Update

Hello, everyone.

I may or may not have decided to make my new home over at my Tumblr.
If you would like, you can look at it here.
It's just so much cleaner and easier to use. I don't know if it is possible to import my old posts, so I may be just choosing the favorites and making them as new posts, or forgetting about it all together and starting fresh...
We'll just have to see.
In the mean, check out what I have.

yourmoneyisours.tumblr.com

Can I Call You Mine?

What amazing talent.

Art for Heart's Sake

"Whether one is an artist or not, I think as Christians we are all implicated in the horrendous deficiency of imagination, the visual illiteracy, the dispassionate celebrations of ‘the joy of our salvation,’ the uncaring lamentations of our sorrow for the oppressed and wounded, our lack of protest for the destruction of our ecosystem and the consumerist kitsch that is the predominant expression of faith in most of the Christian community." - Betty Spackman

This quote is a stunning portrayal of what seems to be a continuing idea that looms over the Christian world. Christians are so often accused of putting out sub-standard art (of varying types), and this accusation does not come from the 'secular' realm alone. Rather, Christians who emphasize the church's engaging in culture are quick to make this point. In addition, I wonder if culture as a whole is guilty of losing its imagination. The movie industry seems to be pumping out tons of remakes, making me wonder if there is anything new under the sun at all. If Christians are living the best life possible, and bearers of the best news possible, shouldn't we be putting out the most fresh art possible? My guess is that there is a nagging sense of separatism that continues to eat away at the Christian artistic enterprise.

What do you think?

Man, This Lady

"In Luke's version of the story of Jesus' summary of the law, the teacher asks him to obvious follow-up question, 'who is my neighbour?' Jesus replies with the story of the Good Samaritan. A man, lying dying in the road having been brutally beaten and robbed, is ignored by two righteous but fearful priests, but then helped by a passing Samaritan. At different points of history he might have told the story in terms of Protestants and Catholics, or Sunnis and Shias, or Americans and Communists, or Evangelicals and gays - the point remains the same. The person who acted with grace and mercy towards 'the other' was the one who was the true neighbour.
This is another strange answer from Jesus. He had been asked who his neighbour was; the reply he gave was to explain how to be a good neighbour, the implication being that there is no one who is not our neighbour, no one to whom we should not show mercy. The 'other' in the world around me is everyone around me."

Other: Loving Self, God, and Neighbour in a World of Fractures by Kester Brewin, pp. 9-10

"Here is the most important verse in the Bible about new creation: 'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!' (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christian men and women are to live a life that moves beyond the fall, beyond the battle of wills. If new creation does anything, it unleashes the power to undo the fall in our world. I cannot emphasize this enough: the story of the Bible is the story of new creation in Christ" (189).

This is a excerpt from Scot McKnight's The Blue Parakeet, a book that I have been reading through over the past few weeks. McKnight's whole point is to try and show readers a new way of viewing the Bible (which, he suggests, is not really new at all). In this method of reading, we see the Bible for what it is - the story of God. In reading the Bible as Story, we are able to see an account that moves from oneness (creation) to brokenness (fall), and back towards oneness in Christ that will be fully realized in the eschaton. With this understanding as our interpretive lens, we can see the Bible for what it is - not a puzzle or book of laws, but as an account of what God is doing in history and how he has spoken to various people in various times and places. Indeed, God still speaks to us today (as McKnight would say) in our days and our ways. So, let's accept the invitation to be wrapped up in this story.

This Just Felt Right

Currently Reading: The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible by Scot McKnight

I have been reading McKnight's The Blue Parakeet for a little while now, and it has really been refreshing. Scot McKnight invites the reader into the Story of God as interpreted by the inspired biblical authors. It's a holistic way to see and engage Scripture. You should check it out.

Also, I drew a picture on the internet:

Clean Clothes and Closed Books

Currently Hearing: Hammock Radio on Pandora
Just Finished Reading: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Just Started Reading: Works of Love by Søren Kierkegaard

So, now that my summer classes are finally wrapped up, I have been able to remember what it feels like to not operate under an ominous, ticking clock that is ready to explode as soon as it strikes "0."

That being said, I have enjoyed my days and nights by getting laundry done, reading, writing, and trying to shrink a pair of leather shoes. The War of Art, which I just finished at LaunderLand that other afternoon, was a great inspiration. I am hoping that it will serve as a sort of catalyst to win some inner creative battles, as Pressfield puts it.

School begins in ten days or so, which should be interesting. It feels like forever since Spring quarter let out. As Ferris Bueller said, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." I guess I had better use this time off to settle in and do some gazing.

Better Off Alone Together

Currently Hearing: I Was Trying To Describe You To Someone by Crime in Stereo

I had totally forgotten about this poem. It's way too good, and, God willing, I hope to be able to recite this to my wife one day.

"Wound" by Larry Levis

I’ve loved you
the way a man loves an old wound
picked up in a razor fight

on a street nobody remembers.
Look at him:
even in the dark, he touches it gently.

Brought to Life

Currently Hearing: The Cradle by Colour Revolt

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived." - Henry David Thoreau

This quote is resonating with me today. It seems, as of late, that God has been reaching in to places of my heart that I had been so out of touch with for the past few years. I think God is pricking these places because he wants to heal them - to make me fully alive and remind me that this side of me exists. The most significant periods of my life are those times when I have felt the most deeply. When I think back, I can remember those seasons with somewhat astonishing detail (for how bad my memory is). I am thankful that God is healing me so that I can view life a certain type of eyes and develop a fresh way of "seeing," taking less and less for granted and having a heart that swells with amazement at the story in which God has chosen to place me. I don't want to look back at my life only to see a dull, amorphous blob of years.

God, give us grace.

Godless Chicken or Godless Egg?

Currently Hearing: xx by The xx

"My own proposition, derivative from the Bible, is that atheism is never the conclusion of any theory, philosophical or scientific. It is a decision, a free act of choice that antedates all theories. There are indeed philosophies that are atheist in the sense that they are incompatible with faith in God. But they are reached only by a will to atheism. This will, and the animation into which it is translated ('There is no God'), are the inspiration of these philosophies, not a conclusion from them."

From John Courtney Murray's The Problem of God, p. 95.

What are your thoughts?

Danny and Annie

I dare you to watch this and not feel.

Danny & Annie from StoryCorps on Vimeo.

This Is for the Days

Currently Hearing: We've Been Talking by Enemies

This is for the days when
everything feels
as if it’s kissing you with
an open mouth.
For the days when girls’
eyes seem brighter
and their faces take on
the perfect shape.
And watching the neighbor’s
son on his skateboard
is like looking at a film
from your past.
For the days that seem to
write their own
soundtrack – the grass
scratches your skin like
a needle on a record.
May we forever feel that
we are virgins,
and that these days are more
than numbers falling
off of a calendar
and onto the dusty floor.

Won't You Come Down, Heaven. Won't You Cut Through the Clouds...

Currently Hearing: Come Now Sleep by As Cities Burn
Currently Reading: Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell and The Problem of God by John Courtney Murray

I have been having some really incredible conversations lately with friends that have made me experience all sorts of emotions - anger, hurt, confusion, frustration, excitement - and the list goes on. It has, in many ways, made me see my own sin and impatience in dialogue for which I need to repent and grow, and has also reminded me of the importance of community in one's spiritual formation.

So much of our conversations, which have, for me, been largely sparked by a course I am taking this quarter in seminary entitled "Christian Worldview and Contemporary Challenges." I have been exposed to some books and articles written by Christians showing the seeming flaws in atheist/agnostic logic, and some books and articles written by atheists/agnostics showing the seeming flaws in Christian logic. I'm not exactly sure exactly how to articulate everything, especially considering I have been reading for about four hours now, and I can barely write my name.

One issue that has been particularly interesting to me for a while has been the idea of interpretation and one's view of Scripture. There are so many differing interpretations of Scripture in Christendom, and this is something that is praised for the freshness that is brought to the table and feared when it seems to step beyond the bounds of traditional interpretation. Is there a place to draw the line? Christianity has become so diverse that anything seems fair game. In addition, it can hardly be argued that one person is able to read the Bible as a pure document without bringing their own baggage to the text. The early church worked very hard to establish confessions for the sake of "gate-keeping," but the boards in the fence seem to be slowly being removed in order to make way for more and more who profess to believe in Jesus - a figure whose life, divinity, actions, and state after his death are topics of much debate among those who all claim to be a part of the Church.

I hope I don't sound like I am walking away from my faith. That is hardly true at all. Rather, I am mostly just pondering the state of God's people and thinking out loud. I also hope I don't sound like a fearful isolationist Christian that would rather hide in a group of like-minded fellows than ever think about the reality of the current situation of his faith. Again, that is hardly the case. Really, I suppose I'm just widening the circle of my community for some more of that good old fashioned faith-shaping.

This is one of my favorite poems by one of my favorite poets. It might be the only poem in my life that I have ever memorized.

Should the wide world roll away
Leaving black terror
Limitless night,
Nor God, nor man, nor place to stand
Would be to me essential
If thou and thy white arms were there
And the fall to doom a long way.

- Stephen Crane

1. Push Play 2. Pedal

Currently in the middle of making a playlist for solo dolo rides:

1. "Goodbye" by Toe
2. "Sad Girls Por Vida" by Pretty Girls Make Graves
3. "Boneless Voice" by Manacle
4. "Diamonds on the Face of Evil" by Ugly Casanova
5. "Why They" by Camron
6. "Stars" by Warpaint
7. "Elevens" by With Honor
8. "End of a Spark" by Tokyo Police Club
9. "Move Somethin'" by Reflection Eternal
10. "Given the Chance" by The Starting Line
11. "Going Camping" by The Cool Kids

More to come...

Every once in a while, I rediscover the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. I have recently been reading through a book titled Strength to Love, which is a collection of some of his sermons. Here is a brief section from the sermon "The Death of Evil upon the Seashore."

"Above all, we must be reminded anew that God is at work in his universe. He is not outside the world looking on with a sort of cold indifference. Here on all the roads of life, he is striving in our striving. Like an ever-loving Father, he is working through history for the salvation of his children. As we struggle to defeat the forces of evil, the God of the universe struggles with us. Evil dies on the seashore, not merely because of man's endless struggle against it, but because of God's power to defeat it."

The implications of a God that works in such a way against evil are unbelievable - this means I worship a God who works in the hearts of people, and that true change lies not in my ability to persuade or convince, but in the unrelenting pursuit of the Being from whom and for whom everything finds its existence.

Thanks be to God.

Mee-Yow

Here is a post for all the cat lovers in the world.

The following is an 8th or 9th century Irish poem written by a monk whose name is unknown.
I have also included a little sketch I drew of Dewey the Library Cat last night while laying in my bed. I don't have access to a scanner, so I had to just snap a shot of it in Photo Booth in order to get it on here. Enjoy!

"Pangur Ban"

I and Pangur Ban, my cat,
'Tis a like task we are at;
Hunting mice is his delight,
Hunting words I sit all night.

Better far than praise of men
'Tis to sit with book and pen;
Pangur bears me no ill will;
He, too, plies his simple skill.

'Tis a merry thing to see
At our task how glad are we,
When at home we sit and find
Entertainment to our mind.

Oftentimes a mouse will stray
Into the hero Pangur's way;
Oftentimes my keen thought set
Takes a meaning in its net.

'Gainst the wall he sets his eye
Full and fierce and sharp and sly;
'Gainst the wall of knowledge I
All my little wisdom try.

When a mouse darts from its den.
O how glad is Pangur then!
O what gladness do I prove
When I solve the doubts I love!

So in peace our tasks we ply,
Pangur Ban, my cat and I;
In our arts we find our bliss,
I have mine, and he has his.

Practice every day has made
Pangur perfect in his trade ;
I get wisdom day and night,
Turning Darkness into light.'

I'm living the life of dreams.
I'm living the life of dreams.
With good people all around me, I'm living the life of dreams.
- Julie Doiron

Hey Guys:

Sorry my blog looks wack. I am redesigning it, and trying to figure everything with Google search as my only tutor. Be patient, please!

You KNOW You Love These:

Currently Hearing: The Four Trees by Caspian

"It seems the real revolution, which we still have trouble accepting, is the Gospel, which tells us to work for justice for others but not to demand, expect, or even need it for ourselves. That is extraordinary freedom."
- Richard Rohr, Job and the Mystery of Suffering, 77

Fix2Six

So, I just began a project that I hope to complete by summer. I started building a bicycle from scratch, which, if all goes according to plan, will be a fixed gear vehicle. Here are some pictures after a friend and I stripped off all the parts and cleaned it. Sorry they aren't the best quality, the only camera I have is on my phone. Regardless, this is the start of something beautiful. Don't you agree?

Julie Doiron - "Heavy Snow"



Way too good to even be real.

One of my favorite books of Scripture has always been Hebrews. I don't really know why - it is incredibly intense with tons of imagery related to the sacrificial system and lots of statements that are difficult to interpret with confidence. Perhaps it is the intense language that I love, or maybe it is the metaphors that seem to resonate with me. Whatever it is, I started reading through it this past week along with a commentary (to try and make some sense of it), and here is a beautiful chunk of thought:

"The Preacher is not preaching into a vacuum; he is addressing a real and urgent pastoral problem, one that seems astonishingly contemporary. His congregation is exhausted. They are tired - tired of serving the world, tired of worship, tired of Christian education, tired of being peculiar and whispered about in society, tired of the spiritual struggle, tired of trying to keep their prayer life going, tired even of Jesus. Their hands droop and their knees are weak (12:12), attendance is down at church (10:25), and they are losing confidence. The threat to this congregation is not that they are charging off in the wrong direction; they do not have enough energy to charge off anywhere. The threat here is that, worn down and worn out, they will drop their end of the rope and drift away. Tired of walking the walk, many of them are considering taking a walk, leaving the community and falling away from the faith.

We recognize the problem, of course, but the Preacher's response may astound us. What is most striking about Hebrews is that the Preacher, faced with the pastoral problem of spiritual weariness, is bold enough, maybe even brash enough, to think that christology and preaching are the answers. The Preacher does not appeal to improved group dynamics, conflict management techniques, reorganization of the mission structures, or snappy worship services. Rather, he preaches - preaches to the congregation in complex theological terms about the nature and meaning of Jesus Christ.

This Preacher does not float around on the surface where the desires of people cluster eagerly around this or that fad; he dives to the depths, to the hidden places where profound symbols work on the religious imagination to generate surprise, wonder, gratitude, and finally obedience. As strategies go, the Preacher's approach to ministry is so out of phase, so counter-intuitive, so in violation of the notion that congregations are allergic to serious theological thinking, that it probably should be seen as refreshing, and maybe even revolutionary."

- Thomas G. Long, Interpretation: Hebrews

Homage Post

Currently Hearing: Duh, Look Below

This post is in honor of one of the best musicians of all time. There is something so awesome about Bruce Springsteen, I can't even describe it. And, if you don't get it from listening to him, then there is no use in even trying to explain it to you. Thanks for doing your thing, Bruce. Thanks.

The Reason We Don't Count Wikipedia As a Scholarly Source

Thanks to Justin Taylor for this (check it out in its entirety here)

This quote is located in the Wikipedia entry for Jonathan Edwards:
"His sermons such as 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' inspired his parishioners to coin what has now become an American colloquialism: 'Ain’t no sermons like a J. Edwards sermon, ’cause dem J. Edwards sermon don’ stop.'"

This is almost too good to be true.

Assistant Regional Manager

Was bored in the library, and this was the result.

Hello, Sir

Currently Hearing: In a Safe Place by The Album Leaf

Saw a photo of some guy this is how it came out on paper.


pen in sketch pad

Hey, Puppy

I have decided to start posting some of my sketches on here for all the world to see.
The first is this cute little guy - his name is Linus, and lives with some of my friends. I think he has a learning disability.


pen on sketch pad

Never Not Funny

I'm At My Best When I'm At My Worst

Currently Hearing: Mama, I'm Swollen by Cursive
Currently Wanting: A New Digital Camera

So, here is a brief catch-up of life events:

1. In love with Frightened Rabbit
2. Drawing
3. Using iTunes Gift Cards
4. Slipping into obsession with graphic novels
5. Wanting to take advantage of the Pasadena Public Library more often
6. Job hunting
7. Getting my hair cut

Things aren't too bad around here, even though it has been raining like mad.

working, but not employed

Finding a job is quite possibly more work than the responsibilities one has when they are actually employed.

That's all I have to say right now.

As my Orthodox brothers and sisters say: "Lord, have mercy."

The Book of God

Currently Reading: Lectures for my Students by Charles Spurgeon

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, thorugh whom also he created the world (Heb 1.1-2).

in your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore (Ps 16:11).

The vast treasure and beauty that is the Word of God is seemingly unfathomable. When we step away from the Bible and fail to let ourselves be saturated in it, we can't help but become malnourished and feel spiritually anemic. There is a "warmth" that comes from being acquainted with the Scriptures and reading the book of God that is unlike any other. It re-presents to us the promises of God's grace that are so easy for us to forget.

Since the idea of grace is so counterintuitive to our very nature, we must constantly be reminded of what God says about us rather than what we say about ourselves. Being alone with my Bible after a dry spell does much for my conscience. Through the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit reveals to me my sin and applies the healing medicine of the gospel to my heart. Simply put, when I am not immersed in the Bible, it is immensely more difficult for me to preach the gospel to myself, which I need to hear daily.

“I have thought I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God, just hovering over the great gulf, till a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing—the way to heaven, how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach the way; for this very end He came from heaven. He has written it down in a book. O give me that Book at any price, give me the Book of God”
- (from the preface of Sermons on Several Occasions by John Wesley, originally published in 1771).

2010

It's the New Year!
Also, it's the birthday of J.D. Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye, one of the greatest books ever written.
Check out this letter.