Thursday, July 10, 2008

Wisdom in the way of foolishness

It's mushroom season here in the northeast! The chanterelles are up
and yummy . . . but more on that later.

Each year the USAntiheroes celebrate buy nothing day the Friday after
Thanksgiving (which by the way is one of the most important and yet
under-celebrated holidays of the year). Over the past nine months or
so i have been challenged and inspired by stories that i have heard.
Mostly unusual things that people have done for no other reason than
to do something positive, or something to stretch their trust in God,
or to help other people.
Some friends of ours in New York a few years back sent out a number of
people from their communities in pairs with no money. The idea (at
least as far as i have interpreted it) was to grow their faith. There
are fellows in Philly who have won large settlements in court and then
given away the money in change and small bills, with a certain amount
of pomp on Wall Street – a mini Jubilee celebration. Then there is
this Dancing Matt guy on Youtube . . . yes i watched something on
Youtube – Amy made me do it (and i am glad i did). Something as simple
as doing a silly dance all over the world and posting it on the
internet so as to make people around the world smile!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY
We at the house have been talking about how we can get out of our rut
and make a difference, even if it is only a small one. It can be hard
to think outside of the box when you have responsibilities beyond
yourself, i.e. the kids. But maybe the real challenge is doing
something outside of the box with them. Still that dampens the idea of
being willing to give up a job or go to jail. . . (OK i was thinking
civil disobedience not grand theft auto or vandalism).
While we here are mulling over how we can effect change for the better
i want to challenge you poor saps who read this garble to come up with
and do something irrational in the name of positive change, loving
Jesus and loving others!!

1 comment:

renee @ FIMBY said...

No irrational ideas here, but an affirmation of the statement "But maybe the real challenge is doing something outside of the box with them." The only way we are going to win the hearts of our children, earn their respect and inspire them to choose the path less traveled is if we do it WITH THEM! This is imperative in my mind.

Kids are supremely idealist and very irrational - we should use it to our advantage. They love others, without reserve, we should follow that example. Don't leave your kids behind while you pursue radical change. Pursue an intentional, examined, radical, dare I say irrational (I'm not there yet) life with them. We all want to change the world but God has given us our children who we actually have the divine privilege of molding and making - yikes! Build your home and family with Kingdom values and then together change your neighborhood, your community, your world.