Shameless plug for our Preschool Benefit Auction Nov. 17

If you live in the Bay Area think about joining us for a benefit auction for Kayla's preschool. It's a wonderful non-profit cooperative called Glenridge, and I've heard from reliable sources (like the Scandrette family) that the auctions are really fun. There is a ton of great stuff to bid on, and there's live jazz and good stuff to eat and drink. If you want to buy a ticket ($20 for a couple) let me know. I need to sell several more. If you want to donate something to relieve my stress about getting $600 of stuff donated by October 31, that would also be beautiful.

Our Magical Canyon: Glenridge Cooperative Nursery School Benefit Auction 2007.

Time and Location
Saturday, November 17, 2007, 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
The Janet Pomeroy Center (formerly known as RCH Lake Merced Club)
207 Skyline Boulevard, San Francisco

What's happenin

This Wednesday we started a new rhythm of sharing a meal with the crew that lives under our nearby overpass. I was truly encouraged by a few things that happened. Some of the people I've been trying to get to know over the past couple months were happy to see me and welcomed the friends I brought with me. One woman even told me she is finally going to check into rehab this week, which thrilled me and injected me with new hope. I was also so happy to see some members of our community overcome fears and apprehension by joining us. I had the privilege of observing people walk in new ways, letting themselves be stretched...good stuff.

This weekend I'm speaking to a load of middle schoolers from Menlo Park Pres at their camp at Mt. Hermon. Wish me luck, or think good thoughts, or pray for me, or all of the above. Andrea and the kiddies are joining me and I'm hoping our whole family can connect with the students all weekend.

Peace

Who needs Amazon or Netflix?

I've been falling in love with my local library. In a time where so many are wrestling with what it means to live simply, share more, buy less, consume less, etc. the public library is staring at us and waiting for us to join the party.

The fact is, most books only deserve to be read once anyway, right? Here in San Francisco, I can go online and request just about any book I can think of. The only books I might want to read that might not be in the City library system are Christian theology books, but really, I've read enough or those already. I go online and have the books sent to the branch down the street from our place, and then I get an email when they have been delivered and are ready for pick up. I even get an email when they are almost due so I don't turn them back late. Amazing...

There is also a decent selection of movies that work the same way. Recently the top of our entertainment center had DVD's of Romero, City of God and The Killing Fields. Last night I requested some romantic comedies for Andrea. I also had some CD's sent over (James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Marvin Gaye) that will be ready for pick up shortly.

AND...drumroll please...

I don't have to pay for a cup of coffee to set up an office anymore. The library in the Mission District has free wireless with long tables and outlets to plug in for power. Brilliant...I can even broaden my musical tastes from the CD section while I answer my emails and work on some projects on my trust iBook. Sometimes you even get to work next to some homeless guys reading novels. Rock on, public libraries.

Article on Homelessness in SF Gate

SFGate.com, the online version of the Chronicle, just published another in a series of articles about homelessness in the City. Click here to read an article about how the City seems to be getting more conservative about homeless people in our midst, meaning, people are getting tired of dealing with homeless people. There are 307 comments and counting this morning.

As our community (Seven) spends some time concentrating on getting to know our homeless neighbors we hope to find some best practices and knowledge to share with others in the City who struggle with what is becoming a hot button issue in San Francisco. I just hope these people are seen as people in the midst of all the commotion.

My new Bible

I read about The Books of the Bible a while back and just almost ordered one. My frugality (or some might say tendency to be cheap, tight, etc.) got the better of me, and I decided I could live without it for a while. Lo and behold, I found one for free the other day. Woo hoo!

I'm pretty excited about reading it. They've taken out the chapters and verse numbers to eliminate distractions and breaks in the reading that take away from the original intent of the authors. It encourages the reading of whole books instead of taking verses out of context. They've also reorganized the order of the books in a way that makes much more sense, by history and genre. It reads a bit more like a beautiful story, and the order of the books actually helps the reader make sense of it all. The couple pages of introduction in the front was well worth the read as well. I think this is the new way we will read the Bible as a family. It just makes sense, taking away some barriers to reading the beautiful story of God and actually reading it how the authors intended it to be read. If I was still a youth pastor I'd pass these things out to kids like crazy.

In Search of a Unified Theory

I just realized I never quite got around to writing about the new Cobalt Season album, In Search of a Unified Theory. I meant to write one when I first got the album, and then I wanted to wait until I had listened to the album several times through and had a better feel for it instead of just writing a blind recommendation because I like Ryan and Holly (and their son Paxton).

So...I love the album. As others have noted, I think it's their best to date. Ryan's voice conveys a depth of yearning and emotion. It is full of a yearning for something more and something true. For those of us who struggle to find the best ways to live in unity with the things we say we believe, this album is for us. There is a brutal honesty, and yet there is hope in the mix, hope for a better way, hope that there really is hope.

Most of the 3 or 4 people who still read this blog with its lack of posts recently probably already know of the album, but if you don't already own it I suggest checking it out. It's even available on iTunes now.

Cheers, Ryan and Holly. Keep making beautiful music...

Revelation of Love

From The Revelation of Love by Julian of Norwich:

I understood this revelation to teach our soul to cling fast to the goodness of God. At the same time, I remembered all the different ways we are accustomed to pray and how busy we become when we lose sight of how God loves us. For I was persuaded at this time that what pleases God, what delights him most, is when we pray simply trusting in his goodness, holding on to him, relying upon his grace, with true understanding, rather than if we made all the means that heart can think. Even when we summon all such skills, we are bound to fall short; all we need to do is trust in God's own goodness, for this will never fail us...

For just as the body is clad in clothes and the flesh in skin and the bones in flesh with the heart in the breast, so are we, soul and body, clothed and wrapped around in the goodness of God. Yet it is even more intimate than this; because they all disappear once they decay. But the goodness of God is always whole and more near to us without any comparison. It is true that our Lover desires the soul to stay close to him with all its strength, clinging ever more tightly to his goodness. Of all things the heart may think, this pleases God the most and affords us much progress. Our soul is loved so preciously by him, our highest good, that it is beyond all human understanding. In truth, no human alive can fathom how much, how sweetly and tenderly, our Maker loves us. And so we are able by the help of his grace to stay beholding in prayer this lofty, surpassing, and immeasurable love that almighty God has toward us of his goodness.

Woven Together?

For months I've had this thought running around my brain, and I've been waiting for some cute and poetic way to say it...but I'll just ramble a bit to help myself find a succinct way to communicate in the future...

Why do we so frequently separate any emphasis on knowing that we are loved by our Creator and finding our value and security in Jesus from any emphasis on integrating our beliefs with daily life, or apprenticeship to Jesus? It's like we always think we can only have one or the other, so we pick one and roll with it and become suspicious of the other. Is it because most of us only read Jesus or Paul, one or the other, and even then focus on one aspect of the teaching? Is it because we are always reacting to our past and the ineptitude of our previous teachers and leaders to adequately focus on a holistic Gospel message? Does it have something to do with our personality types, our family backgrounds, etc.?

Perhaps I'm feeling it today because of all the people I intimately know who desperately need to feel that they are loved and cared for and special in the eyes of God, no matter what their previous mistakes. These same people also desperately need to find way to integrate their spiritual beliefs into a way of life. The more I ponder it I believe this applies to all of us.

Shouldn't the one drive the other? Knowing we are loved driving our daily practices? When does this break down?

It does seem that one major avenue of intersection is silence and solitude. When we pause to hear the voice of God and rest in the embrace of the Father, we are following the example of Jesus, and we at least give ourselves a chance of hearing the loving voice of God.

So, if an angel would just appear at the house today and watch the kids for the next few days, I'd love to take a silent retreat with my wife...

Quotes of the week...

I've had a hard time posting lately, although I've had plenty of things I thought about writing about...perhaps I'll blog about them as the thoughts grow more coherent.

In the meantime, I feel the need to share some of my favorite quotes from Kayla. She is 3 now and I figure blogging about her is easy and fun for me and may get me back in the swing of things...

KAYLAISMS...

"Oh I love Jesus oh so much, Daddy!" When asked why she replied, "Because he's just such a cute little baby."

While looking through my Bible and telling me she wanted to tell me a story, "Jesus got poopoo all over the place. It was all messy with poopoo everywhere, and then his Mommy had to give him a bath it was so messy. Then people didn't like him anymore."

When asked why she couldn't sleep during her naptime, she pointed to the living room, "It's just such a mess with so much stuff on the floor out here, I couldn't sleep. We have to clean it right now, Daddy."

Kayla on policemen: "Policemen hit people. " When asked where she learned that she replied, "That's just what they do. They hit people. That's what policemen do."

My personal favorite comes whenever she sees a picture of the skyline of San Francisco or we drive down the hill with our view of the Mission District. She states, "There's my City!"

Benefit for Page Street Center

In my humble efforts to be the change I want to see in the world, Page Street Center in the Lower Haight has played a major role. It's more than a place where hundreds of people receive groceries for the week. It's a quirky community of people making their way together. It is a place where everyone's contributions are welcomed and honored. It is a place where people are cared for and acknowledged as important human beings, made in the image of the Creator. If you live in the Bay Area you should consider attending this benefit for Page Street. Check it the website and think about contributing. If you are interested you could also join me there on almost any Monday.