recent meditations

...from Oswald Chambers:

• "Showing no concern for the uncertainties that lie ahead is the secret of walking with Jesus."
• "Do I want to be identified with His death, to be killed right out to all interest in sin, in worldliness, in self - to be so identified with Jesus that I am spoilt for everything else but Him?"

...from Jesus:

• "I'm telling you, once and for all, that unless you return to square one and start over like children, you're not even going to get a look at the kingdom, let alone get in. Whoever becomes simple and elemental again, like this child, will rank high in God's kingdom." [Matt. 18:3-4, MSG]
• "I desire mercy, not sacrifice." [Matt. 9:13, NIV]
• "In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you." [Matt. 5:48, MSG]

...and finally, from Matisyahu:

• "Time flies by like clouds passing in the sky lifetimes here and gone like the blink of an eye, March through this desert one-step at a time, march through the desert one step at a time"
• King Without a Crown lyrics.

so yeah, lots of meditations lately. most of these, especially the Jesus-words from Matthew, have been tooling around in my head and heart for some time now.

i have some serious growing-up left to do.

home

my flight leaves in a few hours for home. and it's funny to still refer to Indianapolis as that when Boston is now most definitely my home. but i guess it's ok to have two places called by the same name. and as much as Indy and Purdue will always be quite special, when i think of home i pretty much just think of this beautiful woman in the picture: my Momma. this is my most favorite picture of us to date, taken just a couple weeks before i moved here.

so anyway, i'm going home. i get to see my Momma tonight. and that makes me very happy. Merry Christmas! much love and שָׁלוֹם to you all.

five minutes

sometimes i wonder if Elohim designed my life as a compilation of five-minute comedic clips, rather than one lifetime-length feature. or maybe it's just how i see my life as of late. or maybe it's both. anywho, a couple of five-minute moments from the past couple days:

#1: the lighting of the Christmas tree in the Common, with special performance by...

guesses anyone? think short-lived late-80's boy band from Boston. oh yes friends, this is none other than Jordan Knight, former member of NKOTB (New Kids On The Block, for you non-80's children). and i got to see him, amongst hundreds of screaming fans, for free. he opened by saying, "It's great to be back in Boston, with all you Bostonites...er, Bostonians, or whatever you call yourselves." Yikes. nice credibility Jordan.
so in five short minutes, some were thinking, "my life is complete!" i say, "i just wasted five minutes i'll never get back..."

#2: Central Sq and riding the T [the subway]
allow me to take you through a series of events as i prepared to ride the T tonight...

• as i'm just about to the station, i pass a man who exclaims, "hey pretty lady, can i have your number?" as i walked away, shaking my head, he continues to call out "please? please?" [definitely not the first time this has happened, especially in Central...it cracks me up]
• i enter the T station, dodge some vomit on the ground, and pace about waiting for the frickin' red line. behind me are two guys sitting on a bench. one says to the other, "hey, so can i have some?" the other man, holding a cologne bottle, questionably motions the bottle toward the man. the first guy shakes his head and says, "no, not that. i want some of what you're high on."
• the train finally comes, i get on, the doors close. as we start leaving, the conductor gets on the intercom and says "man in Cah #2, with the jeans and blue coat and hat...please do not urinate in the station."

so there you go. a couple five-minute looks into my life. and no worries, i definitely do not live in the ghetto. it's just the community around here spans from Harvard PhD professors to homeless veterans, and nearly everyone inbetween. Central Sq is just a bag of tricks. i love it.