Short, unrelated thoughts

I don't like the smell of freshly cut grass, but I like its implications.

How on earth did George Costanza always end up dating hot girls?

It seems fitting that the word "esoteric" is unlikely to come up in conversation with most people.

I sometimes wonder what Jesus' Myers-Briggs type indicator is.

I like eating ice cream out of mugs.

The subject of my most common recurring bad dream is a really, really nasty public bathroom. (Note: These are never actual bathrooms that I've experienced.) It's more disturbing than it sounds.

William Faulkner, is that you?

I'm pretty sure that theologians are the wordiest of all writers. Sentences last for days in these books.

For example:
"The task is important, since the Pentecostal emphasis on the indwelling Spirit and our participation in Christ's person and work through consecration and mission have ecumenical relevance in an era in which discussions over soteriology are attempting to move beyond the impasse between the anthropocentric Catholic emphasis on graced human cooperation with God and the theocentric but lifeless declaration of righteousness in Christ."

Yeah, that's right-- you're only seeing one period there. Sheesh!

another blog!

I started another blog as part of a class! Two blogs? I didn't know I had it in me!

Little reminders that Seattle is not the South

Apparently, "pen" is not pronounced the same way as "pin." I don't buy it.

Also, coozies... not a national phenomenon. Who knew?!

The Cry

I really love and respect the missions organization I went to Romania with a while back-- Word Made Flesh.

Anyway, they publish a quarterly advocacy journal called The Cry, which is conveniently available online. Each issue highlights one of WMF's lifestyle celebrations. The most recent is on simplicity. You should check it out!

Playing Mom

I've been babysitting 2 little boys for the last 4 days. I love kids, but I don't like babysitting. I'm used to taking care of only me, and sometimes I'm not even good at that. So to help myself get through the past few days I've kept a list of some redeeming factors of babysitting:

• Eggo waffles... I forgot how good these suckers are
• Really effective birth-control
  
• Free laundry
• Free meals
• Making enough money to cover wedding flights
• Teddy grahams
• Good excuse for a zoo visit (not that you need an excuse)
• A reminded appreciation for my single life
  
• And finally, I always learn a good lesson or two:

Ian was telling me that he missed his mommy, and I said, "I bet she knows that you miss her." He said, "I don't think so. She can't hear me all the way from California. I'll tell her when she gets home though, because when you miss somebody, you should tell them." Wise little guy.

T minus 7 hours until I regain my freedom!

Country Grammar... actually, just the grammar part

I think this site is fabulous:

http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/

Good Friday

Good Friday is tough. The crucifixion is nearly impossible to appropriate. It seems much easier to skip straight to Easter and celebrate the resurrection. Yet, can we have Easter without Good Friday?

I'm often overwhelmed by the senseless suffering of the world. Death and pain abound, and I don't know what to make of it. It's hard, and it sucks, and it doesn't add up. A friend of mine who has dealt with nearly every imaginable hardship in his life has asked me numerous times, "Why is it that some people have it so easy while I have to deal with so much?" We can theorize and guess why the world is so unfair and full of suffering, but when I look at my 13 year-old friend who has known little else than pain in his life, those theories don't provide much comfort.

Really, the crucifixion is utterly absurd. I'm not talking here about atonement; I'm talking about the very real act of Jesus' death. It wasn't some event that took place outside of history. Jesus was killed. The Roman authorities crucified him-- a man that had done no wrong. That to me seems as senseless as anything. It's upsetting. It's painful. It's infuriating. It's confusing. It's absolutely terrible.

It seems that my responses here are not so different from those that my friend's troubles evoke in me.

I don't know why the world is the way that it is, but I'm comforted to serve a God who lovingly immersed himself in the senselessness.