Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 85

Today's Daily 5:

1. A very productive morning
2. getting a few good deals on snacks and treats at the grocery store
3. trading snarky comments and laughing with a friend
4. mugs of rooibos tea (two different mugs of it today)
5. a quiet evening, mostly resting

Authentic Not Just in the Past Tense

I started reading Alece's blog sometime early in the year.  I can't remember how I found her, but I can tell you why I kept going back.  She writes with a great honesty about being broken.  A deep honesty and questioning that still reflects a trust in God, even when He can't seem to be found.  There have been days where simply reading Alece's words have encouraged me to keep walking out my own crazy, messy journey.

Last week, another blogger hosted "Ladies Week" and shared videos of a number of female bloggers sharing their stories of brokenness and meeting God somewhere in the midst of that.  I found "Ladies Week" because Alece wrote a post that linked to it, and to a video of herself sharing her story.

This video, actually:



I cannot begin to explain how deeply this encouraged me when I saw it first, and how I've watched it several times since and been encouraged each time. 

Sometimes as I share what's gone on and is going on in my life with people around me, I struggle.  It's pretty messy, this year of deconstruction and working again towards healing.  It's not even a new journey.  I've done this whole "need to piece large chunks of my life back together" journey before, and I haven't been all that impressed to be walking it out again.

But the reminder that sometimes we need to be authentic in the midst of the crap, not just afterwards, was one I needed to hear again.  To be authentic in more than just the "past tense."  I needed to hear someone else who understands what it is to walk out brokenness (though our stories are so different) share how sometimes the "grit" of life is the thing God uses most powerfully to minister to someone else.  I needed the reminder to find people with whom I can be really and truly authentic - who I can trust with what's going on in me, and trust to pray and walk with me in the hard stuff and not just the stuff that looks pretty.

I needed the encouragement of Alece's story, and I hope it encourages each of you as well.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 84

Today's Daily 5:

1. Sunday morning reading and praying on the bus
2. stopping at the farmer's market for mini ham and cheese croissants
3. encountering Jesus deeply in an unexpected place/moment
4. laughter
5. watching escapist television
6. sipping tea and lighting candles in my own living space

A Review of The Least Among You

The Least Among You tells the story of Richard Kelly, a young black man arrested during the 1965 Watts riots, who is serving probation by attending an all white seminary.  The story chronicles his journey of adapting to life in the seminary.  Kelly never wanted to attend seminary, and didn’t know what he believed about God.  He certainly hadn’t bargained for an all white seminary that was opposed to the idea of integration.  The plot ultimately centers around his need to decide whether violence or peace, truth or lies are the best answer to the challenges he faces.

To be honest, I didn’t like the movie.  It was dark – not just in theme, but in the way it was shot.  Every scene was dim and grey.  The story was not the most compelling of racial integration stories, and moved almost painfully slowly.  But most confusingly, it suffered from loose ends and unexplained details.  A topic was introduced, and then not followed through.  I was left with questions – what happened to Richard’s mother?  What about the drug money?  Why was it important to know that the president of the seminary had lost a son and had a wife who was severely depressed.  The filmmakers of The Least Among You had the chance to tell a compelling story that all those who have experienced that moment of questioning God’s calling and action could relate to.  Unfortunately, their story was lost in a myriad of rabbit trails and suffered from mediocre execution of the storytelling.

note: The Least Among You was provided to me as a free review copy from booksneeze.com.

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 83

Today's Daily 5:

1. Managing to eat breakfast (and mostly enjoying it, even if it was small!) before an appointment this morning
2. Listening to Brian & Jenn Johnson and Jesus Culture while I was taking the bus to a few different appointments and errands today
3. Sunshine
4. A cozy toque
5. The anticipation of treating myself
6. An appointment that went well
7. Fall colors remaining in the flowerbeds
8. Hearing the marching band at the school across the street practice (the drums were kind of fun to hear)
9. Subway for lunch and satisfying a craving
10. Being surprised with Chinese take-out for supper
11. fortune cookies - I love those things!