Articles from: 2011

In church yesterday I noticed out of the corner of my eye this girl who I thought was taking notes on the sermon but wrote “Have you ever loved someone so much you would have given your arm for them?”  I think she was writing a letter of some sort or at least jotting down her own thoughts and I didn’t want to read much of what may have been a personal journal but she seemed to be writing about this guy she liked.  My mind sorta wandered as I wondered if I ever loved someone so much I would have given my arm for that person.  I know I’ve never had to physically detatch my arm for someone (I have given a jacket which has two sleeves but that probably isn’t as meaningful).  I also noticed she was writing her name over and over again, maybe to practice her penmanship.  Man, I thought no one practiced that these days.

I don’t know why but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about something someone said in a bible study a while back (fall of last year).  When we first started going through Ephesians, the leader said that he hoped that we would learn to not be led by emotions.  I kinda understood what he was saying and I’ve often heard the proper Christian life described like a train where truth is the engine and emotions is the caboose.  I guess lately I’ve been thinking about the impossibility of this in light of what Lewis wrote, that we all do things and make choices that attempt to maximize our joy.  Whether we chose to eat ice cream or carrots, go for a walk or veg in front of the tube, read the bible or throw it away, we’re all doing things that we think will maximize our joy.  If that’s true then even someone who takes effort to not be led by emotions is doing so to try to maximize his joy.  Sounds kinda futile if you ask me. I also remember him saying something about not criticizing his sermons…

I had trouble finding a seat at church today because I was a little late so this man scooted over and let me sit at the back.  Then he leaned over to apologize that he didn’t offer his seat earlier.  Then while looking around, he asked a lady standing by him if she wanted to sit and he got up so she could sit down.  At this point I was sort of divided on whether I should do likewise.  On the one hand, I probably wouldn’t be able to find another seat (it was that packed), but on the other hand I think that’s the chivalrous, servant-like thing to do, but on the other hand (yes, there are three hands) maybe the best thing for me to do for him was to just enjoy the seat he offered me, which I suppose is what he originally wanted.  It was all very complex but the woman who sat by me eventually got up to look for a better seat, after which a different man sat down next to me.  I ended up sitting in the same spot the whole service but left thinking I should probably work on my seat manners.  While most people were scattering for a seat, one guy was actually looking for an opportunity to give his up.

After I wrote the post before last, I got Theo chocolate in the mail the other day as a gift.  Thanks Scott! I actually saw another bar of Theo (the chocolate, not me) at the natural foods market, which I picked up simply because it was a whopping 91% dark chocolate.  Not that I keep track of these percentages but I don’t think I remember eating chocolate at such high concentrations.  I’m waiting for the right time at work before unleashing to my coworkers this beast, this test of wills, this monster which is … 91% dark chocolate.  Madness, they say?  This … is… THEO!

I just came back from a few days at home (Portland) and I learned something: sometimes it’s funny to substitute “Yes” with Kool Aid Man’s “Oh Yeah!”  Do you want more beans?  “Oh yeah!”  Do you have ointment for those scars on your arms?  “Oh yeah!”  I can see how such enthusiasm in more tedious situations can come off as being disingenuous, but I only mean it to be silly.  I thought it’d be funny to get people in the meeting tomorrow to play along, also subsituting “No” with “Naaaaawwwwwwww……” but I’m thinking that’s probably not going to happen.