... become a digital time traveler!
B
Friday, December 3, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
Pretty sure Matthew 23 just ate my lunch
Well, not entirely. I did have some yogurt for the sake of my digestive tract.
Still, I decided to stay at home on Friday of this week like I was trying to make my practice here in Kenya. It helps me feel centered having a day to rest and work from home. I generally spend the day editing photos and puttering around. Today i felt the need to get into my Bible. I have dropped the ball on that especially lately. I thought i was doing so well, but stress steals my peace and the moment i feel stressed out I turn to a lot of stupid things to return my joy... like television. Culture stress kicks my butt. I hate being followed by people begging for money, getting yelled at to point out that I am, in fact, a white girl on foot, and not being able to communicate clearly or even understand some of the people I care most deeply about here. So I think "shoot... I need some America," and I turn to our biggest export: media. Strangely this is probably the exact thing that causes me the most grief here. People see Americans as being rich, promiscuous, and self-centered and most of that comes from our media, and the rest comes from the bad choices of many individuals, aid groups, and governments mainly.
Today when I felt the itch to get back into scripture I could tell it is because I have been super deprived of it. God's word lives in my heart, and I know that because in weird moments, it moves its' way past my mumbling and lips and says things to people. I am always a little shocked when that happens. I think I have my parents to thank mostly for raising me with scripture, and then after that I think I have classical choral composers and hymn writers to thank. My nose has never been in that book as much as I think it should be. Memorization plans as a child didn't really work for me. I am really really good at committing words to semi-short term memory. This is part of what made me an annoying teenager... when my parents or teacher would say "Bekah, did you hear what i said!?" i would repeat it back to them word for word. totally obnoxious. They probably should have been asking me to paraphrase or contextualize instead...because that might have actually worked out.
Regardless, i got into Matthew 22&23 today, mostly because that is where I left off in October. I am not one of those Christians worth my salt, because I don't think I have ever really gotten through the Bible in one year successfully. I've been trying to keep up with a reading plan, but i still suck at it. I am however one of those people that hardly ever reads a book twice. Probably because when I read a good meaty book, I tend to read the page over three times or so the first time through. It takes me forever to get through even short books... but i do actually remember things and tend to actually use the things I read. Everything from Annie Dillard and CS Lewis to Hemmingway and Roald Dahl has synthesized their way into my world view. So, when I reached Matthew 23 today I really was floored.
i actually love this part of scripture. Mostly, due to the fact that in Godspell when Stephen sings this part of scripture I really can feel it. I did not, however, realize just how much this was tied into what I am doing now and how ridiculous I feel as the hypocrite still trying to work for justice in Jesus' name.
Okay... In Matt. 22 Jesus has just gotten done outwitting the Pharisees in a sort of "kicking a** and taking names" sort of style. It's pretty awesome, and i for one come out of it thinking "yeah! that smart guy over there... I am on HIS team, suckers!" It had to be pretty awesome to be one of those crusty disciples at the point thinking "our teacher is THE MAN!"
But then Jesus lays into his pain and longing for the righteousness of the people he has just schooled. He aches at their actions and groans in longing for their return to the fold of God. It's pretty intense. The whole chapter whirls me around, but there were four chunks that really kicked me this time:
I have been praying and keeping in my thoughts one of the ladies I have the privilege of working with here in Kenya. Doro is the backbone of the cafe and she challenges me to be someone of firmer resolve and steadfast character. She doesn't do that by her words necessarily but by her actions and interactions. Doro actually pulled me aside one day and told me I was a 'person of integrity.' That sort of blew my mind, seeing that I am often a world-class flake in my mind. This week has been especially tough because Doro has been 'up country' moving her mom from the family shamba to a new house off the family property. Doro was actually using her week to build her mother a new home. She let me in on a little here ad there about what was going on. She told me she had a 'very bad' uncle that she will have to talk to when she got there. it wasn't until after she left that someone filled me in that this 'bad uncle' was threatening the life of Doro and her mother if they didn't move her mother of the family land. This is fairly typical in Africa, and Ian actually did work regarding the land rights of widows when he was in law school, but it still shocks me. this man is kicking his own old and sick sister of their land. Not only that he has threatened her life and the life of her children. What are we doing about this!? This isn't some hypothetical situation. One thing I have learned in Africa, that if it is happening here, it is probably happening in a more quiet and sneaky way in my own country.
Moving on-
I found this especially fascinating because of the food references. We love spices in our food in this family. i forget that spices were a huge part of wealth... or rather are a huge part of wealth. The spice trade etc etc... Still, thinking of our money in the terms of spices is somehow eye-opening to me. It isn't coins or cold hard cash, but it is more than a piece of paper tied to a hypothetical construct. These are things I can see, touch and even taste. Mint... love it in my tea... dill... what is felafel with yogurt sauce without this? cumin... my salsa always needs a little or a lot. Sure, tithing is great and giving to charity is wonderful, but the gain is part of what is in question here. If we need the exploitation of others in order to have our 'stuff to give back' what good is it? Ian and I had a big talk about our temptations with materialism last night. i won't lie... I love a good fruitful shopping trip. BUT I did learn a few years back that industries are abusing people in a number of different ways. Slave labor, child labor, environmental dishonesty and abuse. Environment may seem like a strange one, but it effects the lowest of the low far before it ever effects the middle class or the wealthy. Dumps, factories, chemical storage sites... these things are often located in areas of low income and damage those people first, not to mention that the potentially hazardous material handling is also left to those who cannot afford to have a better job. Something is very wrong here. We may be giving our 10%, but how are we getting the full 100%? What are we spending the other 90% on? Are we harming others? Maybe not even in a way we can see, but it ways we can't see? We are happy to give to the bell ringer from Salvation Army, but where did that extra change come courtesy of? Have we strained the gnat and missed the camel?
This next one has been getting me for a couple weeks without having even read it in a while.
Lastly... this:
God! I can hear you telling me you have my number. Don't let me off easy. I am worried about asking that.. but don't know what else to ask.
b
Still, I decided to stay at home on Friday of this week like I was trying to make my practice here in Kenya. It helps me feel centered having a day to rest and work from home. I generally spend the day editing photos and puttering around. Today i felt the need to get into my Bible. I have dropped the ball on that especially lately. I thought i was doing so well, but stress steals my peace and the moment i feel stressed out I turn to a lot of stupid things to return my joy... like television. Culture stress kicks my butt. I hate being followed by people begging for money, getting yelled at to point out that I am, in fact, a white girl on foot, and not being able to communicate clearly or even understand some of the people I care most deeply about here. So I think "shoot... I need some America," and I turn to our biggest export: media. Strangely this is probably the exact thing that causes me the most grief here. People see Americans as being rich, promiscuous, and self-centered and most of that comes from our media, and the rest comes from the bad choices of many individuals, aid groups, and governments mainly.
Today when I felt the itch to get back into scripture I could tell it is because I have been super deprived of it. God's word lives in my heart, and I know that because in weird moments, it moves its' way past my mumbling and lips and says things to people. I am always a little shocked when that happens. I think I have my parents to thank mostly for raising me with scripture, and then after that I think I have classical choral composers and hymn writers to thank. My nose has never been in that book as much as I think it should be. Memorization plans as a child didn't really work for me. I am really really good at committing words to semi-short term memory. This is part of what made me an annoying teenager... when my parents or teacher would say "Bekah, did you hear what i said!?" i would repeat it back to them word for word. totally obnoxious. They probably should have been asking me to paraphrase or contextualize instead...because that might have actually worked out.
Regardless, i got into Matthew 22&23 today, mostly because that is where I left off in October. I am not one of those Christians worth my salt, because I don't think I have ever really gotten through the Bible in one year successfully. I've been trying to keep up with a reading plan, but i still suck at it. I am however one of those people that hardly ever reads a book twice. Probably because when I read a good meaty book, I tend to read the page over three times or so the first time through. It takes me forever to get through even short books... but i do actually remember things and tend to actually use the things I read. Everything from Annie Dillard and CS Lewis to Hemmingway and Roald Dahl has synthesized their way into my world view. So, when I reached Matthew 23 today I really was floored.
i actually love this part of scripture. Mostly, due to the fact that in Godspell when Stephen sings this part of scripture I really can feel it. I did not, however, realize just how much this was tied into what I am doing now and how ridiculous I feel as the hypocrite still trying to work for justice in Jesus' name.
Okay... In Matt. 22 Jesus has just gotten done outwitting the Pharisees in a sort of "kicking a** and taking names" sort of style. It's pretty awesome, and i for one come out of it thinking "yeah! that smart guy over there... I am on HIS team, suckers!" It had to be pretty awesome to be one of those crusty disciples at the point thinking "our teacher is THE MAN!"
But then Jesus lays into his pain and longing for the righteousness of the people he has just schooled. He aches at their actions and groans in longing for their return to the fold of God. It's pretty intense. The whole chapter whirls me around, but there were four chunks that really kicked me this time:
14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You devour widows' houses and make long prayers just for show. This is why you will receive a harsher punishment.Part of the reason this caught me, i am sure is that the last version of bible I had probably didn't include it except as a footnote. That confuses me a little, but beyond the this-version-that version discussion, this really stuck me.
I have been praying and keeping in my thoughts one of the ladies I have the privilege of working with here in Kenya. Doro is the backbone of the cafe and she challenges me to be someone of firmer resolve and steadfast character. She doesn't do that by her words necessarily but by her actions and interactions. Doro actually pulled me aside one day and told me I was a 'person of integrity.' That sort of blew my mind, seeing that I am often a world-class flake in my mind. This week has been especially tough because Doro has been 'up country' moving her mom from the family shamba to a new house off the family property. Doro was actually using her week to build her mother a new home. She let me in on a little here ad there about what was going on. She told me she had a 'very bad' uncle that she will have to talk to when she got there. it wasn't until after she left that someone filled me in that this 'bad uncle' was threatening the life of Doro and her mother if they didn't move her mother of the family land. This is fairly typical in Africa, and Ian actually did work regarding the land rights of widows when he was in law school, but it still shocks me. this man is kicking his own old and sick sister of their land. Not only that he has threatened her life and the life of her children. What are we doing about this!? This isn't some hypothetical situation. One thing I have learned in Africa, that if it is happening here, it is probably happening in a more quiet and sneaky way in my own country.
Moving on-
23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. These things should have been done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat, yet gulp down a camel!
I found this especially fascinating because of the food references. We love spices in our food in this family. i forget that spices were a huge part of wealth... or rather are a huge part of wealth. The spice trade etc etc... Still, thinking of our money in the terms of spices is somehow eye-opening to me. It isn't coins or cold hard cash, but it is more than a piece of paper tied to a hypothetical construct. These are things I can see, touch and even taste. Mint... love it in my tea... dill... what is felafel with yogurt sauce without this? cumin... my salsa always needs a little or a lot. Sure, tithing is great and giving to charity is wonderful, but the gain is part of what is in question here. If we need the exploitation of others in order to have our 'stuff to give back' what good is it? Ian and I had a big talk about our temptations with materialism last night. i won't lie... I love a good fruitful shopping trip. BUT I did learn a few years back that industries are abusing people in a number of different ways. Slave labor, child labor, environmental dishonesty and abuse. Environment may seem like a strange one, but it effects the lowest of the low far before it ever effects the middle class or the wealthy. Dumps, factories, chemical storage sites... these things are often located in areas of low income and damage those people first, not to mention that the potentially hazardous material handling is also left to those who cannot afford to have a better job. Something is very wrong here. We may be giving our 10%, but how are we getting the full 100%? What are we spending the other 90% on? Are we harming others? Maybe not even in a way we can see, but it ways we can't see? We are happy to give to the bell ringer from Salvation Army, but where did that extra change come courtesy of? Have we strained the gnat and missed the camel?
This next one has been getting me for a couple weeks without having even read it in a while.
29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we wouldn't have taken part with them in shedding the prophets' blood.' 31 You therefore testify against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' sins!Blerg! I have often thought about what my life may have been like during crazy historical times, like the underground railroad or the holocaust. What choices would I have made? Sure I nearly venerate those who have gone before that have done amazing things for their fellow man in the face of danger, persecution and death. I visited Wilberforce's grave in Westminster and felt very connected to the abolition movement and thanked God for the work of his people. i have walked by statues of Ghandi in DC and been thankful for those that stand up for the rights of those who are being oppressed and preach peace. I have pasted quotes from Mother Theresa in my closet to read each day.. but what am I doing here and now. Yes. I currently live in Africa working with refugees and women in difficult circumstances, but have i bet the family farm? I don't know. I don't think so. Historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's famous quote "well-behaved women seldom make history," has become a battle cry for feminists the world over, and I love it. In fact I love it and hate it because it challenges me. Am I too well-behaved in my world of development work. There are things at point at that make me feel warm and fuzzy that "no... i am still woman! hear me roar!" but i continue to wonder if I squelch that voice of God that dwells in me, and remain satisfied with high marks in behavior. Am I merely decorating the tombs of the prophets? or am I really trying to dig in with abandon to the mire of life that this world is presenting me. I have said it before, being in this position is much more challenging to my every-day faith than I thought it would be. i have more excuses to let little things slip because "i have been being so good!" Or I can ignore the needs of hose around me in more intelligent ways than I ever knew existed. Am I really daring to be the solution, or am I relishing in my decor or sainthood? That is tough.
Lastly... this:
37 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem! " The city who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were not willing!I see this as one of the most sorrowful expressions of longing that I know of. i want this to be my longing for the people around me and for myself. I want to hear Christ's call to be gathered, and to run. i think of the pain of seeing parents who have tried to guard their children from danger ad vice only to see them continue down a broken and desolate path of self-destruction. How much more does a creator then hurt for the thing he has created that has become destructive in general, and even withe the ability to turn back and become an agent of peace does not?
God! I can hear you telling me you have my number. Don't let me off easy. I am worried about asking that.. but don't know what else to ask.
b
Monday, October 11, 2010
Saints in Slums
I had a strange experience this morning. I pass by the same vendors almost every morning. There are three men I often say hello to right past the questionable bridge on the dusty road. Joel and his brother are at the bottom of the hill and the man who sells maize is at the top. The man who sells maize told me he wanted to talk to me about something. When this has happened before with people I know or have met they usually want money or a job. Sadly I don't have either to just hand to people on the road. Even the Amani ladies I cannot just hand out cash to. it does not work this way.
So today I told a couple people and asked what to do and the consensus was that I need to listen and then ask God. If he is wanting something i cannot give I should just tell him i cannot. *sigh* this sounds easy, but i find it hard.
So instead of walking back like a grown up and hearing him out I waited specifically to walk with Laurel*, who is one of the dearest women at the place I volunteer. She is Kenyan, but married to a problematic Ugandan man who, for what i can tell, doesn't do much and then beats her. She is just a little older than me in years...27 i think, but she has 4 children and seems very much my elder in poise and wisdom. before the organization wide retreat, i found Lauri studying her Bible while waiting for the bus. Who knows how early she came to be there and read. She amazes me.
On our way back I asked the vendor if he wanted to talk now or wait until tomorrow and he told me it was my choice. I told him i would talk to him tomorrow. I told Laurel what was going on and she told me first to be very careful since I don't really know this man. I know to be careful, but hearing it from a Kenyan somehow makes it so much more legit.
We talked about it for a while and she instructed me that i should hear him out and pray very hard about it and let God tell me what I should be doing. Then Lauri told me how God knows my heart and if I am living and speaking in the Truth that it will set me free. You know, i have heard this phrase "the truth will set you free" so many times, but I don't think I have ever had it touch my core the way it did coming from Laurel. You can sometimes really tell when someone knows a truth they are sharing with you and Lauri knows this Truth. I had that feeling that I was in the presence of a giant of the faith. A giant of the faith who lives in a slum and has a husband who beats her and four children she is scraping just enough together to get by. It was if my heart burst. I almost broke down in tears right then and there. The face of God in this wonderful Kenyan woman. I am so humbled and so in need of grace. Saints in slums. Oh Lord, convict me when I am self important or too pampered and spoiled to know the Truth.
What a day.
So today I told a couple people and asked what to do and the consensus was that I need to listen and then ask God. If he is wanting something i cannot give I should just tell him i cannot. *sigh* this sounds easy, but i find it hard.
So instead of walking back like a grown up and hearing him out I waited specifically to walk with Laurel*, who is one of the dearest women at the place I volunteer. She is Kenyan, but married to a problematic Ugandan man who, for what i can tell, doesn't do much and then beats her. She is just a little older than me in years...27 i think, but she has 4 children and seems very much my elder in poise and wisdom. before the organization wide retreat, i found Lauri studying her Bible while waiting for the bus. Who knows how early she came to be there and read. She amazes me.
On our way back I asked the vendor if he wanted to talk now or wait until tomorrow and he told me it was my choice. I told him i would talk to him tomorrow. I told Laurel what was going on and she told me first to be very careful since I don't really know this man. I know to be careful, but hearing it from a Kenyan somehow makes it so much more legit.
We talked about it for a while and she instructed me that i should hear him out and pray very hard about it and let God tell me what I should be doing. Then Lauri told me how God knows my heart and if I am living and speaking in the Truth that it will set me free. You know, i have heard this phrase "the truth will set you free" so many times, but I don't think I have ever had it touch my core the way it did coming from Laurel. You can sometimes really tell when someone knows a truth they are sharing with you and Lauri knows this Truth. I had that feeling that I was in the presence of a giant of the faith. A giant of the faith who lives in a slum and has a husband who beats her and four children she is scraping just enough together to get by. It was if my heart burst. I almost broke down in tears right then and there. The face of God in this wonderful Kenyan woman. I am so humbled and so in need of grace. Saints in slums. Oh Lord, convict me when I am self important or too pampered and spoiled to know the Truth.
What a day.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
I want to love people better than I do already.
I want to love people better than I do already. This is one of the reasons that I buy fair trade.
I want to love people better than I do already which means not trying to make myself look better than them because I disagree with them.
I want to love people better than I do already which includes not getting upset when someone disagrees with me.
I want to love people better than I do already.
I want to love people better than I do already which is why I want to not get angry at them when they say something that is selfish.
I want to love people better than I do already which means I need to become less selfish.
I want to love people better than I do already which means that I cannot take the easy way out just because it is easy, but only take it when it is right and just.
I want to love people better than I do already which means not getting mad at people when they can't read my mind.
I want to love people better than i do already which will mean stepping out of my comfort zone more often than i do now.
I want to love people better than I do already so I try to think through my decisions and what their effects are.
I want to love people better than I do already which will mean telling the truth sometimes when it hurts.
I want to love people better than I do already so I need to study about love more.
I want to love people better than I do already and I want to be willing to die for them if need be.
I want to love people better than I do already and realize that whatever I have sacrificed now is nothing.
I want to love people better than I do already which will mean saying sorry when I have done something hurtful.
I want to love people better than I do already and I don't always know what that means.
I want to love people better than I do already so I need to learn humility.
I want to love people better than I do already so I need to listen better.
I want to love people better than I do already so I need to be transformed and sanctified.
I want to love people better than I do already and I don't know how sometimes.
I want to love people better than i do already because today I did not love people as much or as fully as I could have and my heart is hurting about it.
I want to love people better than I do already which means not trying to make myself look better than them because I disagree with them.
I want to love people better than I do already which includes not getting upset when someone disagrees with me.
I want to love people better than I do already.
I want to love people better than I do already which is why I want to not get angry at them when they say something that is selfish.
I want to love people better than I do already which means I need to become less selfish.
I want to love people better than I do already which means that I cannot take the easy way out just because it is easy, but only take it when it is right and just.
I want to love people better than I do already which means not getting mad at people when they can't read my mind.
I want to love people better than i do already which will mean stepping out of my comfort zone more often than i do now.
I want to love people better than I do already so I try to think through my decisions and what their effects are.
I want to love people better than I do already which will mean telling the truth sometimes when it hurts.
I want to love people better than I do already so I need to study about love more.
I want to love people better than I do already and I want to be willing to die for them if need be.
I want to love people better than I do already and realize that whatever I have sacrificed now is nothing.
I want to love people better than I do already which will mean saying sorry when I have done something hurtful.
I want to love people better than I do already and I don't always know what that means.
I want to love people better than I do already so I need to learn humility.
I want to love people better than I do already so I need to listen better.
I want to love people better than I do already so I need to be transformed and sanctified.
I want to love people better than I do already and I don't know how sometimes.
I want to love people better than i do already because today I did not love people as much or as fully as I could have and my heart is hurting about it.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Love me some library
This is today's find on the interwebz.
Isn't it gorgeous!?
Ian and I have just moved into our new apartment, and while it is generally delightful, it has a few ugly quirks. One of those quirks is the sink in the hallway.
That may sound funny to any friends from the US of A who may still pop by here once in a while, but there you have it. We have a sink in the hallway. It is set in a little alcove of mauvey-pink tile and is generally odd and a little ugly.
So, I have been hoping to spruce the alcove up with a row or two of bunting featuring drawings inspired by dental illustrations. One of my favorite new places to browse images is the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery because it rocks my socks off and the featured collections are sweet.
As I was searching for my inspiration photos or diagrams I stumbled upon this vintage french poster when searching under "dental hygiene". Needless to say.... AWESOME. Nothing like a turn of the century French toothpaste advert to really make my day!
If you haven't been to the NYPL Digital Galleries you simply must go and check it out! I love my Library of Congress too, but NYPL's site setup seems a bit more intuitive to me and my web searches have seemed a touch smarter. Love me some library.
B
Isn't it gorgeous!?
Ian and I have just moved into our new apartment, and while it is generally delightful, it has a few ugly quirks. One of those quirks is the sink in the hallway.
That may sound funny to any friends from the US of A who may still pop by here once in a while, but there you have it. We have a sink in the hallway. It is set in a little alcove of mauvey-pink tile and is generally odd and a little ugly.
So, I have been hoping to spruce the alcove up with a row or two of bunting featuring drawings inspired by dental illustrations. One of my favorite new places to browse images is the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery because it rocks my socks off and the featured collections are sweet.
As I was searching for my inspiration photos or diagrams I stumbled upon this vintage french poster when searching under "dental hygiene". Needless to say.... AWESOME. Nothing like a turn of the century French toothpaste advert to really make my day!
If you haven't been to the NYPL Digital Galleries you simply must go and check it out! I love my Library of Congress too, but NYPL's site setup seems a bit more intuitive to me and my web searches have seemed a touch smarter. Love me some library.
B
Friday, March 19, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Loving in the moment
I'm fairly certain that the only person who reads this blog anymore is my husband... and I appreciate that he does read it. Still, I have been wanting to pick up writing again for the sake of trying. I've been getting razzed a little about how bad of a blogger I am so I will work harder.
I figure a blog is a good place to collect and share great things that you find, so here is a website that Ian brought to my attention this week: http://tradeasone.com/
Trade As One's mission is "to use sustainable business to break cycles of poverty and dependency in the developing world. We all have a conscience, and we want to give people the chance to use it when they shop."
I think that is amazing and worth getting on board.
Trade As One is one of a handful of organizations and shops that are getting on board to create options for consumers to buy goods that are made in safe working environments with fair wages that allow others internationally to have better lives by using our buying power to vote daily for justice.
This is an issue close to my heart as I have been traveling especially in this year. We are headed to Kenya soon and I am truly hoping that we can continue to find places that offer fairly made goods so that we can support social change internationally.
This is also an exciting find because with every fair trade option that opens, i feel one step closer to one day accomplishing a life goal, which is to have a wardrobe made completely of fairly made goods.
Hooray for a new discovery that brings us one step closer to securing justice for many!
B
I figure a blog is a good place to collect and share great things that you find, so here is a website that Ian brought to my attention this week: http://tradeasone.com/
Trade As One's mission is "to use sustainable business to break cycles of poverty and dependency in the developing world. We all have a conscience, and we want to give people the chance to use it when they shop."
I think that is amazing and worth getting on board.
Trade As One is one of a handful of organizations and shops that are getting on board to create options for consumers to buy goods that are made in safe working environments with fair wages that allow others internationally to have better lives by using our buying power to vote daily for justice.
This is an issue close to my heart as I have been traveling especially in this year. We are headed to Kenya soon and I am truly hoping that we can continue to find places that offer fairly made goods so that we can support social change internationally.
This is also an exciting find because with every fair trade option that opens, i feel one step closer to one day accomplishing a life goal, which is to have a wardrobe made completely of fairly made goods.
Hooray for a new discovery that brings us one step closer to securing justice for many!
B
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Job 10
I am back reading in Job. I am terrible about this everyday stuff! I think the only thing I have been truly consistent about so far this year has been taking my daily shower. Seriously. That is how bad this not-having-a-schedule thing has become. ugh!
Anyhow...back to Job. This excerpt i thought was so lovely and amazing how it is nestled in Job's plea for God to remember that He made Job. Once again I am showing my crafty side in what sticks out to me, but I really think making metaphors are interesting!
I have however experienced both clay processing and cheese making, and these being mentioned really excites me. i feel a little bad about once again being so excited about a making metaphor in the middle of a tragic story, but these sorts of metaphors are so often lost on our lives of modern convenience.
For instance: cheese.
After living in India for a short time we realised our need for cheese beyond paneer was serious. Ian and I are good midwestern/northern stock and we love cheese. I mean... we really love cheese. this was not helped by living in Washington DC only a few blocks from Eastern Market with a fabulous cheese vendor, and then moving to London for a stay where cheeses from all over were easily available and for a price our meager student budget could easily handle. Moving to a place where cheese as we knew it was difficult to find was... well... difficult! So, when we came back to the states for what was supposed to be a short visit we decided to use our ample time to try our hands at the craft of cheese-making beginning with a simple mozzarella. Ian chronicled our cheese-making escapades at our friend Matt's foodblog.
It is a time consuming thing making cheese, but it extremely rewarding not to mention economical and fairly simple. From what I can tell, patience is the main ingredient. The curdling happens like magic. After heating and adding ingredients and stirring the soon-to-be cheese curdles mysteriously.
Even though it is really more of a chemical reaction that does most of the mork for me, i couldn't help but feel like I was accomplishing something with that cheese. It was so creamy and working it in our hands was fun and rewarding and left us with some of the tastiest mozzarella i have ever savored.
I honestly have much less of an interest in store bought mozzarella now (which is actually minutely tragic).
I think it is interesting how Job calls himself God's cheese. "Hey! Remember me?! I am your cheese! you made me! Why are letting terrible things happen to me?!"
Job gets that we are lovingly made and doesn't get why a creator would let terrible things happen to a creation.
I think that is a good question... without an answer.
B
Anyhow...back to Job. This excerpt i thought was so lovely and amazing how it is nestled in Job's plea for God to remember that He made Job. Once again I am showing my crafty side in what sticks out to me, but I really think making metaphors are interesting!
Job 10:8 Your hands fashioned and made me,Of these three 'making processes' in this scripture, I have experienced two to a meaningful degree... and I am betting that if you guessed which one I had not experienced from first thought you would probably be wrong. It's knitting. i don't knit.
and now you have destroyed me altogether.
9 Remember that you have made me like clay;
and will you return me to the dust?
10 Did you not pour me out like milk
and curdle me like cheese?
11 You clothed me with skin and flesh,
and knit me together with bones and sinews.
12 You have granted me life and steadfast love,
and your care has preserved my spirit.
I have however experienced both clay processing and cheese making, and these being mentioned really excites me. i feel a little bad about once again being so excited about a making metaphor in the middle of a tragic story, but these sorts of metaphors are so often lost on our lives of modern convenience.
For instance: cheese.
After living in India for a short time we realised our need for cheese beyond paneer was serious. Ian and I are good midwestern/northern stock and we love cheese. I mean... we really love cheese. this was not helped by living in Washington DC only a few blocks from Eastern Market with a fabulous cheese vendor, and then moving to London for a stay where cheeses from all over were easily available and for a price our meager student budget could easily handle. Moving to a place where cheese as we knew it was difficult to find was... well... difficult! So, when we came back to the states for what was supposed to be a short visit we decided to use our ample time to try our hands at the craft of cheese-making beginning with a simple mozzarella. Ian chronicled our cheese-making escapades at our friend Matt's foodblog.
It is a time consuming thing making cheese, but it extremely rewarding not to mention economical and fairly simple. From what I can tell, patience is the main ingredient. The curdling happens like magic. After heating and adding ingredients and stirring the soon-to-be cheese curdles mysteriously.
Even though it is really more of a chemical reaction that does most of the mork for me, i couldn't help but feel like I was accomplishing something with that cheese. It was so creamy and working it in our hands was fun and rewarding and left us with some of the tastiest mozzarella i have ever savored.I honestly have much less of an interest in store bought mozzarella now (which is actually minutely tragic).
I think it is interesting how Job calls himself God's cheese. "Hey! Remember me?! I am your cheese! you made me! Why are letting terrible things happen to me?!"
Job gets that we are lovingly made and doesn't get why a creator would let terrible things happen to a creation.
I think that is a good question... without an answer.
B
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Job 7
I'm a little behind in the reading I realize. I woke up at 5am this morning thinking "crap! I didn't read any of my RSS feed today which means I didn't read the Bible reading. ugghhhhhh."
If you know anything about me you may know that I am not a morning person in the least. That being said I promptly rolled over and went back to sleep for another 5 hours or so when i woke up and came downstairs to eat my cheerios and get caught up on all of my reading :)
So... here we are. I skipped a day in terms of my blogging, but I wanted to just get back on the horse here. So we meet up with Job in chapter 7 after he has had his friends tell him that God doesn't punish people who don't deserve it and that he should be more Godly in the previous chapters. Job has innocently said "but I didn't do anything wrong.... I don't understand!"
So here we are in Chapter 7 where he is telling us about how his life is hopeless. Wow. One thing I find especially fascinating about Biblical texts are the crafting metaphors. I know this is solely because I have 'make stuff' fever, but it really helps me understand what is going on and I feel connected with generations of makers who this scripture was written for.
In verse 6 Job says "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle and come to their end without hope."
This is super sad stuff. A shuttle in terms of weaving is "a tool designed to neatly and compactly store weft yarn while weaving. are thrown or passed back and forth through the shed, between the yarn threads of the warp in order to weave in the weft." Thank you Wikipedia. That little stick in the hollowed out area of the shuttle above is where the thread is stored.
Anyway.. this got me thinking... I had seen a video of a weaver who brought his weaving outside as an experiment, so I wanted to see once again how fast a weaver's shuttle moves. I've never had a chance to weave on a big loom so my experience is mostly with clumsy home-made looms form cardboard, so my shuttle never moved very quickly, but i think you'd also be hard pressed to ever get anyone to agree that I was a weaver. SO... check out the action on those shuttles as textiles artist Travis Meinolf weaves.
Speedy!
I don't want to downplay Job's suffering. I personally feel like a slave of time regularly. How quickly life is speeding past and I am not stricken with the pains that Job was enduring. This metaphor really strikes me.
The part that makes me perhaps the saddest is the second half of that verse where Job says that his days are "coming to their end without hope." I have been trying to think about what a shuttle coming the end of a row without any hope would look like. It could be that there is no more weft to be done and that the piece is finished, but that doesn't seem hopeless to me. If a piece is a finished then you have a great textile...which is far from hopeless. Instead I have imagined that somehow the yarn on the shuttle has been severed from the rest of the tapestry and is merely following the shuttle back and forth without producing any weft or product.
As I said before, I am not a weaver, but I am a hobbyist sewer. I love my sewing machine and have a difficult time living without one. I just bought a new Janome Mini sewing machine that is about half the size of a normal machine and weighs in at about 5 pounds. It is itty bitty. I love the little thing although it can be tricky once in a while. I have been spoiled in the past with my big beautiful Brother machine that is nearly idiot proof. I have hardly ever had to mess with any settings as it deals with the thread tension on its' own and has all sorts of helpful features. It also allows me to be a little sloppy in following some of the rules I should be paying attention to. One of those things that I have been told over and over again is to manually pick up the stitch at the beginning of sewing a new line. This more or less means that I turn a dial with my hand in stead of letting electricity handle it for me. With my big machine i have found I can get away without doing this, but the little machine is teaching my the importance of doing this and has caused me much frustration.
This is where my connection with Job comes it. it has happened to me a number of times now that I have begun sewing thinking that everything is fine and watching my needle go swiftly through the fabric pulling the tread behind it punching along... only to realize as i pick up the cloth i have just stitched to realize that in fact the bobbin thread never picked up so it is in fact not stitched at all but just sort of hole-punched by my needle which tucked the top thread in making it look sewn. Oh frustration!!!!
This is the closest I can think to a hopeless shuttle. It doesn't pick up anything so it has gone through the day without producing and now it has nothing to show for it and the fabric falls apart.
Poor Job! What a sucky way to pass through your days.
B
If you know anything about me you may know that I am not a morning person in the least. That being said I promptly rolled over and went back to sleep for another 5 hours or so when i woke up and came downstairs to eat my cheerios and get caught up on all of my reading :)
So... here we are. I skipped a day in terms of my blogging, but I wanted to just get back on the horse here. So we meet up with Job in chapter 7 after he has had his friends tell him that God doesn't punish people who don't deserve it and that he should be more Godly in the previous chapters. Job has innocently said "but I didn't do anything wrong.... I don't understand!"
So here we are in Chapter 7 where he is telling us about how his life is hopeless. Wow. One thing I find especially fascinating about Biblical texts are the crafting metaphors. I know this is solely because I have 'make stuff' fever, but it really helps me understand what is going on and I feel connected with generations of makers who this scripture was written for.
In verse 6 Job says "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle and come to their end without hope."
This is super sad stuff. A shuttle in terms of weaving is "a tool designed to neatly and compactly store weft yarn while weaving. are thrown or passed back and forth through the shed, between the yarn threads of the warp in order to weave in the weft." Thank you Wikipedia. That little stick in the hollowed out area of the shuttle above is where the thread is stored.
Anyway.. this got me thinking... I had seen a video of a weaver who brought his weaving outside as an experiment, so I wanted to see once again how fast a weaver's shuttle moves. I've never had a chance to weave on a big loom so my experience is mostly with clumsy home-made looms form cardboard, so my shuttle never moved very quickly, but i think you'd also be hard pressed to ever get anyone to agree that I was a weaver. SO... check out the action on those shuttles as textiles artist Travis Meinolf weaves.
Speedy!
I don't want to downplay Job's suffering. I personally feel like a slave of time regularly. How quickly life is speeding past and I am not stricken with the pains that Job was enduring. This metaphor really strikes me.
The part that makes me perhaps the saddest is the second half of that verse where Job says that his days are "coming to their end without hope." I have been trying to think about what a shuttle coming the end of a row without any hope would look like. It could be that there is no more weft to be done and that the piece is finished, but that doesn't seem hopeless to me. If a piece is a finished then you have a great textile...which is far from hopeless. Instead I have imagined that somehow the yarn on the shuttle has been severed from the rest of the tapestry and is merely following the shuttle back and forth without producing any weft or product.
As I said before, I am not a weaver, but I am a hobbyist sewer. I love my sewing machine and have a difficult time living without one. I just bought a new Janome Mini sewing machine that is about half the size of a normal machine and weighs in at about 5 pounds. It is itty bitty. I love the little thing although it can be tricky once in a while. I have been spoiled in the past with my big beautiful Brother machine that is nearly idiot proof. I have hardly ever had to mess with any settings as it deals with the thread tension on its' own and has all sorts of helpful features. It also allows me to be a little sloppy in following some of the rules I should be paying attention to. One of those things that I have been told over and over again is to manually pick up the stitch at the beginning of sewing a new line. This more or less means that I turn a dial with my hand in stead of letting electricity handle it for me. With my big machine i have found I can get away without doing this, but the little machine is teaching my the importance of doing this and has caused me much frustration.
This is where my connection with Job comes it. it has happened to me a number of times now that I have begun sewing thinking that everything is fine and watching my needle go swiftly through the fabric pulling the tread behind it punching along... only to realize as i pick up the cloth i have just stitched to realize that in fact the bobbin thread never picked up so it is in fact not stitched at all but just sort of hole-punched by my needle which tucked the top thread in making it look sewn. Oh frustration!!!!
This is the closest I can think to a hopeless shuttle. It doesn't pick up anything so it has gone through the day without producing and now it has nothing to show for it and the fabric falls apart.
Poor Job! What a sucky way to pass through your days.
B
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Selections from Job 1-3
Here's the reading I'm exploring from.
"Job 1:2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east."
I and the Village by Chagall
"1:10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land."
Jacob Lawrence
Street to Mbari, 1964
1:20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
Lithograph entitled "Job" by Oldrich Kulhánek
2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.
Matthias Grünewald
(c. 1470 – August 31, 1528)
detail from The Isenheim Altarpiece
3:25 For the thing that I fear comes upon me,
and what I dread befalls me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest, but trouble comes.”
Untitled, 1930 Marianne Brandt
"Job 1:2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east."
I and the Village by Chagall
"1:10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land."
Jacob Lawrence
Street to Mbari, 1964
1:20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped.
Lithograph entitled "Job" by Oldrich Kulhánek
2:7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes.Matthias Grünewald
(c. 1470 – August 31, 1528)
detail from The Isenheim Altarpiece
3:25 For the thing that I fear comes upon me,and what I dread befalls me.
26 I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;
I have no rest, but trouble comes.”
Untitled, 1930 Marianne Brandt
LXVI
I've decided to take NCC's year-long Bible reading challenge, but I thought it could be interesting if I went searching for illustrations to the scripture I'll be covering. I may be making my own collages, but for now I am going to throw a couple things around with using bits and bobs from art history :) Some will be literal and some will be more free-association.
Check out their reading schedule to try and keep up!
Check out their reading schedule to try and keep up!
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