Ever prayed for something just odd?
I don't do it often, probably not often enough actually.
A few months ago, I started praying about my shoes. I have this pair of shoes I just "had to have" when I was 14. They cost well over $100 at the time. Now I don't wear them, mostly because they weigh way too much to literally "tote" around campus--about 10 pounds total.
I started praying that God would give me something to do with these shoes. I know I shouldn't own them anymore. But I also wasn't satisfied just sending them off with the collection box--I wanted to believe....for once, that if I asked, God would show up.....and give me something to do with these shoes.
I was at first thinking along the lines of the relational tithe....I'd meet someone who really needed shoes....and instead of throwing off my cheapest shoes, well I'd pick the most expensive pair I've ever owned. Maybe this was a bit extreme. I remember an instance in Bangkok where a young boy's flip flops broke......I felt overwhelmed to offer him my own shoes. He declined....but for a second, I had to panic......my only pair of sandals for the summer.....well, gone. Not really that crazy.
But then the other day the campus crusade people started talking about doing a Badmitton tournament. I couldn't go--I'll be out of town. But the fundraiser is "Shoes for Souls"--some kind of ministry, somewhere. Probably like Williamsburg Community Chapel's collection of eye glasses.
Regardless........here's my chance, goodbye Doc Martens.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
Vegetarianism: some thoughts
Wendell Berry, a Christian ethicist and Kentucky farmer writes often on the industrial economy and Christian's responsibility to the earth.
He remarks city people often ask him "what city people can do?"
He answers.... [quotation from here forward]
"Eat responsibilty," I have usually answered. Of course, I have tried to explain what I meant by that, but afterwards I have invariably felt that there were more to be said that I had been able to say. Now I would like to attempt a better explanation.
I begin with the proposition that eating is an agricultural act. Eating ends the annual drama of the food economy that begins with planting and birth. Most eaters, however, are no longer aware that this is true. They think of food as an agricultural product, perhaps, but they do not think of themselves as "consumers." If they think beyond that, they recognize that they are passive consumers. They buy what they want--or what they have been persuaded to want--within the limits of what they can get.
Most urban shoppers would tell you that food is produced on farms. But most of them do not know what farms, or what kinds of farms, or where farms are, or what knowledge or skills are involved in farming.
The specialization of production induces specialization of consumption. Patrons of the entertainment industry, for example, entertain themselves less and less and have become more and more passively dependent on commerical suppliers. This is certainly true also of patrons of the food industry, who have tended more and more to be mere consumers--passive, uncritical, and dependent. Indeed, this sort of consumption may be said to be one of the chief goals of industrial production.
The trap is the ideal of industrialism: a walled city surrounded by valves that let merchandise in but no consciousness out. How does one escape this trap? Only voluntarily, the same way that one went in: by resorting one's conscioueness of what is involved in eating; by reclaiming responsibility for one's own part in the food economy. Eaters, that is, must understand that eating takes place inescapably in the world, that is inescapably an agricultural act, and that how we eat determins, to a considerable extend, how the world is used.
[end quote]
He remarks city people often ask him "what city people can do?"
He answers.... [quotation from here forward]
"Eat responsibilty," I have usually answered. Of course, I have tried to explain what I meant by that, but afterwards I have invariably felt that there were more to be said that I had been able to say. Now I would like to attempt a better explanation.
I begin with the proposition that eating is an agricultural act. Eating ends the annual drama of the food economy that begins with planting and birth. Most eaters, however, are no longer aware that this is true. They think of food as an agricultural product, perhaps, but they do not think of themselves as "consumers." If they think beyond that, they recognize that they are passive consumers. They buy what they want--or what they have been persuaded to want--within the limits of what they can get.
Most urban shoppers would tell you that food is produced on farms. But most of them do not know what farms, or what kinds of farms, or where farms are, or what knowledge or skills are involved in farming.
The specialization of production induces specialization of consumption. Patrons of the entertainment industry, for example, entertain themselves less and less and have become more and more passively dependent on commerical suppliers. This is certainly true also of patrons of the food industry, who have tended more and more to be mere consumers--passive, uncritical, and dependent. Indeed, this sort of consumption may be said to be one of the chief goals of industrial production.
The trap is the ideal of industrialism: a walled city surrounded by valves that let merchandise in but no consciousness out. How does one escape this trap? Only voluntarily, the same way that one went in: by resorting one's conscioueness of what is involved in eating; by reclaiming responsibility for one's own part in the food economy. Eaters, that is, must understand that eating takes place inescapably in the world, that is inescapably an agricultural act, and that how we eat determins, to a considerable extend, how the world is used.
[end quote]
Cruising USA?
For spring break I took a cruise with 11 of my friends to the Bahamas.
We had a good time, getting to hang out on the beach, eat tons of food (there's 3-4 course meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner....plus ice cream/pizza 24 hours a day), and lay around....and for me, read tons. It was a good option for togetherness that didn't require a lot of planning or extra effort.
Cruises are oddities for many reasons. In some ways its like getting Las Vegas or Atlantic City stuck on a boat, casinos, alcohol, and tons of food all at your finger tips....ohh and all the crazy shows. The 80s show, the best. There was sushi, ice cream, oatmeal, cake, fruit, and pizza all the time.
The crew on the cruise comes from all over the world--so say their name tags. Sometimes we wondered if there was a correlation between what kinds of jobs people on the cruise had and their nationalities. I wondered about the ethics of their labor practices, people living on a boat for several months at a time, something to investigate. We wondered about what they thought of us---indulgent, glutenous Americans, all "being served" by them....to our heart's desires, ordering sometimes 5 and 6 things at breakfast or dinner. Did they think we were all greedy, soon to be fat people? I think it'd be a hard job. And that's just the service jobs. Those of the people in the entertainment parts of the ship---it'd be hard to act that happy all the time. However, the crazed karyokee girl seemed to enjoy her life making a spectacle of herself fairly well.
It was an interesting experience for many reasons, and for the sake of sounding/knowing I'm a horrible snob, I won't divulge too far into that train of thought.
But don't get me wrong, it was a great vacation experience--just led me to consider the system at work as well.
We had a good time, getting to hang out on the beach, eat tons of food (there's 3-4 course meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner....plus ice cream/pizza 24 hours a day), and lay around....and for me, read tons. It was a good option for togetherness that didn't require a lot of planning or extra effort.
Cruises are oddities for many reasons. In some ways its like getting Las Vegas or Atlantic City stuck on a boat, casinos, alcohol, and tons of food all at your finger tips....ohh and all the crazy shows. The 80s show, the best. There was sushi, ice cream, oatmeal, cake, fruit, and pizza all the time.
The crew on the cruise comes from all over the world--so say their name tags. Sometimes we wondered if there was a correlation between what kinds of jobs people on the cruise had and their nationalities. I wondered about the ethics of their labor practices, people living on a boat for several months at a time, something to investigate. We wondered about what they thought of us---indulgent, glutenous Americans, all "being served" by them....to our heart's desires, ordering sometimes 5 and 6 things at breakfast or dinner. Did they think we were all greedy, soon to be fat people? I think it'd be a hard job. And that's just the service jobs. Those of the people in the entertainment parts of the ship---it'd be hard to act that happy all the time. However, the crazed karyokee girl seemed to enjoy her life making a spectacle of herself fairly well.
It was an interesting experience for many reasons, and for the sake of sounding/knowing I'm a horrible snob, I won't divulge too far into that train of thought.
But don't get me wrong, it was a great vacation experience--just led me to consider the system at work as well.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Fear and the Future
One of my good friends recently told me that fear is rooted in selfishness. The more I consider this, the more I agree. Often its a selfishness that says I think where I am and what I'm doing is better than what God has for my future. And that's selfish....and just plain stupid too.
This was part of thinking about how to face the future as an adventure, a next step and not a reason or an excuse to look back with regret or weepy eyes.
What if I faced every day of my future like my road trip this summer....excited to meet new people, and not letting who I've "left behind" fill my mind and keep me from enjoying life and new experiences.
However, there's a flip side to all of this. I recognize that this kind of mentality leaves us very very good at being where we are, with people around us. Is this the way things are supposed to be? Is that how God intended for us, to fill up the relationships around us?
But then Jesus had friends he saw and then thought of while he was gone (Lazarus)...and Paul, well he wrote to people often....I guess from prison. And of course, different times.
But really, now how in this modern world with all the conveniences of communication, are we supposed to face relationships? keep up with friends? How many of us have over 600 facebook friends.....and that's just poeple who are our own age.....
what do you do with that? How do you maintain relationships? Do you pick....say 10 and hope those are the ones that work......or create a rotating "call list"......I don't know.
I like to be where I am.....but there are people who are near and dear to me who are not constantly in front of my face, I've learned to communicate long-distance with my family well....but friends, I've been pretty awful. hmmm
This was part of thinking about how to face the future as an adventure, a next step and not a reason or an excuse to look back with regret or weepy eyes.
What if I faced every day of my future like my road trip this summer....excited to meet new people, and not letting who I've "left behind" fill my mind and keep me from enjoying life and new experiences.
However, there's a flip side to all of this. I recognize that this kind of mentality leaves us very very good at being where we are, with people around us. Is this the way things are supposed to be? Is that how God intended for us, to fill up the relationships around us?
But then Jesus had friends he saw and then thought of while he was gone (Lazarus)...and Paul, well he wrote to people often....I guess from prison. And of course, different times.
But really, now how in this modern world with all the conveniences of communication, are we supposed to face relationships? keep up with friends? How many of us have over 600 facebook friends.....and that's just poeple who are our own age.....
what do you do with that? How do you maintain relationships? Do you pick....say 10 and hope those are the ones that work......or create a rotating "call list"......I don't know.
I like to be where I am.....but there are people who are near and dear to me who are not constantly in front of my face, I've learned to communicate long-distance with my family well....but friends, I've been pretty awful. hmmm
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