In the movie Anchorman, when the fellas enter a "spiritual and existential funk" they go and buy new suits. For me, I don't think that's going to do the trick.
I am overwhelmed by complexities that are far beyond my comprehension. Every thought experiment that goes through my head seems to end in some connundrum that is inescapable. I feel I have learned too much, and now I am trapped by logic, intuition, and divine literature. Just as I am typing this my favorite song "Majesty Snowbird" just came on my iTunes, and reminded me to cling to the cross. I want to be a snowbird and fly far from here. I want to read Ecclesiastes and remember that wisdom is just a chasing after the wind. If I tried to explain to you how the beauty of music is created, why musical harmony works, and why it tugs at the center of my heart, I couldn't do it.
I will cling to Him, his word, his Majesty. In the song, through blaring trumpets and winding strings, I hear the encouraging words, "don't stop, don't break, you can delight because you have a place." Lord, I need you now.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
SO excited!
Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since our last post. We're losers. Here are a few things that I am currently really excited about:
1.) FINALS- Mark's almost done with this quarter... which means 1 more quarter to go!!! If I'm this excited about it, I can't imagine the relief he'll feel when it's all over. And since this quarter's almost over, that means...
2.) VACATION!! We leave on Friday! WHOO HOO!!! We're headed to Topsail, NC, with my entire family! Mark & I are SO excited to spend the week relaxing with my fam... we can't wait to watch Ellie, Lydia & Luke explore the sand & the ocean. Mark has already declared a vow of silence & beach living (I guess he thinks he'll sleep down there) for the whole week, but I'm really doubting that will happen : ) We'll be sure to post pictures when we get back.
3.) BOOKS. There are 2 that I am currently reading that I am LOVING, both books that my sweet husband bought for me! The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't read this... get with it! C.S. Lewis is a genius. 'nough said.
(actually, the book requires it's own entire blog entry, which I'm waiting to do that until I'm finished with it).
I'm also reading Idols of the Heart (can't remember the author). Mark got this for me at the T4G conference, and I just started it the other day. It's a great book (and I'm not even through Chapter 1!), and has really forced me to realize that most of the time my priorities are in the wrong place. Really has made me re-think why I do/think/say some of the things that I do. Maybe once I'm done with it I'll blog about it too.
That's all for now. Gotta get back to work!
Love,
Marci
1.) FINALS- Mark's almost done with this quarter... which means 1 more quarter to go!!! If I'm this excited about it, I can't imagine the relief he'll feel when it's all over. And since this quarter's almost over, that means...
2.) VACATION!! We leave on Friday! WHOO HOO!!! We're headed to Topsail, NC, with my entire family! Mark & I are SO excited to spend the week relaxing with my fam... we can't wait to watch Ellie, Lydia & Luke explore the sand & the ocean. Mark has already declared a vow of silence & beach living (I guess he thinks he'll sleep down there) for the whole week, but I'm really doubting that will happen : ) We'll be sure to post pictures when we get back.
3.) BOOKS. There are 2 that I am currently reading that I am LOVING, both books that my sweet husband bought for me! The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't read this... get with it! C.S. Lewis is a genius. 'nough said.
(actually, the book requires it's own entire blog entry, which I'm waiting to do that until I'm finished with it).
I'm also reading Idols of the Heart (can't remember the author). Mark got this for me at the T4G conference, and I just started it the other day. It's a great book (and I'm not even through Chapter 1!), and has really forced me to realize that most of the time my priorities are in the wrong place. Really has made me re-think why I do/think/say some of the things that I do. Maybe once I'm done with it I'll blog about it too.
That's all for now. Gotta get back to work!
Love,
Marci
Friday, May 2, 2008
Salem Bin Laden
Marci and I will be blogging more often now that the big concert is over. We have decided to take more time to rest and write about things that we think are important. We want to keep our families updated on what we are thinking about, what we're doing, etc.
I have been reading about the Bin Laden family recently, trying to make some sense out of senseless violence, to try to figure out how a heart can go so awry. I anticipated that Osama Bin Laden would be the most interesting character in the family, but I was incorrect. It is quite intriguing to learn about Osama's oldest brother, Salem Bin Laden. After their father's death (by plane crash), the sons inherited a huge amount of wealth. Osama stuck to his projects in the Middle East, including the Afghan war against the Soviets, while brothers like Salem invested their money in businesses and real estate, mostly in the United States.
Salem Bin Laden loved fast cars, fast planes, fast women, and to sing karaoke. He would pay DJs to allow him to sing at clubs and parties. His favorite songs were "On top of ol' smokey' and anything by the Beatles. He once invited a group of American businessmen on a hunting trip in Pakistan. They were going to hunt some rare hawks. The businessmen were surprised to find when they arrived in Pakistan, that Salem had rented each of them their own engine-powered glider with a rifle mount, so that they could fly along with the hawks and shoot them. I am no hunter myself, but I might be inclined to be on if I had my own personal glider. Salem had homes in many major US and European cities and dated as many as ten women at a time, having many children out of wedlock. To many, unlimited money, unlimited women, and unlimited power is something to envy, a lifestyle of freedom with little complication. But after reading about all of his adventures and relationships, there is really only one word to describe Salem Bin Laden: lonely.
He had a rudimentary portable phone with him at all times, in all his planes, in all his homes, and would call his friends or brothers and sisters several times a day, no matter what time of day. He surrounded himself with people, many of whom just wanted his money, but would applaud every exciting move he made, every immature prank he could carry out. His entourage got bigger as he got older, and his loneliness became so desperate that he would hire front desk personnel at hotels to come and talk to him while he used the bathroom. He couldn't sleep in a room by himself. He was afraid of the dark. Nothing could satisfy. Ironically, Salem died in a plane crash, much like his father, in 1988 in Houston, Texas. Salem was by himself in the plane, his father died while an American pilot failed to land correctly in Saudi Arabia.
Cases like Salem's are not rare, and it is often sad to think of the troubles celebrities have with these same issues. Howard Hughes had a similar condition, which is shown nicely in the 2004 movie The Aviator. Even the most powerful people in the world have affairs, commit crimes, etc. I just learned that FDR was unfaithful to good ol' Eleanor. The human heart can be a lonely place.
I believe it was C.S. Lewis who said that for every appetite there is something to fulfill it. If we feel hungry, there is such a thing as food. What is this desire in our hearts for a love that will not let us down? In the 18th century, a famous preacher named Jonathan Edwards told his children on his deathbed that they should put their trust in the one father who would never let them down. We are consistenly told in the Bible to "fear" the Lord. As the always trusty Tim Keller puts it, "if you're living for money, living for power, success, sex, your job, or even your children, you are living in mortal 'fear' of something, the loss of which would render life meaningless. What do you most fear losing? You can be inspired by God, understand the law, and him not be your 'fear.' Is he the main passion of your heart? When he becomes the main ardor of your heart, you move from knowing about him into knowing him." Jonathan Edwards said in another text, "there is an infinite difference between knowing that honey is sweet and actually tasting the sweetness of honey."
Marci and I like talking about Jesus, that is why he often comes up in these blogs. He is moving closer to the center of our hearts. We are about to go on a date. We are going to dinner and will play games at Gameworks. We look forward to seeing you all soon.
love,
M&M
I have been reading about the Bin Laden family recently, trying to make some sense out of senseless violence, to try to figure out how a heart can go so awry. I anticipated that Osama Bin Laden would be the most interesting character in the family, but I was incorrect. It is quite intriguing to learn about Osama's oldest brother, Salem Bin Laden. After their father's death (by plane crash), the sons inherited a huge amount of wealth. Osama stuck to his projects in the Middle East, including the Afghan war against the Soviets, while brothers like Salem invested their money in businesses and real estate, mostly in the United States.
Salem Bin Laden loved fast cars, fast planes, fast women, and to sing karaoke. He would pay DJs to allow him to sing at clubs and parties. His favorite songs were "On top of ol' smokey' and anything by the Beatles. He once invited a group of American businessmen on a hunting trip in Pakistan. They were going to hunt some rare hawks. The businessmen were surprised to find when they arrived in Pakistan, that Salem had rented each of them their own engine-powered glider with a rifle mount, so that they could fly along with the hawks and shoot them. I am no hunter myself, but I might be inclined to be on if I had my own personal glider. Salem had homes in many major US and European cities and dated as many as ten women at a time, having many children out of wedlock. To many, unlimited money, unlimited women, and unlimited power is something to envy, a lifestyle of freedom with little complication. But after reading about all of his adventures and relationships, there is really only one word to describe Salem Bin Laden: lonely.
He had a rudimentary portable phone with him at all times, in all his planes, in all his homes, and would call his friends or brothers and sisters several times a day, no matter what time of day. He surrounded himself with people, many of whom just wanted his money, but would applaud every exciting move he made, every immature prank he could carry out. His entourage got bigger as he got older, and his loneliness became so desperate that he would hire front desk personnel at hotels to come and talk to him while he used the bathroom. He couldn't sleep in a room by himself. He was afraid of the dark. Nothing could satisfy. Ironically, Salem died in a plane crash, much like his father, in 1988 in Houston, Texas. Salem was by himself in the plane, his father died while an American pilot failed to land correctly in Saudi Arabia.
Cases like Salem's are not rare, and it is often sad to think of the troubles celebrities have with these same issues. Howard Hughes had a similar condition, which is shown nicely in the 2004 movie The Aviator. Even the most powerful people in the world have affairs, commit crimes, etc. I just learned that FDR was unfaithful to good ol' Eleanor. The human heart can be a lonely place.
I believe it was C.S. Lewis who said that for every appetite there is something to fulfill it. If we feel hungry, there is such a thing as food. What is this desire in our hearts for a love that will not let us down? In the 18th century, a famous preacher named Jonathan Edwards told his children on his deathbed that they should put their trust in the one father who would never let them down. We are consistenly told in the Bible to "fear" the Lord. As the always trusty Tim Keller puts it, "if you're living for money, living for power, success, sex, your job, or even your children, you are living in mortal 'fear' of something, the loss of which would render life meaningless. What do you most fear losing? You can be inspired by God, understand the law, and him not be your 'fear.' Is he the main passion of your heart? When he becomes the main ardor of your heart, you move from knowing about him into knowing him." Jonathan Edwards said in another text, "there is an infinite difference between knowing that honey is sweet and actually tasting the sweetness of honey."
Marci and I like talking about Jesus, that is why he often comes up in these blogs. He is moving closer to the center of our hearts. We are about to go on a date. We are going to dinner and will play games at Gameworks. We look forward to seeing you all soon.
love,
M&M
Monday, April 21, 2008
Recent (and not so recent) pictures
Saturday, April 5, 2008
A Multicultular Weekend For the M&M
This cute little fella is Milos Forman, Academy award-winning director of such films as One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus. We had the opportunity to watch one of his films last night called Taking Off, which he himself introduced, followed by a Q&A. The film was great, and we went with some wonderful friends of ours, but what was exceptionally intriguing is the life story of Milos Forman. Here is a man who makes fantastic movies about human nature, after having lived through both the Nazi and Communist occupations of his native Czechoslavia, now the Czech Republic. Both of his parents died in Auschwitz, becoming an orphan at the age of six. Whenever these atrocities in history are remembered, they often distant and disconnected, but here before us sat a man who lived through it, and now lives a life not so unlike ours. One man during the Q&A even mentioned that he met Milos Forman in a Czech coffee house in 1965; Milos asked the man to borrow a pen, and he lent it. The man, now in 2008, asked for his pen back.
Earlier that day I was listening to NPR and I heard what is now called the earliest sound recording, portions of audio from 1860. Recorded in France before the invention of the phonograph, a man recorded songs by his daughter, and here I was in 2008, listening to a muddy recording of a young girl singing a popular ballad in France before the American Civil War.
This morning I worked a moving job as I often do to make some extra cash, and I happened to move a guy from Nigeria who had been working in Baltimore for fifteen years. His name is Kenny. We spoke about Africa and Christianity and the state of education in America. All told, its been quite a weekend for us. We are learning more about history and cultures of the world. I think it is important to understand how we got here in hopes of better preparing ourselves for where we are going.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Trusty Club Sandwich
I'm making excellent use of my time here at work. I'm waiting on a truck to get back from Cincinnati, which probably won't be here until 6:30 or so... and I'm hungry. We've stated before that we would be discussing sandwiches in this blog, and I don't want to let anyone down.
Currently I'm dreaming of a club sandwich. You know, the sandwich so thick you have to squash it to get it to fit in your mouth, but not before you remove the "fancy" toothpick holding it all in. With turkey & bacon & tomatoes & lettuce & mayo. Probably one of my favorites. And very trusty. How hard is it to screw up? I've never had a bad club sandwich. The words bad & club sandwich just don't jive together.
It seems like recently when eating out, I decide to try something new... not a good choice. Always stick with what you know is good. Advise to all you sandwich lovers: Club sandwich & fries = yummy in the tummy.
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