Weblog
08/08: Cool Somewhere
Well, I haven't been exactly faithful at this blog writing thing, but recently I came up with a noteworthy theory; and I thought my blog would be a good place to put it. My theory is that everything is cool somewhere. No, I'm not talking about the weather. Let me try to make sense of my thoughts...After a recent trip to NC and a short dip into my home culture (with an unusual amount of reverse culture shock, I might add), I started thinking about how easy it is to think one's own culture is the ONLY culture. Most of us stay inside our cultural bubbles for most of our lives, so we tend to think everyone else thinks like us and values the same things we do. Thankfully, and to the great glory of God, such is not the case!!
Do you like football and brats and beer (like many Wisconsin-ites)? That's great. Just don't forget there are real, worthwhile people in the world who love tea parties, high heels that match their scarves, knitting, and classical music.
Do you value productivity and timeliness? Well, let me inform you that there are many places in the world where sitting on your porch talking to friends and doing absolutely nothing for 10 hours is a perfectly legitimate way to spend the day.
Would you call the police if a neighbor was so loud that he woke you up in the middle of the night? Believe me, there are neighborhoods in this country where people barely notice the sirens, car alarms, blaring horns, loud music, parties, and fights.
Do you shop at The Gap and Old Navy? Nothing wrong with that. But have you noticed the people wearing hemp and organic clothes? Have you even heard of Ecko, Fubu, and baby phat?
Is your drink of choice sweet tea or boba? Do you get your groceries at Winn-Dixie or Whole Foods or El Rey? Do you like Mercy Me, John Mare, Pedro Fernandez, or Grits?
Is your idea of a good Sunday afternoon a mountain hike and a picnic? Have fun! But while you're gone my husband will be playing an online computer game and I'll be solving some Sudoku puzzles while my neighbors start a pick-up basketball game.
Would you have hula hooping and fire dancing at your wedding? For some people that's ridiculous; for others, it's a blast.
Which leads me to the theory that everything is cool somewhere--or "tight" or "raw" or "cold" or "deadly" or "class" or "brilliant" or any number of other adjectives, depending on your cultural lingo.
See, the beauty of all this is, most importantly, that all of these different cultures in some way show us an aspect of who God is. We can't see all of Him without all of us. The colors and faces and personalities and peoples bring Him lots of glory.
But an often overlooked benefit of many cultures, is, really, you can do whatever you like (as long as you're not breaking God's absolutely true laws) without fear of what other people think; because, believe me, someone somewhere thinks it's cool.
I think I've become addicted to life at the crossroads of many cultures, a.k.a. the city, where the mariachi music mixes with the rap and where within a few blocks you can get sushi, soul food, and the best chimichangas you ever tasted. My advice to you is: leave your home culture! At least for a visit. And remember when you go that they're not going to think like you. Keep your eyes and ears open for new perspectives. You'll probably come back with a little more humility, a lot of new things to enjoy, and a much bigger view of God.
24/01: My Thoughts
I've never written a blog before, so I have no idea what I should be writing about. A blog in itself seems like an extremely open-ended question, and I'm not so good with open-ended questions. Give me a specific question, and I'll give you an answer that's short and to the point! I have a hard time believing that anyone wants to hear what I have to say when I talk, much less my random ramblings in a sort of online journal. But I have been proven wrong. There is at least one person out there reading, wanting to know what I'm thinking; so I will write.What have I been thinking lately? it has been recently brought to my attention (by my wonderful husband :-)) that I have a list in my head of all the things I have to do, and I run through it over and over like a broken record. I realized he's right. My to do list is usually at the top of my thoughts. Right now my main responsibilities boil down to keeping track of two charts, which I have in my line of vision now as I sit at my desk.
One chart is a list of churches with some interest in opening SAY Yes! after-school centers: Broken Chain Ministries, Eastbrook Church, Liberty & Truth Ministries, Milwaukee Mosaic Church, and Solomon's Temple. If you're reading this blog, please pray that one or more of those churches would open their doors to the at-risk kids in their communities by starting after-school centers; pray especially that they would find staff to run their centers. As I look at that list I feel cautiously hopeful. I've been trying for two and a half years to open a second SAY Yes! center in Milwaukee and have been unsuccessful; it seems the commitment required is just too daunting for most inner city churches. So I'm afraid that somehow I'll drop the ball and all five of these churches will fall through the cracks like all the others I've talked to. Pray that God has His safety net under them!
The other chart is a list of students who are in the process of applying to our Summer in the City project, a two month internship scheduled to start on June 9th of this year. Right now there are nine students on the list; three of those were added in the last 24 hours, so it really feels like a dynamic & miraculous list at the moment. Last summer through much hard work, we scraped together eight students to participate in Summer in the City, so nine applicants at this early stage of the game is amazing! I definitely need God's wisdom as I read & evaluate the women's applications, especially as issues pop up that require a phone call and a sticky discussion. I never realized until this year--my first year as associate project director--that our discipleship of the students begins with their applications!
So that's my to do list. I think the next uppermost layer in my brain is my relationships. How well am I connected to my husband? my friends? my God? This, too, can become an obsessive track in my head and my emotions, and it usually turns into some introspective realizations about myself. Lately I've been seeing with greater clarity the self pity and criticalness (is that a word?) that pervade my inner thoughts and attitudes. Boy, do I need Jesus! I'm realizing how much I need to grow up and realizing at the same time that I have no idea how. I'm thankful that God promises to finish the work He's begun in me! (Philip 1:6)
Well, I think deeper thoughts will have to wait for another day. I have no idea how often I'll update this blog, because I've never blogged before, but I'll try to believe that if you readers aren't exactly waiting for it, you might at least enjoy the next installment of my thoughts!