Thoughts in Limbo

New digs!

2008-03-29T09:36:00.003-04:00

So, I've been feeling a bit guilty that I haven't posted anything for such a long time. I realized that my loving wife continues to work a full time job, is growing a baby 24/7, and manages to keep not one, but two blogs up to date! In an effort to show my support so the rest of the world doesn't think that I am at work every hour of the day (which isn't too far from the truth) and that I am absent from the whole soon to be parenthood thing, I moved my blog over to Wordpress. I first came across it when my Canadian brother started one ages ago and I liked the format and it's pretty easy to maintain. I was also inspired to get back in the blogging ring because one of my good friends up here just did a face lift to his site as well. Without further ado, here is your formal invitation to see what's been going on in my world. You'll have to hurry because you're already a couple of posts behind. I meant to post this sooner...hope it isn't a sign of things to come, but that's most likely the case.

At least her name is Greek...

2007-08-19T07:41:00.000-04:00

Maybe I should have stayed in chemical engineering...

2007-08-14T22:31:00.000-04:00

Changing of the Guard

2007-03-18T16:48:00.000-04:00

I knew about it for a while before it actually became official, but my boss at The Storehouse has decided to take another position with a different non-profit in NYC. He will be with us through Easter, but then we're on our own, so to speak. It's kind of strange that just over a year ago I was still getting my World Vision "legs"...trying to make sense of all the acronyms and processes the organization uses. Things have really been moving pretty quickly the past couple of months in our attempts to start new programs and strengthen the ones already operating, but this past week (and the next month or so, it seems) it just kicked into overdrive. My boss was the one who opened up the NYC Storehouse and developed relationships that he is trying to hand over to me. It wouldn't be so bad, but with all the new stuff already on our plate... it's like eating an extra couple of helpings at Thanksgiving when you are already stuffed! If you think my posts have been sparse lately, get ready for a true dry spell...

Audio Greek New Testament

2007-03-02T07:57:00.000-05:00

If you know me, then you know that at one point in my life I actually new the Greek New Testament pretty well. There have been many times that I thought I might dig my heels in and give it another go, knowing that it will take hours each week for months to reach any kind of proficiency. Well, I found the "answer" to my problem. As much driving as I do, I like to listen to audio books and lectures (I know I'm a dork, it's no secret). So, I was looking around at an old favorite website - Christian Classics Ethereal Library - and ran across (drumroll please....) an audio version of the Westcott & Hort Greek New Testament. Now before you get too excited, keep in mind this is not the UBS IV or the Nestle-Aland 27, but not a bad text. If you have the time, it's actually kind of fun...just need to brush up on that vocab!

Who knew hangers could look so cool?

2007-02-11T18:12:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, when I actually wasn't working at The Storehouse, we had a little photo shoot. Hope For New York is a volunteer/non-profit organization that World Vision works with in the Bronx. They send us all kinds of volunteers and have even provided us with a grant or two over the years. One of the girls who comes to volunteer occasionally, took some cool pictures to take back and show others about the work we do. Most of these pics won't mean much to you, but I know these scenes quite intimately and it kind of fun to see them in a new light. This is one of my favorite ones:

You can see the rest of them here along with some other great pictures she has taken.

2007-02-01T19:31:00.000-05:00

You're The Mists of Avalon!

by Marion Zimmer Bradley

You're obsessed with Camelot in all its forms, from Arthurian legend
to the Kennedy administration. Your favorite movie from childhood was "The Sword in
the Stone". But more than tales of wizardry and Cuban missiles, you've focused on
women. You know that they truly hold all the power. You always wished you could meet
Jackie Kennedy.

Weird, huh? I think the first part might apply, the obsession with Arrhurian legends, but I'm not sure about wanting to meet Jackie Kennedy...

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

His dark materials?

2007-01-28T18:59:00.001-05:00

Last year, Suzy got me hooked on this trilogy by Phillip Pullman. At the end of this little clip from What the Bleep?! Down the Rabbit Hole, I couldn't help but make the connection between the two. If you get the chance, the books are a great read. I hear they are also making a movie of the first book in the trilogy, The Golden Compass...it should be interesting!

Suzy made me...

2006-12-03T19:25:00.000-05:00

It's about time...

2006-11-18T10:19:00.000-05:00

I realize that a ridiculous amount of time has passed since my last post. There are some people who really seem to be upset that I haven't devoted any time to my blog. This morning, I thought I would look back at the past few months to see just how many posts there were. Basically, since I started working at World Vision, my frequency in posting dropped from about once every other day to about once every month or so. In the past I have made pledges that I would post a "Patristic thought of the day" or comments on books I was reading. Expect nothing of the sort today. All I can say is that I am going to post more. That could translate into a post a day, or one a week. Either way I'll spend a little more time reflecting and less time just letting the weeks float by. We'll see...

Do I really look like these guys?

2006-10-01T10:17:00.000-04:00

On the prowl again...

2006-07-16T09:53:00.000-04:00

Here it is almost August and once again, Suzy and I are looking for a place to live. It seems like every year we have to find a new place to call "home." We have only been married for seven years, and we have lived in more places than I care to count. The strange thing is that we lived in our house in TN for almost four years, but have received mail at more addresses than years we have been married! I guess after living in the same room for 18 years growing up, I feel like I have to make up for it by moving every year.
I suppose there are some positive things that have come out of all this: we are excellent packers, I know the lingo for newspaper ads (EIK=eat in kitchen, etc.), we've had the opportunity to live in so many places, and did I mention that we are excellent packers?!? Despite the many places we have lived, I still call 417 Highland Ave. our "home."

Sasquatch!

2006-06-11T20:49:00.000-04:00

Oh my, you are... what? Oh, Common Sasquatch.

Like the homely sister of a supermodel or the fat Baldwin brother, you have a severe inferiority complex. Everyone's always talking about Bigfoot this, and Bigfoot that, when you know you are better, hairier, faster, scarier. Why just last week, you made a tourist take a dump in his shoes! I'm afraid you're nothing but the lesser-known sibling in the Hairy Hominid family, but cheer up! You'll never be a big fat sell-out like some.

Which Zoological Mystery Are You?

Mass Transit

2006-05-26T20:01:00.000-04:00

So, the red wagon has finally bit the dust. It has been on a steady decline ever since I started driving it back in October. When Andy was living with us, he had all kinds of problems, too. First, it started when the Tuckahoe Police Department impounded my plates because I hadn't transferred the vehicle into my name yet and the registration expired. It took about two whole days at the DMV to get that straightened out. Once the car was finally in my name, that was all she wrote. Not one, but two fuel injectors are leaking now (hence the strong smell of gasoline while driving). I should be more accurate, they don't leak - they sputter...gasoline. I took it to my mechanic to have a look, the damage would be around $450. His suggestion - save my money for a new vehicle, and in the meantime, invest in a fire extinguisher.
The next thing to catch my attention was the brakes. This really isn't that big of a deal, it was just one more thing to add to the list of items that needed to be addressed. Shortly after that, it severely overheated on me, even though I had plenty of oil and fluid, too. After trying a couple of things I thought I was going to be okay, so I drove it to work...and there it sits. When I tried to drive it home on Monday, I couldn't even get to the end of the street. Today as I walked by the car, I noticed a trickle of antifreeze leading away from the car and traced it to its origin. Now we can safely add a leaky/cracked radiator to the mix.

I think its time to go shopping for a new mode of transportation...

It's a small world, even in NYC.

2006-05-02T10:21:00.000-04:00

Work on Saturday took "crazy" to a whole new level. In the midst of coordinating a furniture delivery for Katrina evacuee families, I met someone who has a mutual acquaintance. Last week, my work was part of a collaboration of 11 different nonprofit agencies that pulled off a huge event without too many hitches. One of those agencies was the City of New York Office of Emergency Management (OEM). The main contact person I was working with all day Saturday from OEM was Ben Whitfield. Throughout the day we engaged in a little small talk and eventually found out that his father-in-law teaches Greek and New Testament at a Christian college in Atlanta. Thinking the coincedence too great, I asked if his name was Barry Blackburn. As it turns out, Ben is married to Dr. Blackburn's daughter Bonnie - that's just weird. We were both a little surprised to have made the connection. Who would have thought that of all the places you might run into someone associated with ACC that it would be through doing relief work with the City of New York!

Central Park

2006-04-22T19:38:00.000-04:00

I just finished watching a special on Central Park in NYC, and I had no idea all of the cool things it has. Suzy and I have been there so many times, even to the places they talked about, but it was like a whole new park. Sometimes it's really cool to live here!

All of the lakes, reservoirs, and streams are artificial - they get turned on by faucets - all 150 acres of it.
Wildlife seen recently - a turkey, great horned owl, red winged black birds (and these are the unusual one in addition to the 100 other bird species).
There is a "Whispering bench" in the Shakespeare Garden shaped like an ionic capital.
It even has a police precinct.
They have an ambulance staffed entirely by volunteer medical professionals (with an average 5 minute response time).
The park is divided up into 49 zones, each with a zone gardener and an entire team to assist them. (I wish we had some volunteers to help dig up wild onions in our yard in TN!)
26 baseball fields, with 10,000 games played each year.
58 miles of paths and 7 miles of benches!
It costs $25 million a year to maintain - all by a nonprofit - The Central Park Conservancy.

Next time you come and visit, we'll take you on a tour!

A new read on fantasies...

2006-04-16T16:34:00.000-04:00

Lately I have been lamenting that fact that I haven't taken much time to just sit an read. I have been constantly on the go and just seem to fill up my hours with actions rather than thoughts. So, in an effort to remedy the situation, I ordered a new book for myself - The Truce of God by Rowan Williams. The book is an older one, but was recently rewritten almost entirely last year by the author. It is his effort to help us understand what peace means in today's world, both as a society and as an individual.
In the first chapter, he suggests that the proliferation of fantastic novels and films over the last twenty years or so is indicative of a deep seeded problem. In all of these works, the catastrophes are things that happen to people, whether it be a natural disaster, alien attack, or the actions of a sociopathic killer. Since people in these works are made out to be victims, we associate ourselves with them. We always seem to identify ourselves with the innocents...and here lies the problem.

We are intensely aware of danger, of the real and potential violence in our environment; and we are deeply determined to imagine violence as something whose origins lie outside ourselves so that we can maintain some belief in our innocence.

The problem with this is that Christian theology constantly keeps two contradictory truths in the front of our minds - that we are somewhat dependent, not fully in control of our circumstances and that we are also free and responsible for the different environments in which we live.

In the face of denials of guilt and fantasies of innocence, the gospel tells us that we have to repent, to take responsibility for what we have made of our world and beg for the vision and strength to do better.

This constant disavowing of our responsibility in the present state of affairs is an indication that we try to keep the pain, sickness, horrors and destruction of the world apart from our true selves. The tragedy is that by trying to protect ourselves from these atrocities in life, it actually prevents us from using the spiritual resources we have to confront the pain and guilt that we cannot bare alone and try to avoid. Williams sees a tendency in our culture that allows ourselves to be overcome with all of the troubles and injustice, to fall into hopelessness - but to mistake this for a false sense of peace.

It [hopelessness] absolves us from facing the humiliating picture of ourselves as idle, self-indulgent and culpably ignorant - when we take our freedom seriously. We do not have to think about guilt. Yet this means that repentance is not a possibility: and if repentance is impossible, so is grace, reconciliation, hope. So this is a 'peace' which must be unmasked for the lie it is - peace bought at the cost of reality, at the cost of human dignity. Our evasive fantasies must be brought to judgment before we can be brought to grace.

This is only the first part of the first chapter...I'm a little concerned that I bit off more than I could chew with this "little" book. He calls so many assumptions into question - opinions on violence in the media, belief in my efficacy in society, the nature of a common humanity...you get the idea. Any thoughts?

I've been tagged!

2006-04-04T19:46:00.000-04:00

Well, I have been chastised by my wife for not posting...so in an effort to redeem myself I am undergoing the ritual of responding to a "tag." (At least this way I don't have to come up with something on my own to say.)

How did you get the idea for your profile name? This is where I am - Limbo, and these are my thoughts.
What song are you playing now, or wish you were playing? "She's a Rainbow" by The Stones
Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry? Not to my knowledge.
What color underwear are you wearing? Green and white plaid.
Do you want a baby? One of these days.
What does your dad do for a living? He is a field engineer for a railroad company.
What does your mum do for a living? She is a high school registrar (basically, she runs the place).
What is/are your pet's name(s)? Pan and Juno
What color are your bed sheets? Caramel (I got that from Suzy)
What was the last concert you went to? The Chieftains
Who was with you? Suzy-Q
What was the last film you watched? City of God - a Brazilian movie, in the style of "Snatch"
Who do you dislike most at this moment? A particular co-worker.
What food do you crave right now? Ribs
What was the last TV show you watched? Seinfeld
What is your fav piece of jewelry? My wedding ring
What is to the left of you? A bottle of Newcastle
What was the last thing you ate? Jumpin' black bean soup.
Who is your best friend of the opposite sex? Suzy-Q (imagine that!)
Where is your significant other right now? On the other computer, working photos from our trip to the Bronx Zoo with the Tudors.
When was the last time you had your hair cut? 3 days ago.
Do you have a history of mental disease? Not that I know of, but isn't that usually the case?
What shirt are you wearing? A green, blue, and white striped oxford.
Are you sexy? You would have to ask my wife that one...
What's your favorite store? Mr. K's (used book store in Johnson City, TN).
Are you thirsty? Not anymore.
Are you married? You better believe it!
Who's someone you haven't seen in a while and miss? Zach - teaching English in Poland and just got married to Viola, his Polish princess.
Where do you work? The Storehouse of World Vision in the South Bronx, NY.

I guess that wasn't too bad...

Has it really been a month?!?

2006-03-25T08:28:00.000-05:00

Life has been moving extremely fast lately...and not just for me. So much has happened this past month that it would be hard to try and summarize it in a few short sentences, but here goes anyway. My job is as busy as ever - each new day has its own set of challenges and rewards, but I am loving every bit of it. Suzy and I are buckling down and working hard on her library's website (after a brief hiatus) and in addition to this she continues to somehow juggle a full-time library job (no small feat in itself), a full load of graduate courses, and as usual manages to still blog on a regular basis - what a woman...that's my wife! --In case you haven't noticed, I am extremely proud of her!--

In stranger news, my dad (whose company was bought, thus causing him to lose his job) after essentially working for the same company since he graduated college began sending out his resume and going to interviews...at the age of 62! When it was all said and done, he actually found a job based up here in Newark, but gets to work from home most of the time when he is not traveling. In more career news, my older brother, an excellent and experienced aircraft mechanic lost his job when his company was bought out. I think right now he is just enjoying some much needed time at home with the family. My sister and her family will be moving into their new house very soon (I hope...); finally they will have a place of their very own.

To check in with the other half of the family, check out these blogs - Suzy, Momma B, Becky, and Jerry. Prolific, aren't they. You'd think that some of it might rub off on me at least a little bit. I guess my urge to write is satisfied by living vicariously through their writings.

Another week...

2006-02-19T00:29:00.000-05:00

With each passing week I am given more responsibilities at work. At work we still don't have an executive director and the guy who is running the show (I forget his title) has cancer and will be taking some time off for treatment. Luis is assuming some of his duties, so it falls to me to pick up where he leaves off. That job description just keeps getting longer...
On a lighter note, today was my first of many Saturdays to work with volunteers. We attacked a shipment of women's clothes and only got through about 2 1/2 pallets worth. There were only ten of us working on it, so we didn't do too bad. These huge boxes are full of all kinds of clothes and we have to sort them out. We separate them according to size -S,M,L,XL, and XXL and then break it down further according to what type of clothing - blouse, pants, dress, coats, etc. This makes it easy for us when a ministry partner asks for clothes so we can give them a good assortment for the women to "shop" from. It's a cool program, but it takes lots of volunteer work.
Speaking of volunteers...on Wednesday a group of guys from another of our partners came down and worked for the day framing out a new wall and hanging some drywall - it sure is amazing what can be done when you don't have to do all of the work!

Whirlwind

2006-02-11T12:34:00.000-05:00

After being reacquainted with my wife, our cats, and our apartment I thought things would settle down a little bit. I was practically gone for two weeks, but it still hasn't let up much. This past week was my first full week spent at The Storehouse and it was a crazy one...likely the first of many to come. I have been given the task to complete a couple of building projects in our warehouse, but with the long list of things to get done each day, I don't know how I am supposed to make any progress. In one of the meetings I had this week, my boss was explaining to our office manager that I would be taking on about a third of her regular duties, a third of our warehouse manager's duties, and a third of his own duties. What strikes me as odd is that he just finished telling our warehouse manager that I would be doing a third of the warehousing duties, a third of his own duties, and a third of my own...Now I haven't had a math class in a while, but I think that four thirds adds up to more than one. It sounds like I'm not going to be able to get anything done. Well, at least I won't be bored!

Finally home!

2006-02-04T18:26:00.000-05:00

After spending an entire week on the road near Seattle, WA, I got to come home for a couple of days only to turn around and hit the road (and the air) all over again. Early Monday morning Luis (my boss) and I flew over to Pittsburgh to check out that Storehouse. This one (and the one in Denver) are different because they are the International Distribution Centers for World Vision US. We got a good look at the operations and I spent most of the afternoon getting pointers from their volunteer coordinator.
That night we drove down to Philippi, WV. Things were going well until we entered the Twilight Zone! He wrote the directions down wrong, so we spent an extra hour and a half driving around Appalachia looking for a hole in the wall hotel. It seemed to be more like a dormitory than a hotel, but they did have an excellent restaurant connected to them - talk about some good home cookin'! Tuesday, we visited the Appalachia Storehouse and studied their operations and such.
The next morning, it was back up to Pittsburgh to catch a flight to Chicago. The hotel we stayed in here was like a five star hotel compared to the Philippi Lodge. Chicago was the first Storehouse and has been around for about 13 years, so they really had things down to an art. But, as with most operations, they do have their own problems - ones I do not intend to duplicate in NY.
Thursday night I finally made it back home around 10 o'clock, and there was one happy girl to meet me at the train station. I think that things are finally settling down and we might actually get to plan out vacations, have a budget, and not have to worry about making the rent on time (that is, after this month!). I don't think I am allowed any more business trips for a long time!

Frustration

2006-01-26T01:32:00.000-05:00

There are few things that I hate more than not being able to do something, having my hands tied. The moment I leave town, it seems like there are so many things that need my attention. I know that as soon as I get home nothing will happen, but then I have to turn around and leave again. I cannot imagine people who have to travel on a regular basis. It's hard enough to be gone for a day or two, but being stuck in a hotel room by yourself, training sessions with people you don't know - all for an entire week...it sucks. What's even worse is that as soon as I get home I have to get on a plane Monday morning and do it all over again. Of course all of this would have to happen when Suzy starts all kinds of new things both at school and at work. For some reason we got a parking ticket in front of our building on the station wagon since I'm not there to drive it (never mind that nobody else gets tickets). It's hard to stay focused when your heart and mind or on the other side of the country!

Here we go!

2006-01-23T10:46:00.000-05:00

Well, it's about 7:45 am, over here in Federal Way, WA. Today starts my "official" World Vision orientation. I get to spend the morning with the four other new World Vision New York (WVNY) employees with some financial training. This afternoon I will be with the national Storehouse team. My boss wanted me to get the same training he had, so effectively I will be instructed on how to start and run an entire Storehouse from the ground up.
Last night the flight took five and a half hours, not too bad for getting from the east coast to the west coast. That is definitely the longest flight I have ever had while staying in the same country. I think the worst part is the time change. I can't imagine doing this all of the time. It just seems like everything out here takes longer. Even the sun rises half an hour later here than it does in NY (with the time change). I'll let you know how the day goes!

Macrina - the "fourth" Cappadocian

2006-01-16T23:07:00.000-05:00

Gregory of Nyssa and Basil the Great had an older sister named Macrina. Gregory had such affection and respect for his older sister that he followed her advice and became a monastic. Her role in his life is similar to that of Monica in Augustine's life. As a way to give her voice to others, Gregory immortalizes her in his own writings in a dialogue similar to that of Plato's treatment of Socrates. On the Soul and the Resurrection is the result of his conversations with her, shortly before her death.
In one of the questions he poses to her, Gregory asks Macrina about emotions. She replies that "emotions are neither virtuous nor wicked in themselves, since they are impulses of the soul which lie in the power of the users to serve good or otherwise. When their movement is toward the better, we shall declare that they are material for praise. If, on the other hand, their inclination is towards the worse, then they become passions and are named accordingly." She continues to explain this principle with the parable of the tares - the good seeds are our emotional impulses, the bad seeds are errors in our judgment of what is good. Turning the tables on how we think today - "it is the mind which misleads the emotions, not vice versa."

Some things never change.

2006-01-16T22:42:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally broke the news to my boss on Saturday that I found a new job. Normally, I would have given him at least a two weeks notice before my last day, but he didn't exactly deserve that much courtesy. On Friday, December 30, he told me that I couldn't work for the next two weeks because he had some "personal stuff" to take care of. As far as I'm concerned that was my notice. He took the news surprisingly well, he even congratulated me on finding a good job with benefits. I kind of bothered me that he didn't seem to mind... Despite all of this I still offered to work a few Saturdays to close up a few projects left unfinished and to sort out all of the tools (the extra cash wouldn't hurt either). Last night he called and asked if I could come in this morning and put in a day of work since I don't start until Wednesday, and I agreed.
Now at this point you might assume that he would have enough work lined up for me to stay busy at least half of the day...but you would be wrong. We immediately fell into our usual pattern: I finished all the work he wanted by 10:30, he was still asleep, I go get coffee, he's still in bed, I get bored and leave by 11:30. That's right folks - not even a half day of work! He couldn't even get out of bed to see my on my "last day." I think I should have left sooner!

This is not Starbucks!

2006-01-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

Today Suzy had to work at the library for a few hours, but she had to be there half an hour before they opened so I had some time to kill. Since there is a Starbucks nearby, I thought I might go and read for half an hour and grab a cup of coffee. On my way, I noticed "The Tea House" and made a conscious decision to support the local store rather than feed giant conglomerate. The place is actually pretty cool, it was quiet and had a great place to read while enjoying a fresh cup of tea. I went to the counter, seeing that they had some oolong right in front of me, ordered a simple cup of tea - nothing fancy. He asked if I wanted it to go, I replied with a "no," and added that I wanted to read for a little while. So he rang me up for a pot of tea. I quickly responded that I only wanted one cup because I wouldn't be there that long. Seeming a little perturbed, he said, "This is not Starbucks. If you want one cup, you have to take it with you. This tea house is for people who want to enjoy their tea." Feeling a bit reprimanded, I agreed to the full pot (which was only two cups anyway) and wound up spending almost an hour "enjoying" my tea.

2006-01-12T19:26:00.000-05:00

On a lighter and more beautiful note today, here's an excerpt of Gregory's treatise On the Inscription of the Psalms (I.3.19). I'll just let this one speak for itself. Jerry, this one's for you:

"Once I heard a wise person elaborate on an idea about our nature. He said that each person is a miniature universe, having within himself everything that is in the great universe. And the ordered array of the universe is a musical harmony both richly complex and diverse, in tune with itself both in order and in rhythm and is in concord with itself and is never distracted from this symphonic accord even though we may contemplate essential differences in its various components. Just as the musician artistically plucks the strings with a pick, thus bringing forth melody in a rich variety of notes (for there would be no melody if all the strings sounded the same note), so in the same way, the temperament of the universe, which is composed of the richly diverse, particular thing we contemplate - [this temperament] plucks itself by means of an ordered and unchangeable rhythm; and in this way it creates a harmony of all the parts in relation to the whole, and sings this all-encompassing harmony in everything that exists. It is this harmony that the innermost self hears without employing the sense of hearing. Rather by stretching upwards and rising above our fleshly organs of sense, it listens to the hymnody of the heavens."

Nothing four hours won't fix...

2006-01-12T15:37:00.000-05:00

When I was in college at Atlanta Christian College, I was thoroughly interested in studying New Testament Greek. I was a transfer student who came in on the middle of the year; needless to say I was bummed to find out I had to wait another semester before I could enroll in Greek. While in my second year of Greek, I served as the TA for the first year students grading papers and such. Not satisfied with just two years, I decided to take an additional semester with just me and Barry Blackburn, the Greek and New Testament professor. He would constantly get onto me for not remembering things I was supposed to have learned in previous semesters. When I asked him how he was able to do it, he had two replies. The first was simply - time, you have to spend a little time with it each day and it will never leave you. His second, one he always cracked a smile when he told it, was a story about a former student. Each time he asked the student how his Greek was coming along he always told Blackburn, "nothing four hours won't fix." After having tried and failed at both approaches, I still think the former is the better of the two. So, in an effort to revive my proficiency in Greek I've added a daily Greek New Testament verse to my sidebar from zhubert, in hopes that a little more will come back each day. If you're interested, they have some really cool tools to help with translation (something I will need to rely on for a while).

The mystery of the economy of the Resurrection

2006-01-11T20:31:00.000-05:00

To continue with Gregory of Nyssa, he has an interesting analogy in his Argument against Apollinarius about the Resurrection. He suggests that if a reed were split entirely in two, and the points of one end were joined together again, the points at the other end would naturally line up as well. In this same way, the union of the body and soul that occurred in Christ at the Resurrection "brings all human nature, by its continuity, when it has been separated by death into body and soul, to their natural union by the hope of the Resurrection, effecting the concurrence of what has been separated." This is what Paul wrote of in Corinthians 15, that as we all die in Adam, so in Christ all shall live. As with the reed, from Adam's end our nature was split by sin - our body and soul being separated at death, but from Christ's end "nature assumes itself again, its division being completely united in the Resurrection of humanity according to Christ." Gregory points out that "we die with him who died for us; but since it is necessary for us to die willingly with him who willingly died, it is fitting to understand this to be the death which comes to those by free choice (baptism)." He believes that freely dying with Christ is the prerequisite for our sharing in the Resurrection. To draw this to a conclusion, Gregory again alludes to Paul - "we were buried with him by baptism into death, that by imitation of his death, the imitation of his Resurrection might also follow."
I don't know what your thoughts on baptism are (whether one must be baptized to "get to heaven" or whatever), but I believe it is helps to think about how all aspects of the spiritual life are connected and this reed analogy does that in a holistic way. Our participation in Christ in all things is essential if we intend to understand the nature of his love and dare to live with that same type of love in all we do.

The anxiety is over!

2006-01-10T21:34:00.000-05:00

I finally heard from LeAnn today, my human resource contact at World Vision. They finally offered me the position of manager at The Storehouse in the South Bronx. Their offer is a little sweeter than I had expected. Tuesday I go down to Manhattan to fill out all the paperwork and sign all the necessary forms to become a full-fledged member of the World Vision team. Next week I will spend a few days getting acquainted with the place and try to settle in a little bit before being shipped off on Jan. 23 for orientation and training at the headquarters in Federal Way, WA. I get to spend a week there being indoctrinated by them only to hit the road again the following Monday for a whirlwind trip of the other Storehouses throughout the country. Luis (my new boss) and I will fly down to Pittsburgh to visit their facility, drive down to West Virginia and tour that site, drive back to Pitt to catch a flight to Chicago to see the oldest Storehouse, then finally fly back to NYC and back to my loving wife (who will no doubt be missing me pretty bad by then). Things look good, despite all of the initial traveling, though it will be a little overwhelming to suddenly be responsible for such a large operation. One of the benefits are the benefits: great health insurance with dental and vision, the non-profit equivalent of a 401K, and vacation and sick time to top it off. I'm almost 30 now, so I guess it's about time I got a real job! If you have a high speed connection, check out this video (it explains it better than I can).

Gregory of Nyssa - On Perfection

2006-01-10T15:45:00.000-05:00

There is really no better place to begin studying Patristics than with the Cappadocian Fathers. The youngest of these three (or four...more later) is Gregory of Nyssa. Today's thought comes from his essay entitled On Perfection.
"The perfection of the Christian life...is that in which we participate not only by our mind and soul but in all the actions of our lives, so that our holiness may be complete, in accordance with the blessing pronounced by Paul, in our whole body and soul and spirit."
This excerpt falls into a larger argument on the understanding that our human nature is mutable and prone to change. These changes are brought about by things and situations we come in contact with throughout each day, leaving open the possibility for movement toward good or ill. Here one finds the greatest difference beween eastern and western Christian thought - western theology tends to focus on sin and its effect, whereas eastern theology emphasizes the possibility and pursuit of the good in spite of sin.
"In truth the finest aspect of our mutability is the possibility of growth in good; and this capacity for improvement transforms the soul, as it changes, more and more into the divine."
This pursuit of God is an unending cycle that is so essential. There are times when we do not improve and we move away from God, but it is essential that we are perpetually in a state of progression, never at rest or satisfied in our desire to participate in the divine.
"For that perfection consists in our never stopping in our growth in good, never circumscribing our perfection by any limitation."
We can all do and be better than we are...we just sometimes lack the desire or motivation. I pray that today we find that reserve in ourselves that gives us the conviction to pursue the perfection of Christ.

Patristic thought of the day

2006-01-09T19:46:00.000-05:00

I was thinking earlier today about my education. I have spent so much of my time studying Patristics, theology of the early Church Fathers and Mothers, and realized that I don't really put any of that to good use. When I was first introduced to the countless volumes of theology, sprituality, and religious philosophy written during the first eight centuries or so of Christianity, my gut reaction was sheer joy. I thought to myself, "This is some good stuff, and no matter how much time I spend reading it, I'll never exhaust it!" My second reaction was anger - how could I have gone through my entire life, even graduate from a Christian college and still not know how much beautiful theology was really out there, hidden from me for all these years. My third reaction was more along the lines of determination. Since I was given the opportunity to be exposed to these writings, focusing primarily on this during seminary, I felt a duty to show everyone I knew the benefit to be found in the ancient halls of Christian history. So, in an effort of good faith to carry this out I am going to highlight a particular Church Father or Mother each week by picking out some of my favorite stuff as a gift to you (maybe you'll like it as much as I do).

Longest interview ever...

2006-01-08T23:32:00.000-05:00

When The Apprentice first aired, at the time I could not believe that these people willingly submitted to a 16 week interviewing process. So far the process that I have gone through with World Vision is not much different. I first submitted an application and resume the first week in October. The position I applied for is the manager for The Storehouse, in the South Bronx. It is a community resource center that supplies the needs of children and families in the area. They provide school supplies for Title 1 schools, building materials for run-down apartments and churches, office supplies for churches, clothing and toys for kids, and soon they will also offer pharmaceuticals for children. Right now they are working with about 175 different churches and community organizations to distribute the supplies The Storehouse gets from retailers and other donations. The warehouse itself is about 35,000 sq ft and almost takes up the whole block. Needless to say, it's a big place and the job will take some getting used to...but I daresay it is much better than the job I've got now.
They finally contacted the first week in November and I had my first interview with The Storehouse director. On November 30, I met with three of the other directors of different progams in New York City. After getting the okay from them, I was sent up to the next level for an interview with the executive director of World Vision New York on December 15. I didn't hear anything for a few weeks, but I was assured that things were moving along. Finally, on Friday I had my last two interviews with members of the advisory board for The Storehouse. Assuming that all goes well, I should be getting a formal job offer this Tuesday or Wednesday. I guess that means I might not hear anything for another week at this rate! It's been twelve weeks since I applied, so I guess one more week won't make much of a difference. I'll keep you posted.

Weirdo!

2006-01-08T18:19:00.000-05:00

Since I have recently been spending more time on my blog, and my wife doesn't want to make anybody else do this, I have been tagged to write about five weird habits I have.
The rules are: "The first player of this game starts with the topic . Five weird habits of yourself, and people who get tagged need to write an entry about their five weird habits as well as state this rule clearly. Don'’t forget to leave a comment in their blog or journal that says, "“You are tagged"” (assuming they take comments) and tell them to read yours.
Without any further delay, here are the five weirdest things I do (according to Suzy):

1. I count. Without realizing it, I will have counted to 80 or so while walking across the parking lot or down the street. This is not something I consciously begin, I only realize it deep into the process.
2. I am picky about my writing utensils. My pens have to have a fine point and the cap must line up with the label. Now that I think about it, everything on my desk has to be at right angles as well. (I'm not OCD, am I?)
3. I like to shave designs in my facial hair. When spring rolls around and I trim my beard, I like to leave some massive chops or fun mustaches before trimming it down to a goatee.
4. Patience is a virtue, one that I possess...until a certain point and then I snap, and it's usually not a pretty sight. Hmm...maybe I'm not patient after all.
5. A nervous habit of mine is to chew on the longer hairs of my mustache...ok, that is weird.

That's about it, I'm not that strange and I really am not that obsessive or compulsive...but I do have some odd habits. Since everyone that I know who even has a blog has already gone through this excruciating exercise, I guess all my friends out there without a blog are off the hook.

Demon breath!

2006-01-01T12:11:00.000-05:00

If you own a cat, you know what I am talking about. There is nothing worse than having an adorable cat sitting in your lap enjoying a nice time of bonding when she looks up and yawns, sending a cloud of noxious gas into your face. This cartoon captures it quite well.

Woe is me!

2006-01-01T11:50:00.000-05:00

I ran across this painting by Durer yesterday when I was looking at stuff about Job. I was feeling a little sorry for myself and found a little comfort knowing that Job had it a lot worse than I do. I sincerely cannot imagine having boils all over my body (not to mention everything else that happened to him). Don't worry, I'm not scraping my boils with a potsherd. Anyway, the painting shows Job completely exasperated and just down on his luck. I must admit I have been feeling a little of the same, but the point I want to make is that Job's wife is taking care of him. My own wife has been utterly wonderful. She has fixed my meals (what little I have been eating), given me my meds, and everything else I have needed. When life gets bad, a great wife is all you need!

TKO!

2005-12-28T20:04:00.000-05:00

I am just about down for the count. This year seems to be one physical problem after another. First it was the slashed arm from the glass window, then it was the staph infection, and for the grand finale - the flu for Christmas. When I say it was the flu for Christmas, it began at 2am with vomiting followed shortly thereafter by more vomiting. When that finally slowed it was from the other end - every fifteen minutes (briefly interrupted with bouts of more vomiting). To accompany these frequent trips to the bathroom was my increasing temperature. When everyone else woke up, I finally got some sleep - all day long. I even missed the Christmas dinner. To top everything off, my staph infection is back with a vengeance. Right now it is affecting my knee, severely. It hurts to walk, even stand - so, tomorrow I get to set up an appointment through my doctor with someone from "infectious diseases." Sounds fun, eh?

Despite all of that, it was great to have everyone here for the holidays. It's been two years since Suzy's family has all been together for Christmas. Jerry and Becky were able to do some sightseeing with Andy and we all got to visit the Holiday Train show at the Bronx Botanical Gardens. Suzy has all the pictures, so go check them out. As for me...it's nap time!

Seven things

2005-12-09T14:59:00.000-05:00

Don't expect many of these, but at the request of my wife...

Seven things to do before I die:
1. Drink a cup of coffee brewed from beans I grew and roasted.
2. Have kids.
3. Write a book.
4. Travel to _____ (Germany, Russia, Egypt, South Africa, etc.)
5. Design and build our own house.
6. Build a kit car - Shelby Cobra.
7. Grow a beard down to my chest (much to the disdain of my wife).

Seven things I cannot do:
1. Play the guitar.
2. Tolerate bad drivers.
3. Ride a motorcycle (thanks, Suzy).
4. Speak Spanish (though I should probably learn).
5. Remember what to pick up at the grocery store.
6. Stay on task.
7. Keep my pants from getting coffee stains.

Seven things that attracted me to my spouse:
1. Her big blue eyes.
2. The way she inspires me.
3. Her creativity.
4. Her sense of adventure and energy.
5. Sense of humor and the laugh that goes with it.
6. That curvaceous body.
7. How much she loves me.

Seven things I say most often:
1. I need some coffee.
2. Hey, baby (Suzy).
3. Hey big guy (my cat Pan).
4. Come on...
5. Shoot! (after spilling coffee...yes, it happens a lot).
6. a couple, meaning TWO (in order to clarify to Suzy).
That's it...I honestly don't talk that much.

Seven books I love:
1. Brothers Karamazov
2. The Everlasting Man
3. The Man Who Was Thursday
4. The Professor and the Madman
5. Love In The Ruins
6. The Life You Save May Be Your Own
7. Myst

Seven movies I could watch over and over again:
1. Braveheart
2. The Princess Bride
3. The Fox and the Hound
4. The Godfather series, even the third one
5. Ferris Beuller's Day Off
6. Hero
7. Her Majesty's Secret Service

The Rule of Four

2005-12-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

I finished reading (listening to) The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason and it brought back a lot of memories. The book focuses on two main characters trying to discover the secrets of an obscure 15th century text while dealing with school, relationships, and of course the evil advisor trying to thwart progress. It was a lot of fun - it touched on all aspects of Renaissance thought as well as remind me of working on my own thesis at the last minute. Perhaps even more significant than all of that was its portrait of friendships. I became quite nostalgic as it described this close-knit group of four students living in the dorm together. Back in Roberts Hall at ACC there were four of us sharing rooms. We were only translating the Greek New Testament, didn't have evil advisors, and of course nowhere near the caliber of Princeton. Aside from that I am left with a longing for those old roommates, who couldn't be spread out much further than we are now. Shannon in the army out in the Mojave Desert in California, Scott building cabinets with his brother in Indiana, Zach teaching English in Poland, and of course me up here in New York. I think Scott is probably the only one who thought he might actually end up where he is right now, as for the rest of us...I doubt it.

Lashing out at Litter Bugs!

2005-12-07T09:19:00.000-05:00

Ever since I was in elementary school I have always been sensitive to litter (strange as that sounds). My dad was in the Lion's Club and I used to help them clean up the stretch of Highway 174 they had "adopted." It has always bothered me that people simply throw their trash out the window when it really requires little effort to put it where it belongs. I can recall an incident in East Point when a pickup full of people threw a bag of trash out the window. Momentarily forgetting that I was actually a minority here, I honked my horn and flashed my lights in a helpless attempt to convey my disdain, accomplishing nothing (other than scaring my wife).
Yesterday, another of those incidents ocurred that I can add to the list of acting out against those incessant litter bugs. Since I was at work and had nothing to do (as usual), I did what I always do - get coffee. As I was walking by a car in front of Dunkin' Donuts, someone rolled down their window and threw out a bag of trash, almost hitting me. Before realizing what I was doing, I picked up the trash and threw it back in the car. At first, we exchanged looks of astonishment, both surprised at what I had done. Then they drove off, and I went in to get my coffee. In a place where so many people live co close together, litter just chaps my hide. Oh well, just another day in Yonkers!

Stranger

2005-10-29T13:52:00.000-04:00

In my daily drive back and forth from work, I have begun to listen to Bill Bryson narrate his book I'm a Stranger Here Myself. It didn't initially start out as a book, rather a weekly column in a British magazine. He is from Iowa, but moved to London, married, and had two kids. Twenty or so years later, he returned to the US with his family and they settled in New Hampshire. The weekly article he wrote included his musings and noted differences between England and America. The irony is that it had been so long since he lived here that he felt as though he was a foreigner. It got me thinking about our own situation...
Since we moved up here to New York, we have constantly been amazed at how different things are from what we are used to. The other day we had a conversation about the various things that we missed from living in Tennessee. As I sit here in the lobby at Suzy's school I have become aware of the things I will not miss when we eventually leave New York.
I will not miss the insanely rude people of Westchester County, annoying and loud women with atrocious accents (cf. The Nanny), NY drivers that do not know how to merge, NY drivers who are oblivious to other drivers, NY drivers in general, everyone's sense of entitlement (when most people deserve none of what they expect), the way other people make me treat them, the inadequacy of the grocery stores, price of gasoline, cost of utilities, rent, let me say that again - RENT, prices in general, everyone's materialism, or the dreary weather.
I just hope that when we return to the south, we won't feel like strangers!

Salmon of Doubt

2005-10-20T19:21:00.000-04:00

I recently finished a book by the late Douglas Adams called The Salmon of Doubt . The book is a collection of bits and pieces that were found on his hard drive after he died. The last part of the book is a continuation of the Hitchhiker's series, but most of it is just a bunch of random thoughts. I never realized how much influence he had and how truly popular he was aside from the Hitchhiker books. One of his many activities was his avid support of Save the Rhino International. In 1994, Adams and some friends climbed Mount Kilamanjaro in, you guessed it...a rhino suit. Adams never actually made it to the top, but the rest of the group did. This year, his brother and sister are climbing Kilamanjaro to raise more support for the white rhino (without the rhino suit).

It's hard to believe!

2005-10-19T10:17:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that my little twin neices are already four years old. It seems like only a year ago that my sister and here family visited Suzy and I in Johnson City. Well, yesterday Cherokee and Shawnee had their fourth birthday and I didn't get to be there for it. It's hard enough not seeing family, but when these little girls grow up so fast it makes it worse that we can't be there to spoil them. When we are there, they seem to be all over us, but it still doesn't make up for the time lost. We wish we could be there - we love you Cherokee and Shawnee, happy fourth birthday! (From left to right, back to front: Cody, Angie, Cherokee, Shawnee, and Cheyanne)

OK, I know...

2005-10-17T17:16:00.000-04:00

Yes, I realize that it has been a long time since I last wrote anything. I haven't even looked at my site for the past couple of weeks. In that time, much has transpired. Just to cover the bases - the Holohan's have been in South Africa for six weeks now, we have moved down the road in Tuckahoe to an apartment complex, my co-worker was fired, I sliced my wrist when a window broke and received four stitches, now I have an infection - not stitches - and can't work because of it. So, aside from our best friends moving to the dark continent, expenses because of work, not being able to work and therefore not able to make money, things are cool.
On the upside, I have begun a new book - The Moviegoer by Walker Percy. So far it's not too bad, as with most of his novels, the majority of the action takes place in main character's mind. One thing that has hit me so far is his notion of "the search." Binx Bolling, the main character, is an average guy living an average life with nothing in particular the drives him, just the everydayness of life. In the midst of his routine he has had a glimpse of this idea of a search. He defines it as "what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life." A litter further on he states that "to become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair." I guess that's where I am right now, more than aware of the possibility and definitely onto something. Who knows where we'll be next year. Suzy will finish her master's degree in May, I might get into a school for my doctorate, I may even be teaching - I guess it's all about the search...

Icon

2005-08-20T17:04:00.000-04:00

For some reason, today I decided to visit a website I came across while I was taking classes at Emmanuel School of Religion. This icon, Christ Pantocrator, is one of my favorites. They used to think that it was painted in the 13th century, but now it is dated to the late 6th or early 7th century. It hangs in the Monastery of St. Catherine in Egypt at the foot of Mount Musa (or, as some call it, Mt. Sinai). The cool thing about this icon is that it represents two different natures of Christ. On the left side, it represents the Prince of Peace and risen King of Glory, but on the right side it shows the suffering servant that was beaten and crucified. It truly is amazing the things that can be communicated and taught through icons. Have a look at this presentation of Christ Pantocrator by Embody, a British web design company.

Home at last

2005-08-16T22:35:00.000-04:00

Well, after spending a couple of hours almost every day this past week looking for apartments, we found one tonight. I still have a hard time fathoming how much it costs up here for an apartment when we had a mortgage in Tennessee that was three or four times less than our rent up here. Granted, jobs do pay better up here, but the cost of living is a kicker. Tonight was such a relief to finally know where I will be sleeping in a month. It's never fun to have that kind of thing hanging over your head.
On top of all these moving expenses (security deposit, finder's fee for the real estate agent, truck rental, etc.) I have had so much to shell out for dental expenses. I never realized how good I had it with dental insurance. Health insurance is great, but I think dental might even be better at this point. Dental offices have no concept of "paying in installments." If it wasn't for family I might've had to take my pliers and just pull the nasty thing out myself just so I can go to the grocery store or buy gas so we can get to work. I just wanted to give credit where credit is due - thanks for the help. We'd be lost without you!

Chesterton's genius

2005-08-10T01:59:00.000-04:00

What amazes me so much about G.K. Chesterton is his ability to write on almost any topic, both authoritatively and at the drop of a hat. He has long been one of my favorite authors of fiction, philosophy, theology, and essays. Today, for the first time I began to read one of his biographies. Suzy and I were at the bookstore (cheap date) and I came across a book of his by Ignatius Press that has his short bios of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis of Assisi.
As soon as he converted to Catholicism in 1922, he was asked to write succinct portrait of St. Francis. Within a few short months he produced one of the most authoritative sketches of the saint's life. At that time he mentioned he would like to do the same with St. Thomas. The problem is that Aquinas was much more prolific and much harder to grasp. Being the genius he was, the task was apparently not too difficult - he wrote it in a couple of months, dictating the whole thing to his secretary.
The fact that he could do this so quickly amazes me, but what is of greater interest is the character of the two saints. They couldn't be more opposite in their way of approaching theology and the spiritual life, though they have the same goal - to transform the world for Christ. Chesterton writes that the nineteenth century clinged to Francis precisely because it had neglected romance and that the twentieth century was looking to Aquinas because it had neglected reason. Then he states one of the most profound things I've read in a while:

The saint is a medicine because he(she) is an antidote. Indeed that is why the saint is often the martyr...he(she) will generally be found restoring the world to sanity by exaggerating whatever the world neglects, which is by no means the same in every age. Yet each generation seeks its saint by instinct; and he(she) is not what the people want, but rather what the people need.

This really hit me for some reason. Partly because the church I was brought up in didn't really teach much about saints, so I just don't think that way - it is something that I have had to learn. Needless to say, I'll have to give it some thought before I can submit who I think the saint should be for this century.

Dentists can be nice...

2005-08-07T08:45:00.000-04:00

Growing up, I always liked my dentist. I understood that people didn't like to have their teeth drilled, scraped, and pulled - but my dentist was great. Then I moved. For the first few years in college, I always went back to see Dr. Owens when I was at home. Then I got married and things became a little more complicated - like dental insurance. In Tennessee, Suzy had a great job with unbelievable health and dental coverage for both of us, so we went back to the dentist. Needless to say, I needed some work. He did a decent job I thought, then I went to the dentist up here in NY. They told me he really didn't do so well, so I got to have a root canal. The endodontist I was sent to is quite possibly the most thoughtful doctor of any kind I have ever visited. Since I was in so much pain, he came in an hour early on Saturday just for the procedure. He also scheduled a check-up for me on Friday after he will have been at the hospital all day - just so I don't have to be there on Suzy's birthday. And the real kicker - he called last night to see how I was doing! He has completely worked around my schedule and helped out in so many ways (even a little discount). Who says dentists are scary?

A different kind of canal

2005-08-01T19:00:00.000-04:00

The only kind of canals I like are in Venice, but later this week I get to take a ride down the root canal. Of course this would happen after I no longer have dental insurance (or health insurance for that matter). The irony is that last year when my dentist gave me a filling in the same tooth, he debated on giving me a root canal then. I asked him to do what it would take to fix it, but he was confident that the filling would be enough. My new dentist was a little upset when I told him I had the filling last year and said the root canal should have been a no brainer, but I don't think he's half as upset as me. After looking at the X-ray, he said, "you're probably experiencing a little bit of pain, right?" I think that rolling around in the bed all night, finally getting up at 5 because I was tired of laying in bed qualifies as "a little bit." To top it all off I almost OD'd on Anbisol this morning, not realizing that the recommended usage is up to four times a day (I was hitting it about every fifteen minutes - for four hours). So the dentist gave me a script for Vicotin and said I might get a little drowsy, especially since I haven't had much to eat - mostly liquid food. I haven't felt this weird in a long time - dizzy, tingly, and extremely sleepy.......

Questions, questions

2005-07-26T22:58:00.000-04:00

This week I picked up a book that Jerry (my new brother-in-law) and I decided to read together - Socrates Cafe by Christopher Phillips. So far I am only a little way into the book and it has mostly been about questions and the need to keep asking them to ourselves and others. His whole idea is that people should do philosophy rather than just read it, and who better to show us the way than Socrates?

While thinking about this book and looking at some sites that I frequent, I found myself back at The Ekklesia Project. Here is a little of what they are about:

The central questions of ecclesiology, in our time as in all others, remain stark and straightforward: to whom or what do we belong? To what body do we pledge our allegiance? What commitments do we recognize as those to which all others must bend or bow?
For too long, such questions of ultimate loyalty and allegiance were kept at bay by most Christian churches. The Church as the Body of Christ–the material, living community that crosses all borders and human divisions–has been too easily and often compromised and fragmented by unwise accommodations with states, ethnic and racial imperatives, and the naturalized imperatives of class, gender, and ideology. By minimizing or denying the distinctiveness of the life of discipleship...too many churches have turned the clear and unambiguous call of Jesus and the Holy Spirit into a confused and contradictory mix of caution and self-interest.
The intent of The Ekklesia Project is to remind the church of its true calling as the real-world community whose primary loyalty is to the Body of Christ, the priorities and practices of Jesus, and the inbreaking Kingdom of God. In doing so, The Ekklesia Project will work with, within, across, and beneath existing churches and structures.
We envision The Ekklesia Project as a means to provide coherence, leadership, and vision to some of the still developing, occasionally inchoate, stirrings of discontent and reappraisal within the Christian community...By calling attention to the Body of Christ as our “first family” in the world, we aim to put discipleship and a picture of the church as an alternative community of practices, worship, and integration at the center of contemporary debates on Christianity and society. This is the vision we share and the reality we seek.

What is interesting about this project is that Phil Kenneson, a professor from Suzy's alma mater -Milligan College, is one of the brains behind it. I heard him (but mostly his students - Kennesonites as Suzy calls them) talk about it when we were in Tennessee. I thought the idea and concept were still in the incubation stage, but it seems like things are really taking off. The recent conference they had in Chicago (to get back to the point) dealt with issues of Church and State. The way they introduced the topic included some questions that tried to get at the issue such as
How should citizens of God's commonwealth (Ephesians 2) understand and relate to the post-9/11 imperial designs and ambitions of American? When does respect for Caesar verge on having another god, committing idolatry, or taking the true God's name in vain? How does the church keep the commandments in the face of the New American Empire?
If you're interested, they will be posting transcripts of the presentations from the conference on their website - it should be interesting!

St Maximus the Confessor

2005-07-18T21:21:00.000-04:00

I am sitting here at Suzy's school thinking about her education and Becky writing her thesis. It made me want to revisit some of the things that inspired me while writing my thesis, mainly Maximus the Confessor. One of the main things he is known for is exploring the theme of deification , a term that does not sit well with many evangelicals - mainly because they misunderstand or do not know what it means. Here is an excerpt from the Philokalia where Maximus addresses the topic:

On Deification:
"Everyone who does not apply himself to the spiritual contemplation of Holy Scripture has, Judaic-wise, also rejected both the natural and the written law; and he is ignorant of the law of grace which confers deification on those who are obedient to it. He who understands the written law in a literal manner does not nourish his soul with the virtues. He who does not grasp the inner principles of created beings fails to feast his intellect on the manifold wisdom of God. And he who is ignorant of the great mystery of the new grace does not rejoice in the hope of future deification. Thus failure to contemplate the written law spiritually results in a dearth (lack, an indequate supply) of the divine wisdom to be apprehended in the natural law; and this in its turn is followed by a complete ignorance of the deification given by grace according to the new mystery."

And then one more of my favorite quotes that sums it up a little more succinctly:

"God made us so that we might become 'partakers of the divine nature' (2 Pet. 1:4) and sharers in His eternity, and so that we might come to be like Him (cf. 1 John 3:2) through deification by grace. It is through deification that all things are reconstituted and achieve their permanence."

Just a stroll down memory lane...

After Writing

2005-07-17T17:40:00.000-04:00

Well, in an attempt to keep my mind going since I am no longer in school, I finally picked up a book my sister-in-law gave me a couple of years ago for Christmas. I almost feel bad for just now getting to it since I recall wanting is to bad at the time, but now that I have actually read some of it I don't think I could have devoted enough time to it while doing anything else (that almost includes breathing). The first ten pages took me about two hours to get through - this should give you some idea as to how difficult it is to read. It's not that I don't know the words (I just seem to have forgotten them), it's not that she is a terrible writer (though she is a bit verbose), it's just extremely heavy. It is definitely a meat and potatoes kind of book, here's the description:

After Writing provides a significant contribution to the growing genre of works which offer a challenge to the modern and post modern accounts of Christianity. The author shows how Platonic philosophy did not assume a primacy of metaphysical presence, as had been previously thought, but a primacy of liturgical theory and practice.
Catherine Pickstock also provides a significant rethinking of Christian understandings of language, temporal and bodily life, and notions of the presence of God. Through a detailed reading of Phaedrus, the medieval Roman Rite, and a discussion of the theology of the Eucharist, the book indicates directions for the restoration of the liturgical order.

So, that's the general idea of the piece. Her work falls into a group of writings put out by Blackwell Publishers and is associated with John Milbank and the Radical Orthodoxy movement. I'll post more about the book later tonight.

Third time's the charm?

2005-07-02T18:56:00.000-04:00

There are a few things in this world that I really hate to do, and one of them is having to redo something I have already done. For the past couple of months I have been working with an architect on different remodeling and construction jobs. He's a good guy and likes to do things the right way, the first time. The problem lays elsewhere - some of the other people he has hired out to do the plumbing, for example, don't always do things the right way. This translates into more work for me, distracting me from the other projects I would rather be doing at work. Here's the scenario: We demolished his girlfriend's bathroom and I got to rebuild it from scratch, walls and all. Once the plumbing was done, I put cement board in the shower area to get it ready for "Tommy the tile guy" (who did a poor job, too). For some reason, the plumbing is now defunct, so the wall was torn out. This morning, the plumber redid the shower and I redid the wall, only to find out that the shower mechanism is now busted. Once again the wall must be taken down,the shower mechanism replaced, and the wall rebuilt for the third time. It's a good thing I don't have to go back to work until Tuesday!

I'm still here

2005-06-29T08:23:00.000-04:00

Basically this post is just to remind myself that if I don't get into the habit of writing all the time, I am never going to get to the point when I do it on a regular basis. It's not that I don't think about life, the nature of reality, faith, and what I have to do tomorrow - it's just that I don't ever put my thoughts to page as it were. Truth be told, I actually spend quite a bit of time thinking about the aforementioned things and many others as well. Part of me thinks that I just don't want to take the time to write down my own thoughts, but another (and more honest) part of me has a hunch that if I write them down then it means that I have an opinion about the matter (which is accompanied by the fear that this opinion may be wrong). If I am even more honest with myself I will realize that if I don't know my own opinions about things then I cannot even evaluate the situation properly and run the risk of becoming a compeletely ineffectual person who doesn't believe anything about anything, just a person that things happen to. So, in the future there will be less posts about writing and perhaps some actual writing with ideas and conclusions - maybe...

Swing and a miss

2005-06-19T15:33:00.000-04:00

It's funny how so much time can go by without realizing or acknowleding the passage of time in reference to other events. Of course one knows that time is clipping along at the usual rate, but the actual accumulation of time between the present and a specific point in the past is often blurred or just beyond grasp. Take for example the many events that have transpired over the past six months since my last entry. It baffles the mind to wake up and realize that I honeslty did start this blog that long ago and have continually found other things to do besides posting to my blog...for six months. Yes, after pledging not only to myself, but to others as well, that I would use this opportunity to collect and articulate my thoughts in this little (un)known corner of cyberspace. It was to be a grand think tank of my forrays into literature, philosophy, theology, and history. Sadly, it has been more of a reflection, nay, embodiment of my acute case of procastination. Being out of school has not even deterred my unending relationship with this age-old plague of the mind and body.

Well, once again I pledge to take a more active role in participating in this little endeavor. I now have the added inspiration of Suzy to follow since she has undertaken the task (and much more enthusiastically I must admit). All of this has precipitated since our recent trip to our "neighbor to the north" to see Becky(Suzy's sister) and Jerry(her husband). Becky has been at this for quite some time as has even gained a little notariety in the Saskatoon area (she was even recognized by someone who reads her blog in Calgary!).

Hopefully this time around things will be a little more involved and perhaps, entertaining!

Why this, why now?

2005-01-30T12:51:00.000-05:00

Initially when I first encountered the idea of "blogs" I considered it a bit on the ridiculous side. What kind of person has the time to constantly post thoughts and random information on a website that most people probably won't even read. After spending some time reading my sister-in-law's blog, I came to a few conclusions about what might lead one to undertake the endeavor. First, it seems like a wonderful way to procrastinate - from schoolwork, responsibilities, anything really. It also gives one the opportunity to document their own life in a way that is much easier than sitting down at a desk and writing out a journal. Perhaps what I see most valuable about the whole thing is how it allows one to formulate opinions into (hopefully) coherent thoughts and arguments. I think my biggest weakness when it comes to my academic pursuits is my inability to formulate my own thoughts and expound on ideas that strike me as fascinating. Usually my mind stops at the recognition of something worthwhile, but at the same time I do not give myself a chance to seriously take it in a mull it over and spit it back out in a more relevant way. This last step is by far the most important part of reading and research, an aspect that it severely deficient in my own abilities and one that I hope to remedy - possibly through this blog. So I hope this will prove a fruitful opportunity for me to explore and apply the things that I have learned in an informal way while at the same time giving others that I care about the ability to benefit from my studies. At least that is the hope, that I will be able to capture my thoughts from the limbo they are currently floating in within my own mind...