Friday, August 13, 2004

happy haiku friday!

hhf has returned at the request of mrs. simkins. she is also the author of this week's entry.

leaves crunch beneath foot
a strange symphony of sound
pausing between steps

if you have written, or merely run across, a haiku please feel free to share.

Thursday, August 12, 2004

you would think...

that with all the work evangelicals have done for good ole W, they wouldn't be left wondering whether their prince would escort them to the ball. i hope that this leads at least a few of them realize, as falwell apparently has, that rove and the rnc consider them just another pawn.

at this point i would love to rant about the thinly veiled partisanship of evangelical flagships such as CT, but i am going to deny the urge. believe it or not, on this blog i try to keep my political opinions repressed, lest this little exercise in listening to life turn into yet another stump.

Wednesday, August 11, 2004

yet another sign that apocalypse is upon us...

republicans can now enjoy their 'freedom fries' with w ketchup. a portion of each sale is contributed to financing the education of children whose parents were killed in an ill-conceived foreign war.

Tuesday, August 10, 2004

levity

a new day has come. i am no longer using this stage as my self-styled confessional wherein i, high-ball in hand, croon "young men they do get wooly." fortunately, i have been shaken out of my self-pity by a couple of doses of levity.

the first dose was administered last night, when alex finally moved in. although i'm usually an early to bed, early to rise type, i sacrificed sleep in order to stay up until his shift was over so that we could celebrate his move over a couple of beers. the sacrifice was well-worth it. alex is an upbeat, never met a stranger kind of character. his sense of humor, newfound but quickly developing commitment to Christ and love for the other is truly refreshing. i am grateful that God has enabled us to live this story together.

the second dose was administered this morning, as i checked in new titles to our database. although christianbook.com carries a lot of quality titles, we also carry some of the most ridiculous shit you could ever imagine. for your benefit, dear reader, i have listed a few of these titles below.



i hope that your day is lightened by a bit of levity as well. bonus points will be awarded for those who can identify the strange allusion that is embedded in the first sentence.

Monday, August 09, 2004

it's 2:33 on a monday afternoon and i'm already weary. as i contemplate the precursors of my present state, i realize that i am relationally exhausted. the weekend was a web of relational connections, in which i enjoyed being trapped, yet sapped my strength nonetheless. somehow, in the last few years i have transitioned from a life of disengagement to a life of almost complete engagement. my fragmented thoughts and fragile emotional state suggest that i need to search for the elusive mean that rests between these two poles. solitude should provide me with time to connect with God, intercede for the other and prepare my heart to receive as well speak unto the lives of others. through engagement i should receive the admonishment/fellowship/gifts of the other and learn how i can use solitude to intercede for others.

furthermore, i realize that i am intellectually exhausted. as our church has matured i have been called upon to teach less and during the summer i am completely free of academic obligation, but i am intellectually spent. though i read religiously, it has been weeks, if not months, since i finished a treatise of any significant length, and the last time i scaled the heights of a tolstoy or n.t. wright was far too long ago. i feel like the mundane tasks that fill my working hours are slowly sapping my desire to study, contemplate and 'center down.' i dedicate perhaps ten hours a week to serving our community, engaging in acts of compassion and preparing for the task of proclamation. the rest of my hours are spent creating a hunger for and servicing a culture i abhor. i am tired of trading my intellect for an increased market share.

finally, i must confess that holding onto hope has rendered me weary. last week i found out that one of the children i tutor on a weekly basis during the school year was regularly exchanged for a couple of lines of cocaine. every social, economic and relational card was already stacked against this young girl. now she will have unspeakable sexual wounds to deal with as well. it is during times like these that hope truly seems to "lay to waste your heart." how can i hold onto hope in a world where the fatherless are left undefended, the value of ethnic groups is determined by their access to natural resources and the church often treats the gospel as merely another commodity that will increase it's quality of life? the tension between hope and reality is tearing me apart.

Lord, i am weary. i feel like i have given my life to you, but have produced relatively little fruit. i am finding it exceedingly difficult to hold onto hope, in the midst of this horrible reality. yet, you are still my shepherd and i am still your sheep. when i wander into the thicket of despair, guide me back toward hope. in times like these, when my legs are giving out, lead me into green pastures and beside still waters and so restore my soul.