Stop this madness

The Revised Common Lectionary readings for this coming Sunday, Nov. 30th, are:

• Isaiah 64:1-9
• Psalm 80: 1-7, 17-19
• 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
• Mark 13:24-37

This Sunday's reading from the OT has the prophet Isaiah crying out to God to save God's people. The UMC Worship Helps site says:

The prophet in Isaiah 64 cries out for more than help. He cries out for a decisive personal intervention by God that will not only mean the world sees God in action, but that will change or destroy all the rules of the powers that be. That's what "tear open the heavens" means. Nothing less will do, the prophet cries, almost cathartically. Where do people where you are need to join the prophet's cathartic cry? "We can't take this anymore! Stop the madness! God, fix this!!"

It's a bit manic because desperate times require desperate pleas. And suddenly I'm reminded of what happened on Nov. 4th. The people of the U.S. basically cried out "we can't take this anymore! Stop the madness! God, fix this!!"

And surely with God's help, as a people we fixed it. We elected a leader that will hopefully lead us out of this wretched mess that we are in. Though we are from different faith traditions, God as the Creator of us all has heard our desperate, desperate cries and we have had an intervention. This wasn't just a political coup, it was an intervention that changed everything.



Read the lessons online at Vanderbilt Divinity Library.

Beginning anew

Since this Sunday is the first Sunday in Advent, this is the perfect time for me to start a practice that hopefully will help me in the coming days. Recently, I stopped producing the worship bulletin for my church (a different organization necessitated ceasing the printing of these bulletins), and am sad for it, b/c it was a wonderful reflection/meditation opportunity for me. Working on the bulletin allowed me to think about the lectionary and the worship themes throughout the week, in preparation for the coming Sunday.

As a result of this lack in my life, I've decided to start doing it again, but instead of publishing it in the worship bulletin, I'll be posting the materials on nothing but HAT's.

I hope this exercise will be edifying and nourishing for me, and helpful for you, the reader.

I'll be throwing things out during the week, not on any designated day, but it must all be posted before midnight PST on Saturday.

As for the specific content, I'll have to think on this... If you feel inclined, please leave suggestions in the Comments section.

un-Expired

Since my visit "home", I've started loading up on hours of Vietnamese t.v. watching -- which includes and all things brainless: variety shows, kung fu movies, epic films, etc.

Not that these things are usually brainless b/c they can contain great moral content, but it's mostly b/c I get to watch w/o having to over-analyze.

However, earlier this evening, I sat and watched in dumb amazement, speechless, as one of the show's commentators talked about how at 25 year old, certain women are considered "expired goods" if they have not married and produced offspring.

In Vietnamese, it's something called being "e". (Sorry, I can't do diacritics on this site for some reason.)

There's so much more to "e" than meets the eye, and the negative connotations defy definition. Expired, unwanted, soured, etc.

Picture the sad, lonely looking zucchini that for some reason has been left out far too long and no customers want to purchase. Picture the pickled vegetables sold in jars gathering dust on the shelves which no one seems to want. Picture the lone gerbera daisy and her droopin petals, the flaccid neck no longer able to hold up the browning head. Picture the unmatched sock which you finally have to donate after failing to locate its partner after three months of searching.

Lucky for me, despite being past the 25 year mark, I'm happy. Education, career/vocation, church, family, friends -- there is much to be grateful for. Unlike what some folks tell me, I don't feel my life is incomplete. Perhaps when I meet my future spouse, he and I will feel our lives more in sync, but right now my life is not unfulfilled. Despite what people think, I don't feel at all like that lonely "e". Am not sitting dusty on some shelf somewhere hoping to be salvaged. This is to say I've taken myself off the shelf, and am jolly about traipsing through life. If you, too, want to skate away, let me know...

Why I am lucky

This is what I see:

My dad wields his digital videocamera, pointing it in every direction trying to capture images of beautiful fall colors -- red, orange, yellow, brown, green leaves on the tall, tall trees. And the shining blue surface of the lake reflecting into his camera lens.

My mother is slowly wending her way around the lake, with my father following behind, recording with his camera her beautiful walk, hips sashaying back and forth -- this was what he loved about her when they were young, and loves her for it still. She's looking for leaves to dry and press into poetry books for me, her aspiring poetess. There are at least half a dozen that she's collected, and holds up to the camera for him to see... the organic shapes still vibrant with reds and oranges and yellows like unwritten poetic images.

My parents' backyard fills with white, white, white snow. The trees line their back fence like mimes standing with outstretched arms frozen in the air. Steam from mom's coffee cup wafts up, clouding dad's camera lens, and he steps back with the camera to show her sitting with the door to her back, the snow still falling. Half her face is lit by the white snow's reflection. Somewhere behind her I see a green and lush pepper tree.

At 10 p.m. when the neighborhood must be asleep, they are still singing hymns. Alongside dad's guitar strumming, mom's voice is a high soprano, and dad sometimes chimes in with the alto, other times with the bass. They do this every once in a while, singing favorite hymns and recording them onto cassette tapes. I think 10 years from now we won't hardly stand to listen to them, but they are precious nonetheless. This moment of them singing at the same microphone, mom holding the hymn book while dad plays the guitar, will never be forgotten, never be repeated in quite the same way. I want to listen to them forever, even the flat notes, but they interrupt to ask me to join them.

We get to return once every few months to find the rooms all furnished and ready for our use. Cottonballs, towels, linens, etc. all set out waiting for our arrival. We find a particular kind of shampoo that they have set apart for us. Or perhaps a little fruit that they've saved for our enjoyment. So much love. So much.

Thanksgiving gratefully

This Thanksgiving, you'll find me in the cold weather of Michigan, in the midst of family in a house with a little white door adorned with autumn wreaths, surrounded by barren maple branches like sculptures in the sky. You'll find a little bit of scented candle on the full dining room coffee table, and a full pot of soup in the lemon-scented kitchen. Upstairs, red-lined satin sheets and ginger-scented body lotions. On the phone, half-started conversations with friends and emails from long-distance loved ones.

I'm not Blue, and I'm not Yours, and I'm not skating away from any Rivers, and I'm not hiding myself in ice castles in the sky. Everything, and I mean everything, is as it should be. For now.

Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now"

Both Sides Now

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and they snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way that you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
And you leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions that I recall
I really don't know love
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say I love you right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

Oh but now old friends they are acting strange
And they shake their heads and they tell me that I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

It's life's illusions that I recall
I really don't know life
I really don't know life at all

Missing you

This is simply to say I've been missing my friends lately. Many of them. Some I've heard from recently and some I've not heard from in a long while. I hope you are well, and I hope that your work, your ministries, your schooling, and your family/families are also doing well.

Zebra stripes

Here Come the Elephants

Orangutan in hiding

(This is for Mrs. Oja)

Hungry hungry hippo!

See the hippo?


No? Look more closely...





Ta da!! Hi there...


I had the greatest time visiting the St. Louis zoo in October... I have never been this close to a hippo before... It was pretty cool. And, I learned that hippo skin releases something like slime to help protect their skin... Hehehe. Very cool.

On My Knees: lyrics

There are days
when I feel
The best of me
is ready to begin
Then there's days
when I feel
I'm letting go
and soaring on the wind
'Cause I've learned in laughter or in pain
How to survive!

I get on my knees! (x2)
There I am before the Love
That changes me
See I don't know how
But there's power
When I'm on my knees

I can be
in a crowd
Or by myself
and almost anywhere
When I feel
there's a need
To talk with God
He is Emmanuel
When I close my eyes,
no darkness there
There's only light!

I get on my knees (x2)
There I am before the Love that changes me
See I don't know how, but there's power
In the blue skies, in the midnight
When I'm on my knees
I get on my knees (x2)
There I am before the Love
That changes me
See I don't know how, but there's power
When I'm on my, oh, when I'm on my
When I'm on my knees

On My Knees

Somehow this song is fitting for this moment in time...

Obama Victory Poster

Want an Obama Victory poster to celebrate our win? It's designed by Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic HOPE poster.

I just got mine. Click this link to get your Obama Victory poster.

Yes we did... Change is ours!

However, now that I think about it... stating that it is "our win" perpetuates a divisive mentality that might be hurtful for the reconciliation of our multi-party nation. Maybe we should celebrate the unity that we seek, not necessarily our win over the "other" folks. Right?

Right.

One Love: Playing for Peace Through Music

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole: Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Obama Victory sticker by Shepard Fairey

Want a free Obama sticker to celebrate our victory? It's designed by Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic HOPE poster. And MoveOn's giving them away totally free--even the shipping's free.

I just got mine. Click this link to get your free Obama sticker.

World Reacts to Obama election

Change Can Happen

Three Graces

An Historic Election: Yes We Can

"These are difficult times for our country. And I pledge to him tonight to do all in my power to help him lead us through the many challenges we face.

I urge all Americans who supported me to join me in not just congratulating him, but offering our next president our good will and earnest effort to find ways to come together to find the necessary compromises to bridge our differences and help restore our prosperity, defend our security in a dangerous world, and leave our children and grandchildren a stronger, better country than we inherited." - McCain concession speech, Nov. 4, 2008

It's the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states.

We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.

...

I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years -- block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

- Acceptance Speech by Barack Hussein Obama, Nov. 4, 2008

EVERYBODY GO VOTE!!

Election 2008 Voting Information

Today, November 4th, is Election Day! Remember to vote—not just for Barack Obama, but for Congressional, state, and local candidates as well.

IMPORTANT NOTE: MoveOn members overwhelmingly oppose California's Proposition 8 (a ban on same-sex marriage). Please vote NO on Prop 8.

Where and when do I vote?

Find your polling place, voting times, and other important information by checking out these sites and the hotline below. These resources are good, but not perfect. To be doubly sure, you can also contact your local elections office.

• Obama's VoteForChange site: voteforchange.com
• League of Women Voters' site: vote411.org/pollfinder.php
• Obama's voter hotline: 877-US4-OBAMA (877-874-6226)

What should I do before I go?

• After you've entered your address on either Vote For Change or Vote411, read the voting instructions and special rules for your state.
• Voting ID laws vary from state to state, but if you have ID, bring it.
• Check out all the voting myths and misinformation to look out for: http://truth.voteforchange.com/

What if something goes wrong?

• Not on the voter list? Make sure you're at the right polling place, then demand a provisional ballot.
• If you're voting on an electronic machine with a paper record, verify that the record is accurate.
• Need legal help? Call 1-866-OUR-VOTE.
• If you encounter a problem, try to videotape the situation and submit it to VideoTheVote.org

Want to do more?

• Text all of your friends: "Vote Obama today! Pass it on!"
• Make calls from home for Obama.

Now, everybody go vote!!!

Water fountain

Yes We Can

http://yeswecan.dipdive.com/

One of two Cathedral Basilicas

...In St. Louis. Weather was quite agreeable. More basilica to come...