saturday morning

D is up at 6:30 for work, and gets back tomorrow at 8:30. Hopefully.
I get up at 8. Breakfast. Word.

"Give thanks to the Lord,
for he is good;
his love endures forever."

A walk to and through the park.

End of the month means moving trucks and 

urban detritus on many a corner:
desks and stools and artificial Christmas trees,
magazines, shoeboxes, lamps and paper shredders.

Dog walkers with 4-5-6 dogs--trying to rein them all in:
retrievers and blonde labs and spaniels.

Running groups: The intense, 5-6 minute milers 

in spandex and Asics hats,
and the more leisurely ones, 

with dads pushing strollers, 

women in pink 'Breast Cancer Survivor' shirts.
The occasional pair of bikers whizzing by.
French tourists being led by a red flag-waving guide, 

admiring the Angel Statue.

Uniformed doormen staring out onto the streets, 

building maintenance men hose down the sidewalk

where the dogs have been, pausing for walkers like me.

Coffee smells, grocery bags with baguettes and flowers sticking out. 

Fresh Direct Trucks and nail salons with only a few customers.

Back at home, time to work!

trash to treasure

Is it not a powerful metaphor for God's work in this world--turning trash into treasure? From the dumpster to the art gallery...

African artist, El Anatsui flattens discarded bottle caps to create "glistening sculptures that resemble fabric." A hopeful reminder also, that with some imagination, the mind-bogglingly mountainous amounts of garbage we produce (at least some of it) can be mined and spun like straw, into gold.

El Anatsui in NYT Magazine

coraline

The basic premise of Coraline is a familiar but appealing one: lonely, neglected girl encounters a strange new world in which her courage and willingness to sacrifice for others is tested, leaving her, in the end, with deep appreciation for ordinary life and relationships. Not, in many ways, unlike Miyazaki's Spirited Away, Pan's Labyrinth or even Pleasantville.

It also reminded me of C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters in that the maniacal "Other Mother" studies her victim's lives, especially all the things they perceive as "bad" in order to lure them through an entirely fake but fabulous "dream life" (complete with perfect parents, perfect food, and perfect friends that behave exactly how you want them to). The sweetest thing about the fake life? It's completely tailored to your preferences and esteem--your name in lights! Your name sung by singing, flying, fantastical creatures! Your name and beautiful images of you everywhere! Of course by the time you realize that this dream life is a sham, it's too late--you have become a ghost!

Which left me musing over the wisdom of St. Francis of Assisi:

“Above all the grace and the gifts that Christ gives to his beloved is that of overcoming self.”

It's no small thing, to be grateful for ordinary life and ordinary relationships.

just food

Terrible news.
I think I've developed some sort of chocolate allergy.
Itchy, rashy troubles have been plaguing me.
Even after just small bits of it.
Even after the good stuff.

Of all the things to be allergic to.

"Other things are just food. But chocolate’s chocolate." ~Patrick Skene Catling

techno-fast

Lent is coming soon--and my thought is: It's about time I did some kind of technology fast. I fully own the fact that I have a major email and mindless internet checking addiction that is getting to be kind of a problem.

I haven't figured out the basic parameters yet. e.g. How can one effectively limit the amount of emailing and internet activity done at work, for work? What actually will and email/internet 'fast' outside of work look like? Maybe limit all time online to once a day, for less than 20 minutes or something?

Last Wednesday, at work, we had visitors fly in from out of town to give us a presentation on a new piece of technology we may or may not purchase. Out of the roughly 20 people present, almost half used their Blackberry/iPhones on and off. One colleague who did not use a Blackberry/iPhone pointed this out to me afterwards, not in condemnation, but with concern: How can we use technology appropriately without ending up being used by it? Could we not, out of respect for our visitors who were with us in the flesh, actually give them our full attention for that hour or so?

Then I read a talk by Neil Postman, the author of Amusing Ourselves to Death. In it, he shares five things he had learned about technology after 30 years of studying its historical and cultural impact. If you're interested, three are summarized below.

1. All technological change is a trade-off.

e.g. Computers: "Ask anyone who knows something about computers to talk about them, and you will find that they will, unabashedly and relentlessly, extol the wonders of computers. You will also find that in most cases they will completely neglect to mention any of the liabilities of computers. This is a dangerous imbalance, since the greater the wonders of a technology, the greater will be its negative consequences."

2. Every new technology benefits some and harms others.

e.g. Television: "In America, where television has taken hold more deeply than anywhere else, there are many people who find it a blessing, not least those who have achieved high-paying, gratifying careers in television as executives, technicians, directors, newscasters and entertainers. On the other hand, and in the long run, television may bring an end to the careers of school teachers since school was an invention of the printing press and must stand or fall on the issue of how much importance the printed word will have in the future...Who specifically benefits from the development of a new technology? Which groups, what type of person, what kind of industry will be favored? And, of course, which groups of people will thereby be harmed?"

3. Media tend to become mythic.

There is "a common tendency to think of our technological creations as if they were God-given, as if they were a part of the natural order of things. e.g. Television: "If you should propose to the average American that television broadcasting should not begin until 5 PM and should cease at 11 PM, or propose that there should be no television commercials, he will think the idea ridiculous. But not because he disagrees with your cultural agenda. He will think it ridiculous because he assumes you are proposing that something in nature be changed; as if you are suggesting that the sun should rise at 10 AM instead of at 6."

To read the entire talk: Five Things

un-Valentine's Day

Guest List
A few of our favorite, fantastic and currently unattached friends

'Menu'
-St. Andre and Smoked Gouda
-'Field Fresh' (Food Emporium) Strawberries
-Pigs in a Blanket (Tim's trademark)
-Crudite (Sylvie's healthy contribution)
-KFC, mashed potatoes, green beans and corn (not corndogs)
-Pio Pio Peruvian Chicken + Avacado Salad + Fried Plantain
-Cabernet, Proseco (from O) and assorted soft drinks
-Rick's Dessert "Pizza": glazed berries on cheesecake icing on chocolate chip cookie dough

Un-Valentine's Day Program
-assorted violent and totally unromantic movies (which we never watched)
-Rick's "Lord of the Rings in 10 Minutes" ("YOU. SHALL NOT. PASSSSS!!!")
-And at Whitney's and my insistence: Apples to Apples and Taboo!


Good times.

daybreak

We have been reading Bonhoeffer's Life Together at work as a team and it has really sobered my fanatical checking of email and news first thing in the morning:

"For Christians, the beginning of the day should not be burdened and oppressed with besetting concerns for the day's work. At the threshold of the new day stands the Lord who made it...therefore at the beginning of the day let all distraction and empty talk be silenced and led the first thought and the first word belong to Him whom our whole life belongs."
~Bonhoeffer, Life Together

reality

As I have shared with some already, I am easily unsettled about moving to Tanzania.

We've been following blogs of contacts and friends in East Africa and the news is...hard.

'Today, our team was robbed, and our offices were trashed by thieves.'
'Today as I was vomiting, I realized our sink had been taken over by ants.'
'Today, our entire family got diarrhea after lunch.'
'Today, I got my sixth skin infection since moving here.'
'Today, our ENTIRE family got malaria.'
'Today, a local businessman was bitten by a snake 7 times and died with the snake still on the hospital floor.'

Are we tough enough for this?
I don't know.

Do we trust God enough for this?
I don't know.

“Got to let go of the things that keep you tethered,
Take your place with grace and then be on your way.”
~Bruce Cockburn

almond cookies

After an intense month of work for D, including a week of nights  (where at best, we saw each other for ten minutes a day, and at worst, not at all) we're looking forward to some of our favorite New York things: 

Cappuccinos and cheesecake and tiramisu at Veniero's in the East Village, ramen at Setagaya, also in the East Village, running in the park, a movie (the Oscar nominated Shorts?) at the IFC Center, and lazily reading the Sunday Times (Sports and Front Page for him, Style and Week in Review for me).

And somewhat related, I'm on a the hunt for almond cookies that will be half as good as the ones DP and SL brought back from a fancy lunch at the Four Seasons (restaurant, not hotel). Chewy, just the right size, with a dusting of almondy sweetness...like a rustic macaron. SL and I hope these cookies (also from Veniero's) will be it!

"A macaroon-like cookie filled with chewy almond paste and topped with crunchy pignoli (pine) nuts. If you’re feeling bold, prepare dip the cookie in some Dulce De Leche ice cream. Unreal." ~NYC Food Guy

about the 'giving more'

So as I wrote last month, we set ourselves the goal of giving more than 10% (gross) of our income.  Qualitatively, this means a general rule of "spending less on ourselves" and being prayerful, proactive and consistent in directing that money elsewhere. 

Right now, our giving largely goes towards (In roughly the order of highest to lowest giving--we are open to change):

1. Our local church (Redeemer)

2. Local needs (through organizations like Hope for New York, Restore NYC)

3. Supporting the worldwide church (overseas missionary friends)

4. Global needs (through organizations like World Vision, and IJM)

5. Random Blessings

The idea for a "Random Blessings" category came from my friend RM about 4 years ago. Basically, you leave some room each month to help meet any random needs (especially for the people in your local community, but not exclusively) i.e. helping a friend or family member who has lost their job, buying a meal for a homeless person, responding to calls for aid in emergency situations...you get the idea. 

For me, the discipline of 'leaving some room' flows strongly out of an awareness of Old Testament passages like Leviticus 23:22 

"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God." 

 

Don't reap to the very edges, leave some room for the poor. 

Some friends of mine have also talked about "tithing your time". i.e. Making sure you give time each month for outreach, service--but that is another story for another day.