Today was a "Listen to The Bends" kind of day: heavy, dark, chilling, and eventually cynical.
Once I was having a free-style writing session (we called it a "writing party") with Bethany Goad and Rebecca Ridenour and Bethany wrote something about how she felt when she listened to Radiohead that went something like this:
"I am the coolest girl alive because I'm listening to cool music. People pass me byon the way to class and look at me and they have no idea how cool I am..."
That recount of her words didn't capture the slightest hint of how hilarious a thing she really wrote... Good Lord do I miss her... But I was so amused by how she recorded Radiohead to make her feel when she listened to it. When I listen to them I feel like I'm listening to my tribe's background music--like I've touched some kind of dark reality. I feel relieved (in a way) that I can channel my cynicism through my ears. And yet, I guess I have to agree with "Bose" that I, too, feel pretty cool when I listen to them.
Friday, April 01, 2005
Thursday, March 31, 2005
Photo of a Fiery Furnace
Today I read the story in Daniel (3) about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego getting thrown into the fiery furnace and it struck me as a pretty damn good reason not to fear anything. I actually got comfort in the idea of fearing the Lord... it became clear to me that there really is no reason to fear anyone else because He is so much greater. It's much better to obey Him and come out of this world unscorched than to disobey Him out of fear for the world.
It really is a powerful story--King Neb turns the furnace up 7x the regular heat--the beast was so hot that it killed the guards that threw the guys in just because they were standing close enough. I couldn't help but think, "Wow, this world does get pretty viscious..." But the three Jew-migos didn't even have the smell of fire on them when the "man who looked like the son of the gods" walked them out of that thing. What a great picture.
It's a picture of Hell, really. Stand too close and you're a goner. But even the threat of that instant death is no separation from the Deliverance of Jesus.
Maybe I can get over my allergy to the Old Testament if I look at it more as a photo album of what God does and what His power looks like... Of what Jesus looks like. It's full of great pictures of these things. Some of the pictures, though, I'll admit--I just don't understand. Yet. I don't understand them yet.
It really is a powerful story--King Neb turns the furnace up 7x the regular heat--the beast was so hot that it killed the guards that threw the guys in just because they were standing close enough. I couldn't help but think, "Wow, this world does get pretty viscious..." But the three Jew-migos didn't even have the smell of fire on them when the "man who looked like the son of the gods" walked them out of that thing. What a great picture.
It's a picture of Hell, really. Stand too close and you're a goner. But even the threat of that instant death is no separation from the Deliverance of Jesus.
Maybe I can get over my allergy to the Old Testament if I look at it more as a photo album of what God does and what His power looks like... Of what Jesus looks like. It's full of great pictures of these things. Some of the pictures, though, I'll admit--I just don't understand. Yet. I don't understand them yet.
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Some Forceful Thoughts (Watch Out...)
Last night at Dale Batten's Bible Study in Harrison Twp., I had this revelation:
The road to heaven isn't paved with good intentions, it's paved with relationships. If God opens doors and closes them, it's for the sake of relationships. I believe that if we allow Him to, God molds us into our white-stone self--IE, we are molded as creatures who reach their greatest potential. We're made in the image of God, so that is a pretty high potential. Meanwhile, the events in our life following Him resemble some intricate dance of interractions with people, or, as I say, relationships with people.
So why are Christians so exclusive? So divided? I believe the number one person excluded from the Church (in America?) is the "homosexual." A person should always feel comfortable in a Fellowship group, no matter what they identify themself as (or what society identifies them as...). If Jesus is truly at the gathering place of Believers, the homosexual person should be drawn there. How does the world know Jesus is in us? By the way we treat each other. That's what John says over and over in his letters. I have heard quite a bit of gay-bashing in my life, and it's always from the mouth of Christians. This infuriates me, because why are we focusing on one aspect of a person and then ripping it apart? Now if a person insists that a certain aspect of themselves be emphasized, that's one thing that we can't help, but I don't believe we should ever rip apart a person because of a choice they make. Who do we think we are, really? I think we are trying to be Judges. Well, we need to quit that because it really pisses Jesus off.
The book I'm reading is about politics and God--my two favorite subjects, the two most apalling subjects to bring up in public (though my circles dismiss the first and welcome the second subject into their conversations, it seems. Probably rightly so, but it IS nice to find a friend I can discuss both subjects with freely). The author, whose name is Jim Wallace, quoted some NY Preacher who said "Nobody gets into Heaven without a letter of recommendation from the poor." What do you all think of that? I think it's a fantastic image, really. I'm weighing that idea with the fact that there's a book sold in a Christian catalogue called "The Wall-Mart Way" that offers instructions on the Christ-like way to be a Wall-mart-like entreprenuer. (I have no idea how to spell entreprenuer. I don't really care, either, because I don't care to be associated with that word.)
I think the word poor can have a multitude of meanings. We need to love the poor and rich alike to keep on God's path. Eric Bibb puts it best:
"Walk with the rich
Walk with the poor
Learn from everyone
Thats what life is for..."
Isn't that what life is for? How can we learn unless we love? I have said this many times, I think. But it's ringing truer for me every day. And you know? I think one of the best things about being single is that it frees me up to love people on an equal plain... I don't have to pay more attention to one in particular. I will enjoy this while it lasts.
The road to heaven isn't paved with good intentions, it's paved with relationships. If God opens doors and closes them, it's for the sake of relationships. I believe that if we allow Him to, God molds us into our white-stone self--IE, we are molded as creatures who reach their greatest potential. We're made in the image of God, so that is a pretty high potential. Meanwhile, the events in our life following Him resemble some intricate dance of interractions with people, or, as I say, relationships with people.
So why are Christians so exclusive? So divided? I believe the number one person excluded from the Church (in America?) is the "homosexual." A person should always feel comfortable in a Fellowship group, no matter what they identify themself as (or what society identifies them as...). If Jesus is truly at the gathering place of Believers, the homosexual person should be drawn there. How does the world know Jesus is in us? By the way we treat each other. That's what John says over and over in his letters. I have heard quite a bit of gay-bashing in my life, and it's always from the mouth of Christians. This infuriates me, because why are we focusing on one aspect of a person and then ripping it apart? Now if a person insists that a certain aspect of themselves be emphasized, that's one thing that we can't help, but I don't believe we should ever rip apart a person because of a choice they make. Who do we think we are, really? I think we are trying to be Judges. Well, we need to quit that because it really pisses Jesus off.
The book I'm reading is about politics and God--my two favorite subjects, the two most apalling subjects to bring up in public (though my circles dismiss the first and welcome the second subject into their conversations, it seems. Probably rightly so, but it IS nice to find a friend I can discuss both subjects with freely). The author, whose name is Jim Wallace, quoted some NY Preacher who said "Nobody gets into Heaven without a letter of recommendation from the poor." What do you all think of that? I think it's a fantastic image, really. I'm weighing that idea with the fact that there's a book sold in a Christian catalogue called "The Wall-Mart Way" that offers instructions on the Christ-like way to be a Wall-mart-like entreprenuer. (I have no idea how to spell entreprenuer. I don't really care, either, because I don't care to be associated with that word.)
I think the word poor can have a multitude of meanings. We need to love the poor and rich alike to keep on God's path. Eric Bibb puts it best:
"Walk with the rich
Walk with the poor
Learn from everyone
Thats what life is for..."
Isn't that what life is for? How can we learn unless we love? I have said this many times, I think. But it's ringing truer for me every day. And you know? I think one of the best things about being single is that it frees me up to love people on an equal plain... I don't have to pay more attention to one in particular. I will enjoy this while it lasts.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Today a ghost is born
"I'm going away
Where you will look for me
Where I'm going you cannot come
No one's ever gonna take my life from me
I lay it down
A ghost is born"
~Wilco, THEOLOGIANS
That's my song I "discovered" this week. And it's an Easter message! Today the ghost was born. I love ghosts, as many of you know, so that was a cool way to see Easter.
This year has been a big year for me, in terms of resurrection. I thought about resurrection and celebrated it all year long. Around this time last year I sort of discovered the law of resurrection--how life comes from death. It's been at the points when I have felt that I had nothing that life came pouring in. I have discovered that through the resurrection: the best art comes from suffering, the funniest comedy comes from sorrow, the truest friendships are the ones that were held through hardships. So you see, the resurrection law affects everyone.
And now we get to see it! Spring is the resurrection season--we get to see the dead rise all around us. In summer we'll forget how it snowed all through our March.
Happy resurrection day, everyone.
Where you will look for me
Where I'm going you cannot come
No one's ever gonna take my life from me
I lay it down
A ghost is born"
~Wilco, THEOLOGIANS
That's my song I "discovered" this week. And it's an Easter message! Today the ghost was born. I love ghosts, as many of you know, so that was a cool way to see Easter.
This year has been a big year for me, in terms of resurrection. I thought about resurrection and celebrated it all year long. Around this time last year I sort of discovered the law of resurrection--how life comes from death. It's been at the points when I have felt that I had nothing that life came pouring in. I have discovered that through the resurrection: the best art comes from suffering, the funniest comedy comes from sorrow, the truest friendships are the ones that were held through hardships. So you see, the resurrection law affects everyone.
And now we get to see it! Spring is the resurrection season--we get to see the dead rise all around us. In summer we'll forget how it snowed all through our March.
Happy resurrection day, everyone.
