Resolve

Every year I pack a minimum of twelve large books into my suitcase, at least 12 large, heavy, books, and lug them home for the holiday season.

I cling to the well-worn resolution that "this year I will develop my mind," by reading those enjoyable, nourishing books I was forced to neglect during the semester for the greater good of passing my classes.

So while I typically neglect these books between August and November, between December and January I tend to neglect historical precedent, which reveals a pattern of faithfully abandoning my resolution.

Last holiday one of my books to read was I & Thou. So I read the 4th Twilight book instead.

This year I intend to redeem myself by finishing I & Thou, and surprisingly, I am well on my way, having read 10 pages of Martin Buber...but I must admit that the reason I put down Martin Buber after 10 pages was to read 250 pages of Ted Dekker's futuristic fiction novel, Forbidden, in which the hero, Rom, has to save a world who's citizens have been genetically modified to feel no emotion other than fear (how exciting is that?!).

Then once again Martin Buber was set aside so that I could read 320 pages of the teen novel, The Hunger Games, in which the heroine, Katniss Everdeen, has to survive a death-match against 23 other contestants in a danger-laced wilderness.

And then I again overlooked Martin Buber in order to read The Wednesday Wars (which was delightful) because I'm a sucker for Newberry Award books and just HAD to know if Mrs. Baker really did hate Holling Hoodhood and if the rats, Caliban and Sycorax, would ever be recaptured.

Not that I feel guilty, really. A good dose of fiction can do a lot of good for the soul, I think. But I do feel like I made a commitment to Martin Buber and some of the others I lugged home in my suitcase. So I am re-resolving by making a list. I love checking things off lists. Maybe this will help.

Books To Read Over Break:

1. I & Thou (forgive me, Martin Buber)
2. Unbroken (Laura Hillenbrand)
3. The Denial of Death (Ernest Becker)
4. Real Sex (Lauren Winner)
5. Renovation of the Heart (Dallas Willard)

5 is a good start isn't it? I have a philosophy book, a semi-biographical book, something existential, a relationship-community-sex book, and a spiritual formation book. These are doable, not over-achieverisitic, and I think they will be beneficial. So we'll see.

Anyhow, there it is. A confession of sorts and a resolution of sorts and a list.

So to those who have just read a few hundred words and were hoping for something more exciting than a story about all the books I have orphaned, my sister has a very funny blog about awkward church experiences which is very enjoyable to read--- http://themodernvellum.blogspot.com/

Update: As of 1/13/11

I have read:

100 pages of Unbroken
Real Sex
1/2 of The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
1/4 of The Meaning of Marriage by Tim and Kathy Keller
Chapter 1 of The Good Life by David McCarthy
4/5 of Renovation of the Heart

so...

Somewhere Between a Pagan and a Pharisee

Mom: I’ll get you a Kitchen Aid when you get married.

Oms: What if I just got married so that you’d buy me a Kitchen Aid?

Criz: Well, a wedding would cost more than a Kitchen Aid.

Mom: Marry a godly man. (continues to think about it) Don’t marry a legalistic liar.

Oms: Fine, I’m going to marry a heathen!

Mom: Or a pagan.

Criz: …So somewhere between a pagan and a Pharisee?

Mom: Marry a generous person. But not so generous that he spends all the money.

Oms: These are some tough requirements.

Mom: Just find a balance.

Foolish

Do you see how foolish I am?
The thoughts I think…
They are of the most fantastic stuff.
Laughable,
That I would abandon one idol for another more noble,
Distinguished...

More well-disguised.

With Us

Emmanuel,
God with us.

With.

Not abstract,
Not detached,
But here. Now. Near.
God with me.

Emmanuel,
God who comes.

Joy to the world,
The Lord is come,
And dwells among us,
Within us

The Word becomes flesh:
‘Give us this day our daily bread’
‘Take, eat, this is my body, which is broken for you’

I am thirsty, as the deer pants for water:
‘This cup is the new covenant’
‘Drink’

Joy to the world.

Antithesis

Last night, in the spirit of healthy-eating, Natalie and I decided to get vegan food.

So we went to a fancy vegan restaurant, the kind where they have more than one fork on the table, and allowed our moustached waiter to tempt us with his recitation of the delicious vegan specials. He should have been a poet...the way he spoke was Keats-esque...only he spoke of all-natural organic vegetables and not romance.

We decided to order and split a giant sampler with three different entrees--- lasagna made with zucchini and macadamia ricotta...butternut squash ravioli...red pepper enchiladas. It was going to be rapturous!

We waited...and waited...

And then they brought out the dish!!!

And I think even a rabbit would have been offended at the meager portions. It was so small!!! SO SMALL! The three-entree sampler was the size of a Lunchable. A LUNCHABLE! And even that is a generous description.

So Natalie and I deftly divided a bite of ravioli, a sprig of salad, a nibble of lasagna, and a taquito-sized enchilada.

Then we paid (too much for too little) and left.

And then we went to Panda Express.