Tag Archives: Musings

Post-Deutschland Musings…

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Pardon the meanderings… I’m back from Deutschland, slept in til about 8:30 (what what?) & feel very rested. I believe that the rhythm & pace we have been trying to follow with the Hillside Sabbath was incredibly helpful to our time in Frankfurt.

  • Reno is hot, but it’s a dry hot. I like it.

  • The Mosel is a beautiful region in Germany, possibly more beautiful than anywhere I’ve ever been. I laid down among the grapevines (intentionally) & could just feel the tangible sense of rest, of purpose, the pace of life that has been going on there for generations, with families living where their great-great-great-greats had been. It inspired awe in my soul. And, for the first time in my life, made me long for the green that Nevada hath not.

  • We focus a lot on success & failure. I’m not sure God does that nearly as much as we do, & don’t believe that a lot of what we call “success” would meet His criteria for the same. Ditto for failure.

  • Grace is good. I need it. And to give it.

  • My wife is an amazing woman. And like the Dornfelder from the Schwaab vineyards we just visited, she’s getting better with age. NOTE: this isn’t to get brownie points from her either, as she doesn’t read my blogs. (And I said “whoooaaaahhh.”)

    • This “pondering” is a little longer, so I’ll go to traditional blogging format:

    Based on the saying (Augustine?)

    In essentials (the things we know for sure are of prime importance to God,) unity. In non-essentials (the things that are debateable, doubtful, not known for sure, open to interpretation,) liberty. In all things, charity (love, acceptance, care, concern).

    For the last year+ I’ve been pondering, wondering about, & observing how much of our Christianity (mine & yours?) has been based on our culture rather than on real faith essentials… meaning, much of what I grew up in, experienced, & have observed (& continue to) has been more a product of our country of origin, the life experiences, & the definitions, practices & traditions that have been passed down to us by our very well-meaning elders… the result ends up being a Christianity defined by what we don’t do. Something that I have heard over & over & over, ad nauseam, from other Christians is “you’re not doing it right” referring to how I live for Jesus; my values & convictions; my priorities & life choices. Someday, I may do a post with the top 10 “We don’t do’s” for American christianity, so I won’t list them here… But, you know what they are, don’t you :)?

    It’s funny because different groups have different lists of things that they would consider to be “essentials” – my take is that if its something Jesus & the scriptures emphasized, the church has been connected with, still applies & matters regardless of your country of origin, culture & cultural experience, & technology (or lack thereof,) it might be an essential.

    Bummer. We don’t associate with other “believers” that aren’t as enlightened as us. That we “do it” or “don’t do it” right, while others don’t. Don’t believe it? Read the yellow pages, in the ad section for churches. Check out how we differentiate ourselves from other churches. Usually by the “We don’t’s”. Hmmm.

    It gets me to thinking about my perspective, the point of view that I have. Is it godly? Or have I created my own god in my own image, one who reflects me, my likes & dislikes, my preferences? Am I espousing a theoretical christianity that nothing to do with living a godly life? Or is the “godliness” I proclaim more closely tied to epic, stoic, &/or ascetic belief systems?

    Freedom. It was for freedom that Christ has set us free. Are we free? Or are we bound to religious traditions & practices that lead more to the exaltation of self than the glorification of Jesus Christ?

    Thursday & it’s pouring…

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    My family moved in the summer before my 5th grade year – we didn’t leave Reno, but I had to change schools. For some reason, I didn’t get enrolled in the new school in time to go on the first day – I ended up showing up on about Day 4… I was petrified.

    The move meant lots of loss… loss of contact with old friends. Loss of a routine. Loss of being able to walk to school. Loss of the only house I’d lived in through my “aware” years (4-10.) Loss of neighbors… loss of living in town. Loss of feeling like my life was the best, most secure life that a kid could ever experience.

    I made friends eventually… after being relegated to the hopscotch court with 3 girls (true story,) for about 3 weeks, I caught a break because the other guys that played football at recess lost one of their players due to a broken arm or chicken pox (I forget which.) His loss was my gain. Someone threw me the football in an act of desperation & in my zeal I grabbed it & outran everyone on the playground field to the end-zone. I had a very small niche.

    I’ve never forgotten what it felt like to have nowhere to go at recess… to be passed over as non-existent by peers… to have the only people that even knew I was alive be the others that didn’t fit, that didn’t connect… I had thought I was a pretty confident person, that I’d be able to be me in just about any situations – I found that when I was out of my familar environment, I was frozen, unable to move, unwilling to reach out, because I was pretty sure that I couldn’t handle the possibility of rejection. It shaped me in ways that I’m still discovering. And it made me want others to never be in that situation – if I could help it.

    PS – I know its not raining from the sky today – but there are many, many ways that rain falls into one’s life, no?

    Goodbye…

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    This week marks the departure of several people from our church family – & I wanted to say a “thank you” to them – for being in my life…

  • David & Kendra – moving to Lawrence, KS, so that Kendra can go to KU Law… friend: you are dear to me, & I miss you already. Esp. the talks that happen sitting in the office, hoping that no one takes your keys. A cherished memory is your wedding in my living room, serenaded by the Pasty Gangsta on the trumpet… who’d a thunk that “We Will Rock You” could be so moving… My solace is in the fact that every time you’ve left before, you’ve returned. I’m banking on that this time as well. So long. I’m singing Bon Jovi’s “Never Say Goodbye” the next time I karaoke. Which will be the 1st time I karaoke.

  • Dave, Sarah, & Mikayla, & ? – moving to the SLC in pursuit of a fire job… I’ve known Dave since he was prenatal, & have greatly loved to have Sarah & Mikayla around as well. Today, I visited Mikayla @ Little Lites, & she greeted me with her typical, sweetly shouted “SIR!” For which I rewarded her, as usual, with a peanut M&M. You truly are a real princess, even better than the Disney princesses. You’ll be missed.

  • Ry-Dwy – off to Rose-town to move back in with the Dwy-fam. & to pursue an internship. Many blessings to you – you’re a good man. Keep in touch. Watch out for Lina. She’s a crafty one.
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    Oops, I did it again…

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    9 October, 2006 I had surgery on my left shoulder; I’d been gritting my teeth through pain, joint instability, occasional numbness, & as many physical therapy sessions that my insurance would authorize… I finally come to the point of being willing to go through the surgical procedure with the hope that ‘on the other side’, something in the shoulder would be better than it was…

    Post-surgery, I heard good news – the torn rotator cuff ID’d on the MRI had not needed a complete repair, but rather was able to be ‘fixed’ with some clean-up (which is surgical talk for we cut away anything that looked like it was shredded.) Another highlight of the procedure was that the top of my collar bone & the bone that anchored the joint was somehow compressing the joint, pinching various shoulder parts of scoey when he moved it, meaning pain & numbness. The solution was to shave the bone using something like a power-sander… the good Dokter said this would be the cause of the majority of my post-surgery pain, but that it would most likely clear up & heal in 8 weeks or so, esp. with another round of therapy.

    Gritted my teeth. Did the therapy. Went to the gym to therap-ize on my own. Broke down some scar tissue doing some cool exercise called flys. I’m keeping on it.

    Talked to a couple of guys about rebuilding a shoulder, post-surgery. Both had the same advice – use it. Its going to hurt. If you do your exercises, strengthen it, & keep on, it will probably rebound. But it might take a year to fully recover.

    Then, oops.

    Tuesday, 5 June, I was playing softball for my last-place team in the Sparks D- Rec League… swung the bat, hit the ball real hard, & my shoulder popped out of joint. Hurt so bad I fell down. On the ground, just out of the batters box.

    Fortuneately, Aric with an A is a Chi-Rho-Practor & knows how to deal with the sin of shoulders… he helped me work El Guapo back into place. The nausea from dislocation went away after about 20 minutes. Shoulder hurts, muscles around it hurt. Wonder if I have done something naughty, something that has set back my recovery from last October….

    Back to the gym today…

    Roller coaster…

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    I’m riding a roller coaster of emotions. Feels like I have a sunburn on my feelings – I don’t know if its because they’re regenerating after being buried for eons, or if they’ve been injured in an accident & need to call a personal injury attorney to take the 1st step.

    I’ve read CS Lewis & intellectually, believe that I have a grasp of what I’m facing. And feeling. And the beauty of it is, it doesn’t help to know that.

    Here’s to Jesus.

    We’re Moving Out…

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    No, I’m not just quoting Billy Joel lyric… we’re moving out of our house. Kind of.

    What we’re actually doing is taking a few days this week to pack up & move the downstairs, kitchen, & hopefully my room – to a storage unit the Brother has rented. Then, the hope is to take his stuff & put it in the downstairs, kitchen, & my soon-to-be-former room, so that the new home owners can begin the process of making this house their home.

    Where do we go from here? What are we doing next? Where shall we be staying in the interim?

    Stay tuned… hopefully we’ll get to that before the end of the week. Wish me joy.

    Dead link & other musings…

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    No sooner do I get an AWESOME Star Wars poster/pic, a virtual ode to Brint, than it disappears. I was indignant. Couldn’t believe it. I was legitimately borrowing this link, & the owner of the link killed it.

    So, I found it again. And reposted it. Who’s your daddy?
    Other thoughts on an early Tuesday…

  • The Bean & the Daro (12 year old son) are on an extended, 3 day field trip to SF. Bummer. And, they’re freezing. I miss them. I really miss the Bean.
  • The NBA playoffs are almost interesting watching the Suns/Spurs go at it. Go Suns.
  • The Master Cleanse is coming… Anyone done this before?
  • I found out that there is a musical instrument called a Euphonium – how cool.
  • I will be sitting in meetings all day tomorrow. Ugh.
  • Brother’s dog (Carter) is in heat, meaning Brother’s other dog (Higgins) is chasing it around, 24/7. Higgins is tired.
  • Found a book on my desk after Sunday’s speech called, The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman. Anyone know anything about this book? Anyone give it to me?
  • It is too hot to wear shoes, & my flip flops are uselessly thin. How does one go about purchasing new ones?
  • I’m off to Wild Oats to buy organic lemons, Grade B Maple Syrup, Cayenne Pepper, & Sea Salt. I think I’m going to make a smoothie.

    TTFN.

    • Mother’s Day…

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    I’ve been doing a little research on Mother’s Day – origins, practices, etc. (HISTORY nerds unite…) in the hopes of discovering the basis for the overcommercialized, mass-marketed holiday that Mother’s Day is today. I found that a woman named Julia Ward Howe, peace activist & author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic was a post-Civil War voice motivating mothers of the world to unite: for peace, for family, for safety, against war, poor treatment of workers, poor sanitation, & abuse of alcohol.

    Below is the “Mother’s Day Proclamation” written by Howe, a rallying cry for mothers – Enjoy.

    Arise then Christian women of this day!
    Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or of tears!
    Say firmly:
    “We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies,
    Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
    For caresses and applause.
    Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
    All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
    We, the women of one country,
    Will be too tender of those of another country
    To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”
    From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
    Our own. It says: “Damn! Damn!
    The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”
    Blood does not wipe out dishonor,
    Nor violence indicate possession.
    As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
    At the summons of war,
    Let women now leave all that may be left of home
    For a great and earnest day of counsel.
    Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
    Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
    Whereby the great human family can live in peace, man as the brother of man,
    Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
    But of God –
    In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
    That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
    May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
    And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
    To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
    The amicable settlement of international questions,
    The great and general interests of peace.