That’s because A Mending Shift has moved to www.mendingshift.com
See you there!
Ok, so if you are reading this blog post in your RSS feeder, shame on you (but without the shame) because that means you have not updated you RSS feed to: http://www.mendingshift.com/feed/
But because I am a follower of Jesus and I have to love you, and because he invited a bunch of ragamuffins to his parties, I am still going to invite you to the blog-warming party at my new blog’s home, www.mendingshift.com.
Come join the fun! But be sure to leave a note of pennance for your naughty RSS ignoring behavior. I promise I’ll be nice…after you earn it, of course. 
Please update your feeds…
- New Post Feed: http://www.mendingshift.com/?feed=rss2
- New Comment Feed: http://www.mendingshift.com/?feed=comments-rss2
- The site and posts will be automatically redirected so if you have links on your site to here, worry not, they should be fine. If you notice an issue, please let me know.
A Mending Shift’s new location: www.mendingshift.com
A Mending Shift has moved to: http://www.mendingshift.com/
Please update your feeds…
New Post Feed: http://www.mendingshift.com/?feed=rss2
New Comment Feed: http://www.mendingshift.com/?feed=comments-rss2
The site and posts will be automatically redirected so if you have links on your site to here, they should be fine. If you notice an issue, please let me know. See you there…
I am currently in the process of giving A Mending Shift a much needed face- and function-lift and it’s own name (www.mendingshift.com). I will announce it’s official launch here so you can update your RSS feeds. I will also be redirecting this current link to the new site. My goal is to have it completed by the week’s end. Here is an early screenshot of what to expect:
I am amazed. Since California legalized same-sex marriages in May, 2008 and an estimated 22,000 people of the same sex have wed…our social world and order hasn’t collapsed or fallen apart, as some feared it would.
In fact, I have hardly noticed any difference in life at all, except the amount of money and rhetoric raised in fighting it rather than fighting against the things Jesus was clearly against, namely poverty, injustice and materialism (a homework assignment…look at the number of time Jesus taught on the sins of homosexuality vs. poverty, injustice and materialism…hint, the ratio will look like 0/100). If only we had the same passion to raise $25-27 million dollars in four months (the amount raised since May to support California’s Prop 8) and divide school campuses across the state to combat poverty, injustice and materialism. It really makes me sad and my heart heavy.
But when we profit everyday from poverty, injustice and materialism, why would we truly want it to end. But two men or two women having the word “married” applied to them rather than words “domestic partner” will send us into an uproar…as we are witnessing.
Anyway, for what’s its worth, these are simply my observations of the whole ordeal…
I really wonder how Jesus is feeling.
SNL is back! Finally. There is an Ad to push through, but lots of laughs following. Sarah Palin is a good sport…koodos and my hat’s off to her.
Here is another one that includes Palin participating in a rap video on Weekend Update…
So here is my first stab at the new WordPress poll feature. With the 2008 presidential election just weeks away (November 4 to be exact), I’m curious. Have you decided or are you undecided as to which candidate you are voting for? It is sad that the race is really between two people, Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama, especially when there are seven other “candidates” running for the presidency: Ralph Nader, Bob Barr, Charles “Chuck” O. Baldwin, Cynthia McKinney, Alan Keyes, Brian Moore, and Gloria La Riva. So here is the poll, (and please don’t feel the need to volunteer who you are voting for unless you’d like):
I am in agreement with Ryan. A root canal while watching Ann of Green Gables seems more pleasant than two more weeks of pre-election build up and coverage. Can we vote already and be done with it? Anyone else in ageement?
I wish California had early voting options like some other states. But nope…so we wait in agony for November 4th to come and go.
Jen and I are watching the original stage production of Cinderella which aired on broadcast television back in 1957 to a record audience. It stars Julie Andrews as Cinderella and is drastically different then Disney’s cartoon interpretation. But all that aside, there was a line the prince sang to Cinderella on the balcony that caught our attention and is worth sharing. Here it is:
“Do I love you because you’re beautiful, or are you beautiful because I love you?“
How’s that for a Cinderella theology of love? Hmmm, makes you think, doesn’t it (well it does me)?
We’re beautiful because God loves us. I’m beautiful because God loves me. You’re beautiful because God loves you.
And the truth will set you free…
Sometimes a line from a song or scripture just grabs me and will not let go. It happened just this past weekend in a church gathering. During a song that I have heard and sung a thousand times (“Here I Am To Worship” by Tim Hughes), a line grabbed my heart in such a way that I heard nothing else the rest of the morning. The line is buried at the end of the second verse. Here is the line:
“All for love’s sake became poor.”
This line is talking about Jesus leaving the riches and glories of heaven to become a “man” and live on earth among his creation…he became poor for the sake of love. He chose human poverty over heavenly riches to express and show his love to us, his creation. Clearly, this is what the line is talking about. But this is what hit me…
…For the sake of the love of others, am I willing to voluntarily become poor? Am I willing to strip down my level of living, simplify my life, sell excess junk, limit my consumption of goods? Am I willing to say “no” to myself so I can say “yes” to others in very real, practical, and financial ways?
In that moment I realized something: the poor do not have a choice or option of becoming rich…that’s what makes them poor. However, I, as someone who is rich, have the option of becoming poor (making the same amount of money, but limiting my spending on myself so I can spend the excess money helping others). Just the fact that I have the choice to make a purchase or not make a purchase makes me rich. Why? Why would you ever consider doing such a thing? Why would you give up your God-given right to pursue the American Dream? Why would you choose to live poorly when you can clearly live richly? Why would you choose not to invest your excess money but squander it wastefully on those who cannot help themselves or others?
Why?
All for loves sake, like my Dad.
“Jesus, give me the courage to live simply, so others can simply live.”
This is strangely conspicuous. I have been tracking my UPS Ground package—stuffed with Disney DVDs—from Spartanburg, SC, for a few days now and I suddenly saw an update saying that the train derailed!! (Google “Train Derailment” and you’ll see what those two words mean). I was like, OMG! How tragic!! How often does that happen? Well apparently with UPS, quite often. So I began to do some investigative digging. Today, October 9, 2008 (and now also October 13, 2008), I found out that two UPS trains derailed, one in San Ramon (mine) and one in Oakland. I did some more digging and another one also derailed today in San Pablo, NM. Before that, in September, it occurred in Hodgkins, IL. Yet with all these train derailments (and who knows how many more were reported in UPS’ tracking updates that my 20-minutes of hard-core internet journalistic research missed) nothing appears in any news report. Odd.
I wonder, is it the rails, or the trains? Is this some sick joke that an embittered UPS software coder made up? Train derailment. Common, you’re kidding right UPS? What’s next? A Plane Crash tracking update? Or Truck Experienced Head-On Collision? or Delivery-Dolphin Caught in Fishing Net? Maybe FedEx is tampering with all of UPS’ trains in one giant corporate sabotage.
Forget the economic crisis…our frakin’ train infrastructure is falling apart! And nobody cares!! Why aren’t we hearing this as the opening questions for the presidential debates? Where is Steam Engine Willy when you need him?
Our kids are going to throw a freakin’ temper tantrum because their Disney DVDs did not arrive in time for tomorrow’s Friday-Family-Movie-Night. (Wait, perhaps Dreamworks had their hands in this tragic Disney-DVD-package train derailment incident).
What can Brown do for me? Fix your trains or bring back the ponies!!
And please, Brown, next time one of your trains derail don’t tell me, “Your package has experienced an exception” (whatever that means), just shoot straight and say, “Your package will not be delivered on time by us—should have used FedEx“.
Seriously though, can anybody find any bonified news article about these mysterious UPS train derailments, or is UPS just covering up their inability to deliver packages on time? Have any of your UPS packages had the misfortune of “Train Derailment”, or worse, Delivery-Dolphin Netting?
[Locations Update: So far the UPS train "derailed" in San Ramon, San Pablo, Oakland, West Sacramento, San Jose, Pleasanton, South San Francisco, Ceres, and Sunnyvale, CA...I'm starting to think this might have been a terrorist attack!! lol Click on the map image to view how far the UPS Train Disaster of '08 spread. UPS is now using a Late Train message in their tracking update.]
[Cargo Update: So far the "Derailed" UPS Train carried Disney DVDs, plants, a camera lens, election signs and buttons, a PC notebook computer, Rhino tabs (whatever those are), a new Playstation3, school text books, food items, a guitar amp, a limited collection Scotty Cameron putter, coconut lime verbena and bergamot fragrance oils and essential oils, Obama bumper stickers, an $80 skin care kit and a $20 makeup palette, a Treo Pro, fake poop for Halloween pranks, a softball bat, a grain mill, athletic apparel, a toilet, an electric guitar, a saxophone, motorcycle parts, iPod, 2 X-Box 360s, a motorcycle seat and . . . any more items to add?]
[Entertainment Update: The following "Lime in the Coconut" video was inspired by Dennis and Eric (see comments below) to help bring a little levity to this tragic disaster [sniff, sniff].
______________________________________________________________________
Here are photos of a Kern County train derailment that occurred on October 9th, 2008 at 4:12am:
Was it just me or did the candidates not answer the questions they were asked?
They would give a one-sentence nod then quickly move onto their pre-planned spiel. I would hear a question from the undecided audience, think, “Ooooo, that’s a good question!” and lean closer to the TV with my ears inclined to listen to their answers, then whammo, a pre-packaged re-hash of what they’ve already said time and time again. UGH.
I guess it is too much of a risk to allow the candidates to venture off onto honest and uncharted waters. I know for me I am looking for some passionate, honest, straightforward conversation. But perhaps the problem lies in me. Perhaps I am naive in wanting such dialogue. Perhaps I am the only one who is bored and disheartened simply listening to week-old-re-hashed-politic-rhetoric-leftovers. Quite frankly, I was bored. There seemed to be no passion, you know?
I was really hoping for more to help me decide, but was left wanting.
I could not believe it when McCain referred to Obama (who was in the room) as “That One” as he nudged his head towards him.
Perhaps three-times a charm? I guess we’ll see.
My wife, my bride, my love, our kid’s mom blesses us today with another year of life together! Happy birthday babe…we love you!!
Jeromy, Caleb, Ashlyn, Scout
Was it just me, or did McCain never make eye contact with Obama during the debate?
Even when they first shook hands in the beginning, McCain looked down and away. He did make a few passing glances, but my observation was that he was not intentional about making eye contact with Obama.
I liked the debate and thought both candidates presented their positions well. I just noticed this interpersonal disconnect with McCain — even after Jim Lehrer three-times strongly encouraged them to engage each other using 1st person statements (you and I) versus 3rd person (he and I), and to look at each other when commenting. Obama seemed to make an effort, McCain just looked at Jim and used 3rd person language the entire night. It was as if Obama wasn’t even in the room and McCain was doing a campaign press interview responding to Obama sound-bytes.
I hope the next debate is more personal and engaging.
I am so proud of my bride, Jennifer. It seems that the longer I am married to her the more I fall in love with her. As a mom and wife, the everyday burdens she carries are many. With this last year of lower than normal finances, that internal burden has increased. But through it, so has our relationship. I would not trade this past year and a half for anything. But beyond all that, let me share why I am so proud of Jen.
Periodically in the past Jen has had to provide childcare for a family in order for us to make ends meat. Both times have been terribly stressful for her, but she shouldered the burden none-the-less. So once more we found ourselves in that place where she needed to open up our home to watch a family’s child. She prayed very specifically that God would bring a 3 year-old girl and the family would be able to pay X amount per hour. After a few weeks of searching, that perfect family and senario appeared. But so did another family, one that did not meet our criteria, but met love’s criteria. Let me explain.
This second family was going through difficult times and couldn’t pay what Jen was looking for. Their child was a bit younger than ideal (we have two girls of our own, one is almost three, the other almost three months). But despite all this, Jen really connected with the mom and felt bad that she had to turn her down. The mom called and without asking if Jen would consider her said she could not afford Jen. Jen told her she couldn’t do it and sadly hung up the phone. As soon as she did she had that sinking feeling she just made the wrong decision. She went to her Thrive group that night and really wrestled with God in community over this. To say yes to this family meant she would be getting paid about $500 less a month for the same work. “God, we could get out of debt faster and be able to give more if I take the first family.” Then it hit her, it doesn’t always take money to give. Here was this opportunity to love and serve a family who direly needed it (I won’t go into details, but trust me on this) and it was staring Jen right in the face, but the lure of money and debt-freeness hung just as close. But love was crying out to be heard and Jen listened. She discussed it with me and the next day called the family back and said that she would take care of their daughter. Love won out.
Jennifer starts watching the girl this morning and so the fruit of her love-decision has yet to mature. But the cool thing is that Jen let go and entrusted God with $500 a month to give back to this family. My prayer is that there will be a deep sense of joy, peace and love that will envelop Jen’s heart as she embraces the burden of love she is being called to embrace. I pray that this will transcend being just a job and a means to earn money. I pray that we will open our hearts and allow them to enter deeply in. I pray that this family will see the love of God through Jen and her care of their daughter. I pray that they will ultimately feel deep in their hearts their daughter’s namesake-Grace.
May it be.
Jen, I am very proud of you and I love you with all of me.
With government bailouts and buyouts, major financial giants collapsing, national, personal, corporate, and church debt overload, and the stock market slump, talk about global recession and possible depression is in the air. It hit me this morning, if that happened, what would happen to most church buildings in America? Here is my “thinking-out-loud”:
My hunch is that most would be foreclosed upon and found empty. This church building/structural collapse would have very little to do with God not taking care of the “church” and everything to do with simple economics. Most church buildings are bank owned and require a certain amount of money each month to survive. Just the economic facts. If deep recession/depression happened (not wishing it, just an IF question), perhaps we’d see and experience in very real ways that the Church is a people, not a building. I think (again, my opinion) a major economic downturn might be the best thing that could happen to the church; not so good for the systems dependent on X amount of money per week/month, but potentially very good for the church overall and her mission.
On a bit of a semi-major side note, in Acts 15:4 I read the other day, “When [Paul, Barnabas, and others] came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders…” The church was a people who came out to meet them. It is silly, I know, but I chuckle at the thought of us adopting those other words for what we have come to know the “church” as today. “OK kids, hop in the van…we’re going to Apostle.” “So what Elder do you go to? Oh, I go to the First Elder of Christ.” As silly as that sounds, it is what we’ve done with the word “church”. (Forgive the A.D.D. tangent. Hey look, a bird!)
Any hoower, just got me thinking…
So I ask you, what do you think would be the effects in the church if a major recession (or God forbid, depression) were to hit America?
Your beliefs will be the light by which you see, but they will not be what you see, and they will not be a substitute for seeing.
- Flannery O’Connor
Once there is seeing, there must be acting. Otherwise, what is the use of seeing?
- Thich Nhat Hanh
“You have known only one way of loving—love it, possess it, forget it. When you try to possess love, you rob it of its beauty, and then that same love gives you pain…and whatever you try to control turns ugly.”
I have been mulling over these thoughts since I read them in a little book called Love and Beauty. The basic premise is that, 1) we cannot love something without trying to posses it and, 2) possession kills its beauty and love. Let me mull and process with you.
We see something that is beautiful to us and then immediately we want to posses it. We see a flower. We see a car. We see a person. We see [fill in the blank]. It is beautiful. It draws us in. It creates a longing in us. Then, instead of simply learning to love it and enjoy its beauty and mystery, we focus our energy and efforts to posses it, take ownership of it, control it. It becomes the object of our desire and consumes us. But it is not the object of beauty that consumes us, it is the need to posses it that consumes us. We do not know how to love without possession.
But once we posses it something happens. The beauty we once saw and the love we once felt, dies. And we either turn our attention to the next beautiful thing we want to posses, or we try to control and protect what we currently posses, both of which leads to discontent.
Think of a child. They see a flower and want to posses it, thus killing its beauty once picked. You bring kids home a bag of candy, they see the beauty and their minds are consumed with its thoughts until they open the bag to posses it. After 10 pieces the beauty is gone and they have moved on to something else. They see a toy in a store, throw a fit so they can posses it and once they do it gets tossed in the closet, never to be played with again. That is until one of their siblings see it and tries to posses it. Then the once-beautiful-and-now-discarded-toy becomes once more the object of their possession-efforts. The same thinking can be applied to friends, lovers, or anything we desire and find beautiful (by the way, everything we love we find beautiful. It may be ugly or distasteful to someone else, but if we find it beautiful, we love it).
Can we love without trying to posses?
We all learn at a very young age that we need to posses (or try to) the things we love and find beautiful. And we even attempt this with things that cannot be possessed. Like God—who cannot be possessed. We see God’s beauty. We love God. And then we apply the only thing we know to do with things we love and find beautiful: we try to posses it as ours. We try to take ownership of God. We try to claim God as our possession. We try to box God up and put God in our closet. We get upset when others claim possession of God or attempt to posses God. Can we simply love God—the beauty and mystery—without trying to posses God? Now I am not suggesting that God cannot be in relationship with us and breath into us a deeply personal journey with us, but I do believe that God can never be fully possessed by any one person, thought, or religion. I believe that God is someone who cannot be possessed and our capacity to love God and see God’s beauty without needing to posses God is a gift that only comes to us by God. But I do believe that the more we practice loving without possessing the more we will be learn how to do just that–even with God. (By the way, I do believe we can “own” something and not “posses” it, but that is another post).
I feel like I am just beginning this journey of trying to love God without having to posses God. Where I am OK with God’s mystery. Where I do not need to claim to have everything figured out. Where I can be generous with other’s ownership of God and be OK…still love God…still see the beauty of God. The funny thing is this. I am finding that the more I let go of my need to posses God, the more beautiful and loving God becomes.
This idea of possession, beauty and love is a very deep and intriguing one to me. It has helped me make sense of things I have been experiencing. It helps me combat my tendency towards materialism, controlling people, and orthodox absolutism (our claim that we posses-or can posses-God’s absolute truth). It allows me to see beauty and simply enjoy it, leave it be, resisting my need and desire to take possession of it.
Following Jesus is a lot like taking my son to a waterslide park.
You might be like my son. He is terrified of big roller coasters and intense looking rides. Of course he is only 7-years-old, but more than his age, his personal make-up plays a lot into it his natural lack of courage. Part of it is just who he is. Take my three year old daughter – for her, the more thrilling the better. Not Caleb. But that is what made this weekend all the more interesting.
My company rented out an entire water ride park for a company celebration. I am sure you have seen one of these parks and have probably even been to one. I usually see them as I zip by on the freeway. Kids being flung out of a water shoot 15-feet in the air, groups of four spinning out of control in a giant toilet bowl thingy, idiots going mach-one down a 70-degree decline while their back is being shredded like cheese on a cheese grater. But now instead of seeing these as we drive by, we are standing face-to-face with these water behemoths as they tower above us, taunting.
Intimidated, we decided the wave pool and endless river were our water companions of choice. After a few hours I asked Caleb if he wanted to go on a few waterslides. He adamantly declined. But he saw the little kiddy slides (about 15 feet in length) and thought those were just perfect. After going to the 2-second slides a few times I tried to reason with him again and verbally pull out courage in him. “Caleb, those slides (pointing to the towers above) are just like this one but they last longer.” He was not buying it. “Caleb, trust me, you’ll have a blast…they even give you inner tubes to go down on. Do you trust me?” I guess not. So we went around the endless (boring) river a few more times.
Knowing from experience that once Caleb rose above his fear and drew deep from that inner reservoir of courage that he would have a time of his life, I decided I would go down and show him that it was OK. (Alright, I was also bored out of my mind and needing some adventure). I told him I was going to go down the purple slide, I would come out of this pool here, and for him to wait for me. I grabbed a tube, walked briskly up the 73 flights of stairs (well, not quite, but it sure felt like it) and went down the purple waterslide. I hit the pool at the end of the slide, stood up and saw Caleb grinning from ear-to-ear. “Dad, I want to go on that one!”
So we both grabbed a tube and went down the “Twin Terrors” together, thoroughly enjoying ourselves. But each time we went up the flights of stairs we passed another slide called “Dark Hole”. I thought that sounded like fun – Caleb, not so much. So we split up once more and he saw me come out of the Hole alive, well, and smiling. He went on it with me immediately. Now that was his new favorite ride.
The next time we ventured out into a new ride he no longer needed me to pioneer the way first, but drew upon his courage he gained by my previous example and his memories of applied trust and fun with dad. We were able to experience new adventures together. My words did not instill courage in him. My example did.
I think it is the same with me. I think this is one primary reason why Jesus came. The life and example he led here on earth gives me the courage to know that I too can trust the Father and follow him into unknown adventures. His death gives me the courage to know that even if I die, I live. In other words, his courage lived-out empowers me to live courageously. I can go down the big scary rides and be OK. I can slide side-by-side with him and be OK.
And then something really cool happens. I begin trusting him beyond just his example he left. I begin trusting him because I have memories of other journeys with him, of past personal faithfulness he has proven to me time and time again. And then he and I get to experience brand new adventures for the first time together. We get to do something new, and afterwards – heck, even during – we look at each other, smile from ear to ear and say, “That was the best one yet!!”
That is, until the next adventure together . . .
How does this image speak to you? What meaning rings out to you? What feelings does it conjour up in your spirit? What does it say to your heart? What longing does it produce? What does it say about you? What does it say about God? Why do I love this photo?
[This is a photo of my daughter imitating me while wrapped to my back in a moby wrap as we were hiking in the Seirra Nevada Mountains near Clear Lake]
“For God so loved the world some of the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes [the way I do] in him shall not perish burn forever in Hell but have eternal life live forever in Heaven. For God did not send his Son into the world to earth to condemn the world Christians, but to save the world Christians through him.”
At least this is how I heard it without ever actually “hearing” it spoken. Or in other words, what we say without saying it.
The Conversations...