rpdan's Xanga

For the time being

Wed, 16 May 2007 17:36:14 GMT

The switch is being made to the other blog.

http://danwhitmarsh.blogspot.com/

There may be a little life left in this one, but don't expect much.

A little study time

Fri, 11 May 2007 19:34:38 GMT

I'm going to learn how the Mennonites are speaking to the issue of homosexuality and the Church. Should be an interesting read, since they always come at these issues from angles other than the normal ones.

From the intro:
"What this issue should be about is discernment: trying to discern the will and way of God on this matter at the threshold of the third millennium of the Christian Era. I know, others will disagree with this premise. For some, the issue is standing up for an oppressed minority; for others, it is standing up for the truth as they know it. (Is there any other? But if we can't step back from our own positions long enough to hear the perspectives of others, then dialogue, if not discernment, is foiled.

In many such cases, the schismatics are putting their own convictions, ideas, and religious experiences - egos, too - ahead of the unity of the body and this treasure we call peoplehood. Whereas I am not comfortable with the current struggle over the 'H-issue,' as one chapter in this book calls it, I am even more discontented with the flight option [running away from each other and the debate].

What I plead for, instead, is a commitment to the common struggle of discovering God's will for us. To do this, we need at least the following: confession, empathy, humility, patience, and prayer."

Whenever I read stuff like that, I'm convinced that the Mennonites and Covenanters are cut out of much the same cloth. So I think I'm going to get a lot of good from this book. I'll let you know.

The in-laws is-a comin'

Thu, 10 May 2007 16:00:02 GMT

Apparently Jorge, Karina's bro-in-law, has been offered a job a Boeing, so they are seriously considering moving up to the Seattle-Tacoma area. Karina's parents have been talking about moving up, too, so if Alex and Jorge decide to, then the parents probably become a done deal as well. Holidays are about to become either a lot of fun or a lot of juggling. Truthfully, it would be exciting to have "all the family" so close together - both my side and Karina's. I never thought it was even a possibility, always assuming we'd have to split our time between Seattle and L.A. Looks like life may turn out differently.

It also begs the question - if all the family is up here, will we ever have a reason to go back to California?

Ah, Spring

Tue, 08 May 2007 22:39:56 GMT

Yesterday was one of those days that make the rest of the world jealous of us here in the Puget Sound area. Clear blue skies, Mt. Rainier sitting like a large scoop of vanilla ice cream on the Cascades, seagulls wheeling over the waters. I rode my bike around Pt. Defiance park for awhile. I watched osprey diving for fish, eagles riding the winds high overhead. I rode through the cool evergreen forests of Pt. Defiance, I parked and watched a tug pull a barge down the Narrows toward the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. I rode the winding roads alongside rose gardens and rhododendron gardens in full bloom, I whizzed past sunbathers working on their early tans.

And I thought, nobody could ever convince me there is a more beautiful place to live.

Let's think about this for a moment, shall we?

Fri, 04 May 2007 17:20:51 GMT

Item #1: Spotted on the back of a pickup in Port Orchard approximately 2 1/2 weeks ago: One yellow sticker attached to rear window, with the following text: "Official Terrorist Hunting Permit/Serial #91101/No Bag Limit."

Four inches below said bumper sticker was another one: a bright, shiny, silver fish with the name "Jesus" inside.

Item #2: On Monday as I drove into Tacoma, a small green sports car with 3-4 younger people inside passed me by in the carpool lane, driving somewhere in the 90-100 mph range. As they got ahead of me they weaved in and out of traffic in order to maintain their extremely high rate of speed. Clearly visible on their back bumper was a bright, shiny "Jesus" fish.

Item #3: Early this morning as I made my way across the Tacoma Narrows Bridge on my way to the Pierce County Prayer Breakfast, a silver Jeep Wrangler (Rubicon Edition) rode approximately 2 inches off my bumper, headlights brightly reflecting in my mirror. All along Highway 16 through Tacoma he remained approximately 2 inches off my bumper. As soon as the carpool lane ended and opened to all traffic, he shot into that lane and blew away at a high rate of speed.

No Jesus fish on this one. But 3 hours later, as I left the prayer breakfast and headed back to my car, I spotted the exact same Jeep in the parking lot, with the exact same driver inside. I guess tailgating is justified if you are A Really Important Person on your way to Really Important Prayer Meetings.

I was going to write a witty conclusion here, but I think you're all smart enough to get the point, right? So let me just say this:

If you're going to claim to be a follower of Christ, THEN DON"T ACT LIKE A BLOOMIN' IDIOT when you're out in public. Your actions speak much louder than your little bumper sticker.

End of An Era

Thu, 03 May 2007 15:32:13 GMT

CBC-Ecuador held its final commencement last weekend. CBC-Canada is hosting its final commencement this weekend. Then it's over for good. A sad day for the Covenant, to be sure. May the Lord lead us to some newer ways of discipling our people.

In the news

Wed, 02 May 2007 21:19:28 GMT

The May KP news came out yesterday. On the front cover is an article of Lakebay's own Sam Shake, pointing to an article inside telling the story of Sam's upcoming European trip this summer. On the back page are two pictures take by Karina, one of the bald eagles over Home last month, and one of the Lakebay sunrise service. And on their website they have a picture of Linda Anderson's daughter-in-law Heidi Whittemore receiving an award. So I'd say the Lakebay Community Church family did pretty well this month.

Catching up

Tue, 01 May 2007 21:46:30 GMT

A few months ago I mentioned that this summer is my 20th High School reunion. I suggested, and was given the assignment, that we set up an online message board where we could all go and tell our stories before the reunion, maybe even start some conversations and rekindle (maybe that's not the best word) some old friendships. The idea being that, when we all see each other next August, we have some sense of where everybody has been, what they've been up to, and we're already well on the road to catching up, instead of looking at each other saying "So, how long ago did you become a Harri Krishna?"

So far about 9 people have signed up and shared their stories. And it really has been interesting to read what they've been up to (even as I write this it occurred to me that I'm the only male-type person on that list. Does that mean something?). Some have known real tragedy, some have suffered the end of marriages, most have had kids, at least one is on the opposite side of the country, one was down in L.A. during the same time I was down there, some are doing really well and some are still trying to sort life out.

It's hard, of course, not to picture them as 18-year olds, which is what they were the last time I saw most of them. It's hard to picture them aging at all (after all, I haven't gotten any wrinkles or gray hair or extra pounds. . .). It also brings home what a short time 20 years really is. Graduation doesn't seem that far back. I guess the good thing is that we're still closer to young than old - we're still all on the short side of 40, anyway.

I remember my sister being amazed at her reunion at just how badly many of her classmates had turned out. From what I'm reading, the class of '87 did ok. And reading their stories has got me all the more excited to see them in person again.

One final note - doing this has opened my eyes again to the fact that we were a pre-digital generation. It's amazing how many of our classmates don't seem to have email addresses, or any web presence, for that matter. Many of my former classmates appear to have dropped into the black hole that is non-internet people. . .

Gone

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:18:32 GMT

I'm off to the annual meeting of the North Pacific Conference at Cascade's Camp for a couple days. So expect this place to go silent for a little bit.

Alone

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:38:50 GMT

(quick reminder: I am in the process of moving my blog home over here. Please make the change in your bookmarks).

It's been a week now. Last Wednesday I dropped Karina, her mother, Olivia and Clara off at Seatac airport, from whence they all flew to L.A. for a little vacation. So I've been "alone" for a week. And out here on the Key Peninsula, alone can mean alone. It can mean going a whole day without talking to another human being. It can mean going most of a day without seeing another human being. It could be very lonely.

But I've been too busy to notice. A trip to Cascade's Camp last Thursday, a busy church day on Sunday, a trip to Seattle on Monday, dinner with friends last night, going back to Cascade's for the Annual Meeting of the North Pacific Conference tomorrow through Saturday. . .people keep asking me how I'm coping, and they don't seem to believe me when I say "fine, really. Don't worry about me." In fact, I still don't have time to do all the things I'd like to do - read some books, practice my mandolin, take a long bike ride, sit on the deck and enjoy the evening, wash the Jeep, weed the flower beds, beat Pac Man 2 on the PS2, take a drive up to the mountains. . .

Not that I don't miss the girls. The house is quiet, meals are a little lonely, our bed seems so empty. I miss playing with Clara, and working in the yard with Olivia, and just hanging out with Karina talking about anything. But it's not like I'm moping around feeling like the world has come to an end. And I hear that the girls are having fun hanging out at Nana and Tata's house, looking forward to a trip to Mexico this weekend.

So, to all of you who care, know that in spite of the fact that the women in my life are all in California on vacation, I appreciate your concern but, I'm doing fine. Really.