I’ve enjoyed this holiday season more than last year by a wide margin. However, I’m still weary of being tired for days with little to show for it.
I am daunted by this new year and unsure of myself as I enter it. Tonight we’ll do some goal setting which usually helps; putting it all in the table and sorting out the best from the good often relieves the burden of over-the-limit dreams.
Anyways, for now just gotta eat lunch and take Graham ice skating. Baby steps.
Christmas accomplished. Whew!
Christmas is almost here!
Yesterday I installed the stair railings and blinds so that the guest room is finally complete; just in time for my grandparent’s arrival.
Today I used two skills from high school. Two!
First, geometry. Using the Pythagorean Theorem and SOACATOA (remember that?) I calculated the necessary height of a screw to install a rail.
Second, checking my work. I had to look up all the stuff about cosines and such because I didn’t remember any of it. Even when I applied it, I wasn’t sure that I had it right. So I created a couple control problems and validated my results.
#geometry rocks!
I hit a milestone today. My 500th post on my website! To mark the occasion I’ve written a meta-post to celebrate the achievement.
One week until Christmas!
Amie and I wrapped the stocking-stuffers last night. The boys will be thrilled. With Amie’s dad’s help we’ve finished the bed in the guest bedroom. Our task list is dwindling, although our Christmas cards are doomed to arrive late again this year. I’m enjoying this season way more than last; there’s lots to do but it doesn’t feel like work is all there is.
I’ve been reading the book “Evicted” by Matthew Desmond. You know, some light holiday reading 🙄. The dissonance between my life of relative comfort and ease and the inhuman treatment of the city’s poor strains my credulity in the justice of God. Mostly I feel shame to be treated well without reason when my brothers and sisters are abused without reason.
In my more balanced frames of mind I recognize that, despite the dramatic differences in circumstance, neither the poor nor the rich are liberated. Desmond’s evicted subjects are tempted to flee from the pain of their environment, the guilt of their decisions, and the shame of events over which they had no control. On the other hand, the landlords who enrich themselves from poverty are equally tempted to drown their guilt in platitudes and their shame in diversions. Both are imprisoned, though the blunt chains of the impoverished are more evident than the interior chains of the wealthy.
By this I do not mean either to diminish the culpability of the wealthy for their injustice towards their poor brothers and sisters, nor to valorize the suffering of the poor. This subject is so weighty that it seems impossible to succeed in truth-telling, which is why Desmond’s narrative approach is such an effective medium.
“Evicted” by Matthew Desmond calls to mind a frustration I’ve had for many years. Our society manufactures barriers between us across so many strata: economic, racial, gender, expertise. James enjoins us to care for the needy among us and to show no partiality towards the rich, but we’ve so segregated ourselves, both inside and outside church buildings, that it’s rare even to be in the positions that James describes.
Even when the church community has diversity, interior walls compound our separation further: pride, shame, fear. The rich sit quietly near the poor but say nothing of their wealth for fear of judgment or manipulation. The poor say nothing of their needs for fear of judgment and toxic pity. Between the systemic, external divisions and the equally rampant interior barriers it often feels like we’ll all die alone in wintry darkness, torn to pieces by vicious beasts and riddled with cancerous tumors. No wonder the prophets resort to apocalyptic language when addressing injustice and moral decay.
It’s been awhile since I posted any pictures. Here are a few from the last months which I especially enjoy.
Graham and Royal sang in a little choir production from their school tonight. Graham had been stressed that he didn’t know all the words to “Jingle Bells,” but he did great - he even had hand motions! Royal looked exhausted and just waited awkwardly for the show to end.
My second day off was spent with my sons, and that’s made these some of my favorite days.
Today, Royal and I spent the afternoon together. We visited the Geology museum on the School of Mines campus and saw some spectacular rocks and fossils. Then we went ice skating for the first time.
Doing things with both boys can be fun, but my favorite is when we’re one-on-one. I’m hoping to do something similar with Graham soon; he’ll love the museum and might like ice skating.
Amie and her parents treated us to a date at the symphony last night. And it was glorious!
For me, the symphony is nostalgic. Many of my best memories as a young person were in the symphonic and marching band. I feel the trepidation and excitement when the xylophone rings out, cutting through the whole orchestra. I remember the joy of harmony. I recall marveling at the range and power of each instrument from the backstage view of the percussion section.
The symphony is nostalgic, and it’s also prophetic. The Spirit flows with the music, calling images and memories to my mind’s eye in a way that’s often surprising. That is, in ways I cannot anticipate or control. Those movements in which I expect to receive the strongest impressions can be lifeless to me, and others can bring me to tears with their resonance and imagery. I think that I learned to hear the Spirit’s voice first through music, then recognized the speaker in the Bible.
Lastly, the symphony is nostalgic, prophetic and FUN. At times I struggle to be “proper” because I want to dance and mourn, in all my ungainly, unskilled movements, along with the music. I don’t (in the concert hall at least 😉), but I allow my body to move with the music in my seat. Sometimes I feel self-conscious when I realize that almost no one else is doing the same 😨, but bucking conformity brings it’s own satisfaction. It’s worth discomfort to feel the texture of the music in my flesh.
A big part of what made this symphony especially fun was the Davis Sisters: Dee+Shapeera, Kandra and LaDreeva. Their joy and comfort singing together and the astounding range of their talents is a blessing. My only gripe is that none of the vocals speakers were pointed towards the balcony!
We may be becoming part-time groupies of Kandra and LaDreeva if we keep showing up to their local gigs ♥️.