Emma Faith

The day she was born was amazing. A few weeks before her birth her Auntie Hillary passed on. She never got to meet her dad's only sibling, but Hillary did feel her move in my belly. Her grandma Shelle, Papa Tom, and cousin Kay were all on their way back to Mississippi after coming out west for the memorial service for Hillary.

They had been with us for a few days and we were all hoping that this lil one that we hadn't even met yet would make her entrance a little early so that the circle of life could be the final memory for them.


She sure did keep us waiting up until the very morning their plane was to leave I started to get some pretty strong labor pains. I being a first time mom had a few false alarms before this day and so I wanted to be really sure this was it. There was no mistake about it, Emma wanted to enter the world on a day that would bring joy instead of sorrow, laughter instead of tears, and she reminded us all that day that life must go on. Her entrance was grand to say the least, and she was met by so many people in the delivery room that now looking back on it all it brings a tears to my eyes. From her very start she has been a blessing.

Emma Faith is turning 12. She wishes she was turing 21, but thank God her mom has a few more years to catch up with her maturity that has always been way beyond her years.
She is the "other mother" in this family.

She is the great motivator in this house.

I will never forget when she was 5 years old and we signed her up to play soccer. It was the first organized sport that she had been involved in. When she would get on that field she would go after that soccer ball with such determination and vigor that her dad and I were literally floored by her competitive spirit.

She definitely inherited her dad's confidence in self, by that I mean she really does not care what others think about her. When she was little again all her friends dressing up as princesses for Halloween and she was still sporting Gramma Shelle's animals. The final year she was a giraffe a costume so over the top we had to carry around the long neck like she was a show girl.
And now as she enters the last year of pre-teen/childhood she is still as confident as ever. I think I am more nervous than she to enter Jr. high in the fall.

She is so confident.
Sings like there's no tomorrow.
Her eyes are so beautiful that I still find myself staring into them just because I like to look at them.


She is my daughter who is now becoming my friend.

The Book- Jesus For President ,The Movie- Avatar, The Church Bethany UCC,and my thoughts lately

I have been reading another one of Shane Claiborne's books Jesus for President by Chris Haw and Shane. The first book of Shane's that I recently blogged about here a few months back, Irresistible Revolution still seems so fresh in my mind, and has left me haunted in many ways that I am not doing enough to make this world a better place.
This new book I chose to read to stay on that same train of thought( the train that wants to make the world a better place is not an easy train to be on), has done the same thing, but magnified that thought x 1000!

Seriously, I have to say, that this book is even more challenging than the first because it deals so much with politics and how they correlate with being a Christian. Politics have changed and are still changing for me on a daily basis. Honestly, though they are not my full-time job, not even my part-time job for that matter and by that I mean I would consider myself to be the average American voter who only pays attention to things when election years roll around. That is some real, REAL honesty there(so don't be a judger). SO, reading this book which is primarily written by two extreme activists in this regard has made me realize how my ignorance was really bliss! Now that I know what I know after reading this book I can't turn back.

It talks about the violence of wars and their aftermath. What it looks like to be a Christ follower, who if we are truly following in Christs foot-steps we are to love our enemies, do good to those that hurt us, and I am pretty sure He said something about turning the other cheek. He never said, take what you want, when you want it and by all means use force to get it if necessary. Which btw, is pretty much in a nutt-shell the U.S. of A's entire history.
PLEASE,Please, don't take me wrong I am EXTREMELY grateful for this country and although I believe many of our ways are twisted and could use a serious wake-up call, there is also another side of the US that I see, in the faces and stories everyday that are good, but for the sake of what I am internalizing right now I have to say personally I see so many more changes that need to be made, rather than things that would be good if they stayed the same. Hope that makes sense?

I think this book combined with being totally blown away by the new movie Avatar has made me angry with our country and it's history. I hope it's a righteous anger, but all I know is it makes me want to do something, anything to make things better in this country. If you have seen the movie than I hope you get the correlation about taking things by force and how much the US has played a part from it's very origin in doing this very shameful act of injustice.

On top of this book, and that movie there is the new church I have been attending, Bethany United in Seattle or Bethany UCC.
This church if full and I do mean full of WORLD CHANGERS! Like this past Sunday, they had an amazing speaker, Pramila Jayapal, who talked about immigration reform. It was powerful. It was challenging to listen to the stories of immigrants whose rights as human beings are being violated every day in the name of the law. I cried silent tears pretty much the whole time she was talking for many reasons.
And now here tonight my heart is torn.
My eyes of full of tears again for so many reasons.
I am wondering what is my part in all of this?
She said something that I believe sums up what is happening to me, "If you allow yourself to feel fully everyday it is a courageous act. You can't help but become an activist."
I don't allow myself to feel fully everyday. It hurts way too much. I think I am beginning to awaken more feelings about all of this stuff and it scares the hell out of me because I know where this train of thought leads.
Why am I on this train again? Oh yeah, because I have 4 children.
This train of thought is not easy.
It's not for cowards. In fact it's not coward friendly at all, which is what I am to the core.
Like the Lion in the Wizard of Oz, I talk a big game, but I am scared and allow fear to dominate so many of the choices that I make in life. My phlegmatic nature is opposed to being an activist, but it's never too late to change.
I am beginning to find my ROAR though.
I hope that this new voice I have found always speaks
Life instead of Death,
Love instead of Hate,
Mercy instead of Judgement.
Honestly, Oh God I pray, I hope it sounds more and more like a Lamb than A Lion.

Ode to Chloe Nashelle

10 Years ago I asked my mom to watch Emma, my almost 2 year old, while I went to my weekly pre-natal appointment. I left the office happy to report back that things were moving right along, and that my doctor said it could be any day. Little did I know that it would be that night.


I came home to a very happy, very active lil Emma Faith and Grandma Ellen playing on the floor at 803 North Minnesota St. I immediately kicked right back into mom mode and starting playing along with them. Meanwhile, my back started to hurt.

After about an half an hour of my back hurting, I started to get some more pain. I decided to get up off the floor and do some dishes. While doing the dishes and standing upright for about 20 minutes more I started breathing a little heavy. My mom of course having birthed 4 children before, I am sure knew right away what was happening, but I thought everything was fine.

We lived literally right down the street from the hospital and so I wanted to wait until I couldn't wait anymore before going to the hospital. I decided to take a shower just in case.


Meanwhile, Moses came home from work and my mom informed him that "IF you don't get her to the hospital she's going to give birth to that baby right there in the shower" (said in my mother's very bostonian accent that comes out oh so strong when she is nervous, upset, excited.... pretty much a lot) Mo then came knocking on the bathroom door and I guess I had been in there for about a half hour(the warm water just felt really good) and he said, "Well, I guess I will boil some water and get some towels" which I knew was my husbands way of saying, GIRL you better get your butt out of there and to the hospital.

And so off we went. A whole minute down the road. By the time I got to the nursing station I couldn't even check in or say my name. I was in hard labor. The nurses got me to a bed and called my doctor. They said, that baby is coming and the doctor might not make it in time and the worst part, I could not have ANY DRUGS! What? "It's too late for that now!" What? WHAT? Dr. Amy came rushing in, said she had to pour her glass of wine down the drain, boo hoo, and said "Are you ready for this?" Chloe was born from start to finish 45 minutes after I arrived to CTH.

She came in like a tidal wave that swept over us all and now 10 years later this girl still brings such waves of LOVE that it's hard to put it in words.


She is a gem.
She is beautiful.
She is Chloe Nashelle.
She is now in double digits.
Happy Birthday Lo Lo I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

Mom, The Month of MAY, and My new Theme for this Month

I almost lost it in the card isle in the grocery store the other day. I was looking for Mother's day cards and this year I decided to send them to not only the 3 mothers I have; Mom Ellen, Momma Nash, and Mom B., but also to some other mother's in my life.


So, basically I went nutts, and spent way too much money on cards, but .... shhh please don't tell on me for this. I am keeping with my LOVE theme that I set out to do in the month of February. I don't know if you caught that blog but I said that I wanted to write one person a day in the month of February to tell them how much I love them and well, there are just more people than that calendar month provided for me to tell how much I love so I decided in February to make the month of May be a special theme month for me as well.



I know I am a dork who LOVES words probably wayyy too much.

I know to most of you it might just be a silly thing, but for me it has been therapeutic to tell the people I love, that I LOVE them.

I know there should be an award for cheese-ball of the year that could be given to people for things such as this.

BUT

It is the John Mayer song "Say What you NEED to Say" kind of thing for me that is happening here.



So May is the "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight Oh Lord" month! WOW! Sheesh, that was a long one. I thought of this though the other day when I read this in THE BOOK. I thought, I am pretty sure those words, the words that The Lord would accept, would be those of sincere and genuine heart felt LOVE.


You can now award me with the Cheese-Ball of the year award, but go right ahead! Won't even bug me a bit, because you know what? Chances are if you are reading this blog I probably love you too! SO THERE.






The pictures are of just SOME of the amazing mother's in my life. Enjoy.

Oh Green How I Love Thee, let me count the ways...

It is greener than green here right now.

So many colors of green that some of them don't even register on my color scale.

Have I mentioned before how much I love the color green?
My favorite color used to be red. Red is really still a favorite, but my most favorite color these days has got to be green. How appropriate that this Christmas child's favorite colors would be Red and Green. Funny side note, for my High School Graduation my mom and dad dressed in Red and Green for me. I so wish I had a scanner so I could show this classic picture of Greg and Ellen sporting red and green for this x-mas child. It was pretty great.

When asked by my friend what my favorite part of moving to Washington has been I said, The Green. Without a doubt this State that is known for being the "Evergreen State" really is beyond Green in more ways than one.
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And Green is a popular color right now, but then come to think of it, it has been a popular color for quite some time.

Kermit the Frog was wrong. "It's not easy being green" he sang, and I would have to say it is really easy to be green. I wear green all the time and it's totally easy. (Big Smile) Totally easy to wear green.

Now to be "Green with Envy" that's a different story. That is not easy at all and I would argue, it could make one's insides get all tied up in knots if not careful with that kind of green.



"Going Green" has got to be the most popular term that the color green is getting attention for right now. This recent fascination with green really makes me laugh sometimes. Such a trendy thing that really has been around for quite a while, only it was called "being a Hippie" before it got main streamed and marketed.




I am glad that "Going Green" is so popular and I hope it proves to be not just a trend but a life long change that we all get behind. I mean after all it really is worth it to do what we can to keep this earth as beautiful as possible for as long as we possibly can. If you believe in the myths that surround the year 2012 then it might not be much longer that you have to keep up the appearance of "Going Green"!

The pictures are all here on 180th Ave in Redmond. Taken just this morning as I was walking around enjoying my freedom of being a Stay at Home Mom for just a few more days.

For those not on FB, I go back to teaching this Wednesday, at a great little school called Life Preschool in West Seattle. I am going to miss my quiet mornings here with the green, but all good things must come to end... or not. Glad the green is going to be around a while.

This Little Light of Mine

I love days like today. It is perfectly grey outside right now, and feels like rain is on the horizon. Not that, that is any big deal because...Well, rain is usually on the horizon here it is Washington after all but this is a rabbit trail and I am now getting back to what I wanted to talk about. This kind of day makes the colors of green that surround this place stand out even more. The beautiful and bright colors from flowers explode with brightness on a day like today.
On my walk today this is what the grey reminded me of, follow me as I process out loud;

It reminds me of what Jesus says about our light's that shine. They can't be hidden. When the world around us is so grey and morose, no matter how we try to disguise the light with-in it can't be done.



Which makes me think about all the times in the past when I have met someone for the very first time, and I know, that I know they have that light within them. How is it that I know that?
I think it has something to do with days like today. When everything else is grey it's easy to spot the colors. The colors can't help but stand out.



Then I get to thinking about the song, "This Little Light of Mine" that we teach our children. The part about "Won't let Satan blow it out, NO I am going to let it shine" makes me wonder how is it that some of us have let our lights go out? I mean, I know that from time to time mine has gotten very, very dim, and I know those were times that I wasn't standing close enough to the Son/Sun to have His reflective image bounce off of me. But to be completely blown out, that would take some blowing. Some huffing and puffing, to blow this house down. Okay, now I am just getting silly... but you get what I mean.




I have let my light get dim in the recent past. I want to learn from that time and hopefully not let it happen again. I think it comes from staying on the vine with branches or something like that ?

Please enjoy some of my most favorite photo booth shots.

I've Wasted Too Much Time...

On caring about what other people think.

On my stupid pride.

On placing expectations on myself that neither my beloved family has for me nor my friends have ever thought of having for me.

On places instead of feelings.

On looking at the size of my pants, shirts, or for that matter scales in general.

On things instead of people.

On places I didn't really want to be, but stayed for some sort of obligation.

On feelings instead of truth.

On debates about theology, religion, and church.

On being "right".

On life in general without MUSIC, ART, CREATIVITY, and what makes MY HEART SING.

On the couch instead of on the road.

On NOT caring about what REALLY matters.

On looking for the big events and in the process missing the everyday little "big" events.

Tulip Festival 2010

AKA Photographers Dream Come True


We set out on Saturday to check out the famous Tulip Festival that happens every April in the town of Mt. Vernon Washington. The drive to get there for us coming from Redmond is about an hour so I made sure to pick a day when the sun would be shining and I would have plenty of time(or so I thought :/ ). Last Saturday seemed to be the best day. What I didn't expect was that on top of the 2 hours just to get there and back , there would be another 2 and half hours of sitting in our car with bumper to bumper traffic. However, despite all the time spent in our car it was worth the 2 hours we got to walk around and see such beauty. SO, like everything in life if it's something good that happens every year you have to be prepared to share it with others, and to sit in TRAFFIC! Next year I will be sure to bring a kite to fly, sunglasses for all, rain boots for all(well these we brought the boys just refused to wear them) a picnic lunch, lots of things to do for the kids while we sit in unmoving traffic, and most importantly my Giant.






So as not to deceive my faithful few readers, although the day may have looked as if it was picture perfect it was not. My boys were a constant reminder to me that I might not be cut out for parenting two male children. They were a royal pain in the a** and I was about to seriously lose it with them before I realized I was in public and in Washington no less where I might be reported to the CPS. The girls were bickering the whole time about the boys and I had to bribe half of them with ice cream to smile in the pictures. I knew I had lost the battle when Sol after totaling his shoes in a big mud puddle looked up at me with a big smile on his face and said, " I don't care if I don't get any ice cream".
I was reminded of how difficult the life of the single parent must be without having my better half there to back me up. And by the time the very long car ride home came about I was feeling like quite the schmuck by making us all late for a dinner date with our new friend. (Hope she can forgive me for not only this but for doing her dishes as well, so as to appease some of my guilt).

Still after all these set backs I do plan to go again, but never again as the ONLY adult!!

You know your old when...

How you know when you are old;

When you have programmed NPR on your car radio.

When you are more anxious to have those joint vitamins in the morning rather than the brand new box of Lucky Charms.

When you are more concerned about what America is going to do with Health Care Reform, than the fact that a movie about Vampires is coming out soon.

When you listen to Billy Joel, Duran Duran, or Bryan Adams.

When you have a deeper love affair with your bed because of the rest that it brings than the fact that you get a chance to practice “fake making out with your pillow” ( Don’t try and pretend that you don’t know what I am talking about there people).

When your fiber comes in a powder form drink rather than a box of raisins in your lunch.

Feel free to add to my list....

High Lights and Low Lights

In our family almost every night we have what's called "high light and low light" time. This is where we share what was the high light of our days and what was the low point in our days. SO here you have our high light and low lights of the Scofield's Spring Break 2010







Some high lights from our Spring Break-

My mom and sister Jenny finally getting to come see where I have been living these past several months.

Surprise visit from Dan and daughter Shane( who like a typical princess Shane left her fuzzy pink slipper behind)

Mom and Dad's renewal of vows in celebration of their 40 years of marriage.

Watching Brother Jeremy in the Wizard of Oz performance.

My niece Savannah calling Uncle Moses "Your Prince"

Two Easter egg hunts for the kids: One organized and carried out by sister Gina despite the Tornado like winds and the other by New friends in Seattle in Ms Sue's backyard.



Snow in Carson City.

Playing, Talking, Visiting with all friends and family in Reno, Sparks, and Carson City.

Seeing the Gore family not once but twice in the span of one week.




Some Low Lights from our Spring Break

Having to leave Moses behind to work and slave away at a job that doesn't deserve him.

Driving through the snow to get back home.

When my niece Savy started to cry when we drove away, dagger through my heart !!

Coming home to 20 plus loads of laundry.

Having to say good bye. I don't like good bye's.

Spring has Sprung

It smelled so sweet when I walked out my front door this morning.

The smell almost knocked me over, and again I was hit with another surge of gratitude for what a safe haven this place has become to me.

I keep having these moments where I cry tears of joy.

It reminds me of when my children were babies and I would look at something on them like the dimples in their fingers, or their chubby little leg, or their fuzzy head of hair and my eyes would well up with tears of joy. I was thankful for their health and the miracle that was their brand new life. That's what I am talking about that keeps happening here. That's what I mean by a surge of gratitude. Do you ever get those surges?

Around every corner I am pleasantly surprised with a new flower, plant, or explosion of color, and I am thankful for the new life.
It has been a HARD winter. Probably one of the hardest I have ever experienced. Of course I know it was hard because of our big move, but more than that there was so much that happened this winter in my soul. I had a kind of a reckoning in a way. I realized some things in my life that I had let die, or I had buried and those things needed to be brought back to life. NO one could do that but the Creator of my soul. At the same time, there were some things, habits in my life that I realized needed to die.
I went around taking pictures of all the new life that is exploding all around me. As I was leisurely walking around I prayed some quiet prayers to my Creator and went on my merry way.



Then, in reading Psalm 23 today (twice) once in my daily readings, and again in a journal that a good friend gave me, and then with Green is The Now- by Chris Heifner, coming on my IPOD while I was driving, well needless to say I got the message. HE has led me beside quiet waters. HE is restoring my soul here. I Shall NOT and am NOT in want of anything more than this.

Sundays, Church, Family, and Community

Sundays. The day of the week where most people either go to church or sleep in and relax at home. It is a day for families. It used to be that many families had Sunday dinner at Grandma's house and everyone brings their favorite dish to share. You get a chance to re-group for that day, for a few hours you remember who you belong to in this big world and it brings comfort. You got a taste of community. Then dinner is over and everyone hurries home to wherever they live to begin their week.

To me that is what going to Church is for. A chance to re-group and remember what family you are from. Where you come from, what you believe, and where you are going together. Churches come in many shapes and sizes. Just like families they have different traditions, cultures, sounds, and histories. Sometimes churches aren't called churches. I was a part of a VW church, whose Pastors are very dear friends and have given me and my family a sense of community and belonging that has been vital to our growth as human beings. We didn't meet on Sunday mornings but still when we gathered I felt just as refreshed as I did on any given Sunday morning after church.



For me this idea of church and sunday mornings has changed so much over the years. It used to be that when I was the child, I tried to do everything I could to get out of getting up and going to church with my mom and dad and rest of the family. Now I am the parent who is trying to get everyone up and motivated and out the door in time for church. Sometimes I revert back to being the child, shh... don't tell my children I said that. Really I am not quite sure why that is that I have reverted back to childhood in recent years, but when it comes to going to church, I just know that at some point church became a chore. Something I checked off my list of things to do in a week. It's not a chore but rather a gift that shouldn't be taken for granted.

I remember when church was the highlight of my week and the pinnacle of my social interactions as a teenager. When I was finally able to go to the church of my choice my sister and I would drive 30 miles from Carson City to Reno to go not only to church on Sunday mornings but then again to an evening youth church that night. I met people and families then that I am still friends with today. I met and married my husband with that family or church. Then we moved on to find a church closer to home and one that we chose together.
That family supported us through the early years of our marriage and into the years of parenting. It was a safe haven and a place that we were healed from so much. I am still good friends with those family members/friends. Finally before moving here to Seattle we became a part of a city on hill or the Hillside family and those years...well they were like nothing I have ever known or will know again. Those years taught me so much. I never thought I would find a place like it.

So you see, Sundays for me have never been just another day.

And now as a parent I don't want my children to grow up and think that Sunday is just another day of the week either. However, I don't want them to be the children that dread going to church and so it is hard for me to find the balance there.



Recently, I have been so incredibly blessed to have found a group of people at Bethany UCC in Seattle.
They are a beautiful group of people that come from all over the world. Today I sat with tears of joy for this church and for the churches before this that have walked along side me and my family for many years.

I am a better person because of some of the people that my life has crossed paths with in these churches, families, communities and clubs. I am full of hope that church really is being redefined for my whole family and that healing is ahead because of it. I am thankful for those who spend their days looking for better ways that they can serve their community whether it's through the forum of a church or not. YOU are to be commended if you are counted among one of those people who is serving your community, church, family, club. I pray all of God's blessings on you for this and many more of the things you do to make the world, our world a better place.

Namaste.

Books, Pictures, Gardens, and More Books

I do believe I am having withdrawals from not being enrolled in classes right now.

Hurry Quick, read that last sentence before it disappears forever never to be mentioned again.

The absence of involuntary reading that is imposed on one when they are in school has left me wanting. So I have been reading everything I can get my hands on. I even picked up a copy of my daughters series of the Twilight books (Eclipse) and read it in a day. Those of you that know me, know that was a desperate cry for help. Here is the list of the other books I have read in the past few weeks and my own book review of them;

The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Club (*****)

The 13th Tale (****)

Eclipse (**)

Wuthering Heights (*****)

Persuasion (***)

Irresistible Revolution (****)

Those are the books I have devoured recently. And now our newest (friends/neighbors (for 2 weeks)/first members of our community up here) Erston and Blue gave Moses and I gift cards to our wonderful used book store here. We went yesterday on a nice little date while waiting for the kids to get out of school and here is what we picked up;

The Pillars of The Earth

Everything Must Change

A New Earth

Till We Have Faces

Learning Italian



More guilty pleasures. Just for fun here is the list that Moses picked up;


Far Out (101 Strange Tales From Science's Outer Edge)

Choosing and Keeping Chickens

A Diet for A Dead Planet




The picture at top is of Erston and Blue (as promised to Allie)

Middle Picture is my starter plants for my garden that are coming right along. I already have about 8 sprouts. This gardening thing is so exciting. I will be in awe if those tiny seeds actually end up being food we can eat. It's just SO COOL!!

Last pics are of my garden in it's current state and just some of the signs of spring around here.




This flower bush hangs over the garden and the pictures hardly do it justice because the color is just so beautiful. Funny thing about living here is that because of the back drop being gray clouds and mist a lot of the time, colors just seem to be that much brighter.


I hope the colors are getting brighter where you live too. Can't wait for Spring to fully explode.

Monday Afternoon and Simple Pleasures

I made myself a cup of Cinnamon Apple Spice tea and thought to myself, "self doesn't tea just make you feel smarter?"
Somehow it does. Like the English accent. When a person speaks in an english accent to me they just sound smarter doesn't matter what they are saying. Anyway, this particular cup of tea is comforting me in more ways than one. Warming my hands and making me feel as though everything is going to be okay. Do you ever feel that way about a certain food or drink? If so isn't it interesting how food and drink can have that effect on a person?

Simple thoughts like this have been on my brain lately. I have been reading a lot of books (of choice) recently. I am not in school this semester and I am left with the urge to read something, anything, and everything all at once. Some very recent books have been set in a time frame long ago, and so my thoughts have been about what it must have been like to live in the days of the great depression, holocaust, and or even living in this day and age but in a war plagued country.

I take for granted at night that my belly is full, my feet are warm, and that I won't wake in the middle of the night by sounds of bombs going off. Maybe a thought or two has hoped that a tree wouldn't fall on this cozy little cabin in the middle night, but that is a story for another day. Also I don't want to worry my mom if she is reading this so let's move on.

So the simple pleasure of having a cup of tea seemed blog worthy to me today. Thankful for tea, thankful for warmth, thankful for the simple joys in life.

Erston and Blue

They call us Urban Homesteaders.

We call them Hippie Accountants.

We found each other through a mutual friend Craig.

They have a passenger bus, 1940's stream line, fully metal hollow tube, that now holds all they own.

We had some land for them to park said bus for a few days before they head out on the road on their big adventure.

They garden, make their own wine, beer, tea bags, relish.... you name it, they make it.

We want to learn to do these kinds of things.

They have "hello" time. Every night at 9pm they stop what they are doing, whatever conversations they are having with another person and re-group to say hello lover.

We admire that.

They have no children, only a cat named Sketch.

We have 4 children who love them and are already learning so much from them.

The world would say we are crazy.

We say we are new friends and that settles that.

The conversations have been long, inspiring, and helpful.

I will be sad when they leave.

Irresistible Revolution

I can honestly say that there is no other book that has challenged me to the core of my being(other than the Bible o.c.) than Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne.


I mean, I thought I was a decent Christ follower before reading this book but after reading this book it made me wonder if I was following christ with a little 'c'. A christ that just fit into my lifestyle and what I thought a "christian" looks like. A little christ that you put in your back pocket and only pull out when it's convient or you are in need of something, like a genie in a bottle. I feel like I have been following a little 'c' christ all these 20+ years after reading this book.

He paints a different picture of Jesus and what it means to be a Christian. A good, beautiful, exciting, but oh so challenging picture of Jesus. This book made me hear Jesus teaching in a different way and he made me fall in love with Jesus even more than I already was. I don't know if it was just that I had the ears to hear this message but I heard it loud and clear.

I warn you now though, don't read this book unless you want to be compelled to help someone, anyone, in need of help.

It's not the kind of book you can read and shelf without doing something about what it says.


Don't read it if you want to still wear Nike shoes and not feel guilty about it or if you want to keep shopping at Wal-Mart.

If you were ever at any point in your life somewhat okay with war, you won't be after reading this.

If you thought the death penalty was a good way to deal with hardened criminals you wont after reading this book.

There are so many nuggets in this book and it has left me wanting more as crazy as that sounds because I do still feel quite beat up by it. But it was the kind of butt-kicking I was looking for. It is the kind of hit in the jaw that makes you wake up and get a second wind. It is what I needed for this time in my life. Just when I thought I had nothing left to lose, turns out there is more I could and should lose. Matthew 16:25