"All the celebrated technological acheivements of progress, do not redeem the twentieth century's moral poverty." --Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
"Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
How much do I feed myself with "junk messaging?" Filling up my mind and spirit with information, gorging on the latest, the biggest, the best. Eating information like it is candy. I would never give a kid tons or candy, because he'd just get sick. Do I practice moderation in my information eating? I don't think I do, or at least, I don't really think about my practices. Yes, I don't surf everywhere on the internet. I don't read everything. I don't look at porn sites. I don't hack into other people's servers or websites. But what about moderation, discernment, humility, community, friendship? Can I really have a friendship based solely on messaging and email? Can I learn and grow in my character from the internet?
I don't want to forget about the principle of seeking hard for a treasure. I don't want to get so used to having everything right there whenever I want it. I want to learn patience, perserverence and self-control. I don't want to lose that commitment to seeking and pursuing a goal until it is reached. I don't want to "google" my vision and call on my life and take the first five sites that I hit.
But I love the internet! I love technology. I love the connectedness I feel with people through instant messaging and email.
A Quandry. There's got to be a balance.
8.22.2005
8.17.2005
8.16.2005
Ever bumped into someone you knew a long time ago on the internet?
I had this wild experience yesterday. I read a local political Seattle blog, Sound Politics. Yesterday, there was an interesting post about abstinence statistics, so I read the string of comments. Most of the comments were just totally obnoxious, but I came to one that was intelligent. The author of the comment called himself by the name of an old classmate from high school. Mark Congdon. I don't think I have seen him since graduation day, 1992. Crazy. So I followed his internet trail and found he has a blog himself and I was able to shoot him an email.
We talk about how the internet has made the world smaller. Yesterday, I experienced that first hand.
I had this wild experience yesterday. I read a local political Seattle blog, Sound Politics. Yesterday, there was an interesting post about abstinence statistics, so I read the string of comments. Most of the comments were just totally obnoxious, but I came to one that was intelligent. The author of the comment called himself by the name of an old classmate from high school. Mark Congdon. I don't think I have seen him since graduation day, 1992. Crazy. So I followed his internet trail and found he has a blog himself and I was able to shoot him an email.
We talk about how the internet has made the world smaller. Yesterday, I experienced that first hand.
8.15.2005
Old Maid Thoughts
At times, I want to be like Emily Dickinson, sitting in her room, writing poetry, a recluse. And yet, after her death, her writing is immortalized.
"EXULTATION is the going
Of an inland soul to sea,—
Past the houses, past the headlands,
Into deep eternity!
Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?"
--Emily Dickinson
But, then there are the hard cold facts--after a week of it, I'd be done. I'd want to see people. I'd want to run outside, feel the weather on my face, explore new places, travel. So, I will never be a reclusive old maid.
Now, I have been accused of thinking of myself as an old maid and almost prophesing it into my life. Yes, this may be partly true. If I say, "Well, I've been having so much fun hangin with God," then some might call that religious fanaticism. Why couldn't there be some kind of program in Evangelical Christianity like Monasticism? I don't ever hear nuns being called old maids or religious fanatics. If I could be even remotely like Mother Theresa, that's who'd I'd like to be. Everyone agrees that she was one amazing lady who really changed the world.
I'm not so sure that I want to change the whole world. If I could be a wife and a mother, I would have the opportunity to influence a few in a powerful way. This, I think, is the best. Who knows, maybe I will be the mother of a president or a nobel prize winner? All these ideas are mixed up in my head and heart...perhaps there is a way to reconcile them all.
At times, I want to be like Emily Dickinson, sitting in her room, writing poetry, a recluse. And yet, after her death, her writing is immortalized.
"EXULTATION is the going
Of an inland soul to sea,—
Past the houses, past the headlands,
Into deep eternity!
Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?"
--Emily Dickinson
But, then there are the hard cold facts--after a week of it, I'd be done. I'd want to see people. I'd want to run outside, feel the weather on my face, explore new places, travel. So, I will never be a reclusive old maid.
Now, I have been accused of thinking of myself as an old maid and almost prophesing it into my life. Yes, this may be partly true. If I say, "Well, I've been having so much fun hangin with God," then some might call that religious fanaticism. Why couldn't there be some kind of program in Evangelical Christianity like Monasticism? I don't ever hear nuns being called old maids or religious fanatics. If I could be even remotely like Mother Theresa, that's who'd I'd like to be. Everyone agrees that she was one amazing lady who really changed the world.
I'm not so sure that I want to change the whole world. If I could be a wife and a mother, I would have the opportunity to influence a few in a powerful way. This, I think, is the best. Who knows, maybe I will be the mother of a president or a nobel prize winner? All these ideas are mixed up in my head and heart...perhaps there is a way to reconcile them all.
8.13.2005
Meteor Shower, Friday, August Twelfth.
We lay on our backs, blankets to our chins, hooded sweatshirts pulled
tight around our faces, hoping the clouds pass by,
looking for the first one, wondering when, hoping
it's not a waste of time.
the streak covers the whole sky with its tail, we both squeal,
little girls again. Later, as the night grows older, we make our vow
to God. If we can just see it one more time,
then we will go to sleep.
With each successive flash, we continue to break our promises.
We lay on our backs, blankets to our chins, hooded sweatshirts pulled
tight around our faces, hoping the clouds pass by,
looking for the first one, wondering when, hoping
it's not a waste of time.
the streak covers the whole sky with its tail, we both squeal,
little girls again. Later, as the night grows older, we make our vow
to God. If we can just see it one more time,
then we will go to sleep.
With each successive flash, we continue to break our promises.
8.12.2005
Moon Chasers
Remember that big "to-do" about the storm chasers in the late 90s? I was thinking, last night as I dragged my parents outside to view the big peach slice of a moon--there should be a group called the "moon chasers." I could apply for government grants, buy a vehicle (complete with moon roof, mounted telescope and espresso machine), and start chasing...you know, I coul totally see myself doing that for the rest of my life. I think I may have missed my calling.
Remember that big "to-do" about the storm chasers in the late 90s? I was thinking, last night as I dragged my parents outside to view the big peach slice of a moon--there should be a group called the "moon chasers." I could apply for government grants, buy a vehicle (complete with moon roof, mounted telescope and espresso machine), and start chasing...you know, I coul totally see myself doing that for the rest of my life. I think I may have missed my calling.
Here it is. My ticket to the NOW CANCELLED Ryan Adams concert.....and Tour.....It's taken me a few days to recover. But, I thought I'd photograph the evidence to prove that at one time he was planning on being in Seattle, or at least that's what we were "told." Perhaps there is a conspiracy here. Well, I now have this and three other tickets. What should I do with them in the meantime? Suggestions anyone?
8.10.2005
Friendship
Yesterday, I was reminded (again) of the great privilege of having relationships with people. I feel a little like Edmund Dantes when he arrives on the Isle of Monte Cristo and finds a treasure so large that it cannot even fit into eight ships. Everywhere I turn, I find friendship. How is it that I am so blessed? I can't claim to understand it. And not just the friendship based on common likes and dislikes, but based on something deeper and more real. People in my life speak up when they see me thinking or doing something that could get me into a mess of some kind. Friends bless me unexpectedly with laughter, stories or surprises. I have learned more from people than I have ever learned from books--and that's a big deal as you all know that I am quite the bookworm. I can go almost anywhere in the world, and I know people: France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Kenya, Costa Rica, Singapore, and a large portion of the 50 US states.
Connection. How does it even happen? Sometimes, it takes years to build that connection with another person. Other times, it happens in a week. The God factor is a big part of it, as without His grace, I don't know how I could really love people and receive love from them. I think that also, I have to remember that people are really the treasure that is important--not money, education and/or a career. If my motivation in life is for myself, then I just cut off the treasure that surrounds me, other people. And thanks to Jesus Christ, I don't have to worry about getting shafted by other people because of this big word: Forgiveness.
Yes, just call me Countess.
Yesterday, I was reminded (again) of the great privilege of having relationships with people. I feel a little like Edmund Dantes when he arrives on the Isle of Monte Cristo and finds a treasure so large that it cannot even fit into eight ships. Everywhere I turn, I find friendship. How is it that I am so blessed? I can't claim to understand it. And not just the friendship based on common likes and dislikes, but based on something deeper and more real. People in my life speak up when they see me thinking or doing something that could get me into a mess of some kind. Friends bless me unexpectedly with laughter, stories or surprises. I have learned more from people than I have ever learned from books--and that's a big deal as you all know that I am quite the bookworm. I can go almost anywhere in the world, and I know people: France, England, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Kenya, Costa Rica, Singapore, and a large portion of the 50 US states.
Connection. How does it even happen? Sometimes, it takes years to build that connection with another person. Other times, it happens in a week. The God factor is a big part of it, as without His grace, I don't know how I could really love people and receive love from them. I think that also, I have to remember that people are really the treasure that is important--not money, education and/or a career. If my motivation in life is for myself, then I just cut off the treasure that surrounds me, other people. And thanks to Jesus Christ, I don't have to worry about getting shafted by other people because of this big word: Forgiveness.
Yes, just call me Countess.
8.09.2005
8.07.2005
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