Wrapped

[i did some wrapping/sculpting on christmas presents this year. then i took pictures and manipulated them using some photoshop and preview. merry christmas]

Tulip Fields...

...of northern Netherlands

Architectural Fantasies

I'm in love with Iakov Chernikhov's (1889-1951) compositions! Apparently he was a Ukrainian born architect and artist trained at the Odessa Art School in St. Petersburg, Russia. All of these images are from one of his famous books Architectural Fantasies: 101 Compositions. Enjoy.

Prayer of St. Bonaventure

[I'm working on a paper using some sources from St. Bonaventure. He wrote this prayer and I think its almost impossible to read it without entering into worship. Oh, and happy Reformation Day!]

 "Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.  Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and supersubstantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.  May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of widsom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the fulness of the house of God; may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, with perseverence to the end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my         possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably.  Amen."

Of Antinomianism and Aslan

an·ti·no·mi·an·ism (ān'tĭ-nō'mē-ə-nĭz'əm)
n.
1. Theology The doctrine or belief that the Gospel frees Christians from required obedience to any law, whether scriptural, civil, or moral, and that salvation is attained solely through faith and the gift of divine grace.
2. The belief that moral laws are relative in meaning and application as opposed to fixed or universal.

I had no idea what that word meant until I looked it up just now. It was in an excerpt of a book I have to read for class entitled Theories of Atonement. I’m finding that I have no idea what I’m doing here at grad school! Haha, not in a bad way…I just have so much to learn and that’s very exciting. It seems that the more I read the more questions I have.

So in this essay I read, the author delineates five theories of atonement:

(1) The Socinian Theory – The Atonement as Example
(2) The Moral-Influence Theory – The Atonement as a Demonstration of God’s Love
(3) The Governmental Theory: The Atonement as a Demonstration of Divine Justice
(4) The Ransom Theory: The Atonement as Victory over the Forces of Sin and Evil
(5) The Satisfaction Theory: The Atonement as Compensation to the Father

The theory I found most intriguing was the Ransom Theory, because 1) its wrong in some ways and 2) its perfectly exemplified in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis!

“The theory with the greatest claim to having been the standard view in the early history of the church is probably the so-called ransom theory” (810).

The theory basically states that in the cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil, Satan established control over humanity. Humans’ major problem is their enslavement to an unfit owner, Satan. God wanted humans back in his rule so he made a ‘deal’ with Satan. God gave Jesus to Satan as a ransom for humanity. “It was Satan rather than God who demanded Christ’s blood.” In addition, Satan thought that he would be able to rule over Satan’s soul…but he was ‘duped’ by God, for Jesus’ resurrection proved otherwise. You see, this theory makes God look like a dishonest dealer! Yes, Satan was self-deceived but from this theory we get the idea that God OWED Satan a ransom and that God wasn’t fully truthful with Satan about the ransom He delivered. Erickson says the theory states that, “…it would have been unjust to deprive Satan of his captives…” (811).

The truth is that God’s wrath needed to be satisfied. It would have been unjust for God to let sinners go without His punishment. The ransom theory does nothing to account for the wrath and holiness of God! I never really thought about The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe presenting a faulty view of the gospel, but now that I’m thinking about it…it seems lacking. Aslan makes a deal with the White Witch in order to save Edmund from her rule. The White Witch is ENTITLED to keep Edmund so Aslan has to give her something in order to free Edmund. Thinking that she’s getting the better end of the deal, The White Witch accepts Aslan in Edmunds place. All the punishment that Edmund deserved comes from the White Witch, when in reality – sinners deserve punishment from Aslan - from God. The White Witch takes on characteristics of God’s wrath and the story suggests that God owes Satan and ends up duping him with a savvy transaction.

I still adore The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe – if I ever have kids, I plan on reading it to them. As always, I just think its great to be a critical thinker :)

She Waited

Aye, the sun climbs erelong to find my soul
Alone with you, whose unseen plans go alee
To foundations adorned with chalcedony.

While earthly light still shines aright, the race,
Driven like a horse hied on a lonely quest,
Goes on, thro ruth and ail – galloping by grace.

But by my troth, there is no quickening now.
Feet, once nimble, are wearied by idol chase
Left lovelorn, with naught but your enduring vow.

Cultural Snobbery

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) I scored a 28 on Jon Acuff's Christian Culture Snob Scorecard which puts me deep in Snobland. I did watch Love Comes Softly on TBN once and I thoroughly enjoyed it...does that make me less of a snob?

What's your score?

Why We Love The Church Part III: Holistic History, Please

“You missed a fun night last night, where were you?”

“I was at a Campus Crusade meeting, I go every Thursday.”

“Oh yeah, I’ve heard of that…I hate that their named after the crusades. What kind of idiot thought that would be a smart move? That’s part of why I’d never go to a Campus Crusade meeting – they’re just ignoring the churches serious crimes against humanity throughout history.”

“Yeah, I can understand why that would be offensive, but the organization doesn’t have malicious intent. I do think they could have picked a better title…one that doesn’t ask for mockery.”

That was an entirely fictitious discussion that resembles a lot of real discussions I had while in college. I was the person who went to Campus Crusade. I heard so many critiques of Cru based on its name. Not really what it was doing, not its system of beliefs, not the people – Cru received ridicule because it was named after a stain in the church’s history.

In Why We Love The Church, there is a discussion of this type of criticism against the church. DeYoung writes, “There are plenty of reasons people offer for their disillusionment with the church. These reasons can be grouped into four categories: …the missiological, the personal, the historical, the theological” (WWLTC 16-18). I found his chapter on the historical (chapter 5), quite helpful.

POINT 3.

People who are disillusioned with the church based on its historical blunders should be careful to a) get history correct and keep it in perspective and b) not forget about their own personal biases/mistakes/issues.

“…[people] were forced to convert or die, while the crusaders holding the swords were guaranteed immortality…many Christians who went to war under the sign of the cross conducted themselves as if they knew nothing of the Christ of the cross…but that’s not the whole story. The Crusades is also the story of the thousands of godly men, women, and children who sacrificed time, money, and health to reclaim holy lands in distant countries overrun by Muslims. The Christians of the East had suffered mightily at the hands of the Turks and Arabs. It was only right, it seemed to medieval Christians, to go and help their fellow Christians and reclaim their land and property” (WWLTC 132).

“We are right to deplore the cruelty meted out by crusading Christians, but we should not ignore their plight. Christian lands had been captured. Surely, they thought, this could not stand. For an American, it’s as if Al-Quaeda sacked Washington D.C., set up shop for bin Laden in the White House, and turned Lincoln Memorial into a terrorist training center. It would be unthinkable, not to mention cowardly, for no one to storm the city, liberate its captives, and reclaim our nation’s capital. We should never excuse the atrocities that occurred under the banner of the cross during the Crusades, but we should, at least, take pause to understand why they set out on what seems to us to be a fool’s errand” (WWLTC 133).

The problem with quite a lot of the historical critiques of the church, is that they are simply biased and uninformed arguments. I realized after reading this chapter that my own perceptions of the Crusades are biased and uninformed…I tend to side with the people who are disillusioned because I see the Crusades as an unforgivable and foolish mistake. But how much to I actually know about the Crusades? I mean really know? I can’t say I know anything! I honestly only know that they were a ‘foolish tirade where Christians killed innocent people in the name of the cross’ and that is simply NOT even close to the whole story.

DeYoung also brings up slavery, and I realized that I’m a little more informed about the involvement of the church with slavery. I took three African American and African Diaspora studies in undergrad and we relentlessly probed the history of slavery. What was interesting is that Christianity was never demonized for its involvement with slavery because there were so many other factors involved in the abuse of Africans brought to America. Something that comes to mind is science:

“Scientific racism denotes the use of scientific or ostensibly scientific findings and methods to investigate differences between races, often to support or validate racist attitudes and worldviews. It is based on belief in the existence and significance of racial categories, typically with a hierarchy of superior and inferior races. It has often been used to support political or ideological positions of racial supremacy, the most notable example being propaganda in Nazi Germany. Scientific racism can refer to both obsolete and contemporary scientific theories and includes the use of anthropology (notably physical anthropology), anthropometry, craniometry, and other disciplines in the construction of typologies and the classification of humans into distinct biological races” (Wiki).

Science was heavily involved in the abuse of Africans, but I don’t see people giving up on science because of its historical blunders. It seems to me that things like the Crusades and slavery have become a scapegoat for people who have personal issues with the church – they’re trying to make their disillusionment historical and objective when really its personal and subjective.

Why We Love The Church Part II: Organism and Organization

Chapter 7 of Why We Love The Church was, by far, the most helpful chapter for me. As I said in my previous post, Matthew 18:20 seems to provide grounds for rejecting the church because it suggests that the church is simply where any Christians are.

Recently, over a game of frisbee with a friend, I was discussing the role of church discipline and the importance of church membership. We happened to meet a random guy who overheard our discussion and flat out told us that we didn’t need a church – he had been meeting with about 15 people in his house for over 10 years. He was a Christian but to him, church authority and discipline was dispensable in an individual’s walk with Christ. Later my friend asked me, “If he was meeting with people on a regular basis to talk about God, then doesn’t that mean he’s going to church.” My response was, “…I don’t know.” Kevin DeYoung does a good job of answering my friend’s question, and I agree with his conclusion:

POINT 2

In order for a church to be a church, it must practice certain rituals on a regular basis and have a system of leadership.

“I have no problem with defining the church as elect people of God, or as the gathered Christian community, or as all those who have put their faith in Jesus. These are pretty standard definitions. But to say the church is people of God is not the same as saying that wherever the people of God are there you have a church…as a definition, the church may be the people of God but for God’s people gathered to be a church they must function in a certain way. When Paul wrote his letters to local churches, he wasn’t addressing three Christian guys who shared an apartment and talked about the spirituality of Euripides. He was writing to a group of Christians who embraced a certain structure, doctrinal and ethical standard. This made their gathering a church…” (WWLTC 166-167).

“The church, as the elect people of God, is both organism and organization. The church is a breathing, growing, maturing, living thing. It is also compromised of a certain order (1 Cor. 14:40), with institutional norms (5:1-13), doctrinal standards (15:1-2), and defined rituals (11:23-26). The two aspects of the church – organism and organization – must not be played off against each other, for both are “grounded operations of the glorified head of the church through the Holy Spirit.” Offices and gifts, governance and the people, organization and organism – all these belong together. They are blessings from the work of Christ…God could rule His church in a different way, but He chose to use means. We see throughout the Bible that “divine preference for human agency.” The antichurch crowd understands this when it comes to the world, but they have little patience for it when it comes to the church. They pit Spirit against structure, Christ’s care against pastoral care, and God’s authority against human authority” (WWLTC 170).

Thus, was our frisbee acquaintance going to church? I can’t be sure, but I would venture to guess that he was not simply because he was so opposed to the idea of human authority in the church. So what exactly does a church need in order to be a church? DeYoung gives specific examples of what a church needs (according to the Bible) in order to be a church. Among his list are the sacraments, a pastor, regular preaching, regular prayer, deacons, elders, and regular worship. Just because these elements are necessary in a church does not mean that a church can’t have times of poetry, sharing, guest speakers, etc. And DeYoung even says that physical meeting space isn’t really an issue. If our Frisbee friend was participating in all of the above necessities while in a house with 15 others – then he’s going to church!

More to come concerning the stained history of the church…

Why We Love the Church Part I: For Better or Worse

I just finished Why We Love the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. It was good, educational, and hysterical at times but I must admit that I enjoyed their first book, Why We’re Not Emergent, By Two Guys Who Should Be, more.

I found three main points in this book particularly helpful. Unfortunately I don’t have the book with me right now, so I can’t post on all three points at once. Instead, I’ll have three posts – one for each point…which is probably better anyway.

POINT 1.

Being a Christian while rejecting the church is like decapitation and divorce – or decorpulation in the words of DeYoung and Kluck.

“More common than describing the church as God’s building is the imagery of Christ and the church as husband and wife (Eph. 5:22-33; Rev. 19:6-9). Christ loves the church, gave Himself up for her, and makes her beautiful. The church submits to Christ, grows in beauty before Him, and obeys His commands. The two are one – now in preview, and later in fullness, but they are one. They are inseparable as husband and wife. And any husband worth the paper his marriage license is printed on will be jealous to guard the good name of his wife. She may be a lying, no good, double-crossing poor excuse for a wife, but if she’s your wife, you’ll protect her honor, whatever may be left of it. And woe to the friend who comes around your house, hangs out, and expects to have a good time, all the while getting digs on your bride. Who wants a friend who rolls his eyes and signs every time your wife walks into the room” (WWLTC 12-13)?

“The Bible also tells us that the church is the body of Christ, with Jesus Himself at its head. Every body needs a head to rule over it – to give it direction and purpose, to instruct it in the way it should go, to hold things together and give life to its members. Likewise, every head needs a body. I suppose in the world of science fiction head could exsist in vats or hooked up to a car battery or something. But in the real world, most of us don’t see too many heads bobbing along apart from their bodies. If we ever did, I imagine our first instinct would not be to cuddle with the little cranium and sing it a love song. That would be a strange sight…Strange though it may be, it is not unusual, at least not for some Christians. Increasingly, we hear glowing talk of churchless Christianity…If decapitation, from the Latin word caput, means to cut off the head, then it stands to reason that decorpulation, from the Latin word corpus, should refer to cutting off the body…There is a growing movement among self-proclaimed evangelicals and in the broader culture to get spirituality without religion, to find a relationship without rules, and have God without the church. More and more, people are looking for decorpulated Christianity” (WWLTC 13-14).

Thus, the relationship between the believer and the church should really function like a marriage. Complete commitment, for better or worse, service, love, fidelity, community, organization, responsibility, etc. The church isn’t something that you can just ignore, when you’ve accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior. Not only should the relationship function like a marriage, but the body needs a head in order to function. I heard this weird story once about a farmer who cut off one of this chicken’s heads and it lived for 18 months because the farmer put food down its trachea. It ended up dying because it choked. In the interim…it had to be fed and ran into walls because it was blind. Chickens need their heads, like Christians need a Christ-centered church. They need it NOT for salvation, but for serving Christ and obeying Him while on this side of heaven. Granted, there are times when you can’t go to church or in the case of persecution – when you’re not allowed. I’m not being legalistic here, you’re still going to heaven if you believe Christ died for your sins and skip church one morning. I even think that lots and lots of church-leavers will end up in heaven. My point is that actively rejecting the church is not a righteous or obedient deed. Lastly, when I say 'for better or worse' I'm not suggesting that you should stay with your church if it turns into a cult or if you're being physically abused by those in leadership. Get it? Think in balanced terms.

Now, I can see the main counter arguments for these quotes being that, ‘church’ is everywhere. After all, the Bible says, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matthew 18:20). However, this counter argument is flawed in that it conflates the body of Christ (organic) and the church (organization, ritual, religion). But I’ll talk about that more in my next post…

Goodness for Goodness’ Sake

This summer I’ve found myself particularly busy, but I think the next two weeks will be somewhat slow so I’m going to try to read as much as physically possible. After all, once I start grad school, I think times for pleasure reading will be few and far between.

I have managed to finish one book so far this summer, and it’s like the dagger: The Fellowship of the Ring. The times when I enjoyed reading the most, were the times when I was reading about melancholy and bittersweet sorrow. Something about tasting goodness and experiencing the sorrow that comes when you know you can’t taste it again on this side of heaven really makes my heart ache. Legolas describes well:

"For such is the way of it: to find and lose, as it seems to those whose boat is on the running stream” (FOTR).

Sorrow in the face of beauty, or righteousness, or goodness that simply cannot last while we’re fallen and sinful creatures can be utterly overwhelming. While I think it is good to mourn the pain and sin wrought by mankind, it can be taken too far. Why is it that a taste of something so sweet can lead to ultimate discouragement, fatigue, and frustration? I think it is because we can easily forget to seek and hope for the Source of all things good. Goodness does not exist for goodness’ sake; rather, it is a sign-post pointing towards Real Perfection.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

Beauty and goodness should serve as a reminder of God’s unchanging nature. He has no frustration and fatigue to give us. He has only perfection and goodness to bequest. We should cling to the hope of His immutable heavenly light, not to the shifting shadows of this world.

Crayon drawing by J.R.R. Tolkien of the mallorn trees of Lothlorien; cf. The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 6:

"There are no trees like the trees of that land. For in the autumn their leaves fall not, but turn to gold. Not till the spring comes and the new green opens do they fall, and then the boughs are laden with yellow flowers; and the floor of the wood is golden, and golden is the roof, and its pillars are of silver, for the bark of the trees is smooth and grey."

Twilightikus Suckus

Robert Pattinson vs. Daniel Radcliffe

The reason for all that baking...

I did all that baking the other day because I needed to provide baked goods for two bridal showers this weekend. I hosted my first bridal shower and it was so fun! I had no plans to ever blog about event planning but I believe that is exactly what I'm doing. What has the world come to? I designed the invitations and recipe cards for the shower. I blurred all the personal information so that you can't stalk me. Also pictured below are some of the flowers and the table settings at the shower. Not too many pics. As I was hosting, I found that I didn't have very much time for picture taking. So let me know if you have an event that you need planned, or if you need a photographer, or a graphic designer (wha?)....

I did a lot of baking today....

Luke Jerram's 30 Pianos

I love this interactive art installment. Read all about it here.

I'm Going Back to School...

…and its finally starting to feel like it. I recently bought a lot of living supplies like pans, cups, towels – you know, the essentials. And I was able to register for my courses. I’m so excited and I simply can’t wait to delve into these subjects. I have a sneaking suspicion that History of Christianity will be the most difficult course, but I think the reward of knowledge will probably be worth the work. I might swap Foundations of Cultural Engagement to take *Political Theologies, but I’m not sure if FCE will be offered next spring and I need to take it as soon as I can.

Foundations of Integrative Thought
This course surveys the Bible from the standpoint of its unfolding history of redemption. Stress is laid on precedents, themes, truths, and strategies that established God’s will in earlier times and that should direct God’s people in subsequent times, including our own. Students will make progress in learning what the Bible says on questions relevant to both academic inquiry and practical living. More importantly, students will make progress in learning how to think, creatively but responsibly, about current issues using the Bible in ways that are recognizably Christian. Examples of topics that may be explored: human nature, morality, government, education of children, aesthetics, marriage, racial reconciliation, and questions of meaning and truth.

Foundations of Cultural Engagement
This course introduces the student to pivotal Christian doctrines as a framework within which to evaluate the working intellectual assumptions of contemporary culture. In addition to investigating several models for Christian engagement with culture, the course encourages the positive formation of a Christian worldview as a foundation for creative interaction with contemporary thought and cultures.

History of Christianity
The development of Christianity from the first century to the present, including the following are studied: the patristic period; the ecumenical councils; the development of a cultural and theological synthesis of the middle ages; the precursors, content, and personalities of the Protestant Reformation; the contributions of classical Protestant orthodoxy and subsequent rise of denominations; the rise of secularism and the “Enlightenment”; awakenings, revivals and missionary expansion; and theological trends.

New Religious Movements
A historical and sociological survey of the origin of growth of new religious movements with particular attention given to Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witness, Modern Paganism, and New Age. Special attention is given to comparing and contrasting new religious movements with the dominant Christian faith of the West.

*Political Theologies
A course designed to clarify what constitutes a “political theology” and to investigate the biblical and theological bases of representative political theologies. Discussion focuses around such systems as liberation theology, black theology, and feminist theology.

Shooting Hoops

I’m not sure there are many more therapeutic pastimes for me. I grew up with a basketball goal in my driveway but have since moved from that home and haven’t had a basketball goal for quite some time now. I was reminded of how much I love shooting hoops this past weekend when I visited my aunt. My cousins weren’t there but they are both pretty into basketball so they have a hoop and lots of basketballs. I put them to use.

Here are five reasons why I love shooting hoops:

1. Nuthin’ but Net. The satisfaction when you get Nuthin’ nut Net is priceless, especially the sound of the ball sliding through the net…with no other sound…mmmm.

2. Bread n’ Butter Shot. When I was younger, my Bread n’ Butter shot was just to the right and a few steps behind the free throw line. I’m pretty confident that if I shot hoops more often, this would still be my money shot.

3. Solitude. Well this is just my preference but shooting hoops is one of a few things I really prefer doing alone (at least I think I do). You get the hoop to yourself. You get the ball to yourself. No one’s trying to block you and mess you up. You get to spend time in your thoughts or in prayer or thinking about nothing at all. And you get to compete with yourself. That being said I do enjoy a good game of HORSE. Surprisingly…I really dislike playing the actual game of basketball.

4. Creativity. When I had my own hoop and was out shooting at it every other day, I got really creative. I’d try shots from on my stairs, from behind the hoop, from the road in front of my house, my sister and I have even been known to play a good game of roller basketball – shooting hoops while on rollerblades. Unfortunately for me, roller basketball left me injured more often than not, so eventually I shied away from that pastime…

5. Ease. No matter how tired you are, or how sick you’ve been, or how full of food you are…its likely that you can still go out and shoot at least three baskets. I tended to feel better once I’d shot some hoop even if I was tired, sick, full or all of the above.

Does this make me a Hoosier to the core?

Love the Church

I thought this was a really great article featured in the Washington Post Online.

The 50 Greatest Trailers of All Time

Check out this list. I think a lot of times trailers are better than the actual movies, so this is like the jackpot.

The 50 Greatest Trailers of All Time

Shared via AddThis

The River Seine

Tiny little watercolor painting I did recently. Inspired by Javert from Les Miserables. Entitled: The River Seine.

Creative Compositions

I'm still into browsing photography websites. There's just so much good stuff out there! Today I found this site and I picked out a few of my favorites for you. The artists are in order as follows: Joel Micah Miller, Phil Marcog, Stephen Wilkes, Jamie Chung, Florian Geiss, Erwin Olaf, David Eustace, Christopher Gilbert. Enjoy!

Enchanting

Come on, feel the Groningen! from MUZIEKTELEVISIE.NL on Vimeo.

One Day Like This from MUZIEKTELEVISIE.NL on Vimeo.

we went to the lake /// we were on a boat /// the dog swam /// everything was drenched in sunshine /// it was a day to remember /// one day like this ///

Inspiration

Lately I’ve been into art/design/photography blogs – partially because I’m the maid of honor for a wedding coming up in August, so I’ve been looking for inspiration. But I’ve been taken aback by how many great blogs there are out there! I’ve subscribed to quite a few and they’re updated regularly with really great art. I’m so impressed that I thought I’d share some of my favorites. Hopefully I don’t get in trouble for posting art that’s not my own. I’ll cite the artists below their work.

Sorry its so small. I'm in love with this guy's phography. Max Wanger. Visit his blog.


How cool is this photograph by Kevin Van Aelst? This photo was featured here - also a really great site for inspiration and creation.

These two designs were featured on Print and Pattern. The first design is by John Lewis and the second by Lisa Rupp.

Again, sorry for the smallness...

All of these images are from a great design site called UPPERCASE ("making, currating, and publishing visual culture" I like it!). The first image is from one of the books they published, Jen 11. The second image is simply a study of '& 7' as seen on your everyday keyboard. And that last three images are photographs by Jan Von Holleben. Simply magical.

Boats

Doing some artwork lately since I've been home sick. These are going to be a gift for a special someone...

Self Portraits

I can't sleep so I'm having fun with photoshop. I took these with my phone.

Validation

Olivet Pong Shots

Praise and Thanks

Just wanted to praise/thank God for these 5 things that increased my joy this week. If you had to do with these 6 things...you'll know:

1) Chocolate chip pancakes

2) Hillsong



3) Pandora

4) Encouragement cards with lamb drawings








5) Watching movies with Marv(e).

RemmuS

…I’m not going to get a real summer break…nor will I have significantly more time to read than I have right now. If I pretend like I get a summer break, and pretend like I have more time – maybe it will be so…

Because I’m going to have so much more time and such a great break this summer, I’m making a summer reading list (also because Dan inspired me). Some of these I have started and failed to finish.

Christ and Culture - H. Richard Niebuhr
Confessions – St. Augustine
Courage and Calling: Embracing Your God Given Potential - Gordon T. Smith
The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien
Good Omens – Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
How Movies Helped Save My Soul - Gareth Higgins and Tony Campolo
Poetics - Aristotle
Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austin
Reel Spirituality – Robert K. Johnston
Useless Beauty – Robert K. Johnston
Varieties of Religious Experience – William James



...note that Twilight didn't make the cut...sorry.

Easter 4: Resurrection

Okay, I definitely lost my Easter blogging fire after the very first post with the cards I had made. Oh well. I do still want to share some of the reasons why this Easter was so incredibly amazing. Here goes…

I decided about three months ago that, for some reason, I really wanted Easter to mean something this year. I didn’t want it to just be another Sunday. I wanted to really take part in the Easter season. Thus, I began to ask God and myself, how I could make this so. How could I honor Christ’s death and resurrection? One element that has impacted me over the past few years is how profound it is when an inner spiritual change is followed or accompanied by an outer physical change. I have experienced this in my walk with Christ. So I got to thinking about physical representations of Christ’s resurrection. You know what came to mind? The Easter dress. And thus began the most meaningful Easter season of my 22 years.

As a very little girl I had Easter dresses, but I don’t really remember them. As I grew older I stopped getting Easter dresses and even thought the whole tradition was a lame way to celebrate materialism and fashion. I’m eating my words. I decided that this year I wanted to dress up in honor of Christ’s resurrection and sacrifice for me! I told a good friend my plans and she agreed, Easter dresses would be a good way to celebrate – then she asked me if I was going to give anything up for lent. This question took me off guard. I’d never given anything up for lent or really even thought twice about it. Still, her idea sounded great – Easter dresses after a season of lent! That was a great way to take part in Christ’s experience and celebrate his victory. I began to research lent so I could have a better idea of what I would be participating in. As I was meditating on the whole purpose of lent (to share in Christ’s suffering in the dessert, to practice self-denial and discipline, to pray and meditate, etc) I decided that I didn’t want to give up any sort of food. For those of you who know me, you’ll know that I’m on a special diet anyway; plus, I was training for a half-marathon at the time…food just wasn’t something that would be beneficial to give up. I tried to think of other things Jesus went without or didn’t have in the dessert: a shower, clothes other than the ones he was wearing, any item of modern day luxury, a bed. A bed. I love my bed. It the most comfortable bed that ever existed. The end. I decided to give it up. No sleeping, napping, sitting, or leaning on my bed. I slept on the floor. It was a great experience for which I’m very, very thankful. It started out well, in the middle I got sick and very angry with the floor, by the end I was experiencing the bliss of simplicity. And throughout it all prayed a lot for people without beds, and thought about my own privilege and how humble Christ was to live like that in the dessert – without food! So that brings me to the end of this Easter narrative, because now I’m going to switch to a list. After I made the decision to participate in lent, there was a plethora of other simple events and decisions that all worked together to make this Easter really mean something.

1) Sleeping on the floor. Easter meant my time of discomfort and fasting was done. It meant I could celebrate just a little better on Easter, had I not given anything up. I took a nap in my bed on Easter Sunday, and oh what a nap it was.

2) Easter dresses. After my friend and I decided to get Easter dresses – we made an art project out of it. We had so much fun that our mirth spread to two other gals as well. You will find what we called our Easter Palettes at the top of this blog (because I was too lazy to arrange them elsewhere). Mine is the purple.

3) Easter cards. I already discussed these in a previous blog, but making these cards in honor of Christ’s life was so therapeutic! Creating because He made me capable.

4) Easter blogs. Like I said, I didn’t blog as much as I had originally planned, but my Maundy-Thursday and Good Friday blogs helped me to meditate on Christ’s sacrifice.

5) Easter CD. One of my friends made me and some other friends an Easter mix. Its brilliant, it added to the supreme meaning and joy that Easter entailed this year. The song on the top right of this page is on the mix. Again, the songs helped me to find meaning in the holiday.

6) Easter tulips. Some strapping young men bought yellow tulips for my all-girls bible study. It was their Easter gift to us. Any other year, this wouldn’t have been quite so special – but because I was already soft and wanting to really soak up the Easter experience, in honor of what Christ did for me…it was priceless. Thanks again, guys.

7) Easter fellowship. I spent most of the day with one of my good friends, and saw countless others throughout. We had deep discussion, laughter, food, and general merriment. It was perfect.

8) White-chocolate Easter bunny from my Yiayia (Grandma in Greek). Like the tulips, this wouldn’t have been nearing as meaningful as it ended up being. My Yiayia sent me a HUGE and delicious white-chocolate Easter bunny the day after I read this blog. Each bite held a certain joy and understanding because I wasn’t just eating chocolate, I was eating chocolate BECAUSE Christ LIVES.

I think two of the main things I learned were that meaning comes from preparation and fellowship. If you decide to make a holiday meaningful by putting in the time into meditation, prayer, creation, and preparation…the holiday will be much more meaningful than if you did none of those things. The second thing I learned is that holidays are a time when fellowship flourishes. If you can prepare for and celebrate a holiday in fellowship – with people and God – I think you’ll find it to be quite nourishing. Thanks, God, for blessing my Easter.