Earth Angel and the Shepherd

What do angels look like? We had to face this question when given the assignment to come up with an angel costume (Gabriel, to be precise) for our son's Christmas program. Of course, they are usually depicted as wispy, white, and utterly detached from anything on this earth. But if angels are all around us and in our midst, then it's very likely that they are much more earthy than clouldly. We know that when they appear to people, usually people are afraid--thus the usual greeting 'Fear not!' But we don't know that the fear came from their appearing in wispy, gossamer gowns with tinsel on their heads. Stuck, then with how to give Jonathan some appropriate Gabriel Garb, I decided to go for ferns instead of tinsel. So here are Jonathan's fern wings.

And as for our other son, I was delighted when Daniel's Pre-K teacher told me that she gave him the option of what part he wanted to play in their Christmas play, and he chose a shepherd. He didn't pick a king or Joseph, but the shepherd. This kid is down to earth.

Seeing Newberg from NewZealand

New Zealand is nice, but Newberg is home--and it's good to be home. One question we spent time discussing in New Zealand is why we tend to have a bias AGAINST hometown. Why do we think success means moving away to some far away place? What do we do to foster this displeasure for being rooted? Wendell Berry says at some point we need to just stay put.

It's good to get away and get perspective on home, but I love that we are making Newberg home and that we are becoming rooted here. We're going on seven years being in this home in this place. And unless we're obviously told to go elsewhere, we look forward to being here for the long haul. By the way, this picture is from LAST year--nearly a year ago to the day. Right now, all we're getting is good Oregon rain. Maybe we'll go try to make some rainmen.

Making Room for the Chicken (Holy Spirit)

I went down under to teach, and ended up learning a lot. Teaching for this intensified period of time, and teaching in an embodied way helped me see a lot of these concepts that I've been teaching in a new way. I've read the story 'Watch with Me' by Wendell Berry many times, but after the class acted out the story on the beach (as the sun set--left), 'making room for the chicken' became my new picture for how to teach. In the story, a whole group of men start following a crazy, suicidal guy in the community since he was carrying a shotgun. If they had followed too close, he probably would have shot someone. But they didn't just ignore him either, because he would have shot himself. Eventually, keeping their 'not too close, not too far' distance, a chicken--who represents the Holy Spirit--the mother hen--flies into his face. Had they been too close, there would have been no room for the Holy Spirit. But if they had ignored him, he would have killed himself before encountering the chicken. The guy swatted at and hit the chicken (instead of the 'watching guys') and at that moment finally woke up out of his crazed spell. The fight has to be with God, not the people who are helping. This right space is difficult to keep, but it has inspired me. I love it when students help me learn what I'm teaching. When that quits happening, I quit.

On the left are the guys keeping watch at the right distance leaving enough space for 'Thatch' to encounter the Holy Spirit (Chicken) and have his awakening fight with God. The chicken flies in his face, he hits the chicken (instead of his friends) and he then snaps out of his crazy spell realizing where and who he is.