Hospitality and Space

Rereading past reflections and reminded afresh why I love my job at the Green Bean... 

Jan. 2015

I’m thrilled and deeply honored to be the new Green Bean manager.  Being a part of this ministry truly is a gift.  Many of my days are spent at the Green Bean serving our neighbors as a barista or simply sitting with friends, reading a good book, thinking, and reflecting.  The place has become a part of my life and a part of me.  Everyday I am blessed to be able to encounter new people, reconnect with old friends, and continue relationships with those I’ve been getting to know over the past year.  

As many of you know, I spent the summer bicycling cross-country.  We were a few weeks into the trip and had a buildup of a couple hard days.  We were physically and emotionally exhausted.  All morning I’d meant to ask my cousin, 'what do we need to enjoy this and not hate every second of the day?' but never had the chance.  The question sat in my mind, mulling over and over again, like thoughts tend do when left with only yourself, your bicycle, and an open road.  That afternoon we were forced to cut the day short when my cousin broke a spoke.  Lucky for us, we weren't too far from a bike shop, “The Broken Spoke” (the irony).  The owners started asking us questions, and eventually offered us their trailer for the night.  We showered in their home and did our laundry before they took us on a tour of the city and grilled burgers for dinner.  I realized that night, as I lay in the trailer of these strangers who had quickly become friends, that sometimes you don’t know what you need until it happens to you.  All summer long we encountered incredible people.  Their genuine curiosity led to a hospitality I’d never before experienced.  Questions led to a mutual exchange of stories as people fed us and opened their homes, barns, ice cream shops, and fairgrounds to us.  I was and continue to be so humbled by the way people invite us into their lives as our paths cross and we become curious about one another.

What has brought you to the Green Bean?  I’m curious about all your memories and the dreams you have for this place.  I’m curious what you experience when you stop by for a cup of coffee, minister with your presence, or help us clean.  I’m curious, how do you experience hospitality in your everyday lives?

Hospitality has always been at the heart of the Green Bean.  Our busy culture demands that we intentionally carve out the capacity to be hospitable, and the desire to sit long, talk much doesn’t always come easily.  I’ve always thought that people respond well to spaces.  Although each installment has looked different, the Green Bean has always offered a space.  What makes hospitality more accessible is a gathering space of comfort and familiarity.  We need to continually work together to give our physical space a feeling of comfort and openness.  Hospitality isn’t a place we arrive at or a task we complete.  Rather, it’s a sense of being where we are growing in our capacity to serve one another as we listen, sit together, and live into this place. 

My hope for the Green Bean is that we continue to know the stories of one another so that we can live into our space as hospitably as possible.  That God would give us the guidance and courage to be aware of the needs of those around us.  That we would be more curious of one another with each day.  And that we would get creative about how we can best serve each other as paths cross and stories are shared over mugs of our favorite Caffè Lusso coffees and our top notch in-house baked goods.  

The Green Bean is yours and mine, the bakers and baristas, our neighbors, the church’s, and the Holy Spirit’s.  May it continue to be a place for you to meet our neighbors, get to know our staff, and step in when needs arise. As we enter into our second year at this new location, let’s continue to seek the ways that God is calling us to be present here and now in our neighborhood.

So why not come in for a cup of coffee or a freshly baked pastry?  You’re sure to meet some amazing people with meaningful stories.  If you're someone who thrives by having something practical to do, we could always use help keeping up on dishes, organizing the retail space, or wiping down tables.  Don’t hesitate to ask where you can be part of the Green Bean (how’s that for a shameless plug?).  Keep getting to know the space so that you can be a part of growing it into it’s potential.  Our hospitality can extend only as far as we are present and curious with a generosity that extends beyond ourselves.  

Runner

Today I'm a runner. It has been at least five years since I emerged out of my front door for a jog down my block, dreaming of one day being a real runner. Seven half marathons later I still hesitate calling myself a runner because my definition of "runner" has always been one step ahead of me, barely exceeding my current condition. 'Once I'm a little faster...a little stronger...my runs more effortless...THEN I'll be a runner.'

This week tragedy struck runners when, in Boston, bombs blew at the marathon finish. In the midst of this horrific event, runners from all over the globe have been seeping out of the woodwork, uniting as a community that stands strong.

Never before have I been more proud to claim identity as part of this wonderful community. I'm realizing more and more that identity as a runner has less to do about stats, medals and bibs on a wall than it does the persistence to get out the door and move forward in a world full of reasons to stop.

So today I joined 250+ runners from all over Seattle for a group run around Greenake to remember Boston... those killed, injured, struck by grief, whose lives have been changed forever. I realize I have to claim identity as a runner because running gives life to tragedy and (even to my own dry and weak bones)... because running unites me with an amazing group of people who persist and move together through tragedy, injustice, and build strength from weak limp bones, even when surroundings yell 'STOP'... because running alongside people I've never met, we are headed toward a same goal.

I don't know that I was born a runner but I've grown into one. It sure hasnt been easy and wont be as I continue to push myself forward past the voices yelling 'stop'.  Though I have far to go, today I call myself runner and hope that running continues to weave intself more and more into the fabric of my being. 

Travel

In three days my cousin and I are heading across the ocean, London bound! I'm getting way too excited! Now that I'm graduated and have an iPad (much thanks to my parents and grandparents) I'm feeling pretty ready to jump on a plane for some adventure. Have fun Seattle while we are gone!

Women empowerment...

The more I read, learn, think about gender discrimination in our world the more feminist I want to become.  Not because I want women to rise above men but because we continue to perpetuate such a limited picture that denies women the ability to live into fullness, as people of gifting and incredible significance.  We as the body of Christ are recreated in Christ and richly gifted by God’s Spirit.  We must not limit this gifting on the basis of gender.  Scripture advocates that we live liberally into these areas of giftedness regardless of gender and we greatly limit a full experience of the body without doing so.  We need to continue intentionally seek out ways to empower women locally and globally.

We have to get corrective in a way that chooses to challenge the categories and labels society continues to promote; in a way that works within our context to radically oppose while avoiding the temptation to be overly corrective.  I love what Michelle Bachelet said in the video for International Women’s Day last week... “The neglect of women’s rights means lack of progress on gender equality.  But also means that that enormous social and economic potential of half of the populations is so underutilized.  Women rights are human rights.”

It seems far too often we think that we have made so much progress in the US, that the bigger problem resides in other countries around the world that don’t have equal opportunity.  The sobering truth is, in the United States we have one of the highest rates of rape, 17 times higher than many other countries around the globe.  Domestic violence is also the leading cause of injury for women.    And our media hyped perception of women seems to be extremely warped.  While only 27% of people in commercial media are women, 83% of those women are sexualized.  We are among the worst. 

I feel very fortunate as a women.  I’m incredibly thankful for the opportunity I’ve been given for education and the ways that I’m encouraged as a person of leadership within the church.  But my heart is weighs heavy for the woman who was raped and robbed at gunpoint on Saturday night in her driveway two streets down from where I work.  I’m so infuriated.  As I drove into work early this morning I had several moments of feeling very threatened myself.  I get to work so many days in the dark and early hours of the morning or lock up long after dark.  Who’s to say it couldn’t have been me?  I’ve never felt threatened like this before.  And it makes me even more livid that women around the world live day to day in constant fear of violation. 

We have to move out of categories.  Not only to value women more fully but because it’s a liberating experience for everyone.  Watch this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3exzMPT4nGI. 

 

“I am convinced that women are the greatest untapped resource in the world.  We have talents, skills, education, and financial resources that women didn’t dream of in the past.  Beyond all this, we have the tremendous power of compassion. How different the world could be if we each responded compassionately to the needs of our sisters—whether they work at the desk next to us or live half way across the world.” –Lynne Hybels 

Today has been legen...wait for it...dary.

Today has just been great.  This morning I got to lead worship for the quiz meet with some of my favorite people, the SFMC youth band!  It's always such an awesome time of holy surrender to such an astounding Creator God.  I also got to spend a lot of time with one of my youth group friends, Mikayla.  We went on a coffee run for a couple people, painted nails in the church parking lot, talked about the history of the church, personal faith journeys, and asked big questions.  Its so encouraging hearing about the amazing ways God is working in her life, her heart for service and her desire to know Jesus deeply!  This afternoon I've been barista-ing but it hardly feels like work.  The sun was blazing through the windows and for a few minutes, as I sat with my boss and her family, it felt like summer again.  Working for a family run business can be horrible or the best.  In my case it has been the best.  I was visited by Erynn and her friend Darin.  Later, a new lady came in and started talking about her godmother who is dying of cancer.  She asked if I had any experience with death.  What a privilege it was to chat with her.  We are so eager to avoid the reality of death, it seems.  She started crying while we were talking about how to better be present with people in the midst of such a hard reality of loosing someone.  My job at Cafe Aroma never ceases to heap blessings into my life!  As for the mouse picture, I told Kyle to put a picture of "the cutest animal" on the welcome sign for the quiz meet and since he didn't (sheesh) I'll feature it here. This has been a good day.

This weekend I discovered what my life has been missing....

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The Ultimate Comfort Beverage: Peaches & Cream Tea

Cabin time!

The cabin is incredible! I just can't even handle it. No agendas lead to days like these. Fell asleep to David Crowders new album Rest while riding over the blizzard frenzied pass. Slept in til noon this morning (afternoon). Spent the rest of the afternoon crocheting a scarf. Surprise run into old friends at dinner. Delicious gelato. Met by Tim, Annie, and the girls. Snuggled with a little sleeping Ari while watching a movie. Excited for tomorrow! Excited to be joined by Heather and the boys!

Another vocation day. Crunch time.

I feel like God just keeps asking, "what do you want?" and all I can say back is "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!" 

"A day of vocational discernment"

The ball is finally rolling on my vocational narrative.  This is a taste of the story that I plan to lace throughout...

This is the chronicle of a pilgrimage of discovery,
in hindsight, realities known more deeply through encounters of greater understanding,
and passions grasped through experience,
roused to action.

My six member family lived in one of the homely cottages amidst a forest, recognized by all as Ayah’s territory, richly full of depth that I had not yet the sensibility to fathom.  I stepped out among the cottages along the level path whose curve, several steps before me, hid what was beyond.  I thought about nothing, the kind of ‘nothing’ that begs no questions or has no inquiry into what little was visible.  For scarcely clear was my vision as the shade of the trees left dim patches over all my surroundings.  All I could see was the reality of things directly in view.  So far I knew this terrain well.  Yet, a sense of something more, momentarily revealed by flickers of light through the tree’s foliage, beckoned me on.  I took a few more steps and rounded the bend continuing past a small family of crickets, chirping quietly among several stones at my feet.  I’d grown so accustomed to their sound that it hardly found way into my consciousness and I quickly moved on.  Yet their sound followed me.  

John Piper, this is so frustrating!

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/the-frank-and-manly-mr-ryle-the-value-of-a-masculine-ministry

"Settling" -Denise Levertov

This poem was shared with me a week or two ago and I can't stop thinking about it! Seattle is an amazing place! "Grey is the price of neighboring with eagles, of knowing a mountain's vast presence, seen or unseen." Love it!

I was welcomed here—clear gold
of late summer, of opening autumn,
the dawn eagle sunning himself on the highest tree,
the mountain revealing herself unclouded, her snow
tinted apricot as she looked west,
tolerant, in her steadfastness, of the restless sun
forever rising and setting.
Now I am given
a taste of the grey foretold by all and sundry,
a grey both heavy and chill. I've boasted I would not care,
I'm London-born. And I won't. I'll dig in,
into my days, having come here to live, not to visit. 
Grey is the price 
of neighboring with eagles, of knowing
a mountain's vast presence, seen or unseen.

Crown Hill: Bob Ross Party

Loved being little artists with the cousins!

Crown Hill: Bob Ross Party: Yesterday I went to a Bob Ross painting party with a bunch of cousins, and some aunts and an uncle. It was fun! We followed along with a B...

Christmas Anticipation!

Finals are so demanding!  But a hint of Christmas anticipation goes a long way.  Last night after a couple hours studying at the Queen Anne Starbucks I looked out the window to a street full of lights.  It felt like a movie. The carols in the background, the a cozy fireplace next to me, the street sparkling with little lights whispering "Christmas" were so breathtaking.  For a second I took my eyes out of the books, off my computer screen and for a moment remembered 'ah, there's an exciting world still going on around me.'  I don't like the tunnel vision where life becomes so 'me' centered and all the end of quarter tasks become all consuming.  It's a blessing to have eye opening moments that put life into a more expansive perspective.  And the anticipation continues this morning as I'm back at it up at Starbucks.  It does wonders for tunnel vision to observe other people's morning routines.  Life is pressing on while all of us students bury our heads in the books.  That's encouraging.  Slowly but surely final projects, papers, and exams are being checked 'complete.'  Can't wait to get home and rest and continue anticipating this exciting season!  

Artistic Expressions in a Fragile Space

This week, I've been continually reminded of the fragile space we inhabit between life and death, light and darkness, hope and despair...  We live amid such polarities and it's often hard to know exactly how to fully engage this space.

How incredible it was to welcome new life on Monday with the birth of Kaia and Ari to my dear friends Tim and Annemarie.  Couldn't praise God more for His hand in the miracle gift of these precious babies!  I'm already feeling so in love with these tiny, sweet girls!  In other circumstance, this week has brought a real awareness of the power and lure of evil in our lives.  My heart hurts over our brokenness and how sin crouches at the door waiting to devour, only to distance us from intimacy with the Father.

Jon Foreman recently blogged about how we are to make art, specifically music, in this tension of the polarities we find ourselves stretched thin between.

"Between the dialectic of life and death we are pulled tight, stretched out like the strings of my guitar. We are forever in still-life. A delicate balancing act between the end and the beginning, between the consciousness and the dream, between the forgetting that we call birth and the remembering that we call death. We are the notes dancing from the strings of time, held firm between life and death. This is the polarity of our existence, pulled tight between despair and hope, belief and doubt. We are strung tight between our birth and the grave. Humanity is dancing on the fretboard in-between. Death will one-day cut the string. Until then, we live in the tension."  

Last Friday, after skipping a class to have breakfast with my parents and a couple from church, I was driving back down to school and had this powerful moment in which I was struck with this picture of a piece of art.  I knew right away what it looked like and, in that moment, felt such an intense desire to create.  It was on a piece of wood.  It moved from the wonder and awe of creation, through a long desert of sorts that represented God's instruction in dry dead space, into an abundance of life toward God's direction for the future.  The emphasis definitely resided in the middle space.  It definitely reflected the picture I've had reading the Torah.  The day was so busy and I rushed to class in the rain then threw a bunch of clothes in a bag and headed back up north for a Jr. High retreat.  Arriving at retreat, I glanced through the booklet for the weekend and noticed that for a Saturday session the camp was setting aside time to express something through art.  Let's just say, I knew where I needed to be.  After wandering around in the woods for a bit, I found a stick.  There were magazines available and they were perfect. I found myself stumbling on the perfect pictures. Even though earlier in the day I'd cleared out the random papers in my Bible, a couple small papers remained tucked inside its pages, and they were perfect.  A couple of students that I attended the art session with asked me about it afterward and I didn't hesitate to explain, "this is what it means..."  Wishing I hadn't been so darn confident at the time as this little artistic expression has continued to become significant in other ways this week.  I'm so struck by the unique ways God speaks, especially through the arts, and continues to develop the picture and experience we have of Him.

I've never been more convinced that we are created to create.  I've never been more confident that God's Spirit is present, guiding and instructing in dry deserts. I'm hungering and thirsting for God right now.  All I can do is turn to God in adoration and worship, continually praying that the Lord's endless love would draw ever near those we so deeply love.  This has been perhaps been one of the most difficult weeks of my life.  Yet, the Lord's presence couldn't be more real and steadfast as He remains ever present in the midst of us, his beloved creations.

Legacy

Lately I can't help but think of things as legacy. Our faith journeys are a legacy. Our worship is a legacy.  Our prayer is a legacy.  The way we can read our Bible is a legacy. In so many ways we, as Christians, continue the legacy of those who have gone before us.  And that's pretty exciting.  Legacy gives motivation and urgency to our lives!  And we get to play a vital role in continuing the journey of the faith of our forefathers!  

Loved The Help! ...and all the time to read lately! "That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive--all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment" --the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society

See ya Summa.

Reality sinks in, Summer is nearly over and I find myself grasping these last moments not able to let go!  Summer was such a gift this year and for so many reasons I give God thanks.  For God's continual work in my life, for all things new in the life of Shoreline FMC, for Esperanza, for really late nights sitting on the kitchen floor listening to Dean and Marie's life stories, for music which continues to give glimpses of God's kingdom here on earth, for the piano, time spent with longtime friends, for time at home and out and about with family, for coffee and Cafe Aroma, for fun youth group outings, for spontaneous trips to Portland, for the Cinebarre, for good reads, for sleep... the list goes on.  Perhaps one of the greatest gifts this summer was being here in Shoreline.  This was the first year in a while that Summer didn't equal travel.  Ok, we did take a trip to Idaho for a few days in August but, having only missed one day of work, I'm considering it more of a little excursion (an awesome one at that).  Oh and there was the usual Esperanza week. But my point is that, in previous years, I've been focused on being elsewhere and in new places (Brazil...Russia...all sorts of national parks).  This Summer was different.  I able to be present here in my very own neighborhood.  And with all my time working and at church I had to be.  One of my favorite things about working at Cafe Aroma was that it forced me straight into the Shoreline community.  I got to know people's lives, normal people who go about their business right down the street from me.  I've loved hearing about the delicious meal plans of double short latte with two raw sugars guy, or about the new kittens of double tall blended latte couple, or the daily progress of grande vanilla latte lady's mom who recently went into icu after having a brain aneurism, or knowing that when green tea gal comes in late Friday and Saturday evening she is headed for a long night shift, or that 24oz vanilla's daughter wants a pink straw in her cocoa and pink and purple sprinkles on her whip cream.  I'm going to miss spending the majority of my time up here.  The space in my brain I've devoted to drink orders of our regulars is already being taken over and I'm honestly sad about that.  Its pretty great knowing at least the names and coffee drink of choice of the people you run into at the grocery store or in Subway.  What a reminder that we should be constantly aware and listeners of the people we encounter through everyday, ordinary business.  It's also been such a joy spending time with all the Shoreline youth peeps.  Having fun in the sun, prepping for the fall with leaders, practicing with the youth band (Worship Monkeys? or Golden Forcefield?) I'm so excited for this coming year!!  I know it will be significant as we continue to find identity as worshipers and people of prayer.  That's all to say I'm not quite ready to move back to school.  I'm not ready to go back to dividing my time between too many places. I really want to be present in everything up here.  But I'll pack tomorrow regardless.  And head back down to the little nook in Queen Anne.  And I'll be excited about my classes!  After all I'm only 22 credits away from graduation.  Now that's exciting!

One of the reasons why I can't help but be a fan...

http://www.spu.edu/depts/uc/response/2010-spring/features/u2.asp

A beautiful day and a beautiful show.

Finals

I’ve decided it is kind of funny. Seeing a lot of studious people the last few days it seems some think they have the most work of anyone as the quarter draws to a close. Let’s face it, almost everyone is busy right now. The coffee shops are teeming with studious people. Somehow busyness and the most intense classes make us look so accomplished. I love spending time in the gospels where Jesus constantly withdraws to spend time alone on a mountainside savoring moments of solitude, prayer and rest. Ok, as much as I want to use this as an excuse to maybe…take a sunrise hike in place of a piano final tomorrow morning?? I can’t and I wont. We all get to partake in this week of tests, projects, papers, last minute assignments together! Well, that makes it sound fun. I feel busy but productivity feels wonderful especially as it’s laced with moments of rest.

Focusing on the favorites of finals: the excuse to drink endless cups of coffee, spend time at Starbucks with friends (even while staring at separate screens fellowship is a blessing), manipulating sleep schedules, loving late nights of quiet, observing the pizza man deliver midnight snacks to neighbors who are likely up studying. Fitting everything in is kind of a thrill. I’d venture to say everything left feels manageable. I’m definitely feeling optimistic because U2 is buzzing around here and will be gracing the ears of their Seattle fans in just four days!!

Finals… we’ve been through so many of them. Maybe everyone does have the most homework of everyone. However much you have left to do, good luck friends!