Christmas Day is No Different

I learned tonight
that Christmas day is no different

Perhaps people act nicer.

perhaps.

And yet a teenager is murdered outside his home

somewhere else

a family is broken

somewhere else

bitterness consumes a heart

somewhere else

a cancer patient fights the disease

somewhere else

an addict does not lose the craving

somewhere else

a toddler is still hungry

everywhere else

desperate prayers are repeated

Christmas day is no different

The world does not stop for Christmas

half the world may not even celebrate today

there is no magical clause that says

today we will live in peace

today there will be no cease fire

today bullets will be replaced with snowballs

the day does not become merry or bright

just because the Christmas is white

and snow, if it chooses to fall,

does not erase the tracks of tears

Christmas day is no different

I walked down the street

lined with the light-filled trees

a 2 year old and his father played by the station

that’s what Christmas is

supposed to be.

I believed that good tidings and comfort and joy

were held by everyone

just for the day

if only for the day

we sing joy to the world

so the world must be joyful

but who are we asking to rest

if the men are not merry or gentle?

I lit the candles for silent night

but that bullet split the silence the night before

and one candle will nevermore be lit

there was no peace on earth

someone did not believe in good will toward men

Christmas day was no different

then

in the pew

with my father beside me

I realized

that while the day itself holds no magic

holding no guarantee of peace

today, we remember the promise

the promise of the past for the future

what we were singing about

what we were learning about

Jesus was born

the child of the Promise

the God incarnate

the Wonderful Counselor

the Mighty God

the Everlasting Father

the Prince of Peace

and the government will be on His shoulders

it is Christ who promises peace on earth

the wiping away of tears

good will towards men

comfort and joy

it is the King who promises these things

it is not the day

Christmas day is no different

The day is just a day

it even may have occurred on a different day

but we choose today

to take the time to remember

to rejoice

rejoice!

that Emmanuel

God with us

will one day return and ransom us

from the gunshots

from the brokenness

from all the days that will be no different

until He comes

The world may not be put on hold for Christmas

but Christ does hold the world

and one day

there will be a silent night.

- in memory of Kevin, shot outside his home 12-23-2006

through the grapevine

We moved into a house with a small backyard. One of the selling points of the yard was the thick, lush grapevines, intertwined through the fence surrounding our plot. We hoped that they would grow fruit, but I enjoyed the private, European atmosphere they provided. 

Our neighbor Joanne has known the property for years. When we commented about the grapevines, she said, "Oh, is that what they are? I consider them weeds. I don't know how they got here, and I hate them. They're just weeds." I looked at Chris and laughed a little. Clearly this woman didn't know what she was talking about. Didn't she see their beauty? Didn't she appreciate how they contributed to hiding the urban asphalt and helping me believe I was somewhere in Italy or Greece? Weeds...oh well. 

I planted the seeds in our raised beds at the back of the garden. After several weeks, I realized they were underdeveloped due to the lack of sunlight. After keeping track of where the sun travelled, I realized that my beautiful grapevines were blocking much of what sun should have been settling on tomato plants. "I will trim them back a little," I said to myself. A week later, the grapevines had grown back. "I guess I'll have to remove them from this part of the yard. It won't be that much." After an hour of cutting and pruning,the sun was finally able to get through to the beds. 

Summer rolled along, and we learned that we had a blackberry bush. By midsummer, we were harvesting cereal bowls full of berries one or twice a week. However, as I would harvest them, I began to notice that this bush was being overtaken by the grapevine, and was beginning to be choked out. Berries were dying from the lack of sunlight, and nutrients were going to the grapevines as they raped and pillaged anything they could twist their curls around. I tried to snip the grapevines back, allowing the bush and vines to co-exist, but the grapevines were just too numerous and they grew too fast. 

I knew that I had to choose: Italian atmosphere or urban harvest. 

With my hedge trimmers in hand, I cut away at the roots of the grapevines, and tore one green vein after another away from the fence. It was a monstrosity. I hadn't realized exactly how deep the vines had gone. In fact, the vines had bent over the blackberry bush which was now blocking the sidewalk. The amount of carnage left was enough to fill our canoe, which we hung in the place of the decimated grapevines. But one reaps what they sow. In the process of removing the vines, I harvested another bowl full of berries that had been previously hidden. 

I suppose grapevines are beautiful in a sense, and for a time the seductive promise of escape and hiding from the world around me distracted me from their destructive, intrusive nature.

Weeds. That's what they were, after all. 

a new season of growing (literally and metaphorically)

It has been a long time since I have posted last. I read that I was interested in saving the bees, and I still am. But my heart for conservation has taken me down a new road, and I intend to chronicle this journey a little more closely. And it do it both for those who may be interested, but also for myself. Because this road will likely go through the growing seasons of death, hope, and harvest. And I will need reminded of that what I am doing is worthwhile, and the small fruit that already was taken and enjoyed in the process. 

So, thus starts a new theme in the same blog: what I have learned in the garden. I hope you enjoy. 

current petition related to last post

Change.org|Start an Online Petition

Click the link above to sign this current petition to alert the House of Representatives and the Senate to the importance of stopping systemic pesticides used on crops and bees.

Thanks for helping us save the world :)
Elise

give me honey from the bees...

I have just finished watching the documentary "Vanishing of the Bees" which discusses the rapidly decreasing bee population due to "Collapse Colony Disorder." The tag line is: a film for anyone who likes to eat. I couldn't agree more!

I have never been more frustrated with our country's government's approach to farming, use of pesticides, misuse of research, and general lack of forethought. Yes, the beekeeping industry has a bias with this film: have better practices, stop killing our bees. Else, we might not have food in 10 years. Seems fair enough.

The film was both foreboding and optimistic. In summary, if we don't stop the use of pesticides until further non-biased research is done, the bee population will die and so will our access to fruits and vegetables (bees are the primary pollinator of crops). However, the rise of organic, holistic farming is gaining traction, and it is possible that we the people of the United States of America could change the course of our future without Big (or in this case Wimpy Cowardly) Government stepping in.

What amazed me most about the film is that this problem was not discovered, or acted upon, in America. France has dealt with this ten years prior. Their cautionary government stopped the sale of the systemic pesticide Gaucho due to the voice of their beekeepers and citizens. The result? Bee populations in once toxic environments started to recover in a year. Wow. And we're not following suit because....?

....because the EPA can't "prove" anything. 1) stop paying the pesticide makers to do the research. 2) what kind of proof are you looking for? I enjoyed Michael Pollen's take on this. He says (and I paraphrase) that there are multiple kinds of "proof" out there other than proof from scientists in a lab. Try talking to the people who live day in and day out with these populations. How about looking historically as to the interpretation of bee behaviors. Yes, our society is more modern and more high tech, but it seems like all the progress in agriculture (machines, chemicals, etc) is starting to slow us down.

I should mention that pesticides were originally created from the same the chemicals used in chemical warfare. Not quite the reuse/recycle mentality we were hoping for, huh?

So there's my speech. Now I want to plant a huge garden and go live on a farm or at least volunteer with an organic community farm. Submitted: volunteer online form to Grow Pittsburgh.

image of God

I met with a girlfriend of mine this evening, and as you might expect the topic of body image came up. As a good Christian, I replied, "Well, we have to remember that we are made in the image of God." My friend most wisely responded, "Yeah, I've heard that before...but what exactly does that mean?" 

Umm.....good question. I have no idea. You know those phrases that you're just used to saying, but then you realize you can't explain it? Thus was this conversation. 

I reflected more on it upon returning home. I recalled my church's current Bible Study on the Book of James. James uses an analogy that Christians who read Scriptures and do not do what it says is equivalent to a man looking in a mirror and forgetting what he looks like. (James 1:22-25) I hope I am not taking it a step further out of context, but how many of us look into the mirror and see ourselves, created in God's image, and then look away and forget that we are His? 

I also searched an online concordance for verses talking about the image of God. The Bible says that our body is "being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Colossians 3:9-11) I wonder if the "image of God" has less to do with the physical characteristics as the intrinsic qualities of a person. As we spend more and more time in our relationship with Christ, we will in turn reflect His image more.  It is at least something to chew on...

Our conversation made me think of a painting belonging to a friend of mine from college. She is a wonderful woman of God, and honestly I have been encouraged (and envious) of her passion and love of Jesus since I met her the first day of orientation. She is now a missionary (and mother!) in Japan with her husband, and I cannot help but know and rejoice that everyone she meets has seen the face of Christ in her reflection. This painting continues to encourage me to this day, reminding me of who I am in the Lord, my true image in Him. 

And if all this is true because itself is a reflection of the character of the Lord God Almighty, how could I not fall in love with Him? 

encourage each other

I'm reflecting on an interesting phenomenon in adulthood. There comes an age where we have the expectation that other adults around us should always know the "correct" thing to do. That we should not make mistakes, and if we do make mistakes, that is a sign of our ignorance or incapability. I find this strange. 

When a child is learning how to walk, the adults nearby are clapping, hooting, hollering with joy. If the child falls down, the adults gasp in horror. They sooth the child. They check for scraps or bruises. They cheer the child on to try again. Some may even have the child hold onto their fingers and walk with the child. This is a beautiful scenario. No one expects a child to immediately start walking without a hitch on the first try. And if you did voice that opinion, I assure you, you'd have every mother glaring at you with a glare only mothers can give. 

I feel like we lose this empathy and understanding with adults. When we see an adult take a new job, volunteer position, extra-curricular activity, do we assume that this person should just "walk" into the situation without fumbling or stumbling around a bit? Worse yet, do we wait for them to fall, and instead of gasping and giving them a helping hand, laugh to ourselves and then chatter about it with those around you? 

Brothers and sisters, I am speaking to myself as well. Let us come alongside those who are around us and ask how we can help. Show them the steps. Gasp when they fall. Check to see if they're hurt, and then help them to their feet to try again. Let us not engage in whispers of judgement, but instead shout encouragement loudly from the rooftops! 

Encourage one another as long as today is called "Today" so that your hearts do not become calloused. For as Maya Angelou said, "I did the best I could, and when I knew better, I did better."

the front porch project

ATTENTION ALL NEIGHBORS! It is time to stop living complacently in your house with air conditioning! Please use the front exit and sit on your porch! I see those empty porch swings, decaying from non-use as they swing like a man on a noose: once full of life, and now a dead ornament. Did we forget that Pittsburgh was the hometown of the greatest neighbor of all, Mr. Rodgers? 

Thus I have decided to found The Front Porch Project. From this day forth, I will try to spend at least one hour on my front porch, greeting friends and strangers alike. Porch gatherings shall ensue. Men, come smoke a pipe. Women, come gab while drinking water or lemonade. Let us break out of the four walls and windows of isolation, and swing freely on the porch swing of community! Life is so much more enjoyable when you are outdoors, with friends, and in the presence of the Creator in fellowship.  

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Won't you be mine? 

[this post dedicated to David who celebrated his first month in Pittsburgh and became our new neighbor over dinner last night]

vanities of vanities (leaving facebook).

It's hard to believe that my last blog post was nearly one year ago. Then again, facebook has a good way of distracting me from blogs. Why keep a blog when you can update every 5 minutes?

"Heading for the store; hope there's no traffic"
"Got some new shoes!! Totally great deal!"
"Using the bathroom."

Every year, I re-evaluate why I am on the social networking site. If the good reasons outweigh the questionable, then I stay on and try to sort the other stuff out. If the questionable outweighs the good, then I pull the plug. This is probably the my fourth time. Mark Zuckerburg should stop accepting my friend request with the number of times I've left his website.

Many people have asked why I'm leaving Facebook. They ask the same questions that some people ask when you leave a church. "Did something happen? Did someone hurt you? But we'll miss you!!" Honestly, it comes down to these two reasons: insecurity and un-intentionality.

1) I am an insecure person. When I see another musician succeeding, I become jealous. When I see a girl taking a camera photo of herself in her new dress, I want to post a picture of ME in a new dress. When I see brothers and sisters in Christ putting website after website of amazing causes and activist activities they've joined, I feel stupid and lazy. "Elise, that's not healthy." I know. That's why I'm leaving Facebook.

2) I've struggled for years to have intentional relationships. When I find myself looking on Facebook to substitute for a phone call or personal email, I know something is wrong. Facebook tells me I have 319 friends. We may not have spoken in two years but we're still "friends." In reality, I spy on 319 people daily. You don't know it, but I saw that you made that new recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Oh, and that new bikini that you bought 15 seconds ago looks really cute. Does anyone else feel awkward? 


Socrates said, "For a human being, the unexamined life is not worth living." I might go as far to say that the unexamined life means I am NOT living. Instead, I am caught in the drone and monotony of what I'm accustomed to doing, and have forgotten why I started in the first place.

So until the day I can in good conscience sign back on, I suppose we'll just have to call/text/email/snail-mail/visit each other. Yeah, I'll miss you too.