Mo

I've really been enjoying Mo lately. Yesterday I watched her and a friend play in their little fort under the counter. They pulled all the tupperware out and then crawlled in and out. They would close the doors and then pop out to say "peek-a-boo" in a non-verbal sort of way. It was very fun to watch.

Friday Jo and Mo and me went to the zoo. !I thought it cost money but snuck in and then Jodi told me what a idiot I was for trying to sneak in when it was free). It was a bit of a let-down because I wanted Mo to be totally into it. While she got pretty excited a few times, she got really excited about the bright yellow M+M machine.

Since we are gone a lot, Mo sleeps in a pack-and-play about 4 nights a week. I love to get her up to bring her home because she falls right back to sleep on my shoulder. It's great and I don't want the music to ever stop. She also does it after naps except she is ussually crying and then you get in there and she frantically gets her Naa-Naa so that the parental unit doesn't leave it behind. Then she puts her ehad on your shoulder and pats your back. I don't knwo why she does that, but it is absolutely wonderful.

Come over sometime and I'll show you hours of child-footage and slide-shows. I'm such a dork.

Brian McLaren is helpful

http://www.beliefnet.com/blogs/godspolitics/2006/12/brian-mclaren-politics-of-joy.html

Take 5 minutes and read this. It's by a smart man who has always taken care to deliver a prophetic message in a humble and gentle way.

"I know this is a "God's Politics" blog, and I know that this won't sound very political, but in the end, it sort of is, especially ten days before Christmas.Earlier this week, I was speaking to a group of Methodist ministers and we sang the Christmas carol "Joy to the World." Two moments in the song took my breath away.The first came when I sang "let every heart prepare him room." If the carol is right, the way earth receives God's "prince of peace" is through individual hearts like ours. By making space, by opening our hearts to Christ, by letting our lives be the stable and manger into which good news quietly comes, by rendering the vacuum and vacancy within us vulnerable to the incoming of the Spirit ... we become, like Mary, "theotokos" - God-bearers.That might sound kind of mystical, not political, and I guess it is. It is something that I believe we all can actually experience: the possibility of preparing room in our hearts so that Christ truly comes.That brings me to the second transcendent moment in the carol for me this week: "No more let sin and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground. He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found."The coming of a good king in the ancient world meant a lot, and although kingly language may sound archaic today, I think we can recapture its meaning when we think of a thorny land, polluted by sin and cursed by sorrow, becoming verdant and fertile and healthy again - blessedness flowing over the land like a warm breeze.And of course, this is where the personal and political meet. Thinking about justice, talking about peace, debating public policy, and working for social change are important ... but not as a substitute for the very personal choice to "prepare him room" in our hearts, so that (as the saying goes) we can be the change we want to see in the world.The way "earth receives her king" (and the blessings he brings) is not by bombs and guns and wiretaps and coups; not by aggressive blog postings or passionate media pronouncements by pundits. Rather, the king (and the kingdom) come first to the quiet hearts of humble people who "prepare him room," and the joy flows to the world through them.That's the language of spiritual formation, no doubt. But how can there be political transformation in the external world of thorns, sins, and sorrow if our inner lives don't become the manger into which hope, healing, empowerment, love, and joy are born?What happens in the political realm - in the public world where people treat one another justly or unjustly, peacefully or violently, as neighbors or as enemies - can never be separated from what happens in the personal realm. And the reverse is true, too.That's the source of the politics of joy.Brian McLaren is chair of the board of Sojourners/Call to Renewal. A former pastor, he is now an author and speaker. Rumor has it that his latest book, The Secret Message of Jesus, would make a great Christmas gift".

Merry X-mas

What did you get for Christmas? I got a bad attitude. In fact, from now on, I want to be called B.A. Baron. I'm going to paint my VW black with a red stripe and I refuse to fly. I don't really have a bad attitude, but Jodi and I are trying to figure out the whole Christmas thing. Luckilly, Mo is young enough that we didn't have to have everything worked out yet. By next year though, we will have to have a plan and carry it out maticulously. It's obvious to me that we are going to screw her up. She's either going to grow up a socialist, or rebel and become a republican.

I do think that how we handle X-mas is going to have a great impact on how our kids see the world around them. I pray that we do what is right and not just react to problems we see. Any theories out there on how to handle Christmas? I've heard a bunch, but I'm still looking for a good one. Even my idea of gathering up presents and burning them in the front yard lacks the full life-lesson and teachable moment I'm looking for.

By the way, I have the same problem with birthdays. In many other cultures, the birthday boy/girl gives presents rather than receives them. I just can't shake the negative feelings. Think: Healthy balance of tradition with prophetic voice.

Some New Music in 2006

I have found out about soem cool bands this year and wanted to pay homage to the bands and to those who turned me on.

Mark Kozelek/ Sun Kil Moon/Red House Painters -- Jonanthan turned me on to this band and later I saw him in Ann Arbor. He was great, but he yelled at a guy for talking during the concert. It was odd. Very quiet. My friend Sid got turned on too and we went to the show together. The first time I heard them on CD, we went to Jonathans' girlfriend at the time, Justine's Cottage. Jonathan and luke and i played beer-pong late into the night. Thanks for the referal.

Iron and Wine- I think I heard I+W before, but maybe not. Again Jonathan turned me on. My friend Sid is also a big fan and we have swapped CD's before. I think Wayne is a big fan too but we have never listened or discussed together.

Wilco- Donald Miller mentioned them in one of his books, but then I saw them at Farm Aid a couple summers ago. But then Jonathan gave me a couple CD's and I really got excited.

Grateful Dead- I had never heard of this band before this year, but heard them on the radio. They seem really interesting and I think I'd like to go see them. I hope they are touring this summer and I think I'll drive and go see them. I heard the lead singer only has 4 fingers on one of his hands and that there is some ice-cream named after him. They sound like a heavy metal band, but they aren't.

Sandi Patty- This music blew me away. She is really talented and uses the gift that the Lord gave her to praise His name. I love to sit in my apartment and crank her up to "11" and lay face down on the ground and cry and laugh and sing. If I ever get to see her live, I'll pay whatever it costs. I wonder if she tours with the Grateful Dead?

The Prarie Home Companion

Did you know that I really like Garrison Keiller? It's true. I am watching the movie right now and it's kind of a let down so far. When I used to work contact shifts with the kids a work, I used to think it would be cool to have the kids listen to the weekly program. I don't have much else to say on this post except that I love the music and I like to hear the stories about Lake Wobegone. Here's a sidenote about Woody Harrelson: His dad is serving life for murder.

Another interesting thing about an actress in the movie: Meryl Streep. Jodi told me last week that MS has anal cancer. I didn't even know you could get "anal cancer". That's not a cancer joke, but it is odd. I have been watching the movie for about 45 minutes now and can't figure out what the movie is about. Wasn't that a happy and positive post? I love being alive.

Here's the picture again.

What Calvin has to say about Emergent

Not John Calvin knuckle head. I found this at a guys blog I check regularly. You can find him at

bobhyatt.typepad.com/boblog/ . I think it also speaks about my condition. Wayne very kindly pointed out my ironic post last time and how even though I was posting about being positive, that I had to poke some fun. while I don't want to totally give up on sarcasm and cynicism, I do want to limit myself. (I'm the same way with meth. Only on weekends and holidays). Maybe I should stay out of the debat sphere alltogether. I've got this prophet-complex thoguh and want to always think that what I have to say is so revolutionary and important. Maybe I should just shut up and and start doing something about what I think.

On another note, I'm hoping to get this job with this church in my area and will probably be doing some more interviewing with them in the next couple weeks. They want to have somebody in place by mid January which would be great for me. I would love to start working with "normal"kids again and think it would help me in this struggle with being positive. I do wonder if my mental instability will limit how I can interact with them though.

Missed my Connection

So I have been on that Hippie Christian Web-site that I posted on last. It has calmed down and I am beginning to understand them a bit more and they are getting a better taste of my sarcastic and cynical flavor. The site however has really cause me to take a look at my outlook on life. Here's what I mean

1. I am a very negative person. I didn't want to admit it, but I am. This makes me perfect for the Emerging Church (I only sort of mean this and I know folks in the EC have fought hard to get rid of this label). I am very good at seeing problem areas in the Church, other people, and myself. Pretty much, I'm a whiney crab. But the good news is that I am starting to see through the perverbial fog. This site had me so charged up and ready to explode that I seriously couldn't sleep. I have never experienced that and it has more to do with the Fundy Hippies on the BB, but non-the-less, I slept for crap last week and the week before. But I'm starting to notice some things. I only post on threads that I disagree with and have taken things pretty personally. I feel like I have a personality disorder because one night I'll post and be very assertive and brazen and the next I'll be trying to be nice and make up. This brings me to my second point.

2. I am not really connecting with anybody. Not totally true, I feel like connect with Montana, but she is so easy going, she connected with the stuttering demensia lady at the nursing home my grandma's in. I also connect with Jodi though I have been so quircky and confrontational. This frickin' job search is killing me too I think. I don't hate my job by any means, but a person can only take so many rejection letters and go through so many interviews before he starts to get a complex. Which brings me to my next point.

3. I am going to get to spend some time with one of my best friends Nicky-poo in the U.P. next week. Me and mine and him and his are going to sit around the fire-place and talk and play Settlers and probably drink a couple beers. It will be very nice to see him and Katie. I am also taking some steps to fix my dark cloud by reading scripture because my wife modelled it for me and because Keith confronted me on it. I am not sure what I'll do, but maybe read some of Paul because I kind of hate him and need to get a better view of him and I want to read the gospels and study what Jesus said about eternity and the afterlife. My goal will be to read it not for information to use against others as I often do but rather to get closer to my creator.

4. I am going to try to become more conservative this week. Isn't that a weird thing to write? I was a lot better at being conservative than I am at being liberal and I don't like to suck at things so I'm going to try to regress. Any suggestions on how I can become more conservative? What time is Bill O'Reilley on? Is Dobson on once a day or twice and at what times? Exactly where IS the Planned Parenthood in Grand Rapids and do you have to use lead pipe for pipe bombs or can you use PVC?

Quit wasting your time reading this

Hey everybody. Quit wasting your time reading this and do something valuable with your time. I have been consumed by this crazy hippie bulletin board. If you have a few hours a day to spare, check it out. http://beeyeglad.com/phpBB/

Some interesting topics.
1. all masturbation is wrong and is fornication
2. people aren't being healed because they don't have enough faith.
3. alcohol is poison
4. Brian McLaren is a false prophet.
5. Christian is posessed by satan himself.

I must get back to the work of the people. sorry so short.

46Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. Luke 11:46

23"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. matt 23:23-24

A Positive Blog Post

I was kidding about my last Blog. I really am going to write about what I like about the church because it's healthy for me. What I like about the Church: 1. I am not sure I would be where I am today (maybe this is what i don't like -just kidding) if it weren't for good people in the church. There is a man named Larry Bruins who is a butcher. he helped me feel good about myself sometimes when I was a kid. He kind of followed me up the grades as a volunteer in my church. I disliked my church very much but Larry did a good job of making me feel liked. The church did a great job of letting me know I was loved- by Jesus- but not so good in letting me knwo I was liked. I got offtrack there... sorry. I remember cooking venison sausage on a "hobo stove". It was really fun and made me feel like a part of something good.

Later in life I moved to the same street as Larry. I didn't always treat his kids very well because we were pretty different and they were younger. I remember Larry taking me aside and encouraging me on my leadership qualities and how God will use me for good. I think i was in middle school. After I went to college and started to enjoy all the seed bearing plants that God had created I came home from Iowa and went to my old church with my parents. I had been out late the night before enjoying all that life had to offer. Larry hunted me down and told me after church that the missionary that had been there reminded him of what kind of man I would become. I wasn't really listening to the missionary, but it felt good that Larry believed in me. I remember thinking about the night before and how the two options conflicted and that I would never be a "good man". Larry was a butcher-thus the picture.

#2. Something else I like about the Church- The Cchurch helps people. Though the motives of the Church I believe are often off-based, the Church does often help people out who need help. I have been involved in helping others get involved as well as heard or read or observed other instances where churches have gotten involved in good things. This is good and what the Church is called to do.

#3. Education- The church has often been the center of study and thought for the world including hospitals, libraries, art, colleges, etc. This is also good. I will not go into how we have misused this aspect of goodness for our benefits because this is the "What I like about the Church" Blog. Just to clarify, I think healthy people, reading, creating things, and learning are good and have blessed society.

I can't think of any other good things right now. This is part of my problem. Most of my thoughts are on negative things. Can you guys add some things. PLease don't say stupid things though like: the Crusades, the assimilation of Native American Culture, WWJD bracelettes, or anything to do with Jim Dobson. Thanks.

What I LIKE about the Church