gRegorLove.com

Accepting Grace

Wed, 2 May 2012 23:34:32 -0500

I have been trying to write this post in my head for a while now. It has been rather difficult. I want to share how important the book The Ragamuffin Gospel is to me, and its vital message of accepting God's grace.

I would like to be able to say that this message of accepting grace has been revolutionary for me�that I am a different person. As with most key battles in our lives, though, it is never that simple. I still struggle to accept God's grace and I honestly feel like it is going to be that way for the rest of my life.

This post may not be making much sense so far. I should back up. I had heard Brennan Manning's name before but had not read any of his books. A couple months ago someone on Twitter linked to this short video of him speaking. After watching it, I bumped his book up next on my to-read list.

[Jesus says] I have a word for you:

I know your whole life story.
I know every skeleton in your closet.
I know every moment of sin, shame, dishonesty, and degraded love that has darkened your past. Right now I know your shallow faith, your feeble prayer life, your inconsistent discipleship.

And My word is this: “I dare you to trust that I love you just as you are and not as you should be, because you're never going to be as you should be.”

I read the book and it was revolutionary for me. Yet its message is something that I need to remind myself of daily and often fight with myself to believe. God loves me as I am. There is nothing I can do to make Him love me more.

This seems like such a simple message. It is not as if I never heard that God loved me while growing up in church. It was certainly demonstrated to me, too. But like Manning describes in that video and his book, somewhere along the way little lies crept in and my perception of God became more legalistic. Shame clouded my perception. I still believed God loved me, but I felt like my screw-ups were impairing His love for me somehow.

I feel like many Christians have a similar perception and it is easy for the organizational church to aid in this. I certainly have not often heard the gospel of grace explained as well as Manning did in this book. That's why it is so very important to me and I strongly encourage you to read it. You can borrow my copy, or I might even buy you one.

The call asks, “Do you really accept the message that God is head over heels in love with you?” I believe that this question is at the core of our ability to mature and grow spiritually. If in our hearts we really don't believe that God loves us as we are, if we are still tainted by the lie that we can do something to make God love us more, we are rejecting the message of the cross.

� The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, p. 165

Holy Molars!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:43:19 -0500

I finally made it back to the dentist after, ahem, two and a half years. Oops. I used to be really good about going every six months, but I clearly have slacked off recently. An intermittent, dull toothache reminded me, so I finally made an appointment last week.

The good news is that despite the long time since my last cleaning, the plaque buildup on my teeth was not that bad and most of my teeth were fine. The bad news is that the toothache was from a pretty bad cavity in one of my wisdom teeth and it needs to come out. Soon. I was not too surprised, but I did not expect the urgency of it. I had not really thought through the financial aspect, either, since my insurance does not cover dental.

I had a consultation with the oral surgeon last Saturday and the surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning, bright and early. The surgeon was very generous and waived the consultation fee since I do not have dental insurance. He is also giving me a bit of a discount on the surgery itself. I applied for and received CareCredit, which is a credit card for health care expenses that has no interest if you pay the balance off within six months. So overall, it should work out pretty well.

I am stocked up on ice, ice cream, applesauce, mashed potatoes, soup, yogurt, peanut butter, and Jell-O. I should have taken advantage of today by eating lots of crunchy food, but alas, I only thought of that right now.

The moral of the story is: go see your dentist regularly. And, uh, get your wisdom teeth out early . . . and often?

Blue Like Jazz: The Review

Sun, 15 Apr 2012 00:51:59 -0500

I realized that my previous post about Blue Like Jazz was mostly about how the film came about and only a bit of a review. I still think the post is worth a read (well, duh. ;]), but I wanted to write up a proper review as well.

The film follows a young Don Miller who has grown up in Texas as a Southern Baptist and is planning to attend a local Bible college. When the hypocrisy of a trusted leader in the church is revealed to him, he is understandably hurt and angered. He changes his plans and attends Reed College in Portland, in part because of his father's recommendation and in part because he wants to be far away from the situation. At Reed he distances himself from his faith and tries to fit in. He largely succeeds, but still deals with questions of whether God exists and what that means for him.

I think what I loved most about this film is that it is a relatable and believable story about dealing with a crisis of faith. Many, many people have experiences just like this, yet it is not a story ever really portrayed in film. There is a line in the book (and film) that says jazz music “doesn't resolve,” and that life can be the same way. The film portrays this well. The ending is not without some resolution, but it is not wrapped in a neat little bow, either.

The characters were great and all of the actors did a wonderful job. It is well-shot and the soundtrack is phenomenal. (Sidenote: check out the band Menomena, which is pronounced “Mahna Mahna.” Danny Seim from the band scored the film.) There are plenty of funny moments in the film, as well as thought-provoking moments.

Ultimately I think this film succeeds because it does not fall into a niche where only Christians will enjoy it. The film does not beat you over the head and preach at you. It is not a thinly veiled sermon. It's a story about coming to terms with what you believe in. This is a larger theme that everyone should be able to identify with. As Penny says in the film, “We're human. We're flawed. We all have our crap.”

You can find theaters playing Blue Like Jazz and buy tickets at www.bluelikejazzthemovie.com.

Other Reviews

In Our Failures and Need

Sat, 7 Apr 2012 01:01:36 -0500

Jesus' tenderness is not in any way determined by how we pray or what we are or do. In order to free us for compassion toward others, Jesus calls us to accept His compassion in our own lives; to become gentle, caring, compassionate, and forgiving toward ourselves in our failures and need.

� The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning

I will have more to write on this topic in coming weeks, but for now I wanted to post this quote. It has been fantastic so far and one of the most important, timely books I have read in a while. Re-read that first sentence and let it sink in.

Update: See the follow-up post, Accepting Grace.

Recommended Viewing

Wed, 4 Apr 2012 23:44:25 -0500

11 Minutes Ago is a clever time travel movie. To help solve a crisis in the future, a man travels back in time to collect an air sample. He lands in a wedding reception and can only stay for 11 minutes, but he discovers that he has already been there multiple times earlier in the evening. The story unravels in a non-linear fashion and is ultimately a love story. My description probably makes it sound weird. I suppose it is, but I thought it was good-weird, obviously, since I'm recommending it. It's available on Netflix streaming currently.

In The Booth at the End, people visit a mysterious man that they have heard can make things happen and grant your desires. All they must do is perform the task he gives them and report back with their progress. It is well-acted and really makes you think about how far you would go to get the things that you want. It's a short series of five episodes, so you can watch it in one sitting as a long-ish movie. It's available on Hulu currently.

See What I'm Saying is a documentary about deaf entertainers that I found quite engaging and delightful. I do not have any experience with deaf culture, so it was an interesting introduction. I really loved the people they profiled and was encouraged by their perseverance through obstacles. It follows the drummer for a deaf rock band, an actor, a comic, and a singer. Unfortunately this one isn't on Netflix streaming anymore, but it is available on Netflix disc.

Last but not least is Spaced. This was a British sitcom with Simon Pegg (and Nick Frost, of course) that's simply hilarious�lots of pop culture references and jokes. Both series are available on Hulu and Netflix streaming.

Is This Going to Get Weird? Yeah, Probably.

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 01:21:47 -0500

tl;dr version:

Blue Like Jazz is a really good movie that you should go see on April 13th.

Full version:

Several years ago, Isha gave me a collection of three Donald Miller books that included Blue Like Jazz. I had heard plenty of good reviews from friends, but had not read it yet. It is a collection of essays and personal reflections on Christian spirituality in the author's life. I found Donald's writing very personable, honest, and thought-provoking. It was not some sugary, rainbows-and-unicorns spirituality he wrote about; neither was it finger-wagging from a pulpit. It was like a conversation with a good friend. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

In 2009, I heard that Steve Taylor was working on making a movie from the book. This excited me because Steve Taylor is one of the few people I might call a hero in my life. He is best known for his Christian music career in the '80s and '90s. I was always struck by the quality of his work. In a sub-genre that often produced mediocre, cheesy fluff, he was striving to make excellent art and addressing important topics within Christianity. (“We Don't Need No Colour Code” criticized Bob Jones University's policy against interracial dating that existed until 2000.) In recent years, he directed The Second Chance. It was not a big hit or anything, but it was good for a first-time director.

Then, in September 2010, Donald blogged that they were pulling the plug on the movie shortly before filming was to start. It had already been a difficult film to raise money for and then one of the investors backed out. It seemed impossible to get the needed investment in such a short time, so they sadly shelved it.

A couple fans of the book decided to take things into their own hands. They noticed people leaving comments about pitching in money to crowdsource the funding. They convinced Donald and Steve to let them launch the Save Blue Like Jazz Kickstarter campaign. The goal was to raise $125,000 � the minimum needed to complete the film. The campaign had thirty days to meet the goal, but it was raised in about ten days. At the end of the campaign, $345,992 had been raised and Blue Like Jazz was going to be made!

This past Thursday I had the opportunity to see a screening and meet Donald, Steve, and Marshall Allman (the lead actor). The film was as great as I expected it to be. The book doesn't naturally lend itself to a screenplay, so the film is a fictionalized story of Donald's life and experiences at Reed College. It is a good story about a kid wrestling with his faith.

I realize many people (myself included) might see “faith-based” or “Christian” and want to avoid the movie altogether. I think this is because, for the most part, these type of movies have been mediocre and present an inauthentic, polished-and-rated-G version of life. They are often made with the goal of proselytizing. Blue Like Jazz is not these things, in my opinion. The writing, acting, and production are of good quality. I found the story enjoyable, relatable, and most importantly, authentic.

I am really excited for this film, if you could not tell. If you have not read the book yet, I encourage you to do so. The movie comes out April 13th, so you can finish it before opening night. :] If you enjoy the book and/or want to support the film, please go see it that night. The opening weekend box office numbers are one of the most important things determining whether more theaters will pick it up and show it.

Blue Like Jazz trailer:

Website: www.bluelikejazzthemovie.com
Twitter: @bluelikejazzmov

Motivation

Thu, 1 Mar 2012 11:51:14 -0600

The problem, often not discovered until late in life, is that when you look for things like love, meaning, motivation, it implies they are sitting behind a tree or under a rock. The most successful people recognize, that in life they create their own love, they manufacture their own meaning, they generate their own motivation.

For me, I am driven by two main philosophies, know more today about the world than I knew yesterday. And along the way, lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.

� Neil deGrasse Tyson responding to a question about finding motivation in life

Source: Ask Me Anything on reddit.

Dumb or Misunderstood?

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:52:08 -0600

I came across the blog “Squashed” via Marco in January. What I read has sat in the back of my mind and bugged me, so I have finally taken the time to write about it.

In “Dumb Metaphor Friday: 'Growing the pie',” the author says:

The conservative criticism of redistribution is a claim that conservatives would rather expand the (economic) pie than ensure that it is divided evenly among everybody. The theory is that everybody then even the guy destined to have a smaller piece comes out ahead, even if the pieces aren�t the same size. This argument is apparently very persuasive to people who think pies expand (perhaps when they�re growing on pie trees)? Those of us who have actually baked pies know that they stay the same size�and all you can do is cut them equally.

It's true: the delicious, fruit-filled pastries do not expand. Pie charts do not usually expand, either. If they do, it is only for visual purposes and the chart still represents 100% of whatever is being measured. Many times the thing that is being measured can expand, though.

In this case, wealth does indeed expand. As I have said before, wealth is not a zero-sum and the possibility to create wealth is practically limitless. This means that the effective amount of wealth represented by a slice of the pie (chart) can be greater than the same size slice at a point in the past. This distinction between effective and relative amounts probably means that pie charts are not the best way to measure economic well-being, but I do not think that makes the metaphor dumb or incorrect.

An expansion in actual wealth is an expansion in actual wealth, regardless of whether the relative amount changes on a pie chart or not.

I think a much simpler criticism of forced redistribution would be: it's wrong to steal.

Related: John Altenmueller also has a good reply: “Pies and apples.”

Carded

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:58:11 -0600

I think my Valentine's Day card project was pretty successful. There were 18 cards sent out. It was fun allowing people to select what they wanted in their card and I enjoyed the creative challenge. (It was more difficult than I initially expected!) I hope the recipients enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them. If you missed out, there's always next year! And in the meantime, I hope you have a great Valentine's Day. Celebrate love in all its forms, especially the cheesy pun form.

Mmm, cheese.

Flying Books

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:26:35 -0600

Check out this lovely animated short film about the love of books. It's been nominated for the Animated Short Film category of the 84th Annual Academy Awards.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.