Life in every word.

Koinonia Farm’s pecan orchards..I will see them in person again one day.

Missing my spring break buddies down in Georgia!

http://emerging-communities.com

Last night was our big event, where we invited all of the PN houses to come over and relax over dessert-petizers and watch a sweet lecture by a Native American man talk about the church’s treatment of his people throughout the history of our country. Ty spent the evening baking numerous loaves of vegan breads. I ran around all day trying to figure out how to rent a projector and screen from Calvin. We learned how to make organic popcorn on the stove - and how to burn it, too. That night, we even moved the dining room table into the living room in order to open up more space in the biggest room in our house (the dining room). We set up our projector on our dining room wall and spent at least a half hour trying to get the DVD to work. Chairs were lined throughout the room, countless cups and tea and coffee and water anxiously awaited consumers on a side-table.

Finally, everything was ready, and…one person came. (I probably shouldn’t mention that this one person is very close to all of us, and is practically a part of our community, anyway).

Okay, so it was a disappointing turn out. Our technical difficulties made the experience almost unbearable. But, after an hour, we found the lecture on youtube and sat down with our organically burnt popcorn and homemade vegan walnut apple bread to enjoy an emotional roller coaster of love and hatred toward Christianity as an organized religion. There’s so much great stuff in the talk, and I invite you to check it out - Richard Twiss CCDA 2011. But mostly, what I got out of it was somewhat of an out-of-body experience. His words reminded me where I came from - a very conservative and literal understanding of Christianity. It reminded me of where I am - a very liberal and ambiguous understanding of Christianity.

I realized - I don’t know what I believe, exactly. Where do I find truth? How do I discern that truth? Is ambiguity a bag thing? I talked it over with my housemates, and they said ambiguity is okay. Join with the community of believers, people you greatly admire, and pursue God however you know Him. I found it unsatisfactory - you see, I grew up in a society that told me empirical fact and steadfast assurance is the only way to believe something. It taught me that truth is unbending, and I have the ability to fully understand God. But I lived that version of faith, and I found it unsatisfactory, as well. I spent a few hours confused, listening, contemplating - and came up with nothing.

But then my housemates and I had a rave in our dining room - lights off, headlamps on. After that, it was all okay.

It’s official, folks - I will be in the Galapagos Islands and Amazon Rainforest during January!!! :)

Shane Claiborne stayed with some of my friends in Koinonia house for Calvin’s Festival of Faith and Writing. Project Neighborhood = too cool.

I just gleaned what feels like decades of wisdom from Jonathan Safran Foer at Calvin’s Festival of Faith and Writing.

If it wasn’t sacrilegious, I would worship him. No words, just awe.

This picture reminds me of my housemate Ty.

(via uruouru)