Condemned Kitchens

We recently made a decision to get rid of cable TV at our house; which means we don't get any TV, which means we don't get to watch anymore TV shows, which means I don't get to watch Gordon Ramsay on Kitchen Nightmares. Not to worry, we haven't gotten rid of our internet, so I just stream the show on my computer.

You may be thinking, "That's a lot of trouble to go through to watch some irate chef tell other people what he thinks of their restaurants". Yes, chef Ramsay can be quite blunt, rude, and vulgar, but these restaurant owners are in need a wake up call. Their establishments are in dire need of help; many are outdated, have a poor menu, and unsanitary kitchens. These restaurants and their owners are at the end of their rope; usually in debt up to their ears causing added friction in their personal lives. When it all adds up these restaurants have a less than favorable reputation in their community. That's where Gordon comes in...

Chef Ramsay is a last ditch effort to turn these sinking ships around. On this show chef Ramsay assess the restaurant, the staff, and everything in between and then gets to work. By the end of each episode restaurants have been re-decorated, staff's attitudes have been re-adjusted (largely due to chef Ramsay's vast vocabulary of vulgarity), the food has come alive with rich flavor, and owners have been given a second chance. On this show condemned kitchens are resurrected.

I guess that's why I stream this show on my computer...it reminds me that no matter how bad something has gotten, regardless of how things have fallen apart, and in spite of our own incompetence, resurrection is still possible.

Surprised By Hope

I just began reading theologian N.T. Wright's latest book: "Surprised By Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church". In it he has a great illustration of what one's life looks like in response to the Kingdom of God.

A rich old member gives to a college a wonderful, glorious painting that simply won't fit any of the spaces available in the college and that is so magnificent that eventually the college decides to pull itself down and rebuild itself around this great and unexpected gift, discovering as it does so that all the best things about the college are thereby enhanced within the new structure and all the problems of which people had been aware are thereby dealt with. And the key thing about that illustration, inadequate though it is, is that there must be some point at which the painting is received by the existing college, some epistemological point of overlap to enable the college officers to make their momentous decision. The donor doesn't just come along, blow up the college unasked, present the painting, and then say, "Now figure out what to do."

This illustration serves as a reminder that following Jesus calls us to completely re-orient our way to the Kingdom of God. We don't ask God's "gift" to fit our current structure, but rather are compelled to let go of the old that something new may be built. In light of this illustration I have a lot of deconstruction to do.

Luke: A Golden Axe Warrior

Tonight we had a late dinner, so when we finished the kids only had a half hour to play before bed. Lilly chose to color (she loves her princess coloring book) and Caleb chose to draw cartoons (he is a striving to be a professional cartoonist). But Luke...he wanted to play Golden Axe II.

For those of you who don't know, Golden Axe II is one of the sweetest Sega games ever. Released in 1991 Golden Axe II has kick'n side-scrolling graphics, dragons, skeleton warriors, and special moves, all rendered in 16-bit glory. In the game there are 3 characters to choose from: the girl (she has sweet magic skills, but isn't too strong), the dwarf guy (he is wicked strong, but not too deep with his magic,) and the Conan-type guy (his portfolio of strength and magic is well balanced).

My older brother and I used to play this game for hours in the arcade. Recently we downloaded it for our Wii...it was an instant hit with my boys.

So tonight Luke and I played Golden Axe II. We had a blast destroying beasts, rescuing the villagers, and celebrating together when we beat the game (sure it was on "easy", but we conquered it all the same). It was some of the most fun I've had playing a video game in a while.

Yet the best part of tonight was not reliving an old video game from my past; the best part was my son saying to me: "Dad, will you play with me"? An invitation from my 7 year-old...not even Golden Axe can conquer that.

Re-Calibrate: Meditation

Almighty God,

Guide my heart to Your understanding.

Guide my mind to Your creating.

Guide my hands to Your renewing.

and Guide my soul to Your resting.

Amen.

Re-Calibrate

Life is in need of continual adjustment. At least my life. I am busy moving my life around work and family, at times leaving little space for me to "be".

As a result, it is easy for my life to become over-run by the tyranny of the urgent; taking my focus away from what is important to what "has to get done". It is here that life becomes about survival, not true living. When I find myself merely "surviving life" I am in need of some adjustment, something greater to which I re-calibrate my life.

To re-calibrate to an ever expanding life is what Jesus talked about when he spoke of the Kingdom of God. It is when we let go of our self, our priority, our story and insert ourselves into the unfolding narrative of God that life is fully lived. This requires a constant re-calibration of our way to God's way; our story to God's story. It is here where we realize that God is not our priority, but simply he is the priority.

Emptying our selves in surrender compels us to see our life, humanity, and creation with a new set of lenses. I am finding that re-calibrating my life to the way of God is never complete. Yet each adjustment, each calibration moves us further into the story of God and propels us into a life engulfed with exploration, discovery, creation, and beauty.

Bouncing Lilly

Lilly had gymnastics this evening. Usually Misty takes her and waits the hour with the other parents however tonight it was my turn. I planned to read a book while my daughter worked on her cartwheels and walked the balance beam.

It didn't take long for me to realize that I wouldn't be turning many pages in my book...Lilly was making sure I was watching every one of her moves through the glass that separates the parent's holding area from the young Olympic hopefuls.

These kids were having all sorts of fun; running, tumbling, and of course giggling. One exercise involved these large bouncy balls with a handle, allowing kids to sit on them and bounce anywhere they pleased. I'm not sure what element of the gymnastics art this exercise was teaching, but I do know that it was a moment of uncontained silliness.

As Lilly gets older, bouncing on a ball will not be her main mode of transportation. There will even come a day when gymnastics is no longer a part of her life. My prayer for her (and my two boys) is they grow in the beauty and creativity of life...and that silliness is always close by.