#2 What Would Mi Hermano Abel Say

#2 What Would Mi Hermano Abel Say

What would mi hermano Abel say,
to see the padded seat and
reems of (free!) TP
Or my dear Lenin,
receiving apologies for
“the inconvenience” or the “long wait”?
What if the neighbors told Franklyn
To turn his music down?

(?!Que va a ser!?)

Two men walking down the street
With a baby in between
-or-
A banker delivering Christmas presents
in the rain
On MLK Blvd?

Would they say,
“Great Babylon!”
Or
“Land of the Free,
Home of the brave?”

Kelly at Goodwill for the $1.49 sale…
Yimy at her first library
Reyna at a skating rink
On “Family Night”

?como estan todos los amados hermanos por alli?

Protesters at an abortion clinic or
Their children after prom or
A foster family returning
The kids
To their birth mother
After six months?

Would they say,
“Great Babylon!”
Or
“Land of the Free,
Home of the brave?”

Marisol getting free lunch
Joél a scholarship
Percy at the movies
Losing his soul
Ticket by ticket

?como estan todos los amados hermanos por alli?

What would be Rosalvina’s response
to a midweek Ladies’ Bible Study
(childcare provided)?
Moises’ big brown eyes taking in
The story of David and Bathsheba
Told by cucumbers and tomatoes
Ay! To think of Romelio
enduring
a Rock-n-roll Worship Circus…
Or, Pastor Mauricio’s take on
A visit to the Welfare office.

(?!Que va a ser!?)

Nelida, on payday:
Would she complain
About the 10%
Skimmed off for taxes
And a bit more for social security?

Ah, Percy the elder-
A day at the Jones’s:
Target practice
(que lindo, that 2nd amendment!);
Barbeque;
Guitar around
A dying campfire
While the milky way (northern hemispheric version)
Makes its debut

Hmmm… I’ve got it:
Mama Nila:
In my mother’s kitchen
Drinking café,
Eating bread
Fresh from the oven.

?como estan todos los amados hermanos por alli?
En Victoria, gracias al Senor… en victoria

I know of no holiness save social holiness. ~Juan Wesley

(okay, so i know i'm not supposed to be back yet, and admittedly, these are not the afore mentioned profundity. sorry. addictions make you do stuff like this. thusly do i present leftovers from last week.)

link the first:
http://www.destination360.com/peru/lima.php

thought one:

I wake up this morning tired.

Uh-oh, I think, and it's only Tuesday!

Then a little later I find myself singing a coro from Peru: -Those that wait upon Jehova/ will rise up on wings/ they will run and not tire themselves/ walk and not become fatigued/ New strength will have those who wait upon Jehova-

What an encouragement, I think. Amen y amen. Many thanks, that was just downright helpful.

And I proceed more cheerily. But then I keep thinking about the song and how they would sing it down south.... how i can picture a bunch of exhausted farmers singing it with all their lung capacity (or abdominal diaphragm, to be technical) after working since sunrise...

and then i think, oh.

maybe a physics test is not all that trying after all. maybe a children's literature activity is not such a struggle. maybe i'm just a big baby that needs to grow up and get tough.

*can i hear an "amen?" (not too loudly now...)

thought two: love 'em quotes! love dat grammar!
but did you know that in Spanish grammar, the punctuation goes outside the quotation marks, so the above* would be ?Puedo escuchar un «amén»?

check out this link if you've ever laughed at or been peeved by Quotation Mark Abuses










thought three:

"On having misidentified a wildflower" by Richard Wilbur

A thrush, because I'd been wrong,
Burst rightly into song
In a world not vague, not lonely,
Not governed by me only.

self advancement, shameless plugs, and sleep... que chido

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reading others' blogs, i'm struck with the need for me to maybe go on a sabbatical and do nothing but imbibe knowledge until something gets kick-started and i start having profound thoughts myself...

either that or sleep.

sounds good.
see you in a week.

"Faith is the gaze of a soul upon a saving God." ~A.W. Tozer

thought one:
has it ever struck you how often things that are admittedly unFUN are so sweetly GOOD?
and how often things that are GOOD are downright painful for the flesh?
and how things painful for the flesh are the ones that are most valuable afterward?

this stuff seems axiomatic. you would think i'd make the connection behaviorally already...

but kids are so good for the flesh, bless their little souls!

thought two:

"There are no ordinary people," said Lewis. "You have never talked to a mere mortal.

Nations, cultures, arts, civilisations--these are
mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is
immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit."

Lewis continues, "This does not mean that we are to be perpetually solemn. We must play.
But our merriment must be of that kind which exists between people who
have, from the outset, taken each other seriously--

no flippancy,
no superiority,
no presumption....

Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your
neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses."

thought three:

(Thank you, Rev. G.S. Tebbe:)

~> You don't become more relevant, more "authentic," by imitating your afflicted, dying neighbors.

You become more relevant by LOOKING MORE LIKE CHRIST!


~> The Church [us!] as the "house of God"... door to heaven... not the building but the gathering of "lively stones"... in worship (think: adoration... think: terrifying delight... think: jaw to the floor and face to it as well, with a gratitude that sings [i use "sings" lyrically, not necessarily literally])

is super-sacred!
is super-mystical!
it is not a light thing!

a window to heaven, by seeing the awe-soaked adoration of the redeemed.

time (experiences/events/occurances) and persons more than place.

come and preview eternity! Sundays at 10:30 a.m. (child care not provided)

Little things

NOTE: do not think that because the following is not original to my person i will somehow excuse you for not reading it. i would not post this in its entirety if i did not think it should be read... entirely. i would have written it, had i the depth of character and experience to speak it truly... may God have mercy on me.

____________________________________________________________
Little Things: Elisabeth Eliot


When we were growing up our parents taught us, by
both word and example, to pay attention to little
things. If you do a thing at all, do it
thoroughly: make the sheets really smooth on the
bed, sweep all the comers and move all the chairs
when you sweep the kitchen, roll the toothpaste
tube neatly and put the cap back on, clean the
hair out of your brush each time you use it, hang
your towel straight on the rod, fold your napkin
and put it into the silver ring before you leave
the table, never wet your finger when you turn
pages. They kept promises made to us as
faithfully as they kept those made to adults.
They taught us to do the same.

You didn't accept an invitation to a party and
then not turn up, or agree to help with the
Vacation Bible School and back out because a more
interesting activity presented itself. The only
financial debt my parents ever incurred was a
mortgage on a house, which my father explained
was in a special class because it was real estate
which would always have value.

When I went to boarding school the same
principles I had been taught at home were
emphasized. There was a hallway with small
oriental rugs which we called "Character Hall"
because the headmistress, Mrs. DuBose, could look
down that hall from the armchair where she sat in
the lobby and spot any student who kicked up the
comer of a rug and did not replace it. She would
call out to correct him, "It's those tiny little
things in your life which will crack you up when
you get out of this school!" In the little things
our character was revealed. Our response would
make or break us. "Don't go around with a Bible
under your arm if you didn't sweep under the
bed," she said, for she would have no pious talk
coming out of a messy room.

"Great thoughts go best with common duties.
Whatever therefore may be your office regard it
as a fragment in an immeasurable ministry of
love" (Bishop Brooke Foss Westcott, b. 1825).

It is not easy to find children or adults who are
dependable, careful, thorough, and faithful. So
many lives seem honeycombed with small failures,
neglectful of the little things that make the
difference between order and chaos. Perhaps it is
because they are so seldom taught that visible
things are signs of an invisible reality; that
common duties may be "an immeasurable ministry of
love." The spiritual training of souls must be
inseparable from practical disciplines, as Jesus
so plainly taught; "The man who can be trusted in
little things can be trusted in great; the man
who is dishonest in little things will be
dishonest in great. If then you cannot be trusted
with money, that tainted thing, who will trust
you with genuine riches! And if you cannot be
trusted with what is not yours, who will give you
what is your very own?" (Luke 16:10-12, JB). (The
footnote to "your very own" says, "Jesus is
speaking of the most intimate Possessions a man
can have; these are spiritual.")
____________________________________________________________

misericordia. gracia. humildad. adoracion.
please.

asi es...

why i love letourneau so much

"I have started reading your exams.

Please note:
Louis Philippe is not significant because he was pear-shaped. (although I am glad so many of you remembered this)

Dr. K"

(in addition to mad humor, he also puts almost- transcedental quizes on his blog! what more could you ask for in a prof?!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Result of Quiz :: Your Literary Personality

You scored as A coloring book. Children love you--and so do many adults. They find you approachable, simple and friendly, all of which perfectly describe you. Instead of throwing big words around, [oh, they just don't know...] you communicate in the international language of pictures. In order to be as open as possible, you present yourself simply, allowing those around you to customize you to their liking. Sometimes this results in you turning into a primitive masterpiece, and other times you resemble a schizophrenic's daydream. So long as the one talking to you understands you, you're happy. Zen and the art of crayon-sharpening. A coloring book 64% A paperback romance novel 61% Poetry 50% The back of a froot loops box 50% A college textbook 39% A classic novel 36% An electronics user's manual 32% Your Literary Personality created with QuizFarm.com

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(and for interested parties, i'm am UTTERLY not procrastinating. i'm on my dinner break, so there.)

Please! when you have the free time, try it yourself and tell me how you scored.

(interaction interaction interaction is GOOOD.)

also, listen to the audio clip on the profile page if the middle-of-the-week-i-miss-monday blues are getting to you.

"I love myself when I am laughing... and then again when I am looking mean and impressive" ~Z. N. Hurston

thought one: life lessons from Elizabeth I

~ surround yourself with wise advisors
~ have some kids
~ use marriage as a weapon

thought two:
"[there is] this peace inside that says God is up to something."

MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE AND I KNOW THEM AND THEY FOLLOW ME.

"why blame the dark for being dark? why not blame the light for not shining in the darkness?"

edgy chapel invite of the year: http://www.xxxchurch.com

thought three:
to do:

~ discomfit entropy
~ outwit intertia
~ get self-disciplined.

(i'll let you know how it goes.)

thought four:
to secure relationships:

~ pray often together.
~ pray often with tears together.
~ pray often with tears FOR one another.

"look well: if you see someone that does not cry in the presence of the Lord, you will see a person eaten by lust and sinful desire." -Hno. A. Trujillo

thought five:
Physics = tricks to conquer the universe... by submitting to its laws.