La Frontera es Grande

So I am pretty passionate about border issues so when I saw this book I figured I needed to check it out. You don't see a lot written about Christians and there response to immigration, so I was interested to see what the author had to say. We agreed for the most part, I might be a tad bit more liberal than the author, but I just might be a bit more dramatic as well, and I kind of have a chip on my shoulder about this topic too. So maybe a little more centrist of a viewpoint wouldn't hurt me. I don't want to get into a huge political discussion, not because I am afraid to say what I think, but because I feel like this is an issue people should struggle through, not something you can poll a panel over and come to a clean and tidy conclusion. It isn't nice, it is far from tidy. The border is a mess, there is nothing easy about the problems. I do want to be clear about one thing before I go on. When I say problems, I don't want anyone to hear me saying "Mexicans". If you know me at all, you know I don't think they are the problem. The problem is humanity and the depravity that we impose on each other, and it just gets easier the more levels of separation we put between our selves and "them" whoever "they" are. People are people, and Jesus loves people. There are no stipulations on real love. So in the long run I feel like we are only exacerbating the problems at the border. No matter the height of a wall, or the persistence of the border patrol we will not stop the flow of immigrants, because ultimately immigrants are human beings and the human spirit can not be stopped. And no matter the height of the wall nor the economic divide put between us I have only one choice and that is to love "them" wherever they come from because I am an alien in this land as well, I don't belong here and ultimately I will see my real place of citizenship, so I can not be a patriot over a follower of Jesus, I can not place a flag in the way of my values, so I must love. It is the way of Jesus, and it should be the way of anyone who has chosen to be a wanderer on this planet as we wait for our true home to be revealed. A home that will be full of lovers of Jesus...most of whom won't be white.

Vintage Jesus has a Glittery Gold Lining and Vellum Dust Jacket

Vintage Jesus, by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a book about Jesus that is in any way associated with Mark Driscoll. It is honest, upfront, thought-provoking and sometimes a little bit much, but in the end It is a great read. I think we lose sight of who Jesus was as American's. Not what he did, not why he came, not how he died and saved us from sin...but WHO HE WAS and IS. I am not going to repeat everything that the book said, and when you think about it it was certainly nothing earth shattering, it wasn't even anything that Jesus himself didn't say about himself. And I think that is where the humbling part of the equation comes in. Jesus told us exactly who he was and we still get it all screwy. I'll let you read the book and make your own judgments and be convicted in your own way, but I will some up my experience with Vintage Jesus this way; as I was reading I can't say I had a new outlook on Jesus revealed to me, I wouldn't say my theological understandings were blown away and replaced with new more exciting paradigms, I wouldn't even say that I was convicted that I was ignorant about Jesus and what he meant to me but I can say this. As I read, and got deeper into the book there is one feeling that grew until the moment I closed the book. I realized that I love Jesus for a very long list of reasons and I can not wait for him to come back.

My biggest book to date

So I got a little behind this month but the adoption is a tiny bit more important. than some books. But do not fear I am still on a good pace for the year. For the first half of February I read Factory Girls: from Village to City in a Changing China by Leslie T. Chang. It was a great read, the book follows rural teenage girls as they enter the factory life in Southeastern China and experience the city, boys, money, success, corruption and greed all in one chaotic burst. The impressive thing about these girls is how adaptable they are. It is at once impressive and saddening. They are so able to roll with the punches, but at the same time you realize that they are just becoming whatever they need to be to survive. At just 16, 18, or 20 years old these girls are not even able to be themselves, they may not even know who they really are yet. I am a sucker for tales of survival, however, so I obviously found myself pulling for the girls to both succeed and find themselves, and ultimately find truth and happiness, not in wealth but in something greater than themselves. If you have a heart for anything Chinese and enjoy a story from the point of view of real imperfect people looking to improve their lives then this is a book for you. It isn't full of riveting plot lines and contrived emotional jabs at your heart, it is just real human emotion played out in the factories that build our phones and coach bags, and knowing the struggles of people who build our phones can't hurt us in the long run.