that bench

when i talk to steve, it becomes harder to be selfish. maybe that means our friendship makes me a better person. i've learned much lately, but the hardest things to write about are either unmistakably beautiful or profoundly painful. the conversation in question falls into the former category for me. and i just want to be faithful to that...

"to rid myself of all but love; to give and die..."
~jars of clay

"she is beautiful because she is advancing."
~origen

tea and sympathy... and something real

in real life, and not just on the interwebs, people challenge me to think about what i believe. today i shared hot beverages with one such person. we spoke about the bible and salvation and knowing God - and i know that sounds like the typical fare. but it wasn't, you know?

it was something beautiful.

i think it may soon be time to start searching for a microphone. i suspect that i may soon have something to say.

explicit

i really like the wording here:

"McMaster Divinity College supports women in training for any and all forms of Christian ministry as well as the subsequent ordination of women. It is expected that no member of the MDC community (students, staff, faculty) will detract from MDC’s support of women in ministry. A student’s acceptance of admission as a student at MDC is taken as a student’s agreement not to detract from MDC’s support of women in ministry."

deciphering clues

my brilliant friend sarah recently described a common falacy in so-called countercultural Christianity:

1. Jesus said that if a person follows Him, the person will be persecuted.
2. Therefore, if I am being persecuted, I am following Jesus.

In my experience, the word "persecuted" in the second premise means that the person is being contradicted, mocked, or called a bigot.

... While some instances of persecution are real, sometimes, if you're being contradicted, it's because you're wrong, if you're being mocked, it's because you're being foolish, and if you're being called a bigot, it's because you are one.

or, to put it in my far less tidy words, just because you're pissing people off doesn't mean God is being glorified. just fyi.

p.s. yeah, i've been spending too much time on Xn online forums. i still like the agnostic/atheist one better.

beware the ides of march

operation: losing it proudly presents: bitter rejection part 14, featuring kung fu mcmaster

operation: get a grip proudly presents: mara's butt: now smaller than ever before*
*in recent memory

gotta take the bad with the good :-)

tee hee

it's not a burden

i don't know what you need to do to get ready for this, but brace yourself and then watch bono accept his award from the naacp. the last two minutes are particularly powerful.

then, maybe, do something.

ugh

i've had some embarrassing things happen while i'm "exercising":
- i've slipped and fallen during a cartwheel (wet grass and sandals don't mix!)
- i've had the arm of the elliptical machine hit me while i'm trying to drink water (splash!)
- i've tripped and gotten a serious floor burn in front of my whole gym class

but THE most embarrassing thing ever was this morning:
the tv closest to me was set to cbc, and they were talking with david halton who is touring around speaking on "the rise of the religious right in u.s. politics." incidentally, he is speaking at trinity college tonight and tomorrow night. he shared that about 80% of white evangelicals voted for george w. bush (why didn't black evangelicals? is it because they're generally poorer and care more about social programs? shouldn't white people care about that, too?!?!?)
some swing issues:
pro: teaching creationism in schools
con: teaching about contraception in schools, and foreign aid

yaaaay. toss in gay marriage and abortion and we're really cookin'. so, today, i'm frustrated with those who claim to speak for me. and (though i'm not sure i can blame them) i'm also frustrated with the pundits who keep reminding me.

maybe it's time to speak for myself. and not just on a stupid blog.

travailing in prayer

this moved me:

Sometimes when I'm on the last repetition of the last set, a muscle begins to involuntarily tremble. "That's great," she says. "You're working to the point of failure."

In weight training, failure is a good thing. Failure means you've worked so hard that your body is saying, "Enough already! I give!" It means you haven't lost control - you're not in danger of injuring yourself - but if you don't stop now, you might be overdoing it.

I like thinking of failure that way. I wonder how our lives might be different if we thought about impending collapses as signals that we're working to the point of failure - the place of needing rest and respite. What if we were to simply stop, pat ourselves on the back for doing our best, and take a break, instead of judging ourselves or pushing to the point of injury?

the whole article is great.

nouwen speaks

the inner voice of love: a journey through anguish to freedom is a collection of spiritual imperatives that came to henri nouwen during a time of profound darkness. a taste:

"never allow yourself to become public property, where anyone can walk in and out at will."