Dec 26, 2006
Merry Christmas
Dec 21, 2006
downtime
[tunes]
David Bazan - Fewer Moving Parts
This cd has rocked my world. The title track (electric version) has been stuck in my head for days. once again, our good man David (former frontman of Pedro the Lion) has delivered the goods.
Damien Jurado - Now That I'm In Your Shadow
I'm never disappointed with a new Damien Jurado CD. I was listening to this in my headphones (which by the way, i've learned that you've never really listened to a CD until you've heard it through headphones... so much to find when you block out all other noise) and i had to put my pencil down on several occasions on account of being deeply moved by the lyrics. in typical jurado fashion he covers many darker themes (i.e. adultery, death/murder, etc...) but this album is one of the most beautifully tragic pieces of work i've heard in a long time.
Sufjan Stevens - Hark! Songs for Christmas (vol. 1-5)
This man has single-handedly redeemed Christmas music from the syrupy, Walmart branded stuff we are bombarded with at the mall. His rendition of Holy, Holy, Holy is one of the most worshipful songs i've come across... it's beautiful.
Ane Brun - A Temporary Dive
simple and beautiful folky music.
Jose Gonzalez - Veneer
again, just simple, but beautiful folk music.
Honourable Mention goes to...
Sigur Ros - Takk; The Album Leaf - Into the Blue (although i liked them so much i got burnt out on them and have had to go on a brief sabbatical from them); and an occasional dose of Imogen Heap - Speak for Yourself;
if you think my taste in music looks a lot like phil's, it's because i owe credit for my musical tastes to him... and i must say that we're both indebted to Todd for any good taste in music we both may have.
[reads]
Hey Nostradamus! - Douglas Coupland
This is a great novel by the Vancouver writer. It's a fictional account of a Columbine-esque shooting in a Vancouver highschool. It's a powerful commentary on family tension, love, loss judgment, and hope. I've never read any of his other works, but after this one i'm sold. I just picked up his Life After God novel to read next.
Holy the Firm - Annie Dillard
One of the great things about reading Annie Dillard while on the West Coast is that you not only encounter her work on the page, but all around you. She has a way of drawing with words, and impregnating her language with deep meaning. Only she could write a chapter about a moth flying into a candle and make it so deeply profound. I'm looking forward to finishing this one...
Other Books I'm hoping to get at soon...
Life after God - Douglas Coupland
Complete Stories - Flannery O'Connor
[sights]
I've been indulging on the First Season of Arrested Development. I'm hooked.
Let it also be known that i plan my week around The Office.
and finally, our plans for Christmas will come to fruition tomorrow as we board a plane and are Sarnia bound for 2 weeks.
Merry Christmas, y'all.
Dec 11, 2006
Dec 9, 2006
the call to bear Christ...
A Poetic Commentary on Botticelli's Cestello Annuncation
By Andrew Hudgins
The angel has already said, Be not afraid.
He's said, The power of the Most High
will darken you. Her eyes are downcast and half closed.
And there's a long pause -a pause here of forever-
as the angel crowds her. She backs away,
her left side pressed against the picture frame.
He kneels. He's come in all unearthly innocence
to tell her of glory -not knowing, not remembering
how terrible it is. And Botticelli
gives her eternity to turn, look out the doorway, where
on a far hill floats a castle, and halfway across
the river toward it juts a bridge, not completed-
and neither is the touch, angel to virgin,
both her hands held up, both elegant, one raised
as if to say stop, while the other hand, the right one,
reaches toward his; and, as it does, it parts her blue robe
and reveals the concealed red of her inner garment
to the red tiles of the floor and the red folds
of the angel's robe. But her whole body pulls away.
Only her head, already haloed, bows,
acquiescing. And though she will, she's not yet said,
Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord,
as Botticelli, in his great pity,
lets her refuse, accept, refuse, and think again.
In this picture, in the annunciation itself, and in the story of the incarnation, Mary not only represents herself, but the whole of man and his response to his call to bear the incarnate Christ into a broken world...
May our response be as humble, obedient, and honest as Mary's...
The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55)
My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.For He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden,
For behold, henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm:
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich He has sent empty away.
He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy;
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to His posterity forever.Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
Dec 7, 2006
Come O Come, Bright Morning Star
A trialsome November has brought a new light to Christmas.
We have become fellow sojourners with the Magi,
Looking to the Bright Morning Star for a glimpse of hope.
Trying not to mourn what we have left behind, squinting to see a the twinkle of light that lies ahead.
Kneeling, pleading “O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive
In chapel on Tuesday a “wise man” spoke of Jesus’ last claim of himself… calling himself Bright Morning Star. He explained that the Bright Morning Star appears in the wee hours of the night after the darkness has been the strongest. It is the first glimpse of light, the first sign of morning, and though it appears so small and distant at times, it tells us that darkness has been defeated and daylight will triumph.
O come, O come Emmanuel!!!
Dec 3, 2006
Dante's Divine Comedy...
In the deep and bright essence of that exalted Light, three circles appeared to me; they had three different colors, but all of them were of the same dimension; one circle seemed reflected by the second, as rainbow is by rainbow, and the third seemed fire breathed equally by those two circles. How incomplete is speech, how weak, when set against my thought!
...
That circle-- which, begotten so, appeared in You as light reflected-- when my eyes had watched it with attention for some time, within itself and colored like itself, to me seemed painted with our effigy, so that my sight was set on it completely.
As the geometer intently seeks to square the circle, but he cannot reach, through thought on thought, the principle he needs, so i searched that strange sight: i wished to see the way in which our human effigy suited the circle and found place in it-- and my own wings were far too weak for that.
But then my mind was struck by light that flashed and, with this light, received what it had asked.
Nov 29, 2006
a green christmas?
It's Christmas! Let's be Glad.I've been thinking a lot about Christmas lately and how each year the consumerism that drives our Western idea of Christmas drives me almost as crazy as the buttery smooth vocals of the Christmas carols being played in the mall. But on a practical note, I'm wondering what Christmas should look like in the context of my immediate family? Lydia and I were talking about this the other day, and although the issue of Santa really won't need to be resolved for another year now (Noah doesn't know Santa from a hole in the wall at this point)... but I'm really wondering:
Sufjan Stevens
since its Christmas let's be glad.
even if your life's been bad.
there are presents to be had.
take a walk out in the snow.
and hear Santa's, "ho ho ho."
he's got a million miles to go.
la la la la la la ah
sing a carol to your mom.
'cause she knows what's going on.
and she knows if you've been bad or good.
and if you'll get what you deserve.
to be graded on the curve.
oh you got a lot of nerve.
la la la la la la ah
since the year is almost out
lift your hands and give a shout
there's a lot to shout about today
since its Christmas let's be glad.
even if the year's been bad.
there are presents to be had.
a promotion for your dad.
Should we allow Santa to bring gifts to our home at Christmas? I'm not proposing the kind of "Santa is evil" mindset, but rather, is it just a fun, mythical element of the Christmas season, or is it something that really contributes to the consumerism that drives our Christmas season, and is it ultimately a barrier to our ability to ever celebrate Christmas in a real way?
This is a difficult thing to resolve in my mind because I don't want to just jump on the fundy bandwagon and revoke my children of the joys of Santa, but i also really don't want them to be writing lists of everything they want for Christmas either-- that just seems wrong to me. The thing i would love to somehow get away from is the "Christmas=presents" mentality. The difficulty also lies in the fact that i know the parents' values are transferred to their children... and i do enjoy giving and receiving gifts, but i am also growing in my intentionality to make the gift giving/receiving a peripheral matter to Christmas, not the core of it.
anyone else processing stuff along these lines?
any thoughts?
Nov 27, 2006
Man vs. Nature
November 16th...
Vancouver gets nailed with rain for 2 days without letting up. I'm told that rain is a regular occurance here, which would lead me to believe that the city can handle it. However, this time the tricks of nature prevailed, causing mudslides to plunge into the watersheds that house Vancouver's water supply. Vancouver is forced into a "Boil Water Advisory". We are still boiling water.
Days of boiling water to date: 12
Nature: 1 / Vancouver: 0
November 27th...
Vancouver gets nailed with snow for 2 days without letting up. Snow is new turf for Vancouver. It shows when people look at you funny when you drive somewhere after it has snowed. The boiling water advisory was going great until we woke up this morning without power, but with a foot and a half of snow in its place. (**side note: the front porch makes for a great alternative to a refrigerator in the winter.)
Hours without power and heat: 13
Nature: 2 / Vancouver: 0
hmm... i wonder what's next...
(on a side note, check the previous post for the fun we were able to have in the snow... we are glad to get a taste of real winter!!!)
Nov 25, 2006
Nov 24, 2006
presently living in the past...
Henri Nouwen, The Wounded Healer
Nov 14, 2006
what do you expect?
- Daniel J. Boorstin, The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-Events in America.
Nov 11, 2006
Quotable...
- Oswald Chambers
Nov 9, 2006
Nov 3, 2006
the language of creation
to me this is beautiful.
Untitled
by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89)As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies dráw fláme;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves - goes itself; myself it speak and spells,
Crying Whát I do is me: for that I came.Í say móre: the just man justices;
Kéeps grace: thát keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is -
Chríst - for Christ play in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.
Nov 1, 2006
Oct 31, 2006
icons, idols, and incarnation.
i guess i'm really loving the opportunity to work through this stuff and develop a biblical and historical personal theology in areas that i've never really unpacked before...
Oct 22, 2006
fun times...
Oct 17, 2006
a few more shots...
Oct 12, 2006
A prayer...
Oct 11, 2006
Big Week...
> miroslav volf is at Regent this week... we'll be sure to take in a session... after all, it's free.
> lydia turns 27 on Friday... we're going to paint the town red on Thursday night to celebrate.
> the vancouver-regional annual nicholson family thanksgiving dinner will be held this Friday. (lydia worked last weekend... it'll be our first attempt at cooking a turkey...)
looks like a good week lies ahead.
Oct 7, 2006
johnny cash
(it made me think of the discussion happening here on Phil's blog about art. Lian made a comment that "All the art that has most moved me to change - that has effectively shown me a mirror of myself - has been the art that exposes the artist rather than justify, exonerate, veil him." I think this is a perfect example of an artist doing just that.
higher education.
1) a nude beach isn't what you would think. i expected to see nude sunbathers... not so. it is used more for hiking than tanning, which makes for awkward encounters walking by people wearing nothing but a backpack and a pair of hikers. we haven't been to that beach since the first week.
2) Vancouver has an all-reggae radio station.
3) Stay away from E. Hastings near China town. we walked down a block of sidewalk where we were clearly walking through the living room of about 50 junkies and homeless people. oops.
4) They say it rains here, but i don't believe it... yet.
5) When biking to the beach, if you're enjoying coasting downhill for 10 minutes straight... remember that gravity will get its revenge on the way back. (from now on we will drive our bikes to the beach, go for a ride, and then drive back.)
6) Pedestrians and buses are worshipped here. All others must yield to the greatness of buses and walkers... every 100 metres it seems is a pedestrian crosswalk and you have the power to bring traffic to a dead halt just by stepping out on the street.
Oct 5, 2006
time for a good old fashioned vote.
so it's time for a vote, of course.
Which of the following Aarons is the most appropriate?
(or least nauseating, if you will.)
"Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. "
John Quincy Adams
Oct 3, 2006
yippeeee!.... we're coming home
Sep 30, 2006
a few scattered thoughts...
"The Christian gospel has sometimes been made the tool of an imperialism, and of that we have to repent. But at its heart it is the denial of all imperialism, for at its center there is the cross where all imperialisms are humbled and we are invited to find the center of human unity in the One who was made nothing so that all might be one. The very heart of the biblical vision for the unity of humankind is that its center is not an imperial power but the slain Lamb." - Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society
and the second quote won't make the quote generator, unfortunately, but is still worth sharing. it was my prof's response to a question related to the idea to the subjectivity of canonizing the Bible in the early church age, and even the subjectivity of intepreting the Bible, really asking how we know our tradition is right, and how can you really come to terms with some of these things...
My prof's response:
"It has been said that sausage and theology are two things you don't want to watch being made."
enjoy.
Sep 28, 2006
a prayer
as you accompanied Abraham and Sarah,
stand by us this day.
The journey is long and winding;
fortify us with hope for a promised land
all: O God, the journey is long;
strengthen our steps this day...
one: O God, the journey is indeed long
and our steps falter along the way.
At times we become fatigued
as we encounter frustrations and opposition.
At times we lose hope and direction
all: O God, the journey is long;
strengthen our steps this day...
one: Lord, there are times we are tempted
to turn back, even to a life of slavery.
There are times we want to stop
with our journey half completed.
Sometimes we want to proclaim a rest stop
as our ultimate goal.
all: O God, the journey is long;
strengthen our steps this day...
one: Lord, fill us with strength and eagerness
for the road ahead.
Make us unwilling to settle for the slavery of our past
Make us unwilling to settle for the desert of our present.
Be our pillar of cloud and fire,
leading us on to your country.
Be our future, challenging us
with excellence and beauty,
and bringing us to where all people
will bless themselves by your name
and dwell in your peace.
all: O God, the journey is long;
strengthen our steps this day...
Sep 25, 2006
a long awaited reunion with the nellis family...
Sep 21, 2006
please tell me i'm not the only one...
1) a couple times in the past 2 weeks i've crawled into bed and said, "shoot, i forgot to shower today."
2) i have noticed that lately i have developed the habit of walking around with my fly down. (either my mind is elsewhere or i'm too rushed to take time to zip? who knows.)
Lord help me.
ps- and help those who have to be near an unshowered, unzipped, unshaven me.
on being human...
so after 2 weeks of class i'm feeling overwhelmed in both the positive and negative senses of the word. i'm taking Intro to New Testament Greek, which in many ways is totally kicking my [hind-quarters] and i come away from that class wondering, "What the heck am i doing here?"... i'm waiting to settle into a good groove with that one... the first two weeks there is a lot of information dumped on you all at once. but then i have the opportunity later in the day to be in a class called Christian Thought and Culture I... this class is blowing me away. first of all, the format is amazing... there is a different lecturer each day (choice regent faculty) who are speaking within their realm of expertise. not only are they giving their best in the lecture because their lives are devoted to the subject on which they speak, but they are speaking in front of another 6 or 7 regent professors as well which, i'm sure, provides a little more motivation to be on their "A" game... so this class tracks Christian thought (as the name suggests) from the early church ages until the reformation and we have had some amazing lectures already. (and the class not only consists of lectures, but mandatory weekly tutorial sessions led by a professor that consist of about 12 students discussing and grappling together with the reading and lecture from the previous week.) needless to say, i'm thoroughly enjoying the class and am being stretched in amazing ways already.
today we focused a lot on the greco-roman philosophies that were dominant during the time that Jesus walked the earth and throughout the first couple of centuries, while the early church was being established. it's amazing to see how Gnosticism has affected our beliefs as Christians, even to this day. (namely the dualism of soul and body, and the elevation of the soul over the body)... and i guess it's true: i've always elevated "soul" over "body"... it was argued today that this is a Gnostic thought and that they two can't even be separated (monism)... interesting fodder for thought, that's for sure.
anyway, along the course of our tutorial discussion, our prof brought a poem to our attention that i think deserves sharing...
On Being Human |
Angelic minds, they say, by simple intelligence Behold the Forms of nature. They discern Unerringly the Archtypes, all the verities Which mortals lack or indirectly learn. Transparent in primordial truth, unvarying, Pure Earthness and right Stonehood from their clear, High eminence are seen; unveiled, the seminal Huge Principles appear. The Tree-ness of the tree they know-the meaning of Arboreal life, how from earth's salty lap The solar beam uplifts it; all the holiness Enacted by leaves' fall and rising sap; But never an angel knows the knife-edged severance Of sun from shadow where the trees begin, The blessed cool at every pore caressing us -An angel has no skin. They see the Form of Air; but mortals breathing it Drink the whole summer down into the breast. The lavish pinks, the field new-mown, the ravishing Sea-smells, the wood-fire smoke that whispers Rest. The tremor on the rippled pool of memory That from each smell in widening circles goes, The pleasure and the pang --can angels measure it? An angel has no nose. The nourishing of life, and how it flourishes On death, and why, they utterly know; but not The hill-born, earthy spring, the dark cold bilberries. The ripe peach from the southern wall still hot Full-bellied tankards foamy-topped, the delicate Half-lyric lamb, a new loaf's billowy curves, Nor porridge, nor the tingling taste of oranges. —An angel has no nerves. Far richer they! I know the senses' witchery Guards us like air, from heavens too big to see; Imminent death to man that barb'd sublimity And dazzling edge of beauty unsheathed would be. Yet here, within this tiny, charmed interior, This parlour of the brain, their Maker shares With living men some secrets in a privacy Forever ours, not theirs. C S Lewis |
there is a certain beauty in being human, isn't there? i mean, in having bodies... each one distinct, beautiful, and significant. and Christ chose to be embodied as a human...
anyway, i'm still processing.
any thoughts?
Sep 12, 2006
another update...
Aaron started classes today, and dropped one class. We have already been feeling a bit overwhelmed with the load on both of us and felt this was the best thing to do. Aaron is still considered a full time student but taking a lighter load. We feel so at peace about this and have decided we really need to remember we want this to be as much of a sabbatical as it can be. Aaron really enjoyed his classes and going to chapel.
I am going through orientation for my new job right now which is going really well. The only thing is my back is very sore? - I have never had a sore back before and am now able to sympathize with those who have! IT SUCKS!!! please pray for healing... i can't imagine doing a 12 hour shift next week if it doesn't get better.
Sep 10, 2006
our new pad...
This is the front. Our house is the first 2 floors and the courtyard is all for me... well except for the bbq. Daddy has been trying to get me to laugh "roaring" the bbq... but noone can do it quite like grandpa!
Around the corner is another courtyard where all the kids in the community come to play. I have met some new friends there! (With lil' irish and english accents :)