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J A N


F E B


M A R


A P R


M A Y


J U N


J U L


A U G


S E P


O C T


N O V


D E C


this was the year we started in a 250 sq. ft. studio (and thinking i was probably leaving ministry) ... and ended in our first home, a 850 sq. ft. condo (with a new sense of calling and 4 year commitment!)

PS:
December 2010 deserves a shout out for this

And then there was ALL of us!

Christmas morning with mom.
And Christmas evening with her parents ... where ALL of the cousins/grand kids/great grand kids were present (except for one cousin and her children.)
It was a nuthouse, I think even for us!


Singing the 12 Days of Christmas:



My beautiful momma:



A couch of all middle and youngest children:



And ALL of us:

Sista Claus is coming to town!

She's here! She's here! My little, tiny, baby sister is here.
And by no help of mine!
While company was on the way Tuesday night, I was frantically picking up our house and was Jake cooking away ... I got a text from that girl saying she was boarding her last plane to Chicago and what kind of car should she be looking for at the airport. Um. Oops! Sista girl I thought you were coming Wednesday!

Well I can really only apologize and say thanks, because I've loved having an extra day with Morgan! We went downtown on Wednesday.



Macy's window display. Christkindlmarket. Chilly weather. Sisters. The Bean. Zoo Lights. Cook County Building. Booming heart with festive joy. Check!

"this is my Father's world

... Why should my heart be sad?"

The voice of my colleague, brother, neighbor, singing next to me.
His deep, seasoned life supporting every syllable sent me home with these thoughts.

From a week about inclusion in our movement.

For me, it boils down to this: We need each other.
People of the world, from different backgrounds and life stories need each other. It sanctifies us to be close with people who are different than us. And beyond the conflicts of difference (or sometimes interspersed with them) there is rejoicing and completion. Why? Because it reminds us of home ... heaven. The book of Revelation tells us that heaven will be full of rejoicing, not monocultural rejoicing, but a party that represents every corner of the world.

But yes, there are conflicts. Obstacles sometimes. Propellers at others. But especially in my background (white suburbia) conflicts are obstacles. In my background, difference is troublesome, that's what we learned in the 50s and 60s. So we don't talk about difference, we talk about how we're all basically the same. A half-truth in my opinion.

So ... what if conflict never had a negative connotation?
Can you imagine?
What if we rejoiced in conflict because it enlightened us and it unearthed the truth?

I learned this wonderful analogy of driving. In the west, we drive with lanes painted on our roads. Everyone is expected to follow those rules. And if they don't, they get honked at. But in places like India, where the are no lanes, you have to honk to let people know where you're going. Honking is helpful! This makes me laugh because it's so true. For my people, noisy interjections are startling correctors. For other people, noisy interjections are proactive responsibilities!

So which one is right?
No.
Both and.
We need each other.

Because I don't know who I am without learning who you are. I don't know I'm a sinner unless Jesus came to save. I don't know that I prefer driving with lanes painted on the road until I hear that in some places there are no lanes. And personally, deeply, I've learned so much about myself--what to celebrated and what to redeem--in the context of a diverse community in partnership.

If heaven is home, and heaven is to be sought first, and if heaven is coming to earth, and if heaven is a party of sanctified, diverse people. Let's get the party started.

"The Lord is King--let the heavens ring. God reigns--let the earth be glad."

and just as precious

Saturday, April 07, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was on my own most of Tuesday, until we went
downtown to see Jersey Boys. I didn't take too many
pictures, I mostly spent time around the tourist grave-yard
known as Pier 39. It was good for people watching.
I liked having some alone time and I even made a friend.
The show was great and I had an incredible dessert.

We took many many many pictures Wednesday.
My dad and I each brought our cameras out,
because it was our last day and we're sentimental folk.
The fence pictures are of us attempting to get into a
construction area of Ghirardelli Square where our
fountain is that we traditionally take our picture with.
*
Something I didn't share earlier was about my trip to Peet's Coffee.
My dad used to be a regular "bencher" and now, ten years later, we
went back and his old gang still sits outside the coffee shop and talks
(and talks and talks and talks)!
Most of them are white haired, my dad is the youngest of the gang.
He ditched me for a while after one of his trips into the coffee shop
and I stayed outside to talk for about an hour, alone. The really cool
thing is how I never had to get up or start a conversation, different people
just came to me. Probably because I was a guest. As feckless as this all
may sound, it actually changed my life. Some of the people I spoke with
had such extreme opinions and came off very smart, had I not been a
little guarded, it would have been easy to fall for what they were saying. I
still think what they said was very valuable but I find many rebuts. The
life changing part was how I was challenges to listen to very intelligent people,
but hold my own and stick up for what I believe in, without being a jerk.
I left three hours later, completely speechless.
*

And I have a great story that happened five hours before
our flight was set to take off. So, we think we found the perfect
parkins spot. Two hours free for 8am-4pm and 6pm-9pm. It
being two, we figured it was free until four, didn't count again until
six and then free until eight. WRONG. We come back at five thirty
only to see a completely empty street. It was towed.To wrap this
up, we took a very speedy cab ride to the car pound and paid
$188.25 to get the car back. Add another $60 for the ticket,
and with cab fair... my dad said that was the fastest $300 he
had ever spent. However, my dad is trying to pretend that he

didn't get the car towed, the rental company did. So I'm going to
pretend that I didn't lock the keys in the car on Friday, but the rental
company did that, too :)

almost 5 years ago

Monday, April 02, 2007

SATURDAY, SUNDAY AND MONDAY. Saturday I had french toast that was out of this world! Then the hippies took me to The Crocker Museum which inspired me a great deal. I've now got tons of ideas about what to do with my millions of pictures AND how to paint my bathroom. (I know, Olivia, finally!) Soon after the museum, we hit the road. More breathtaking scenery on the way to Calistoga, because it's the wine country.  We stayed at a very nice hotel with a spa and such, but I took a bath because I forgot my bathingsuit. This just isn't usually the type of vacation where I bring my bathingsuit. Sunday, we left wine country and headed into SFO. On the way we stopped in Sausalito, which is the most picturesque little city on the bay. Being a huge tourist location, I loved being immersed in a pool of languages and very European looking families. The whole city is stretched right along the water with a great view of the bridge and Alcatraz. And a man was balancing rocks on the shore without any glue! I had coconut sorbet and that made my afternoon! Next stop was across the Golden Gate and into Ghirardelli Square. A funny panhandler was on the corner. Last year he played jazz sax, this year he was rapping and although it was cute, he was too forceful for my taste (...in the art of bumming?) My dad is becoming vastly interested in art galleries. It's fun. But he buys so many of their books saying "Oh! Somebody will enjoy this." He says the books are coffee table art - yet, our only coffee table is still being used as a home for our little Christmas tree. (A real tree, yes. I'll expand another time.) Today is Monday. We plan on doing the windows for our house on Poplar. It's going to be a non-vacationy day. That's fine with me :) Editor's notes: I love reading my old writing. I remember showing my dad Death Cab for Cutie on the drive through wine country, via some pretty poor radio reception. Also, I never bring my bathing suits on vacation, still 4.5 years later. I don't quite know why.