GroshLink

Remarkably well. I (Theresa) was pretty confident that they would enjoy their class and teacher, but I was anxious about how the bus ride would go. Especially since last night Ellen broke down sobbing about her fears. But this morning was great. They followed the new morning routine to get ready on time and as I started to get dressed the busdriver called to say that she was at the bus stop (20 min. before the scheduled arrival time). Allow me to interject here to say what you're all thinking --"Bus drivers call you when they are there and you're not?" I was surprised too (actually she called yesterday morning wondering where we were b/c the rest of the school started on Tues, but Kindergarten started on Wed.), but thankful.

When I took the girls to the bus this morning I talked with the driver and she gave me her cell phone number. It was one of those van-size busses. H and E are the first ones on and according to them it also picks up 3 boys (1 light and 2 dark as Hayley described them). H and E did not sit together (Hayley said she didn't want to sit with Ellen and she sat behind her. Tomorrow she might sit across from Ellen--is this more information than you need???). They won't ride the bus home until next week b/c Kindergarten only goes until 10:30am this week. Which means I pick them up :) Today I had to go in for new parent orientation anyway.

One who saw you as a raw but precious thing, a jewel that, with wisdom, could be polished to a proud shine? If you are lucky enough to find your way to such teachers, you will always find your way back. Sometimes it is only in your head. Sometimes it is right alongside their beds.

The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week, in his home, by a window in his study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink flowers. The class met on Tuesdays. No books were required. The subject was the meaning of life. It was taught from experience.

The teaching goes on.

So concludes Tuesdays with Morrie. By God's grace I can answer this question in the affirmative. All through my life I have had teachers who walked w/me side-by-side, no more formative than a middle-school principal who pushed me to stop fading in and out of my selfish reality . . .

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So much of what we think of as the contemporary New Age was already in place no later than 1950, the year of Waters's Masked Gods and De Angulo's death. These components included ideas of shamanism and altered states of consciousness; an interest in Indian prophecies and lost continents; a thorough mingling of Native American and Asian beliefs; and the mass importation of Mesoamerican mythologies. Within a few years, other ideas that at least potentially could form part of this package included chemical experimentation, psychological self-exploration, envrionmentalism, and even religious feminism, a me`lange that was intoxicatingly different from the orthodox religious currents of 1950s America (p.149, Jenkins).

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As Pitt & CMU students hit the books, joined by the Pittsburgh Public School System on September 1, here is a disturbing NY Times Op-Ed piece regarding the state of education. Please ake a moment to pray as the new year starts that our neighborhoods would surge in the number of parents, community members, local congregations, teachers, and school board members which seek the growth and development of our youth in all aspects of their life. Pray also for each of us to step forward as role models to provide direction and give time toward this end.

Of all the factors combining to shape the future of the U.S., this is one of the most important. Millions of American kids are not even making it through high school in an era in which a four-year college degree is becoming a prerequisite for achieving (or maintaining) a middle-class lifestyle . . . Cartoonish characters like Snoop Dogg and Paris Hilton may be good for a laugh, but they're useless as role models. It's the kids who are logging long hours in the college labs, libraries and lecture halls who will most easily remain afloat in the tremendous waves of competition that have already engulfed large segments of the American work force.

The Red deer Dance at Taos Pueblo was religious (as we white people know it) and cosmical (as we white people do not know) . . . The tribe's soul appeared to wing into the mountain, even to the Source of Things . . . Here was a reaching to the fire-fountain of life through a deliberate social action employing a complexity of many arts . . . These men were at one with their gods (John Collier, 1920, later director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs)

Jenkins argues that the benevolent dreams of the romantized, environmentally sensitive Indians of Dances with Wolves or Pocahontas are shaped by the consumers, the dream catchers. This sympathetic audience grew as American Christianity's self-confidence declined (leading some to doubt Christianity's claims to a monopoly on religious truth), esoteric/New Age believers sought legitimacy for their own beliefs/doctrines, & religion was redefined by proactive academics/advocates (p.9-15).

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I've just concluded reading Philip Jenkins' Dream Catchers: How Mainstream America Discovered Native Spirituality. As one shaped by the Smithsonian, PBS/NPR, National Geographic subculture, this piece was hard to set down as it

describes a radical change in American cultural and religious attitudes over the past century or so, namely in popular views of Native American spirituality. Though the process of toleration and dialogue between any of the major religions has been slow, gradual, and often depressing, many Christians historically faced special difficulties in recognizing what American Indians were doing as authentically religious, let along as something that could be permitted or accomodated. Yet attitudes did shift dramatically, until today, the vast majority of Americans respect and admire the Native tradition. Indeed, millions try, controversially, to copy it, to absorb Indian spirituality into their own lives. Americans today are prepared not just to grant that once-familiar religions have virtues, but to admit that the whole concept of religion is much broader than they might once have imagined . . . (too much to share. I'll give a series of excerpts over the coming days to try to give justice to this penetrating piece of scholarship).

These lines in his Small Catechism hit me forcefully when I was in my twenties:

In the morning, as soon as you get out of bed, you are to make the sign of the holy cross and say: 'God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.'

Further directions follow: say the Apostles Creed, pray the Lord's Prayer. … Then you are to go to your work joyfully (Martin E. Marty in Luther: The Daily Gift of New Life).

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Came across Glimpses of God Outside the Temple: The spiritual vision of Vincent Van Gogh, Georgia O'Keefe, and Andy Warhol
the other day.

I must say that it is good to raise our kids in Warhol's Byzantine Catholic ghetto of Pittsburgh. The community of South Oakland also served as home to Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Marino. Those on our block give more attention to Marino, but I am reminded of Warhol every day when I see my Campbell's soup can in the cupboard while packing my lunch to head to Carnegie Mellon where he majored in pictoral design. Quite a responsibility to share Christ w/future spiritual visionaries . . . pray for the grace to provide direction for those which I encounter, whether they be in the arts, computer science, or chemical engineering.

In other news, the twins are looking forward to Kindergarten at Pittsburgh Urban Christian School. They start next Wed. (8/31) but only go until 10:30 am for the first 3 days. The full day schedule starts 9/6. Ellen mentioned that she was a little scared, so we visited her teacher and classroom at the school briefly. Hopefully that will squash some of the jitters. I know they'll enjoy it once they get there. I'm more concerned about getting them onto the bus! I wish we could do a trial run of that. That's about it here.

We're madly trying to cram fun stuff into this last week of summer, so life's rather crazy. But then again, isn't it always???

Eden's had a big week this week. On Monday she had her 6 month birthday (!) and celebrated by going to the doctor for her 6 month check-up. She's 24.5 in. long and 11lbs 11oz. Which means she has fallen off the weight chart so we're pumping her full of formula after she nurses.

Wednesday, she had her first serving of rice cereal. She seemed to like it and didn't have any trouble eating it. In fact, I think she did better than Hayley or Ellen when I fed them for the first time. Also today she got her "cervical collar" which is a soft collar, a lot like the kind one would wear if one had a mild case of whiplash. The purpose of the collar is to passively stretch the muscles on the right side of her neck. The collar comes up higher on the right side and lower on the left to allow her to bend her neck to the left. The physical therapy we are doing will actively strengthen the muscles on the left side. Together the goal is to give her complete and balanced control of her head.

The PT comes later today and I'll find out how much Eden should wear the collar. She doesn't like it when I put it on, but soon stops being bothered by it. The good news is that she's easier to hold when she's wearing the collar--not as floppy :-)

Next up for Eden is a visit to the plastic surgeon next Tuesday. I'm eager for him to see the progress she has made this summer regarding facial muscles. Her mouth is nearly symmetrical now and her cheek puckers when she sucks.

Below is the most recent update regarding Lucy. Praise be to God! Continue to interceed for strength and growth of this young child and family.

22-Aug-05 10:29 PM - Bo : Dear friends and family, We are glad to tell you that Lucy is ready to come home! The doctors have decided to discharge her to home tomorrow. She has been weaned off oxygen. Her heart rate and O2 saturation has been stable. She is still eating very well, although is having a little trouble breastfeeding. Please prayer for Steph, for understanding and patience.

We will go back to Cleveland for followup in about a month. Then we will find a cardiologist locally to do further followups. Lucy's heart has been improving steadily. It seems to have recovered from the left ventricular ischemia last week. We really hope this has no lasting effect and will not repeat itself in the future. On one hand, we are overjoyed to welcome Lucy home, on the other, we are very anxious about the future. There are still so many things could potentially go wrong. We cannot possibly cover all the bases. So we must surrender our will to our Heavenly Father, resting in peace knowing that not even a hair on Lucy's head can fall to the ground without His foreknowledge.

Please keep us in your prayer, for peace, understanding and hope. Hope not in ourselves or even modern medicine, but hope in His goodness, power and love. We love you. We thank you for all your support. We could not have gone through this without you. May His grace cover us all.

Van Gogh saw
the way our hearts burn
like the pinwheel stars
swirling in the night-mad sky . . .

Lose an ear,
lose your mind.
Lose your life,

while your resolve scatters
like crows over the wheatfield . . .

For the whole piece, link to What Van Gogh Saw. By RAPHAELLE KOSEK writes, teaches, and celebrates in the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York.

As I've commented on Intelligent Design, more Intel has come my direction. Regarding the situation at the Smithsonian Institute (SI) see

Unintelligent Design: Hostility Toward Religious Believers at the Nation's Museum. Note: this is coming from the Discovery Institute, but there is also a link to a piece from the Washington Post

As a longtime fan of SI (museum, magazine, and related research), this controversy reminds of the assumed conflict of religion and academic research that has emerged in our culture. For more on this in realm of science see Scientists Speak Up on Mix of God and Science (Andy, Thank-you for making sure I didn't miss this).

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An SPU alum passed an announcement regarding Christian Wisdom of the Jedi Masters (Jossey-Bass, 2005).

Some people think I'm doing a Christian theology of Star Wars, which would be tough to do because, of course, Star Wars is Eastern in theology. What I am doing is picking up on the theme of Luke Skywalker as a clueless kid who finds his way through lessons learned from mentors, and then showing how the same process and similar lessons lead to maturity in followers of Jesus.

 

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After all the controversy with a special event organized by the Intelligent Design Community at the Smithsonian, its not surprising that the organizational purification process has continued. I'm not sure why we just can't admit the miraculous nature of Gould's & Eldredge's Theory of Punctuated Equilibrium (1972), i.e., changes such as speciation can occur relatively quickly, with long periods of little change — equilibria —in between ;-)

For more on the current gossip, go to Intelligent Design & the Smithsonian. Where the NY Times updates us on the errant Smithsonian researcher who wrote an article contending

that evolution theory could not account for the great proliferation of life forms during the so-called Cambrian explosion some 530 million years ago, and that an intelligent agent was the best explanation. It set off an uproar among evolutionary biologists and was later disowned by the professional society that published it.

Note: A good piece describing the broader controversy just hit the press today: In Explaining Life's Complexity Darwinists and Doubters Clash

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This morning in the midst of 1st-Year drama at Pitt & CMU, I came across E-Resource: Pittsburgh's Source for employment, education, and entertainment (brought to us by Infinity Broadcasting). The publication has a number of small articles on a variety of topics. For families entering this season of life, I commend to you Finanical Tools for College & Freshman Anxiety Meets Parental Blues.

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The "Fasting and Prayer" Conference includes meals.

Nothing like trying to be consise when making announcements. As you skim the bulletin this morning, keep these in mind (note: a friend passed this along).

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A Harvard (& also CMU) alum passed along to me A challenge to Christian authors, artists, speakers, and publishers to freely share their work by Finny Kuruvilla. I'd encourage you to read this brief, well written recommendation

1. to release work under a licenses such as those provided by Creative Commons

2. to insist that published works also be allowed to be freely distributed on the Internet.

As Finny notes, it will force one to find new publishers and distributors, create new publishing models, and sometimes find other ways to support ourselves. It requires both courage and creativity.

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Vehement Anti-Cell Phone Guy Finally Caves into the use of cell-phones. As with other pieces from The Onion, parody and satire guide the writing. But none-the-less, a friend of mine passed along "I'm surprised they knew me well enough to write this article about me..."

After calling the device "the item single-handedly responsible for the erosion of our nation's social and cultural foundation" for close to a decade, Jason Whiting gave in to social pressures this weekend and bought a cell phone.

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You've heard the old saying: The hard thing about being a bridge is that you get walked on from both ends. As someone who spends roughly half of my time in the conservative world and half in the liberal (theologically and politically speaking), I suppose I qualify as a kind of bridge person. Unfortunately, my experience confirms the old saying, and I have a few boot marks on my backside to prove it . . . So, if I'm a bridge, I'm a rickety one, a "plan B," I suppose. My basic qualification to write this article is my belief that we as followers of Christ should at least try to talk to everybody we can - and to do so, as the Apostle Peter said, with "gentleness and respect" (1 Peter 3:15). I don't agree with the tone of the conservative author who offers advice on how to talk to a liberal "if you must," suggesting that it's an odious task that one must do while pinching her nose. Nor do I agree with any liberal mirror image who sees all conservatives as equally stinky conversation partners. I have been given no exemption card regarding 1 Corinthians 13, and my calling as a Christian requires me, in the words of Paul, to "become all things to all people." -- Link to the rest of the article by . . .

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Have you been wondering who George MacDonald is, earlier I linked to Victorian Visionaries: George MacDonald's friends worked to reform society, challenge the church, and inspire the imagination. The Wise Imagination amd Love at the Heart of the Universe looks at George MacDonald, for whom belief in God and obedience to God went hand in hand. An excerpt from the second piece is given below . . .

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Here is a recent update from Bo. Please keep recovery and future procedures in your prayers.

15-Aug-05 07:05 PM - Bo : Hi all. The prayers were answered! The cath procedure was very successful. There were no complications at all. Dr. Latson conducted the procedure. He is one of the best pediatric interventional cardiologist in the country even in the world. He was able to insert a balloon exactly the same size as Lucy's heart valve. They were very pleased with the anatomical results they got. Lucy is awake now and breathing on her own. The prostaglandin has been stopped. Hopefully the PDA and the ASD will close soon, so we can evaluate how her heart will respond to the workload. It has been doing very well so far. But the real test is still ahead. The cardiologists I spoke with felt there is a very good chance that the right ventricle will be able to handle the workload. If it cannot, then a shunt can be placed between the arteries, and further operation may be needed in the future. On the other hand, if the PDA and ASD do not close, another catheter procedure may be needed to close those. We are very hopeful that everything will work out well. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, and know that prayers are answered. There is power prayer!

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Came across Undergraduation when reviewing pieces by the author of Why Nerds are Unpopular. There is some good stuff here for undergrads, below I've given a section helpful for grad students. (More)

As new students prepare to flood the campus for the first time and returning students grit their teeth, I am reminded of a piece that Peter brought to GCF's attention a few years ago Why Nerds are Unpopular. As you pray for the coming year of ministry, please keep these members of the population in prayer.

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Blogging in the Early Republic is a fascinating piece from Common-place: The Interactive Journal of Early American Life, tracing the origins of blogging to antebellum America's reading and journal-keeping (and/or scrapbooking) habits. I must confess that I've had such tendencies since youth, even a phase of scrapbooking on my bedroom wall!

One friend wondered how I had the time to post on this blog and who in the world reads them (besides the one making the comment). Not much disimiliar to the critique mentioned in the linked piece regarding a pamphleteer, I suppose he thinks he is shaking the world, but I can perceive very little of the motion so far. But I find this a place to reflect, gather my thoughts, and share them. Some receive a direct response, others just inform, still others lead into continuing conversations carried out face-to-face, and others just have a life on-line.

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