202

I climbed my first real rocks today. I didn't really have that much happen besides that. I was up at about 7 to take my friend Megan to the train station.

Went to Starbucks to study, read the paper and have coffee. It was a good way to start the morning.

Class. Went to the rock wall, then spontaneously decided with my friend Meagan (different friend) to go climb real rocks up on Sehome hill. I liked it so much that after slackline (on which I destroyed myself by taking a six foot shot to the hip and catching the line with my calf on the way down on another occasion.) We went to Larrabee State Park in search of rocks to climb. It was a blast! found some really cool formations and discovered another way to meet with God in nature.

SICK. I posted a few pictures.

That's basically it.

200! Part II

I was in my small group today for Core. We were discussing Acts, which, for those of you who don't know, I point to for validation of some of my Marxist beliefs. I, being the person that I am, pointed out somesuch thing in a verse that said something about members of the early church sharing everything and doing so willingly, with one heart and mind.

Everyone kind of chuckled and said "I knew you were gonna say something like that."

Someone contested me, someone who had obviously never read Marx and didn't know that Marx envisioned a society in which this willful sharing of property occured.

Thanks, Lenin and Stalin, for wrecking utopia. You've given the world a distorted view of communism that no one in their right mind can support.

:-D

Cheers

200!

For the two-hundredth post, I've decided to talk about some political stuff. So if you don't care, you can deal with it, or you can not read. Your choice.

There are some things that can't go on being ignored. And there certainly are some attrocities for which people, or governments, should NEVER be rewarded.

In western Sudan, in a region known as Darfur, centuries-old ethnic and tribal divisions have bubbled to the surface with acts referred to by our own President of the United States as "the g-word": genocide. Do you know how hard-core it is to accuse someone of genocide? Imagine the implications! You don't say "the g-word" unless you've got evidence. Solid evidence. Such things deter most countries in our modern times to do things they ordinarily would not, such as refusing to do business regardless of the resource which it chooses to extract. However, China has chosen to ignore the atrocities of the Sudanese government and instead invested in the African nation, building things like roads and means to extract the oil with which Sudan was blessed in exchange for the oil China needs to fuel it's economy (it is shifting to oil from coal. Gas prices aren't goin' down, folks.) Action has been attempted at the international level in the United Nations Security Council. However, China holds veto power as a P5 member (I'll explain this to anyone who cares) and refuses to sanction Sudan or allow the UN peace keepers into the country without Sudanese consent.

The Three Gorges Dam is to be the largest hydroelectric power station in the world when it becomes fully operational in 2011. However, 1.5 million Chinese landowners and citizens have had to be relocated due to the subsequent flooding in the region. Oh. And arable land is PRIME real estate in China. It comprises 10-ish% of Chinas land, and the food produced is somehow enough to feed over 1 billion people. The land that has been flooded is a part of that arable land

An economy run largely run on coal has polluted the air.

Then there's the whole Tibet thing, which I don't fully understand, so I won't pretend to. WHat I do know is that Tibetans are a people who have been long oppressed by the Chinese government, who still refuse to grant the Tibetans autonomy.

Not to mention the persecuted church (on which I also have no statistics and don't really want to take the time to dig them up.)

So what does the U.S. as one of the most powerful countries in the world do? We'll be at the Olympics. No sweat. As long as China and the U.S. continue to do business, there's no debate.

I'm over-simplifying this, but there really does come a point when we have to do something. I don't have all the answers. But when the whole WORLD recognizes something is wrong, why are we legitimizing China's actions? Economic gain. What else is new.

People have always been trying to douse the Olympic torch, but it's never been publicized like this before. I won't watch the Olympics anyway. But for once, I hope they succeed in putting out the Olympic flame. I just wish G.W. had the guts to make some sort of stand against China in this situation. I think it would hurt economically, but it won't happen, right?

So I can ignore the reprocussions of that which won't take place.

199

Climbing. I know that this must being getting old by now, but it's become one of my passions within the last few weeks, so I like talking about it.

It is nice to say that I can finally climb worth anything now. I'm still not good, but I've been able to get several routes that have taunted me for the last week.

However.

I notice that while my body is under the strain of clinging on to a hold barely large enough to fit my fingertips while trying to yank myself from under an overhang to another hold of a similar size, I tend to swear. Usually the "d-word" or the "s-word." "Junk" is another one, but that's not necessarily a curse word. This bugs me for a few reasons.

1.) I can't stop doing it, and I think that the things which we do under stress reflect our hearts more than when we have everything under control.

2.) It makes pulling myself up to the next hold easier, thus reducing my incentive to quit saying these things.

All the while, I can't help but think: who decided which words were bad and why? How is mumbling "s--t" under my breath when my arms are screaming at me to let up worse than calling someone an idiot and genuinely meaning what I say? It's not hurting anyone, and it makes me feel better.

Theoretically, it may help to call on God in that moment, but at that point, my arms REALLY hurt, and my focus is on the next hold, rather than on genuinely asking for God's help. I suppose I'm not sure I can sincerely say a prayer in 1.6 seconds. Or whether God would actually strengthen my body just so I could have the satisfaction of finishing a route I've been trying for a week.

I feel myself trying to rationalize it, but that just isn't going to cut it. Because what happens if Brandon is guiding a raft down the Snake River this summer with ten (or however many) middle schoolers on his raft, things get tight negotiating a path down the river, and I let fly with one of my words? Not exactly the best spot to be in, especially because as a Christian I am called to be different than the world.

Still.

Who decided which words were bad? I was raised that way. I don't think most people question things like that. It's what, however many generations of not saying this word. That's how we're socialized.

I'm not trying to justify it (yes I am, I think to myself,) but it's a good question. Many words today, one of which is CRAP, used to be considered one of these words. It's not anymore. Unless you talk to older people who still think it is. But as a result, we just don;t say it when we're around them. I can;t remember if I've ever said "crap" around my Grammie Adent.

I say it around my Grandpa Douglass.

Because he says it himself.

197

This morning was really hard.

I rose from my blankets out of obligation rather than joy and anticipation of the day to come. Not exactly the way to start the day. Church was a bit of a chore, which blows, because it shouldn't be. The pastor said some things that made me think, but mostly in the way that I didn't want to. Ways like "When's this guy gonna be done talking?" and "I'm not sure I agree with what you just said. Especially because you didn't show me any scripture to assure me that you didn't talk off the top of your head." I remember statistics, but not the points they were intended to prove. He spoke with a passion that scared me more than excited me. I was glad to not have to listen to him talk anymore.

So that would be my morning.

Got back and embarked on a two hour journey to the College Store, Rite Aid, REI, and Haggen, albeit mostly out of boredom. I walked around looking at backpacks, waterbottles, bikes, socks, webbing, rope, and the vast assortment of climbing gear. I've definitely got to pick cheaper hobbies. Getting into rock climbing is rough on the budget. Harness: at least $50. 60 m of climbing rope: $207. Carabiners: at least $6 a piece. Even if I want to avoid all that and just boulder (climbing generally below 15 ft without a harness or gear) all the time, I could just buy a crash pad, which is still right around $150-200. *sigh* If only our bodies could take 1500 foot falls and walk away every time. I did walk out of the store with a bandana to keep my hair out of my eyes while hiking and climbings so I could not cover my whole head with a hat. No. I know what you're thinking. I will not get a haircut. It will take more than hair in my eyes to make me do that.

Otherwise, I bought my other textbook *eek* and wandered around Haggen killing time with Peter. I'm doing pretty well at pinching pennies this quarter. It's all about rationing things. Not eating at will. So on and so forth. I will say though, I am SO SICK of dining hall food. Words cannot express this sentiment to those who have not themselves felt it.

I'm thinking of making coffee, since I have lots of that, but I'm not thinking I want a buzz at 9:30 in the evening. So I'll probably skip that one.

Oh. Found out I got a jury summons. Stupid. Oop. Did I say that? Ok, well it's only because it gives me one more thing to worry about. I also got one a little under a year ago, and it irritates me to think that they've got me on some sort of stupid schedule. They can say it's random. Bull crap. I wasn't born yesterday. My last name starts with AD. I've been first on the list for everything for as long as I can remember. I sat in the left front corner for every elementary school class because the teacher was too lazy to create a seating chart. I went first for every class presentation. My name is the first on the roll-call, which means that if I'm absent, the teacher immediately knows it was me. It's a conspiracy. Doggone it.

I guess that doesn't explain why my mom hasn't ever gotten called for jury duty.

But it seems like my Grammie Adent always has jury duty.

Yes. My argument does have validity.

I promise.

I Screwed Yesterday Up...Today is 195

Journey of Desire. The time has come for me to tell you what I thought. I literally finished three minutes ago and I have a lot on my mind about it. Keep in mind that I do not review books, so try not to dislike me too much if you have read this and disagree with me. I am also condensing 212 pages of text into four paragraphs, which by no means does the work justice, but I don't want to re-write the book either.

First, a general overview. It was written by John Elderidge, whom I suppose is a well known counselor and author. This book is set up in somewhat philosophical terms. He banks a lot on such writers/ thinkers as Pascal, T.S. Eliot, and C.S. Lewis, but he did a pretty good job of keeping his sources diversified. He also relied a TON on scripture, which was awesome, and it's interesting to read what people get from things that I may not pick up on.

Topic-wise, it's about...well...desire. The longings that each of us have as a result of whatever circumstances. A fair amount of time, about 3/4 of the book, is spent showing that desire is God-given, and shouldn't be fought like most people have learned to do since we often get discouraged by having our hopes thwarted by the world, or even God himself. Many people find "imposters," as Elderidge calls them, to fulfill these desires. For example, if a man wants intimacy, he could obviously turn to something like pornography and other types of sexual sin to feel the void that a lack of intimacy has left in his life. This is made pretty clear throughout the book, so there isn't any sort of confusion following this.

The whole point is that it's OK to have these desires. God gave them to us for a reason, and although we realize that due to the Fall as described in Genesis our attaining perfect life is just not going to happen, it's ok to pursue these desires, as long as the God-given desires do not take precedence over God himself. Elderidge ultimately comes to the conclusion that if we surrender our desires to God, he'll take you places you may not expect that may be ABOVE your desires. There's definitely an element of eternal perspective in this mixed in, knowing that following Christ is eventually going to mean paradise for eternity.

I'm a little shaky on the conclusion to which Elderidge comes, and to be honest I felt a little gyped, considering he told me something that I feel I already knew and have been told many times, though I am not sure I follow all the time. Through the whole thing, I felt like he was saying things I really identified with, and I'm thinking "Yeah! That's ME! Tell me what to do about it." And he did. And I didn't feel like I learned anything through his conclusion.

While I was a little bummed with his conclusion, I was really glad that I read this book. It helped me think. I basically have two HUGE desires for my life.

1.) Adventure. I need to see new things, to travel the world snowboarding, climbing, meeting new and different people. This is rather unrealistic due to monetary circumastances, I realize, but it's what I want. Badly. As much as I love Bellingham and can tolerate Vancouver and the Portland area, I will go crazy if I'm here forever.

2.) A girl with whom I can share my adventure. I just to think a golden retriever named Jasper and a Chevy full of gear would be all I needed to see this country. No. If I have to go through life without a wife, I will go crazy. There's no sense in denying this anymore.

SO. Thanks to some underlining that had been done (thanks, Mom. There were actually some points in the book that I wanted to break out my highlighter, which I decided against because I didn't want to wreck your book...) I was able to derive that a main point Elderidge was trying to make was "surrender." Not not caring. Nor was he trying to suggest giving up hope for something better. It's giving your desires to God, putting them in his hands, and watching him work with them, going where he takes you.

I can do that. I think. It's hard though.

There was one point at which I was slightly confused. Elderidge talked quite a bit about relationships and how many of us have given up hope of ever having one that works out the way it was designed to (I have now taken myself out of this category. I can't remember if I explicitly said that I was ever in it. I think it's day #169 or something that I talk about this in greater detail.) Of course, the author takes this moment to talk about sex and what it means, being a metaphor of eternal union with God (which kind of creeps me out in ways that I'll be happy to indulge within the privacy of an email.) It didn't seem to add to his main point.

Side note: while this didn't necessarily make sense to me, I have to say that I get this image of heaven being sort of an eternal worship service. Which...gonna be honest...sounds REALLY boring. I want to do things like go fast, climb things, jump off stuff, and so on without the side effect of getting hurt and aching all the time. I have visions of snapping my broken bones back into place and laughing hysterically at the fall I just took from 1500 feet climbing some crazy rock face without a harness. Who knows what heaven will be like. Anyway, the author brings this up, but doesn't really say anything to say it's not as boring as it sounds, probably because he's never been there and none of his friends who have have bothered report back (for good reason.) I was glad that he did mention it, but I had hoped he would talk more about it. Anyway.

That's a jumble of conclusions I came to. I don't know that I would recommend it highly as previously mentioned, but I would recommend it. It took the place of Mein Kampf in my reading, so now I should probably read the rest of that as well as my textbooks. Awww man!

Hopefully I can hike tomorrow.

Cheers.

193 I Think...

This morning I found myself awake a little later than expected: 10:30 AM. This isn't too late I suppose, but I thought I would wake up a bit earlier. Anyway.

Headed straight to the gym to get my rock on. I have come to the realization that I can't climb anything. Like. At all. I've lost all the endurance I had and can't climb anything above a V0 (basically the lowest climbing level) and I was able to get V1s and V2s in Portland over break. My friend tells me I'm about to break a V1 and to just be patient. Yeah, well, tomorrow I have to rest, because my body hurts.

I went from the rock wall to lunch, then down to slackline for about an hour and half. I made a few new friends and had a lot of fun doing that.

Class time: which consists of two different class settings. One is the large group meeting and lecture, the other is a small group discussion time. I met the small group today, which was super fun. It's going to be a really cool group, and I laughed a lot.

This was pretty much my day. Now is the point where I sit in my room and think about all the people I could have said hi to and didn't, or all the conversations I could have started.

I thought a lot about the book I mentioned in an earlier post, The Journey of Desire. I read a segment last night that made me think like crazy. Well. A few segments. I'll outline them later. I'm about halfway done. Lemme tell ya, I'm going to have some thoughts. I am going to go out on a limb and tentatively recommend this book highly. It's got a lot of things I see myself in.