Books: Mudhouse Sabbath
Posted by Troy | Filed under Books
I became mildly obsessed with Lauren Winner after hearing her lecture at Calvin College a couple years ago.
Then I became rather obsessed with her after reading Real Sex and hearing her various lectures/podcasts on that book that were floating around the interweb.
I finally finished reading Mudhouse Sabbath, and though it took a little more concentrated effort on my part than Real Sex or Girl Meets God, it was still incredibly insightful and offered more of Lauren’s unique perspective on how Christians have either lost touch with our Jewish heritage or in some cases adapted certain traditions.
While Girl Meets God unveiled the connectedness between the Judaism of Lauren’s youth and her new-found Christian faith by way of comparing the holidays over her years of conversion, Mudhouse Sabbath compares eleven Jewish customs and how they have found a place—in one way or another—in her life as a Christian.
Her chapter on prayer was (like its Girl Meets God counterpart) was especially challenging to me, and the section on food was great…
To consider how food connects us to God… where our food comes from, what God might think of our food, etc.
Really each chapter was perfectly concise and had just enough oomph to make you stop and consider.
While many of those Old Testament traditions have found a place in some way in western Christianity, it was her chapter on mourning that seemed to stand out as something in particular that we as Christian-ized westerners seem to have no construct.
We may succeed sometimes as a community supporting those widowed within the few week following their losses…
but then what?
Tags: arcade fire, Books, death, Faith, Lauren Winner
Why hello there, Death
Posted by Troy | Filed under Cancer
On one of many trips from northern Michigan to the Cleveland Clinic, I was thinking about my surgery scheduled for the next day. It was one of two lung surgeries to remove tumors from the cancer that had spread through my body.
The first of these was a small mass, about the size of a dime. I had one of the top guys in the world working on me and it went great.
What really no one else knew was that the second tumor was much bigger… about the size of a walnut.
It was also wrapped halfway around one of my major arteries.
This is not cool.
So we’re driving down M-23 and I’m thinking about this and wondering if I’ll be alive tomorrow.
Then right at that moment, something happened…
I had to face death…
I was staring the grim reaper straight in the eyes… and I had to say, “ok.”
It was something I had absolutely no control over… and I had to find a way to embrace it…
not in the sense that I was “giving up the fight,” but more of just accepting the truth that I might die… and that it was ok.
That was almost 4 years ago now and I’m realizing how much truth I’ve missed in other areas of my life too.
The voices in my head have told me many lies over the years and I’ve believed a lot of them…
Most of which are about the imagined trajectory of my life (if i were to do this or that…)
or that certain parts of me don’t exist or that I can control them…
or selling other people short…
or that conflict will always end badly…
or that I won’t die…
I’m just now finally discovering the real truth.
The truth that the only way to be a hero is to dive headfirst into conflict. The truth that other people are more wise and compassionate than I think. The truth that there are parts of me that really suck… but it is me nonetheless.
The truth that I’m going to die.
Maybe today… who knows?
I hope not though, because I’m really looking forward to lunch tomorrow.
Goodbye
Posted by Troy | Filed under Cancer, Thoughts
Lost someone today.
You could lose half a day if you happened to sit down in the room with Tom. He loved theology and loved sharing his discoveries even more… Nothing really made him happier than talking about new things he was learning (regardless of whether you cared to sit and listen).
As he leaves mortality behind, I can’t help but wonder at the discoveries in store for him.
My brother Thunderbeard has been blogging about (among other things) the weeks leading up to his dad’s death.
Finding a way to emotionally understand their edgy past and courageously seek some sort of resolve in their relationship has been inspirational reading for me and spiritually nourishing for him.
Feel free to share a story about Tom in the comments and be sure to check out Thunderbeard. He’s my brother and I love him and my heart’s aching for him today.
Tags: Cancer, death, original illustration
