So I have implemented what I call the Starbucks Wellness Program. This plan involves drinking two Iced Venti Green Teas every shift I work, and drinking only one grande nonfat drink of my choice, and eating NO pastries. I have lost five pounds in one week with little other effort. I will keep you posted. I would like to lose some weight, but if I don’t, I’m okay with it. I think I wouldn’t normally even be concerned about weight, etc. but with everything that has happened with my dad, I am thinking more about health. And it is summer, so I feel alive again. I probably should quit smoking “those vile clove cigarettes” as well.
Have you noticed how some things just make you feel happy on the inside? Some things that make me happy are love, family, a person’s mouth just before they laugh, a good cigarette smoked on a sidewalk in a big city, a dish of vanilla ice cream, a new beer that I’ve never tried before, a walk in the woods, and red heads. Yesterday, I went home from work and fixed a grilled turkey, roast beef, and cheese on pumpernickel and a bowl of soup. I love the crunchiness of the bread and the little tickle of the rye in the pumpernickel. If I had to choose just one bread to eat for the rest of my life, I would hope I could choose pumpernickel. Some things, I think, just remind us of childhood. Whenever I eat warm soup and grilled sandwiches, I remember school lunches. One of my favorite school lunches was the one that was made up of tomato soup and grilled cheese. I loved to dip my grilled cheese in thick tomato soup just enough so the bread would get wet but not smooshy. I also loved the chili and peanut butter sandwich days. I dipped the sandwich into the chili. I pretty much dip everything. I am a dipper. I am a food addict as well. I love food, which is why I have to implement the Starbucks Wellness Program (SWP).
My other new plan is related to my Lenten Blogs. Because it is now after Lent, and we are rejoicing the resurrection of Jesus and our renewed lives, I decided to include my daily readings in my meditations here. I may comment on them. I may not.
Today I am reading Psalm 140, Isaiah 29 and 30, and Revelation 11 and 12. Here are my thoughts.
We need to live toward a renewed Kingdom. So the world is fallen? Does that mean we need to live like it is fallen? I think it means we are called to live toward a perfect Kingdom. We need to live toward what we know is right. We need to overcome the Fall not live life, using our Fallen status as a crutch for all the things that are easier not to fix. Life is easier lived within the grain. It is much easier to live in a Fallen world than to live against it. Pushing back against war, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, hate, apathy, and Evil is more difficult than just sliding along saying: “It has been this way since the beginning of time. There have always been wars. There have always been poor people. There have always been racial problems.”
Many times, I wonder if people secretly, deep down, want there to be rumors of wars, so that they can watch the end times unfold. In order to be apathetic about war, etc. I think it must be necessary to believe in books like the Left Behind Series. Do I want there to be war? No. Do I want to be part of the solution? Yes. How can I do it? I can live toward a new heaven and a new earth, rather than live complacently in a fallen world: “Brought low, you will speak from the ground; your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will come ghostlike from the earth; out of the dust your speech will whisper.” Isaiah 29:4 In the next chapter, Isaiah warns the obstinate children who go looking for comfort and safety in Egypt, “But Pharaoh’s protection will be your shame, Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace.” To me, this means that when we look for help in the wrong places, we can never find the grace that we could find if we look to God for it. Our solace and comfort from other sources eventually becomes our downfall. If we look to politicans, the media, other people to provide us strength and comfort, we will never achieve wholeness. Or holiness.
Trying to live my life in this sort of way, with a focus on peace and justice, has frequently put me at odds with those around me. Sometimes I can relate to Isaiah: “They say to the seers, ‘See no more visions!’ and to the prophets, ‘Give us no more visions of what is right!’ Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel.” I think we, as a people, do not want to hear prophetic voices or visions of right. We want the media and the authorities to assuage our fears by placing an illusory band-aid on the world’s ills. I can’t stand it. Shit is fucked up and we want people to tell us it all doing just fine—we are all fine here now, bye, bye.
Interesting: (Isaiah 30:22) Throwing away idols like a menstrual cloth? I feel a t-shirt design waiting to happen! 😉
Reason Breeds Insanity 