I found my library internet card! Apparently I had left it at the library, silly me. Our computer at home has taken a turn for the worse and now on top of everything else, the screen jiggles up and down at a dizzyingly rapid pace, making it hard to look at for more than 2 minutes without feeling nauseas. So it's pretty difficult to use. Which is why I must now come to the library. SO, I apologize to my wide audience of 1 for my lack of recent posts. Missing library card + computer at home a piece of crap = no blogs. But now the library card is taken care of, whew!
So I'd like to spend some time today writing about my favorite place in High Point... The Farmer's Market!!! WHOO HOO!! Every Saturday we go to the Farmer's Market, and it is the highlight of my week! I am already counting down the days until we get to go again- 3! Let me tell you what is so absolutely wonderful about the farmer's market:
1. The food is YUMMY! The food at the Farmer's Market is way better and fresher than at the grocery store. You know how tomatoes from your own backyard are always tastier than the ones at the store? Well the Farmer's Market gives you that backyard fresh taste! Mmmmm.
2. The food is CHEAP! Way, way cheaper than the grocery store! We save like $20 a week shopping there! Healthy food is usually expensive. But at the Farmer's Market, we get way more fresh fruits and vegetables than normal and still end up spending less!
3. Supporting local business: It is good to know you are helping local farmers and the local economy. When you pay for the food, you are usually paying the very person who grew it, and that is fun. One of our favorite vendors is the beef man: www.ttbeef.com. He's a friendly fellow and his beef is healthy and tasty!
4. It is FUN! Where else can you go to see ostrich eggs and purple bell peppers? Or a million other cool things you can only see at the Farmer's Market. It is also very sociable. The farmers are often very interesting and friendly people, and they will even give you discounts sometimes.
Yes, for all these reasons and more, I love the Farmer's Market!
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
The Bob Challenge
Excerpt from "If You Want to Walk On Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat" by John Ortberg:
"One of my favorite adventures in prayer involves Doug Coe, who has a ministry in Washington, D.C., that mostly involves people in politics and statecraft. Doug became acquainted with Bob, and insurance salesman who was completely unconnected with any government circles. Bob became a Christian and began to meet with Doug to learn about his new faith.
One day, Bob came in all excited about a statement in the Bible where Jesus says, 'Ask whatever you will in my name, and you shall receive it.'
'Is that really true?' Bob demanded.
Doug explained, 'Well, it's not a blank check. You have to take it in context of the teachings of the whole
Scripture on prayer. But yes-- it really is true. Jesus really does answer prayer.'
'Great!' Bob said. 'Then I gotta start praying for something. I think I'll pray for Africa.'
'That's kind of a broad target. Why don't you narrow it down to one country?' Doug advised.
'All right. I'll pray for Kenya.'
'Do you know anyone in Kenya?' Doug asked.
'No.'
'Ever been to Kenya?'
'No.' Bob just wanted to pray for Kenya.
So Doug made an unusual agreement. He challenged Bob to pray every day for 6 months for Kenya. If Bob would do that and nothing extraordinary happened, Doug would pay him five hundred dollars. But if something remarkable did happen, Bob would have to pay Doug five hundred dollars. And if Bob did not pray every day, the whole deal was off. It was a pretty unusual prayer program, but then Doug is a creative guy.
Bob began to pray, and for a long while nothing happened. Then one night he was at a dinner in Washington. The people around the table explained what they did for a living. One woman said she helped run an orphanage in Kenya--the largest of its kind.
Bob saw five hundred dollars suddenly sprout wings and begin to fly away. But he could not keep quiet. Bob roared to life. He had not said much up to this point, and now he pounded her relentlessly with question after question.
'You're obviously very interested in my county,' the woman said to Bob, overwhelmed by his sudden barrage of questions. 'You've been to Kenya before?'
'No.'
'You know someone in Kenya?'
'No.'
'Then how do you happen to be so curious?'
'Well, someone is kind of paying me $500 to pray..."
She asked Bob if he would like to come visit Kenya and tour the orphanage. Bob was so eager to go, he would have left that very night if he could.
When Bob arrived in Kenya, he was appalled by the poverty and the lack of basic health care. Upon returning to Washington, he couldn't get this place out of his mind. He began to write to large pharmaceutical companies, describing to them the vast need he had seen. He reminded them that every year they would throw away large amounts of medical supplies that went unsold. "why not send them to this place in Kenya?' he asked.
And some of them did. These orphanage received more than a million dollars' worth of medical supplies. The woman called Bob up and said, "Bob, this is amazing! We've had the most phenomenal gifts because of the letters you wrote. We would like to fly you back over here and have a big party. Will you come?'
So Bob flew back to Kenya. While he was there, the president of Kenya came to the celebration, because it was the largest orphanage in the country, and offered to take Bob on a tour of Nairobi, the capital city. In the course of the tour, they saw a prison. Bob asked about a group of prisoners there.
'They're political prisoners.' he was told.
'That's a bad idea,' Bob said brightly. 'You should let them out.'
Bob finished the tour and flew back home. Sometime later, Bob received a phone call from the State Department of the United States government.
'Is this Bob?'
'Yes.'
'Were you recently in Kenya?'
'Yes.'
'Did you make any statements to the president about political prisoners?'
'Yes.'
'What did you say?'
'I told him he should let them out.'
The State Department official explained that the department had been working for years to get the release of these prisoners, to no avail. Normal diplomatic channels and political maneuverings had led to a dead end. But now the prisoners had been released, and the State Department was told it had been largely because of ... Bob. So the government was calling to say thanks.
Several months later, the president of Kenya made a phone call to Bob. He was going to rearrange his government and select a new cabinet. Would Bob be willing to fly over and pray for him for three days while he worked on this very important task?
So Bob-- who was not politically connected at all- boarded a plane once more and flew back to Kenya, where he prayed and asked God to give wisdom for the leader of the nation as he selected his government.
How about you? What are you praying for?"
"One of my favorite adventures in prayer involves Doug Coe, who has a ministry in Washington, D.C., that mostly involves people in politics and statecraft. Doug became acquainted with Bob, and insurance salesman who was completely unconnected with any government circles. Bob became a Christian and began to meet with Doug to learn about his new faith.
One day, Bob came in all excited about a statement in the Bible where Jesus says, 'Ask whatever you will in my name, and you shall receive it.'
'Is that really true?' Bob demanded.
Doug explained, 'Well, it's not a blank check. You have to take it in context of the teachings of the whole
Scripture on prayer. But yes-- it really is true. Jesus really does answer prayer.'
'Great!' Bob said. 'Then I gotta start praying for something. I think I'll pray for Africa.'
'That's kind of a broad target. Why don't you narrow it down to one country?' Doug advised.
'All right. I'll pray for Kenya.'
'Do you know anyone in Kenya?' Doug asked.
'No.'
'Ever been to Kenya?'
'No.' Bob just wanted to pray for Kenya.
So Doug made an unusual agreement. He challenged Bob to pray every day for 6 months for Kenya. If Bob would do that and nothing extraordinary happened, Doug would pay him five hundred dollars. But if something remarkable did happen, Bob would have to pay Doug five hundred dollars. And if Bob did not pray every day, the whole deal was off. It was a pretty unusual prayer program, but then Doug is a creative guy.
Bob began to pray, and for a long while nothing happened. Then one night he was at a dinner in Washington. The people around the table explained what they did for a living. One woman said she helped run an orphanage in Kenya--the largest of its kind.
Bob saw five hundred dollars suddenly sprout wings and begin to fly away. But he could not keep quiet. Bob roared to life. He had not said much up to this point, and now he pounded her relentlessly with question after question.
'You're obviously very interested in my county,' the woman said to Bob, overwhelmed by his sudden barrage of questions. 'You've been to Kenya before?'
'No.'
'You know someone in Kenya?'
'No.'
'Then how do you happen to be so curious?'
'Well, someone is kind of paying me $500 to pray..."
She asked Bob if he would like to come visit Kenya and tour the orphanage. Bob was so eager to go, he would have left that very night if he could.
When Bob arrived in Kenya, he was appalled by the poverty and the lack of basic health care. Upon returning to Washington, he couldn't get this place out of his mind. He began to write to large pharmaceutical companies, describing to them the vast need he had seen. He reminded them that every year they would throw away large amounts of medical supplies that went unsold. "why not send them to this place in Kenya?' he asked.
And some of them did. These orphanage received more than a million dollars' worth of medical supplies. The woman called Bob up and said, "Bob, this is amazing! We've had the most phenomenal gifts because of the letters you wrote. We would like to fly you back over here and have a big party. Will you come?'
So Bob flew back to Kenya. While he was there, the president of Kenya came to the celebration, because it was the largest orphanage in the country, and offered to take Bob on a tour of Nairobi, the capital city. In the course of the tour, they saw a prison. Bob asked about a group of prisoners there.
'They're political prisoners.' he was told.
'That's a bad idea,' Bob said brightly. 'You should let them out.'
Bob finished the tour and flew back home. Sometime later, Bob received a phone call from the State Department of the United States government.
'Is this Bob?'
'Yes.'
'Were you recently in Kenya?'
'Yes.'
'Did you make any statements to the president about political prisoners?'
'Yes.'
'What did you say?'
'I told him he should let them out.'
The State Department official explained that the department had been working for years to get the release of these prisoners, to no avail. Normal diplomatic channels and political maneuverings had led to a dead end. But now the prisoners had been released, and the State Department was told it had been largely because of ... Bob. So the government was calling to say thanks.
Several months later, the president of Kenya made a phone call to Bob. He was going to rearrange his government and select a new cabinet. Would Bob be willing to fly over and pray for him for three days while he worked on this very important task?
So Bob-- who was not politically connected at all- boarded a plane once more and flew back to Kenya, where he prayed and asked God to give wisdom for the leader of the nation as he selected his government.
How about you? What are you praying for?"
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Art & Theology
In Adventures in Missing the Point, Brian McLaren talks about the marriage between art and theology, and how it is an important shift in the emerging church. He says how this blend engages "the mind and the heart, understanding and imagination, proposition and image, clarity and mystery, explanation and narrative, exposition and artistic expression." He says that "the best of the emerging theologians will join hands and hearts with poets, musicians, filmmakers, etc..."
I think this is kind of funny, because Ned and I are, quite literally, a marriage between art and theology. He wants to go to film school, I want to go to seminary. I'm always reading my theology books, while he's composing music on his guitar, or drawing, or writing a screenplay. I just think it's cool how God put those two elements together in us. I used to wonder how God was going to integrate our unique and different giftings, but now I see how it makes perfect sense. He is a brilliant matchmaker.
I think this is kind of funny, because Ned and I are, quite literally, a marriage between art and theology. He wants to go to film school, I want to go to seminary. I'm always reading my theology books, while he's composing music on his guitar, or drawing, or writing a screenplay. I just think it's cool how God put those two elements together in us. I used to wonder how God was going to integrate our unique and different giftings, but now I see how it makes perfect sense. He is a brilliant matchmaker.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Upgrade Fever
Yesterday we went computer shopping. The motherboard of my not-so trusty laptop fried in New Zealand, destroying all my college papers, magazine/newspaper articles, pictures, poems, everything! So now we are using this dinasaur IMAC that Ned has. It's so bad I can't even see my own blogpage. The screen comes out all funky when I try to load it. But at least it lets me post. All this to say, I need a new computer. Problem is, we're broke. But, we looked around anyways.
Actually, it started like this. The reason we have this stupid mac in the first place is because Ned got it for free. The reason he actually kept it so long is because supposedly they're the way to go when it comes to film editing and such. Well, Ned's friend just happened to have a copy of Final Cut Pro (THE film editing software, with a $500 pricetag to back it up!) sitting in his living room. Ned was ecstatic and rushed it home, thinking all his dreams had come true. SO- he immediately installs the program, and guess what! Not enough memory. So Ned goes to work. He erases EVERY stinking program on this stupid computer, and it STILL will not open. So we drive all around for hours yesterday searching for a place that actually deals Macs (it's hard to find!) so that Ned can find an expert to talk to and get this whole thing straightened out. Well, he found a so called expert, only to receive the expert advice that "you need to get a new computer." HA! So, we're back to square one, the both of us.
Actually, it started like this. The reason we have this stupid mac in the first place is because Ned got it for free. The reason he actually kept it so long is because supposedly they're the way to go when it comes to film editing and such. Well, Ned's friend just happened to have a copy of Final Cut Pro (THE film editing software, with a $500 pricetag to back it up!) sitting in his living room. Ned was ecstatic and rushed it home, thinking all his dreams had come true. SO- he immediately installs the program, and guess what! Not enough memory. So Ned goes to work. He erases EVERY stinking program on this stupid computer, and it STILL will not open. So we drive all around for hours yesterday searching for a place that actually deals Macs (it's hard to find!) so that Ned can find an expert to talk to and get this whole thing straightened out. Well, he found a so called expert, only to receive the expert advice that "you need to get a new computer." HA! So, we're back to square one, the both of us.
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Saturday Blues
Today is Saturday. Last Saturday I was in Florida, and the Saturday before that I was in NY. Now I am back home in North Carolina, and I am wishing I were somewhere else. Mostly Auckland. I miss living in Auckland. I miss my job there! I had the coolest job in the world- I was working on a yacht, on the ocean, in Auckland Harbor, with harbor bridge right in front of me and the sparkling blue water all around me, making $20 and hour. I was working with Ned, and we were working with our friend Nathan. We had cool co-workers- from Argentina, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Canada, America, and Scotland. We worked outside in the sun all day with the sea breeze blowing through our hair.
It was work, yes, exhuasting work, but it was satisfying and it was fun. We had great conversations with our co-workers about life and God and what being a Christian is about and why we followed Jesus. At lunch we would stretch out on the boat and eat our turkey and sprouts on rye, or we would cross the marina to the little cafe and eat chinese. On special days. we treated ourselves to Almond Magnums, yummy! (It's an ice cream bar.) And every Friday after work, we stopped on the way home at The Birdcage, where we got the $5 beer and nachos special. It was a good way to end a long week.
In Auckland we lived at the Freeman's house, which is a hospitality ministry of YWAM. We paid rent- a little more than we pay here, but it was a 3 story townhouse with a gorgeous view of the city and the tower, which was especially breathtaking at night. There we lived with friends- Nathan, from Canada, who worked on the boat with us and was on the DTS with us; Paul, from New Zealand, a very wise soul who took us kyacking to an island volcano across the bay; Dino, from San Francisco, who was heading up the Freeman's House ministry; Tina, from Canada, part of the Freeman's house ministry; Jo, from New Zealand, who is now in California doing her DTS; Fredy Johnson, from India who worked at a muffin shop and brought us yummy muffins; and Danielle, from Austraila. I miss them.
I miss Auckland. The city buzzed with life and light and culture. The street performer who stood as a statue at the crosswalk, and then when the light turned green, he would chase people across the street. The guy who sat and played his saloon-style piano in the back of his truck bed, with a little electric monkey who would shake the coin jar every time he pushed the foot peddle. The Viaduct, where the most enormous, glamorous superyachts you can imagine were docked, all lit up in the evening, providing a picturesque scene for all the dockside cafes, which buzzed with music, conversation, and the clinking of glass. All within a 20 minute walk from our place.
All of that was 4 months ago. And now all we have left of Auckland is our memories. And that makes me sad.
It was work, yes, exhuasting work, but it was satisfying and it was fun. We had great conversations with our co-workers about life and God and what being a Christian is about and why we followed Jesus. At lunch we would stretch out on the boat and eat our turkey and sprouts on rye, or we would cross the marina to the little cafe and eat chinese. On special days. we treated ourselves to Almond Magnums, yummy! (It's an ice cream bar.) And every Friday after work, we stopped on the way home at The Birdcage, where we got the $5 beer and nachos special. It was a good way to end a long week.
In Auckland we lived at the Freeman's house, which is a hospitality ministry of YWAM. We paid rent- a little more than we pay here, but it was a 3 story townhouse with a gorgeous view of the city and the tower, which was especially breathtaking at night. There we lived with friends- Nathan, from Canada, who worked on the boat with us and was on the DTS with us; Paul, from New Zealand, a very wise soul who took us kyacking to an island volcano across the bay; Dino, from San Francisco, who was heading up the Freeman's House ministry; Tina, from Canada, part of the Freeman's house ministry; Jo, from New Zealand, who is now in California doing her DTS; Fredy Johnson, from India who worked at a muffin shop and brought us yummy muffins; and Danielle, from Austraila. I miss them.
I miss Auckland. The city buzzed with life and light and culture. The street performer who stood as a statue at the crosswalk, and then when the light turned green, he would chase people across the street. The guy who sat and played his saloon-style piano in the back of his truck bed, with a little electric monkey who would shake the coin jar every time he pushed the foot peddle. The Viaduct, where the most enormous, glamorous superyachts you can imagine were docked, all lit up in the evening, providing a picturesque scene for all the dockside cafes, which buzzed with music, conversation, and the clinking of glass. All within a 20 minute walk from our place.
All of that was 4 months ago. And now all we have left of Auckland is our memories. And that makes me sad.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
World Changers
As told by Tony Campolo in Adventures in Missing the Point:
"Some students of mine at Eastern College conducted research that addressed the question, How could a small group of Christians effect micro-social changes in society? For answers to that question, they designed a plan that sought to bring social justice to the Dominican Republic- a small country that needed justice in a big way. 'If this is really such a workable plan,' a student said one day, 'why don't we enact it? Why don't we see what we can do about changing the Dominican Republic?'
The first step of this 'Christian revolutionary movement' was to buy stock in Gulf & Western, a large multinational corporation that we believed dominated the economy of the Dominican Republic. It owned hotels, resorts, massive tracts of real estate, and the major sugar producer.
Each student bought one share of stock in Gulf & Western- an act that entitled them to attend the stockholders' meeting. During the meeting, the students took turns reading from the Bible and calling Gulf& Western to eonimic responsibility. We asked them to raise the pitifully low wages of their sugar workers. We pointed out that the corporation had led the nation to gradually depend on a single-crop economy. We complained about the failure of the corporation to provide education and medical services for the people inthe region of D.R. that they dominated.
The students expected to be laughed out of the meeting- which would set them up for the next stage: confrontation, which could become ugly.
Instead, the corporate executves of Gulf & Western actually listened. A series of negotiations took place over the next several months- and not only with us, but with other organizations that were also committed to improving the economic and social lie of the people of the Dominican Republic.
And it actually happened: Gulf & Western went public with a plan to help the people of D.R. The corporation committed itself to working with Mt. Sinai Medical Center of New York to create health services in the communities throughout the eastern half of the nation... it committed itself to testing the soil, so that land tha tcould produce food for the indigenous corporate population would be reserved for thta purpose...it committed itself to an array of educational programs that included a new university to train teachers, lawyers, nurses and engineers.
The students were stunned. And amazingly enough, Gulf & Western followed through on their promises: they spent a half billion dollars on these programs over the next five years, and in the process brought about radical change in the lives of the people of that region."
I love that story!!!
"Some students of mine at Eastern College conducted research that addressed the question, How could a small group of Christians effect micro-social changes in society? For answers to that question, they designed a plan that sought to bring social justice to the Dominican Republic- a small country that needed justice in a big way. 'If this is really such a workable plan,' a student said one day, 'why don't we enact it? Why don't we see what we can do about changing the Dominican Republic?'
The first step of this 'Christian revolutionary movement' was to buy stock in Gulf & Western, a large multinational corporation that we believed dominated the economy of the Dominican Republic. It owned hotels, resorts, massive tracts of real estate, and the major sugar producer.
Each student bought one share of stock in Gulf & Western- an act that entitled them to attend the stockholders' meeting. During the meeting, the students took turns reading from the Bible and calling Gulf& Western to eonimic responsibility. We asked them to raise the pitifully low wages of their sugar workers. We pointed out that the corporation had led the nation to gradually depend on a single-crop economy. We complained about the failure of the corporation to provide education and medical services for the people inthe region of D.R. that they dominated.
The students expected to be laughed out of the meeting- which would set them up for the next stage: confrontation, which could become ugly.
Instead, the corporate executves of Gulf & Western actually listened. A series of negotiations took place over the next several months- and not only with us, but with other organizations that were also committed to improving the economic and social lie of the people of the Dominican Republic.
And it actually happened: Gulf & Western went public with a plan to help the people of D.R. The corporation committed itself to working with Mt. Sinai Medical Center of New York to create health services in the communities throughout the eastern half of the nation... it committed itself to testing the soil, so that land tha tcould produce food for the indigenous corporate population would be reserved for thta purpose...it committed itself to an array of educational programs that included a new university to train teachers, lawyers, nurses and engineers.
The students were stunned. And amazingly enough, Gulf & Western followed through on their promises: they spent a half billion dollars on these programs over the next five years, and in the process brought about radical change in the lives of the people of that region."
I love that story!!!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Seattle
Seattle. There are 2 main reasons that we're planning on moving to the land of rainclouds and good coffee:
1. Mars Hill Graduate School - Seminary's an idea I've been toying with for a long time, and I think now is the time. Many people have asked "Why Mars Hill?" Here is my reply. Mars Hill is doing seminary completely differant than any other. They are reinventing Divinity Education. "We escaped from the ivory tower of the academy and took to the streets, engaging practitioners and practitioners-to-be in the provocative conversation of 'what if?'" It has been birthed in the "emergent" church movement, seeking to step up to the challenges of doing ministry in a post-modern culture. Rather than stuck teaching a model from the 1950's, Mars Hill is pioneering a new model of ministry and missions to reach today's world.
2. Seattle Film Institute - Making movies has been Ned's dream since he was a wee young lad. Despite years of being adamantly opposed to formal film school education, he suddenly and unexpectedly had a change of heart and decided he wanted to go. So, he's planning on enrolling in their 10 month immersion program where he will eat, sleep, and breathe film.
So, that's the plan, anyways. As always, it's subject to change. But, God willing, we'll be moving out there in the next 3-12 months, and we can't wait!!!
1. Mars Hill Graduate School - Seminary's an idea I've been toying with for a long time, and I think now is the time. Many people have asked "Why Mars Hill?" Here is my reply. Mars Hill is doing seminary completely differant than any other. They are reinventing Divinity Education. "We escaped from the ivory tower of the academy and took to the streets, engaging practitioners and practitioners-to-be in the provocative conversation of 'what if?'" It has been birthed in the "emergent" church movement, seeking to step up to the challenges of doing ministry in a post-modern culture. Rather than stuck teaching a model from the 1950's, Mars Hill is pioneering a new model of ministry and missions to reach today's world.
2. Seattle Film Institute - Making movies has been Ned's dream since he was a wee young lad. Despite years of being adamantly opposed to formal film school education, he suddenly and unexpectedly had a change of heart and decided he wanted to go. So, he's planning on enrolling in their 10 month immersion program where he will eat, sleep, and breathe film.
So, that's the plan, anyways. As always, it's subject to change. But, God willing, we'll be moving out there in the next 3-12 months, and we can't wait!!!
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Home Again
We've returned from our whirlwind tour of the east coast. From NC to NY to FL and back again to NC all within a 10 day time span. It was a great trip- although exhausting. We started out the trip in Woodstock, NY (yes, it's THE Woodstock- where Ned was born and raised). We were there to celebrate his dad's 60th birthday along with the brothers and sisters and Grandma. It was a fun time. Then we got to see my best friend Michelle, who I hadn't seen in over 2 years! We went kyacking on Lake George and Ned managed to tip her over "accidentally"- but it was great fun and a good visit with her family. Then we hit up Philadelphia for a day to see Ned's bro Jim and sis Laura. More good times. From there we made it to our apt in NC for 1 night, and then down to FL. In FL, I watched my college roommate Christina get married on the beach at sunset- gorgeous! Right after the reception, we started the long drive home. Ned got pulled over at 3am by a merciful cop who only gave us a verbal warning. A ticket would've been over $300! Thank you God!
So now we are home- Ned's back to work, and I'm back to looking for work. Same old boring humdrum. On a more exciting note, we might bump up the move to Seattle to November. We'll see :)
So now we are home- Ned's back to work, and I'm back to looking for work. Same old boring humdrum. On a more exciting note, we might bump up the move to Seattle to November. We'll see :)
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