Thoughts

My students hosted a movie night this evening. We watched Up . It's makers pushed the idea that leaving your past behind, as hard as that can be, can lead to new life. An old man who had lost his wife did all he could to hold onto his house, which symbolized his last connection to her. He stubbornly refuses to move from that home, despite a city's efforts to take it and redevelop the land. His heart is so set against moving and losing the last memories of his wife that he chooses to take his house airborne by attaching thousands of helium balloons so he can move the entire place to a scenic waterfall. In the end, he lets that house go-- literally-- to help a young boy rescue a rare "snipe" which would otherwise have been in captivity the rest of its life. The movie shows just how far we will go to maintain our familiarity, sometimes even if that familiarity is painful, and even if the alternative is obviously healthier and more life-giving. In the story, the old man...

It was over two years ago that I joined an experiment that would last until last July, an experiment that would significantly change me and the eleven others involved. That experiment was the creation of a new church comprised of twelve members whose purpose was to serve the people of downtown Stockton. Most attractive to me about it was that half of our income would be used in some way outside the church, to benefit the local community or to aid in international assistance. In that span of time, we did in fact serve in ways we'd envisioned. One of our first events was a pizza and school supplies giveaway (coupled with games for the kids who came) toward the end of our first summer. Many of those who came seemed genuinely happy at this. Through that year, we also hosted an event called a "card me house party," wherein each person's ticket to the event was a gift card. Once inside, chips could be purchased to play card and other games, with the resulting collection g...

This swing dance idea seems to be working. At first, many of the kids were reluctant because they had to dance with the opposite gender (most are in seventh grade, a time when kids are still awkward about the opposite sex). There are still those who feel that way, but they're getting used to it. Just as important, they're actually learning to dance. For the first time today, they were able to put moves together, with some even using combinations. Tomorrow will be a little more tricky, because the move I'm teaching will require them to be closer than previously. Even its name expresses this closeness: it's called the "sweetheart."

I thought a little about why I like to blog, and I've concluded three things. First, blogging allows you to create yourself, to define your personality more intentionally than in face-to-face discussion. For that reason, there is a sense of control over the way other people perceive you. You hone your image in a way that you prefer. For that reason, blogging is an art, because you cast into one amalgamated whole your thoughts, desires, sympathies, fears (or lack of fears, if you choose to appear brave or unaffected by life's troubles), and even your talents. It is also a science, because you are able to quantify your popularity by measuring the number of times others have viewed your pages. I suppose, if I were honest with myself, I would say that I like the feeling of letting other people see the good and not the bad. This leads to the second reason I blog. I also blog because I like to be heard. Except perhaps around those closest to me, I'm fairly quiet in real life. B...

Well, I've run into a bit of an experiment of late. I teach an elective in the afternoon called "Computer Applications." Its object is, as one might suspect, to help students become more familiar with pertinent (and sometimes non-pertinent) programs. We were, however, just beginning to play with Garageband when we were forced to stop temporarily as the school uses the computer lab for a series of computer-based tests. I mention this because this created a small problem. How would a computer class function without computers? In the past, we've survived because there were close to enough laptops in my room to allow us to work there. This year's class is larger than in the past, however, and the laptops we do have available are not only shared with other classes, but they are close to death. At least, it seems that way. Even the sound they make when you wake them from sleep mode seems almost like the wheeze of a sick person, as though they were protesting being wok...

"...some worshiped the mathematics because it provided a refuge from thought and from feeling." (John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath ) It seems a well-worn saying that Christianity is a "crutch" for the weak, a way for people to find security by believing that there is an omnipotent God in control. While I disagree with the intent of the charge (to dismiss the faith for their own lives, believing it is only a convenience for the weak), I do agree in part with the conclusion. Let me explain. Those who make the charge imply that the weak adopt Christianity as a salve for their fearful minds. This is true for some. Some people do adopt the faith, and hold to it, because they need to lean on God for comfort in an insecure world. In fact, those who accept God's comfort, who seek it and live in it, find great security, even while hell is breaking loose around them. Look at the support from Scripture: "For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his d...

"If you have sound nerves and intelligence and health and popularity and a good upbringing, you are likely to be quite satisfied with your character as it is. 'Why drag God into it?' you may ask. A certain level of good conduct comes fairly easily to you. You are not one of those wretched creatures who are always being tripped lip by sex, or dipsomania, or nervousness, or bad temper. Everyone says you are a nice chap and (between ourselves) you agree with them. You are quite likely to believe that all this niceness is your own doing: and you may easily not feel the need for any better kind of goodness." (C.S. Lewis: "Nice People or New Men" in Mere Christianity ) Being nice and being good are two different things. Being nice is often easier, and can function as a defense in some cases when goodness seems to be out of reach. Being good (in the sense of your taking an action) can be sometimes pleasurable, sometimes painful, but it is always sacrificial. Nic...