Thursday, November 25, 2004

Thanksgiving Sermon

John 6:24-35

24 Therefore, when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, and neither were his disciples, they got into the little boats and went across to Capernaum, continually seeking Jesus. 25 And finding him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, "Rabbi, how long have you been here?"

26 Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, truly, truly I say to all of you, you are seeking me not because you saw a sign or miracle, but because you ate from the bread and you were filled. 27 Don't do your working for the dying food, the food that perishes, but for the living food, the food that endures in life eternal that the son of humanity will give to you, for this God the father has sealed."

28 Then they said to him, "What must we do in order that we might be working the works of God?"

29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God: that you might believe and have faith in the one whom God sent."

30 Then they said to him, "Then what sign are you making, in order that we might see and we might believe and have faith in you? What are you working? 31 Our parents ate manna in the wilderness, even as it is written: "Bread from heaven he gave to them to eat."

32 Then Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to all of you, Moses has not given you the bread out of heaven, but my father will give to all of you the true bread out of heaven, 33 for the bread of God is this: the one who is continually coming down out of heaven and continually giving life to the entire universe."

34 Then they said to him, "Lord, give us this bread all the time!"

35 Jesus said to them, "I myself am the bread of life, the one holding on to me and coming with me will surely never hunger, and the one believing and faithing in me will surely never thirst at any time.


Do you notice how the crowd and Jesus seem to be talking past each other? Jesus never seems to give a direct answer to any of the questions they ask him. The crowd always seems to misunderstand what Jesus is saying, but that's not surprising since Jesus is using all kinds of double-meanings and word plays. It's almost as if they are having two different conversations but just happen to be in the same place at the same time.

The crowd is hungry. They have seen the kind of power that this Jesus has, and they want more of it. They want to be fed all the time by Jesus. If he can miraculously feed five thousand people, then he could do that all the time. All they need to do is follow him and he'll keep on feeding them for free. And if he can feed people, he can probably also grant them other things. They've found themselves their own wonder-working genie who seems to have the power to grant them any wish. All they have to do is stay with him and they won't have a care left in the world; he will give them whatever they want. They are searching for Jesus because they want him to fill the hole in their lives, and they want him to fill it with tangible, material things.

Jesus, on the other hand is trying to lead the people to himself. That's what all of the miracles are about, it's so that they'll see who he is. In fact, they are not miracles at all, but signs, signs that identify Jesus as the eternally begotten Son of God. We know, because John tells us in Chapter One, what the crowd does not know: that Jesus is the Word made Flesh, the One through whom all things were made, the eternal source of all knowledge. Jesus is trying to get them to see this, trying to get them to understand and come to him, because through him, they can see God.
But they don't understand him. They are more interested in the material benefits they think come from following Jesus than in who Jesus really is, or what he has to offer, or where he is leading them.


And we are so often like that crowd, aren't we. We recognize that we are hungry, that we are thirsty. There is something missing in our lives. We aren't fully happy. We are searching and seeking for something that will fill us, that will make us whole. We are looking for that missing piece that will satisfy our desires.

And so much of the time we too look for that satisfaction in material things. It's what the advertisers tell us to do. If you're not happy, it must be that there is some item that you need that you don't have. If I just had… then I would be happy. We try to fill the hollow space with all kinds of things. With money, clothes, cars, trips, food, sex, alcohol, drugs, gadgets, dishes, computers, music, activities, grades, television… you can finish the list. Like the commercial says, "It's not more than you need, just more than you're used to."

It seems we would do anything in order to get these things that we… need. We would work harder and longer. But even as Americans are working harder and harder and gaining more and more things, we are becoming more and more depressed. We are becoming less happy.

Sometimes we even ask God to give us these things that are bound to make us happy. Like the song, "Oh Lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz…" God, if you just let me have… then I'll be happy, and I might even really believe in you. We want the goodies that God can offer us, preferably with the least amount of effort possible. What is the minimum I can do and still have God bless me? Come on God, I've said that I believe in you… now give me what I deserve.

Yes, we would do just about anything to fill those holes in our lives… except of course, actually face God. God is constantly calling us to be in relationship, but we so often turn away. God is calling simply for our availability, but so often God only gets our busy signal. Not right now, God. Is it because we are afraid to face God? Are we afraid of what that kind of a relationship might mean? What would happen if God actually got a hold of our lives? What would we have to change? What… would we have to give up?


Jesus implores the crowd to work for food that endures and not food that perishes. And the crowd responds with a good follow-up question: What do we need to do in order to work the works of God? They want to know what this "working for food that endures" thing looks like. How can they get by without working for real, tangible food? What is Jesus talking about?

And Jesus responds in his way, "This is the work of God: that you might believe in the one whom God has sent." This is the work of God. That phrase can be interpreted in two ways. It's the same in both Greek and English. Work of God can either mean work we do for God or work that God does for us. We usually assume that it means the work we do for God. Why? Well, that's the question that the crowd asked: how can we do the work of God? But as I mentioned at the beginning, Jesus is not very fond of answering people's questions directly, and I would suggest that this is no exception. The crowd asks what work they need to do and Jesus responds that God is the one who does the work. This is the work of the God, this is the work God does for you, that you might believe in the one whom God sent. God makes that faith possible. God is the one who opens the door by sure grace. God is making a way for us.

And what happens when we have faith and trust in the one whom God has sent? Jesus tells us, "The one holding on to me and coming with me will surely never be hungry and the one believing and trusting in me will surely never ever be thirsty." Jesus promises us satisfaction if we believe in him. Jesus himself will fill that longing desire deep within, that hole that cannot be filled by any amount of wealth or power or prestige. It is that relationship with God that we can find in Jesus that is what will make us whole.

But doesn't that bring us right back to where we started? If we just tag along behind Jesus then he will fulfill our every need. Doesn't this leave us with the same kind of wish-granting-genie Jesus that we had at the beginning, only this time we get spiritual goodies instead of temporal ones, eternal life, perhaps. Say yes to Jesus and you get a free ticket to heaven? We can just escape from the world and look forward to the pearly gates. No need to think about the hungry or the poor or the marginalized in society. What they really need to do forget about their problems and look forward to heaven too… after all, we shouldn't work for food that perishes.

I believe that that would be to misunderstand the nature of the Jesus who calls us. It's right there in today's text. "The bread of God is this: the one who continuously comes down out of heaven and continuously gives life to the entire universe." We don't worship a God who is only concerned with heavenly things. We don't believe in a Jesus who is disengaged from the world. We trust in a Christ who is continuously coming down out of heaven – not just once in a manger at Bethlehem, but still today. We follow a Jesus who is continuously giving life to the entire universe. Jesus' work didn't end on a wooden cross, but it continues today. Jesus is alive and actively working in the world to give life. All things were created through him, and he is still active in creation.

This brings us back to those words of Jesus: This is the work of God: that you might believe in the one whom God sent. That word believe. In Greek it is pisteuvw. You'll almost always see it translated believe, and it does mean to believe, but that's really only half of the meaning. The problem is that we don't have an English word for the other half of the meaning. The closest thing would be an action form of the word "faith." To faith. I was faithing. It's not just some sterile, intellectual acceptance that happens in the mind, it is an active living out of that faith in the world. Eugene Peterson translates it as "aligning yourself with" or "throwing your lot in with" Christ. It's a deep soul commitment. "This is the work of God: that you might be faithing in the one whom God sent."

That is the kind of spiritual food, the kind of bread from heaven that truly satisfies our deep hunger and thirst: a faith that leads us into relationship with God through Jesus and leads us out into the world, just as Christ is in relationship with God and is "continually coming down out of heaven and giving life to the universe." It is not a one-or-the-other faith. Often we want to choose. Either we want to spend all of our time separating ourselves from the world so we can be closer to God, or we want to go out and do all the good we can in the world without having to really look God in the face. Christ calls us to a faith that is both-and. It is precisely that close relationship with God that leads us to action in the world. Jesus himself is the Bread of Life, and whoever comes with him and faiths in him will surely never be hungry or thirsty.


And this does not mean that we should not give thanks for the things of this earth that sustain us. We should. It is right for us to give God thanks and praise for all of the blessings of this life. It is right for us to celebrate this special time of family and bounty and thanksgiving. But we should remember that the bread of this world is also a sign, symbol, just as it was in the feeding of the five-thousand, for an all satisfying bread that comes from heaven. As we give thanks to God for our daily bread, for our everyday blessings, let us give thanks also for the Bread from Heaven.

Saturday, November 20, 2004

Back...

I'm actually back. It's been finals; hence my absence over the last little while. But now I'm finished with finals, except for a short five-page paper reflecting on my field education site, which should be really easy to write. I have completed my ten page paper on John Wesley's view of sanctification. I'm quite glad to have that class (Historical Theology) over. The only worse than a philosopher-theologian is a dead philosopher-theologian. I have completed my two-part final for World Religions: "Liminality, Comminitas and Darsan", and "'The Bare Facts of Ritual' applied to Zen in the Art of Archery." And I have completed my Hebrew final. I think I only answered 10 of 20 words on the Vocab section, but that seemed to be pretty typcical of my collegues as well. By the way, did you know that Genesis 3, where it says, "the serpent was the craftiest of every living thing that the LORD God created" it could just as easily be, "now the serpent became the craftiest..." Just a note.

Now I'm feeling the nice breakness. It's been short so far, but it's good. My parents are coming in for Thanksgiving and some friends from Iliff are coming over. So far, we're going to have 9 for dinner. I'm excited.

I'm also preaching on Thanksgiving, at the 7:30 am service. Nice. I'm using the lectionary Gospel, which for Methodists is John 6:24-35. It's the "I am the bread of life" passage. I'm usually not a big fan of John, mainly because it's so spiritualized that it's hard to understand what's really going on. There is so much irony and even sarcasm in, but most of us don't get it and are just reading on the surface, which makes us the ironic fools. Anyway, I've already translated my text, and memorized it. I'm still working on the details of the sermon, but I've got some good notes on it and a few days, so it should be no problem.

Alright, I've got to go do the Thanksgiving shopping, but here's my translation of the above text, if anyone is interested:

24 Therefore, when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, and neither were his disciples, they got into the little boats and went across to Capernaum, continually seeking Jesus. 25 And finding him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, "Rabbi, how long have you been here?"

26 Jesus answered them and said, "Amen, amen, truly, truly I say to all of you, you are seeking me not because you saw a sign or miracle, but because you ate from the bread and you were filled. 27 Don't do your working for the dying food, the food that perishes, but for the living food, the food that endures in life eternal that the son of humanity will give to you, for this God the father has sealed."

28 Then they said to him, "What must we do in order that we might be working the works of God?"

29 Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God: that you might believe and have faith in the one whom God sent."

30 Then they said to him, "Then what sign are you making, in order that we might see and we might believe and have faith in you? What are you working? 31 Our parents ate manna in the wilderness, even as it is written: "Bread from heaven he gave to them to eat."

32 Then Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to all of you, Moses has not given you the bread out of heaven, but my father will give to all of you the true bread out of heaven, 33 for the bread of God is this: the one who is continually coming down out of heaven and continually giving life to the entire universe."

34 Then they said to him, "Lord, give us this bread all the time!"

35 Jesus said to them, "I myself am the bread of life, the one holding on to me and coming with me will surely never hunger, and the one believing and faithing in me will surely never thirst, ever.

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Theological Pop: The Not-So-Definitive List

On Monday I presented one of the songs of my Theological Pop list to my colloquium group at Iliff. Some of the members expressed an interest in having my complete list, so I'm posting it here for them and the rest of you.

Just a reminder of what Theological Pop. Requirement one is that it can't be expressly religious music. Contemporary Christian music is completely disallowed. It has to be a regular pop (or other secular genre) musician. Second, it has to have some kind of theological (including spiritual or ethical) message, even if the song has to be taken out of context in order to get that message. I don't really care what the artist intended. If it speaks to me theologically, it's in.

One final disclaimer: this list is limited by the bounds of my music collection. I haven't done any research on this; it's just my opinion. Take a look and let me know what you think. What songs would be on your theological pop list?

Blues Traveler, Four, "Just Wait" -- listen to it as the voice of God.
---- Straight On Till Morning, "Battle of Someone" -- it's the battle of good and evil in a person, flesh and spirit.
-------- "The Gunfighter" -- Sometimes you've just got to make your best guess on how to live and accept the consequences.
-------- "Make My Way" -- the journey that is life.
Don McLean, American Pie, "Crossroads" -- this was very powerful during my process of discerning a call.
Harry Connick, Jr., She, "Booker" -- issues of broken heart, loss of faith. What is the role of the Church?
---- Star Turtle, "Eyes of the Seeker" -- sometimes we have to follow our own path and make our own mistakes.
Jewel, Pieces of You, "Who Will Save Your Soul" -- social justice and the desire to be "saved."
-------- "Pieces of You" -- Inclusion and exclusion.
-------- "I'm Sensitive" -- a beautiful song about beautiful optimism in a pessimistic world.
-------- "Amen" -- Amen.
John Lennon, The Lennon Project, "Imagine All the People" -- when does religion get in the way of the goals of religion?
Nancy King & Glen Moore, Cliff Dance, "Pretty Red Truck" -- this song just makes me happy.
Robert Palmer, Sneakin' Sally Through the Alley, "Get Outside" -- when you're stressed: Get Outside!
Rolling Stones, "Can't Always Get What You Want" -- but you get what you need.
Sting, Mercury Falling, "Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot" -- trust the good sense God gave you.
-------- "I Was Brought To My Senses" -- a creation hymn.
-------- "I'm So Happy I Can't Stop Crying" -- a song for the divorced father.
---- Nothing Like the Sun..., "Rock Steady" -- the Noah story (for real).
-------- "The Secret Marriage" -- the true covenant that is beyond the ceremony.
---- Sacred Love, "Inside" -- what is love? how do we love?
-------- "Send Your Love" -- the power of love to change even the future. What is religion?
-------- "Whenever I Say Your Name" -- a song about prayer.
-------- "Dead Man's Rope" -- walking the journey of faith.
-------- "This War" -- theological reflections on war and Iraq.
-------- "The Book of My Life" -- reflections on a life.
-------- "Sacred Love" -- eros, philos, and agape.
---- Ten Summoner's Tales, "If I Ever Lose My Faith In You" -- science, politicians, even the church will fail, but God will not.
-------- "Saint Augustine In Hell" -- it's actually about St. Augustine.
-------- "It's Probably Me" -- the voice of Christ.
---- The Dream of the Blue Turtles, "If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free" -- self-explanitory.
Vitamin C, Vitamin C, "Smile" -- another song about the power of optimism.
-------- "Girls Against Boys" -- gender issues.

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Orthodoxy and Heresy

My good friend Brian over at The Faithful Skeptic has writen an interesting article about Defending Orthodoxy. He contends that concern over orthodoxy gets in the way of the message of the Gospel.

I think the inclination to defend orthodoxy is destructive to the mission of the church, because institutional concerns trump the ability of Christians to share Christ's radical message of love and grace.

Think of Martin Luther King Jr. Certainly his message was well outside "orthodox" for many southern Christians. But almost no one would argue now that people of color should be excluded from the church. Think of the movements within mainline denominations to allow women to participate in ministry. Again, outside of orthodoxy. But most Christians now would never think of denying women the right to be full partners in ministry.


I would argue that it all depends on how you define orthodoxy. What if MLK and women's ordination movements were not in fact outside of orthodoxy, but rather a reclaimation of orthodoxy, a fight against the pervading heresy of the dominant church.

I actually wrote a paper on this, called "Confronting First World Heresies," in which I accuse the church in the first world of the heresies of Individualism, Greed, and Blind Self-Righteousness. Now, I not a huge proponent of defending orthodoxy, but I don't think that we have to assume that we are on the losing end of the orthodoxy debate. If it is the spirit of the Gospel, then it should be orthodoxy. There is such a thing as liberal orthodoxy, and I think that we should consider ourselves a part of it.

Wednesday, November 03, 2004

Vitamin C: Girls Against Boys

This is one of my great favorite pieces of Theological Pop. Check my previous post on Sting's This War for more Theological Pop, which, by the way, is ordinary pop music that, whether it tries to or not, has a great theological message. I admit, the two songs I've reviewed here are more like Political Pop, but they still fit into my Theological Pop collection. And here is "Girls Against Boys" from Vitamin C's self-titled album:

Imagine a world where the girls, girls rule the earth.
Imagine a world where the boys, boys could give birth.
Would it be better that way?
Would it be more fun?
Would it be ecstasy? or a revolution?
Imagine a world where the girls, girls rule the earth.

Girls against boys, boys against the girls.
Girls against boys, who will rule the world?
Girls against boys, boys against the girls.
Girls against boys, who will rule the world?

Imagine a world where the girls, girls run the show.
Imagine a world where the boys, boys are told no.
Would there be peace on earth?, no more guns?
Would it be sexier? or mass confusion?
Imagine a world where the girls, girls rule the earth.

Girls against boys, boys against the girls.
Girls against boys, who will rule the world?
Girls against boys, boys against the girls.
Girls against boys, who will rule the world?

[Count Bass-D]
Well I cook for you, and I clean for you
Two kids for you, and your checkbook.
I'm on Slim Fast trying to get slimmer
But yet you wanna eat Big Macs for dinner.
My sneakers got soaked through walking through a puddle,
And when we get through, you don't even wanna cuddle.
You need to check in when you're hangin' wit'cha friends.
Trying to be like daddy is a means to an ends.
Being a man is hard like matzah.
I'ma take it to the 60's and burn my boxers
Yeah, and burn my boxers.
You know what I'm saying? Burn my boxers.

[Vitamin C]
Imagine a world where the girls, girls rule the earth.
Imagine a world where the boys, boys could give birth.
Would there be rocketships? way more fights?
Dress up everyday? more sattelites?
Would Xena be queen? Would there be more magazines?
Topless bars? super-fast cars? 90,000 trips to Mars?

Girls against boys, boys against the girls.
Girls against boys, who will rule the world?
Girls against boys, boys against the girls.
Girls against boys, who will rule the world?

Girls against boys, boys against the girls.
Girls against boys, who will rule the world?
Girls against boys, boys against the girls.
Girls against boys, who will rule the world?



I love this song. I think I was saying in a previous post how I think a huge part of USAmericans' problems are white men. Yes, I am one. Yes, I am part of the problem. Anyway, I don't think our country has any sort of chance until we white men stop trying to fix things and just ... get out of the way. I'm sure how else to say it than that. We've done enough. We're just getting in the way of progress. We need to take up some courage and step aside. So long as we think we have the answers to all of the worlds problems (including racism and sexism) we are missing the point. We're just propping up our own hypocritical platform.

Anyway, this song me keep myself in check and hopefully offers some really good wisdom about gender roles and perceptions. (Plus I really like the obscure reference to matzah in a techno song. That's awesome.) So white guys, hopefully this will help you notice your maleness. If you need help with recognizing your whiteness, try reading James Cone's Black Theology and Black Power. Don't read it if you're feeling suicidal.

PS There are a bunch of foreign language phrases mixed into the above song that I'm not showing in the lyrics. Spanish, French, and Japanese are definately there. The Spanish is "Contra ninos" -- against boys. I think the French is pretty similar, and I imagine the other languages are saying about the same thing. So when you listen to this song (and you should), let me know if you can translate any of the other language quotes.

Election Reflection

I'm realizing that the person I've supported for president has never won. In 1992, though I was too young to vote, I supported Bush over Clinton. In 1996, still too young to vote, I supported Dole over Clinton. Then in my first voting election, I voted for Nader in 2000. Quite a shift from Dole, I know, but that's what college will do for you. This year, I voted for Kerry in both the primary and the general elections. As I have moved left, the nation has moved right. I guess I should be used to being in the minority by now.

Things that make me happy about this election:
1. The election seems to have been fair. No hanging chads, no obvious fraud.
2. The expected electoral outcome is confirmed by the popular vote. In this case, the president has quite a handy lead in the popular.
3. Huge numbers of people voted! This is a great thing.
4. There is a greater chance that we could have a racial, ethnic, or gender minority president (or vice president) in four years (democrat or republican). Since a majority of Americans are minorities [you've got to love the way language works], it seems like it's about time to have a minority on the ticket. I was quite disappointed to have all white-guys in the race this time around.

Things that concern me:
1. Karl Rove style politics might become the model for success. In addition, it looks like huge spending is going to increasingly be a part of American politics, since it is the trend for both parties.
2. Record numbers of young voters turned out and most of them voted for Kerry. Will this encourage the idea that young voters can't make a difference?
3. The president might have a free pass for two years. I think that we have a better government when it needs to compromise, but that may not be necessary for this president.
4. The Bush Doctrine might become strengthened. My view is that anytime a nation goes to war (especially without the UN), the burden of proof is on them to justify it. In this case, I don't think that burden was met. That's one thing, and other presidents (including democrats) have done that before, but in this case, the decision has been elevated to the level of a doctrine, a model for future decision-making. This is concerning. I don't like being a go-it-alone country.
5. The idea that Christians must be and are conservative evangelicals has been strengthened. Those of us who are liberal Christians are in for a hard road and a certain degree of marginalization.

Undecided

I'm pretty discouraged at the moment. As I'm writing, it's still not certain who the president will be. Ohio is still in question, though it looks likely that Bush will take it, and if he does, he will have 269 votes, which is enough to make him president. He's pretty clearly leading in the popular, which is very surprising to me.

I just don't think that this man is worthy of a second term. He's not half the president that his father was, yet his place in history will now be assured. What bothers me the most about him is that he seems to be so divisive. One of the stated strategies of his campaign was that he only needed white evangelicals in order to win, and it seems that he doesn't really care about anyone else. I was looking at exit polling data, and it appeared that Bush was only winning among white men. Every other gender/race demographic was breaking for Kerry. Now I know that the exit polls aren't really accurate, but it doesn't make me feel good at all that this president is basically only supported by white people and particularly men. I am a white male, and I also think that white males are a huge part of the problem in this country.

I'm afraid of what might happen with the republicans also taking greater majorities in both the house and senate. I heard already tonight that republicans are excited that they might be able to start drilling in the Alaskan refuge and pushing through conservative judges. What about patriot act 2, or 3 or 4? I guess I don't trust this president to look out for the majority of the nation. I certain don't trust him to in any way protect minorities (of any kind).

I do truly pray that this nation will be able to come to some reconciliation, to compromise and work together with everyone's interests in mind. That was hope regardless of the outcome of the elections. It is still my prayer. God help us.

Tuesday, November 02, 2004

Cast Ballot

Well, I'm done. This was my first time voting at an actual polling place. In Oregon, where we moved from just over a year ago, there are only mail-in ballots. But here in Colorado, I got to do the whole waiting in line thing. It took just over an hour, and most of the people in line seemed to be college students from University of Denver, across the street. There was lots of talking in line and sharing of information and sample ballots. Most people were pretty openly voting for Kerry-Edwards, though I guess that isn't very surprizing for a bunch of private university students.

Anyway, they checked my ID, gave me the little blue card with my tally number (327) and sent me into the booth. I pushed all of the appropriate buttons and lit up all of the appropriate arrows. Then I hit the "Cast Ballot" button and sent my vote into cyber-who-knows-where. The old man who greeted me outside the booth gave me not one, but two "I Voted" stickers. I put one on my shrit and one on my coat, but if my coat is open, both are visible, so I'm not sure if that looks bad like I might have voted twice. I didn't -- promise.

Only one decision was hard to make. In Colorado we have Amendment 36 that would split the electoral vote of our state in proportion to the popular vote. I'm not a big fan of the electoral college, so maybe I should vote for it. On the other hand, it might serve to make Colorado politically impotent, so maybe no. But it might spur action at the federal level if more states start chucking the electoral college system. And what about the ramifications for this election? Which way will Colorado go? We are a battleground state, but it's looking a little better for Bush. If Bush carries the state the ammendment passes, then Kerry gets 4 electoral votes that he wouldn't have gotten before. If Kerry carries and it passes, then he loses 4. Anyway, I went back and forth on this, but I ended up voting for it, hoping that it would spur some debate at the national level about the electoral college.

Happy voting, everyone.

Monday, November 01, 2004

The Feast of All Saints

This morning I woke (a bit late) to a snow covered world. It had begun snowing last night, and not that weak, dry Denver snow that we usually get, but big, wet, flaky snow. The picture here is of the back yard. I always love the snow. It's so refreshing and clean, and there is nothing like the smell of fresh snow.

Anyway, for some reason, this fresh blanket of snow seems especially appropriate to me on the feast of All Saints. I'm not exactly sure why that is. Maybe the liturgical color of white. Maybe it reminds me of winters back in my grandparents' town of Haines, Ore., and the saints that are there.

In any case, I'm enjoying this morning, even if I'm not getting as much done during it as I should be. The end of the quarter is fast approaching, and with it, so are the due dates of several papers, quizzes, etc.

Adoption update: I might write a more detailed post on this later, but for now it looks like we're going to persue an international adoption through Lutheran Family Services of Colorado and Holt International Children's Services. Our choice of country, at least for the moment, is Guatemala. I'm excited!