Being unique has become kind of trendy around here at SPU. People continually strive to be just the right kind of unique. But when uniqueness becomes trendy it starts to become all the same and it misses the point. Uniqueness begins to assimilate, it fails to see those who are different, those who truly are unique. The point is we have been created by God as individuals that are distinct and it's truly an incredible thing. By being created in the imago dei our diversity is significant. It gives us a glimpse of just how vast and awe-inspiring our God is, it makes the Christian community all the more effective. I'm thinking along the lines of 1 Corinthians 12.

I know a lot of truly unique people who are different because they are themselves. I love them for that. But these people are often the ones at the margins of our community. They aren't trendy unique. They are just the ones who feel confident enough in themselves to be the person God has created them to be. They are so real, they are so accepting, they play solely for the approval of Christ, they love people as God loves people.

I've learned a lot from them, especially as someone who has felt so greatly the pressure of conformity. I want to be myself so badly but in so many ways I strive to be someone else's unique, a trendy unique. It's the natural human tendency. But as the Christian community we have to look outside the borders and to those on the margin...to observe those who really are different! Maybe they are the ones who truly know what it means to be the creation God has intended them to be. We have to join them in seeking God for individual identity.

Yes, it's a scary world outside those borders. You can end up on the opposite side of popular opinion. But if it means entering a world of life and community as intended by God I'm willing to take the risk. I'm willing to allow God to dictate my true uniqueness and to participate in a community that understands, "the body is not made up of one part but of many."

Thursday's have ceased to be spontaneous.

I have the entire day off on Thursdays. Exciting, right? No. They are so predictable. Homework, homework, homework. If the computer put off UV rays I would look like an Oompa Loompa after today. Oh, homework you are endless.

But I’m learning a lot.

Well, this is what I want to do for my birthday. Hands down.

Becca and I decided we should probably make this happen.

http://www.5thavenue.org/show/lesmiserables1112/

I miss seeing Lindy as much as I used to.

We would eat cinnamon rolls, watch 24, go on runs, read in the stairwell of Alexander, eat cereal, wear each-other's clothes, visit Tully's. Just a few things.

Please pray for Kostya!

From

I met this boy, Kostya, in the Transit Center this summer. He was found on the streets of St. Petersburg with absolutely no documentation of his identity. Please pray for him and those involved in the process of helping find paperwork or connections to his family. He is one of the most precious kids and its tragic to see him in an orphaned environment.

Coffee Migration Day

Landing sites:

Tully's Coffee

Serendipity Cafe

Grassy Knoll

Peet's Coffee & Tea

On this sun filled February day, poor confused birds were chirping in the trees and I almost tricked myself into thinking it was Spring too. Becca and I decided a "coffee migration day" was necessary since, at this point in the quarter, homework tends to consume our lives. So we successfully hit up two new hot-spots in Magnolia and an old favorite in Fremont. Such wonderful places to plug through pages and pages of reading! We even stumbled upon a gem of a park overlooking the city, Rainer, and a breadth of the Cascades too wonderful for even our peripheral vision. Sometimes, a lot of the time, I neglect the wonder of this world. Not on days like this.

Highlights...

Magnolia community life, old and young

Veggie panini (complete with goat cheese, roasted peppers, and spinach) + sweet potato fries

Raspberry mocha

New package of highlighters

Emma...

From Esperanza 2009

Emma has been the greatest little lady lately. She comes up to me whenever I'm around to give me a giant hug. She kissed me on the cheek when I left Sunday. She is freaking hilarious and adorable. And to top it all off, she texted me tonight from my mom's phone just checking in to say hi. I wish I could be around more for these growing up years of her life. Got to love Emma.

One of the most beautiful people

From St. Petersburg 2010

seeing the wonder

I've been realizing in so many ways lately, we live in such a prose world where the gospel is boiled down to something ordinary and trivial, far from the rich imaginative reality it truly is. We don’t expect much of the gospel either. But the gospel story is poetry; poetry that evokes life, makes bold moves, thinks imaginatively, and opens a world of mystery, surprise, excitement. It calls us to a life of fullness enlivened with meaning that cannot be communicated prosaically, only poetically. This kind of poetry invites us to a new life of freedom, freeing our trapped world to embrace existence with greater possibility; a world enlivened with fresh meaning where life isn't limited but richly imaginative. I'm continually reminding myself to open my eyes to the imagination of the gospel. You should too :)