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.

I read this book so I might understand Eric Kelley when he talked...

It didn't work, I am pretty sure I usually have no idea what he is saying. I know he is talking about finance, and I know it is smart, but other than that I just nod and try to cling to the words that I recognize. It's kind of like when you are in a foreign country and you have the most basic understanding of the language. Just grab on to the first idea you can comprehend and go with it.
The book, however, was very powerful. I guess it should seem like common sense that $100 dollars goes way farther in Bangladesh than it does in the United States, but I never dragged that idea around long enough to come to the conclusion that poverty could actually be curtailed by micro financing loans to the poorest of the worlds poor. This means the 1 billion people that live on less than a dollar a day, and then the next 1-1.5 billion that live on 2 or fewer dollars a day. Think about that, we are talking about annual incomes of $365. That is something I come across in in a few days, and I have the luxury of sitting at a desk all day. It is amazing to think that with a loan of $30 I could give someone in Bangladesh, or the Philippines, or Laos a month head start in their business. That is enough leeway to get out from under their debt or to break the cycle of interest repayment that they are stuck in essentially until they die. My $30 dollars could launch a necessary business in a place where business and profitable living are out of the norm. It could be the beginning of a new way of life in a village that knows nothing but poverty, nothing but lenders that lord their debts over villagers. It could be the easy way to be Jesus to a farmer in Bangladesh, or a weaver in Cambodia, or a fisherman in Micronesia. Jesus didn't really have money that we know of but if he did I think these are the places he would have used it. My country just threw 800 billion dollars to a bunch of greedy suits to help stimulate an economy that imploded on its self while they could probably turn around the economy of entire provinces of nations in Sub-Saharan Africa for $800,000. I am fortunate to live the life I live, and a lot of that is because God planned for me to live it here, but the ridiculousness of poverty in this world makes me want to vomit.

January is almost done

So I know it's been a while but I have been a little consumed with getting stuff done for the adoption but I made my self get one last post in before January left us. So, at the end of the first month I have finished completely 5 books, I will review 1 of the 2 most recent in this post. I have also started 1 massive book (related website here) and read a substantial portion of 2 other books so I am on approximately a 65 book pace, so I am feeling good right now. I feel like I need to be ahead of pace when the summer hits because for some reason my reading in the summer declines...unless I get laid off again.
So, without further ado Praying in Colors When my friend Angel told me about this book I'll be honest I though it sounded a little cult-ish but I trust Angel about pretty much everything, but especially about not getting me tangled up in cult rituals...She still hasn't failed me (but that's probably what everyone in a cult says.) Anyway I heard enough people talk about it that I finally gave it a chance, and surprise surprise it is actually really beneficial. See, I tend to drift in and out of conversations with people that are right in front of me so sometimes talking to God can be hard for me. It isn't that I don't want to, or I am disinterested. I just don't focus very well. You should see me drive and talk, not a good thing. But this really worked, It actually helps me focus. I always used to say I did better in meetings when I could doodle and this was a little bit of reinforcement to my claims. I'm not going to tell you why you should read this book from a literary viewpoint because it wasn't written for that reason. In fact it isn't all that well written, but you should read this book because A)it will only take you about 45-60 minutes and B)it adds some new energy to your prayer life. It hasn't made me a better prayer, It definitely hasn't made me more spiritual, but it has made me eager to pray each day, and it has help me to spend a focused time in prayer without being interrupted. In a perfect world I would just be able to sit down and focus and pray, but I don't need to tell you that I'm not perfect and my brain doesn't often cooperate with me. But add the doodling and I have not a crutch but an enhancement to my prayer life.

How it Feels to be Adopted

My third book of the year was How it Feels to be Adopted. Now any of you who may know me fairly well probably know that I am a judge the book by it's cover kind of person...it's what I do. So as you can see I was up against a bit of a mental hurdle from the start, but I was pleasantly surprised. This book is short, simple, and an it easy it read. It is made up of 19 interviews of adopted children from age 6-18. They are pretty frank, and some of the things they said surprised me. The book is fairly old but it seems that there are quite a few common, universal threads that run through the mind of an adoptee. I won't bore you with all of my observations unless you ask me in person, but there was one thing that 5 or 6 of the children said that I thought was very enlightening to their situation. The children were asked when they think of their birth parents if ever, the reason the answer surprised me was it ran through all the age groups, all the reasons they were adopted, all socio-economic statuses, it just seems universal. And this is what they said, they answered that they really only thought about their birth mothers on their birthdays, they wondered if she remembered, or cared. They wondered if she was sad, or if she knew that they had a better life now. But this was where my mind got blown, almost every child in the book said they never, repeat NEVER thought about their birth father. I don't know what that is about, I guess it speaks to a maternal bond that men will never understand, but I don't plan on giving up any kids for adoption so hopefully I don't need to figure it out.

One Week Three Books

So I took a week off from the internet, which was harder than you'd think, and pretty eye opening, but I got the two books I was reading done. Spectacular Sins was good, not great. It was a basic look at God's sovereignty especially His sovereignty in the evil and unjust things of the world. Piper took stories from the Old and New Testament and showed how and where God was present, knowledgeable, and in control of the events. I wouldn't say I learned anything profound, but it was definitely a good reminder about something that a lot of people don't really want to think about in the first place. And on a dorky note I think the cover art is very classy and actually pretty hip. You can't tell it in the picture but the oval picture in the middle is spot varnish so the picture is glossy and the rest of the print is matte. Nice touch.