with a little help from my friends...

(This post is inspired by something that my friend James Lepine wrote recently)

I am heading to Tyler, TX, this Sunday to work for the first half of the summer at Pine Cove Towers camp. I look forward to camp, but I dread packing. I’ve gotten a lot done, but still lack a few things that I need for “theme nights” at camp. I have several options for these things: I could go shopping and buy a bunch of stuff that I’ll most likely never need after this summer, or I could call upon those of you who might have these items lying around that you’d like to get rid of anyway. It’s harder to ask for help than I thought! But in the end, it could be a very beneficial action for us all.

So if you have any of the following items that you don’t want to keep any more, I would greatly appreciate the help! Also, if it’s something you’d loan to me, I can keep it in good condition and get it back to you in the beginning of July. Use phone, facebook, email, or any means of communication to get in touch with me!

-Western shirt (plaid or cowboy looking)

-Camo jacket or pants

-Pirate apparel (all I have is an eyepatch and bandana!)

-Clothes that are shiny, metallic and/or sequined. I don’t know how to describe this one… it’s supposed to look like something a space explorer or a Martian would wear.

-Looney Toons… I’ll be happy to get suggestions. I don’t even know where to start on this one. If you have any spare Elmer Fudd or Tweety Bird costumes lying around let me know… ha.

I’m glad that I got to use the word “Martian” in this post. Happy Monday, everyone.

God weeps over Moab

late last night, as my roommates and I were studying for finals, we heard the news that Osama Bin Laden had been found and killed in a Navy SEALS operation.

I revisited a moment from when I was 11 years old and I saw the twin towers crumble to the ground. I heard Peter Jennings utter “Oh my God” in confused anguish, and then fall into silence.

and now, the man who caused such destruction, such pain and suffering and death, had himself met justice. but what does this mean for him? he now stands before the God of the universe, the creator of Arabs and Americans, and is asked to give an account for his life.

This morning I read Isaiah 14-16, which details three prophecies of destruction against three nations that had scorned the authority of God and oppressed his people Israel. The last nation to be condemned was Moab, who was condemned because of “his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence” (16.6).

a remarkable aspect of this prophecy is the compassion which God has for those who are condemned.

“My heart cries out for Moab” (15.5)

and God charges his people with compassion, to imitate his heart for this broken and twisted group of people:

Let the outcasts of Moab sojourn among you;

be a shelter to them

from the destroyer.

when the oppressor is no more,

and destruction has ceased,

and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,

then a throne will be established in steadfast love,

and on it will sit in faithfulness

in the tent of David

one who judges and seeks justice

and is swift to do righteousness. 16.4-5

God promises a day of restoration, when his Son will come again and do justice. He will punish those who have oppressed others, and welcome those who have claimed his righteousness.

let's imitate the compassion of God.

I thought you'd like this quote...

to live is so startling, it leaves little time for anything else.

-Emily Dickinson

I place blogging in the {anything else} category.

hopefully I'll get a few posts up here next week!

heart

you and your heart

shouldn't feel so far apart

-Jack Johnson

the prodigal

stands on the front porch

waiting for her brother to come back.

her feet aren’t lost, but her heart is,

which is far more precarious than any other misdirection.

what’s worse: she doesn’t know it.

she thinks that if her feet are on the front porch

then her heart is as well.

how can I be so out of touch

with something right inside my chest?

a healthy habit of withholding

This weekend, on Friday night, I shut down my laptop. I didn’t turn it back on until Monday morning. I stayed off of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Hulu, The Food Network, blogger, and all the other sites that I browse and read articles on and look at clothes that I don’t have money to buy anyways.

I turned my laptop off, zipped up the case, and stuck it in the second drawer down from the top of my dresser.

It was freeing and wonderful. Instead of checking my email first thing in the morning, I read a book over coffee. Instead of wasting time creeping on all sorts of people’s photos, I played a little piano. Out of sight, out of mind. It is so freeing and wonderful. Perhaps you could turn your phone off and hide it under your pillow for the afternoon. Do the same with your laptop, your iPad, your iPod, TV, Kindle, PSP, etc. then HIDE them. If you use a desktop computer, cover it with a t-shirt or towel.

We thrive on connection. Being in touch and informed has never been so easy. We have the ability to be ever learning and stimulated by the world. We’re a google away from knowing almost any fact we could want to know, and a website away from viewing and coveting the latest Fall Favorites from UO. Our world has been “fiber optically connect[ed to] every eager impulse.” (John Milton, The Devil’s Advocate)

This ability can be used for so much good (as evidenced by the fact that the medium of which I am warning you is the one I employ to convey that warning). But from personal experience, this world of instant connection can make me very dull. Very lazy. Very unoriginal. I find myself conforming to an idea or style I saw, not because it’s what I like or need, it’s just something I saw online. When I get to the point where my time and energy are depleted by my e-life, I know it’s time to take a break.

I find this video helpful and actually entertaining. Enjoy, then consider quitting Safari or exiting Internet Explorer.

Love you guys and gals.