Fidgety

On a bus to the disparate New York City from the oxymoronic Washington, DC, I overheard bits of a conversation:

"I like chai tea lattes with skim milk, how about you?"

...probably about 15 minutes later...

"I just can't really do espresso's anymore unless I'm in Europe, they're too much for me"

Outside of the bus environment, frequently I'll hear,

"The Iphone 5 is coming out soon, I'm so excited!"

"So, what should we do this weekend?" 

The thing is, NYC's disparateness is becoming increasingly surreal. As a matter of fact, the entire nation's is as well.

Cynicism and condescension aside, it makes one restless doesn't it...or shouldn't it?

Consider the average rationalization of developed-world citizens:

"Please take a moment of silence for [fill in the blank]"

And I'm guilty of the "doing it for charity" line.

And Jesus told his disciples:

"Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all that she had to live on"

a most radical rules of exchange

2 Corinthians 8:1-5, 8-9

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us...I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of tohers. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

"≠"

 Pastor Bruce gave a sermon on the perils of materialism and the heart of giving this Sunday morning.

Communism involves, in essence, equal distribution of property
Capitalism involves, in essence, a free platform to obtain property
Christianity involves a selfless sacrifice of property and is, in essence, a backwards rules of exchange.
It is absolutely unequal and absolutely freeing.

Thus is the beauty of Christ.

Feed the Brother, Clothe the Sister

CNN Hero Narayanan Krishnan

"The food will give them physical nutrition. The love and affection you show will give them mental nutrition"


And how much more should I give God's spiritual nutrition? Give up your security, wealth, comfort...give up your dreams of luxury, self-satisfaction, status, and clothe Jesus. They are precious in his sight and are shown pity and justice by God. We are selfish and hypocrites if we do not express God's love truthfully with action.


Matthew 25:34-40 


"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'"

Psalm 72:12-14

For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
   the afflicted who have no one to help.
 He will take pity on the weak and the needy
   and save the needy from death.
 He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
   for precious is their blood in his sight.

James 2:15-17 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

1 John 3:17-18 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. "Let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

Kibroth-hattaavah

"The horse, the cat, the bull, even the ass, are usually taller, and all of them have a more robust constitution, more vigor, more strength, and more courage in the forests than in our homes. They lose half of these advantages in becoming domesticated; it might be said that all our efforts at feeding them and treating them well only end in their degeneration. it is the same for man himself. In becoming habituated to the ways of society and a salve, he becomes weak, fearful, and servile; his soft and effeminate lifestyle completes the enervation of both his strength and his courage." 

--Rousseau--Discourse on the Origin of Inequality

FIGURE 1: THE SUBURB

FIGURE 2: THE STAPLE

Numbers 11:31-34 (NIV, ©2011)

 ³¹ Now a wind went out from the LORD and drove quail in from the sea. It scattered them up to two cubits deep all around the camp, as far as a day’s walk in any direction. ³² All that day and night and all the next day the people went out and gathered quail. No one gathered less than ten homers.Then they spread them out all around the camp. ³³ But while the meat was still between their teeth and before it could be consumed, the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague. ³⁴Therefore the place was named Kibroth Hattaavah,because there they buried the people who had craved other food.

The bane of america: solo drivers, subarbs, and i'm gon' get mah own

I read an article today in the NYTimes titled,

"Once Popular, Car Pools Go the Way of Hitchhiking"

"Today, advocates point to the increase in social networking tools that would make it easier to identify potential ride-sharing mates — yet the national car-pooling rate continues to fall, and today it is below 12 percent of all drivers....The population of the Washington suburbs has exploded in recent years, up by more than 60 percent since 1980. "

There are several indicators about our American society:

-->Funneled thinking

If more people carpooled, there would be less cars on the road=there would be less time spent in ugly traffic.  If more people carpooled, there would be less pollution (a.k.a nasty air) and fewer cases of respiratory diseases. If more people carpooled, they would save a bunch of money on their gas, and buying a car, and maintaining a car, and insurance.  But nope, because driving your own car is convenient, and that's all that matters.

-->love of individualism

The phenomenon known as the subarb and its massive growth not only creates more physical space between us, between where we work, between community. We want to own and drive our own car and define ourselves through the things we can call "mine". This is my car, this is my house, I earned it, I own it.

-->success = the degree of our self-indulgence

How big your salary is, how many people are under you, how big your house is, how much you can spend on dinner, how much you can spend on vacation, how far you can afford to be from your next door neighbor, how many amenities you can fit into and around your home, how secure your subarb is, how much your purse is worth, how big your TV is, how many channels you have, how expensive your car is...

I'm gon' get mah own!

Hannah's prayer

1 Samuel 2:1-10

And Hannah prayed and said,

“My heart exults in the Lord;
my strength is exalted in the Lord.
My mouth derides my enemies,
because I rejoice in your salvation.

2 “There is none holy like the Lord;
there is none besides you;
there is no rock like our God.
3 Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4 The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble bind on strength.
5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
6 The Lord kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low and he exalts.
8 He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's,
and on them he has set the world.

9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones,
but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness,
for not by might shall a man prevail.
10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces;
against them he will thunder in heaven.
The Lord will judge the ends of the earth;
he will give strength to his king
and exalt the power of his anointed.”

The silver lining

The week before coming to NYC for sophomore year I went on a road-trip down to Cali with my parents and grandma (mom's side) to visit some family.

On the drive back, my grandma went on for about an hour or so describing the annoying qualities of her husband. After zoning in and out of her fierce Korean dialogue, I caught the tail-end of it:

"I guess I should be grateful; at least I have someone to argue with"

cinnamomum verum

Yes, it's been a while since I blogged. Moving on.

One of my favorite spices (probably my favorite) is commonly known as cinnamon. A dark

brown, usually ground spice of sweet, sensual flavor. Before landing in the attic of the familiar

kitchen cabinet or pantry, this wonderful divine creation is a small evergreen tree native to Sri

Lanka.

It's really brain tickling to think that this same source of wonderful flavor was used in ancient times as a prized gift for kings, monarchs, and other higher-ups. Although I could care less that some narcissistic, (most likely) incestuously bred royals enjoyed cinnamon as much as I do in the present day, I do love the fact that it is mentioned in the Bible as part of soothing illustrations: Proverbs 7 mentions a lover's bed perfumed with myrrh, aloe, and cinnamon and a song of Solomon describes his beloved's beauty with the spice.

Not only is cinnamon an enduring flavor, it also has a number of bodily benefits (For fun I'm going to list these as if cinnamon was a man):

• He can lower LDL cholesterol
• He may have a regulatory effect on blood sugar, making him especially good for people with Type 2 diabetes
• He has been shown to stop medication-resistant yeast infections
• He has been shown to reduce the proliferation of leukemia and lymphoma cancer cells
• He has an anti-clotting effect on blood
• He is a natural food preservative by inhibiting bacterial growth and food spoilage when added to food
• If you smell him, he can boost cognitive function and memory
• He is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron, and calcium

This dude gives some more insight into the health benefits of cinnamon: http://www.thehealthysnacksblog.com/2007/11/12/the-top-5-health-benefits-of-cinnamon/

So why cinnamon? It's like a good friend. Not toxic, but in fact good for you, nutritious. Spoken highly of, yet not a celebrity; approachable and friendly to the most mediocre of people. And best of all, he smells fantastically memorable.

Sources: internet

Recommendations:

-Honey and cinnamon with plain, non-fat yogurt and bananas

-1 and a half tablespoons of him with 4 apples when making homemade applesauce (no added sugar please)

-Sprinkled over French toast with a light drizzle of real maple syrup made from whole-wheat bread smiling upon scrambled eggs clothed in ketchup

discovering leon russell

I was browsing around the Amazon mp3 store through the $5 albums, listening to random artists, when I stumbled upon Leon Russell. Apparently he's a legend in the country/folk rock world, so I can't believe I only found about him now. I love the simplicity and stripped down, rawness of folk rock. Anyways, before I get too hipster on this blog, I wanted to share this crazy good performance by Leon, Ray, and Willie of Leon Russell's "Song for you". It's amazing how genuine Ray Charles sings.



You taught me precious secrets of the truth witholding nothing
You came out in front and I was hiding
But now I'm so much better and if my words don't come together
Listen to the melody cause my love is in there hiding

I love you in a place where there's no space or time
I love you for in my life you are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singing this song for you

so these jeans

So these jeans he had on didn’t fit like they used to. They were faded and there was a frayed patch of denim on the right pant-leg where the knee likes to settle. He didn’t like their new feel. It was that damned washing machine, commercial and economical. It was too simple, and small, he could only fit half of his hamper.

So these dang jeans. He looked at them with surprising contempt. When he tried them on at the store they were so perfect. The wash was dark, a pristine dark wash of neatly folded and sowed denim. There was a guarantee on those jeans. A promise that they would be more than satisfactory to him. He looked at himself from the waist down, following the inseam down to the floor. A great pair of jeans, what a great wash, dark, perfect, a really good wash.

His jeans. He rustled his shaggy hair, the oil lingering on his fingertips. His fingertips rubbing the patch. His knee, alive, living, breathing beneath more than satisfactory material. The oil remained on the imperfection, the soft breach of fabric poisoning the assurance of quality and ruining his opulence.

He took in a final breath through his cigarette and killed it on the patch, thoroughly rubbing in the ashes with scorn. He violently threw the cigarette to the cement, his index and middle finger liberated. They tore through the poison and ripped those dang jeans, that damned washing machine.

He stepped on the lifeless cigarette and squinted his eyes. He had to get another really good wash now, he had to.

a self-portrait

Inside of the shoebox was a spider. The spider had only known the shoebox, and the shoebox had never opened itself for the spider. The spider thrived in the shoebox, relished in its efficacies and materials, until one day when the spider saw that the shoebox was a shoebox. The spider moved toward the edge of the shoebox and pushed its delicate body against the cardboard. The spider felt a sensation and was suddenly overwhelmed with knowledge and curiosity as it saw the gauntness of thriving and relishing. The spider knew, believed, understood that there was something unimaginable beyond the cardboard, the only thing that could bring genuine fulfillment, meaning, purpose. The efficacies and materials scoffed at the spider and began to stifle it. The spider struggles. The spider believes. The spider is still in the shoebox.