Sorry Bozemanites...

The first thing I had to do after learning tomorrow was a snow day (after doing a little dance of joy) was call my Mother and taunt her with the fact that we get the day off for the "potential of severe weather."  My Mother is a teacher in a district that has not had a snow day since 1987.  Not kidding.  They only had a snow day because the wind chill was some obscene number like  -60 degrees or something.  We are looking at about -20 degrees tomorrow.

Not that I am going to complain about the unexpected day off, but I feel like we would have probably been okay without the snow day.  This morning's commute (normally 10 minutes) took me 30, and that was after spending nearly a half hour chipping ice off my windshield.  Let's just say that driving on a solid sheet of ice on the freeway makes me REALLY thankful for my 4WD Jeep and studded snow tires.  I wish I had studded shoes after I fell down on the sidewalk!  But I made it to work and I could probably do the same thing tomorrow.

However, I think why winter storms are a bigger deal here is that they happen somewhat infrequently.  It is easy to forget that there is the potential for ice and snow when you have 70 degree days in January, and people forget that driving on ice is a completely different skill and your confidence really goes away.  Even I am guilty of this, despite the fact that my first driving experience ever was in winter.  But we cannot forget that I also drove the trainer car into the ditch my first day of Driver's Ed as well.  Ooops.  There are also about 10x as many cars on the road here than in Bozeman, so there are just more people to hit or be hit by.

We get lulled into a false sense of security about winter when we go weeks and weeks without any snow to speak of.  Granted, it is sort of like waiting to be shoved off a cliff because when it snows here,  it REALLY snows.

Remember the December 2006 blizzard?  I do, because I was stranded at DIA.  Then took a four hour bus ride back to Denver.  Next, I took the only bus that got remotely near my house (if you count walking 30 blocks in a blizzard nearby) because I was not getting stranded at the Stapleton PnR.  By the time I got home a couple hours later, dragging my suitcase, not dressed appropriately and wearing clogs, walking from 14th and Quebec to 8th and Cherry, I was disoriented and hypothermic.  The last few blocks all I wanted to do was lay down in the snow and go to sleep.  That is how people die in snowstorms.    

Anyway, dear Montana friends, I wish you all the best at work and school tomorrow.  :)  I am going to sleep in, clean my house and watch the snow fall while I run inside on the treadmill.  And in a week, chances are I will be back to wearing Chacos.

not-so-deep contemplations

I know the title of this blog is "Diary of a Contemplative", which implies that I sit at home and ponder deep thoughts.  Which sometimes I do, but some days I just would rather ponder some more trivial things.

*Warning: some of these contemplations could be construed as petty complaints.  But it's my blog, so I can complain if I want.*

1. Why are HMOs so difficult to deal with? Remember the ankle injury from last summer?  My HMO will cover indefinite amounts of physical therapy, but refuses to pay for the therapeutic orthotics for my shoes that will prevent me from getting into this situation in the first place.  So I am paying for them with my FSA, and reaping the benefits of the 50% cash discount.

2. Why is it that I cannot remember to purchase everything I meant to at the grocery store, even when I make a list?  Tonight I walked down the dairy aisle twice and still managed to forget cheese, despite the fact that I also bought butter and yogurt, which flank the cheese.  Lame.

3. Did you know that glass candle jars will explode if you try to burn down all the wax?  Which means I am now cleaning wax and glass shards off the top of my stove.

4.  Why is it that people who are overly nice often come off as just plain annoying?  I refer to it as being saccharine.  And a couple of my colleagues epitomize this.

5. Does using Twitter make me self important?  I think not.  I believe it is career development and marketing research.  And I love the creativity involved in making hashtags.

6. How do you know if you have too many shoes?  I recently determined that having 13 pairs of shoes laying around my house, not including those in the closet, means that I have too many.

7. Why is it that the smallest things can give us the greatest pleasure?  Today I discovered a huge bag of Swedish fish in the back of my pantry, and that made my day.  Seriously.

8. My life is occasionally a series of very stupid things.  Last week I accidentally yanked out my own nose stud.  Which then bounced on the kitchen floor and under the refrigerator.  So at 11pm I was moving the fridge, and when I saw what was under it-yuck-I had to boil the nose jewelry and then wait for it to cool.

Ten things I am thankful for as 2011 begins

1. The beautiful state that I get to live in, Colorado.  The picture below is the view from behind my house.

2. Family.  I am related to a pretty fun group of people.

3. Friends.  From Denver to Fort Collins and Boulder to Bozeman, my friends are the people who create community and make me laugh.

4. House for All Sinner's and Saints.  I love this church and the people in it.  This congregation is a group of people living their lives together, and I am so thankful for the friends that I have made here.

5. Simple Pleasures like good food and drink and people to share them with.

6. My Health.  Made even more poignant as I bounce back from a bout of the flu.

7. Good Books.

8. Yoga and Meditation.  Is there really a better way to step back from the rat race and gain perspective?

9. Humor.  I have a bizarre and eclectic sense of humor, but this is also another one of my favorite ways to gain perspective.

10. Strange and Unexpected Bits of Beauty.  Like this graffiti on the bike trail near my house.

Things that bring me joy

About 10 years ago, my cousin Vanessa used to send out a list of "happy things" every few days by email.  These "happy things" served to call attention to the small things around us that bring us joy and remind us to stop and enjoy the small things.  So here is a list of things that make me happy:

1. A piping hot cafe au lait 

2. Warm sheets just out of the dryer

3. www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com

4. A raucous board game tournament

5. chocolate

6. Laughing until you cry

7. www.regretsy.com

8. A long afternoon nap

9. Fresh blackberries and whipped cream

10. This video of Mom's dog, Annabelle

11. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

12. The adrenaline rush at the end of a long road race

13. www.passiveaggressivenotes.com

14. Kneading bread dough

15. Gluten free beer

16. The sparkling diamonds of fresh snow on a chilly morning

17.  Flathead Lake

18. Rigorous intellectual discourse

19. Sarah Palin's public appearances and profound rhetoric

20. Thrift store shopping

21. Pulling carrots out of the garden

22. The Urban Servant Corps

23. Doing crossword puzzles on a lazy Saturday morning

24. Thai food, in particular panang curry from Tommy's Thai

25. These gluten free sugar cookies.  Yum!

 

26. A ice cold gin and tonic on a hot day

27. Outdoor concerts

28. Thought provoking social commentary (Right now I am reading American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half Its Food)

29. Dushanbe Tea House

30. Taking photos

One thing I find particularly obnoxious...

For those of you who know me well, you know that nothing gets under my skin faster than hate and ignorance perpetuated in the name of Christianity.

Recently I picked up a book at the library called Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream by David Platt.  I was actually kind of excited to read this book, thinking it would focus on how to live simply, be committed to helping others and act boldly in the face of the "American Dream", that is, materialism and an individualist attitude.

Instead, the book focuses on evangelism.  Evangelism in and of itself is not a bad thing, but when it is conducted in a patronizing way (go convert the Godless heathens in other lands because we know best), it does far more harm than good.

I draw your attention to a particular passage in this book (pg 76): "According to the most liberal estimates, approximately one-third of the world is Christian.  These estimates include all who identify themselves as Christian, whether religiously, socially, or politically.  Likely, not all of them are actually followers of Christ.  But if we assume they are, that still leaves 4.5 billion people who, if the gospel is true, at this moment are separated from God in their sin and (assuming nothing changes) will spend an eternity in hell."

Not sure if that is the best evangelistic sales pitch.  I was so irritated by this particular passage that I flung the book across the room, but eventually I did pick it up and finish reading it.  Mostly because I could not believe that it actually made it into print.  Some days I think just about anyone can write a book.

I would like to draw to your attention to several problems with this particular passage:
1. The writer assumes that there is one "right" way to practice Christianity
2. The writer assumes that someone (as in a fellow sinful human being) gets to pass judgment on what makes a "real" follower of Christ and the inherent superiority implied therein.
3. Christianity as the writer defines it is the only means of salvation
4. The arrogance in assuming that we have the power to save ourselves.  What about Grace?

I very clearly remember a conversation I had with someone in College about Decision Theology. She asked me if I had found Jesus.  My immediate response was, "I did not know I was supposed to be looking for him."  Not only is Decision theology arrogant when faced with the power of Grace, it also leads to inherent superiority between those who have "chosen" Jesus, and those who have not.  Additionally, this sort of evangelism invalidates the experience of those being evangelized.

Now, my strong feelings about Grace, Decision Theology and marginalization in the name of Christianity are undoubtedly influenced by my involvement with the ELCA and the Emergent Church.  Because I like to shake things up, I want to challenge us all to think about how prevailing assumptions surrounding faith and evangelism can cause more harm than good.