It's been a great 12 months or so on blogspot, but my blog is moving on to (hopefully) more adventurous climes.
It's a very, very, very rough start, but I took a plunge into the domain name waters, bought genxrev and now have a new home at:
www.genxrev.com
In addition to all this newness, the blog has my first attempt at a podcast where I've recorded this Sunday's sermon. You can also go to iTunes, click on the "Podcasts" button on the upper left, type in "genxrev" in the search engine and you can listen to me there.
Frankly, I'm sick of myself and wouldn't be surprised if you are too, but, here it is. I'm going to keep this blog up, however, if you want to read earlier posts.
Thanks for reading!
Friday, September 15, 2006
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Krispy Kreme grace
This must be a dad kind of thing, but I enjoy taking the kids out for doughnuts, though I try to limit it to once a week. (My 21-month-old now says "dough-dough.") For some reason, my daughter likes Dunkin Donuts the best even when there are much better doughnuts at a local bakery in Deerfield. So we take turns. One time, my bakery, the other time, hers. Other times, we really splurge and drive about 20 minutes to a Krispy Kreme. Krispy Kremes are everywhere now, but I first had one before they migrated north in Birmingham, Alabama. That was an epiphany. The highlight for the kids, though, are seeing them made. One of the things I like about KK is the sense of abundance. Whenever we go in, we all get a free glazed right off the conveyer belt, hot and soft. The people there are always happy to see us and appear to be so eager to please.
Contrast that attitude with a trip to Radio Shack later that day (last Monday). I shouldn't pick on Radio Shack because so many other businesses do this, but I simply wanted to buy a cable that would connect my computer to a TV. As I waited to pay, watching Ethan try every radio-controlled car in sight and Caroline ogle a Barbie computer, the salesperson slid a mobile phone in front of me. "Have you seen the new Motorola phone?" (There was a name for it that I can't recall--probably something Razr because doesn't Motorola make Razr phones?) I smiled weakly and said, "It's nice." He then engaged me in discussion about my cell phone carrier and whether we were happy with it and this brought out my frustration with suggestive selling. Suggestive sellers are never satisfied. It wasn't enough that I was buying this cable. I had to buy more to satisfy the salesperson.
It was such a contrast between these two experiences and it has something to do with being the church, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe there's a Prodigal Son thing going on here. When we return to Krispy Kreme, we're welcomed and given the fatted calf/doughnut. That's a great feeling. When we go to other businesses where there's suggestive selling, there's a sense that one has to earn grace or love or satisfaction. One can never purchase or do enough.
Contrast that attitude with a trip to Radio Shack later that day (last Monday). I shouldn't pick on Radio Shack because so many other businesses do this, but I simply wanted to buy a cable that would connect my computer to a TV. As I waited to pay, watching Ethan try every radio-controlled car in sight and Caroline ogle a Barbie computer, the salesperson slid a mobile phone in front of me. "Have you seen the new Motorola phone?" (There was a name for it that I can't recall--probably something Razr because doesn't Motorola make Razr phones?) I smiled weakly and said, "It's nice." He then engaged me in discussion about my cell phone carrier and whether we were happy with it and this brought out my frustration with suggestive selling. Suggestive sellers are never satisfied. It wasn't enough that I was buying this cable. I had to buy more to satisfy the salesperson.
It was such a contrast between these two experiences and it has something to do with being the church, but I can't put my finger on it. Maybe there's a Prodigal Son thing going on here. When we return to Krispy Kreme, we're welcomed and given the fatted calf/doughnut. That's a great feeling. When we go to other businesses where there's suggestive selling, there's a sense that one has to earn grace or love or satisfaction. One can never purchase or do enough.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
A different kind of remembrance
Millions of people will do some significant remembering next Monday, the 5th anniversary of 9/11. I must confess I'm a little surprised at the amount of attention this anniversary is getting. I don't know if this is a media-driven thing or if I still am not grasping just how jarring this event was to our nation. Maybe some of both.
What really struck me today, though, was in reading about what happened on today's date 66 years ago. This is from the Writer's Almanac (www.writersalmanac.publicradio.org):
"It was on this day in 1940 that the German Luftwaffe began dropping bombs on London, in what became known as the London Blitz. On the first night, 600 German bombers came in waves, dropping explosive and incendiary devices over East London. St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Lambeth Palace, Piccadilly, and the House of Commons were all hit. And that was just the first night.
"Over the next eight months, Nazis dropped tens of thousands of bombs on the city. At one point during the bombing raids, Germans attacked every night for fifty-seven consecutive nights. In addition to London, they bombed fifteen other British cities. By the end, more than 30,000 Londoners had been killed, and more than 100,000 houses were destroyed."
As awful as 9/11 was, I simply can't comprehend being bombed 57 nights in a row. It put a few things in perspective for me. That, and the fact that dozens/hundreds of Iraqis are dying every day due to various forms of conflict. The war over there has been so wrong.
If you think of it, pray for my cousin Tyler, a Marine who's serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. Thanks.
What really struck me today, though, was in reading about what happened on today's date 66 years ago. This is from the Writer's Almanac (www.writersalmanac.publicradio.org):
"It was on this day in 1940 that the German Luftwaffe began dropping bombs on London, in what became known as the London Blitz. On the first night, 600 German bombers came in waves, dropping explosive and incendiary devices over East London. St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Lambeth Palace, Piccadilly, and the House of Commons were all hit. And that was just the first night.
"Over the next eight months, Nazis dropped tens of thousands of bombs on the city. At one point during the bombing raids, Germans attacked every night for fifty-seven consecutive nights. In addition to London, they bombed fifteen other British cities. By the end, more than 30,000 Londoners had been killed, and more than 100,000 houses were destroyed."
As awful as 9/11 was, I simply can't comprehend being bombed 57 nights in a row. It put a few things in perspective for me. That, and the fact that dozens/hundreds of Iraqis are dying every day due to various forms of conflict. The war over there has been so wrong.
If you think of it, pray for my cousin Tyler, a Marine who's serving his second tour of duty in Iraq. Thanks.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Labor Day thoughts
Sights and sounds from a Labor Day in Matteson and Park Forest, Illinois...
I ran in a 10-mile race today down on the southern suburb of Park Forest. We decided to make an overnight of it and stayed in a hotel in Matteson last night.
--I realized while staying at the hotel how white the area in which I live is. I'm not often in a situation when I'm in a social setting with members of other ethnic groups and I'm in the minority. The key phrase here is social setting. I'm occasionally in the minority in other instances, but I'm usually in a position of a servant helping others who are poor. I have the label of servant, but, really, I'm still in a position of power. Yesterday in the hotel pool, though, we were swimming with Hispanic and African-American families all simply wanting to have fun with their children. There are Hispanic families who live in Highland Park, but, again, it's rare to be in a social situation with them when we're on fairly equal social ground. What can I do to foster these opportunities?
--We went to Olive Garden last night so I could do a little carbo-loading. About 30 minutes after we sat down, another family sat down, too. He had on running gear and, to be honest, looked African so we assumed he was running in the race, which has become nationally known and draws some international runners. I asked him if he was running, he said he was, and we engaged in some small talk throughout the evening. The next day, we discoverd he was Gilbert Tuhabonye, an American citizen who is from Burundi. He's a top international runner who also had a book written about him and his survival of an incident of genocide. Check out his amazing story at www.gilbertsgazelles.com.
--It was a fun race wih a lot of different musical ensembles along the way, including a string quartet, polka band, church choir, and bagpipes. A little rainy and a little hilly, but a great way to spend Labor Day.
--Speaking of Labor Day, here are a couple ways to honor the day. The first is to go to www.hotelworkersrising.org and learn about the effort to earn better pay and rights for hotel workers. If organizing isn't your thing, here are some things to consider doing the next time you're in a hotel (I got these suggestions from my clergy colleague, Rev. Dr. Marti Scott):
1. The day you check out, strip your own bed(s)
2. Put your used towels on the toilet seat to save the worker from having to bend down too far
3. Tip your housekeeper each day anywhere from $1-$5, more if you're really messy
4. Leave a note of appreciation and, if you're comfortable doing this, tell them you'll pray for them that day.
These are small acts of kindness and compassion that will help a person who does an enormous amount of work for not a lot of pay.
I ran in a 10-mile race today down on the southern suburb of Park Forest. We decided to make an overnight of it and stayed in a hotel in Matteson last night.
--I realized while staying at the hotel how white the area in which I live is. I'm not often in a situation when I'm in a social setting with members of other ethnic groups and I'm in the minority. The key phrase here is social setting. I'm occasionally in the minority in other instances, but I'm usually in a position of a servant helping others who are poor. I have the label of servant, but, really, I'm still in a position of power. Yesterday in the hotel pool, though, we were swimming with Hispanic and African-American families all simply wanting to have fun with their children. There are Hispanic families who live in Highland Park, but, again, it's rare to be in a social situation with them when we're on fairly equal social ground. What can I do to foster these opportunities?
--We went to Olive Garden last night so I could do a little carbo-loading. About 30 minutes after we sat down, another family sat down, too. He had on running gear and, to be honest, looked African so we assumed he was running in the race, which has become nationally known and draws some international runners. I asked him if he was running, he said he was, and we engaged in some small talk throughout the evening. The next day, we discoverd he was Gilbert Tuhabonye, an American citizen who is from Burundi. He's a top international runner who also had a book written about him and his survival of an incident of genocide. Check out his amazing story at www.gilbertsgazelles.com.
--It was a fun race wih a lot of different musical ensembles along the way, including a string quartet, polka band, church choir, and bagpipes. A little rainy and a little hilly, but a great way to spend Labor Day.
--Speaking of Labor Day, here are a couple ways to honor the day. The first is to go to www.hotelworkersrising.org and learn about the effort to earn better pay and rights for hotel workers. If organizing isn't your thing, here are some things to consider doing the next time you're in a hotel (I got these suggestions from my clergy colleague, Rev. Dr. Marti Scott):
1. The day you check out, strip your own bed(s)
2. Put your used towels on the toilet seat to save the worker from having to bend down too far
3. Tip your housekeeper each day anywhere from $1-$5, more if you're really messy
4. Leave a note of appreciation and, if you're comfortable doing this, tell them you'll pray for them that day.
These are small acts of kindness and compassion that will help a person who does an enormous amount of work for not a lot of pay.
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