Third Sunday of Lent: crossing over

Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah,
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah.
My brothers and sisters are all aboard, hallelujah,
My brothers and sisters are all aboard, hallelujah.

Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah,
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah.
The river is deep and the river is wide, hallelujah,
Milk and honey on the other side, hallelujah.

Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah,
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah.
Jordan's river is chilly and cold, hallelujah,
Chills the body but not the soul, hallelujah.

Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah,
Michael row the boat ashore, hallelujah.
--Traditional

One of my aunts passed away this past Monday. On the internet, you can find she buried an infant daughter in Mahaddei, Somalia, in January of 1958. And that she lost a sister in 1987. And that a Somali "Muslim Mennonite Sufi" living and teaching in Montreal dedicated a poem to her.

She spent most of her life within a one-mile radius of the house where she was born and raised. Her family settled next door to my grandparents when they returned from Africa. The church was half a mile or so away. She made a home for her husband and six children. She looked in on, and cared for my grandmother, until she passed away. She served the church for many years as member and minister's wife. She had a ready smile, a steady faith, a strong will, a great deal of energy, and a huge garden. She fed many people. Like my grandmother, she was interested in people, especially relatives. She noticed and took pleasure in the simple, daily joys of life, the sign of a grateful heart. In her later years, she spent a great deal of time taking care of grandchildren.

I cannot sum up a person in a blog post. I wish I had been able to see her more often.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Psalm 116:15.

Second Sunday of Lent: laying my weapons down

Down By the Riverside
Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Gonna lay down my sword and shield
Down by the riverside
Ain't gonna study war no more.
Refrain:
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
Study war no more.
I ain't gonna study war no more,
I ain't gonna study war no more,
Study war no more.

Gonna stick my sword in the golden sand;
Down By the riverside
Down by the riverside
Down by the riverside
Gonna stick my sword in the golden sand
Down by the riverside
Gonna study war no more.
Refrain

Gonna put on my long white robe. . . .
Gonna put on my starry crown. . . .
Gonna put on my golden shoes. . . .
Gonna talk with the Prince of Peace. . . .
Gonna shake hands around the world. . . .
--Traditional

Recorded by the modern-day Fisk University Jubilee Singers, who follow in the footsteps of the original Jubilee Singers, "the first internationally acclaimed group of African-American musicians."
Peter, Paul, and Mary adapted lyrics.
Pete Seeger sings it on If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope and Struggle.
* * * * * * *
I need this, after the past week. It's amazing how relevant these spirituals continue to be. Dee remembers her grandmother singing Jacob's ladder, and now I'm imagining her singing along on this one, too.

First Sunday of Lent: staying the course

We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,
We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,
We are climbing Jacob’s ladder,
Soldiers of the cross.

Every round goes higher, higher,
Every round goes higher, higher,
Every round goes higher, higher,
Soldiers of the cross.

Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
Sinner, do you love my Jesus?
Soldiers of the cross.

If you love Him, why not serve Him?
If you love Him, why not serve Him?
If you love Him, why not serve Him?
Soldiers of the cross.

Rise, shine, give God the glory,
Rise, shine, give God the glory,
Rise, shine, give God the glory,
Soldiers of the cross.
--Af­ri­can-Amer­i­can spir­it­u­al
Pete Seeger's variation
Lewis Scharpf, Jr.'s variation
Bruce Springsteen adds his version of Seeger's, which has also been rendered by Arlo Guthrie.
* * * * * * *
(edited)This song has been running through my mind lately, partly as an affirmation that when some aspects of life begin to seem endlessly repetitive, they are not. Every rung is taking us higher.

Over twenty years ago, I spent two years in the Canadian bush country, living on the edge of a lake which was frozen solid from (roughly) November to April. Over one Christmas break, when the students were gone, the single staff trudged across the vast white expanse of the lake to reach a hill referred to by staff as "King's Lookout," after a former staff who liked to hike to it regularly (if I remember correctly).

When we were out in the middle of the lake, we did not seem to move for long periods of time, in relation to the shoreline. The dry snow was over a foot deep. The leader struck a straight course for the lookout. Those behind him stepped into the deep footprints he left behind, over and over, over and over. At times, the monotony of the repetition seemed as if it would slowly drive one crazy.

However, eventually, over time, landmarks on the shoreline could be seen to shift. And finally, our long strung out line reached the far shore, and progress became "normal" again. We passed a tree, a bush, a rock, dried grass, in rapid succession. We gained elevation; we attained the lookout, where we could see for miles, even view our long, snaking trail across the lake.

Then we began the descent, and the long journey back. We were tired; the destination was not (at first) as exciting,* but we had learned the continuous up-and-down motion of our knees would bear fruit. It was the price of the journey.

Maybe a little like picking cotton, washing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom, teaching a child to eat or toilet. We are headed home.

*But became ever more attractive as we neared it.

View from the front door (sort of)

Ilex
Recently a couple of bloggers shared the view from their front door. This is the view to one side of the garage door.

I had planted three holly bushes in a row, one male and two female, in the front yard of our previous home. They struggled, failed to grow, wilted; their leaves turned yellowish green and dropped, one by one. They looked so sad, but I could not bring myself to pull them out. (The following owner had no such scruples.) I still have a place in my heart for those little bushes.

This thriving holly, sighted soon after our move here a year ago, was a happy gift.

Greenhouse 3: oranges

Dreaming of Florida.

N.T. Wright: Moral Climate Change and Freedom of Speech

This morning, I found N.T. Wright, the Bishop of Durham, spoke before the British House of Lords last week, on the topic of Moral Climate Change and Freedom of Speech.

In these initiatives, ‘tolerance’ is not the point. My Lords, I can ‘tolerate’ someone standing on the other side of the street. I don’t need to engage with them. ‘Tolerance’ all too easily supposes that all religions are basically the same, and that all of them can be discounted for the purposes of public life. No, my Lords: ‘tolerance’ is a parody of something deeper, richer and more costly, for which we must work: a genuine and reciprocal freedom, a freedom properly contextualised within a wise responsibility, freedom not to be gratuitously rude or offensive, especially to those who are already in danger on the margins of society, but to speak the truth as we see it while simultaneously listening to the truth as others see it, and to work forwards from there.

He attempts to place the now-famous Danish cartoons and the Muslim reaction to them within the context of a larger social and moral framework.
* * * * * *
As I noted earlier, I've started reading Wright's The Challenge of Jesus. Once begun, I felt I was entering into an ongoing conversation. I need a feel for how Wright uses words, and a larger picture of the arguments within which he places himself.

Wright has written three heavy tomes, so far, in a series called Christian Origins and the Question of God: The New Testament and the People of God, Jesus and the Victory of God, The Resurrection and the Son of God. Some of the material in The Challenge of Jesus is culled from the lengthier works (especially Jesus and the Victory of God), so I assume some supporting evidence has been left out of the shorter book, which makes me curious.

At any rate, I am scanning Wright's recent book on the Bible, The Last Word, to get a feel for his view of scripture. I continue to feel I have come into a conversation late, maybe bitten off more than I can chew.

Greenhouse 2: gourds

For the second year in a row, our visit to the conservatory coincided with the Gourd Show weekend. Look at Chihuly's work, then look at these gourds. Both, a wild creative dance between unity and variety, form and freedom.

Greenhouse 1: glass

Chihuly
ADDED: We visited the local plant conservatory this past Saturday.

Christmas 1997

(For Violet, a poet who has just chosen her Bible verse for the year.)

Fighting January sleet/snow, we left Michigan
on freezing roads and
reached our new home two days later.

Utility mapping wasn't
new to [my husband]; impending fatherhood was. On
the day of nurse's call, Julana had a sense
of God's love for the baby.

Understanding the statistics was
still a shock.

A dream showed Julana our baby nursing.

Creating a nursery kept us busy; so did
having a lawn ; [my husband] first mowed
in April. May arrived; we prepared for
labor with Lamaze classes. Denver
drew [my husband] for programming classes.

Infant care, CPR, and nursing classes were
soon followed by the pediatrician interview.

By late June, the
obstetrician decided to induce. We
raced to the hospital, and the next morning,
near dawn, July 27, [our son] came.

Until signs were stable, [our son] stayed in the
neonatal ICU. He returned
to [our] Drive
on July 1.

Under the care of Mom and Dad, with
support of family and friends, he thrived.

Audiology and cardiology found no problems.

Steadily, [our son] nursed and grew, weighing
over 15 pounds at four months, surprising his
nurse and pediatrician.

In the fall, he
started physical therapy.

Gaining trunk control and
improving head control is our goal. Now a
veteran father, [my husband]
enjoys holding and chatting with [our son]
nightly, repeating "oohs" and "aboos".

In the past year, we have
shared ups and downs. We
appreciate your support, and
in the year ahead,
ask continued prayer. Through the
holidays and beyond, we wish you His peace.

9 safe months of pregnancy
:
6 months of health for [our son]; thank You.
Amen.

Chicken soup for the body

Today my husband had the best chicken soup he has ever tasted, thanks to Sparrow's immunity-building Best Chicken Soup recipe. Its secret lies in the garlic, grated ginger, and cayenne pepper. (Just think how good it would have been if I had actually had garlic on hand. :-)

I'm looking forward to trying Simply Recipes' White Bean and Ham Soup. I have a drawerful of bags of various kinds of beans. We've cut back on afternoon therapies to make time for toilet-training. Voila! Time for simmering soups and stews.

The story of Jan Karon

For Jan Karon's Mitford fans who are interested in her formation, both as a person and a writer, see the Charlotte Observer's extensive biographical article, published August 2005.

Earlier, Dale Brown, a professor of English at Calvin College, published an interesting interview of Karon in Radix* magazine, "where Christian faith meets contemporary culture."

*Allthings2all's newest post further defines the meaning of the word "radix" for me, which reminded me of this magazine, and sent me down this path.

Goal-setting, Kavanagh-style

From Jan Karon's latest Mitford chronicle, Light from Heaven, wherein Father Tim Kavanagh and his wife Cynthia spend a year in the country, "farmsitting":

. . . .Hadn't he had enough challenges to last him a lifetime?

His wife, on the other hand, was ever drumming up a challenge. During their year at the farm, conveniently located twenty minutes from Mitford, she'd decided to ccomplish three lifetime goals: learn needlepoint, make perfect oven fries, and read War and Peace.
* * * * *
He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the back of the wing chair. "I believe if I were charged with having a goal, it would be to live without fretting--to live more fully in the moment, not always huffing about as I've done in recent years . . . to live humbly--and appreciatively--with what ever God furnishes.

Sunset, New Year's Day, 2006

Following Jesus of Nazareth

Bill Bright's final charge to Campus Crusade staff, as he was approaching the end of his life, fromThe Journey Home: Finishing with Joy*---

Following Jesus of Nazareth

Beloved followers of Christ around the world, I embrace you with the love of our risen Savior in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and through Whom alone we can know our Awesome Creator; now by His Holy Spirit I give you this charge to keep:

Love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength; keep His commandments and practice His Golden Rule.

Surrender to our Matchless Master as a royal slave, obeying and enjoying life with Him, trusting in His presence, power, and promises.

Meditate upon the attributes of the One True Living God, and let your faith reflect His greatness and character in all your ways.

Love your family as Christ loves you.

Depend upon the power of the Holy Spirit both to begin and to complete His plan for your role in helping to fulfill the Great Commission.

Memorize His Holy Word to fortify yourself for spiritual warfare.

By faith, walk in His light, enjoy His presence, love with His love, and rejoice that you are never alone; He is with you always, to bless!

Bill asked for these admonitions to be printed on a card, with the following verses on the back:

The Great Commandments (Matt. 22:37-39)
The Golden Rule (Matt. 7:12)
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17)

The founder and chairman/president emeritus of Campus Crusade was born October 19, 1921, and passed away from complications of pulmonary fibrosis on July 19, 2003.

Bill Bright, The Journey Home, Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2003, p. 166-168.

Open my eyes, help me to see 2

(edited)The Christian Examiner interviews Kay Warren* in Pondering suffering, caring for people with AIDS/HIV

Kay is convinced that the church is the answer to the world’s global giants, like AIDS.

“The evangelical church has been asleep at the wheel,” she says. “We have been absent from our post in caring for people and their needs for a very long time now. But I see repentance happening. I see people waking up with the same shock that I did and wanting to respond. That fills me with hope.”

Kay knows the world won’t be perfect until Jesus returns.

“But we can push back the darkness,” she says. “We can bring His presence and His light. We can be His hands that relieve the suffering, that comfort the dying, that care for the sick.”

* * * * * * *
Prof. Johan Malan of the University of Limpopo, South Africa, has published an article, Wilkinson's Dream For Africa is Shattered, detailing reasons for the failure of Bruce Wilkinson's* campaign to fight AIDS in Swaziland. (HT: Crossroads)
* * * * * * *
We need to become better observers and listeners.

*Wilkinson authored The Prayer of Jabez. Kay Warren is married to Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life.

Most interesting webcams of 2005

ADDED: Sorry, this link was replaced with views of New Year's celebrations before I got a few direct links to the webcams made.

For a five-minute mental vacation, check out the most interesting webcams of 2005 (HT: Ian's Messy Desk):
wildlife, zoos (Nashville piranhas and D.C. pandas), Eiffel Tower, Hawaiian beach, Boston University, Alaskan airport, Valencia (Spain), Skelleftea (Sweden), Meersburg (Germany), pyramids, Salzburg (Austria), San Francisco, Virgin Islands, LA beaches, New Orleans French Quarter, a jail, Birmingham mall (UK), Graceland (formely home of Elvis Presley), Tahiti, the Antarctic, Tokyo, a convention center construction site (Raleigh, NC).

Spring of light

Winter wheat (late autumn)

Wednesday marks the beginning of winter, which means hours of daylight (in the northern hemisphere) will begin to lengthen. The oceans will begin to warm again, and eventually raise the air temperatures.

In one of her books, Luci Shaw refers to three springs: one of light, one of water, and one of green. The spring of light is nearly upon us.

Christmas card

Allthings2all is hosting the third Spotlight on Darfur.

Spirit of Adoption, a recent comer to the blogsphere, has been sharing steps on her and her husband's adoption journey. She shared a number of verses describing our adoption as children of God. She sees her and her husband's decision to adopt as following an example God has set for us.

For Christians, the Incarnation is a prelude to adoption. And one of the results of that adoption is being taken into a large family that includes millions of new brothers and sisters. Some of those brothers and sisters are living, and being persecuted, in the Darfur region of the Sudan. I am proud to be part of a family that includes such strong and faith-filled people. I will not turn my eyes away from their tribulation at Christmas. They also enjoy the holiday, and may be better at celebrating than we are.

Merry Christmas to Christians in the Sudan. May your faith remain strong. May God bring your country peace in the New Year.

Open my eyes, help me to see 1

In the process of doing the meme of sevens, I felt I needed to broaden my perspective. It's been a long time since I was in college, being assigned to read things I wouldn't have chosen on my own. I asked Dee at christian fiction:

. . . . What kind of a list would you, as a Christian, give someone like me to watch and read, if I wanted to have a more "integrated" mind? I would like to post it on my blog, and credit you as recommending them-- maybe five books and five movies.

I know about Frederick Douglass and James Baldwin, but have not read them. I did a project on the Harlem Renaissance in graduate school a number of years ago, but can only remember Zora Neale Hurston. I have read Toni Morrison's Beloved.

I have seen The Color Purple, Do the Right Thing, The Bishop's Wife (Whitney Houston), Glory, and maybe some others, with black lead characters-- especially Denzel Washington. Also, Hotel Rwanda. But I am talking more about America [the U.S.]. A few months ago, we saw one with James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, A Family Thing. It was pretty good. I recommend it, if you haven't seen it. . .

I appreciate Dee's help. Read her favorites in her sevens meme. These are her recommendations to me, for continuing education.

Her list:
Five books
W.E.B. DuBois, The Souls of Black Folk
Nella Larsen, Quicksand & Passing
Alice Walker, The Color Purple
Olympia Vernon, Eden
Walter Moseley, Easy Rawlin Series: Black Betty
Five Movies
The Human Stain
The Color Purple
Waiting to Exhale
Imitation of Life
Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman

A challenge for the New Year. Thank you, Dee.

Lake Erie snow, lighthouse
November, 2005

Beef Stew weather. (HT: Nancy at Just Thinking)