December 2008 Reading: Part 1, Fiction

See additional posts on reading here.

Didn't pick up anything super challenging this month. Among the books I read were:

Thief in Retreat: A Sister Agatha Mystery, by Aimee and David Thurlo (St. Martin’s Press, 2004). The Thurlos are the authors of more than 40 novels, many featuring set in the SW and many featuring the character Ella Clah. This is the second about Sister Agatha. The Dallas Morning News called the first, Bad Faith (which I thought was excellent) “Fascinating… Sister Agatha is intelligent, determined, funny and deeply religious yet completely unstuffy, and adds both interest and appeal to this thoughtful mystery novel."

[Readers might also enjoy another thoughtful if somewhat violent series featuring a contemporary religious as the sleuth – David Manuel’s books about Brother Bartholomew. Paraclete Press’s first venture into the mystery market, I think. More info here.]

Rhapsody in Red: A Preston Barclay Mystery, by Donn Taylor (Moody Publishers, 2008). “Teaching history allows Preston Barclay time to grieve the loss of his pianist wife and find relief from the musical hallucinations that have been playing in his head since her death. But when he and a headstrong colleague discover the body of another instructor on campus, Press’s monotonous solitude is destroyed…” Really enjoyed this book; sadly, I found it on the new book shelf and it’s the first in a proposed series. Hope I don’t have to wait to long for the next one!

Shepherds Abiding, by Jan Karon (Viking Penguin, 2003). “Since he was a boy growing up in Mississippi, Father Tim has lived what he calls, ‘The life of the mind.’ Except for cooking, gardening, and washing his dog, he never learned to savor the work of his hands. And then he finds a derelict nativity scene, including a flock of sheep, that has suffered the indignities of time and neglect…”

Whispering Pines series, by Melody Carlson (four volumes, Harvest House, 1999-2001). “Dream job in a dream location. Wanted: Experience and motivated newspaper writer/editor to manage small town paper in Central Oregon. Benefits include, but not limited to: tall pine trees, snowcapped mountains, peace and quiet.” Maggie Carpenter, the widowed mother of a teenage son, takes the job and moves to Pine Mountain where she single-handedly transforms the lagging community in the first month or two. On the other hand she doesn’t make it to the altar (as can be expected in a book from Harvest House) until the end of book 4. Though I checked these ones out purely for relaxation, I liked book 2 best because it had the most depth.

Surrogate Nieces and Nephews

In a recent post I mentioned not remembering the last time I held a baby. With my 40th birthday now in sight (if still two years off!) I find that fewer and fewer of my friends have little ones. I also expressed a wish that even if I never have kids (or step-kids/step-grandkids) of my own, I could get in on “aunt-hood” one way or the other. Oh, I’ve been Auntie Marti several times over the years, mostly to the kids of coworkers – God gave me a great ministry of prayer for them. And wasn’t I a regular at Fritz family gatherings? (Their youngest, just graduated from high school; he was five when I met him!) Some of my other readers are parents of kids whom I greatly dig, also!

But they and most of the others who have been my young friends have not only moved far away but are also well supplied with real aunts or uncles (and/or more convincing substitutes). So while I still love the old C.P. kids and always will, it’s been hard to feel like it was worthwhile to keep ongoing relationships with them a high priority.

Since I wrote about this, several things have happened.

1. I visited a Perspectives class that included a mother with a newborn. “Let me take her for you,” I said, smoothly, during the dinner break. Nice. I’m also working in the nursery at church for the second service this Christmas Eve. (Tonight! 7 pm!) So, maybe actual baby-time is not so hard to come by. What I’d really like would be to find someone who needs a free, more-or-less-once-a-week babysitter, during a time when I’m free (e.g. Monday or Thursday evening?). Why don’t I just ask the people who run that church nursery? Surely they would know a young mom in our church who could use that kind of help.

2. I realized that I ought to start praying and asking God about surrogate nieces or nephews. I’ve always looked for them among the children of coworkers, but I have a lot fewer coworkers now, and just like those of years gone by, these are well “aunted” and “uncled.” Where might I find a family that’s not only gracious enough to let me in but actually needs something that I could provide?

I don’t know that I can actually keep a demanding commitment on this front; don’t look to me to take a job in an orphanage, start fostering, or mentor a needy child. I don’t anticipate any of those things. I’m not great with kids, or gifted at aunt-hood. I just don’t want to miss out on it all together.

As I was praying, I realized God may have already given me a niece and nephew, only I’ve not seen it and have been neglecting them. Erin, in Seattle, is my oldest friend; we met in eighth grade. These days she finds herself the (often frazzled and isolated) single mom of two grade-school aged children. We’ve walked with each other through the challenges we have each faced with school, work, faith, family, and relationships. I was in Erin’s wedding, and watched her go through a divorce.

I haven’t been good about phone calls and letters but have spent time with Erin, and her kids and parents, most every time I’ve been in Seattle, even Christmas dinner. We have “someday” plans to make a trip to Disneyland together – maybe this year? Erin’s kids are great. They do have aunts and uncles, and great support from their grandparents. But there is room for me in their lives, and much more I could do for them as well. Even long-distance.

Team Assessment, Professional Development & My Grad School Fantasy

Our office recently went through a team assessment process, this time one professionally done by Clarion Consulting. Most of you have probably been through processes like this. Like them? Hate them? I take these things with a grain of salt but generally find them helpful. Here’s what was included:

• MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) Step II assessment
• FIRO-B (“Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation-Behavior”)
• A strengths and gifts assessment
• Identifying our preferred leader-manager styles
• Articulating our personal sense of mission and calling
• Articulating our personal “best contributions”
• Articulating our "workplace values.” I wish I could post the survey tool for you here, but I think this stuff is copyrighted.

We did about a third of the assessments online in advance, but with that many things to work through – and consultants who were committed to explaining things as thoroughly as they could – we had less time than we might have liked to actually put the findings and categories to work in talking about how we want to work as a team.

Turns out the consultants rarely have the chance to go through a process like this with whole teams of people who know and are as comfortable with each other as we are, so they were a bit shy about really stirring up discussions; they tried to keep it kind of academic so everyone would feel safe. Maybe it’s just as well. I just hope saying “we’ll talk about this more later,” means “we’ll never get back to it.”

In articulating my “best contributions” and “personal mission and calling,” I realized that I’ve reached a stage in life where yes, I can do many things, but I feel a responsibility to work increasingly close to those areas of calling and best contribution. So, I probably don’t want to take on many big assignments that don’t line up with that.

What does that mean in terms of pursuing personal and professional development? What do I need to be more effective in making my best contributions? Here's how I articulated them. (I haven't really run these by anybody who knows me well, yet).

Mission: Equipping world Christians to serve God's kingdom and the least-reached in ministry efforts that are smart, sensitive, and sustainable. (Mobilizing Christians to complete the Great Commission)

Field: Christians - especially those who identify themselves as being involved in 'missions' - who are making themselves available to God and trying to learn and grow. Basically, people who are responding to God's call on their lives and know they need help, information, resources, or encouragement. I want to come alongside people like that.

Best Contributions:

1. Collecting information: I follow my curiosity into new areas of knowledge and relationships, learn what I can, and share it with others.
   
2. Connecting dots and building bridges: I evaluate the accuracy of information and the feasibility of projects and strategies, draw conclusions, bring in balancing perspectives, and network people, strategies, and resources.
   
3. Coaching and coordinating group efforts: I equip others in understanding information and applying skills, (particularly in the realm of cultural understanding) and serve others as a trainer, encourager, consultant, and debriefer.
   

Personal and Professional Development

Alright, so if you know where you going, what do you do to get there? This ought to be a guiding force in what personal and professional development ops I go after. And maybe an overseas sabbatical is worth pursuing, but this may also be a time to get serious about exploring graduate school.

And you know, one thing that stood out to me in the MBTI assessment was the statement, under the “open-ended” aspect of the judging vs. perceiving facet, was that “perceivers” like me tend to "have long-range fantasies rather than long-range plans." Oh, so true.

What turning the "fantasy" of grad school into a "plan" for grad school would look like (how long will it take? What will it cost? where would I live?) might depend on the school. In my fantasies, graduate school means seminary, and not just any seminary but one that sees its job as equipping people for practical ministry - including ministry cross-culturally. So, a school for mission "practitioners." Even though I may never "be" a missionary in the traditional sense, theirs is the world I'm most interested in serving.

Possible Schools

There are several schools that might fit that mold. One of them had me on their mail-and-call list for about a year but when I never responded, bumped me off; maybe I need to re-contact them. That’s Biola. They may be too conservative for me, actually. But they are in the same town as one that’s more broad (Fuller). So I could visit them at the same time. And both have branch campuses as well.

There is a third I don’t know as much about, in terms of their theological bent. (I squirm to admit to my conservative friends that I don’t want to be locked into something that's too fundamentalist, but it's true!) But in terms of being "a school for mission practitioners," I don't think they can be beat. It’s Columbia International University, in South Carolina. A good fit for me, or not? Well, I need more information. The fact that I could get a 50% tuition discount because of my agency affiliation is a big drawing card. I just sent an email to admissions.

By the way, my colleagues know I’m interested in this. I don’t anticipate resigning from Pioneers to go back to school. I could even start through a distance-learning program (all three of these schools have them) if that seems best, so I could stay in Denver if I want to. I could probably go to graduate school and continue working, at least part time. (No, Denver Seminary doesn’t seem a good option; if I'm choosing a seminary I am pretty sure I want one with a mature missions program. Denver has barely anything of that sort.)

I’m less interested in pursuing a secular school, say an M.A. in sociology at the University of Denver (locally known, strangely, as DU). I’m sure I could learn a lot in such a situation, but most secular sociologists seem to believe that one’s faith has to be very much on the shelf when doing sociology/anthropology. Since I’ve been blending the two for more than a decade I think I’d find that annoying and limiting.

Who knows, I might find submitting to the rigors and sometimes-silly prejudices of an academic program rather annoying, wherever I go! I remember what ridiculous things my friend G’s professors cared about (and the meaningful things which they neglected) when he was doing his Master’s and PhD. Sometimes I look at the grad school idea and think, who needs it? Would it be throwing my supporters' money away to spend it on something like an academic degree, when I can learn so much on my own? I’m still not sure. And that’s really the only way I can pay for something like this, to raise support for it (even if that means doing so by bumping up my low salary).

But I could use the chance to fill in the gaps in my education and teach with more confidence. And down the road, it could be handy to have some academic credentials.

So, besides getting more information about the most likely schools, another thing I need to do is figure out PI’s policies about raising support for one’s continuing education. Hmmm... and write to my long-standing support team members, and mentors, to ask for their prayers and advice. If they aren't keen on the idea, I don' t think I'd try to do it.

The Solstice Is the Reason for the Season

I know, I know, you might expect good evangelical Christians to either throw themselves into Christmas wholesale (no pun intended) or to reject it as just what Jesus wouldn't want. I can sympathize with both those perspectives and the shades in between (See Matt Green's Why Christmas Is More Evil Than Halloween). But today, I'm looking at the season through different eyes.

For those of us living in the Northern hemisphere, Sunday marks the shortest day of the year. Were we living more as those who came before us did, with lives more closely connected with the natural world, we would feel it: that weariness of winter, of fighting the elements to stay warm, and perhaps a haunting fear that warmth and light and life would never return.

Here in Colorado we get some cold temperatures. It snows; typically once a week. But there's also sunshine just about every day. And most people I know are rarely really exposed to "the elements." Sure there are people who are depressed in the winter, here, but probably for more complicated reasons than those who live in places like Alaska, Chicago, or the Pacific Northwest. Although the sun is with us every day here, it still gets up late and goes down early. Depressed Coloradoans may feel more isolated or alone in the wintertime. Maybe they are afraid to drive or fear falling on the ice. Maybe they miss gardening or going for walks.

So, I can appreciate this weekend's turning point, the solstice. How right it is that we, as a race (quite apart from our cultures or religions) would look for those things that comfort and encourage during these dark days.

If Christmas, in its best and worst incarnations (perhaps in the eye of the beholder) comes in laid on top of such a context, well, why not? It seems an appropriate setting for a message of hope and new life:

A Winter Festival

"A festival of lights was held in the depths of winter in pagan times, long before the birth of Jesus and the Christian church. The celebration - Yule - was to mark the winter solstice, when the earth was resting quietly after its labours through the year, the trees were mostly bare and stark, the skies were often grew and gloomy, and the hours of darkness were at their longest. But this was the turning point, and soon the days would grow longer and the sun would return, warming the earth once more, and bringing new hope to mankind - just as Jesus did."

Source: The English Christmas: The Pitkin Guide, 2006

Last weekend I joined several friends for a trip to a nearby mountain town. It was the day of their Santa Lucia parade. A Christian celebration of light.

Scarcity and the Scarcity of Scarcity

This blog is one place I store my half-baked ideas. (But for you, they would be less baked than that!) But here are some things that have been stirring in my mind lately.

Scarcity

Unless my financial supporters all drop me, I have a hunch I’ll be one who comes out of this economic downturn relatively unscathed. Prices are lower, and that helps. Sure my retirement investments are looking pretty pathetic, but I should not be touching them for another 25+ years. I don’t own any real estate (for better or for worse). I have no debts. I have a decent car and health insurance (though that $1000 deductible makes it seem meaningless). And, the kind of job I have and the way it’s funded leave me not really vulnerable to downsizing and cutbacks. I’m not going to get rich – I never though I would – but I’m not in trouble, either.

I know many are worried or suffering and probably with very good reason.

But how many of you are in the same position that I am: aware that trouble is brewing, but no worse off than you were before, nor likely to be?

It may be because of my circumstances as much as anything, but I’m seeing the silver lining here. Am rather glad that saving and cutting back are more in vogue than conspicuous consumption is. This just seems so much a swing in the right direction. This “correction” may stir up compassion and creativity and be a small blow against the culture of greed and entitlement. (You see, I’m secretly a socialist. Well, part libertarian and part socialist.)

The Scarcity of Scarcity

On the other hand, we have a long way to go before we’ll have any idea what it’s like to really do without. I came across a rare and used book shop recently and felt the thrill of discovery – what treasures it held! But my pleasure was dampened by the realization that these things are not as meaningful as once they were.

The advice I used to give people researching cultures or ministry opportunities seems more appropriate than ever, “imagine what might exist and try to find it.” I don’t even have to say that anymore: everyone knows it.

So, I knew that lovely set of _________ books might be just as easy to get on eBay or someplace else.

Finding or collecting anything seems so much easier than it used to be. Money is still an issue, but you can find anything you want, even if you can’t have it all. And this somehow makes it all feel less special or fun. I am not so sure I like the ease and equalizing effect of the internet. Nothing is unknown or inaccessible; too many of life's mysteries are fathomable, at least in a sense, with the mere click of a mouse. It's kind of a letdown.

And while there have always been people who were hard to shop for because whatever they wanted or needed, they would get for themselves, this trend also seems more widespread than ever. We don’t need anything; we can get what we want easily enough.

Some Thoughts from Chesterton

"Our whole civilization is indeed very like the Titanic; alike in its power and its impotence, it security and its insecurity. Technically considered, the sufficiency of the precautions are a matter for technical inquiry. But psychologically considered, there can be no doubt that such vast elaboration and system induce a frame of mind which is inefficient rather than efficient. Quite apart from the question of whether anyone was to blame, the big outstanding fact remains: that there was no sort of sane proportion between the provision for luxury and levity, and the extent of the provision for need and desperation. The scheme did far too much for prosperity and far too little for distress – just like the modern State. "

Source: G.K. Chesterton, "The Great Shipwreck as Analogy," in The Illustrated London News, May 11, 1912

Staying Warm, Keeping Cool, and a Word from Shel Silverstein

What’s Hot and What’s Not

When I first heard a younger, hipper friend mention attending an “ugly Christmas sweater party” I was surprised. I did not realize there was a such a thing. Are there “fabulous Christmas sweaters”? There may be. They would probably be made of cashmere or trimmed with angora or something.

But in perusing the ads and the streets I realize the purchase and wearing of Christmas “novelty” sweaters outside such an event seems mostly limited to women my age and older, and the not-so-fashionable ones, at that. When you have something you only get wear once or twice a week for a few weeks of the year, it doesn’t wear out very fast, so the not-so-fashionable, not-so-young, not-so-rich types like me may not think of getting rid of it. Perfectly good sweater, one would think.

However, I’ve seen the other side, and I have to say: ladies, the day of the Christmas sweater seems to be over. If you love your Christmas sweater, fine, but realize the younger, cooler people in your life may respect you less for it. Unless you take it to their ugly Christmas sweater party. 

I’m trying to decide if I care. I don’t interact with the young and cool as much as I did when I was part of a college-and-career group, a few years back, though there are times when how I dress could matter in terms of how I’m received and how effective I am in my work and ministry. So it’s not completely meaningless, not solely a matter of vanity or personal choice.

I do have one Christmas sweater. Well, it could just be a winter sweater, as its only adornment is a pattern of white snowflakes. But the sweater itself is red, so I think it’s a Christmas sweater. I don’t think it would even “place” if I wore it in an ugly Christmas sweater contest, but I’m not sure I understand the criteria.

Sweater Envy

Back in the day when novelty sweaters (and vests, and jumpers, and jean jackets, sweatshirts, and embroidered denim shirts) were all the rage, I was torn between wanting one (or more) and realizing they were (even then) quite a poor investment. Some were topical (related to your hobby or profession, for example) but many were seasonal, and therefore only appropriate for a small portion of the year. And of course they were not solid colors: they all had “stuff” on them, and generally should only be worn with solids, not prints (though, there’s a rule that may have gone by the wayside as well).

Flash back with me to the autumn of 1994. I was not long out of college and neither pursuing a career nor yet in full-time Christian ministry, just heading in that direction. I was just starting to raise support. Money was tight. A long, expensive trip overseas to try things out with the ministry I ended up joining had left me almost penniless. And here were all these women at church with their new sweaters.

I thought: Voluntary poverty has a lot of appeal and I don’t find fund-raising humiliating, like some people do, but as long as I’m living here in suburbia it seems kind of unfair that I can’t have a new sweater this year. JUST ONE. Something with a bit of style, not just a plain pullover, but still versatile and practical.

My parents were the answer to my vain wish, though I don’t remember if I expressed it, or not. (Knowing me, I probably did). At any rate my stepmom and mom each gave me a nice sweater that fall. One, a hand-me-down, the other, a birthday gift. They didn’t have leaves or apples on them, nor snowmen and Santas – they were just nice cable sweaters, in go-with-everything shades. Perfect. And after that I was okay and didn’t feel sorry for myself anymore. 

This post is getting long, but I leave you with this…

Santa and the Reindeer

“This is the hour,” said Santa Claus,
“The bells ring merrily.”
Then on his back he slung his pack,
And into his sleigh climbed he.

“On, Dancer! On, Prancer! On, Donner and Blitzen!
On Comet and Cupid!” cried he.
And all the reindeers leaped but one,
And that one stood silently.

He had pulled the sleigh for a thousand years,
And never a word spoke he.
Now he stood in the snow, and he whispered low –
“Oh what do you have for me?”

“I have games and toys for girls and boys,”
Said Santa cheerily.
The reindeer stood as if made of wood –
“But what do you have for me?”

“The socks are hung, the bells are rung!”
Cried Santa desperately.
The reindeer winked at a falling star –
“But what do you have for me?”

Then Santa reached into his beard,
And he found a tiny flea,
And he put it into the reindeer’s ear,
And the reindeer said, “For me? Oh gee!”

And into the blue away they flew,
Away they flew with the flea.
And the moral of this yuletide tale
You know as well as me.

Where The Sidewalk Ends: The Poems and Drawings of Shel Silverstein. New York: Harper and Row, 1974.

Catnip and the Complete Needs System

According to the makers of “Catnip Mist” our little tabby cat Lucy needs stimulation. Lucky for us they are ready to provide it. SmartyKat’s complete needs system apparently distributes products to cover all 12 of the “needs” they identify.

How much are we like cats? Catnip does nothing for me, but the basic need it addresses, well, I need stimulation too. What about you?

My list of “instinctual needs” might not include “hunt, scratch, and privacy.” But the ones listed as “physical needs,” though they may play out differently, are much the same: “nutrition, exercise, hygiene, stimulation, rest, and safety.”

And “emotional needs”? Well, we’re probably more complex than cats on this one. But I can identify: a nice blend of “interaction, independence, and treats” goes a long way with me!

Roommate Deb has pointed out several times that Lucy is setting us a good example by taking time for a good stretch, frequently. And she says when I can arch my back like Lucy I’ll get a treat.

LATER: OK, so I do need to include "hunt" down as one of my instincts after all. I hunt for my keys, fingernail clippers, my notes from that meeting I had the other day, that shirt I wanted to wear, a screwdriver, a roll of duct tape, a box that's just the right size...