Whatnot

I realize I've been neglecting this blog. It's funny, for almost 3 years, when I read blogs that said "Sorry I haven't been here in so long" I would think "How could anyone neglect their blog like that?" But alas, I have become one. Have you ever noticed that sometimes when we are judgmental of something, we will end up becoming it? I think God laughs at that.

Most of my writing lately has gone into Communitas Collective. I would love to see all of you over there from time to time, because we have amazing authors and a lot of great insight.

Here's what else is new!

As many of you know, I'm captaining a relay team, and this has taken a lot more time than I thought. That's not a bad thing, because I haven't loved something so much in a very long time. I have an amazing group of 11 women (plus me) and we will be participating in the Portland to Coast relay at the end of August. Managing all the team business, including making our own t-shirts, plus my own training, encapsulates many hours. However, I'm really looking forward to the payoff, and anticipate having the time of my life come race weekend.

I'm going crazy having the kids home. They are of the age where everything is an argument, mostly with each other. I told them today that I'm going to charge them every time they are mean to each other. We'll see...however, with perfect timing, my kids are going on vacation with their grandparents for 5 days, so the house will be pretty quiet, but also will it be CLEAN!

I'm looking forward to Ché coming for a visit...she gets here on Saturday!

My 20 year high school reunion is Friday...boy am I ever uncertain about that...I'll let you know if I go and how it was. Social bravery is not my strong suit.

I realized I never completed my series on Fear and Honesty. I have one more post almost written, I hope to get that up soon.

In case you hadn't heard, we have had a serious heat wave this week. We missed our all time high record of 107 by one degree, two days in a row. We have had a stretch of near or over 100 degrees for 6 days running. This is very unusual in the Pacific NW. Yes, to some of you this may not seem like much of a big deal...I would ask what percentage of people have air conditioning in their homes where you live? Because here, it's not many.

We have hundreds of thousands of people whose homes are 120-130 on the inside. This is dangerous for so many people. Just as we aren't prepared for major snow in the winter, neither are we prepared for this kind of heat in the summer.

On top of all that, the one thing we NWerners have always relied on has not been available to us. Usually when we have this kind of heat, our low temperatures at night still drop down to 60-65, meaning people without a/c can open their windows and expect some relief. This week, we have set a number of all time record HIGH overnight lows, with two nights remaining at 76 degrees.

I'm not complaining for complaining's sake, I'm really just sharing my concern for those people who have found this week to be entirely miserable, if not dangerous to their health. Fortunately, our community rallies during adverse weather, and around here, hundreds of churches, libraries, businesses and other places that have air conditioning have opened their doors to the general public during extended hours as cooling stations. As well, the City of Portland did something exceptional, leaving several of our public fountains on late into the night so that people could cool off.

It seems we have survived, as tomorrow we begin a slow downward trend towards our normal highs around 80 next week.

I guess that's all for now.

How are you?

Fear and Honesty: You are what You Read

"Love God and don't be an asshole" -- Dianne Sylvan

That was the entirety of Dianne's post yesterday, and I love it.

Confession: I read Pagan* blogs. Not just blogs written by people who happen to practice Pagan spirituality, but blogs about Pagan spirituality. Regularly. I have a grand total of 13 in my reader, and I continuously gain beautiful spiritual insight from them.

However, I don't generally interact with them. With two exceptions, they usually don't welcome my presence on their blog once they find out I'm a Christian.

To be honest, it makes me sad. Sad that I wear an identity that has been so warped and twisted; an identity that has been so abusive and hostile toward other religions, Pagan in particular. An identity that, regardless of what I say, just the simple fact of my own faith indicates I am an enemy, or at least up to no good. Unfortunately, it has been common for Christians to bait-and-switch, pretending to be friendly but with the ultimate goal of converting the other person, which only causes people on the receiving end to be suspicious. That is a shameful and manipulative practice, and I condemn it.

Thanfully, there is growing belief among Christians that we might have more to learn from other faiths than we have ever dared to guess. More and more Christians are engaging with people of other belief systems, searching out the commonalities rather than the divisions, possibly even gleaning some knowledge that can help a Christian in their experience of God. Some people call this syncretism, I call it wisdom. Seeing something of value in the belief system of the other,and validating a person's right to choose their path is one small step toward resolving many of the world's disputes. I'm not idealistic about it, I don't believe that wars will end if we simply practice kindness toward other religions. However, I feel quite strongly that we cannot begin to measure the value of it.

However, for much of my conservative evangelical church experience, it has been pounded into me that we must be careful what we read, for putting non-Christian ideas into our heads will only lead down the slippery slope. I believed that simply reading about something would cause irreparable damage to my soul. For awhile, I only read the Bible and Christian fiction, such was the fear that I might cross that line into the "evil" zone.

When I left church, I was a mess. I was so convinced that the evangelical Christianity I knew was the only way to be a Christian, I was certain that if I did not continue to hold to those beliefs, there was no way I could continue to be a Christian. I could not continue in that way; it had no meaning for me anymore. However, I know I'm a spiritual being, so for awhile I thought to myself, "If I'm not Christian, then what am I?" I began reading books about other religions, investigating my options, considering the possibilities.

Interestingly enough, in the end I chose to remain here. Not because I didn't find anything of value in other traditions, but because I did. However, for my own path, those things I found of value only repeatedly and undeniably pointed toward Jesus, and reinforced for me why I follow him. The things I read broadened my awe of him, because I truly found Him to be alive in other places; and I realized I follow one really big God who encompasses all., and this began to grant me permission to know God the way I know him, not in the way someone else tells me I must know him. This is my own personal truth, but I certainly accept that it's not truth for everyone.

For those who might be suspicious of my motives for visiting and commenting on their other-than-Christian blogs, please know this: I am only there to learn; not to challenge, not to attack, not to persuade. Many Christians believe they have a monopoly on truth; I'm decidedly not one of them.

Fear and Honesty: The Pagan Stacks
Fear and Honesty: Connectedness
Fear and Honesty: Diverting from the Norm
Fear and Honesty: You are What You Read


*I use the term "Pagan" loosely. I do not intend to imply that "Pagan" is a single spiritual tradition in and of itself, but rather an adjective describing polytheistic, ancestral, or nature-based spiritual traditions or philosophies (many of which are, or are derived from, ancient spiritual practices), of their many varieties.

Pardon the Dust

I'm moving all my hosted files, including the CSS for my blog template, to a new host.

It should be relatively simple; however, in the process it's possible some things around here might become temporarily broken. If so, I'll have things put back together soon.