"Fund-raising is a very rich and beautiful activity. It
is a confident, joyful, and hope-filled expression of
ministry. In ministering to each other, each from the
riches that he or she possesses, we work together for
the full coming of God’s Kingdom."   -Henri Nouwen

Two days of CRM support-raising workshop start tomorrow!  Getting excited.  =)

What I learned at CCDA

A little over a week ago, I went to the Christian Community Development Association's (www.ccda.org) annual conference in Chicago with 3,000 other wonderful people.  I attended a handful of workshops.  I faithfully made it to most plenary sessions and all of the Bible studies.  There were PowerPoint presentations and handouts, books and pamphlets galore.  All of that was secondary, though.

What struck me as most significant, from the first night onward, was the common theme of friendship.  When John Perkins (CCDA's wonderful, wise, endearing founder) spoke about the significance of this association, he talked about his friends.  He spoke of the people who had come together to share their joys and burdens.  They formed CCDA, apparently, because they needed one another.

That purpose continues to drive the ethos of the organization.  A number of speakers and panelists strongly asserted that the greatest outcomes from such conferences were relationships-- not just your standard business networks, but finding friends who know what your life is like.  It's true: there's something unique about being at a gathering where you can figure a lot of other people might shake hands with people who live and beg on the streets everyday (for example).  Or, they might know how to put up a fight on any number of neighborhood issues, from speed bumps to crime.  And, they've probably got some ideas about intersecting theology with lifestyle choices, hospitality, real estate, buying habits, and any number of other things.  So no, it's not your standard conference crowd.

Having said all that, though, I'm still not a mass-market befriend-er.  I didn't even come home from CCDA with a new business card collection.  I might have added one or two facebook friends.  However, the preaching of friendship and the evidence of its impact in these leaders' lives did provoke fresh gratitude in me.  I remembered when I was in college, just entering conversations about racial reconciliation, social justice and community development (largely introduced by reading John Perkins' Justice for All, appropriately enough), and I remember older mentor-folk asking repeatedly, Where are your 'safe' places?  Who are your friends?  (Meaning: make sure you have them!)  Remembering that, I started to see afresh the depth of friendships carrying and sustaining me.  I felt an overwhelming gratitude for who [you] my friends are-- this miracle and gift God has given me. 

Even if I didn't need CCDA to be my friend-factory, I needed it to highlight this beautiful thing God's been doing in my life.  I learned to see with renewed thankfulness.  I also picked up a couple of spiffy brochures.

Word Power

This is a bit of a throwback/ nod/ reflection on my time in Asia this summer.  Some of you will remember my excitement about being in a place where I had zero fluency in their primary language. Until this trip, all my travels outside the U.S. had been to places that either spoke English or Spanish-- both languages in which I have functional ability.  As I looked forward to the time in Malaysia, Cambodia and Hong Kong, I told a number of people that I wanted to see what it was like to be language-less.

Several friends did look at me a little funny.  Some of them tilted their head and nodded or shrugged.  Sure, it's an adventure to go somewhere new, try different things, break away from the standard codes of life that surround us.  But yes, being mute is an unusual goal.

I’m not sure this makes the objective less weird, but I think the prospect of escaping English for me was less about getting away from familiar (as with WalMart or Starbucks) and more about testing my sources of satisfaction and control.  Part of what gives me such joy in Latin America is the forced dependence on God that comes when I don’t know what else to do but pray and let others help me.  Another thing that makes me really happy is speaking Spanish.  So as a horribly under-controlled experiment—would the thrill of helplessness (go ahead, laugh away...) be amplified without language skills?  Granted, it’s a drastically different setting to spend a week as a tourist, versus a month as a helper/ worker/ visitor/ friend in a slum.  But I think I really just love people, wherever they are, whatever language they speak.  I get pumped about the conversations that come with actual fluency, but even without that, I can taste (yum!) and see and smell life with folks.

 As it turned out, lots of people spoke English in the regions we visited.  It was never a problem.  Actually, it was more of an adventure to get a dress hemmed by a Vietnamese seamstress here in City Heights this week than it was to hire a taxi to cross Phnom Penh.  Ah, the impact of colonialism and the tourist dollar.  I suppose the quest for the brink of linguistic desperation hasn't taken hold of tourist market share.  Surely we're missing out!

Back from Big City

It's a courtesy post, to say that I'm back, to say that my trip in Chicago (and a little bit of Indianapolis) was great, and to say that I'll say more soon.  =)

Early sunlight as I walked along the Chicago River.

Want to go to Paris?

One of my remarkable roommates could offer the chance you've been waiting for!

Visit www.cargoofdreams.org to get a ticket!  It's a $10 donation, designated "First Class to Paris"  Buy for yourself, for friends, for family, and tell anyone else who might be interested!

Here's some of [my roommate] Gabrielle's story:

"I am excited to say I am working with an amazing organization called Cargo of Dreams. The faith-based non-profit uses peoples talents and passions here in the US to convert shipping containers into clinics, schools, community centers, and so on, for impoverished communities worldwide. It is an incredible network of people helping people and I feel blessed to be apart of it.

In addition to taking on the role of Director of the Department of Architecture, Cargo of Dreams will be a platform to do a pilot project of the construction system that I believe God laid on my heart during my thesis year. This is an amazing opportunity to see the potential of the system as it is implemented in areas of great need, but further, a way to show God’s love in a very tangible way. The construction system is quite simple, self-interlocking metal baskets [steel cage units] that can be filled with materials from in and around the project site.

The next few months are going to be quite exciting and I want you all to be apart of it too! We are raffling off 2 first-class, round trip tickets from NYC to Paris valued at $10,000. The funds raised will go directly toward designing, testing and implementing the hybrid construction system of shipping containers and steel cage units and will further continue the work of creating better conditions for those in developing countries."

Having seen Gabrielle hard at work in the throes of her thesis, and even having scavenged for materials for the prototype of these units myself, I am SO thrilled for this opportunity she has to put her design into the hands of folks who can run with it.  This raffle makes that work possible-- AND it gives you the opportunity to win 2 first-class tickets to Paris.  Your chance to win is 1 in 1,000.  The winner will be announced December 5th. 

Who wants to be my potential travel buddy?

Consuming Catastrophe -- & Amazement at Children

“Consuming Catastrophe: The Comedy of The Heart; A Play in Ate Parts”.

Kids wrote that.  For real.  Little kids.  Titling their art show at a local (Nashville) church.  Based on the parable of the mustard seed and the kingdom of heaven.

If you're in Nashville, you should go and tell me how it is!!!  Art Crawl.  Sept. 4, Downtown Presbyterian Church, 6pm.  Isn't the title intriguing enough?

It makes me want to think and write and reflect on the depth of what they're pointing to.  Really pretty incredible.  Much of what we take in (consume) is disastrous.  The awful manufactured foods we've gotten used to eating (watch "Food, Inc.").  The stuff we use as entertainment, whether it's fear-mongering or demeaning or doubting.  I'm thinking of the news and the movies, the magazines and TV shows.  We bring so much mess into our very beings-- some inadvertently pressed upon us, but most of it a voluntary response to our gnawing hunger for connection, significance or understanding.

It's a comedy in the same way Shakespeare constructs humor.  It's ridiculous to an extent that is truly sad.  I think of "The Taming of the Shrew" (hoping to see it at San Diego Shakespeare festival in a couple weeks!), and really, it's an atrocious concept.  In desperation to marry off the eldest daughter, a father pays a man to do whatever it takes.  The suitor/ groom takes a turn as a virtual ogre to turn a shrew into a lover.  Come on, it's absurd.  It's tragic.  It's an out-and-out brawl with human hearts and sensibilities at stake.  It's also pretty funny.  So, too, are our hearts engaged in comedic consumption.  We're a mess, concocting ridiculous solutions for ourselves.  Yet, we look at that mess, and as followers of Jesus, we somehow believe that the ending turns out well!  It's even a CLASSIC comedy, ending in marriage of Christ (the bridegroom) and his Church.

Hilarious as that is, we really don't need to take ourselves so seriously.  God invites us together to play and to eat the broken bread that truly nourishes.

I wish kids wrote things more often.

Life Humming, Blog Sputtering

The sun slides down to quietly close another day.  The weather is phenomenal-- I can almost imagine the dry air is part of autumn.  Palm trees mess up that image, but oh well.

Another day, and my to-do list still looms.  Instead of becoming the rare event of the month, it's now common to have several days a week completely full of meetings: churches, pastors, co-workers, friends.  Planning, praying, talking, exploring.  Here are some of the things on the docket (and my HOPE is to offer deeper profiles and information for you in future posts)----

-City College, with InterVarsity
-Third Avenue Charitable Organization (TACO)
-City Heights charter school & community center
-Bible study with some other young women nearby
-planning & leading a weekend prayer retreat
-supporting leadership at 2 local Presbyterian churches

Continuing to watch some irons in the fire: in Tijuana, at a local hospital, and with the Global Urban Trek. And renewing my energy for raising the financial support to keep it all going!

Back, with a Bang

Getting back to San Diego was a lengthy process, one that I don't even want to calculate.  Planes jumped me from Hong Kong to Vancouver, Vancouver to Los Angeles.  Trains took me from north L.A. to Union Station to downtown San Diego.  And I boarded a city bus to pop me over to my apartment.

I know that I could have asked a number of people to pick me up from the train depot, but come on, once I'd made it that far, why not just finish the public transportation adventure?  I didn't have to wait more than a few minutes for the next bus, and something inside me hinted that this was a good way to get myself back into San Diego life.

What followed was a loud and clear affirmation that YES, San Diego is a mission field!  Within a few stops of my getting on the bus, several other people filed in.  One was a man stooped and distant, clearly challenged by mental handicaps or drugs or both.  He gazed off to one side, muttering incoherently.  What immediately came to mind was: "I didn't see this anywhere in Asia."  As I flipped through my mental records, it surprised me that in fact, no, I had not encountered anything like this man in the past 2 weeks.  In that moment, his mental illness, drug abuse, and isolation confronted me, and the tragic dissonance only ramped up when a few stops later, a shouting match began on the bus.  The man had walked up to the bus driver and said something, to which the driver replied that he would not drive on until the man sat down.  The driver repeated himself several times, to no effect.  At that, several others on the bus, possibly fellow street-dwellers with this guy, began screaming at him to take a seat, they had places to go, etc. 

I sat in my seat, quietly watchful beside a man whose cane balanced against my backpack.  I wondered if riots happen on buses.  I wondered where all these homeless pals might be going on the bus.  But mostly I thought of how sad and twisted the situation was.  Here I was, back in the proud "land of the free," and I had not felt so disgusted in weeks.  I've heard people talk about poverty in the U.S. as a "hidden" phenomenon, but it was the bluntness, the obviousness, that hit me in this bus-ride drama.  A man, uncared-for, just wandering blindly through the streets and onto city transit?  Causing a score of people to run late on their bus route?  It's far from subtle.

Eventually another guy put his arm around the muttering man and loudly escorted him back to a seat.  He mocked him for "losing his place" and made jokes about what kind of drugs might be messing him up.  I sat and shook my head.  Vacation over, just like that.

Happily in Hong Kong

It's been a long first day here in Hong Kong... mostly made long by the days it took to get here and the lack of sleep to separate those days!  I can't really figure out what my "yesterday" was; I think I'll have to settle for simply acknowledging that I left San Diego on Wednesday, and today was Friday.  =)

But really, I can't believe I'm on the other side of the world.  As the sun rose over mountainous islands and the airplane began its descent this morning, I had a crazy moment of disorientation.  Really?  I'm on the other shore of the Pacific Ocean???  A thousand preparatory thoughts ran through my head: Okay, Laura, this time you might feel acute culture shock like you've never experienced before.  You won't know what people are saying or how they might interact with you.  You're entering a huge, fast-paced city.  Be ready.  (And stay awake!!!)

But the day was smooth, and it was fun.  My friend Ben picked me up and got me oriented to the bus, neighborhood and subway (and got us some fantastic lunch!) before heading out to work for the afternoon.  We walked through three local temples, the remnant of an old fishing village, a bustling street market, and a few "sitting out" spaces (literally, designated benches where people sit outside).  Then when Ben went in to the office, I struck out to see the HUGE Times Square mall.  (Laugh it up, friends.  It IS a sight to see.)  Hordes of people crowded through a Toy Story 3 display/ exhibit thing with sculptures and drawings of the movie's characters.  There were lots of Asian peace-sign photo ops going on-- too many to count.  I meandered my way over to Victoria Park-- gorgeous.  Had a halting conversation with an old man named Robert who was happy to see me, but I'm not sure why.  Got excited about a sign to the central library, and followed it.  Libraries are always beautiful.  I browsed through the stacks-- fascinated by how differently children's books are designed and organized in Chinese.  (Random.  Yes.  But I was curious.)  I read up on some Cambodia guide books and browsed worldwide newspapers for goings-on and information.

Just in time for a serious downpour, I struck out to find Ben again for dinner.  Tropical rain is something else, with its humid gusts and fatty raindrops.  Anyway, back to those guarded self-coaching thoughts that I had on the plane...  In fact, I haven't felt too helpless or shocked, even here.  It's been fun to try new things, and even more fun to simply learn, observe and ask questions.  To take in each street and the stories it tells.  I realized, as I took note of people, patterns, and movement through the park and library, that this has become habit and hobby for me.  Always pondering the context and even thinking, okay, who would I get to know by strategically spending time here?  Wondering what kind of ministry God might plant -- or already have underway! -- in any given place.  Asking for the conversations that will open a door or a window or simply offer a peak past the curtain or through the keyhole.

We'll see how it goes!  I get another day exploring here tomorrow (Saturday) and then hop down to Malaysia for World Conference on Sunday.  I have a feeling this trip is going to fly, but I'm already encouraged by its mix of familiar and adventure.

Newsletter Chi

(I mean chi - pronounced "chee" - like the energy source, like Tai Chi.)

Lots of you know.  Graciously, nobody's nagged or commented.  It's been a LONG time since I sent out a ministry newsletter email.  I've put it off.  I've done everything else on the list.  I've washed my sheets and vacuumed and taken walks and written cards to people.  But the time has come.

Those of us in the "biz" often lament the weird pressures of writing jolly newsletters to our various supporters.  Do we sound upbeat all the time?  Do we keep things real and gritty?  Do we have enough success stories?  Do we sound sufficiently busy?  Do people care?

I try to remind myself that people want to know how I am and what I've been doing.  They love me.  They want to know what my life is like.

Breathe in.  Wind up the computer.  The next engaging newsletter, coming right up.

Clarifying Words on Calling

"When you’ve found what you’ve been specially wired to do, you’ve found your GIFT. When you’ve found where it’s meant to shine, you’ve found your CALL. And when you’re using your gift in the place that you’ve been called, then you know that you are living out God's DESIGN. And there is nothing more gratifying that you can accomplish in all the world."

(a double-steal: I took this from a co-worker, who took it from someone else's blog.  oh information diaspora.) 


In and of itself, this is plenty to think about.  I'll only add that recently, I've given in to the truth that we NEVER fully figure these things out.  That may not be news to other people, but I know that the achiever in me really wants to get the answer and be set.  God, on the other hand, keeps on shaping and molding and adjusting and clarifying things.  Here's to being in the potter's hands...

Pieces of Life

This past week I've been crawling through the re-adjustment of being back in the U.S.  After a week in Mexico City, I'm missing friends and street vendors and crowded buses, and the days are grey and quiet here in San Diego.  I didn't know what "help" would look like, but I asked some friends for it.  They've done the things that good friends do: they've called and written and sent me scriptures and prayers.  They haven't busted into "The sun'll come out, TOMORROW...!" or anything ridiculous, but they've reminded me that life is good.  The  striking thing is that they've done that without platitudes or prescriptions for me.

What several friends did do-- not by my prompting, but apparently innately knowing what is good for the soul-- was tell me stories.  It didn't occur to me to ask-- far from it!-- but I've read and heard a collection of beautiful moments that they experienced these past few days.  I've read about sunrises over the ocean, and mist in fields of sunflowers.  They told me about kids jumping in and out of a pool.  They gave me a glimpse into the texture of a day, telling me what they saw, what they heard, what they felt.  They didn't interpret or draw conclusions from it; they just told it.

The comfort I found in that probably explains why we read books and watch TV and movies, but it's also different with friends.  The deep breath I took and the smile with which I responded had to do with feeling a little less far away, with thinking, ah, this is where ___ spent time today. 

Will you tell people where you were today?  What you saw?  What made you smile?  What made you sigh?  It is these things that make us humans, that make us real, that make us friends.

Global Urban Treks

I've now served in a full range of the roles available on InterVarsity's Global Urban Trek.  I was a student in 2005, staff in 2007, assistant director in 2008, co-director in 2009, and this past week assisted as a coordinator for Trek orientation.

Many of you have seen that the Trek nurtures me and gives me life, and this week was no exception.  I watched as students, staff and directors came together, met one another, and were formed into teams for the summer.  I led times of training and teaching and prayer.  I listened to fears and hopes and questions.  I experienced anew the hope and the promise of Isaiah 58:8---

"Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."

Against all kinds of odds, God insists on His kingdom breaking into the world.  And God does it through these bright-eyed, hopeful young people.  God does it through unpretentious, hopeful people without money.  God does it through hope in what is unseen, hope that is absurd, hope that does not disappoint, hope that keeps on growing and giving and leavening the dough.  Just how far will that hope spread in one summer?  Join me in following students through the next six weeks among the urban poor: they'll be blogging about it here.

Ever Feel like This?

This song hit the spot, for all those days that we can't quite locate our feelings on those little smileyface charts.  When we wonder, Um, what am I doing with God?  How is it between us?

LYRICS:
Woke up on the wrong side of the bed,
the wrong side of the room,
the wrong side of the world.
Can't put my finger on the mood.
It's not melancholy, anger or the blues.
I love my husband, my house, my job.
Couldn't be any better,
and really what else is there?
Then I realize I'm forgetting God,
and that's the root of all my misery.

Lord, first of all, how is it between you and me?

. Chorus:
How is it between us?
How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last,
and what has happened since?
How is it between us? How is it between us?
When did I talk to you last, and what has happened since?

. When I wake up I am on my way,
reinventing the wheel and saving the day.
I have learned this lesson a thousand times,
I am the branch, and you are the vine.
Apart from you we are mice and men,
with our fancy dreams of grandeur and no way to get there.
Oh I can think about you now and then,
or I can make a mark on eternity.

Lord first of all, how is it, between you and me?

. Chorus .

So let the wicked prosper, let the oceans roar,
let the mountains crumble, and fall into the sea.
There's something more important weighing on my mind.
Lord first of all, how is it between you and me?

Remember the Sabbath

A variety of circumstances have had me recalling God's commandment to keep the sabbath.  First, it was the dizzying flexibility of a ministry work-week that could, in quick succession, give me days of non-stop meetings and service followed by days that begged to be filled.  Before I had any standing weekly commitments, I was fresh in San Diego without a clue as to the flow or direction of any given Monday.

As I began to get busy, I realized that a non-traditional schedule (going 'till 9pm, doing errands midday, just as likely to lead a prayer meeting as go to the beach on a Sunday afternoon) could run me into the ground if I didn't take a stand on something.  So I started designating days off.  I've been trying to figure out what is "off" and what is "work".  My work is largely about people, but people aren't  always work.  =)  A small voice in my head kept reminding me of the beauty and refreshment of a sabbath-- something I haven't regularly observed since college.  Back then, the lines seemed clearer: if I didn't do my ever-pervasive academic work, then I was resting.  (Keep in mind that back then I also had hardly any responsibilities like cooking or cleaning or car maintenance.)

I began asking around, and I found sadly few people in ministry around me who took sabbaths.  Is it possible, I began to wonder?  What if a community or church event comes up?  I HAVE to go, don't I?  But I was also realizing that I HAVE to rest.  I needed this day/ pattern/ rhythm in my life.

Two weeks ago, I started reading Exodus.  Before God sent Moses down the mountain with commandments etched on tablets, God taught the Hebrews about sabbath through the pattern of manna collection.  He told them that they would go out and get manna for 5 days, just enough for their family to eat each day.  The 6th day they'd get a double portion, and they could keep it overnight for eating on the 7th day.  (If they kept extra on other days, it got gross and maggot-y by daybreak.)  I like concrete teaching points.  I like that the stone tablet commandment isn't a new thing about sabbath-- it's a reminder about this way of living that God has instituted for his people.

And so all this was percolating in me this weekend when I picked up Sabbath-Keeping, by Lynne Baab.  EXCELLENT book.  Practical.  Insightful.  Human.  Hopeful.  And it's pretty short.  Baab offers examples from many years of negotiating sabbath observance in the U.S. and abroad (she actually started while living in Israel, not so much by choice), with and without children, as a home-maker and a Presbyterian pastor.  Whether you've thought about sabbath a lot, or are just venturing into the conversation, I highly recommend the book.  But you don't have to take my word for it!  (Thanks, Reading Rainbow...)

My favorite take-home points from Sabbath-Keeping:

-Start and end the day with actions that set it apart.  Prepare yourself to enter and exit a time that is different, restful (slow), delightful, and restorative.

-This may sound obvious, but don't do anything that you'd find on a "to-do" list.  Whether it's email or phone calls or silver-polishing, stay away from achievement-driven tasks.  (Exceptions are made for milking cows and such.)  The heart of the sabbath is God's provision and love regardless of our DOing tendencies.

-Commit to it for 6 months at a time, and then re-evaluate.  So decide what day it will be, what things you will and won't do, and how you will mark the occasion-- and don't change it until you've given it many weeks to become part of your rhythm.

I am hopeful about the sabbath as a freedom and a joy.  It's tricky in a culture where rest is such a 'strange' choice to make, but I've begun to think our need for it trumps inconvenience.

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy."  -Exodus 20:8-11 

Read the Signs

Posted on a house for sale down the street.  Makes me giggle every time.

Yet I also ascribe some depth to it.  What if PEOPLE were able to wear such a sign with pride?  Every time I pass the sign, I think about it.  Are you gorgeous inside?

Ears to Hear

I have my share of feeling fear, annoyance and confusion when I'm around people who are homeless, addicted, or unstable.  I question their judgment and their motives.  I'm always ready for things to take a turn into nonsense.  Rightly or wrongly, it keeps me from being too shocked when the winds shift.  When things start sounding weird, I can hold myself back and say, Okay, this person's a little off. 

What I was reminded of today, though, was the no-nonsense insight that often comes from people who live on the edges of society.  This was the second Friday I've gone downtown and helped with a morning meal for the homeless.  It was a vibrant experience.

This morning some people on the streets reminded me that I love people.  As I took trays of food to individuals on the church patio, one lady began trying to ask me a question in broken English.  When I skipped into Spanish with her, a big grin broke out on her face.  Oh such relief!  I described how the process worked and later she got a meal.  She thanked me again and again.  Every time I passed, she smiled.  Whether sweet Rosie who claimed she'd "never forget" me or Tom who reads the Harry Potter books or tough Lisa who grumbles and smiles or Dax who makes jokes and talks about his granddaughter-- I enjoyed people this morning.  We all found big or small reasons to smile.

I smile at the way these friends told the truth.   Some walked up to me and asked if I was Irish.  Some told me I look 17 years old.  (Ouch.)  One sang me a love song.  One told me it was okay to serve the Lord by having conversation with people in the courtyard-- hoping I didn't "get in trouble" with the other volunteers for talking instead of clearing tables.  One told me not to stop smiling. 

It was the way Tom, Dax, Rosie and others looked straight at me and said what they thought-- that made me think about the repeated times in Luke when Jesus talks about those who have ears to hear.  Jesus says something that invites those who have ears to hear-- listen!  Immediately, the spotlight turns to this unruly bunch called "tax collectors and sinners" and puts them in a scene hanging out with Jesus.  This crowd is bumping into the Kingdom.  They hear what's true.  They know it.  They say it.

In community development and church outreach circles lately I've been praying for us (usually middle-class, well-meaning people) to have God's eyes for neighborhoods here-- "eyes to see."  What I've thought less about are the people who offer US their seeing eyes and their hearing ears.  And not just what they hear on the streets that we're interested in, but what they hear in us.  What they hear from Jesus.

At those fun gatherings around Jesus 2,000 years ago, the ones listening didn't cease to be tax collectors and sinners, but they stopped being left out of the conversation.  They became a crucial part of good news listened-to and understood. 

People without houses, people without money, and people without clear minds don't cease to be people with problems in the presence of Jesus.  Yet, they can be people with ears to hear his voice and his truth.  In their listening, and our listening with them, we could all be people of promise.

Godly Cancellations

I took a chunk of time on Tuesday for prayer, study and reflection, and one of the driving factors (other than the fact that those are all good things to do) was that I wanted to be more in tune with God's direction for my days.  I like to work hard and be productive, and as a result I am very capable of filling a schedule until I feel busy and accomplished.  I've done much too good a job of this lately. 

In the two days since, plans and meetings have cancelled right and left, and it's been beautiful.  That's right: beautiful.  Though I am sad that I didn't get to see 5 or 6 wonderful people, each cancellation opened me to something else, and in that, God gave me joy and freedom.

For example, on Thursdays I have a weekly meeting at the doughnut shop around the corner with a college student I'm helping to prepare for a summer in Mexico City.  I had done reading and prepared some scripture study in Amos for that meeting, and so I could have been grouchy when a text came through saying he wouldn't make it -- feeling sick.  Instead, there was a sense of openness, like , Okay, how will this morning go now?

It went by tackling a few little projects, having a fantastic conversation and time of prayer with a roommate, and slowing down the pace of the rest of my day.   Mmmm.  As much as I would have savored a string of meetings and "tasks accomplished," this is sweeter.

May God bring you the pace that you need and the peace that you seek, today and every day.

Week in the Life

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.  =)

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.