mennochick

A pictures is worth a thousand words...about what?

2010-10-21T09:01:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I'm not wild about having my picture taken these days. My cheeks (along with the rest of me) are waaaaaaaaay chubbier than they used to be, and most of my clothes are pretty old and not so flattering, and I've had the same pair of glasses since 1998. Not to mention the fact that my chin seems to have disappeared into my neck, which makes my head look more like a blob than a head. This, I am told, is a natural part of approaching 30. All of this is to say, yeah, not wild about having my picture taken these days.
But why? I think because I've always thought of pictures as being a permanent record of me, something that represents myself. And I'd rather not have a permanent record of me looking like a frump-queen. But is that really what a picture represents?
Yesterday I heard someone say that a picture doesn't represent you, it represents a moment. So that dreadful picture that Susie just posted on Facebook doesn't represent who I am, it represents that moment in time. The moment when she convinced my husband to give me a really tickly, prickly kiss so she could get a picture of me screwing up my face in protest. Suddenly, instead of seeing that photo and cringing at my chubby cheeks, I can look at it and laugh at my silly husband and think about how much I love him, and how great it is to be able to laugh with a wonderful friend like Susie.
Or maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that being a big ol' frump-queen ain't so bad.

Learning for Learning's Sake

2010-07-23T12:56:00.004-07:00

I like the idea of education for education's sake. I like learning, and I don't think education is ever valueless. But is paying to learn for learning's sake the best use of limited resources? I know I can't get the same learning from reading about this subject in a book. The courses I want to take are very interactive, and are taught by well-respected professionals. But how much money can I spend on something that will give me very little financial return? Especially when I've just lost my biggest source of income. These courses will not improve my employability, which is definitely lacking. They are essentially useless for me. But they're not valueless. So do they have enough value to put them on my credit card?

of time and cars

2008-09-26T13:19:00.003-07:00

I was crunching some numbers today, and it looks like we can't afford for me to take my car to work anymore. This is somewhat difficult for me, because I have three jobs and most of them involve quite a lot of travelling around town. I've spent all morning trying to figure out how I can take the bus to all these places, and I'm getting quite discombobulated. All I really know so far is that on Mondays and Fridays, I'm finished working at 6:30 and I won't get home until about 9:00. Not exactly how I hoped to start and finish my week. I'm starting to wonder if it would be worth getting a fourth job just to be able to pay for having a car to get me around everywhere. I think it would take about as much time out of my schedule as taking the bus would, and I'd at least be getting paid for it.

thoughts I don't think enough

2008-09-17T11:17:00.003-07:00

a friend of mine recently reminded me to "take the risk of giving thanks for the profound goodness that does in fact exist in the world". I confess that, although I have had much to be thankful for over the past month, I have had a tendency to focus on how the actions of a few others have negatively impacted me. if I take a step back and actually think about my life, I can see that I have countless things to be thankful for, but I don't usually take that step. so here goes.

I have a husband who adores me. he takes care of me and he lets me take care of him. he is far more patient that I. he watches baseball with me, and listens to me tell the same stories over and over again. he lets me see who he really is, and he sees who I am and loves me anyways. and he learned how to deal with mood swings really quickly!

a few months ago, my husband and I thought we would probably have to move before we could ever live in a space we owned. now, through some incredible circumstances, we own our own home here in Victoria. it may just be a 900 square foot condo, but it's ours, and it was only through divine intervention that we were able to get it. I don't think it's really sunk in yet (probably because we haven't actually moved in). I'm sure I'll star panicking when we get closer to moving in, but for once I'm actually looking forward to the panic. it'll be worth it.

I have a large extended family with whom I am very close. most of them live far away, and I don't call them as often as I should. I always thought it was normal to be really close to your cousins and uncles and aunts until one day I discovered that this was far from ordinary. even though we don't get together that often anymore, it's amazing to know that there's one group of people with whom you'll always fit in.

I really only have a few close friends, but it's enough. most of them live much too far away, but some are still close by. I like having people around who I can discuss life-altering issues with while playing a game of Risk: The Lord of the Rings edition.

I work at a church filled with people who care about 'the church'. it's no secret that I don't always agree with many of them politically or even theologically, but how can you not love working with people who love the church like they do? they give time they don't have, they give money they don't have, all so that the Kingdom of God is furthered. they believed that if God wanted them to have a building then He would provide one, and after many years of waiting faithfully, three acres of the most expensive real estate in Victoria was literally dropped in their laps. for all our disagreements over minor theological issues, I pray that God will make me more like them in the ways that matter the most.

thankfulness is not something that comes naturally to me. seeing the grumpy side of life is always so much easier. which is kind of ridiculous, because I honestly don't have much to be grumpy about.

suburban monasticism

2008-09-15T09:02:00.002-07:00

when I had to get up at 2:45 in the morning to go to work I had to be in bed at, like 7:30 in order to get any sleep, so I haven't been to the Place in a few months. last night was my first week back, and it was a good week to be there. the topic was suburban monasticism, and my friend Randy asked us all if the majority of Christians in North America live their lives as functional atheists. we embrace consumerism, individualism, careerism, and a desperate need for security and want Jesus to play the monarch role to our prime minister--we like having Him around, but we wouldn't take kindly to Him actually trying to interfere in the way we do business. my question is this: what keeps us from living lives of community and generosity and hospitality? is it false teaching in our churches? (or, if not false teaching then weak teaching that doesn't challenge us.) is it personal greed, not only for money and for things but for our time? or maybe we, in the evangelical church at least, are simply fighting the wrong battles. we rage against hot button issues that we think are so obviously wrong, and then we don't see how some of the more insidious wrongs are sneaking into the back doors of our churches and our own minds. i wonder if the political issues that we wage war against aren't just the greatest game of misdirection we've ever fallen for.

boredom and busyness

2008-09-11T21:28:00.002-07:00

how can a person be really bored and really busy all at the same time? I was running ragged all summer, trying to keep up with three jobs, and yet I was completely and totally bored. oddly enough, when I became chained to my couch thanks to my flight down the stairs, I wasn't nearly as bored as I had been when I had so much to do. I hope the jobs I have now are more interesting than the last ones.

where d'ya put the keys, girl?

2008-09-09T21:07:00.002-07:00

it's been eight months since I've felt any inclination to write anything, and for someone who used to write every day, it's been strange. it's not as though nothing has happened in the last eight months--quite the contrary, to say the least. but the more there has been going on, the less creative I've felt. I didn't even have a new piece for the reconciliation show--I just pulled out something I did a few years back, but had never shown. what is it about stress that makes us check out? shouldn't we turn to our healthy coping mechanisms instead of waiting for boredom to numb our over-worked minds?
september is always much more of a new year than january is for me, which, perhaps, is why I'm trying to start so many new things (and start some old things over again). not that I'm planning to change my name and move to another country, but you never know, I might do something even crazier. like get a haircut.

untitled

2008-01-20T21:30:00.000-08:00

well, here I am. obviously I haven't had much to say lately. I still don't, really. but maybe I will again soon. we'll see.

betraying the sisterhood

2007-11-16T09:58:00.000-08:00

Yup. I betrayed the sisterhood yesterday. I changed my name. I am officially Julia Nobel. And I gotta tell ya', when they asked me at the Driver's Licence place if I was going to hyphenate with my old name or simply assume the new one, I almost went with the hyphen. But no. I have acquired a new name. And I think I'm experiencing buyer's remorse.

selling out

2007-09-03T08:23:00.001-07:00

Well, i'm finally caving. I'm watching the Fellowship of the Rings today. I've held out for many years, but today I finally become one of the masses. My cousins are coming over in an hour to eat waffles and watch Lord of the Rings, and, to be honest, I'm kinda looking forward to it! But hey, at least I read the books first.

sunday's conclusion

2007-08-12T21:45:00.000-07:00

I came to an unexpected realization today. I've been wondering why I've been feeling a little bit blah lately. There's been so many changes in my life of late that I thought it must be connected to that, but it didn't really seem to add up. Yes, I got married--big change--but I really like being married, and I totally feel like I've adjusted to it well (so far!). But I think I figured it out today. It's not some great grand thing, though. I think I'm bored. I'm used to juggling a dozen different things, and that was magnified tenfold when I was planning my own wedding! I'm used to having a lot of projects on the go, going to meetings, planning youth events, running back and forth to church, trying to find time to spend with my fiance, driving from place to place just so we could see each other, and so on and so on and so on. I enjoyed my complicated little life. But now I go to work, I come home exhausted, I eat dinner with my husband, I make my lunch, I go to bed, and seven hours later I get up and do the exact same thing.

Maybe I'm just trying to adjust to a post-workaholic life. I made a concerted effort to cut back on things because I was running myself ragged and getting sick all the time, and, if I hadn't, I never would have had time for a boyfriend-then-fiance-then-husband. And I'm not sorry that I don't work myself to death anymore. But I really wish I had some kind of project--something that I could get excited about and plan and organize, 'cause those are two of my favourite things. But I really don't seem to have time for anything like that, and I definitely don't seem to have the energy. Being bored and being busy at the same time is quite the paradox.

blogger's block

2007-08-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

I wish I had more to say these days, but I really don't. I've started this all-consuming job, and I'm finding any and all creative juices to be completely tapped by the time I get home.

But I have to say, being married kicks.

2007-07-10T21:22:00.000-07:00

Blogger really doesn't like me again, I don't know why, but hopefully our little spat will be mended soon and I will be able to post regularly again. In the meantime, I will try to get wedding pics up on my photo site this week. I wanted to put a few on here, but it's not working. I'll try again soon!

less than two weeks to go

2007-06-11T22:44:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, a few months ago I was already starting to worry that I'd start panicking by now--about the wedding, about getting married, etc., etc., etc. But I had hoped that there just wouldn't be enough time to freak out. And I have to say, I've really learned something in all this. I've discovered that there is always enough time to panic.

corporate carnage

2007-05-21T11:40:00.000-07:00

they came,

they saw,

they gutted.

We closed on the 15th of may, and Jack was supposed to have five days to clean everything out of the pie shop. Instead, the crews arrived the morning of the 16th to rip the whole place apart. There were still cheques and timesheets and files in the office, and they just threw everything out back. By the time evening rolled around most of the inside walls had been knocked down. Jack asked me to take a bunch of pictures of the mess, but I doubt either of us will need any reminders of what it looked like.

pie shop gutted

2007-05-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

i'm still in shock. i went in to make tarts today and the entire pie shop was literally destroyed around me (five days earlier than it was supposed to be). and the crews weren't exactly careful--much of jack's stuff was trashed in the process. needless to say, the new owner isn't exactly endearing himself to the neighbourhood. i'll have pics up tomorrow.

the sacrament of tears

2007-05-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

"Crying must be a mystery, a physical sign of a spiritual reality--a sacrament."

To read the whole article, click here. Trust me, you want to check this one out.

ahem...

2007-05-12T23:35:00.000-07:00

it's four weeks to the wedding and there are still almost 100 people who haven't rsvp'd. and we only invited 130. hmm...

ode to a sink

2007-05-11T22:15:00.000-07:00

I've been starting to get back into a few things that I stopped doing for awhile. One of those, obviously, is blogging, and another one is taking pictures. I've started experimenting with a few things (particularly how my camera works, which I probably should have done a long time ago!). After a few hours of work, I finally ended up with two pictures I actually like; they are from my 'ode to a sink' series. Actually, they are my 'ode to a sink' series! Enjoy.

the meaning of wife

2007-05-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

i've been reading "the meaning of wife" by anne kingston. stay tuned for more details...

The Nobels

2007-05-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

On the way to church the other night I was lamenting to Jay that, in a few short weeks, people are going to start referring to us as 'The Nobels'. This lament was, of course, part of my ongoing grumpiness about changing my name. Not two minutes later, when we entered the church building, Don Crawford comes up to us and says "Hey, Nobels, how's it going?" (Which just goes to show that Don's well-renowned ninja skills are even more stealth-like than I thought--seriously, how does he know everything?)

The Nobels. We're going to be 'The Nobels'. I swear that makes me sound like I'm 25 going on 40. Not only that, but it makes me FEEL like I'm 25 going on 40. I guess I may as well just accept the domesticity that others will inevitably thrust upon me now that I'm getting married. I'll attend marriage conferences that tell me about the 'roles and responsibilities of the wife'. Although, since I'm going to be the one who's working and Jay's the one who's staying home, I guess I already blew that one, huh. Excellent.

uh...how do I sign in again?

2007-05-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

It's been two months since I've posted (obviously). Honestly, I just haven't had anything to say. Well, no, actually I've had lots to say, but nothing that I'm going to post on the world wide web! So you'll all just have to ask me about it in person. Of course, I don't think I have a single reader left, so I doubt anyone's going to ask!

I'm getting married in less than six weeks. Weird. I'm not quite sure how life can be going along normally for years at a time, and then all of a sudden, nothing is the same as it was before. And yes, it will be all of a sudden--in the span of one week I will get married, move out of the home I've lived in for ten years (and leave a family I've lived with for twenty-six), and start a new job. And did I mention I'm leaving a house in Broadmead for a one-room basement suite in Burnside? (And yes, that's one-room, not one bedroom!) This is going to be an interesting transition...

spring reading

2007-03-07T20:10:00.002-08:00

I know I should be reading something that will expand my mind and give me great wisdom (and also better prepare me for The Locals gathering next week), but whatever. Instead I'm reading "A Man on the Moon" by Andrew Chaikin. It's about The Apollo Space Program and the people involved in it. I've read it before, and any time you go back to read a book this long a second time, you know it has to be good. So I'll have my nose in a book for awhile, and even if it isn't some great theological treatise, it's still a good thing, right? By the way, check out NASA's new mission to the moon, it's pretty interesting. And for all of you who will criticize me for not thinking that Apollo, Constellation, or any other space exploration is a total waste of money, all I can say is bring it on.

Doubting [insert name here]

2007-02-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

A funny thing happened at church this week. I was going to start a new unit at our jr. high Bible Study this Sunday. I was all gung ho and ready to go, until I arrived at church and panic set in; turns out, I brought the wrong curriculum book. The one I was going to use was about holiness; the one I had was a book we went through last year. The first lesson in this book was about doubts. So I quickly developed a new lesson plan based on that one, and hoped for the best. I figured that I could just start the unit on holiness next week. But then something odd happened.

At first we started talking about the typical doubts we always talk about in church--the 'apologetic doubts'. These are the ones that all those 'other' people have ('other' being anyone who isn't a conservative Christian). These are nice safe doubts to talk about, because they're highly impersonal and we can talk about them on a completely intellectual level. And, of course, when we memorize the answers to them, we can be prepared for when any of those 'other' people come to use with those doubts. If, for example, someone says they doubt that Jesus really was the Son of God, we can reach into our bag of "Answers for Heathens" and shoot them out like balistic missiles.

It wasn't long before my "I've heard it all before" teens were looking pretty glassy-eyed. So I asked them what kinds of doubts Christians might have. Silence. We started talking about it more, and a lot of interesting questions came up. And it didn't take long for me to see that we needed to spend some more time on this.

So we're going to take five or six weeks and talk about a specific doubt each week. And I was hoping that, as I try to create curriculum out of thin air, I could get some help from all of you people who are smarter than me. I'm going to post a list of the doubts they brought up below, and I'd like your feedback and thoughts on them. How would you respond to someone who says, "I doubt that...

...God really cares about me
...a loving God would send people to hell
...God really answers my prayers
...it's very important for me to read the Bible
...a loving God would let bad things happen
...God's people would disagree so much."

Any thoughts?

the prodigal

2007-02-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

I've been working on a children's lesson on the prodigal son(s), and I'm stuck on a particular question. This question should be an easy one, and yet it seems to be far more complicated than I ever realized. So here is my question to all of you: What does it mean to forgive?

A Plea for Mercy

2007-02-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

O Blogger, dear Blogger, how have I offended thee?
I switched to your new system as you so persistently asked,
And now I am so frequently denied the ability to sign in!

O Blogger, dear Blogger, do you no longer care?
Do I no longer find favour in your site?
What mortal sin have I commited?

O Blogger, dear Blogger, what is the origin of your displeasure?
Is it my persistent use of Canadian spellings?
If I say I will love my neighbor and not my neighbour, will that satisfy your wrath?

O Blogger, dear Blogger, have mercy.

The Wisdom of Hilary

2007-02-01T08:27:00.000-08:00

Take a look at this post by James Kingsley. Short, sweet, and definitely to the point.

poasis chat

2007-01-27T22:20:00.000-08:00

There's a really interesting conversation about church logos and branding going on at the poasis blog. Click here to join the fray.

the bottom of the barrel

2007-01-27T21:54:00.000-08:00

Okay folks, I have officially hit the bottom of the employment barrel. Today I applied to be a fitness coach at Curves. I know, I know, it doesn't exactly seem like a good fit for me. Okay, maybe that's an understatement. Not only have I been to a gym exactly once in my life, but I know pretty much nothing about fitness. But I know a lot about wellness, so I played that up! And, before I left, naturally I chose my attire in order to try to look fitnessy without looking like I was trying to look fitnessy. Yup. I have no pride left.

your official Ennlodinj (invitation)

2007-01-24T18:16:00.000-08:00

There's a new blog on the World Wide Web, folks, and I hope it will be a welcome addition. For all you Englishers out there who have been deprived of learning the Great Mennonite Language, your chance has not yet passed you by. Check out http://the-eefelts-guide-to-plautdietsch.blogspot.com/ and see what you've been missing. Plautdietsch is a holy language, after all.

spam-alert

2007-01-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

Okay, I enabled word verification for comments--hopefully that will keep me from getting more spam comments!

Happy Martin Luther King Day

2007-01-15T22:50:00.000-08:00

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm

Take a listen, folks, everyone should heard this one at least once.

(you know who you are)

2007-01-14T22:58:00.000-08:00

To my dear, dear friend, who is in such heart-breaking pain: I don't have any cliches for you, I have no slogans for you, and I have no cute little Bible verses for you. All I can tell you is that you have friends, and we love you very much.

the end of the snow days

2007-01-13T23:17:00.000-08:00

sigh. It looks like things are going to warm up soon, which means I will be back to my regularly scheduled activities. I love snow days. I missed two days of work this week because of the snow (well, because of the snow and its effect on my hill), and man, did those days feel good. I made crepes, I got caught up on a lot of work for church, I tried out my new mixer and baked a cake (it was really good), I read a book, and I watched Frasier. I'd almost forgotten what days off felt like. From about August 20th to December 29th, I could count the number of days off I'd had on one hand (working two jobs is such a joy). So it was really nice to have two days off in a row! But the rain is on its way, and with it comes the thaw that will spoil my fun. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.

The Hill

2007-01-11T22:32:00.000-08:00

I live on the middle of a hill; that is, the hill begins below my house and crests above it. This hill has provided years of amusement during snowfalls such as the ones we are having now. It's quite something to see people slamming on their brakes as they come down the street--a street which is now made of ice, not pavement. It's almost as fun as watching people try to get up the hill, and let me tell you, they certainly can be persistent. Why they make such an effort when they could just go around the hill via the next street and end up at the top anyways is beyond me. Who knew driving at 5 km/h could be a spectator sport.

well, that's depressing

2007-01-10T00:09:00.000-08:00

it turns out I can make more money as a telemarketer than as a child and youth care worker. nice. don't worry, I won't be calling you anytime soon.

so now what?

2007-01-08T23:19:00.000-08:00

i really don't know what my life is going to look like in six months. all i know is that it will be profoundly different than it is now. i guess it's normal to be both excited and nervous about something like that, but, well, it's not normal for me! i've never exactly embraced change. and i've never experienced change like i'm about to. but at least i'm gettin' on the roller coaster now instead of watching it whiz by and wishing i had the stomach to get on.

You mean I could have been eating that soup for nine years!?!

2007-01-05T22:10:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm leaving the pie shop, I'm discovering some shocking things, most of which I really wish I'd known before.

1. Our split pea soup is really good
-I've been making that soup a couple of times a week for almost nine years, and, thanks to previous bad experiences with split pea soup, I never tried it. The other day, I finally did, and believe me, I was shocked.

2. We have a watering can
-For nine years, I've been watering the plants with big, awkward measuring cups that get more water on the table than in the vases. A couple of weeks ago, I look up, and all of a sudden I see a watering can on a shelf above my head. Turns out it's been there the whole time. Figures.

3. One of my regulars has a daugther
-Okay, that might not be all that surprising, but I see this guy twice a day, every day, and I didn't know he had a daughter. Apparently she's a dentist. Who knew.

It's funny that I find out all this information right before I'm leaving. Sigh. I'm going to miss this place.

umm...okay God, any time now!

2007-01-04T23:27:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is unexpected. I've been looking for work for three months now. I've sent out countless resumes, most of which were for jobs that I was relatively qualified for. And I've gotten exactly one interview. And that interview was for a job that was for one hour a day. Yeah. So if anyone has any bright ideas for a child and youth care worker who's down on her luck, be sure to send them my way.

way back when I turned 25...

2007-01-03T09:05:00.000-08:00

back in october, on my 25th birthday, j and I went out to Mayne Island. here are some of the many, many pictures I took that day:

back from sabbatical

2007-01-02T23:58:00.000-08:00

i have finally returned to the blogging world! it seemed like all i've done is work for the last month and a half, and i just couldn't drag myself to the keyboard to type out anything resembling coherent thought. hopefully i will be a much more frequent post-er once again. so, if i still have any kind of readership left (which i realize is highly doubtful at this point), i hope to keep you well-read in the coming months. then again, this might be just another one of those new year's resolutions that lasts about five minutes.

nerves

2006-11-16T23:15:00.000-08:00

uncertainty is really not my favourite place to be. unfortunately, God seems quite content to leave me there. or perhaps that's fortunate after all.

nothing says Christmas like crappy music

2006-11-13T14:53:00.000-08:00

I went to the craft store today, where I discovered that Christmas has already come. I double-checked my calendar and discovered that, yes, it is still November 13th and not December 13th, but I guess the Twelve Days of Christmas is really the Twelve Weeks of Christmas now. I can handle all the lights, I can handle all the reindeer, and I can definitely handle all the baked goodies, but there is one thing about Christmas in the West that just makes my stomach churn: the music. I cannot believe that in the 21st century, we still listen to songs with sophisticated lyrics like "giddy yup, giddy yup, giddy yup". I think the worst I ever heard was a medley of Jingle Bells and that classic Yuletide tune, Tequila. On my old blog I once posted some musical suggestions for the retailers of Canada. Since they seem to have paid me no heed, I once again emplore them with the following suggestions:

Music should be limited to songs written before 1950 with the following exceptions:

Bing Crosby
Harry Connick Jr.
Music appearing in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special ('cause Vince Guaraldi kicks)

There will be no sleigh bells jingling, nor any ring-ting-tingling, and under no circumstances will there be any friends calling "yoohoo".

And please, in the name of all that is Christmas, NO REMIXES!!! Bing Crosby was not meant to 'get jiggy' with anything.

no church for me tonight

2006-11-12T18:09:00.000-08:00

yup, i'm once again playing hooky from church (sorry, barb). i'm taking care of a sick little kitty tonight. i took her to the vet hospital this afternoon--quite the experience, let me tell you! my cat has only been in a car once before, and that was several years ago. other than that, she's never left our neighbourhood. so she definitely objected to being in her carrying case! two hours of constant meowing later we were finally on our way back home. actually, she's still meowing, and she's been home for two hours! hopefully she forgives me. i'll just have to bribe her with treats.

how goes the job search?

2006-10-26T00:09:00.000-07:00

You can officially start asking me that question. I started my job search in earnest this evening, updating my resume and looking for positions online. I think I actually looked at about 700 this evening (and was qualified for only one--well, only one that made more than $10/hour, which is really a must at this point). The thing is, I have a good resume--if you're looking for someone to work for a non-profit, which, surprise surprise, nobody is!

December 24th will probably be my last day at Robertshaw Pies, which is something that makes me happy and incredibly teary-eyed all at the same time. I've worked there for seven years--seeing my wonderful boss every day, seeing the same regular customers every day. As much as I know I need to move on, it'll be so hard to let it go. And it's hard not knowing what's coming next--I always want to see what's around the next corner. I like having everything all planned out. But God seems to be bombarding me with change for the coming year--I know that my life will be completely different this time next year. I know I'll be so grateful for it once it's all done, and I know that, looking back, it will have been a good experience, but...well, I'll be glad that it's done, too!

So how do I know what to do? How many hours do I really need to work? How much money do I really need to make? How many hours can I actually work without either damaging my work at church or keeling over?

I suddenly remembered a phrase from this old Aaron Sorkin show called Sports Night. One of the characters is debating what to do, and he finally decides to "show up and see what happens". And as much as I want to control, well, everything, I think probably all I can do right now is show up and see what happens, and trust that someone else has it figured out.

not a good idea

2006-09-27T22:40:00.001-07:00

I did something tonight that I should never do. I read through the flyer for a Christian Book Store right before I was going to go to bed. Included in this month's flyer are the books "Prayer 101", "The Portable Seminary", and, my personal favourite, "How to Act Like a Christian". And, of course, the usual watered-down Harlequin romance novels. There is also a vast array of Bibles to choose from, including The Official Duct Tape Bible (yes, it is the official one, folks). And just when I thought the barrage of Christian Commercialism couldn't get any worse, I came to the "BibleZines" section. For those of you who haven't heard of them, BibleZines are, and I quote, "Part magazine, part Bible". The women's BibleZine is called "becoming" (all lowercase), and includes the topics "Have you found true love?", "Having peace of mind", and "25 tips on developing true beauty". The men's BibleZine is called "ALIGN" (all uppercase), and includes "Sexcess: Success with the Opposite Sex!", "Fitness Tips Help Strengthen and Tone", and "Top Ten Lists for Getting Ahead". The one for teenage girls includes a quiz called "Does He Like You?", while the one for boys includes tips on "How to Attract Godly Girls".

I checked out some Amazon reviews of the BibleZines--here's what one of them said: "Maybe the reason that we are not reaching the world with the Gospel is because we are too busy making money off it". Hmm.

in way over my head

2006-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

chris neufeld asked me to be a panelist at this year's Telling the Truth Conference. I don't know who's crazier, chris for asking or me for accepting.

Here you go, Barb

2006-09-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

My friend Barb has been harrassing me to post more so that she has (and I quote) "something to do at work". Since I'm still in summer mode (ie please don't make me think yet), I'll just post some photos I took in New Zealand last winter. Barb, I hope this helps to alleviate your boredom--this post's for you!

New Zealand Photos

2006-09-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

just when I thought I could get off the couch

2006-08-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, the good news is my ankles seem to be pretty well healed. The bad news is I was back at the clinic last night. I wasn't feeling that well on Sunday, so I stayed home from church in the evening. Then Jason found me passed out on the kitchen floor on Monday, and I was really lightheaded for the rest of the day. So we went to the clinic last night, and it turns out I'm anemic. I've been ordered on a diet of red meat and salt (no complaints here!), and as long as I get lots of rest this week (ie pretty much stay in bed), I should be fine. Just when I thought I could get off the couch, I've been ordered back to a life of boredom. Sitting doesn't exactly come naturally to me. I'm guessing this is another one of God's little lessons about taking time to rest. Great.

the masked marauder

2006-08-18T13:40:00.000-07:00

so i'm sitting at the computer the other night, minding my own business, my cats at my feet, when i hear a noise from the other side of the room. i peer around the couch and i see, just inside my back door, a raccoon. inside my house. i had left the back door open so my cats could come in, and apparently he followed, hoping for some food. now, having heard a raccoon kill a dog (a rather unpleasant experience, i assure you), i'm well aware that they're not the nicest animals, and he's much bigger than my cats (not to mention the fact that he's also much bigger than my feet, which i would prefer not to have claw marks on). he backed away a bit when he saw me, and I started yelling at him and making as much noise as I could, and he finally went outside far enough for me to close the door. now, you should know that one of my cats is very much an outdoor cat and doesn't like being in the house, especially when she's scared. so she's completely freaking out about the fact that i closed the door, meowing with the greatest of gusto, begging me to let her outside. and the raccoon refuses to leave. so now the evening becomes a little more ridiculous. i'm hucking everything i can at this stupid raccoon to try to get it to leave--a tin can, a big metal watering can, a couple of shoes (sorry dad, hope you didn't like those ones too much). i have to say, he wasn't too impressed by my efforts (after being hit with the watering can he started rolling it around and playing with it). finally he got bored and left. for the rest of the night, everything i saw out of the corner of my eye looked like a raccoon ready to pounce on me. the masked marauder has bested me once again.

yeah, i know it's been awhile

2006-08-01T00:43:00.000-07:00

yes, i am still breathing, though my old harddrive is not, which is why you haven't heard from me in awhile. my harddrive was wiped/fried/every-bad-computer-thing-you-can-think-of last week (thankfully i had pretty well everything backed up). hopefully this new harddrive will be in good working order and won't try to make me cry like the last one did.

you know, it's odd. there have been a lot of things going wrong lately. my harddrive was wiped, i've been on either crutches or a cane for a month, which means i haven't been able to do much of anything but sit on the couch and watch mary tyler moore, my family went to Ukraine and left me here by myself for six weeks--you wouldn't think that it's the best way to spend a summer. and yet, so far, this has been the best summer i can remember. i can't remember when i've been in a better mood for this long, and i am having so much fun doing nothing. life is good.

Things That Are Funny About Having Two Sprained Ankles

2006-07-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

1. Getting into the bathtub when you can’t get your ankles wet (they’re all wrapped up with tape I can’t take off for another 9 days)

2. Having a bath when you can’t get your ankles wet

3. Getting out of the bathtub when you can’t get your ankles wet (this was by far the most difficult and most amusing of the three)

4. Doctor’s visits (“Does this hurt?” “Yes.” “Okay, does this hurt?” “YES!” “Okay, does this hurt?” “My ankle is the colour of a friggin’ blueberry, of course it hurts when you grip it like a vice and twist it!!!”)

5. Walking down the stairs with crutches when you can't really put weight on either foot (I’ve only fallen once so far, so I think I’m doing rather well!)

6. Being forced to sit on the couch and do nothing (people actually enjoy this whole ‘sitting around’ thing?)

it's true

2006-07-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, the rumors are true, I sprained both my ankles last Sunday. Somebody (not mentioning any names, of course, but his last name starts with 'n' and rhymes with 'obel') left a stack of two-by-ten boards perched precariously beside one another and then asked me to move them into his truck. Being the submissive type (cough, cough) I picked the first one up, not realizing that all the others were resting against the one I moved. Down they came, crushing my unsuspecting size-five feet. Thus my once-dainty ankles (again, cough, cough) were afflicted with "multiple contusions, bruised bones, bad sprains, and a possible fracture", or so the doctor said. Looks like lawn games are out for me this week.

new link

2006-07-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

many of you know that my best friend Crystie is an excellent photographer and artist who has had to take a little break from the arts scene in order to take care of her son. now that he's getting a little older (7 months) and can actually sit quietly for a few minutes (albeit a very few minutes!) she's finally been able to start taking photos again. she's started up a blog to post some of her latest pictures, all of which are beautiful. take a minute to visit Baby Brained --it's definitely worth a look. and read the story about taking her 7 month old on a ten hour bus trip. it'll make you nautious.

i don't get it

2006-07-03T21:50:00.000-07:00

I generally consider myself to be a somewhat intelligent woman. This belief is always dropped like a bad habit whenever I face the great leveler of human life: the department store. Yes, it's true; I am completely incapable of navigating a department store. Every corner looks the same, every section looks like the one I just came from, and somehow, after wandering aimlessly through the asthma-provoking perfume section in the middle of the store, I always end up back at the lingerie section, never able to find that illusive mall-entrance. How do people do it? How do people make their way through the endless mannequins and shelves piled high with stockings (of all things!)? Is the mall-entrance really just a wicked rumor, cruelly giving false hope to dazed shoppers such as myself? Last week I was forced into a department store to buy something for my brother's wedding--it's a miracle I'm not still lost, doomed to wander the Hudson's Bay Company for the rest of my natural life.

pictures from this weekend's events

2006-07-03T20:21:00.000-07:00

there are pictures on the art etc... site for anyone who wants to take a gander at some of the pieces from this weekend's youth and kids' show. there should be more pictures later this week, so keep checking back.

(Sketch by Dawn Marks)

the prodigal blogger returns

2006-06-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

yes, after a long absense, I have finally returned to the blogosphere. my brother's wedding was a little time consuming, to say the least! did I mention I was baking their wedding cake? did I mention we did the rehearsal dinner ourselves (and it was for over thirty people)? did I mention I was the best man? and that one of my best man duties was creating their slideshow? did I mention that my dad's birthday was the day before the wedding and my parents' 40th wedding anniversary celebration was the day after the wedding (also at our house, also with over thirty people attending)? did I mention there were 16 people staying at my house last week? yeah. I'm a little tired, now.

art etc... presents

2006-06-15T09:07:00.000-07:00

Community Arts Day

Come down to the All-Fun Recreation Park on Saturday July 1st between 10am and 3pm for a Community Arts Day! Geared especially towards kids and families, the day will include instructor-led sessions and specific projects for kids to work on, as well as art stations open all day long.

Visit www.artetcevents.blogspot.com for more details on sessions.

Event to be held in the Westshore Alliance Church Children's Ministry Centre at the All-Fun Recreation Park.

Event sponsored by art etc…

in the line of kings (Ruth 4)

2006-06-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

for those of you unlucky enough not to have seen this incredible painting by jason nobel on sunday, here's a small picture that doesn't do it justice. anyone who doesn't think the arts can teach needs a tour of jason's soon-to-be-relocated studio.

and in addition to the thought-provoking theology, ruth's hair is awesome.

"in the line of kings"

jason nobel

4 by 6 acrylic on canvas

2006

Emerging Bloggers I Love (who happen to be women)

2006-06-09T13:08:00.000-07:00

One of the things I’ve noticed is that, of all the great sites listed in a lot of emerging blogrolls, very few of them are authored by women. As I mentioned in a previous post, of 179 bloggers listed at http://emergingchurchblogs.info/, only 11 of them are women. While there certainly seem to be fewer gals blogging than men, I think part of the problem is that they’re just not as well known. So, seeing as how this blog reaches so many people, I thought I’d enlighten all eleven of you with a list of some of the many emerging bloggers I love who just happen to be women.

Dan McCredden (http://www.signposts.org.au/) Thanks to the pseudo-anonymity of the blogosphere, her typically-male first name meant that most people assumed she was a man for over a year. Her "coming out of the closet" post about being a woman in ministry stirred up a lot of discussion—153 comments and counting, some of which are quite shocking. I understand that women in ministry is a complex issue, and I’m perfectly able to listen to differing views, but I would hope we don’t have to resort to name calling. Her husband posts at signpost as well—yesterday’s post about converting to the cult of Mac was written just for you, James K!

Rachelle Mee-Chapman (http://www.monkfish-abbey.org/blog/) Okay, I know most people have already heard of Rachelle, but she’s worth the publicity. I admit I don’t always agree with her. But I really like smart people who disagree with me. And her thoughts on roadblocks for women in the emerging conversation, found here and here , are brilliant.

Lynne Taylor (http://www.emergentkiwi.org.nz/lynne/) Many of you have probably heard of emergent kiwi Steve Taylor, but did you know his wife’s been rockin’ it for years too? Her posts are thoughtful, poetic, and above all honest—and she’s not afraid to stir up a little controversy. (For Easter this year she used a photo of an Abu Ghraib prisoner being tortured by an American soldier to represent the suffering of Jesus—click here to find out why).

Maggi Dawn (http://maggidawn.typepad.com/maggidawn/) I’ve heard some people say there isn’t enough theology in the emerging church. Those people need to meet Maggi Dawn. Her most recent posts include thoughts on Ecclesiastes, the Psalms, and the Ascension, as well as some rather amusing thoughts about God calling the vestry and the chapel catching fire on Pentecost Sunday. And you’ve got to read this hysterical poem called Da Vinci Code Dr. Seuss Style.

The Hard Soap Gals (http://www.hardsoap.net/) Four young women contribute to this blog, and I honestly don’t even know how they know each other. They all come with different denominational backgrounds (from Baptist to Pentecostal to Catholic), and they all live in different parts of the world (from Oxford to Mississauga to Texas). Their different traditions, locations, and experiences are all reflected in their posts, making for very interesting reading. Where else can you find four different descriptions of celebrating Easter, including receiving communion at St. Paul’s Cathedral and thoughts on the humdrum of Holy Saturday? As for the title, here’s their explanation: “There has been a great deal of soft soap talked about God for the last hundred years. That is not what I am offering." -C.S. Lewis

There are so many more I could list, but I’ll have to restrain myself. For now, I hope you can all take some time to find out what these chicks of the church are up to.

grrr

2006-06-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

To the maker of a certain mosaic glue that claims to be clear when it dries, I hereby saith to you: Liar, Liar, pants on fire.

when leo met lichtenstein

2006-05-27T21:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was having a discussion with a friend of mine about the relative merits of Leonardo DaVinci and Roy Lichtenstein. It got me thinking--what would happen if those two artists got together...

doctor

2006-05-27T21:44:00.001-07:00

haunted

2006-05-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

portrait

2006-05-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

woman

2006-05-27T21:42:00.000-07:00

illumination

2006-05-27T21:41:00.001-07:00

leisure

2006-05-27T21:41:00.000-07:00

the last supper

2006-05-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

a woman's hand

2006-05-27T21:34:00.000-07:00

spring art work from art etc...

2006-05-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

Here's a sample of some of the art work our kids and youth have been creating this spring. For more pics, click here .

matt bingham, I owe you one

2006-05-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

I was browsing through a thrift store cd section this week when I came upon an old Tori Amos cd (Under the Pink, in case you were wondering). Now, I must sheepishly confess, when Tori Amos first hit it big, I didn’t pay too much attention to her. I was around 14, and I was too busy discovering the Beatles and Janis Joplin to listen to anything written after about 1973. But when I found this cd, I thought to myself, hmm, I remember a post of Matt Bingham’s from like, a hundred years ago, where he said he was a fan of Tori’s. Seeing as how Matty B’s musical choices have never yet steered me wrong (and the cd was only $3.29), I decided I may as well get it. So I popped it in my cd player when I got home and started cleaning my house. I didn’t get very far. Before long I was sitting on the floor, reading the lyrics, and essentially frozen in awe of this unbelievable sound. When Matt said that her voice gets inside your head, he wasn’t kidding. ‘bells for her’ has been haunting me for a week now (and that’s a good thing!). Her arrangements are unlike anything I’ve ever heard. The imagery she uses is wild and vague, and yet it makes sense in some crazy beautiful way. And you’ve never heard anyone play the piano until you hear “cornflake girl”. Yes, she’s blunt, to put it mildly (‘icicle’ will probably make you cringe). But she’s honest, and she makes me think (a lot!). So thanks, Matty B., for introducing me to someone who already feels like an old friend—I owe you one, man.

dust in the sunlight

2006-05-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

I was sitting on a bench with someone the other day when he pointed out that you could see the dust in the sunlight. He said he finds it interesting that there's all this stuff floating around that we can't see until the light hits it in a certain way. I thought it was a great metaphor--sometimes there is so much stuff floating around inside of us that nobody sees, that we don't even know is there, until the light hits it in a certain way--until somebody shines a light on it. And then suddenly that's all you can see. And it seems to surround you, and you wonder how you never saw it before--and maybe you wonder how you get out of it so you can breathe again.

jaded

2006-05-17T00:11:00.000-07:00

This weekend I accidently created a piece about relationships. It's a somewhat jaded commentary, but it looks more negative than it actually is. Judging from the piece, it may look as though I'm bitter about something, but I'm really not! I just found some red tissue paper and a magazine and this is what came out.

life as a persian king

2006-05-15T23:14:00.000-07:00

I find it interesting how little we’ve talked about the actual story of Esther during our study of this book. The narrative keeps bringing up unexpected tangents. This week, our little question sheet said the following: “Persian kings lived in isolation from the real world. It was unlawful to be unhappy in the king’s presence and service”. So we were, of course, feeling a little indignant to the self-centered king when Mo asked us if we, in the West, are just like Persian kings, refusing to allow any unhappiness in our presence, content to turn a blind eye to things like genocide? We see pictures of Darfur on the news and say “My gosh, isn’t anyone going to stop this?” And then we find the remote between the cushions of the couch and start flipping channels—oh look, the Simpsons is on.

in between thoughts

2006-05-13T23:14:00.000-07:00

I know I don’t usually go so long between posts, but I’ve been quite busy making very bad decisions over the last few days.

The Ethics of the Lie

2006-05-10T11:23:00.000-07:00

Is it ever ethical to tell a lie? Is there actually a difference between a lie and half-truth? For all you overanalyzers who are now wondering ‘is she lying to me about something?’, rest assured, I’m not! This was a question that came up at Mo and Barb’s Bible Study on Monday night, and it’s been sticking with me a bit this week. I know some people say it’s never okay to lie—a lie is a sin, and a sin-is a sin-is a sin. So does that mean that Gentile families who hid Jews during the Holocaust were sinning when they told the SS Officers that there were no Jews in the house? And if that was okay, does that mean there’s a hierarchy of sin? If not, can something like that be ethical and sinful at the same time? When it comes to a situation like this, is there a difference between ‘ethically okay’ and ‘theologically okay’?

My Favourite Up-and-Coming Artist

2006-05-09T12:51:00.000-07:00

My favourite up-and-coming artist has piece hanging at the Kelowna Art Gallery right now--her name is Joanna Suderman, and you can see some of her work on her daughter of a king site. That's her drawing of a violin up there--did I mention she just recently turned 16? And oh yeah, she's my cousin.

my secret life as a valley girl

2006-05-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

okay, I don't have a secret life as a valley girl. But I got my hair cut today, and the hairdresser blowdried my hair straight, so I kinda look like a valley girl now. Hopefully that will pass as soon as I wash it and the nappy-head returns.

I finally learned my lesson and stopped going to the posh salon downtown. Why I ever started going there, I'll never know--they're really expensive and kinda snooty, but they lure you in with their "I'm so cool and you could be too" ambiance. But after two chin-length hair cuts when I asked for shoulder-length, I decided that they were a little too cool for me. So, after work today, I walked three doors down to my local beauty shop (yes, we still call them that in our little Dean Heights Shopping Centre), and an hour later I walked out with my self-image intact. Plus I got to know Carly the Hair-Dresser-Gal, an artist who wants to study psychology and has actually been to the Place a few times. All in all, a pretty good way to spend an afternoon. So no more visits to posh salons for me--the local beauty/barber shop is where it's at, folks.

How Randy (thankfully) Ruined My Week

2006-05-05T22:25:00.000-07:00

I had a plan. I had the rest of this year all planned out for our youth Bible Study. And then I heard Randy’s sermon on Sunday, and I knew my plan was toast. For those of you who missed it, it was about community (click here for the transcript--it's well worth the read).

To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t get it out of my head. This fixation was made even worse with the remembrance of an online conversation between Ron Cole and James Kingsley about this same topic (check that one out here ). Re-reading this conversation, and re-reading Randy’s sermon, made me, well, a little uncomfortable. Randy, James, and Ron were making me ask myself if I was really participating in true community. And more than that, they were making me ask myself whether I was, as James would say, really “uncovering” community in our youth ministry, or if I was just contributing to the status quo.

So I took a good hard look at what’s been happening in our youth ministry—or, more accurately, what hasn’t been happening. The phrase that kept coming back to me was this: what kind of community are we to be? I stole one of Ron’s phrases to help me contemplate that question: the re-telling of who we are. How does our story shape us?

Several years ago our youth chose a verse that we would centre our ministry around: “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:19-20 NIV).
I went back to that verse, asking how it shapes who we are.

…fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household…
-A community where togetherness abounds, because we are family
-A community that holds each other accountable, because we are family
-A community where new people are welcomed, because we are family
-A community that prays for each other, because we are family
-A community that prays for our global neighbourhood, because we are family

…built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets…
-A community that gathers around the Word of the Lord like a campfire
-A community that learns from those who have gone before

…with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone…
-A community where the good news of Jesus is at the centre of who we are

Is this who we are? To a certain extent. But I’m not willing to settle for “sort of”. I’ve heard people say that you can’t experience true community in a ‘youth group’—that they will always be cliquey, always be exclusionary. I can’t believe that’s true, or I may as well pack it in right now. So Randy, James, and Ron, thank you for ruining my week, because the apple cart needed an upset.

A Stomach Churning Morning

2006-05-02T22:44:00.000-07:00

There is only one station that my boss will allow us to listen to at the Pie Shop. In fact, we listen to it whether we want to or not—CBC Radio One is compulsory listening at Robertshaw Pies. So this morning, I was mindlessly making my lemon tart mix when I hear the topics for today on the program “The Current”. One of those topics was described with the following teaser: “What happens when a new breed of church mixes salvation and salesmanship to put posteriors in pews”? That’s right, we’ve hit the big time, folks: today’s topic was church marketing. The first part of the story was about a particular church in Ontario, a Mennonite church at that, which, in the eyes of many, seems to have a particularly marketing-based feel to its services. Not knowing the church particularly well (although I have been to its sister church in Winnipeg) I can’t really comment on it. The second part of the story was an interview with an actual church marketer (is anyone else a little green at the thought of that being a real thing?). This marketer said that what’s really going to grab people is “experience-based marketing”. We should be selling the experience of church, because, as he puts it, “it’s not just what you sell, but how you sell it.” So who should the church look to for guidance in this area? His two suggestions were Disney and Starbucks, two of the great experience-based marketing geniuses. Starbucks sells ambience—it sells ‘cool’. And when you go to Disneyland, you’re “buying a smile on [your] child’s face.” So when it comes to churches, you’re buying an experience you’re looking for from religion. If there was ever any doubt that consumerism has invaded the church, those doubts should be long gone.

As if that didn’t make me queasy enough, then came the main tagline: that, if you have a good product, “the product will sell itself…marketing is most successful when the product delivers on the promise it makes”. The product—by that, I’m assuming we’re referring to Jesus, right? So if we ‘sell’ Jesus, and if He ‘delivers’, then we hop in the shower and they leave the money on the nightstand and everyone goes home happy, right?

I’m going to get in so much trouble for this post.

To hear the story, visit http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/2006/200605/20060502.html

the "e" word

2006-04-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

Jordan Cooper has a really interesting post discussing an article from Christianity magazine on the meaning of the word "evangelical". Here's a taste: "Popular culture has replaced fundementalist with the word evangelical and the term carries too much baggage to be redeemed".

This is Jordon Cooper's weblog: The tide has gone out on the word "evangelical"

and isn't it ironic?

2006-04-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

One of my friends is going through an unbelievably difficult time in her life. And through all of this, she has become the funniest writer. The situation is so sureal that she says she just has to laugh, and the way that she writes about it makes you laugh too, even though you know you probably shouldn't be laughing. She was reading me something over the phone yesterday, and I'm sitting there thinking, this is so awful, and yet it's so funny! Her sarcasm has reached a new level, and her ability to see the ironies of life has been heightened. Maybe it's just a coping mechanism (although, personally I think she's entitled to a few coping mechanisms right now!), but it's had some interesting results.

Do you think a lot of good art (including music, writing, etc.) is produced/created through struggles and in hard times? Why might that be?

oh, diana

2006-04-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

I went to a Steve Bell concert on Saturday night--to read James K's excellent thoughts on that, visit http://theplacelite.blogspot.com/2006/04/steve-bell-et-al.html. I couldn't agree more, James, so I won't bother regurgetating what you said.
Also playing with Steve was a young woman named Diana Pops. I liked her songs, and her cd was only ten bucks, so I bought it. Having listened to it for three days, I now feel well enough informed to comment. WARNING: If you are looking for cookie-cutter lyrics from a cookie-cutter girl, you won't like this cd. If you are looking for the next "Christian Pop" sensation, complete with shallow observations on "the Christian life" that have nothing to do with real life, Diana Pops isn't for you. If you like three chord songs that all sound the same, you'll have to look elsewhere. However, if you're looking for lyrics that actually make you stop and think, if you're looking for an original sound produced by a killer voice , if you're looking for real reflections on faith and life, you'd better visit http://www.signpostmusic.com/pops/pops.htm and listen to some clips. And then buy the cd, and continue buying her cds until the day you die.

hmm...

2006-04-24T23:51:00.000-07:00

can a person be too level-headed?

Confessions of a Non-Shopaholic

2006-04-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I was planning on stopping off at the mall after work to buy some socks. On my way there, I thought, hmm, I haven’t bought a new shirt in ages, and, seeing as how I’m going to this art show opening tonight, maybe I’ll buy a new tank top or something. I knew I had to meet someone in an hour, but I figured, hey, how long can it take to buy a shirt, right? Yeah, right. An hour went by, and I had nothing. I saw nothing even close to being something I would wear. But now I was invested. Now I HAD to find a shirt to wear that night. So after shlepping out to Langford to meet my friend for coffee, I went back to the mall. And I shopped. And tried stuff on. And shopped some more. And tried more stuff on. At this point, I knew that the chances of me finding something were pretty slim, but that was beside the point. I was now a woman on a mission. But everything I saw would either make me look like an old lady or, well, not much of a lady at all, if you catch my drift! Isn’t there something in between dowdy and ditzy? Between business suit and birthday suit? Between grandmama and hoochymama? Two malls and headache later, I finally gave up. So what did I wear to Olio? A tank top my parents gave me for Christmas five years ago and a scarf I bought at an antique store when I was fifteen. And I forgot to buy the socks.

just blowing smoke???

2006-04-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

My quest for rest this week has hit a snag. This morning I thought, ‘well, I’ll just get a quick start on the web research for this paper, and then I’ll take the afternoon off’. That was almost seven hours ago. Why could I not resist the temptation to research? It’s because of the topic. The paper is about gender issues in the emerging church.

Almost every book I’ve read on the emerging church has something to say about gender. It’s usually a sentence about how women and men are treated equally in the emerging church, and how diversity is valued. And then the author goes back to whatever he (yes, usually he) was saying before he paused to show us how inclusive he is. But after spending time looking into the issue a little more, I have to ask, is the emerging church just blowing smoke about women in leadership? As someone who considers herself a part of the emergent conversation, I’m directing this question towards myself as much as anyone else.

A lot of the discussion I saw today looked really familiar. In fact, it was the same old discussion we’ve been having in the traditional church for the last 20 years. There are people saying that women should be ‘allowed’ in leadership because they provide a nurturing, caring approach. (To me, this is insulting to both men and women because a) shouldn’t women be in leadership because they’re capable humans too? and b) it continues to perpetuate the idea that all men are insensitive jerks (well, straight men, at least). There are people who believe married women can be in leadership because they are “under the covering of a male”, but single women “should be counted out of leading” (For more on that one, see the comments on the post found here.) By the way, there are some people who wonder if that’s not just smoke screen for the real argument that we don’t really know what to do with single women in the church, and that they can’t be trusted—see Jenny Baker’s post here

Then, of course, there are people who shove a certain passage from 1 Timothy down our throats. (I’ve always wondered if the revolutionary part of that passage wasn’t that women should learn in “quietness and full submission”, but that women should learn. Of course Paul wasn’t going to tell every 1st century woman to start teaching—they’d never had the opportunity to learn, so why would they suddenly teach? Okay, now I’m on a tangent, sorry.)

I’m going to be writing this paper for awhile, so I’m sure this will be the first of many posts on this topic. (Translation: I’d better shut up before this gets even longer). But I will leave you with some interesting stats:

--At the recent Evolving Church Conference 2006 by Ephiphaniea Inc, there were three main speakers and seven other session leaders. Only one of them was a woman, and she was leading a session on ‘the voice of minorities’.

--But most women just aren’t as interested in speaking at conferences, right? Women are more involved at the grassroots level, right? Well, on one rather extensive list of emerging blogs (http://emergingchurchblogs.info/), out of 179 bloggers listed, 11 of them are women.

--But women just aren’t as into technology, right? Women are more involved in ‘interpersonal networking’, right? Tell me, for those of you involved in emerging networks, how many women are part of your network? (And that’s an actual question that I’d love an answer for, I’m not being sarcastic. Okay, I’m not just being sarcastic.)

Art etc... Launch!

2006-04-18T22:01:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have heard the rumors, yes they are true. Some people at Westshore have gotten together and formed a little arts collective. We're called Art etc... and you can view our newly created blog here:

www.theartetcblog.blogspot.com

Over the next few months, we're going to be talking about how we can create more space for the arts at Westshore and in the church in general--and if you've ever met any of these girls, you'll know we're going to have a blast. They include an art student, a poet, a graphic designer, an actor, and yes, a science fiction writer--and, of course, Dawn, who runs the show (and is indeed the brains, beauty, and brawn behind the entire project). And, oh yeah, they're all under the age of 21. (yes, at 24, I'm the old guy.) It's gonna be fun, so come check it out!

a new easter betrayal

2006-04-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

This is probably going to be one of the more bizarre blog entries I’ve ever written. Today I had to do one of the hardest things I’ve ever done (man, do you know how often I’ve said that over the last year?). I know it was the right thing to do, and yet I never thought in a million years that I would do it. Is it possible to betray someone and yet help them, maybe even saving a life, by that same act of betrayal? Does a person need to be forgiven for doing the right thing?

not just at LPC

2006-04-16T22:26:00.000-07:00

I hear lambrick at a great sunrise service this morning, which is awesome, but just in case anyone thought that was the only one in town, here are some pictures from the sunrise service the youth at westshore participated in this morning. Okay, I realize you guys had 300 people and we had, you know, five, but it was still a good morning! By the way, the small shots don't really do them justice, click on the photos to see them full size. And as my grandmother would say, Freelijche Oostre, everyb0dy! (that's Menno-german for Happy Easter.)

heather

2006-04-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

Kyle

2006-04-16T22:15:00.000-07:00

watermark

2006-04-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

sunrise service

2006-04-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

going gentle into that good night

2006-04-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

We often say that you never know when it will be the last time you see someone. But sometimes you do. This past week my parents went to see a dear friend knowing that it would be the last time they saw her. She had been sick for several weeks, but, now finally receiving proper care, she seemed to be improving and was told she would recover. Then last Saturday word came that she had a very rare form of cancer and would not survive more than a week. What do you say when you know you are seeing your friend for the last time? When you have known someone for over 30 years? When two of your children were born only days apart and grew up together?

We often talk about the importance of fighting against disease, of not giving up. And believe me, I think that is important. As someone whose mother fought cancer and survived, I am so thankful that she didn’t give up. But today, I salute my friend Mrs. Schroeder for having the courage to go gentle in that good night.

Camping with the Girls

2006-04-11T16:55:00.000-07:00

Irma Schroeder, second from the left, passed away at 6:45 this morning.

Dust and Light Signage

2006-04-10T19:32:00.000-07:00

A couple of people asked me about the signs I did for Dust and Light--if you want to see them, click here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/82205116@N00/sets/

good thing I skipped pilates

2006-04-09T00:16:00.000-07:00

One of my Dust and Light tasks yesterday was to pick up more sand (i.e. go down to the beach and bail it into garbage bags). Now, seeing as how I was, you know, stealing sand from a beach, I thought I would be smart and go to a more secluded beach where I could avoid unnecessary embarrassment. Unfortunately, I didn’t think about the fact that the parking lot for this beach is at the top of a rather large cliff. That means, of course, that to get down to the beach (and consequently back up to my car) one must take four, yes four, flights of stairs. This occurs to me as I am putting the sand in the bags, so I am careful not to fill the bags too full. Or so I think. But once I have the bags all tied up, I discover a valuable lesson that should have been learned in the kindergarten schoolyard. Sand is heavy. In fact, sand is friggin’ heavy. But still, I’m pretty sure that I can drag them up the stairs. So I drag the first one along the beach and start heaving it up the stairs one step at a time. I know I look ridiculous, and I think to myself, “gee, I sure am glad this beach is empty”. And at that moment, like a scene out of a bad chick flick, a crowd of people starts walking down the stairs. It isn’t long before there are people literally pointing and laughing. Now, at this point, I’m not helping myself much, because I’m laughing too, and that’s making it harder to haul the sand.

When I’m about halfway up the third flight, I notice that it seems to be getting easier. Being the intelligent masters-level student that I am, I assume that means I’ve found a technique that works. Then I hear one of the ‘pointers’ laugh and say, “Look at the stairs behind her”. I’m pretty sure ‘her’ is ‘me’, so I look back to find progressively larger clumps of dirt on each step. I could, at this point, just admit defeat and empty out some of the remaining sand so I could at least get some into the bucket in my car, but, once again, a stubborn spirit outweighs sound judgment, and I continue lugging the bag up the stairs.

For the second bag, I decide to try to carry it up the stairs in my arms. Unfortunately, I’m about as sturdy as I look, and the weight of the sand is a bit too much for my equilibrium to handle. So, instead of leaving a trail of sand behind me, this time I weave to and fro like a sailor on leave. Once again, my giggles are not helpful.

Thus my pride was sacrificed to Dust and Light, which, come to think of it, is somewhat fitting. If anyone wants to help me Shop-Vac my car, you can pop by anytime.

Dust and Light Tonight!

2006-04-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

April 7th has finally arrived! The doors at 3795 Carey Rd open at 7 o'clock--I was there until almost midnight last night, and trust me, you don't want to miss this one. Here's a sneak peak: http://theplacelite.blogspot.com/2006/04/dust-light-tonight.html

See you then!