Author: between worlds

Books

BOOK REVIEW: Just don’t marry one: interracial dating, marriage, and parenting

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After reading a recent book on intercultural marriage, I found myself longing for ‘deeper mentors’ who weren’t just addressing introductory issues to an interracial or intercultural marriage, but the long term questions of life together.  I read the first section of the book, “Foundations for Christian Leaders” years ago, and while I found examinations of biblical foundations, counseling tips, racial misconceptions, and historical examinations of interracial marriages helpful, it only spoke to my mind, not my soul, so I put it down and just picked it up again last week.  I was pleasantly surprised to discover that section 2 “Support for interracial couples and multiracial families” addressed much of what I’d been looking for.

In this section, a variety of well-seasoned veterans speak to issues multiracial individuals and interracial couples face.  With wisdom, graciousness, and honesty, they openly discuss biracial children, family issues, combining cultures, and racial reconciliation.  The authors in this section all do an excellent job of examining the many questions that arise with interracial and inter-cultural relationships.  While the book focuses primarily on interracial relationships, I interchange this term with inter-cultural b/c it also address this dynamic as well.  Clearly, the most thorough experience covered is black-white marriage, but I found much that translated to our experience even though we’re not a black-white couple.

An appendix includes a thorough list of websites, books, support groups, organizations, and research articles for multiracial individuals and families.

Books

BOOK REVIEW: Teaching in a distant classroom

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(For those of you in education, you’ll understand the 3 month hiatus = end of the Spring semester + recovering from the year = resurface mid-June!)

I was quite excited when I saw Michael Romanowski and Teri McCarthy’s new book Teaching in a Distant Classroom: Crossing Borders for Global Transformation (Intervarsity).  I supervise international TESOL practicums during the summer and have been looking for a book like this for quite sometime.  I had high enough hopes that it would be suitable for my students to read that I assigned it to them before I had actually read it.  I’ve now finished, and am delighted to report that it’s even better than I’d hoped!

One of the most frequent misunderstandings I encounter with people hoping to teach overseas is that they don’t really take the actual task of teaching very seriously.  Some assume they can  use “teaching English” 1) as a mask to do “real ministry”, 2) a way to travel and see the world, or 3) an easy way to get a visa into a closed country.  Romanowski and McCarthy quickly and clearly dispel these myths on page 1 of chapter 1:

Often when Christians decide to go outside their homeland to teach…friends and family ask, “If you can’t talk about Jesus in the classroom over there, how on earth are you going to be a missionary?”  For the missions-minded North American evangelical, it’s a legitimate question.  But the question is not what is troubling.  What is more disturbing is the common response, “Oh I’m going as a teacher to get into the country so that I can do my real job of evangelism.”

So begins their case for competent, well-trained, serious professionals – especially among Christians.  They assert that “teaching should flow out of a Christians’ sense of calling” – not “merely moonlighting.”  They provide a variety of charts (one of my favorite parts of a book!) such as:

  • motives for teaching overseas (non-religious and Christian)
  • worldview influences and teaching
  • various educational models/methods
  • my favorite chart goes quite in depth comparing culturally responsive teachers with Jesus’ teaching.

Other interesting components of the book include a plethora of personal perspectives from people who have taught abroad, helpful websites, movie recommendations and a variety reflective questions for the reader.  On top of this, the entire book repeatedly explores how committed faith and excellence in teaching integrate.

For the Christian overseas teacher, Teaching in a distant classroom is a thorough, honest, and challenging introduction to teaching abroad.  I’m completely thrilled for my students to read this as they complete their practicums as it synthesizes so much of what they have studied in their coursework.  I’m excited to hear their responses.  I’ll be highly recommending the book to every TESOL practicum supervisor I know, plus to the many others who contact me regarding teaching abroad.  It is a realistic, practical, and wise guide for those heading down the path of teaching in a distant classroom.

Miscellany

Celtic Prayer for the Voiceless

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Found another gem to share…

I cannot speak,

unless you loose my tongue;

I can only stammer,

and speak with uncertainty;

but if you touch my mouth,

my Lord,

then I will sing the story

of your wonders!

.

Teach me to hear that story,

through each person,

to cradle a sense of wonder

in their life,

to honor the hard-earned wisdom

of their sufferings,

to waken their joy

that the king of all kings

stoops down

to wash their feet

and looking up

into their face

says,

‘I know – I understand’.

. Continue reading “Celtic Prayer for the Voiceless” →

Restoration & Reconciliation

Shakertown Pledge

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I read this this morning in Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Others Servants (which I highly recommend!) and thought I’d share…

Recognizing that Earth and the fullness thereof is a gift from our gracious God, and that we are called to cherish, nurture, and provide loving stewardship for Earth’s resources, and recognizing that life itself is a gift, and a call to responsibility, joy, and celebration, I make the following declarations:

  1. I declare myself a world citizen
  2. I commit myself to lead an ecologically sound life.
  3. I commit myself to lead a life of creative simplicity and to share my personal wealth with the world’s poor.
  4. I commit myself to join with others in the reshaping of institutions in order to bring about a more just global society in which all people have full access to the needed resources for their physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual growth.
  5. I commit myself to occupational accountability, and so doing I will seek to avoid the creation of products which cause harm to others.
  6. I affirm the gift of my body and commit myself to its proper nourishment and physical wellbeing.
  7. I commit myself to examine continually my relations with others and to attempt to relate honestly, morally, and lovingly to those around me.
  8. I commit myself to personal renewal through prayer, meditation, and study.
  9. I commit myself to responsible participation in a community of faith.
Belief

Top-shelf Christians

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I found this article a long time ago which nearly describes my faith experience to a T.  As I was re-hashing some things with God this morning, I was again reaffirmed by this wise man’s story and thought I’d share:

I received an email from someone puzzled about the grief I experienced when I gave up on God. This person felt liberated when she left Christianity.

I understand how some would feel that way. Many of you only know Christianity from bad books, TV preachers, and the people who watch them. If that were all I knew of Christianity I would celebrate my liberation from it all the days of my life.

But I was exposed early to the real stuff – Top Shelf Christianity – Deep and Old Christianity. This kind is practiced by people who work until they stink and take life in great draughts. Their hands are as rough as their hides, and they DO their faith in secret, hiding their good works in obedience to Christ. They know how to love and be loved in return. Their laughter is loud and has its roots in joy.

These Christians don’t want your money and they don’t advertise. You will only find them if you MUST find them. These are the ones who took me to Mexico as a boy and showed me pain and joy. They hid nothing from me.

I was also blessed by being exposed to the right kind of Christian thinkers. C.S Lewis and his friend J.R.R. Tolkein. Frederick Buechner, Carlyle Marney, and Thomas Merton. Will Campbell who wrote “Brother to a Dragonfly” and Eberhard Arnold. Frederick Dale Bruner and Martin Luther King Jr.

You did understand there was more to this than religious TV and the drivel they sell in those awful Christian bookstores, right? After all, Christianity didn’t sustain itself for twenty centuries by shitting Hallmark cards before a live studio audience. Continue reading “Top-shelf Christians” →

Belief

What the world needs now…

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We have a comedian and a philosopher in our house. The comedian usually makes the posts. This time, the philosopher (our six year old daughter) takes the cake…

My husband occasionally writes notes on our white board. My newly literate daughter has recently taken to responding to these notes. Today, my husband wrote, “What the world needs now, is love, sweet love.”

My daughter’s response?  “What the world needs is god.”

🙂

Spiritual Formation

Dreams, readjusted.

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If I had my druthers, I would have picked a really cool place to live – you know, like New York City, Seattle, or at least Chicago.  Then, when I met people from my past and they asked where I lived, I could suavely reply, “New York,” to be inevitably met by an impressive, “Wow.”

I also would have picked a really cool job – like resettling refugees, working in a soup kitchen, being an artist, or something a bit ‘edgy’ like that.  Then, when I met new people and they asked what I did, I could respond (with all humility, of course), “Oh, I work in a homeless shelter,” to be met by an even bigger “Wow.”

Then, surely I would be able to saunter down the street in my funky attire and be known as someone who ‘does something worthwhile’.  I also am a bit partial to being known as ‘one tough cookie’, but that doesn’t sound nearly as humble.

But, alas, the plan didn’t work.

I live in rural Indiana, drive my kids around in a mini-van, and teach part time at a Christian college – none of which have ever made my ‘cool’ list.  I used to live in Washington,, DC, where my husband and I enjoyed spending warm afternoons on the National Mall or hiking around the Potomac River.  When I first moved to Indiana, I desperately missed the ‘coolness’ factor of being able to tell far away friends that I’d walked by the White House or attended a peaceful protest/prayer walk past the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and Capital Building.  I mean, it doesn’t pack near the punch to say that you drove by a barn/tractor/cornfield or attended a hymn sing at church on Sunday night.  While cornfields in early summer are indeed a sight to behold, they simply lack the impressive aura of the Atlantic coast or the inspiring beauty of the Smokey Mountains.

Everything here is just quieter.

Instead of car horns and sirens, there are birdsongs and rustling branches.  Our only version of a traffic jam is getting stuck behind a tractor on a country road, and stop signs are relevant only when a police car is present (because there are rarely other cars at intersections).  If you don’t count my neighbor who tests the engine on his race car every day in the summer, life around here is a gentle conversation between two old ladies on a front porch.

I don’t mean to insinuate anything about the folks who actually live in these places or do my definition of ‘cool’ things.  I know many of them, and the ones who have settled into these vocations maintain a humility and passion that extends far beyond my egotistical motivations to do such work.  It’s more about the gap between my own expectations of what meaningful life would look like, and what meaningful life actually is.

My evangelical brothers and sisters would speak of the grace and truth of Christ as the most meaningful component of their lives.  My liturgical brothers and sisters would highlight the mystery and majesty of God.  My charismatic siblings would claim joy and redemption.  I’m glad they’re all spot-on in their own ways, but also like to think the tangible ways meaning shows up, especially on a day like today (MLK day).

  • Brave people – this week highlighted several of them for me.  First, 37-year-old father, husband, brother, friend, actor lost his 3 month battle with an aggressive form of colon cancer this week.  His friends gathered round to hold him up while he walked toward the world where dying is no more.  Second, some friends of friends who are missionaries in Haiti.  In the midst of surreal tragedy, a mother packed up five of her 7 children and sent them to safety in the States while she stayed to start clinics for the injured.  And that’s not even to mention Martin Luther King Jr. and the faithful who carry his dream forward.
  • Listening people – With my husband in his second year of a PhD program, this is our “long year” where we’re tying a bunch of knots and holding on for dear life.  Over some tasty burritos last night, our weary souls were soothed by the listening ears and compassionate hearts of dear friends.
  • Veiled beauty – even in spite of fog smothering our area for four days straight, I caught glimpse of a beautiful tree while driving home the other day.  I wanted to take a picture, but didn’t, and the image has lingered in my mind since.  Thankfully, lots of other people think things like this are pretty too, and I found some great photos online just like the scene I saw.  Somehow, it reminds me of the aforementioned Brave People.
  • Quietness – being a holiday, the kids and I are off and home relaxing.  The kids are busy imagining some great quest, and in my own little quiet space, I’m grateful to ponder everyone else’s great quests, including my own, unexpected as it may be.  Sometimes, even though they can grow a bit repetitive, the quietness of these cornfields is terribly good for my soul.

We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!  But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.

1 Corinthians 13:12-13 (The Message)

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Social & Political Issues

The Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays Dilemma

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This time of year, i end up shaking my head at all the breath wasted over this perspective.  If you’re a Christian, I certainly wish you a very merry Christmas.  If you’re not, or I don’t know, you get a Happy Holidays.  Eugene Cho, one of my favorite bloggers, just shared an insightful reflection worth sharing…  Here’s another as well.

Miscellany

Learning to laugh

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Walking out of my office to give a final exam, I thought, “Sometimes it just sucks to by human.”  When I reached the classroom, my students were bemoaning their lives and the stress levels within.  I grinned and set the plate of homemade, decorated cookies I’d brought them on a desk.

“It’s Christmas!” one remarked, as the hope of sugar eased some of the anxiety.  I told them my recent thought and we all shared a knowing smile.  I wonder if Jesus had the same idea just  before he came to Earth.

In the midst of major craziness waiting for the peace and calm of Christmas, I was grateful for this moment to be honest and chuckle at all in life beyond our control.

In case you need a few reasons to chuckle this season, this website often helps me…  Dry, sarcastic sometimes, but oh, so true!

Restoration & Reconciliation

Zondervan issues apology and pulls Deadly Viper from the shelves

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What a move!!!  Way to go Zondervan!  See the apology on Soong Chan Rah’s blog.  (If you don’t know about this controversy, read this.)

Belief

Intriguing perspectives on women’s ministry

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I have a hard time with many approaches to women’s ministries I’ve come across over the years.  It seems that they are often rooted in tea parties, knitting, and garden clubs.  Those things are fine and all, just not particularly my ‘cup of tea’ (no pun intended).  Here are a few perspectives on ways women can minister mercy to each other that I resonate deeply with:

Colour Sisterhood is in intriguing women’s ministry of Hillsong Church.  “The Sisterhood seeks to champion the cause of the orphan child and widow, to come alongside women (near and far) who are facing challenge, and it ultimately seeks to influence nations with the goodness and answers that are to be found in God.”

Discovering God’s Heart for Suffering Women:  A 40-day prayer pilgrimage. Prayer guide from Linwood House Ministries.

30 Days of prayer for the Voiceless:  Addressing global issues of gender-based injustice.  Prayer guide from YWAM.

Living a Purpose-full Life by Jan Johnson.  (Hate the title/cover, LOVE the book & the author)

Growing compassionate kids:  Helping kids see beyond their backyard by Jan Johnson.

I’d love to hear about more resources and organizations like these – please share what you know from around the world!

Culture & Race

Bowing to the Japanese Emperor

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The web is full of fun stuff tonight!!!  Josh has a very insightful reflection on humility and culture on his site, Black WASP about Obama bowing to the Japanese emperor.  Definitely worth a read!  Eugene Cho also weighed in with some good thoughts.  I also thought Tokyo Moe highlighted an interesting inconsistency:  “Never mind how W walked hand-in-hand with the Saudi Arabian royal petro dealers or cozied up perched on their arm rests.”

Restoration & Reconciliation

Ministering to Uprooted Peoples and Advent Adventures

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Found this article today about ministering to refugees by S. Tilewa Johnson, the Anglican archbishop of Angola on a great advent reflection on Idelette.com.

In her reflection, Idelette quotes Johnson’s article:

Whilst still a small baby, Jesus became a refugee. Jesus, his mother, Mary, and Joseph had the experience of being dispossessed and marginalized as aliens in a foreign land. The immediacy of their departure is striking. The angel instructs Joseph to ‘get up . . . take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. So he got up . . . immediately.’ They no doubt collected a few belongings. However, was there time to say farewell to loved ones? That is very doubtful.

Like the Holy Family, the stories we hear from refugees reflect the “immediacy” of their departure. If, for example, they are working in the fields when an attack comes, there is often no time to return to their house, or even to find close relatives, such as one’s wife, husband or children. Very often families are fragmented when the violence of war enters their lives and they are forced to flee to save those lives.