Entries from November 2008 ↓

I’m starting to read the Bible by following a lectionary. I must admit that I’m still confused about how various lectionaries fit together and how much of the Bible any given lectionary cycle covers. A website I’ve looked at before is The Lectionary Page. (Something that seems new to me are the links to Revised Common Lectionary.

Another place for me to start is with daily readings provided by the PCUSA. Today’s reading is found at PC(USA) – Devotions.

Snow, like oyster sauce, covers many sins.

I’ve long been intrigued by what a sabbatical affords you in terms of opening up a way of making big changes in your life. Not surprisingly, you can find some books on personal sabbaticals to get guidance on how to structure a sabbatical (You can also get a sabbatical coach (e.g., Coaching Services) but you should be able to get a lot out of reading a book and spend $600/month!). Some interesting looking books on the topic include:

• Unplugged: How to Disconnect from the Rat Race, Have an Existential Crisis, and Find Meaning and Fulfillment (Culture Tools): Nancy Whitney-Reiter: Books:
• Power Sabbatical: The Break That Makes a Difference: Robert Levine: Books
• Time Off From Work: Using Sabbaticals To Enhance Your Life While Keeping Your Career On Track: Lisa Rogak: Books
• Escape 101: The Four Secrets to Taking a Sabbatical or Career Break Without Losing Your Money or Your Mind: Dan Clements, Tara Gignac: Books

In the shower this morning, I was thinking about how difficult it is to plan, let alone work, for the long-term. It helps profoundly to have children in mind, children we love and for whom we fiercely desire a wonderful future. I was specifically thinking about how life will be like for my nephew when he has reached 41 years old, my own age. Since he is currently 5 years old, I’m imagining his life in the year 2044. Thirty-six years in the future may seem remote – I myself will be 77 years old, if God willing, I live that long. But it’s not hard to imagine my nephew in his prime, living in a world that I hope will be many times more grand and promising as the world is today. That optimistic scenario depends on the work we do today, and tomorrow, and a year from now, and 10 years from now to meet the big challenges facing us today today – that of climate change, the collapsing economy, and the need to transform our global society into a sustainable enterprise.

Of course, the future isn’t just about what life will be like for my nephew — but it sure makes a difference for me to have individual children in mind.

In the sanctuary of shower flow, I walk into the river of my brain. I net a gleaming thought, yet stand flummoxed by the tantalizing school that swam by. On my wish list: a brain freeze to overturn Heraclitus.

[thanks to editorial suggestion by my Sweetie.]

After watching T. Boone Pickens on The Daily Show last night, I would like to learn more about the Pickens energy plan. From what I can gather watching the interview, Pickens wants the U.S. to shift to consuming natural gas produced in the United States, which he says is owned in great supply by the US. Pickens argued that electric hybrid technology is a good thing for passenger cars, but inadequate for large trucks. Does his plan make sense? What are the greenhouse gas implications of his plan?

Remembrance Day 2008, originally uploaded by Alana Elliott.

One way in which I knew Laura and I were in Toronto last weekend is the presence of poppies to commemorate Remembrance Day. I wanted to get my hands on a poppy to take back to the States, where wearing poppies is very uncommon. (Photo by Alana Elliott)

While we don our scarves, trees reduce to their essential lines. Not first without that striptease of rainbow reds and yellows, transubstantiated from the memory of living green.

Something I came up with yesterday in the shower: Poets are snapshot photographers of the ineffable.

This morning I was happy to take down for my bookshelf something I had not read in a while: my copy of The Access Bible, New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha. I found reading the introductory essay to the Psalms a real pleasure, inspiring me to read through the Psalms to look for the themes and structures identified by the essay. This morning I started my journey through the Psalms by reading Psalm 1, which happens to be not only at the beginning of the Psalms but also already very familiar to me. The passage that sticks with me this morning is also appropriate for me to ruminate on throughout the day: “but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.” (Ps 1:2)