I've realized how much of the blog lately has been REFLECTIVE, so I figured I'd put a little concrete update in here for those of you who want to know what the heck I do everyday. While I don't have any kind of a typical day, maybe a glance at the whole week will help!
My week in review:
Sunday- 7.(something) mile run with neighbor! Church with First Presbyterian. Led prayer walk in City Heights for local church. Joined CRM missional community folks for dinner and prayer and discussion.
Monday- inductive Bible study with a friend, digging into 1 John. So many good questions there! Then Tijuana boys' home for conversation, hanging out, talking about surfing, taking the kids to school. Took about 2 hours to cross the border back into the US; a man just ahead of me in line got taken away in handcuffs. I came home, cooked dinner, and watched a bilingual film ("English as a Second Language") about the emptiness of life on the border.
Tuesday- got up and started going through emails when I got a call from a college friend I hadn't talked to in 6+ months! We talked 'till I had to get ready for my weekly check-in meeting with Geoff. Geoff and I caught up, pondering God in daily life and the balance between being involved in lots of great things and a restful availability (ie: not being crazy busy). Another long-overdue conversation with a college friend, and then with my family. Bought plane tickets for our CRM world staff conference in Malaysia!!!
Wednesday- Weekly staff meeting with other CRM folks in San Diego, discussing Mansions of the Heart (spiritual formation based on Theresa of Avila's writings). MARATHON emailing session to get my inbox in order. (Sorry if I owe you an email, I've been backlogged lately as I spend lots of time looking for plane tickets in Asia.) Bible study with roommates and some architectures students downtown. Matthew 12 and Revelation 7. Weird stuff.
Thursday- full day in Fullerton (Orange County). Drove up for a roundtable discussion/ workshop with other community development practitioners weaving together expertise of City-Reaching (master networkers), Community Development (local organizer- neighbor ministry types), and Prayer/ Intercessors (the people who love to pray). Great discussions and fun people to meet. Then swung by the CRM office in Anaheim to catch up and wait out rush hour traffic. Played with friends' baby boy. Got home and went out for Vietnamese food and gourmet dessert with apartment #1 neighbors-- I'm still full!
Friday- another early morning-- chopping vegetables to feed homeless/ low-income folks downtown. Meeting with local church plant about community center planning and prayer.
And on and on! And those are just the highlights! I'm sure I'm missing various fun nuggets of life and ministry in there, but if you want to know more, just holler and I'll fill you in. =)
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
The Down Home Thrill
Have you ever felt that thrill that comes from feeling just a little more connected to the people in your world? I hear lots of complaint about the faceless globalized world, but lately, I've started relishing the places where a personal touch persists.
At the coffee shop where I meet with various people at least once a week, it's so much fun to know and be recognized by the folks behind the counter. To greet them by name and chat while steeping my tea.
My roommate recently went to the corner store two days in a row. The cashier saw that she was buying the same kind of beer again the second day and said, "It's good stuff, eh?"
This morning I got what I assumed was a form e-mail, sent from my regional bank corporation back home. They were inquiring about recent activity on my debit card (plane tickets to Hong Kong apparently look out of the norm for me!) and requested a call to clear things up. So I called and punched the numbers in the automated directory and a woman answered and asked what I needed. I told her about the email and she asked who sent it. I told her the name and she said, "Oh, that's me." How often does THAT happen??? I'm not talking small-town Tennessee bank office--- this is a bank with branches all over the southeast. I was surprised and happy and I gave my bank extra points for giving me a sense of being known.
I know small towns feel stifling to some people-- they don't want others to know their stuff, their past, their buying habits. However, I would say that it's much more frightening to have NO ONE know your past, your purchases, and your pastimes. There's a buzz of happiness that comes with recognition and being acknowledged. Apparently all I have to do is make a strange enough purchase with my debit card.
At the coffee shop where I meet with various people at least once a week, it's so much fun to know and be recognized by the folks behind the counter. To greet them by name and chat while steeping my tea.
My roommate recently went to the corner store two days in a row. The cashier saw that she was buying the same kind of beer again the second day and said, "It's good stuff, eh?"
This morning I got what I assumed was a form e-mail, sent from my regional bank corporation back home. They were inquiring about recent activity on my debit card (plane tickets to Hong Kong apparently look out of the norm for me!) and requested a call to clear things up. So I called and punched the numbers in the automated directory and a woman answered and asked what I needed. I told her about the email and she asked who sent it. I told her the name and she said, "Oh, that's me." How often does THAT happen??? I'm not talking small-town Tennessee bank office--- this is a bank with branches all over the southeast. I was surprised and happy and I gave my bank extra points for giving me a sense of being known.
I know small towns feel stifling to some people-- they don't want others to know their stuff, their past, their buying habits. However, I would say that it's much more frightening to have NO ONE know your past, your purchases, and your pastimes. There's a buzz of happiness that comes with recognition and being acknowledged. Apparently all I have to do is make a strange enough purchase with my debit card.
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