no good, and waits for the fiesta he has been told to wait for. how should he realize that the Indian who walks down the street with half a house on his head and a hole in his pants, is Christ? All the tourist thinks is that it is odd for so many Indians to be called Jesus" (pg. 309)
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
have yet to encounter really loud voices on either side that move this from and impersonal theoretical debate to a personal discussion about the lives of specific human beings. Discussions about Jose or Juanita or Felix or Maria or Juan. Discussions about people working jobs nobody wants for less than minimum wage to send back to support their families in Mexico who make only pennies a day. Discussions about hope, or freedom, or love of humanity. Rather we all seem to get bogged down in this impersonal rhetoric with which we can become very self righteous. We don't name the people that this affects, we simply refer to them in a very condemning tone as "illegals," not as human beings with value or worth, not as children of God, not as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. As long as we remain impersonal, we can remain indignant; but the moment we begin to personalize it to the cute little girl named Maria at the vegetable stand; the moment we begin to flesh out a face for the "illegals," our seemingly impenetrable towers of self-righteous indignation begin to crumble.
I know this will shock you, but this morning I was once again reading Thomas Merton. An article entitled "Conquistador, Tourist, and Indian" from "A Letter to Pablo Antonio Cuadra concerning Giants" (A Thomas Merton Reader, Image, 1974). Writing post-World War II and pre-Vietnam, he is noting how the superpowers of America and Russia are likely to wipe each other out thus leaving the Third World, places like Central and Latin America as the new "super powers." Amidst that he begins to discuss our failings as a country, as a church, as human beings of recognizing the value and worth that citizens of these countries and people of these ethnicities have to offer our world. He pulls no punches, "Let me be quite succinct: the greatest sin of the European-Russian-American complex which we call the West (and this sin has spread its own way to China), is not only greed and cruelty, not only moral dishonesty and infidelity to truth, but above all its unmitigated arrogance toward the rest of the human race. Western civilization is now in full decline into barbarism (a barbarism that springs from within itself) because it has been guilty of a twofold disloyalty: to God and to Man" (pg. 305).
Writing over sixty years ago he succinctly, to use his words, captures the very problem we are facing today. Our impersonal rhetoric is a product of our arrogance towards those in the world we don't understand. We don't understand their language, their culture, their value and family systems so we get afraid and step into our protective powers of national pride and rather than try to understand we disengage in the same way we as tourists disengage the foreign cultures we go to see. The truth and reality of our situation in America is that there are millions of people who have entered this country illegally, but they are still human beings and most of them are just trying to provide for their families.
As Christians we need to enter this debate with a different voice than either side of it in the secular world. As Christians we need to begin to personalize it, because all of the "illegals" are personal to God. All of them are children that He loves and cherishes and wants to bless just as He wants to bless us. This may come as a surprise, but God's blessing is not reserved exclusively for Americans. My goal with this post wasn't really to argue the law and policy one way or the other, I was just inspired by Merton to point out how we need to move this discussion from the impersonal to the personal, from the valueless to those valued by God, from statistics to families.
Forgive me this long quote from Merton, but I think it so captures the challenge we are faced with when we as Christians try to decide how we are going to respond to our "illegal immigration problem" and so I present it as the closing statement of this post.
"The tourist never meets anyone, never encounters anyone, never finds the brother in the stranger. This is his tragedy.
If only North America had realized, after a hundred and fifty years, that Latin Americans really existed. That they were really people. that they spoke a different language. That they had a culture. That they had more than something to sell! Money has totally corrupted the brotherhood that should have united all the peoples of America. It has destroyed the sense of relationship, the spiritual community that had already begun to flourish in the years of Bolivar. But no! Most North Americans still don't know, and don't care, that Brazil speaks a language other than Spanish, that all Latin Americans do not live for the siesta, that all do not spend their days and nights playing the guitar and making love. They have never awakened to the fact that Latin America is by and large culturally superior to the United States, not only on the level of the wealthy minority which has absorbed more of the sophistication of Europe, but also among the desperately poor indigenous cultures, some of which are rooted in a past that has never yet been surpassed on this continent.
So the tourist drinks tequila, and thinks it is no good, and waits for the fiesta he has been told to wait for. how should he realize that the Indian who walks down the street with half a house on his head and a hole in his pants, is Christ? All the tourist thinks is that it is odd for so many Indians to be called Jesus" (pg. 309)
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Book Review: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
by Rick Riordan
published in 2010 by Disney, Hyperion Books
Summary: Some of you may know Rick Riordan from his adult works of fiction; I was introduced to him through the process of reading with Deuce, Little Faron, who ordered the first three books in Riordan's series about Percy Jackson and the Olympians from his Scholastic Book Order. The Percy series is geared towards teens and creates an interesting meld between Ancient Greek Mythology and modern America. It is written to entertain but at the same time to inspire children to learn more about Ancient Greece and its religious beliefs. That series came to a conclusion last year with The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5)
, but its success has driven Riordan to craft a new series, this time based on Ancient Egypt. The Red Pyramid (The Kane Chronicles, Book 1) is the first in what is meant to be a trilogy about Carter and Sadie Kane, modern day who children who are blood descendants of the ancient pharaohs. Just as the Percy series embraced Greek Mythology, Pyramid embraces Egyptian Mythology. It begins a story setting not so much good against evil, but order against chaos and the children, whose family are also descendants of the magicians of ancient Egypt like the ones Moses overcame, are the key to the victory of order. The story moves from England to New York and ultimately Arizona as they follow the clues to help uncover the solution that will help them win the battle over chaos.Review: Once again Riordan has written a well paced, compelling book that draws you into not only the story but also Egyptian Mythology. Carter and Sadie are well written characters that both teens and adults can related with. Carter is the rule follower while Sadie is the rebel, but they both have a value system of honor that inspires heroism. I finished the book with a sense of satisfaction of a read well worth my time, but a burning inside to study to have a better understand of Ancient Egypt. As a pastor and thinking about the Israelites interactions with the Pharaohs and Egyptian magicians, I walked away with some new insight and different lens through which I could read some scripture verses. For example, the verse from Isaiah about making your sins that are like scarlet as white as snow. I always thought of black as the opposite color of white, black representing evil and white good, but there is a discussion in Riordan's book between the children and the gods regarding the symbolism of color. Carter wonders why red is the color of evil rather than black. The reply is that red is the color of the desert which has no water, no life, no hope while black is the color of fertile soil which is the giver of life and food and hope. What rich imagery; and it has inspired me to gain a better understanding of Ancient Egypt.
Reading Recommendation: YES, for teens and adults alike (Deuce and I both loved it!)
A Chinese Thought on Space
In my quiet time this morning I was once again reading Thomas Merton. He never ceases to inspire, impress and humble a reader in ways that you cannot help but smile. He is writing from more than fifty years ago, yet so much he has to say is relevant for today. I was reading an article called "Christian culture needs oriental wisdom," where he was espousing some of the tenets of the Taoism and Confucianism and drawing parallels between them and Christianity. He goes on to state how Christianity could be "immeasurably enriched and deepened" if it would allow some of the philosophy and thought in these Asian religions to inform our practice of religion. Let's be clear, Christianity stands alone, but just as Greek philosophy, Roman law, and so many of the religious and political systems of the Ancient Near East influenced our understanding and the way we practiced religion; so to could the honor based systems of Oriental religion and philosophy. My goal this morning isn't to debate the truth or even the merit of these ideas espoused by Merton, but the ideas do intrigue.
What I am addressing this morning is a quote he used from Taoism that really struck me in one of those "we need to grasp more of the mystery of God kind of ways." In responding to the question, "What is Tao?" he presents some lines about its elusive nature. One of them was this, "We make doors and windows for a room; But it is these empty spaces that make the room livable..." (A Thomas Merton Reader, 1974, pg. 296). I have been thinking a lot lately on Christian worship and how we live out our Christian lives. It is interesting how we construct all of these rules, practices and expectations that sometimes I wonder if they really benefit the Kingdom of God. I guess that is why this quote struck me so much; we have spent centuries building doors and windows and walls and roofs for Christianity, but have we made the room or the house that those have created livable?
Have we forgotten about that undefined empty space which for Christianity is God? I can't speak for everyone else, but as for me, I find myself so desperately wanting something concrete about God or even from God. I want that burning bush or that fish with a coin in its mouth or dinner provided by ravens, that I sometimes forget who I am wanting that from. I get wrapped up in reading about God, praying to God, talking to others about God, but so often failing to lose myself in the worship of God. I am oiling door hinges and cleaning windows, but I am never really living in the space I have worked so hard to create. We need that space! I need that space, I need that intimacy with God, I need to embrace some of that mystery where I cannot and never will fully understand Him. I need to feel small, but valued; insignificant but more important than anything else when He looks in my eyes; perplexed but clear about being loved; afraid but secure.
All of those feelings come in the space created by the walls of religion. In worship, the order of worship provides our windows, doors and walls as we make a theological progression from greeting to a response to God's Word, but real worship, that connection with the mystery of God, happens in the space in between, the space created by those boundaries. We have to allow ourselves to inhabit that space. My children get frustrated with me when we play Legos together, because I love to build the structures but when it comes times to play with them, I don't really want to. If you are like me you like to build structures, wall, windows, and doors; undertake and complete projects, but when it comes to inhabit the space created by those structures and projects, rather than reveling in the space and mystery I am ready for the next project. I need to slow down and enjoy the space. The point of the walls is to create that livable space. Once we have created we need to inhabit. Once we have done we need to be. When the concrete has been poured and the boundaries established we need to relax into the mystery.
May God draw us today into the spaces we have created us to overwhelm us with His Love, Grace, Joy and Mystery.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
What I am addressing this morning is a quote he used from Taoism that really struck me in one of those "we need to grasp more of the mystery of God kind of ways." In responding to the question, "What is Tao?" he presents some lines about its elusive nature. One of them was this, "We make doors and windows for a room; But it is these empty spaces that make the room livable..." (A Thomas Merton Reader, 1974, pg. 296). I have been thinking a lot lately on Christian worship and how we live out our Christian lives. It is interesting how we construct all of these rules, practices and expectations that sometimes I wonder if they really benefit the Kingdom of God. I guess that is why this quote struck me so much; we have spent centuries building doors and windows and walls and roofs for Christianity, but have we made the room or the house that those have created livable?
Have we forgotten about that undefined empty space which for Christianity is God? I can't speak for everyone else, but as for me, I find myself so desperately wanting something concrete about God or even from God. I want that burning bush or that fish with a coin in its mouth or dinner provided by ravens, that I sometimes forget who I am wanting that from. I get wrapped up in reading about God, praying to God, talking to others about God, but so often failing to lose myself in the worship of God. I am oiling door hinges and cleaning windows, but I am never really living in the space I have worked so hard to create. We need that space! I need that space, I need that intimacy with God, I need to embrace some of that mystery where I cannot and never will fully understand Him. I need to feel small, but valued; insignificant but more important than anything else when He looks in my eyes; perplexed but clear about being loved; afraid but secure.
All of those feelings come in the space created by the walls of religion. In worship, the order of worship provides our windows, doors and walls as we make a theological progression from greeting to a response to God's Word, but real worship, that connection with the mystery of God, happens in the space in between, the space created by those boundaries. We have to allow ourselves to inhabit that space. My children get frustrated with me when we play Legos together, because I love to build the structures but when it comes times to play with them, I don't really want to. If you are like me you like to build structures, wall, windows, and doors; undertake and complete projects, but when it comes to inhabit the space created by those structures and projects, rather than reveling in the space and mystery I am ready for the next project. I need to slow down and enjoy the space. The point of the walls is to create that livable space. Once we have created we need to inhabit. Once we have done we need to be. When the concrete has been poured and the boundaries established we need to relax into the mystery.
May God draw us today into the spaces we have created us to overwhelm us with His Love, Grace, Joy and Mystery.
Your brother in Christ,
Faron
Monday, July 12, 2010
Recipe: Easy Homemade Ice Cream
Easy Recipe for Homemade Ice Cream
4 Eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
2 tsps. vanilla
1 quart liquid coffee creamer
enough whole milk to fill the canister to 3 inches from the top
Beat the eggs, then add sugar, beat together then add vanilla and creamer. Mix well, pour into ice cream freezer canister, add milk. Run freezer until ice cream is frozen. Once frozen you can add fruit, candy or cookies to flavor the ice cream. A half a bag of Oreo cookies crushed makes for delicious Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, fresh fruit always makes for yummy goodness, and you can never go wrong adding Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to anything!
4 Eggs beaten
2 cups sugar
2 tsps. vanilla
1 quart liquid coffee creamer
enough whole milk to fill the canister to 3 inches from the top
Beat the eggs, then add sugar, beat together then add vanilla and creamer. Mix well, pour into ice cream freezer canister, add milk. Run freezer until ice cream is frozen. Once frozen you can add fruit, candy or cookies to flavor the ice cream. A half a bag of Oreo cookies crushed makes for delicious Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, fresh fruit always makes for yummy goodness, and you can never go wrong adding Reese's Peanut Butter Cups to anything!
Recipe: Sugar Free Lemonade Tea
Sugar Free Lemonade Tea
This is a Southern Living recipe that I have adapted to accommodate my diabetic need to not consume refined sugar and my desire to keep the carb Nazi happy by limiting my carb intake. It is a yummy and refreshing sip of summertime. My mother who does not drink sweet tea, tried this and loved it. She also insisted that I post it on the website for all of your enjoyment!
Ingredients:
6 tea bags
fresh mint
Crystal Light lemonade mix
1/2 cup of Splenda
slices of orange, lemon, and lime
1. Steep the tea bags and mint in 4 cups of boiling water for 10-12 minutes.
2. Pour tea into a pitcher through a strainer to remove mint leaves and tea bags.
3. Add the Splenda and stir until dissolved.
4. Add the lemonade mix and 4 cups of cold water, stir.
5. Stir in citrus slices.
6. Serve over ice and enjoy!
Note: if you want the real sugar version, replace the Splenda with 1/2 cup of sugar and the Crystal Light and 4 cups of water with a can of frozen lemonade concentrate and 3 cups of water. Also the Crystal Light can be substituted with a generic as can the Splenda.
This is a Southern Living recipe that I have adapted to accommodate my diabetic need to not consume refined sugar and my desire to keep the carb Nazi happy by limiting my carb intake. It is a yummy and refreshing sip of summertime. My mother who does not drink sweet tea, tried this and loved it. She also insisted that I post it on the website for all of your enjoyment!
Ingredients:
6 tea bags
fresh mint
Crystal Light lemonade mix
1/2 cup of Splenda
slices of orange, lemon, and lime
1. Steep the tea bags and mint in 4 cups of boiling water for 10-12 minutes.
2. Pour tea into a pitcher through a strainer to remove mint leaves and tea bags.
3. Add the Splenda and stir until dissolved.
4. Add the lemonade mix and 4 cups of cold water, stir.
5. Stir in citrus slices.
6. Serve over ice and enjoy!
Note: if you want the real sugar version, replace the Splenda with 1/2 cup of sugar and the Crystal Light and 4 cups of water with a can of frozen lemonade concentrate and 3 cups of water. Also the Crystal Light can be substituted with a generic as can the Splenda.
Recipe: Chicken Quesa Something and Deep Fried Cheesecake
I have discovered a problem with liking to cook. I am not sure it is a real major problem and some might consider it a blessing rather than a problem; but for my ever expanding waist line and my nutrition Nazi inspired carbohydrate counting it is a problem. The problem generally reveals itself when I am watching some, no really any show on the Food Network. Most recently the problem manifested itself while watching Diners, Dives and Drive-Ins with Guy Fieri. He was traveling Route 66 and went to a little diner in Kansas somewhere that was sort of upscale but with a little bit of a Southwestern twist and while all of the food looked yummy the manifestation of my problem was rooted in watching them make Deep Fried Cheesecake. Right now you are probably asking yourself what does watching a TV show have to do with my waistline expanding and other than the sedentary nature of the state of being a couch potato the show itself isn't the problem. Here is the problem: I watch them make that really yummy thing and then think to myself, "I can make that!" and then because I like to cook I do try to make it and fortunate for my taste buds but unfortunate for my waist, I generally succeed. The problem also carries over to restaurants; I try something, I like and decide to try and make it at home. The first recipe today Chicken Quesa Something is inspired by a restaurant and the second Deep Fried Cheesecake is inspired by Guy's show. I hope you enjoy them.
Chicken Quesa Something
Ingredients:
2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
4 Burrito Sized Flour Tortillas
Provolone Cheese (or Monterrey Jack)
1 Red Onion
Banana Peppers
Chipotle powder seasoning
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Chili powder
Cooking Spray
The entire recipe can be prepared on a George Foreman style grill.
1. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with all of the dry seasonings to your personal taste. Then cook them on the grill. Once it is done, dice the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces or slice it into 1/2 strips.
2. While they are cooking dice your red onion pretty finely, say 1/4 inch sized pieces and slice your banana peppers, unless you discovered like I did that it is just cheaper to buy a jar and have them pre-sliced.
3. Next Slice the tortillas in half and after having washed the grill and plugged it back in, spray it with the cooking spray (you will spray before each tortilla to keep them from sticking).
4. Assemble your Chicken Quesa Something, Take the 1/2 tortilla, on one 1/2 of that put a layer of cheese being careful to keep it at least a 1/4 inch from the edges, then a layer of chicken, another light layer of cheese, then the red onions and banana peppers, then a final thin layer of cheese. Fold the other half of the tortilla back on top of the layers and then place it on the grill with the fold towards the bottom. Cook for approximately 3 minutes, basically until you have grill marks on the tortilla and it is starting to get a little crispy on the edges. Eat and Enjoy.
5. You can serve it with a Southwest Ranch Dip, but it is yummy by itself and having stated that I realize that is another recipe I need to post for you.
Southwestern Style Ranch Dip
1 cup Hidden Valley Ranch
3 tbls. Chipotle powder seasoning
1/4 of chopped fresh cilantro
Simply mix the three ingredients and chill for a couple of hours.
Note: while you will see many different varieties of ranch dressing on the shelves at the grocery store, they are merely illusions or at best figments of your imagination. They are not real, because in this world and the world to come there is absolute truth and here is an absolute truth we all must understand: there is only one ranch dressing, HIDDEN VALLEY! It doesn't matter if you make it yourself from their seasoning packet or buy it in the bottle, but the only true yummy goodness in the ranch dressing world is Hidden Valley. Okay we can now go back to regularly scheduled programing and our final recipe of the day.
Deep Fried Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Fresh Strawberries
Burrito Sized Flour Tortillas (warmed to room temperature)
Sugar free Strawberry Glaze
1 package cream cheese
1 lb. confectioners sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (Mexican vanilla is really yummy and cheap if you go to a Hispanic grocery)
Whipped Cream
1 egg
2 tbls cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1. First prepare the topping, wash, hull and slice the strawberries and then mix them with the store bought glaze. Once mixed chill while you are preparing the rest. (I have used frozen strawberries to make this when fresh strawberries were out of season and truth be told it is just as yummy, but then again how can something deep fried ever not be yummy unless you fry it to death.)
2. Second prepare the filling, with your blender mix the cream cheese, the confectioners sugar and vanilla on medium speed until completely blended.
3. Mix the cinnamon and sugar, set aside.
4. Heat your oil, if you have a deep fryer that works best but you can do it in a frying pan with 1/2 deep oil. Use FRESH oil, don't try these in that same nasty oil you used to fry catfish last night cause I am pretty sure the presence of fish taste will decrease the yummy goodness of this fried confectioner treat by like 423 fold!
5. While the oil is heating, take a tortilla and place approximately 1/4 cup of filling in the bottom center and spread it so that it is approximately 4 inches wide and 1.5 inches high. Fold both sides in to the edge of the filling, then fold the bottom up to the edge of the filling and then roll to the top of the tortilla. Once rolled take the egg that you have already beaten and brush a little underneath the top edge of the tortilla to help the it stick to the bottom. Now lightly brush the egg on the rolled tortilla and then drop it in the oil and fry it until both sides start to lightly brown.
6. Take it out of the oil and immediate sprinkle it with the cinnamon sugar generously, but to your personal taste.
7. Top with whipped cream and the strawberry topping and then prepare yourself for the yummy goodness that will permeate your taste buds and make your stomach smile!
Chicken Quesa Something
Ingredients:
2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
4 Burrito Sized Flour Tortillas
Provolone Cheese (or Monterrey Jack)
1 Red Onion
Banana Peppers
Chipotle powder seasoning
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Chili powder
Cooking Spray
The entire recipe can be prepared on a George Foreman style grill.
1. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with all of the dry seasonings to your personal taste. Then cook them on the grill. Once it is done, dice the chicken into 1/2 inch pieces or slice it into 1/2 strips.
2. While they are cooking dice your red onion pretty finely, say 1/4 inch sized pieces and slice your banana peppers, unless you discovered like I did that it is just cheaper to buy a jar and have them pre-sliced.
3. Next Slice the tortillas in half and after having washed the grill and plugged it back in, spray it with the cooking spray (you will spray before each tortilla to keep them from sticking).
4. Assemble your Chicken Quesa Something, Take the 1/2 tortilla, on one 1/2 of that put a layer of cheese being careful to keep it at least a 1/4 inch from the edges, then a layer of chicken, another light layer of cheese, then the red onions and banana peppers, then a final thin layer of cheese. Fold the other half of the tortilla back on top of the layers and then place it on the grill with the fold towards the bottom. Cook for approximately 3 minutes, basically until you have grill marks on the tortilla and it is starting to get a little crispy on the edges. Eat and Enjoy.
5. You can serve it with a Southwest Ranch Dip, but it is yummy by itself and having stated that I realize that is another recipe I need to post for you.
Southwestern Style Ranch Dip
1 cup Hidden Valley Ranch
3 tbls. Chipotle powder seasoning
1/4 of chopped fresh cilantro
Simply mix the three ingredients and chill for a couple of hours.
Note: while you will see many different varieties of ranch dressing on the shelves at the grocery store, they are merely illusions or at best figments of your imagination. They are not real, because in this world and the world to come there is absolute truth and here is an absolute truth we all must understand: there is only one ranch dressing, HIDDEN VALLEY! It doesn't matter if you make it yourself from their seasoning packet or buy it in the bottle, but the only true yummy goodness in the ranch dressing world is Hidden Valley. Okay we can now go back to regularly scheduled programing and our final recipe of the day.
Deep Fried Cheesecake
Ingredients:
Fresh Strawberries
Burrito Sized Flour Tortillas (warmed to room temperature)
Sugar free Strawberry Glaze
1 package cream cheese
1 lb. confectioners sugar
2 tsp. vanilla (Mexican vanilla is really yummy and cheap if you go to a Hispanic grocery)
Whipped Cream
1 egg
2 tbls cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1. First prepare the topping, wash, hull and slice the strawberries and then mix them with the store bought glaze. Once mixed chill while you are preparing the rest. (I have used frozen strawberries to make this when fresh strawberries were out of season and truth be told it is just as yummy, but then again how can something deep fried ever not be yummy unless you fry it to death.)
2. Second prepare the filling, with your blender mix the cream cheese, the confectioners sugar and vanilla on medium speed until completely blended.
3. Mix the cinnamon and sugar, set aside.
4. Heat your oil, if you have a deep fryer that works best but you can do it in a frying pan with 1/2 deep oil. Use FRESH oil, don't try these in that same nasty oil you used to fry catfish last night cause I am pretty sure the presence of fish taste will decrease the yummy goodness of this fried confectioner treat by like 423 fold!
5. While the oil is heating, take a tortilla and place approximately 1/4 cup of filling in the bottom center and spread it so that it is approximately 4 inches wide and 1.5 inches high. Fold both sides in to the edge of the filling, then fold the bottom up to the edge of the filling and then roll to the top of the tortilla. Once rolled take the egg that you have already beaten and brush a little underneath the top edge of the tortilla to help the it stick to the bottom. Now lightly brush the egg on the rolled tortilla and then drop it in the oil and fry it until both sides start to lightly brown.
6. Take it out of the oil and immediate sprinkle it with the cinnamon sugar generously, but to your personal taste.
7. Top with whipped cream and the strawberry topping and then prepare yourself for the yummy goodness that will permeate your taste buds and make your stomach smile!
Recipe: Sexual Delight
Sexual Delight
Yes, that is the name of this recipe and no, it is not an aphrodisiac! It is actually a very yummy salad dressing recipe that my best friend's wife shared with me that has developed a life and story of its own. I have a group of pastor buddies I get together with a couple of times a year. We call ourselves "The Delinquents," but really they are some of the best people you could ever know who have a deep and abiding love for Jesus and a passion to share His love and grace with the world. When we get together there are a couple of us who really love to cook and so at our last retreat it was my opportunity to dazzle them with my culinary skills. My entree' choice was catfish broiled in a garlic, butter, lemon sauce stuffed with crawfish ettouffee served on a bed of rice, but I opted to start with a salad and to make what I had historically called "Jodi's Yummy Dressing." While they enjoyed the Cajun food, the dressing became the hit of the evening! It is a sweet and sour dressing with just the perfect portions of each. As one of my buddies was eating he commented, "this dressing is incredible; it is like better than sex or something; it needs a name like 'sexual delight' or something." Need I say more, clearly that is the perfect name. Granted you will have to take my word for it until you make it and try it, but it really is that good and the fact that it was named by a pastor just adds that much more irony to the name. Now whenever we gather Sexual Delight has become a staple for our salad and the story behind its name is always good for at least two laughs and a chuckle.
Here is the recipe, enjoy:
Sexual Delight
• 1 onion, thinly sliced (red onion makes a better presentation)
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. celery seed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. of regular yellow mustard
• 2/3 cup sugar (2/3 cup of Splenda can be substituted for diabetics)
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
Mix the ingredients and chill. It goes very well with a bed of mixed greens, freshly fried bacon, boiled chopped eggs, Mandarin oranges and raisins.
Yes, that is the name of this recipe and no, it is not an aphrodisiac! It is actually a very yummy salad dressing recipe that my best friend's wife shared with me that has developed a life and story of its own. I have a group of pastor buddies I get together with a couple of times a year. We call ourselves "The Delinquents," but really they are some of the best people you could ever know who have a deep and abiding love for Jesus and a passion to share His love and grace with the world. When we get together there are a couple of us who really love to cook and so at our last retreat it was my opportunity to dazzle them with my culinary skills. My entree' choice was catfish broiled in a garlic, butter, lemon sauce stuffed with crawfish ettouffee served on a bed of rice, but I opted to start with a salad and to make what I had historically called "Jodi's Yummy Dressing." While they enjoyed the Cajun food, the dressing became the hit of the evening! It is a sweet and sour dressing with just the perfect portions of each. As one of my buddies was eating he commented, "this dressing is incredible; it is like better than sex or something; it needs a name like 'sexual delight' or something." Need I say more, clearly that is the perfect name. Granted you will have to take my word for it until you make it and try it, but it really is that good and the fact that it was named by a pastor just adds that much more irony to the name. Now whenever we gather Sexual Delight has become a staple for our salad and the story behind its name is always good for at least two laughs and a chuckle.
Here is the recipe, enjoy:
Sexual Delight
• 1 onion, thinly sliced (red onion makes a better presentation)
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 tsp. celery seed
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 tsp. of regular yellow mustard
• 2/3 cup sugar (2/3 cup of Splenda can be substituted for diabetics)
• 1/3 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup of apple cider vinegar
Mix the ingredients and chill. It goes very well with a bed of mixed greens, freshly fried bacon, boiled chopped eggs, Mandarin oranges and raisins.
Music Review: My One and Only Thrill by Melody Gardot
by Melody Gardot
2009 Universal Music Classics and Jazz
This album is a follow up to her Worrisome Heart
and once again she has not dissappointed my musical pallet. The track that receives the most radio play is "Who Will Comfort Me," and it is one of ten original songs on the album. Her vocal purity matches that of a Jane Monheit, but the music has a raw edge to it along the lines of Diana Krall's "Love Me Like a Man" or "Temptation." The one standard cover she has on the album is "Over the Rainbow," but even it has been freshly arranged into something a little more upbeat and driving. Melody Gardot is a fresh new addition to the female Jazz vocalist scene being at home with standards, but equally gifted as a songwriter and musician she mixes in her own unique style of piano, vocal and guitar. I would reccomend this album to anyone who loves the style of the standards but is tired of the same old covers and equally to anyone who is exploring this genre of music as a first Jazz vocal album.Book Review: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years
by Donald Miller
published in 2010 by Thomas Nelson
Summary: This is Miller's most recent publication. It was birthed out of two gentlemen approaching him about making a movie out of Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
. Since Blue is not a novel but more random ramblings on Christianity they realized they needed to turn it into a story. Miller is a writer, but not of novels, screenplays or fiction for that matter and so he began to study the elements of story and what makes a good story. He learned about characters and crisis points and conflict. What really struck him as we was writing was the realization that the story he was writing in a fictional format was actually his life, hence the subtitle "what I learned while editing my life." Amidst all of his new knowledge and realizations about his life he came to recognize that there were parallels between what makes a good story and what makes a good life. This transformed the way in which he began to think about his own life and now instead of letting life just happen around him he began to be very purposeful about how he was going to live his life. The filter for the way he moved forward in life was the question, "will this make a good story." This book is his presentation of these revelations in his own life along with his commentary about how we can do the same thing.Review: From the first chapter, Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
became one of my favorite books of all time. While this is not the second book by Miller, it was the second of his books that I have read. I wasn't sure what to expect, especially based on my love affair with Blue. On one hand I had high hopes that this would be another lifetime favorite, but on the other I was worried that it could never live up to Blue. As I read I realized that Blue was a wrong comparison for the book. This book is an incredible read yet it is completely different than Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality. This book has Christian overtones but it is more about life and how we choose to live it than it is random thoughts on Christian spirituality. Miller draws us into the story and inspires us to begin to think about our life as story. He presents vinets about people he has encountered in his life who have deliberately made their lives a "good story," that warm your heart and make you want to try something incredible in your own life. This is not a self help book, but it will interact in your life in the same manner as it will motivate you to begin to make changes in your life as you think about wanting it to be a good story. The direction the book was moving made me think he was going to wrap up with the idea of locating the story of our lives into the bigger story of God. He sort of hints at this but never fully elaborates which would have been the perfect ending. That being said, the absence of that in no way hinders the quality of this book. This is a must read for anyone, but especially for those wanting their lives to be something more.Reading Recommendation: 100% YES, YES, YES
Book Review: When Good Men Get Angry
by Bill Perkins
published in 2009 by Tyndale
Summary: Bill is a pastor, speaker and now founder and CEO of the Million Mighty Men. He has degrees from both The University of Texas in Austin and the Dallas Theological Seminary. Writing from his pastoral experience as a counselor he has tackled a difficult subject for many of us, anger. The title captures the crux of the issue, what do we do with our anger as Christian men? We are striving to be good husbands, fathers, friends, Christians and yet we get angry and sometimes even blow a gasket or two particularly at those we love. Bill starts the book with an overall look at anger to help us all be on the same page as to how we understand anger, its cause and whether we consider it healthy or unhealthy. He then introduces the Christian matrix through which his book is going to be presented, as that is the purpose of this book, to use our relationship with Christ to mold us into a pattern of expressing our anger in a healthy and edifying way rather than using it to tear down and destroy. The rest of the book is devoted to presenting different ways to deal with different sources of anger, from our spouse and children to those we work with and go to church with. He uses stories to help us connect to the situation in a personal way while still enabling us to apply the principles in our own life. The book concludes with a section for the reader to begin to address his own anger and to start to tell his story and begin to craft a new ending.
Review: I picked up this book in the context of counseling. I have had a number of situations where I have been counseling couples or men where anger is a definite contributing problem and I hoped to uncover some insights into how I can be of help as a pastoral counselor. The book provided that and more, not only did it provide me some concrete examples and tools that I can use in a counseling environment, but it also helped me look at my own anger and the ways I choose to express it. Perkins does a great job of presenting Biblical solutions that are practical and easily implemented in our lives. There is no "pie in the sky" here where he is saying, "just let Jesus take your anger and everything will be okay." He acknowledges that we do get angry, that we are going to get angry through out our lives, that Jesus even got angry; but we must learn how to express it appropriately. Anyone can benefit from reading this book; for pastors it gives good insight into those we counsel and ourselves and it is a tool that we can send home with men who are struggling with this issue; for the lay person this is a book that will give you a mirror to look at the ways you express your anger and an instruction manual to help you express it in a more edifying manner. It is well written, the flow and pacing makes it a quick read and having finished it I find myself wanting to read some of his other books.
Recommendation: YES
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