Thursday, February 21, 2008

My brother is a star!


So i always knew my brother, Mark was extra special..but I just got a copy of a feature article about him and his wife Arti from the Berkshire Eagle http://www.berkshireeagle.com/ in Massachusetts. It's a huge 2-page+ spread about him, his music and his unique mixing of the sacred and creative that has touched so many lives. I'm so proud of him! I tried to get the original news article downloaded but I can't seem to retrieve it from the paper's archives. So check out Mark's website: http://www.muddyangel.com/ .. it's a link on this blog too.
We're having a progressive dinner at our church next Sunday and we're going to get to play Mark's music over the church's sound system during dessert. He dubs it "inspirational, cross-deominational contemplative music," but i say it's just plain fantastic. And to think I knew him when......oh never mind...just check out the link.

Monday, February 18, 2008

The Last of Saving Jesus

Well, we just went to the last session of Saving Jesus tonight. Sad to see them end. Never have been to anything like it. It wasn't a Bible study. What does that mean ..Saving Jesus?? . We've had the privilege of hearing from some religious thinkers that normally we don't read about - spiritual leaders who question the notion that we must take everything in the Bible absolutely literally or we don't have faith. These people have a radical - perhaps revolutionary approach to re-defining Jesus..or maybe I should say re-claiming Jesus. Can he be just human.. albeit an extraordinary human and one whose teachings we should emulate and spread? What happens if we don't think of Jesus and God as divine and one - a supernatural power? Are we still Christians? Can we share that believing in Jesus means Love..unconditional love for All...without being "evangelists?" Can we be inclusive of all interpretations without judging or spending time on those who are fearful of that? Can we allow that people who have different views from ours are entitled to them? Much food for thought. It's been enlightening, energizing and inspiring. And mulling it over with the other folks in the group we've found that you can question your beliefs as a way of staying ON your spiritual journey. Faith doesn't have to be static. Lots of people out there need our direct help. It doesn't much help a thirsty, hungry, exhausted, freezing family to just tell them that God loves them. They need a roof over their heads, hot meals and assistance to getting out of the cycle of poverty, sexual, drug, and alcohol abuse and mental illness. For those of us who have been shown God's love....our challenge is to go forth and share our abundance.

"I think these days we're having a bit of a culture war and Jesus happens to be one of the weapons that gets tossed about, in fact, by both sides."
-Amy-Jill Levine, Saving Jesus interview. http://www.livingthequestions.com/

Friday, February 15, 2008

What the February?

Welcome to our blog. Okay, so i stole the What the February title from Ellen DeGeneres...but Ellen is part of my middle name. Just trying this blogging for fun bec. seems like the kids are into it. Hopefully the blog will last longer than giving up email for Lent lasted. Maybe we'll put some fun travel stuff on here and some new family photos (feel free to send us some!) For now, we are excited that we're getting to make a trip back to Houston in March - much sooner than we thought we would. So send us your latest, and check back now and then. Cheers!