holiday cheer

Sometimes it takes a lot, sometimes it takes very little; the spirit of holidays is quirky like that. Watching the stampede at retail stores on the news during Black Friday shopping steals my holiday spirit. Is getting that $400 computer for $150 really worth trampling some unlucky woman when the doors open and she stumbles? My faith in the common sense and intelligence of the "general public" is severely shattered when I read the reports of parents berating store managers because the hot new toy or gadget is sold out, but then turn around and are willing to pay exorbitantly inflated prices on ebay rather than wait.

But then again, despite the overwhelmingly discouraging news of all these kinds of holiday-induced selfishness, a little snow and seeing my wife prancing about and singing or humming bits of Christmas songs warms my heart and brings a smile to my face.

I hope the beginning of your holiday season starts a time of joyous reunion with family, friends, and loved ones.

holiday creep

No, this is not about some strange or mean holiday shopper, nor is this about some sickening feeling that a person gets as holidays approach. I'm talking about the holiday marketing equivalent of urban creep or suburban sprawl -- a holiday sprawl if you will. Is it just me, or did the marketing geniuses out there totally obliterate Thanksgiving in the U.S. in favor of Christmas/Hanukkah? I mean, what ever happened to celebrating the significance of Thanksgiving before the media blitz that has become of the winter holidays? In these times of diversity, one would think Thanksgiving would be a time to reflect on some of the critically important aspects that are usually overlooked about this November holiday.

1. The pilgrims sailed to North America not to conquer, but to live peacefully. Depending on your point of view, they were escaping religious persecution, were exiled from their homeland for their minority religious beliefs, or a combination of the two coupled with a desire to avoid Dutch culture from taking over their own tradition/culture. Could they have protested or resorted to violence to make their government recognize them equally (which probably would have resulted in their death), certainly but they chose to move on and head to a place where they could preserve their culture. I consider this an illustration of a concern for tradition, freedom, non-violence, and culture preservation.
   
2. The Pilgrims arrived in North America with preconceived notions of what Native American Indians were like, and could have attacked the local tribe in an act of "self-preservation." However, they didn't, and the local Patuxet tribe chose not to attack the Pilgrims either, instead offering knowledge of local plants and agricultural practices. Had the Pilgrims not trusted the Patuxets, they most likely would have died as they were not sufficiently prepared for New England winters. To me, this is an illustration of co-operation, compassion, and culture co-existence.

Certainly, the co-operative, peaceful, multicultural themes that exist in this U.S. tradition should be something we celebrate a bit more, in addition to our own reasons to give thanks each year. Don't get me wrong though, I do enjoy the Christmas/Hanukkah season since there are usually more instances of people being genuinely kind and the overall festive spirit. I just see something very wrong with a green flag being waved right after Halloween is over, signaling the beginning of a Christmas marketing frenzy. I mean come on, this weekend at the mall, Santa was already out and available for wishlists and pictures -- isn't he supposed to wait until after the Thanksgiving Day Parade? I know the retail chains depend on December holidays to keep their profit margins healthy, especially in these uncertain and troubled times, but can we please stop the marketing blitz from starting until after Thanksgiving? I am concerned for our future, because it seems that soon Halloween will be the next holiday that gets leap-frogged and then the chaos will ensue - pre-lit artificial trees, menorahs, Santa hats, pumpkins, witches, and ghosts do not mix well.

/rant-off

quick but intriguing

Just something I ran across today in my news/blog reading..

http://outchurched.com/2005/11/16/great-image.html

Be sure to click on the picture so you can see the full size image with all its caption and label goodness. Otherwise, latest news here is -- busy. Blogging will probably be a bit on the sparse side for the next month or so I imagine. However, I will do my best to try and put something up from time to time (probably weekly at best).

knocking yourself down a notch

As seems to be my modus operandi, posting about a spiritual high is always followed by some form of humbling spiritual insight. Since as it is often said from the pulpit, "all fall short," don't let it be said that I ever claimed exception. The reason I am putting myself out here for self-flagellation is that I finally finished reading John Burke's No Perfect People Allowed, and I have a multitude of reactions to the book. My first reaction is joy and hope at reading about a church community (Gateway Community Church)that is making an impact with my generation. However, that is quickly followed up by mild depression at the realization that nothing like that exists in my neck of the woods, at least nothing that I have found. The closest would probably be my friend's church, though the demographic they have is different and it is about 3 hours away. The reason I start to feel down is because through my recent stretch of personal spiritual formation, I am coming to realize my great need for community - I miss interacting with people. But obviously, anyone following my escapades from the beginning will know that I've run into some groups that for some reason result in each of us rubbing the other the wrong way. So far, when I happen to be in town and am not on-call on Sunday, I head over to Farmington. I get along with people there, but I don't seem to be able to make it there as often as I like. Not that I've been there enough to emphatically state anything about them, but I feel they need a vision to strive for, something that will shake up the way they operate. Maybe if I can get my life organized and stabilized, I can throw my $0.02 out there for them and see what they think...

Thank you to all you who actually stop by and read this stuff, it's nice to know that I'm not crazy and that sometimes what I say makes sense. I consider you my virtual church community.

laughing off calamity

So lately I've been head down, nose to the grindstone at work and its looking like I will be that way through mid January. Not that I am complaining mind you, more work usually means continued employment and opportunities for new and exciting challenges. I've also had some exciting stuff happen around the house as well, so not everything has been work-work-work for me. We finally had a roofer come by to look at our leaky roof (after the heavy rains of October, go figure). On the positive side, despite a roof junction having been installed backwards (something with the shingles), there was a quick and inexpensive fix for the problem. However, when the roofer was just about finished, a gust of wind caught his ladder and blew it over... hitting my car. I was shocked and surprised, not because my car had just been hit by a large, heavy ladder, but because of the way I reacted. I could have been angry and abusive, since the ladder should have been tethered to the house (for his protection and mine), but I wasn't. I have always believed and sometimes shared with people that while I do appreciate having a car of my choice, which I maintain regularly, if something were to happen to it I wouldn't let it bother me. After all, it's just a car, a means of transportation and in the grand scheme of things not something I should be worried about. I felt proud of myself later that evening because I wasn't a hypocrite. I actually saw the whole thing as I was just walking out my front door to see how things were going, and the first thing I did was run back inside to get my keys to shut the alarm off. The second thing I did... was laugh to myself as I examined the damage. It was a funny situation, there on the peak of my roof, 2 stories up, sat the now stranded roofer. He was looking apologetic and completely embarrassed; he knew that what happened was completely his fault. I joked with him a bit while I picked the ladder up, set it back up, and held it in place until he was on his way down. We both looked at the car; the damage wasn't catastrophic, a minor dent and large scratch on the hood, and a decent dent and paint chipping on the fender. However, he knew that the repair would not be cheap since the kind and location of the damage meant a lot of labor hours and/or replacing the hood and fender.

I was proud of myself, because in a situation where I had always believed I would not lose my cool, I did just what I thought I would. I never yelled at him, in fact I was friendly and understanding. He told me right away he would pay for the repairs, and waived payment for the roof repair. The repairs to my car I figured he would (or should) offer, but waiving payment for the roof I did not expect. In fact, had he not said anything I would have asked him when to expect a bill. Maybe its because today's society is trigger-happy with lawsuits that he responded the way he did, but I'd prefer to think that he is just a honest guy who felt at ease around me. When I could have berated, I chose kindness; when I could have exploited, I chose generosity; when he apologized repeatedly, I forgave him and told him not to worry about it. It was one of those rare moments where upon reflection, I truly felt like I had shown my Christianity. I may not be a regular attendee of worship service, but in a real world situation I was practicing what I believe. Sometimes I get the feeling God is preparing me, one situation at a time, for a role that I would have never chosen for myself. Now if I could only figure what that role is...