January 21, 2004
Critique
I confess it, I am a 'wordie.' An aficionado of words, you might say. As such I believe that the egregious disrespect of words and their use demands our attention! It is no insignificant matter to banish a word from our lexicon! With that said, I will commence with my brilliant critique of the 2004 LSSU Banished Words List:
Metrosexual: A personal favourite word, I object to LSSU's reasoning that there are enough words to describe men who spend too much time in front of the mirror. In fact, I would argue that there are few such words restricted to men only, and therefore this word is a useful tool for fine differentiation. As well, the meaning of this word, like fine wine, only seems to gain relevance and colour as it's age increases!
X: Why is this one only being banished now? The only suitable time for banishment of this word would have been at the end of the drawn-out demise of the X-Files.
Place Stamp Here: Might I remind you that this is a phrase, not a word. [Ahem.] Those obviously uneducated masses who nominated this phrase for banishment were correct in nominating it, however faulty their reasoning. This phrase should be banished for practical reasons: doesn't everybody pay their bills on-line now?
Companion Animals - "They're called PETS." : This nomination, an actual quote, had me (seriously) indignant enough to perhaps merit a correction to LSSU. Companion Animals are those which are trained for the sole purpose of assisting persons with disabilities with activities of daily living, i.e. seeing-eye dogs, seizure dogs, assistance dogs for people with mobility difficulties. As opposed to pets, who simply laze about the house, eating your food, drinking from your toilet and leaving hair on your sofa.
Hand-crafted Latte: We here at Sleepless feel that it is our moral and social obligation to defend the cause of baristas everywhere from the slander waged by nominees of this word for banishment. We resent the allegation that highly-trained baristas are mere modern-day equivalents of the soda jerk. The makers of that paragon of stimulating beverages should be praised and adored for their tireless work to perk up the sleepy (or social) masses! Say it with me now: "Lattes are hand-crafted!"
I confess it, I am a 'wordie.' An aficionado of words, you might say. As such I believe that the egregious disrespect of words and their use demands our attention! It is no insignificant matter to banish a word from our lexicon! With that said, I will commence with my brilliant critique of the 2004 LSSU Banished Words List:
Metrosexual: A personal favourite word, I object to LSSU's reasoning that there are enough words to describe men who spend too much time in front of the mirror. In fact, I would argue that there are few such words restricted to men only, and therefore this word is a useful tool for fine differentiation. As well, the meaning of this word, like fine wine, only seems to gain relevance and colour as it's age increases!
X: Why is this one only being banished now? The only suitable time for banishment of this word would have been at the end of the drawn-out demise of the X-Files.
Place Stamp Here: Might I remind you that this is a phrase, not a word. [Ahem.] Those obviously uneducated masses who nominated this phrase for banishment were correct in nominating it, however faulty their reasoning. This phrase should be banished for practical reasons: doesn't everybody pay their bills on-line now?
Companion Animals - "They're called PETS." : This nomination, an actual quote, had me (seriously) indignant enough to perhaps merit a correction to LSSU. Companion Animals are those which are trained for the sole purpose of assisting persons with disabilities with activities of daily living, i.e. seeing-eye dogs, seizure dogs, assistance dogs for people with mobility difficulties. As opposed to pets, who simply laze about the house, eating your food, drinking from your toilet and leaving hair on your sofa.
Hand-crafted Latte: We here at Sleepless feel that it is our moral and social obligation to defend the cause of baristas everywhere from the slander waged by nominees of this word for banishment. We resent the allegation that highly-trained baristas are mere modern-day equivalents of the soda jerk. The makers of that paragon of stimulating beverages should be praised and adored for their tireless work to perk up the sleepy (or social) masses! Say it with me now: "Lattes are hand-crafted!"
Belief Vs. Faith
In trying to explain to a friend the theological mountain I'm currently climbing, I used a phrase I ripped off from Killing the Buddha: a metaphor for moving past the complacency of belief, for struggling honestly with the idea of God.
There's no arguing that suffering sucks. I would put it on the shelf and take up figure skating any day if I could. I'm not a stoic or monastic, and I don't believe that suffering is somehow a garden we humans should cultivate in order to grow our faith. That said, I feel like my faith is stronger now than it was when this started, if only for the fact that I know now that it has some staying-power. If I had packed it all in and jumped ship in favour of the world of secular unbelief the minute trial started, I would never have known what it meant to seriously struggle with the personhood of God, what His character truly is, not just what we write on greeting cards, and I seriously believe I would never have truly begun to understand what I now have a glimpse of: that faith is not mere belief, but it is putting your hope and identity in God even when it seems completely assinine to do so, when there is no benefit to be had there. A crude definition to be sure, but nevertheless, one that fits my own purposes!
I feel like I am now for sure struggling honestly with who God is, and who He might also be that I haven't yet considered.
I also came across a relevant quote from Jack Ellul via Waving or Drowning: Faith's power and certainty does not lie in the strength and persistence of our belief, but in the faithfulness of God.
What do you think? What has your life told you about faith vs. belief?
In trying to explain to a friend the theological mountain I'm currently climbing, I used a phrase I ripped off from Killing the Buddha: a metaphor for moving past the complacency of belief, for struggling honestly with the idea of God.
There's no arguing that suffering sucks. I would put it on the shelf and take up figure skating any day if I could. I'm not a stoic or monastic, and I don't believe that suffering is somehow a garden we humans should cultivate in order to grow our faith. That said, I feel like my faith is stronger now than it was when this started, if only for the fact that I know now that it has some staying-power. If I had packed it all in and jumped ship in favour of the world of secular unbelief the minute trial started, I would never have known what it meant to seriously struggle with the personhood of God, what His character truly is, not just what we write on greeting cards, and I seriously believe I would never have truly begun to understand what I now have a glimpse of: that faith is not mere belief, but it is putting your hope and identity in God even when it seems completely assinine to do so, when there is no benefit to be had there. A crude definition to be sure, but nevertheless, one that fits my own purposes!
I feel like I am now for sure struggling honestly with who God is, and who He might also be that I haven't yet considered.
I also came across a relevant quote from Jack Ellul via Waving or Drowning: Faith's power and certainty does not lie in the strength and persistence of our belief, but in the faithfulness of God.
What do you think? What has your life told you about faith vs. belief?
January 20, 2004
Not again....
I'm going through another rough patch right now. (Honestly, I've had enough with rough patches. They can just go suck an egg. I'm ready for some fun!) My pain levels were pretty stable for about a month, and I was just beginning to feel like I was able to move on with my life and make a few decisions, take a course, etc. Not so. Last Tuesday the pain was back and every bit as excruciating as the worst of last fall. In the last week I've had more than my share of "dark nights of the soul." It was hard - this weekend was the Sno-Way Retreat for young adults at church, and I was in charge of the non-snowboarders' events. I was pretty excited for it, but I spent a large part of the weekend sleeping, in pain, or on a LOT of medication. This is so humbling, to have the other 38 people on the retreat praying for me and knowing how incredibly broken I am right now. Sometimes it's painful to not have that privacy when you want it.
Monday night was spiritually difficult. I thought I was over the thoughts of suicide and the longing to go home to heaven but I guess not. I don't like the idea that possibly I might struggle with these feelings until the physical pain has really gone, and there's no guarantee that that will happen. I was also battling a real mean streak. If you've met me you know that I'm one of those usually happy-go-lucky peaceful compassionate people with a major chatterbox problem... but lately I've been mad at God. Not just frustrated stubbornness, but downright mad at God. Mad that I'm back here again, mad that He's letting this happen to me, mad that I feel left alone in it. My intellectual brain knows that He is here, and that there is a purpose behind it and that I have seen Him use it for other people's benefit... I even know and understand that there are many people around me supporting me, so I'm not alone at all. But try telling that to my soul.
When I picture the book that I hope to write about this experience, I hope that it's not the kind of book where people are merely encouraged by it. No offense to Joni Eareckson Tada, whom I love and have worked with her ministry; I simply feel like there is something else to be had from this experience. I want people to read about it and be challenged in their beliefs, challenged to examine their theology, not only of God but of blessing and to come out stronger. Ultimately I'd like for other people to not have to go through this in order to learn the things that I feel I'm learning.
I'm going through another rough patch right now. (Honestly, I've had enough with rough patches. They can just go suck an egg. I'm ready for some fun!) My pain levels were pretty stable for about a month, and I was just beginning to feel like I was able to move on with my life and make a few decisions, take a course, etc. Not so. Last Tuesday the pain was back and every bit as excruciating as the worst of last fall. In the last week I've had more than my share of "dark nights of the soul." It was hard - this weekend was the Sno-Way Retreat for young adults at church, and I was in charge of the non-snowboarders' events. I was pretty excited for it, but I spent a large part of the weekend sleeping, in pain, or on a LOT of medication. This is so humbling, to have the other 38 people on the retreat praying for me and knowing how incredibly broken I am right now. Sometimes it's painful to not have that privacy when you want it.
Monday night was spiritually difficult. I thought I was over the thoughts of suicide and the longing to go home to heaven but I guess not. I don't like the idea that possibly I might struggle with these feelings until the physical pain has really gone, and there's no guarantee that that will happen. I was also battling a real mean streak. If you've met me you know that I'm one of those usually happy-go-lucky peaceful compassionate people with a major chatterbox problem... but lately I've been mad at God. Not just frustrated stubbornness, but downright mad at God. Mad that I'm back here again, mad that He's letting this happen to me, mad that I feel left alone in it. My intellectual brain knows that He is here, and that there is a purpose behind it and that I have seen Him use it for other people's benefit... I even know and understand that there are many people around me supporting me, so I'm not alone at all. But try telling that to my soul.
When I picture the book that I hope to write about this experience, I hope that it's not the kind of book where people are merely encouraged by it. No offense to Joni Eareckson Tada, whom I love and have worked with her ministry; I simply feel like there is something else to be had from this experience. I want people to read about it and be challenged in their beliefs, challenged to examine their theology, not only of God but of blessing and to come out stronger. Ultimately I'd like for other people to not have to go through this in order to learn the things that I feel I'm learning.
Yet Another Purpose-Driven Something
My church is joining the purpose-driven bandwagon. I have only seen this book, never opened it, and two trusted, non-bandwagoner friends have really grown as a result of this book. However, I am skeptical. It's too big. Not the book, but the hype. It just smacks of "what would Jesus do/prayer of jabez" kind of marketing. Maybe it's just because I don't want to go along with the crowd.
That said, I love my church family. I trust our pastoral staff. I am willing to join in the hype if only because it loosely fits in with Lent and I've been falling back into old habits lately. oh and also because it involves small groups and I love small groups!
Anyhoo, expect frequent 40 days blog thoughts... walk with me as I see what's behind the hype.
My church is joining the purpose-driven bandwagon. I have only seen this book, never opened it, and two trusted, non-bandwagoner friends have really grown as a result of this book. However, I am skeptical. It's too big. Not the book, but the hype. It just smacks of "what would Jesus do/prayer of jabez" kind of marketing. Maybe it's just because I don't want to go along with the crowd.
That said, I love my church family. I trust our pastoral staff. I am willing to join in the hype if only because it loosely fits in with Lent and I've been falling back into old habits lately. oh and also because it involves small groups and I love small groups!
Anyhoo, expect frequent 40 days blog thoughts... walk with me as I see what's behind the hype.
