Sunday, September 30, 2012

Sunday Supplication - Our Purpose and Fulfillment

O Lord God, we recognize your power and might. We believe you are the author and giver of all good
things. 

By your grace and mercy, place in our hearts a deep and true love for you. Help us to follow Jesus. Nourish us with all goodness. And help us to bear the fruit of good works as your Spirit does your transforming work in us.

We confess our sin and ask you to forgive us.  And beyond forgiveness, we ask that you would change us and strengthen us that we might overcome temptation and escape the sins that entangle and diminish us.

We also ask for the grace and generosity to forgive others, even as you have forgiven us.

We thank you for saving and reaching out to us. Thank you for being a God of deliverance. Help us to embrace the calling we have in Christ and to find our purpose and fulfillment in him.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Saturday Smile - Undecided Voters

This election will determine the future of our country.
And this election will be determined by the Undecided Voter.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Friday Food - Pumpernickel Pretzels


The craving for a tasty, crunchy, savory snack can be a difficult thing to manage when you're trying to stick to a healthy diet. Trader Joe's Pumpernickel Pretzels are great to have on hand. I keep a jar of them on the counter in my kitchen.

These are the most flavorful satisfying little pretzels I've ever tasted. They have only about 14 calories in each stick. Two or three sticks are a guilt-free way to scratch the crunchy snack itch. You can also break up a few of the sticks to sprinkle on top of a good salad. They are whole grain and have a rich flavor I like even better than most croutons.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Thursday Thinking - Stop Wasting Food

This is so basic and yet so potentially world-changing. It's a big idea that makes me think seriously about my world, my kitchen, and my habits. We really do need to consider what we can we do as individuals, families, neighborhoods, organizations, businesses, and nations to stop wasting food.



From TED.COM - -
Western countries waste up to half of their food. This is an injustice Tristram Stuart has dedicated his career to fixing. In his newest book, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, Tristram shows how changing the systems that result in food waste could be one of the simplest ways to reduce pressure on the environment.
The winner of the international environmental award The Sophie Prize in 2011, Tristram is the founder of Feeding the 5000, a consciousness raising campaign where 5000 members of the public are given a free lunch using only ingredients that otherwise would have been wasted. Held in Trafalgar Square in 2009 and 2011, the event has also been held internationally.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wednesday Words - The Peace of Wild Things

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry, "The Peace of Wild Things" 
from The Selected Poems of Wendell Berry
Copyright © 1998.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Tuesday Tome - The American Soul

Tonight is the first session of my current Book Club at Valley Christian Church. We'll be covering the first 180 pages and I'm looking forward to the discussion.

Our book selection is The American Soul (Jacob Needleman). The dates and topics for our book club discussions are as follows.

Dates and Topics:
September 25, 7:00pm - Ideas and Beginnings (pp. 1-188)
October 9, 7:00pm - Crimes and Failings (pp. 189-268)
October 23, 7:00pm - Democracy and Hope (pp. 269-356)

From Publisher's Weekly--
San Francisco State philosophy professor and author Needleman invites readers to contemplate the deeper spiritual meaning of the American legacy of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Finding a deep resonance between the founding principles of this country and the ancient spiritual quest for an inner liberation, Needleman proceeds to examine and "remythologize" the founders and some of their great deeds.

The reader is asked to consider Franklin's courageous experimentation ("...the man played and worked with lightening!"), Washington's restraint retiring from the army and later from the presidency rather than exploiting his matchless popularity and political power, Jefferson's brilliant articulation of the value of community, and the sheer gravity and awareness in Lincoln's face.
....
While Needleman clearly finds much to love about America, he balances our light with our darkness, our genuine good will and spirituality with our great crimes of slavery and the genocidal abuse of the American Indian. Decidedly not for strict materialists or historical literalists, Needleman's latest work gives open-minded readers a new set of spiritual role models and much valuable food for thought at a crucial moment. 

Monday, September 24, 2012

Monday Music - Country Strong

The Cactus Blossoms got a nice write up by Chris Riemenschneider that appeared on the VITA.MN website and in the StarTribune. The piece is titled "Country Strong" and in it, Riemenschneider says, "The Cactus Blossoms have quickly turned into the Twin Cities' most beloved new traditional-country act." That's good to hear. They've always been a beloved act in their old pappy's book!

Click Here to Read the Article

Below is a Live & Breathing video of The Cactus Blossoms recorded on their summer tour in the Portland area.


Cactus Blossoms - Traveler's Paradise from Live & Breathing on Vimeo.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Supplication - Help Us to Hold On

O Lord, help us to not to be stressed out over earthly troubles, but, instead, to trust you see us through. Even now, as we live among things that are passing away, help us to hold on to the things that last forever.

We confess our sins and we thank you for your faithfulness to forgive us and purify us. And as your grateful children, teach us and help us to be faithful to forgive others. May the resurrection power and grace of Jesus help us restore relationships, heal wounds, calm fears, forgive offenses, and resolve strife.


O God, help us find our life and meaning and purpose in Jesus. We desire to surrender to him more and more. Give us the wisdom and the will to submit ourselves to you as we follow Him.

It’s in his name that we pray these things. Amen.

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Saturday Smile - Jesus Had a Wife?

You've probably heard all the buzz about an "ancient" manuscript indicating that Jesus had a wife. CLICK HERE to read about it.
From New York Times:
A Faded Piece of Papyrus Refers to Jesus' Wife
by Laurie Goodstein
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School has identified a scrap of papyrus that she says was written in Coptic in the fourth century and contains a phrase never seen in any piece of Scripture: “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife ...’ ”
READ MORE
On The Daily Show, Jon Stewart had a lot of fun lampooning this "evidence" and some of the "news" outlets "reporting" about this "stunning new artifact." Hilarious!

Friday, September 21, 2012

Friday Food & Friends - Gasthaus Oktoberfest


Tonight my wife and I will be heading out to Stillwater to meet friends for an evening of fun and great food at the Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter restaurant. The Gasthaus is throwing their annual Oktoberfest celebration.

The weather should be perfect, the food will be amazing, the live music and dancing will be fun, the brewskis will be cold, and the company will be sweet. If that sounds like your idea of a good time and you're free tonight, maybe you should head to Stillwater too. It's always fun to bump into more friends.


Oktoberfest 2012
September 14th-16th & 21st-23rd
Fridays & Saturdays 5:00-11:00 pm and Sundays noon-6:00 pm

Huge festival tent, German food, beer and music. 
The Artie Schaefer band Fri. and Sat.- must be 21. Sundays are family days with live music. Noon-6:00 pm - all ages welcome.



The Gasthaus Bavarian Hunter is a family owned and operated German restaurant nestled in a pine forest since 1966. Built in the rolling hills that reminded him of his native Bavaria The Gasthaus is the vision and dream of Karl Schoene and his wife Elizabeth. Immigrating to St. Paul with their family in 1957 Karl and Elizabeth worked and looked for a place to build their dream in America. The Gasthaus land was purchased in 1963.

Read More Here 




Thursday, September 20, 2012

Thursday Thinking - Electronic Pull Tabs

Expanding gambling in Minnesota in order to pay for a new Vikings stadium is simply one of the worst ideas I have ever heard. It's a spectacular blend of corporate excess, bad governance, and societal decline.  It's a pathetic way to raise money, so the state can spend money we shouldn't be spending, in order to help people waste money they could use for something far better.

That's what I think. What do you think?


CBS News: E-pull-tabs hit Minn. bars to fund Vikings stadium
ROSEVILLE, MN — Gamblers tried out Minnesota's first electronic pull-tab games Tuesday in a handful of bars, as a new form of small-dollar gambling intended to help pay for a $975 million Vikings stadium ventured into the marketplace.

Five games including "Treasures of the Jungle" and "Mystic Sevens" were available at O'Gara's Bar and Grill in St. Paul and four other locations Tuesday afternoon, hours after the state Gambling Control Board approved the electronic pull-tabs at a packed meeting in Roseville. The games cleared their last regulatory hurdle with no debate and no drama, and attention quickly shifted to the rollout of the brightly colored, animated wagers on iPads.

Minnesota becomes the first state to widely offer electronic pull-tabs in bars and restaurants for charitable causes ranging from youth sports to services for the disabled.


READ COMPLETE ARTICLE

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Wednesday Words - One World at a Time

Porch Swing in September
The porch swing hangs fixed in a morning sun
that bleaches its gray slats, its flowered cushion
whose flowers have faded, like those of summer,
and a small brown spider has hung out her web
on a line between porch post and chain
so that no one may swing without breaking it.
She is saying it's time that the swinging were done with,
time that the creaking and pinging and popping
that sang through the ceiling were past,
time now for the soft vibrations of moths,
the wasp tapping each board for an entrance,
the cool dewdrops to brush from her work
every morning, one world at a time.

"Porch Swing in September" by Ted Kooser, from Flying at Night

© University of Pittsburgh Press, 2005.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Tuesday Tome - Washed and Waiting

I'm working my way through a long list of books on the topic of homosexuality, human sexuality, and Christianity. Thorough and thoughtful study on this subject is a challenging and demanding task, and one that is especially important for my work as a pastor. I'm enjoying the study and I am enjoying the many real life conversations I'm having these days with people who come from diverse and sometimes conflicting perspectives.

Just yesterday, I completed a wonderful little gem of a book by Wesley Hill entitled, Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality. Hill is a Christian who self-identifies as gay, but celibate. Hill shares his own very personal and confessional view on what it means to follow Christ, to pursue holiness, and to be defined by his faith rather than his sexual inclinations. He tells his own story with great candor and shares the inspiration he has gained from others, such as Henri Nouwen and Gerard Manley Hopkins, who have struggled similarly to reconcile their religious beliefs with their same-sex attraction.

I highly recommend the book. It is much more than a book about homosexuality. It is a book about human sexuality in the context of faith, submission, and spiritual formation. In that regard, it offers much to think about for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.

Click Here for More Info

Monday, September 17, 2012

Monday Music - Katie Herzig

I was able to see Katie Herzig in concert last Friday night in Omaha, NE. What a talented writer and performer! One of the songs she performed from her new album, The Waking Sleep, was "Lost and Found." Here's her video for that song.



Lost and Found
I know you left me standing there
Out of the calm of the coldest air
I don't believe the words you said
But I can't find the words I want
Oh, I can't find the words I want

If you were gone in another life
I don't believe I would just survive
I could feel you next to me
An escape from the world I'm in
Oh, I'm afraid of the world I'm in

One day I will see Heaven's reach
I'll find the one who left me sleeping
Every war was another seed
That could feed every soul in need
Oh, I'm worn by the war in me

Somebody found me here
Somebody held my breath
Somebody saved me from the world you left
If you're gonna cry my tears
If you're gonna hold my breath
If you're gonna let me see the sun you set
Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found

Somebody found me here
Somebody held my breath
Somebody saved me from the world you left
If you're gonna cry my tears
If you're gonna hold my breath
If you're gonna let me see the sun you set
Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Sunday Supplication - Being God's People

O God, we need your help to be the people you want us to be.

We ask your Holy Spirit to be at work in our lives to transform us and guide us in all ways. Help us to trust you with all our hearts.

Forgive us our sins. Help us to leave the darkness and love the light. Make us willing and able to forgive others as you have forgiven us. Help us to think, speak, and act in ways that restore lives, nurture relationships, create peace, and bring honor to you.

O Lord, help us to be a good stewards of all you have given us. Grant us the wisdom and the will to guard our hearts, feed our spirits, stimulate our minds, and care for our bodies. And help us, by faith, to do the good things you've prepared in advance for us to do.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Saturday Smile - Very Busy


The Coffee With Jesus cartoon strip is consistently funny while offering serious cultural criticism. Check it out.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Friday Family - Chickens


My grandkids now have a chicken coop in the back yard of their home in Nashville, TN.

Looks like they're having fun. The plan is to start getting farm-fresh eggs every day. I suspect it will be more about the fun than the eggs.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Thursday Thinking - The Importance of Listening

I am currently reading Jacob Needleman's book, The American Soul. This is the book my Valley Book Club will be discussing in the coming weeks.

I first discovered Needleman, author and professor of philosophy at San Francisco University, through an interview he did for the On Being radio program on public radio. Through listening to that interview and reading that book have become very impressed with Needleman's thinking, attitude, and practical insights.

Below is a video of Needleman speaking (April 2007) on the importance of listening. He contends that intentional and painstaking listening is essential to morality and serves to humanize those with whom we disagree. Needleman says that two-thirds of the time when we should be listening to someone else speak we aren't really hearing hearing them at all. Instead of truly hearing them, we are hearing our own voice. Effective dialogue results from conscientiously and carefully listening with an open mind and then summarizing back to the other person what they have said to make sure they have truly been heard and understood. We don't have to agree with the other person's opinions, but we do need to allow other thoughts and views into our mind. He asserts provocatively that the failure to listen and understand is dangerously akin to murder.

The thoughtful advice in this seven and a half minute video are well worth watching and potentially life-changing. I encourage you to watch it, think about it, and share it with others.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Wednesday Words - September Light

To the Light of September
When you are already here
you appear to be only
a name that tells of you
whether you are present or not

and for now it seems as though
you are still summer
still the high familiar
endless summer
yet with a glint
of bronze in the chill mornings
and the late yellow petals
of the mullein fluttering
on the stalks that lean
over their broken
shadows across the cracked ground

but they all know
that you have come
the seed heads of the sage
the whispering birds
with nowhere to hide you
to keep you for later

you
who fly with them

you who are neither
before nor after
you who arrive
with blue plums
that have fallen through the night

perfect in the dew

"To the Light of September" by W. S. Merwin.
This poem originally appeared in the September 2003 issue of Poetry magazine.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Tuesday Tome - Christians, Civics, and Politics

From now through the November 6 elections, I'll be posting information about books that provoke thought about the ways Christianity intersects with civics and politics. The next couple of months will be rife with thoughtless talk and sloganeering, so I want to encourage more thought and discussion. Some large doses of humility and kindness would be nice too.

How do we think about faith and country? How can the practice of religion and the freedom of religion (or non-religion) happen in the same space? What are the dangers to the state and to the church when religion and nationalism become intertwined and convoluted? Is the American ideal one that fosters Christianity or pluralism? How is Christianity distorted and diminished when it becomes co-opted by partisanship and manipulated by national leaders? Should Christians be political? Is it possible to be truly Christian and have allegiance to any government? Is a god-and-country-flag-waving sort of Christianity antithetical to following Jesus? Has Americanism become a religion unto itself--a heretical perversion of Christianity that attempts to nationalize Christian faith?

There is much to think about.
Here is my first "Christians, Civics, and Politics" book suggestion.

The Myth of a Christian Nation
by Greg Boyd

The church was established to serve the world with Christ-like love, not to rule the world. It is called to look like a corporate Jesus, dying on the cross for those who crucified him, not a religious version of Caesar. It is called to manifest the kingdom of the cross in contrast to the kingdom of the sword. Whenever the church has succeeded in gaining what most American evangelicals are now trying to get -- political power -- it has been disastrous both for the church and the culture. Whenever the church picks up the sword, it lays down the cross. The present activity of the religious right is destroying the heart and soul of the evangelical church and destroying its unique witness to the world. The church is to have a political voice, but we are to have it the way Jesus had it: by manifesting an alternative to the political, 'power over,' way of doing life. We are to transform the world by being willing to suffer for others -- exercising 'power under,' not by getting our way in society -- exercising 'power over.'
- Book Description from Amazon.


Monday, September 10, 2012

Monday Music - Ben Rosenbush

My friend, Ben Rosenbush, has just released a new album of his gorgeous music. The CD, A Wild Hunger, is now available for purchase. You can listen to full tracks on his BandCamp page.

The song, This Fire, was featured last week on The Current song of the day podcast. Check it out and add some really good music to your personal autumnal soundtrack.


This Fire
This fire is burnin’ down the forest.
This fire is burnin’ through the fields.
This fire is burnin’ a brand new way.
This fire is runnin’ down the highways.
This fire is runnin’ to the homes.
This fire is spinnin’ a wheel of change.

Nobody knows from where the fire comes or where it goes;
our house struggles in the smoke.
The palest eyes watch as a wild hunger burns and burns,
with flames dancing in the dirt.
Our tears refuse to leave, try to rinse fire out,
but tell me how, tell me how,
tell me how can you live in a burning house?

This fire is smokin’ on the steeples.
This fire is circlin’ city halls.
This fire is huntin’ the cornerstones.
This fire is flashin’ on the watchtowers.
This fire is shoutin’ in the streets.
This fire is blowin’ down Jericho.

Nobody knows from where the fire comes or where it goes;
our house struggles in the smoke.
The palest eyes watch as a wild hunger burns and burns,
with flames dancing in the dirt.
Our tears refuse to leave, try to rinse fire out,
but tell me how, tell me how,
tell me how can you live in a burning house?
This fire…

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Sunday Supplication - Remind Us of Your Promises

Help us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts.

We humble ourselves before you. We know we cannot rely on our own strength, and we rejoice in your mercy.

Thank you for your promise to forgive and purify us. Thank you for being the one who saves.

Forgive us our sins. Renew us by your Spirit.

Show us how to act, think, and live as Christ.  As you have forgiven us, make us merciful and ready to forgive those who have sinned against us.

O God, remind us of your promises and help us to persevere in our lives with love and reverence for you. Lead us away from temptation and deliver us from evil. Protect us from discouragement, and encourage us by your Spirit, through your word, your people, your promises, and all that is beautiful and true.

Bring us safely through this day and all our days to come.
Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Saturday, September 08, 2012

Saturday Smile - Looking for Something Easier


The terrible thing, the almost impossible thing, is to hand over your whole self—all your wishes and precautions—to Christ. But it is far easier than what we are all trying to do instead. For what we are trying to do is to remain what we call ‘ourselves’, to keep personal happiness as our great aim in life, and yet at the same time be ‘good’. We are all trying to let our mind and heart go their own way—centered on money or pleasure or ambition—and hoping, in spite of this, to behave honestly and chastely and humbly. And that is exactly what Christ warned us you could not do. As He said, a thistle cannot produce figs. If I am a field that contains nothing but grass-seed, I cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it short: but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper than the surface. I must be ploughed up and re-sown.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952; Harper Collins: 2001) 196-198.

Friday, September 07, 2012

Friday Food - Magic Bullet Smoothies

One of the difficult things about eating healthy is satisfying that appetite for dessert. Smoothies are special and creamy and really hit the spot.

I love using the Magic Bullet blender I got for my birthday earlier this summer. It's a great way to make something healthy and delicious to satisfy a craving for dessert. Here is my fast and simple recipe for a strawberry, banana, coconut smoothie. It makes enough for two 8oz tumblers. One for me and one for Cheri.


Strawberry-Banana-Coconut Smoothies
1. Slice a banana and put it into the large bullet cup.
 2. Fill the rest of the cup with frozen strawberries.
 3. Pour unsweetened coconut milk up to about a half-inch from the top of the cup.
 4. Put on the flat-blade blending lid.
 5. Whip it up. Serve it up. Enjoy!

I use Trader Joe's Organic Frozen Strawberries and Unsweetened Coconut Milk.


Thursday, September 06, 2012

Thursday Thinking - Praying with Jena Nardella

Jena Lee Nardella is the co-founder and Executive Director for Blood:Water Mission, a nonprofit focused on overcoming the HIV/AIDS and water crises in Africa. Jena was 21-years-old when she met the band, Jars of Clay, and convinced them to hire her to establish the nonprofit organization. She wrote them a 25-page proposal on how Blood:Water Mission could dramatically bring clean blood and clean water to Africa. They said yes, so as soon as she graduated from college, she  drove across the country from Washington State to Tennessee to begin the greatest journey of her life.
Read More About Jena.

Jena was invited to lead the closing prayer at the conclusion of the first day of the National Democratic Convention (Tuesday, Sept. 4). Rich Hoops, Chairman of the Board for Blood:Water Mission said this about the invitation:
As an organization, we clearly see that our work in justice, health and hope are not partisan issues. It's our faith that motivates and compels us to act and invite all who fight for injustice to work together, regardless of background or party affiliation. It's at the core of our mission, and we will continue to bring people together to empower communities to work together, both here and abroad, to fight the HIV/AIDS and water crises in Africa.
We invite you to pray with Jena as she leads our country in a prayer for hope, healing and unity. Thank you for your partnership to that end as we serve our brothers and sisters in Africa.
Here is the thoughtful, unity-building, life-affirming, action-provoking, hopeful, and Christ-following prayer she prayed. It's a prayer I can wholeheartedly pray with her and I raise my voice to join her with a sincere "Amen."

Praying for the Nation
As a young woman of faith and a leader, I am humbled to follow the First Lady, whom we all admire. So, thank you for inviting me here. As we close this day, let us quiet our hearts in prayer.

God, I stand before You and ask that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing unto You.

I pray for our President, Barack Obama. May he know Your presence, oh God, as he continues to serve as a leader of this nation, as a husband to Michelle, and as father to his daughters. Help him to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you.

I pray as well for Governor Mitt Romney. May he know Your presence, oh God, as he continues to serve as a leader, as a husband to Ann, and as a father to his sons and their families. Help him to seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with you.

I pray for our country in the next nine weeks leading up to this election – for those of us meeting here and for our fellow citizens who met last week. May we make our children proud of how we conduct ourselves. We know our human tendencies toward finger-pointing and frivolousness. Our better selves want this race to be honest and edifying rather than fabricated and self-serving.

Give us, oh Lord, humility to listen to our sisters and brothers across the political spectrum, because your kingdom is not divided into Red States and Blue States. Equip us with moral imagination to have real discourse. Knit us, oh God, as one country even as we wrestle over the complexity of how we ought to live and govern. Give us gratitude for our right to dissent and disagree. For we know that we are bound up in one another and have been given the tremendous opportunity to extend humanity and grace when others voice their deeply held convictions even when they differ from our own.

And give us wisdom, God, to discover honest solutions for we know it will take all of us to care for the widow and the orphan, the sick and the lonely, the downtrodden and the unemployed, the prisoner and the homeless, the stranger and the enemy, the thirsty and the powerless. In rural Africa, I am witness to thousands of HIV positive mothers, fathers and children who are alive today because Democrats and Republicans put justice and mercy above partisanship. Help us keep that perspective even as we debate one another.

God, I thank you for the saving grace of Jesus and for the saints who have humbly gone before us. I thank you for the words of St. Francis of Assisi whose prayer I carry with me both in my home in East Nashville and in my work across rural Africa.

As we enter this election season, I pray St. Francis’ words for us all.

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.

Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Wednesday Words - Money

Money
Money is such a treat.
It takes up so little space.
It takes no more ink
for the bank to print $9,998
than to print $1,001.
It flows, electronically;
it does not gather dust.
Like water, it (dis)solves everything.
Oceanic, it is yet as lucid
as a mountain pool; the depositor
can see clear to the sandy bottom.
It is ubiquitous and under pressure, yet
pennies don't drip from faucets.
Money is so tidy, so neat.

It is freedom in action: when you
give a twenty-buck bill to the cabbie,
you don't tell him how to spend it.
He can blow it on coke,
for all you care. All you care
about is your change. No wonder
the ex-Communists are dizzy. In
the old Soviet Union
there was nothing to buy,
nothing to spend. It was freedom
of a kind, but not our kind. We need
money, the dull electric thrill
when the automatic teller spits out
the disposable receipt.

"Money" by John Updike, from Americana and Other Poems.
© Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Tuesday Tome - 3 Weeks to Read 180 Pages

The first session of my current Pastor's Book Club is only three weeks away. You'll need to read about sixty pages per week to be completely ready for that first session. Copies of the book are available at the Valley Christian Church office and resource center. You can stop by during the day to pick up your copy (someone is always there between 9am and 2pm). The book is also available from Amazon. I think it is also available for the Kindle.

If you haven't yet read about our book selection, The American Soul, keep reading. The dates and topics for our book club discussions are also covered in what follows.

The political climate and polarizing rhetoric is sure to be inescapable as we approach the November 6 election. Wouldn't it be good to take a step back and consider the values, ideas, and virtues that gave birth to our nation? How did those early Americans work for unity and democracy despite their profound differences of belief, religion, and national origin?

You're invited to join me and my upcoming Pastor's Book Club at Valley Christian Church as we read and discuss philosopher Jacob Needleman's book, The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders. Read the book description below.

Our discussion schedule will be:
September 25 - Ideas and Beginnings (pp. 1-188)
October 9 - Crimes and Failings (pp. 189-268)
October 23 - Democracy and Hope (pp. 269-356)

If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Dave. Books will be available at the Valley resource center and at Amazon.
From Publisher's Weekly--
San Francisco State philosophy professor and author Needleman invites readers to contemplate the deeper spiritual meaning of the American legacy of "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Finding a deep resonance between the founding principles of this country and the ancient spiritual quest for an inner liberation, Needleman proceeds to examine and "remythologize" the founders and some of their great deeds.

The reader is asked to consider Franklin's courageous experimentation ("...the man played and worked with lightening!"), Washington's restraint retiring from the army and later from the presidency rather than exploiting his matchless popularity and political power, Jefferson's brilliant articulation of the value of community, and the sheer gravity and awareness in Lincoln's face.
....
While Needleman clearly finds much to love about America, he balances our light with our darkness, our genuine good will and spirituality with our great crimes of slavery and the genocidal abuse of the American Indian. Decidedly not for strict materialists or historical literalists, Needleman's latest work gives open-minded readers a new set of spiritual role models and much valuable food for thought at a crucial moment. 

Monday, September 03, 2012

Monday Music - Butterfly Boucher

Last week I had the privilege of meeting and spending some time with Butterfly Boucher. What a sweet and super talented young woman! I like this video for the the pure and catchy goodness of pop music, but even more for the way it reveals Butterfly's personality.

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Sunday Supplication - All Good Things

O Lord God, we acknowledge your power and your holiness.

You are the author and giver of all good things. Work in our hearts and teach us to truly love you. Nourish us with goodness. Help us to live out true devotion and to worship you in all we do. Help us, by faith, to do the good things you have in mind for us to do.

Thank you for the forgiveness and renewal you have given to us through Christ Jesus.  Help us as we extend that same forgiveness to others who have sinned against us. Help us become a community called grace. Help us to have a redemptive and healing impact on the world around us.

O God, we thank you for life, and hope, and salvation. Lead us away from temptation. Deliver us from evil. Provide for our needs this day. Protect us from discouragement, and encourage us by your Spirit through your word, your people, your promises, and all that is beautiful and true.

Through Christ, we pray. Amen.

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Saturday Smile - Bon Appétit

These remixes are both nostalgic and clever.
I enjoy them and hope you do too.