The educational model of the universe claims that we are here to learn. Life is a series of lessons. The point is to Grow Up. (God is a teacher.)
The business model of the universe claims that we are here to be successful. Life is a series of challenges. The point is to Grow Bigger. (Many churches have bought this model--with their congregation's paychecks.)
The psychological model of the universe claims that we are here to improve. Lessons and challenges build character. The point is to Grow Better. (Nice, serene, unfazed.)
My current model of the universe is that we are here to Grow Love. Call it the Gardner's model. Doesn't matter how big your patch of ground is. Plant the seed, water it with tears of sorrow and joy, look toward the light and let the Master Gardener do his work. TA DA! Fruit.
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Time for Love by Janet Chandler is a wonderful book of poems, which I read in the latter half of a Tuesday afternoon shift. Subtitled "Assisted Living Viewed by One of the Very Old," the collection of poems begins with a doctor's diagnosis and moves through life in two different nursing facilities. The poems are eminently readable; full of truth and love. A great book for someone with elderly parents or friends, for those living in or facing a similar situation, or for anyone wanting a lovely read on a Tuesday afternoon. $2
"A proverb is a short sentence based on long experience." -Miguel deCervantes
Leaving Church is a $24 book by Barbara Brown Taylor, who was one of the early women Episcopal priests. Although we end up on opposite sides of various theological divides, there was enough congruency of experience (and sins!) to keep me glued to her book from late afternoon when I started it, until midnight when I finished. After ordination Barbara was on staff in a large urban church. She finally "got" a smaller country church where she expected to serve as Rector for ten years. After a few years she was so burnt-out that she resigned for a teaching job.
The book left me with some interesting chauvinistic ideas about how it may (repeat MAY) be possible to adequately Father a couple of hundred people, but attempting to Mother large numbers is a recipe for disaster. I won't air these intriguing FCS (Female Chauvinist Sow) ideas here, lest half of you unSubsribe. But ask me about it over tea.
"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." --Dave Barry
Blue Like Jazz is a great life in the Lord story by Donald Miller. Several people came in asking about this book. Very hip with the Emerging Church crowd. I ordered it because of Kathy's recommendation. The back cover says Donald Miller is like Annie Lamott with testosterone. I don't think he's as raw as Annie, but there is a similar casual intimacy and honesty about sins and flaws. Here's a bit from the author's note:
"I never liked jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself...I used to not like God because God didn't resolve. But that was before any of this happened." --Donald Miller
Christian Spirituality by Lawrence Cunningham and Keith Egan is the most boring book I've read in a long time. I'm reading it for a class. The reason they pick boring books for classes is so that you feel like you've accomplished something. Anyway it covers a lot of ground in an attempt to cram 2000 years of Christian tradition into one book. If you want to read a survey book, I recommend Richard Foster's Streams of Living Water instead. It is more comprehensive, a much more enjoyable read and isn't utterly ignorant of what the Lord's been doing in the last 400 years. I waxed eloquent about Streams in the March and May 2002 Newsletters. Check 'em out online at companyofsaints.com.
I read several books along with Christian Spirituality so I wouldn't die of boredom. Prayer is an Open Window by Elizabeth Rockwood came along right before the prayer chapter in Christian Spirituality. The little 100 page, $2 book, inspired a host of different kinds of prayer and brought the goodness and faithfulness of the Lord straight into my heart. Why was I so eager to get back to Windows while rolling my eyes in disgust at Christian Spirituality? If I can figure that out, maybe I'd never again write a boring paragraph.
The four winners of the ReName the Rant Contest are now posted on our home page. Their suggestions range from the insulting to the sublime: Fowl threats in regard to grousing, pig headed rummaging, wordy vocabulary, minuscule meals--the best thing I can say about this ram-page is that it isn't boring. See what ewe think. companyofsaints.com (scroll down)
"If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy. If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem. But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day." -E.B. White
Lent is almost upon us with Ash Wednesday on February 21. The only Lent books that immediately come to mind are Henri Nouwen's Show Me the Way, Larry Hart's Alleluia is the Song of the Desert, Max Lucado's Six Hours one Friday, and Calvary Road by Roy Hession. We will probably do something at The Word Shop, although specific inspiration has not yet arrived. Let me know if you want to be alerted should a grand idea emerge.
Actually, since my Christmas exercise ball did a slow bake on our floor heater the day after New Year's, I've had enough ash for at least twenty years of Wednesdays. The upside of having the entire house covered with greasy soot is that a month later the house is cleaner than it has been for thirty years. Nearly every wall has been repainted, every item cleaned. By next month I ought to be able to find things again. The relationship between Ash Wednesday and Easter Resurrection suddenly has a whole new dimension.
"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer." -Corrie Ten Boom
Grow in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Blessings,
Alliee +