ocho

Why does this generation seek every single answer? Truly I say to you, answers will remain for this generation.

4

One day I am going to write a serial that falls somewhere between Dostoevsky and Darlton.

Vito's Ordination Song

I live in parables. Or, at least I try to. Last year when I first co-taught Mark I at city/script, I decided to play a song before each study that had something, anything, to do with what we were about to study. Only one student came up to me throughout the week asking me why I had chosen the songs for each day. To her had been given the secret of the playlist. This year, when I saw this same student again, she came up to me and asked if any of the new students had asked questions about songs (I had a new playlist this year). This year one or two students asked.

There was one song this year that I hadn't planned on playing at all, but for some reason or another it was played midweek. And then again on the final day during reflection time. For me, this song encapsulated my thoughts and emotions while leading. So here is said song.

Vito's Ordination Song - Sufjan Stevens

I always knew you

In your mothers arms

I have called your name

I've an idea

Placed in your mind

To be a better man

I've made a crown for you

Put it in your room

And when the bridegroom comes

There will be noise

There will be glad

And a perfect bed

And when you write a poem

I know the words

I know the sounds

Before you write it down

When you wear your clothes

I wear them too

I wear your shoes

And your jacket too

I always knew you

In your mothers arms

I have called you son

I've made amends

Between father and son

Or, if you haven't one

Rest in my arms

Sleep in my bed

There is a design

To what I did and said

Listen below, and feel free to ignore the fan made video

Exit Strategy

I have had a hard time putting into words what the experience of last week, teaching the first half of the Gospel of Mark by myself, was like. I can be honest in saying that it was yet again another transformative experience with good news Mark had to share, and that things came to life that had never come to life before. I believe* to have perceived some new revelations and understandings of what the text calls people into. One day, when I write that oft-thought of book on Mark, the things running through my mind this past week will most definitely be included. My mind's eye holds the cover artwork, and inner artwork (that whole legion thing will be true to its scene - images and actions of pure chaos). These are a few of the minor things I have left thinking about; the more major being about what it means to follow Jesus, and to see unclean things made whole in this life.

At the end of the study I taught, I encouraged the students to develop an exit strategy involving how they were going to spend their time

post-city/script. It's easy to look for rest after pouring yourself out for days of intense study, but so often the idleness and vacancy that fills the void of structured days and intense relationship can lead to destructive tendencies and, in all honesty, unbelief in what just occurred. The

playing out of my exit strategy has not gone as well as I would have hoped, but I have tried. Here are the things I've been throwing myself into to find rest, relaxation, and aid reintegration into the busyness of life:

-Lost: This was the first thing I did when I got home.

-Cinema: I had a hankering for French cinema, so I watched "Entre les murs" aka. The Class (see above), which was fantastic. Tonight I watched "The Box". Weird, but it was good way to also hang out with a good friend from back home. Would love to get in "Wings of Desire" before things get too busy again.

-Home: I'm in Brantford, for better or for worse. It's hard getting around this town without a vehicle.

-Hockey: These playoffs are bittersweet. See earlier post.

-Books: I'm slowly easing my way into "I Once Was Lost", and "True Story".

-Coffee: I have made sure to be intentional about getting out of the house, especially to read. There's a fair trade coffee shop in town that I make sure to frequent.

-Wine: The parables about new wine and wineskins really gave me a hankering for some red wine. I enjoyed some Chilean and Spanish wines with the family on Mother's Day. Ah, perfect for a Sunday afternoon.

-Music: writing songs about Sasquatch in Saskatchewan, bridegrooms, and love's labourers.

Tomorrow I will more than likely head back into the realm of work, but I am ever so grateful to indulge the things that I delight in, knowing they are a part of who I have been created to be, a part of the whole truth I extrovert to Jesus, and woven into things being made new in my life. This has been life giving - all of these past few weeks.

Playoff Beard: The Bitter End

The Last Shave: April 12, 2010
Modifications: Removed neck beard and aforementioned upper-cheek hairs, as per Playoff Beard rules.
Moral Support: Gino Reda
Reason to Mope: I don't like sharks, and I need a hair cut.

Playoff Beard: Day 16

The Last Shave: April 12, 2010.

Modifications: Trimmed sparse upper-cheek hairs, as per Playoff Beard Rules.

Moral Support: Gino Reda.

Reasons for Hope: A decisive 6-1 victory over Pheonix in game 7; Abdelkader's hits and Helm's speed; Memories of Vladimir Konstantinov.

Post-It Note Book Reviews

The following is a list of books I've read, or am still reading, from the past year. Rather than writing full reviews of each one, I've posted Post-It Notes with random thoughts on each book.

FICTION

The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky


Beatrice & Virgil - Yann Martel


The Complete Stories - Flannery O'Connor


Dubliners - James Joyce


Scott Pilgrim, Vol. 1-5 - Bryan Lee O'Malley


NON-FICTION

Surprised by Hope - N.T. Wright


Drawn into the Mystery of Jesus through the Gospel of John - Jean Vanier


The Passionate Intellect: Incarnational Humanism and the Future of University Education - Norman Klassen & Jens Zimmerman


Colossians Remixed - Brian J. Walsh & Sylvia C. Keesmaat


Life Together - Dietrich Bonhoeffer


Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership - Ruth Haley Barton

Playoff Beard: Day 1

The Last Shave: April 12, 2010.
Moral Support: Gino Reda.
Reason For Hope: 16-3-2 since the Olympic break. Jimmy Howard.