my pohnpei birthday

Technically, it's still November 1. But, in the islands, it's November 2, my birthday. My facebook profile is becoming inundated with birthday messages from my island friends. It really makes me miss my Pohnpei birthday four years ago (I can't believe it's been so long!). My friend Tim Van Arsdale's birthday was November 1 and so we did two parties, an evening potluck on Nov. 1 and a brunch at The Village on Nov. 2. The Village is an awesome hotel on the east side of Pohnpei with some of the only actually sandy beaches and their famous Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes (so good...). Great memories.

I was on lunch supervision on my birthday. Several of my seventh-graders came and grabbed me and said there was a classroom emergency and grabbed me. So I was herded into the room to find a cake and the entire classroom. They'd made a cake for me!!! I was flabbergasted. So honored.

some of my crazy 7th graders...

This really makes me miss my island home. Walking to town in a deep sweat. Getting a hair cut from someone who couldn't speak English. Eating at Angie's, a horrible fast-food restaurant that took longer than sit-down restaurants. Explaining American History to non-Americans. Jumping off gorgeous waterfalls. Taking a skiff across the open ocean. Eating stir-fry. Having a rusty bench press on my front porch. Actually hanging out at American Embassy events. SM camaraderie. Having the best devotions of my life.

I'm glad I have a birthday tomorrow to remind me of my most special birthday yet... Pohnpei, how I miss you!

the year of living biblically

I've finally been able to up my reading ante. And that makes me happy. You see, this year I was supposed to be reading A LOT... My reading list is impressive and impossible. I have it organized by genre and author and highlight it based on completion or currently reading...

Well, the good news is that I finally finished one more, The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. I'm also happy because this is the first book I read on my "new" Kindle! Jacobs is a journalist who works for Esquire. His first book was about his quest to read the entire Encyclopedia Brittanica. He succeeded and his next quest became to live the laws of the Bible as literally as possible for an entire year. Hey, he tried.

As I began the book, I was frustrated. Jacobs is an agnostic Jew who was raised in a secular home. Though he claimed to be doing this project in an attempt to find God so that he if there was a God, he could be a better father to his infant son. However, it seemed to me to be just a book project and lack sincerity. But I was interested in the project and kept reading. Though written simply, it did not disappoint. The book was written in a blog/journal type format and was a quick and easy read but with enough depth to satisfy.

I found it interesting to see what this guy did. He wore a tunic, added tassels, threw out all clothes of mixed fibers, grew out his beard, refused to be near his wife at "less than pure times" (its amazing he's still married), respected the Sabbath, painted his door frame, etc. He contacted spiritual leaders of all religions and used them as spiritual advisors. He visited Israel, a creationist museum, Jerry Falwell's megachurch and a church that preachers snake handling. He did a lot, but what truly made me excited was the changes the year produced in his life. Being so legalistically focused on his character actually helped him tell fewer lies and be a more positive person. Though morality is a central tenet of most religions, it was comforting to see the words of the Bible overall have such an impact, even just on a guy working on a book project.

Oh, and I currently have a beard, one that is nicely trimmed at my beard trimmer's level 6. Should I at least try that part of the project...?

Overall, a great read. One I'd recommend...

crazy love

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook version of Francis Chan's book Crazy Love. Being an avid lover of annotating anything remotely inspirational and aha-like, I had a hard time bringing it all together. It definitely means I'll be reading it in paper one of these days. But I did learn a lot. It really brought out  the notion of what Christians are called to, selfless love. I've heard this before, but so often it's tied too much to theology or a collection of rules. This was simpler, but much more difficult.

Jesus' two commands are to love God with and to love others as you would yourself. Chan combined those to say that we should love others as much as we would love God. This is just as Jesus mentioned to his followers about treating the least of these. The book mentioned how difficult it is to actually live this way. He and his wife downsized their home so they could give more away. He spoke of a man who lives in his car so that he can make food for surfers on the beach in Newport, CA. He spoke of many elements of living a Crazy Love lifestyle, so many stories, stuff that seems so different to comfortable suburban Christians and even to a soon-to-be 25 year-old dean living amidst the wheat fields of eastern Washington.

All this brought me to my knees. Where do I need to be next year? I've been making plans and that's not necessarily a bad thing, but I continually have to ask, "God, where next? Please guide my life" and to seek out as many opportunities to serve. I'm thankful I live in a dorm. There's so much I can do to give back. Now for the outpouring of God's crazy love...