oh, Brian McLaren

I forgot how AMAZING you are! I was re-reading A Generous Orthodoxy and I felt compelled to copy down large portions of it.

This is a window into the meaning of the cross. Absorbing the worst that human beings can offer - crooked religiousity, petty political systems, individual betrayal, physical torture with whip and thorn and nail and hammer and spear - Jesus enters into the center of the thunderstorm of human evil and takes its full shock on the cross. Our evil is brutally, unmistakably exposed, drawn into broad daylight, and judged - named and shown for what it is. Then, having felt its agony and evil firsthand, in person, Jesus pronounces forgiveness and demonstrates that the grace of God is more powerful and expansive than the evil of humanity. Justice and mercy kiss; judgment and forgiveness embrace. From their marriage a new future is conceived.

I believe that we must be always reforming, not because we've got it wrong and we're closer and closer to finally "getting it right," but because our mission is ongoing and our context is dynamic. From this viewpoint "getting it right" is beside the point; the point is "being and doing good" as followers of Jesus in our unique time and place, fitting in with the ongoing story of God's saving love for planet earth.

HIGHLY recommended reading.

can it be June, please?

I started my last semester of college on Tuesday, and I can already tell it’s going to be a long one. The only thing standing between me and my BA in English is one lousy requirement: I need two more English electives. Seems silly to stay on a whole extra semester for two electives, but that’s life. My last semester of high school, I remember, I couldn’t WAIT to graduate and move on with my life. I was in a constant state of tension that semester, doing whatever I could to make the time pass faster. I’m already seeing a parallel with this semester, but I want Spring 2011 to be different than Spring 2006. I’d like to think I’ve grown as a person since high school, and I want to enjoy this semester and live in the present as much as I can. I also want to prepare myself spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically for my “grown-up” life, aka TFA.

I want to enjoy spending time with my family, while I live in the same house with them instead of 1,800 miles away.

I want to enjoy the relative simplicity of waitressing as a job. It doesn’t consume my life, as I’m sure teaching will. Waitressing is stressful and makes me want to dump french onion soup on people sometimes, but it’s a relatively simple job and I don’t need to think about it when I’m not physically at work.

I want to eat as much Trader Joe’s food as I can – apparently the nearest TJ’s to the Delta is in Nashville, 300 miles away.

I also want to eat In-n-Out as much as I can – I don’t go there very often, but I’m sure I’ll miss those cheeseburgers.

I want to do reasonably well in my classes. At the same time, I don’t really care that much. I’ll be okay with Bs, I think.

I want to go to the beach more. It’s 20 minutes away, so it’s ridiculous that I don’t go very often.

I want to get into a more teaching-friendly sleeping schedule. I’m sure I won’t be sleeping very much starting in June, but it’ll help if I’m used to getting up early and going to bed early.

I’m sure I take lots of things about living in Southern California for granted, but I’m SO excited to be moving to a completely new area of the country, living a completely new life.

Another mistake I made during that spring semester senior year was assuming that once I moved and transitioned to the next phase in my life, that all of my problems would go away and I’d magically get a new personality. I have to remember this time that wherever I go, I’m still me, and I have to prepare for the intense (to put it mildly) experience I have ahead of me.

Part of me wants to just fast-forward through the next four months, but I know I wouldn’t be ready if I did that. I have these last few months for a reason, and I want to get the most out of them that I can.

All of this resolve won’t stop me from obsessing a little bit, though .

love.

I never thought I'd see the day...

...that this would make sense to me: