Whoa. It has most definitely been too long. A lot has been going on, I just haven't found the time to sit down and say something substantial about my own life, let alone think about any topics or issues worthy of commentary.
I moved in about a week ago and got to see most of my friends pretty quickly. I had a birthday. I've been helping out InterVarsity with a bunch of new student welcome sort of stuff, which is so much fun, getting to know the students coming here for the first time, leaving home for the first time, comparing how I was to how they are, answering their questions, and mostly just getting to know them and show them a little bit of love on a campus where it's so easy to feel lost and forgotten in the crowd. Plus, I've been preparing myself mentally and emotionally for co-leading a small group biblia study this year with Wyatt, my friend and brother. Once everything settles down in a few weeks, I think we're gonna have a solid group of guys.
My classes are all gonna be pretty tough - they'll need a lot of concentration and reading - but they're all things that I want to take and that I'm interested in, so hopefully all the work will be worth it. Here's a quick class run-down for anyone interested:
COMM 140 - Media Criticism - basically analyzing media from an intellectual rather than emotional viewpoint (reading text and articles)
COMM 270 - Rhetoric and Social Controversy - I think it's the same idea as 140, but focused more on speeches than on visual formats like film, television, print (reading text and articles).
DRAM 283 - Theatre History/Literature III - focused on drama since 1900, starting with expressionism (lots of reading, plays and text).
RELI 103 - Intro to the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament - taking this with Dr. Ehrman, and I'm really looking forward to learning more about this part of the biblia, since the history often gets overlooked or simplified into "Bible stories" (lots of reading, text and basically the whole Old Testament)
RELI 401 - Elementary Biblical Hebrew - self-explanatory title, an intro level language class looking at ancient Hebrew as it appears in the original texts, not modern Hebrew, so I have to learn to read it, but not speak it. (probably the only class with more busy-work than reading)
PHYA 231 - Beginning Social Dance - basics to several ballroom/social dances, waltz, rumba, cha-cha, tango, swing, foxtrot. I think I'm the only non-senior in the class.
MUSC 211 - at the moment I'm in the men's glee club, but I plan on auditioning for some a cappella groups, and if that works out for the better (like, I get in one), I'll drop this.
So yeah, I'm looking at a busy semester, but I really do think there's gonna be good stuff happening in these classes, so I'm doing my best not to get anxious or worried about what they're gonna look like down the road.
Until something in my environment grabs me by the gut and screams out its desire for my action and input, I just don't have any commentary type stuff to write. I mean, there's probably stuff, but nothing that's really drawing me right now. So I'll let someone else do the writing for me. I read a book earlier this summer with some decent thoughts and passages in it, more of an inspirational sort of thing than a theological or lifestyle type book I was looking for, but that's okay. I found this chapter, and it did grab me by the gut, and I knew that I would be sharing these words with you here, because I knew that I wanted these words to motivate me and encourage me and exist in me as I began this year.
"It's quiet. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.
In a few moments the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded y decision to be made and deadlines to be met.
For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is not that I must make a choice. Becuse of Calvary, I'm free to choose. And so I choose.
I choose love...
No occasion justifies hatred; injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and what God loves.
I choose joy...
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance. I will refuse the temptation to be cynical...the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I choose peace...
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I choose patience...
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes myplace, I'll invite him to do so. Rahter than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignment, I will face them with joy and courage.
I choose kindness...
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I choose goodness...
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.
I choose faithfulness...
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.
I choose gentleness...
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If i raise my voice may it be only in praise. If i clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If i make a demand, may it be only of myself.
I choose self-control...
I am a spiritual being. After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek his grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest." -- Max Lucado, When God Whispers Your Name
Much love. Out.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Travelin' Light
So I’m back in America, after a rather annoying trip. I’ll keep what could be a long story short. My Sunday flight from Frankfurt to Washington, DC was fine. I was enjoying my 3 hour layover at Dulles airport when they announced that my flight to Raleigh was cancelled. I had them put me on a flight to Charlotte (where I could have also been picked up). That flight was also cancelled. So they put me on a flight to Raleigh leaving the next morning, rather than that night, because the flight leaving that night was completely booked and had a long standby list. It was about 10PM when I saw the night flight to Raleigh was delayed, and I, not particularly looking forward to spending the night in the airport, decided I would try my luck with the standby list. I was the next to last person let on the plane, which left around 11PM. Through all of this I spent some of my time praying (that I would work out some form of travel plan that was safe and efficient, that I would have food and money enough, that no one would try to steal my stuff, that I would be patient and peaceful as I waited for this thing to work itself out, that my checked bags which were in some sort of airport baggage limbo would make it to Raleigh when I did, and most of all that I would avoid acting like that crazy lady flipping out at customer service because the airline wouldn’t pay for her hotel. Seriously, she needed to chill.), some of my time laughing (because seriously, what else could I do? I think it was after my second flight cancellation that the ordeal stopped being serious and started being just plain comical to me.), some of my time taking pictures and strolling the concourse, and some of my time playing rummy with this girl Emily who was in Intervarsity at the college in Michigan from which she just graduated. All in all, it was more exciting than bothersome because solving problems and working out bad situations is kind of fun for me. Weird, I know, but I can’t help it. I’ve always loved being wrong, loved making mistakes, loved being put in positions where a solution is needed and needed quickly because those are the time when I get to face challenges and grow and learn. It’s cool for me.
My sincerest thanks go out to Seth who picked me up in Raleigh and gave me a place to stay that night, and had to suffer through the many changes to the plan, never knowing just what it was he would be called upon to do until the final phone call which went something like this: "Hey Seth, I’m getting on an airplane right now. Can you pick me up in about and hour and a half? Great, thanks!" He’s a good friend and brother.
Anyway, after an incredibly deep sleep I got to have lunch with Seth and some other close friends of mine (Daniel, Joel, and Wyatt, in alphabetical order), before getting on a train to my grandma’s house. Then today I went to the mall to grab lunch and catch up with yet another great friend, Rachel White, who is amazing. It’s all been so wonderfully overwhelming to get to be back with my friends again, and it’s not even everyone yet!
As I surf the television channels at my grandma’s house, though, I am recalling a few things I didn’t particularly miss about America. There was a commercial that would allow me to have a baby’s voice singing Daniel Powter’s "Bad Day" as my cell phone ringtone, for instance, which seems to me quite simply masochistic. I also saw one of Ben Stein’s Clear Eyes commercials and I thought to myself, "This man had an Emmy award winning game show on Comedy Central. He was a speech-writer for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In 1976 Time magazine speculated that he was Deep Throat, the confidential informant in the Watergate scandal. But boy, my eyes sure are itchy, so thank you Ben Stein for offering me this product."
Not to mention Maury. Today’s show was about married men who pay for sex. There was guest on the show who would take his video camera out into his community and catch men with prostitutes and put the videos on the web so that everyone could know what they had done. Part of me says, "Way to help clean up the streets of your community. You obviously care a great deal about the environment in which your children grow up and you’re doing something pro-active about it." Part of me says, "Seriously? You couldn't find a real job? Or, you know, a life?" And another part of me says, "What about forgiveness? What about privacy? What about loving sinners? Does this actually contribute to solving the systemic problems of men unhappy in their marriages, women unable (or unwilling) to obtain legitimate professions, and the decreasing levels of morality in society today? Or is it just a way to embarrass those men and ruin their marital relationships, put these women in jail where they probably receive no counseling or sincere examples of how to better themselves, and eliminate our cultural immorality on a strictly cosmetic, outward level without addressing the true underlying problems in the lives of these people that lead to their poor choices?"
Unfortunately, I don’t have very good answers to any of these questions, but I’m almost finished reading a book that offers the beginnings of answers. It’s called Kingdom Come, by Allen Wakabayashi. It’s basically about Christ’s more socially based goals such as missional outreach, the appropriate image/behavior of the community of Christ, etc. etc., rather than the individually based goals of living without sin, accepting Jesus into your heart, etc. etc. It’s about how we The Church need to be making a greater effort to present God’s Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Once I finish reading it, I’ll be back with some of the things I like and dislike about it, which will hopefully help explain it’s premise and goals a little better than I just did.
Until then, as-salamu alaykum, and rock on in the Olympics, America!
My sincerest thanks go out to Seth who picked me up in Raleigh and gave me a place to stay that night, and had to suffer through the many changes to the plan, never knowing just what it was he would be called upon to do until the final phone call which went something like this: "Hey Seth, I’m getting on an airplane right now. Can you pick me up in about and hour and a half? Great, thanks!" He’s a good friend and brother.
Anyway, after an incredibly deep sleep I got to have lunch with Seth and some other close friends of mine (Daniel, Joel, and Wyatt, in alphabetical order), before getting on a train to my grandma’s house. Then today I went to the mall to grab lunch and catch up with yet another great friend, Rachel White, who is amazing. It’s all been so wonderfully overwhelming to get to be back with my friends again, and it’s not even everyone yet!
As I surf the television channels at my grandma’s house, though, I am recalling a few things I didn’t particularly miss about America. There was a commercial that would allow me to have a baby’s voice singing Daniel Powter’s "Bad Day" as my cell phone ringtone, for instance, which seems to me quite simply masochistic. I also saw one of Ben Stein’s Clear Eyes commercials and I thought to myself, "This man had an Emmy award winning game show on Comedy Central. He was a speech-writer for Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. In 1976 Time magazine speculated that he was Deep Throat, the confidential informant in the Watergate scandal. But boy, my eyes sure are itchy, so thank you Ben Stein for offering me this product."
Not to mention Maury. Today’s show was about married men who pay for sex. There was guest on the show who would take his video camera out into his community and catch men with prostitutes and put the videos on the web so that everyone could know what they had done. Part of me says, "Way to help clean up the streets of your community. You obviously care a great deal about the environment in which your children grow up and you’re doing something pro-active about it." Part of me says, "Seriously? You couldn't find a real job? Or, you know, a life?" And another part of me says, "What about forgiveness? What about privacy? What about loving sinners? Does this actually contribute to solving the systemic problems of men unhappy in their marriages, women unable (or unwilling) to obtain legitimate professions, and the decreasing levels of morality in society today? Or is it just a way to embarrass those men and ruin their marital relationships, put these women in jail where they probably receive no counseling or sincere examples of how to better themselves, and eliminate our cultural immorality on a strictly cosmetic, outward level without addressing the true underlying problems in the lives of these people that lead to their poor choices?"
Unfortunately, I don’t have very good answers to any of these questions, but I’m almost finished reading a book that offers the beginnings of answers. It’s called Kingdom Come, by Allen Wakabayashi. It’s basically about Christ’s more socially based goals such as missional outreach, the appropriate image/behavior of the community of Christ, etc. etc., rather than the individually based goals of living without sin, accepting Jesus into your heart, etc. etc. It’s about how we The Church need to be making a greater effort to present God’s Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. Once I finish reading it, I’ll be back with some of the things I like and dislike about it, which will hopefully help explain it’s premise and goals a little better than I just did.
Until then, as-salamu alaykum, and rock on in the Olympics, America!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Ameerika Can't Stoppt Me Cuz I'ma Comin Back
I'm leaving the Fatherland tomorrow. I'm getting on a plane and going back to Ameerika (as it was spelled in one of my favorite graffiti messages, in big red letters on the side of a German building: STOPPT AMEERIKA!!!!!). But today I went downtown and took some pictures of old Heidelberg with my new camera. The album is on facebook.
It has been a week since my last post, which is a bit of a long time, but I couldn't think of anything to write. That is, until yesterday, when MTV Deutschland played a video I haven't seen in an awfully long time. Fatboy Slim's "Praise Him." Please please please go watch it here on youtube.
Since you've now watched it (right?), I won't bother summarizing the joyful experience that it is. It is a tremendous celebration of our freedom of expression, the emotional catharsis of dance and movement, and perhaps best of all, an example of people truly comfortable in their own skin doing their own thing on their own terms. It focuses on individuality without focusing on the individual, and therefore avoids narcissism or self-interest. It is simply the self.
That was the first thing I noticed. The second thing(s) I noticed were the lyrics. They are few, so they weren't difficult to pick out:
We've come a long long way together,
Through the hard times and the good,
I have to celebrate you baby,
I have to praise you like I should
I have to praise you
I have to praise you
I have to praise you
I have to praise you like I should
Anyway, I was particularly struck by this video yesterday, and I thought I'd share it with you.
I'm really looking forward to getting back to the States tomorrow. That is, I'm totally completely incredibly jaw-droppingly ecstatically stoked and pumped and crazy wicked awesomely excited about getting back to the States tomorrow. I mean, hey, much love to Germany, but it's been awfully tough being away from meine freunde this summer, and I can't wait to see them again.
I'll probably be here again once I get back for a sort of summer-in-review thing, tell you what books I've read, which movies I've enjoyed, music I've discovered, that sort of thing. I'm anxious to see what this year is going to look like, what relationships will form and change, what God is going to do in my life, in other lives, on the campus. I've got good feelings, and my flight tomorrow just brings me closer. I'll see you all on the flip side. Peace until then.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
All children, except one, grow up.
Peter Pan is a wonderful book. Madly and deeply, it contains incredible truths tucked away in its fantasy because of course, for the child in each of us, fantasy is truth. And good form is the ultimate virtue.
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