Catching Up on the News

I read quite a few news stories this morning, and the following ones caught my attention for a variety of reasons, funny or more serious.

Canadian Young Adults Greener, Better Traveled, and More Free-Spirited Than American Counterparts - this one just made me smile, since I hold dual Canadian/American citizenship, and I'm not totally sure which category I'd fall into!

Wall of Smoke Leaves Calgary Area in a Haze - I've definitely noticed the smoke, particularly on Wednesday, and the smell that came with it. I'm not complaining too much, though, since it's brought beautiful sunrises and sunsets as well.

Christian Group Condemns Zoo's Elephant Sculpture - I didn't know quite how to respond to this one. I do visit the zoo often, and to be honest, anyone who knows anything about world religions would be able to recognize that this statue is modeled after Ganesh, even if the zoo claims that they had all the religious symbolism removed. I knew immediately the first time I saw it that I was looking at an image of a Hindu deity, and I'm not even all that familiar with Eastern religions. I mostly think the statue is kind of ugly, and I certainly won't be posing with it anytime soon for a picture. However, I would object to the suggestion that the grounds of the zoo become a place for educating the public on world religions, and I cannot imagine a cross and all the other things that the article suggests erecting on the zoo grounds as well. I have to wonder why we as Christians can't be content with the fact that the very scriptures we seek to proclaim talk about all creation crying out and speaking of it's creator. Seems to me that hundreds of animals, beautiful gardens, and park-like grounds that are all constantly "speaking" of their creator means that we've got one slightly ugly sculpture outnumbered anyway. The whole thing makes me think of that famous quote from St. Francis of Assisi "Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary use words." I just kind of wish Christian groups would stop making a fuss about things like this, and do things like getting involved somewhere. If you're concerned about the zoo, become a volunteer. They have tons of volunteers. Get involved and teach kids about the beauty of the animal world that cries out about it's creator.

Indonesian Baby Weighs in at 19.2 Pounds - Mostly, this one caught my attention because of the picture of the "little" guy between two other babies in the nursery. He's so large that the picture was, to me anyway, truly comical!

New Jersey Woman Celebrates 100th Birthday by Showing up for Work As Usual - How inspiring! This lovely old lady is still going strong. And imagine all the changes she's weathered since her life began in 1909! Even the very fact that she survived the 1918 flu epidemic is fascinating to me (being the history geek that I am!). Think young!

To Vaccinate or Not to Vaccinate - Because Joel Stein almost always has a line or two that makes me laugh. My favorite line this time? "Feder really sees the good side of life-threatening disesases."

A TIME magazine interview with Chuck Colson - Colson is definitely not my favorite voice, but he has demonstrated a consistent integrity, and a commitment to social justice issues through his prison ministry. Would I likely go about things the same way? No. Do I agree with a lot of what he says? No. But do I respect his integrity and believe that if more of the "Christian Right" in North America lived in this way, they'd have a better reputation? Yes. As such, I found it interesting to read his responses to the interviewer.

Two from Henri Nouwen on Baptism

Baptism remains a subject close to my heart, one that I contemplate often... Here are two thoughts from Henri Nouwen on that subject that have recently arrived in my inbox...

Baptism and Eucharist

Sacraments are very specific events in which God touches us through creation and transforms us into living Christs. The two main sacraments are baptism and the Eucharist. In baptism water is the way to transformation. In the Eucharist it is bread and wine. The most ordinary things in life - water, bread, and wine - become the sacred way by which God comes to us.

These sacraments are actual events. Water, bread, and wine are not simple reminders of God's love; they bring God to us. In baptism we are set free from the slavery of sin and dressed with Christ. In the Eucharist, Christ himself becomes our food and drink.

Baptism: Becoming Children of the Light

When Jesus appears for the last time to his disciples, he sends them out into the world saying: "Go, ... make disciples of all nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" (Matthew 28:19).

Jesus offers us baptism as the way to enter into communion with God, Father, Son, and Spirit, and to live our lives as God's beloved children. Through baptism we say no to the world. We declare that we no longer want to remain children of the darkness but want to become children of the light, God's children. We do not want to escape the world, but we want to live in it without belonging to it. That is what baptism enables us to do.

Daily 5 - Day 44

Today's Daily 5:

1. A night of sleep last night where I only woke once, and didn't have crazy dreams.
2. A simple meal of pasta and homemade cookies for dinner
3. Lavendar scented candles
4. getting to watch the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy
5. Only one day left until the weekend
   

Thursday Evening Plans

After work and a few quick errands, I made it home.

I made bowtie pasta with sweet basil marinara meat sauce for dinner.

There are chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven.

And, I discovered that the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy is on at a reasonable hour tonight, so, instead of watching it online tomorrow or the next day, I have plans to crash on the couch for a couple of hours and watch my favorite television show live.

It's a good way to spend the evening, I think.

Encouraged, and kind of rested

I wrote a dear friend this morning, laughing, because my first thought on waking was to celebrate something as a miracle and massive blessing from Jesus, but it was something that most people experience as "normal".

I woke at about twenty past six this morning, and my first thought, upon glancing at the thought and discovering the time was a rather stunned, "I slept!" After several nights in a row with incredibly minimal sleep, that thought alone was stunning. As I lay there, I realized that not only had I managed to catch some sleep, but I'd only woken once in the eight hours since I'd gone to bed, and, while I'd dreamt, they were "normal" sorts of dreams, rather than the intensely vivid sorts of spiritual experiences I've been having for most of the rest of the week.

A sleep with any one of those things - eight hours, waking only once, or "normal" dreams, is something I would celebrate. A sleep with all three of those things at once definitely falls into the miraculous blessing category for me.

It's interesting to me how the littlest things can be a reminder, and an assurance. How, when I was willing to continue walking out some of the more intense nights and seasons and themes of the last week, but was also feeling exhausted and a bit beaten down, Jesus let me sleep. To me it was a reminder that he loves me deeply, that he sees me and cares for my needs. That I am important to him, even amidst the larger themes and moments.

I'm kind of rested. My muscles are still knotted and causing me pain, and I could use at least another eight hours of peaceful sleep, but I am feeling so encouraged this morning by the simple miracle of having rested deeply for a time. I'm sitting here, sipping tea, considering the joy in me that comes from simply having been seen by Jesus and offered just a bit of rest.

I fell asleep last night on the thought (prayer) that it would be so nice if Jesus would simply hold me and let me rest for a few hours. And perhaps, that is just what he did, letting me rest my head in his lap like a daddy, and turning away all comers that would have sought to disturb my rest. It's kind of a lovely thought to ponder as I head into the day.