How the Other Half Lives

Friday afternoon I got to go babysit on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. For those of you who, like me, are unfamiliar with the NYC lingo, that's right by Central Park and includes such sites as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel - swanky! So the grandparents of these kids I watch fairly regularly have an apartment in this neighborhood where they spend about 20% of the year. It is beautiful and posh and highly unchildproof. So I took the youngun to the playground in Central Park and had the wierd experience of realizing that people assumed he was my kid. I got to sleep in a Murphy bed (those ones that fold out from the wall) and when the grown ups got there they took me to lunch and paid me handsomely. I spent the rest of the day with Bill gallavanting through the Met and Rockefeller Center and the East Village.
Money, eh? Crazy stuff. I cannot deny that living it up in an Upper East Side penthouse has its appeal. Why can't that be my mission field? I mean, rich people need Jesus too, right? But that flies in the face of everything I think I know about how Christians are called to use whatever wealth we may have. I'm sure God could use a multi-million dollar penthouse to advance his kingdom on earth and bring people to Christ, but if the same ministry could be done in a modest apartment while the rest of those multi-millions fund missionaries and translation projects and AIDS research and clean water supplies then we cannot pretend that the expensive material stuff is justifiable. It's just a thought from a poor student. If you are a Christian with a lot of money to spare I'd honestly love to know how you deal with that. After all, people die for lack of money, so it's not fair to just make a blanket statement about the proper use of it. It's just something I think about, especially while I'm a squatter in the Princeton world of BMWs, live-in housekeepers, summer homes, and 1000 tv channels.

Playing House

After spending the last month in my parents' two bedroom apartment, on the floor in Claire's apartment, in Andi's basement, and in the Quality Inn Oakwood, then two nights on a friend's love seat in Hodge Hall, I'm finally living it up in a real house. My friend Bill and I are housesitting, and taking full advantage of the kitchen, plasma tv, and pets. He's been cooking up a storm (we've had enchiladas, burgers and steak fries, spaghetti, Thai curry, and have even sat down to breakfast each morning). The animals include the most chill, friendly dog ever, who I can't resist petting despite the allergies, and a very cute cat, who I do resist petting because of the allergies. There were two fish, but now there's only one (oops) and the guinea pig is still alive and squeaking. It's so nice to have a routine, a comfortable place to stay, a friend to hang out with, and the same bed for 2 full weeks.
We went to the shore on Sunday afternoon and it was beautiful. Ocean Grove is a town that started as a location for revivals and camp meetings during the Great Awakening. I actually wrote a paper about it for Religion in America. The town is super cute and the beach was warm and clean and relaxing. I burried my feet in the sand and wrote and just sat in beachy bliss for several hours. We also got yummy ice cream. All in all, a great way to spend Sunday afternoon. "Something about the ocean makes me rise up in praise . . ."

Singing in the Darkness

In the last few years a calling has developed in my heart for going into dark places, places that are dank and bleak and in desparate need of the light of Christ. That's why Claire and I wanted to go to Amsterdam last January (but the tickets were too expensive so we went to Budapest instead), and it's why I'm thinking about living in the inner city somewhere in the world.
Night before last I was watching the movie The Bone Collector (a mystery/suspense starring Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington) and was suddenly struck by what it really means to go into the darkness. There is a scene in a pool hall/bar where it is very dimly lit, people are drinking, doing drugs, prostituting themselves, etc. My stomache turned as a saw that picture of darkness and I wondered whether I could really go into a place like that and retain a song of joy in my heart and on my lips.
Last night I curled up in my blanky and watched Interview With A Vampire. I used to really like this movie a lot. My sister and I rented it all the time when we were kids (yeah, not so much a kid movie), and the last time I watched it was a few years ago. This time was different though. Almost as soon as it started my gut was writhing within me. The movie is no longer a fantasy to me or simply an entertaining fiction. The movie attempts to make darkness, evil, death, and immortality desirable and superior to mortality and God. It makes statements about evil that are direct allusions to the Bible and Christ, thus twisting truth. I noticed this before and found it intriguing, but now it makes me sad and offended and grateful for the truth that Christ has already defeated Satan on the cross. I'm not saying the movie is horrible or that I won't watch it again, but it's presuppositions are disturbing.
I think it's because I just left a place of such radiant light that the darkness is suddenly hitting me so hard. Being in the fellowship of the saints, with Claire and Dave and all my Whitworth friends, for two full weeks got my eyes adjusted to the light, thus rendering the darkness all the more shocking and upsetting.
And yet I am called to go into that darkness with the confidence that we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus, taking heart in the truth that although in this world we will encounter darkness Christ has already overcome the world. As followers of Christ we go into the darkness singing, and praying that even in the darkness we will meet brothers and sisters who want to join the song.

They're Married

I have no words. Seriously. The wedding was so wonderful and my heart is so full of joy I can hardly contain it. I think it was just seeping out of me through the whole ceremony and reception. It was truly the happiest day of my life up to now. And more than just being beautiful and joyous, it was powerful to experience God's presence in the wedding itself, and I am indescribably excited about what God has for them in the future. And yes, she managed to lindy in her dress. I can't put words to how much I love the new Mr. and Mrs. Thorpe. I miss them already. And I'll fill in more details as they come to mind. For now I am off to the post office then packing to fly back to Jersey tomorrow.
(The second picture is the three of us in Santa Fe 2 weeks before the wedding)

I week in the life of

Saturday: pack Claire's house
Sunday: Go to church then drive to Santa Fe
Monday: Hang out in Santa Fe then drive back to Colorado Springs
Tuesday: Breakfast with Caitlin then more packing
Wednesday: up at 6 to pack then to the Air Force Academy graduation and air show, more packing and hauling stuff to storage across town and some very rapid but thorough cleaning. Finally we went to bed at Dave's relatives' house at 11pm.
Thursday: Drive from Colorado Springs to Billings, Montana
Friday: Drive from Billings Montana to Spokane, where we moved in to our various temporary houses and slept like rocks.
Today: I'm at Jeni and Matt's. Wahoo. I love Spokand and friends, and if you're in town but I don't know it you should call me and tell me so.