Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category


loving leftovers

by:
23
May
2009
I have lived in plenty and less. About 2 years ago i became a ” food pantry” user as a primary means of feeding a large family. This is a far different way of living than what is the norm in america, the way I have always known. I have found some beauty in this new way of providing food for my family. I grew up learning to cook from my mother and grandmother, a treasure like no other. My mother is a gifted and passionate cook and hospitality person. If you told me today that 100 dignitaries were coming to my home, i could serve a fine and delicious meal with ease, no recipe to read. With mom i made pierogoes (polish) hand rolled dough, golumpki (meat and rice stuffed cabbage in a tasty tomato based broth), baked goods finer than all bakeries, creamy mashed potatoes. i learned all the how to’s from folding batter to frying – which pans and oils are best…..i could go on and on and write books and books. My German grandma grew some of her own herbs and veggies. Every summer i would spend in her Iowa home learning to garden, harvest, can, cook and serve Read more...



steeped

by:
07
May
2009
steeped. to be immersed in something so that it is re-created. green tea leaves steeped in water=my morning tea. as a child i was steeped in school system during the school year, language and math for the summer it was dreams i was steeped in as i played outside from dawn to dusk as a new wife it was making him better and being the woman i should be as a mom it was my boys, steeped in discovering they are and how to help them be all they are to be in the suburbs it is: our home. when i had less it was surviving, when i had more it was thriving. in spiritual life it is sacrifice and service. i suppose this is life, in part: to create a place within this big bad world for people to be steeped in the breathing in and out of love. one where people act out as they seem to be made to be. where they focus on what to give, not to get. where they love without an agenda. where help is given to one in need. one where emotions are as physical, both in need, both feel pain, both heal and give life. there are so many causes and places in this world trying to create Read more...



Did I help you pack for Sunday?

by:
26
Apr
2009

first i packed a hospital bag; ready for that day i would touch you.
then i packed your diaper bag; ready for anything a day would bring.
even placed in there things to help you grow; toys and books that sing.
then i packed your lunch bag with preschool treats and little notes to get you through the change.
later i packed your backpack, making sure you’d be okay while away for an entire day. quarters for emergencies that need a cookie or some milk.
then we packed your sports gear, so that you wont get hurt. everything as the coach said, not less, not more.
we packed for vacations: some five star hotels, some tents in the woods.
i showed you to pack for the “unforseen” happenings, useful items like duct tape and safety pins, hold things together in a pinch. jumper cables in the car and emergency phone numbers in your cell.

we learned to pack our insides, too. our emotions and character needed to grow ready too.
we learned to pack for a big big life, where we have a part to give to. we learned that its Read more...



can I see your ETHOS?

by:
18
Apr
2009

My 3rd son was our first to join a mental sport, not football but robotics. While I was happy for he and his friends to have all the gifts that being part of a sport brings to ones character, I met -more- at my first standing in their midst.

I was instantly overcome by the feeling, vibe or ETHOS in the room. I had never felt or seen anything like it in a competition based group setting. As a disclaimer I will say that I directed youth groups and camps for years and am no stranger to the world of kids, teams and to the “how to compete” discussion.

Instantly while standing in the room of robotics students, I was aware of JOY. calm joy. not zany and chaotic kids vying for attention. CREATIVITY. not wacky emo stuff where kids strive to be different and yet are just like the other dressed in black purple haired kids they hang with. The kids dressed with creative self expression. non-emotionally expressive engineer types did the macarena. they named their own teams: exploding bacon, thunder chickens , chipenguineers, cheesy poofs and the like. INTELLIGENT Read more...



what is your C.Q. ?

by:
22
Mar
2009
I LOVE I.Q. tests. I love the information on emotional intelligences E.Q..I think about integrity quotient I.Q. I love to study people, groups, interdependence, interaction, culture, birth orders, temperaments, learning styles and the like. As i have progressed from being a staff ministry leader in an organized church setting, to its structurally opposite: organic community, I have discovered that there is indeed a “COMMUNITY QUOTIENT”. A community quotient is a measure of ability to live in community. It is a powerful life skill. Taken from the simple observation of folks who have learned to live in community along with me I can look back and assess Community Quotient Characters: 1. Humility-understanding oneself as an vital part of a whole. Humility ultimately leads to all of the proceeding C.Q’s. Humility naturally kills competition and consumption mindsets, replacing them with collaboration and giving. A community mindset is the antithesis of a consumption mindset-the 2 cannot coexist. It is the soil in which another can grow along side you as is Read more...



canned peas living

by:
23
Feb
2009
I was at my parent’s home for a recent holiday. My parent’s parents were immigrants and so my parents earned all they have the good old hard workin’ way. They LOVE to tell stories of the past as much as i love for my children to hear them. People who work hard for their things often value them more than their actual market value; creating what we fondly call ‘pack rats’. Grandpa and Grandma’s basement will be the worlds greatest estate sale some day complete with old post cards, cubs beer cans, kirby vacuum parts, cigar boxes, wooden toys that were too good to play with, tools and old magazines that look like newspapers. Seated around the fireplace, my kids and I were reading some of these old newspaper/magazines. WOW. so funny. The women wore aprons, pantyhose, pumps and pearls at home while cleaning; cigarettes were cool for men, women were about the home and ‘it’s man’, and all the ads were about items that made the woman’s job easier-hence “to make the mans castle shine!. EASY. More convenient. Iron easier. Read more...



when the least become the greatest

by:
24
Dec
2008
The world is changing soo fast. Dramatic change in every system. If you don’t see it, you feel it. Its exciting. Its scary. My current thought about our “flattening” world is stuck in this concept i was first taught about as a young good catholic girl wearing tights and ponytails: there is a place or time or kingdom where “the least becomes the greatest, and the last the first”. “The least” have strengths only incurred by their trials. They understand their need to survive as a unit. They grow inner strengths to overcome by mere human will. They are not enslaved to things or safety. They learn feel hurt and pain. They are know how to survive. As victims alive they can build unbeatable systems. Unbeatable to any other than their own grandchildren, that is. Ungratefulness is weakness. The greatest become dependent upon certain props to survive. Most current greats are generations into their safe and encumbered lives. They often lack ability to face pain and hurt, so easy to buy joy. They become far too independent and when in need lack Read more...



why nobody?

by:
18
Dec
2008
Back in 2005 LWA had a speaking tour named the NOBODY tour, prior to our Stop Consuming Campaign, which some of you have heard of. Not many more than nobody were part of the Nobody Tour, but you gotta start somewhere. I still love the name nobody….. i love the name nobody for in my mind it attempts to take back a truer definition of success than our culture defines as success. I want to have eyes that laser in at the great in the somebody God created in everybodybut that the world puts in a garbage can and labels as nobody. I hear so many people feel like “nobodies” : nobody = is a child who does have one adult that they are crazy important to is the feeling of one with great spirit -left unheard is the uncredited woman behind a great man is the man of greatness left disrespected is any of great heart and noble means is one who has great invention yet unvalued one of great words-yet unread those who move mountains with prayer one of great intelligence-without a pedigree a beautiful woman- in a simple body and man of great strength -in a small Read more...



live WHY-do HOW

by:
07
Sep
2008
true or false: 1. all questions are valid ( whether innocent or cutting and sarcastic) 2. there are sometimes “front questions” (or question pt 1 of 6) 3. which cover up “the real question”(often non intentionally) 4. they have a personal feeling behind them (true, think about it) 5. they provoke thought (some people dont like that) 6. they can be good answers. (i learned that from jesus) 7. they can highlight or mask (intentionally) 8. the feelings and reason= attitude behind the question, shapes the question 9. a question can reveal true feelings and reasons (question behind the question) 10. the question is therefore far more powerful than their innocent face all true. —————– a question is very powerful. it is a window into a brain. it is a hand that can move a thought. a question is very important. especially when shaping a vision. —————– have you ever thought.”why doesnt he answer my question?”or: “we cant get him to answer a simple Read more...



Happy Labor Day

by:
07
Sep
2008
Its Labor Day. The day nobody works…thats so odd. Shouldn’t we call it National Picnic Day, or Non-Labor day? Any-whoo… It gave me a chance to check out where Labor Day came from and why we actually ‘celebrate’ [ I use that term loosely] the day. At the turn of the century the Central Labor Union, based out of New York City, decided to create a day to celebrate the social and labor accomplishments of American citizens. This took place around the turn of the century, about the same time Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day Lewis squared off for control of NYC. So now you know the thrilling history of another American holiday that gives us all a legitimate excuse to stay up late, and sleep in late. It actually got me thinking about our work ethic, here in the states, and how generation X & Y views all it life in general. We have become a nation of reapers. You know, like reaping and sowing. A nation designed not around work ethic and grindin’ in out, but a nation of consumers. It is so pervasive in our society that we nay not even realize it. Think about Read more...