Waiting for my turn . . .

I just witnessed a mother with her three daughters.

One was less than three. One was around seven. The third had Downs Syndrome.

My feelings as I witnessed the complexity of this level of motherhood consisted of fascination, love and . . . jealousy? How unusual.

Up there on the list.

The Soloist would easily be named as one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. It's up there on the list with Doubt and Rachel Getting Married (which, despite the language I challenge all to see, at least for the family/relational dynamics).

Jamie Fox plays a schizophrenic homeless man, Nathaniel, who happens to be a brilliant musician. Nathaniel grew up in the midst of 60's black degradation and through this was exposed to a lot of social turmoil and violence. Music became his livelihood and escape fro mthe terror he was experiencing. Discovered in a city square forty years later by Robert Downey Jr., journalist Steve Lopez, the two become friends and form an unlikely bond.

Committed to bettering his life, Steve takes Nathaniel to a homeless shelter called Lamp. Here the viewer is given a powerful image of the forlorn state of the homeless in Greater LA. Beyond this, the viewer also pexperiences a powerful image of the injustice of the law regarding the homelss. It would seem that to those with power, the homeless are simply of no consequence. Though they have no where to sleep at night, these men and women are removed from any place deemed 'unfit' for them to lay their heads.

The owners of Lamp welcome Nathaniel, as they do most, and work with Steve to bring him back to his musical history. As a result of this relationship, Steve becomes a sort of God to Nathaniel. And though he is convinced he can fix this for Nathaniel, Steve is constantly aware of his inadequacies and inability to provide a solution. He works to get him into the health system; to get him diagnosed and on medication but is told that being who he is, the last thing Nathaniel needs is another diagnosis.

A revelation of grace occurs for Steve. By witnessing Nathaniel's humility and courage, he is able to learn to live without question. He is able to committ to being Nathaniel's friend and instead of providing a solution, providing love.

This is the underlying message given; the homeless are not scary, disease ridden or to be avoided. They are just lacking in hope; forlorn. What is needed is not the ability to provide a solution but simply to love and care and provide friendship. And perhaps along the way food and clothing too; but that must not be where it ends.

Those who live and view this film are left with a profound understanding of the need to love the homeless and I am personally grateful for the inspiration that has transpired as a result of it.

The Shoes of My Life

These are the Shoes of My Life.

Bought by my dear friend Laura at Value Village for a mere $10.

Shipped to me for my birthday for a ridiculous $12.

Even Duckie adores my shoes!

And to my dismay . . . they do not fit.

Don't ask me how.

My feet are microscopic.

Alas. They will go on display somewhere special in my house. Place is yet to be determined.

I love you Laura!

That which is pure is desirable.

We all have names to live up to. Maybe our last; or perhaps our first.

The Ephesians had a cultural name to live up to. Ephesus means desirable. We won't discuss what could have been considered appropriate for the general population to ensure they were living up to this name but this is especially interesting for the church in Ephesus. They knew what was required to be desirable. Having been a part of the Christian faith for quite some time now, they knew that to love and to be pure in that love was desirable. This is what was required of them.

John in his writings in Revelation 2, he writes to this church and admonishes them to return to the love they had at the beginning of their faith. They are reminded that they have a name to be living up to.

That which is pure is desirable.

The implications of this reach much further than living up to a name sake. It has implications for our relational lives; our evangelistic lives; our romantic lives; our spiritual lives. That which is pure is desirable. Thus, if we intend to be desirable in any one of these ways we must understand what it is to be pure.

Mosaic.

This is my photo mosaic. 

To discover yours . . 

Fill in your response to these words:

-Fortune: unnecessary

-Fame: futile

-Love: sought after

-Family: golden

-Health: valued

-Creativity: useful

-Wisdom: coveted

-Journey: bright

-Friends: goodness 

Go to this link  http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/

mosaic.php  Change the dimensions of the mosaic to 3x3.  

Then do a flickr search on each of your words.  Pick the first one.  You'll need to open a separate window for this. Make sure to keep the order.  It's more interesting that way.

How exciting to see what comes up! 

Music that will make you dumb.

I discovered an article online today that confirmed all of my beliefs regarding the music industry today.

Please read on . . . 

"Beyonce Knowles' fans are dumb.

Admirers of the 'Crazy in Love' singer came out second from bottom in a 'Music That Makes You Dumb' study in the US, which compared students SAT results - a standardized test taken by all students hoping to go to college - with their favorite music.

US rapper Lil' Wayne was the only artist whose fans scored a lower average in their SAT tests according to the poll, while classical fans scored higher than anyone else.

Fans of indie music were credited with above average intelligence with fans of bands like Radiohead, Counting Crows and U2 scoring highly in their SATs.

Virgil Griffin, the creator of the 'Music That Makes You Dumb' study and its accompanying website, said: "I've listened to artists and afterwards thought to myself, 'Wow... loving this rubbish says a lot about someone and how much they've got going on in their head.'

"Could one's musical tastes say something about intelligence? How about SAT scores? Well, like any good scientist, I decided to see how well my personal experience matches reality."

Although the results put mainly urban artists at the bottom, fans of rock bands such as Aerosmith, Nickelback and The Used all scored low in the graph.

Music fans can see the full results at www.musicthatmakesyoudumb.virgil.gr."

I knew it.  I just knew it.  

I love the libs.

I love the library.  I love the environment it affords.  I love the community that can be created around the connection of homework.  But most of all, I love the hilarious printed materials that one, who spends enough time there, can find.  

I must confess that I didn't actually find these texts.  My friend Priscilla found them; and let me tell you how indebted to her I am.  

So here's a picture of the books I am relishing in right now.  

A Short Life of Christ and A Shorter Life of Christ.  Next to each other, on the library shelf.  Yay!  Just in case you were wondering, Christ's life was apparently short and furthermore, it can be made shorter.  

Olivia Boyda said, in her brilliance, "So it's like, is your paper due next week, or tomorrow?"

The best part of this whole deal is that The Shorter Life (clearly the superior text) is published by Zondervan, whereas the The Short Life is published by the obviously inferior Eerdmans.  

That's irony at its best.  

Here's also a cool pic of the Zondervan print inside the book.  I should probs send it to them.  Jk.