Grand Teton reading #4

Though I risk mockery from those near and dear to me, I will admit to one more thing I'm reading during this vacation... my newest "addiction" = Harvard Business Review. My good friend and colleague Glen introduced this magazine to me last year. I was skeptical, but not after reading only one issue (which took me at least two months and required more than one google search to figure out what certain terms meant).

Perhaps that sounds horribly dull and oh-so-not-beach-reading material for a vacation, but the articles (most of them, anyway) send my mind in a million directions, all creative and stimulating. Sure, most of them make think about work... but let's not forget, I have the deep privilege of loving what I do! (And I thank the Lord every day for that.)

Believe it or not, articles in "HBR" often give me 1-2 page resources for the college interns I'm training this summer, or material for a church with whom I'm consulting, or seeds for an article idea. And yes, once in awhile there is an article that flies completely over my head with its multiple business-school acronyms or corporate concepts. Perhaps I should mention that other than a part-time job as a bank teller in high school and my first job out of school as a technical writer, my entire employment career has been in non-profits.


No doubt that is part of HBR's appeal for me. It stretches my mind in ways that all of my beloved theological and literary books do not. It constantly reminds me that there is a huge world out there that needs the truth of the kingdom. And it shows me, more than you would expect, that there are many in the for-profit sector who still look to make a true difference in the world (I submit this article from today's website posts as evidence.)

I'm three issues behind in my reading, because I refuse to rush through them. So I have been reading the April 2012 issue, and given where I am, among 10,000' peaks, I was more than interested in this article in particular: Wilderness Leadership -- On the Job (here's the nubbin of the article at least... you have to subscribe to the get full one!). It describes some hoity-toity leadership development course put on by NOLS (the National Outdoor Leadership School), that sounds one part amazing and one part pee-in-your-pants challenging!

This article addressed the subject most dear to my heart these days, that of leadership development. And it concluded with this especially poignant section:

Many scholars argue that the fast-paced, high-tech world of work wreaks havoc on leaders' ability to engage in the careful strategic thinking required of them. We agree; executives in particular (HELLO -- anyone!!) need to occasionally abandon their modern-day trappings and recharge. This means disconnecting not just from laptops and smartphones but also from devices that purportedly promote relaxation, such as iPads and TVs. We believe that getting out into nature achieves what the environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan call "attention restoration." Being in the outdoors effectively resets our brains, allowing us to analyze problems, map strategies, and dream big.

Today was a perfect example of that for me. Unlike the other days, my friend and I decided to hike separately. She opted for a much more strenuous hike of nearly 13 miles with a vertical climb of 2,500', while I chose to take the rolling hike around Jenny Lake, which is about 8 miles long. We had opted to turn off the data on our smartphones for the trip (and enjoyed the email break immensely) but today I also decided to not listen to anything. I just hiked briskly for a bit over two hours and had an amazing time. I saw marmots, ducks, geese, an elk, a fox, and a bear cub. I heard endless birdsong. I paused and gloried in the beauty of this park (seriously, if you have not been, YOU. MUST. GO.) as I stood overlooking Jenny Lake with rapids feeding into it on one side, Hidden Falls rushing down another side, and the Teton Range thrusting upward around it. (I cannot claim credit for this photo, but it captures an average view from my day perfectly.)

And during the entire "lap" around the lake I never tired of talking with God. I talked with him (yep, out loud) about various things on my mind, I lifted up many dear ones in prayer, I pondered certain situations, I revealed some fears. To say it was a time of attention restoration is a massive understatement. It was heaven itself.

I pray you may have some attention restoration this summer. Read some good, hard, challenging books. And Lord willing, may you get to go to a "thin place" and revel in the Creator. He is so very, very good.

Grand Teton reading #3

I won't be able to blog much about this one. The things it touches on are too much to share. But I cannot recommend it enough. It is a simple-looking book ~ big print, wide margins, short chapters. But it cuts to the heart in profoundly convicting ways.

Nouwen addresses our deep needs for solitude, silence, and prayer. Here are the reasons:

Our society is not a community radiant with the love of Christ, but a dangerous network of domination and manipulation in which we can easily get entangled and lose our soul. The basic question is whether we ministers of Jesus Christ have not already been so deeply molded by the seductive powers of our dark world that we have become blind to our own and other people's fatal state and have lost the power and motivation to swim for our lives.

He then calls out our great sin: our compulsive need to maintain a false self. In other words, "what matters in how I am perceived by my world." He then goes on to show how Jesus faced these things in his 40 days in the desert, where he was confronted with three sins of the false self:

1. To be relevant (turn stones into bread)
2. To be spectacular (throw yourself down from a great height)
3. To be powerful (I will give you all these kingdoms)

Obviously, the irony of writing about all of this on a blog, for the world to see, is not lost on me. Again, I won't be airing my laundry here. I am simply reminded that the goal of solitude is not privacy, but transformation. As Nouwen says, in solitude we struggle "to die to the false self" by having our scaffolding (friends, calls to make, meetings to attend, emails to answer, etc) removed. Rather, we bring ourselves (vulnerable, sinful, weak) to the feet of Christ.

The wisdom of the desert is that the confrontation with our own frightening nothingness forces us to surrender ourselves totally and unconditionally to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is here then that Spirit-filled compassion takes hold, and from which ministry can then emerge (see Matthew 4 for how it unfolds in the life of Jesus.)

I'll end with Nouwen's words:

It is in this solitude that we become compassionate people, deeply aware of our solidarity in brokenness with all of humanity and ready to reach out to anyone in need.

Grand Teton reading #2

I am hopelessly in love with our national parks. As Wallace Stegner has written,

National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.

In 2000 I decided, with my best friend, to vacation at a national park every year. Since then we have been to Sequoia, Yosemite, Glacier, Grand Teton, Yellowstone, Rocky Mountain, Olympic, Mt. Rainier, Denali, Acadia, and Banff in Canada. (I should add that we decided we would do this until at least one of us got married. Well... we're glad there are a lot of national parks!)

Though there are countless other parks, we are addicted to mountain peaks, so we're on lap two of the ones we've already visited. Back at Grand Teton, I am somehow enjoying it even more this time. The Teton Range, from any angle in the park, takes my breath away. Today we head out to the hike in Cascade Canyon, which starts with a boat ride across Jenny Lake, followed by short jaunts to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. Just writing those words makes me smile.

Given that Theodore Roosevelt was integral to the founding of the national parks, it seems appropriate to start reading the third and last biography of Roosevelt by Edmund Morris here at Grand Teton. As I started it in bed last night, I stayed up later than I wanted to because I couldn't put it down. Roosevelt was larger than life and an absolutely extraordinary character.

In my mind a good biography admires its subject deeply but is also willing to explore the shortcomings and weaknesses. Others I have enjoyed have been about Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, Lewis and Clark, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Martin Luther, St. Francis, John Wesley, Mother Teresa, several about C.S. Lewis, and the two previous editions on Roosevelt, to name a few. (My friends who prefer reading fiction are probably rolling their eyes at me at this point...)

I won't bore you with trivia from this one on Roosevelt, but will end this post with the epigraph that starts it off, only because I think it serves marvelously in describing the reason I like all biographies:

It has been observed in all ages that the advantages of nature or of fortune have contributed very little to the promotion of happiness; and that those whom the splendour of their rank or the extent of their capacity have placed upon the summits of human life, have not often given any just occasion to envy in those who look up to them from a lower station: whether it be that apparent superiority incites great designs, and great designs are naturally liable to fatal miscarriages; or that the general lot of mankind is misery, and the misfortunes of those whose eminence drew upon them an universal attention have been more carefully recorded, because they were more generally observed, and have in reality been only more conspicuous than those of others, not more frequent, or more severe. (Samuel Johnson, The Lives of the Poets)

Grand Teton reading #1

THE FAITH OF A WRITER
by Joyce Carol Oates


What advice can an older writer presume to offer to a younger? Only what he or she might wish to have been told years ago. Don't be discouraged! Don't cast sidelong glances, and compare yourself to others among your peers! (Writing is not a race. No one really "wins." The satisfaction is in the effort, and rarely in the consequent rewards, if there are any.) And again, write your heart out. (p. 24)


Life is lived head-on, like a roller coaster ride: "art" is coolly selective, and can be created only in retrospect. But don't live life in order to write about it since the "life" so lived will be artificial and pointless. Better to invent wholly an alternative life. Far better! (p. 25)

I've never thought of writing as the mere arrangement of words on the page but the attempted embodiment of a vision; a complex of emotions; raw experience. (p. 35)

But what are the origins of the impulse Wallace Stevens calls the "motive for metaphor"? -- the motive to record, transcribe, invent, speculate? The late William Stafford says in a poem,


So, the world happens twice --- 
once we see it as is;
second, it legends itself deep,
the way it is. (pp. 38-39)

When I'm asked, as sometimes I am, when did I know I "wanted to be a writer," my reply is that I never "knew" I wanted to be a writer, or anything else; I'm not sure, in fact, that I "want" to be a writer, in such simplistic, abstract terms. A person who writes is not, in a sense, a "writer" but a person who writes; he (or she) can't be defined except in specific terms of texts. (p. 41)

Summer Reads

1. Finished Westmont Mayterm course -- check.
2. Attended high school graduation for many former youth groupies -- check.
3. Participated in Providence Hall graduation one last time (and enjoyed myself greatly) -- check.
4. Met individually yesterday and today with each of my nine Free Methodist summer interns (via Skype) -- check.
5. Replied to a bazillion overdue emails -- check.

Ahhhh. All those checked-off items means... it's time for vacation!! Yesssssss. (Fist pump).

It's 9:45pm, the bags are packed, and I can already feel myself starting to relax. And thanks to a lovely college student home for the summer, I can rest easily knowing the kitties are in good hands.

Heading to Grand Teton National Park (chock full of gluten-free granola bars, naturally), I look forward to blissful days of ZERO email, eating when I'm hungry, sleeping till I wake up, lots of hiking, and reading reading reading.

What's on my reading list, you might ask? I will be the first to admit that I get very ambitious when I pack my bags, so this list may extend into summer. Which is fine by me!

• Istanbul: Memories and the City by Orhan Pamuk. I had some beloved youth groupies go on a semester-long trip to Turkey (and parts of the Middle East) with my friends Heather and Jim (professors at Westmont), and their photos made me jealous. I had an amazing trip through Turkey in May 2005, and it's on my bucket list to return. This book will probably make me want to go even more. I like Pamuk's writing a lot. He does a good job describing his inner life.
• Colonel Roosevelt by Edmund Morris. I first listed this book on this post, but got delayed by... life. So I'm ready to feast on the third part of this biography, having read the first two during past visits to other national parks.
• Walking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses by Bruce Feiler. I've heard a bit about this book on NPR, but it was mostly an impulse purchase as I ran through Borders when it was closing. How do you pass up 70% discounts?! And let's be honest -- this title had me at hello!
• The Faith of a Writer: Life, Craft, Art by Joyce Carol Oates. I have a bunch of beautiful "how-to-write" books hoarded on my bedside table, making myself think I'll become a great writer someday simply by owning them. I have read one or two of them, but it's time to wade in and just ENJOY.
• The Way of the Heart: Desert Spirituality and Contemporary Ministry by Henri Nouwen. Yep, this is a re-read. This is an oldie but a goodie (my edition is from 1981!), and as I was packing in my room it caught my eye. I just sensed it was time to read it again. How can that not be good?

My last month has been full, teaching for Mayterm, launching summer interns, conferences and consulting out of town. I have high hopes of returning to more regular posting again here upon my return because I have missed it. Thanks for reading -- please post what YOU are reading these days.

GF = Good Food

Hang on. Don't skip this post if you're not a gluten-free eater. This is just plain ol' good food. With all the amazing vegetables in season right now, I'm living large, and not feeling like I'm sacrificing anything by needing to eat gluten free. This month marks 3 years of eating this way. I'll spare the details as to why I needed to take this route, but let's just say, my digestion is SO much better now.

Regardless of whether you eat gluten-free or not, try these recipes because they do not use sub-par substitution ingredients. They are tasty, and best of all, they come together easily when it's 5pm and you don't know what to make for dinner. Plus, the leftovers taste even better the next day!

I brought this first one to Bible study tonight because I was pressed for time, and a friend wandered close and asked for a bite as I was eating it because it smelled so good!

Crustless Leek, Greens, and Herb Quiche
serves 4

30 minutes or fewer

(Thank you Vegetarian Times... though I have to admit, this would be even better with bacon - go for it!)

Make a quiche for dinner with your favorite greens, then save a slice for lunch with a salad or raw veggies the next day. P.S. I added mushrooms to tonight's quiche, and plan on using zucchini next time. This would work great with onions, cabbage, brussels sprouts, asparagus, broccoli, spinach... 

INGREDIENTS
2 Tbs. fine dry breadcrumbs (yes, I used gluten-free breadcrumbs)
2 small leeks, white and light green parts halved and sliced ½-inch thick
2 cups chopped Swiss chard, kale, collard greens, or mustard greens
4 egg whites
3 whole eggs, beaten
¼ cup low-fat milk
⅛ tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbs. chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp. chopped fresh basil
2 oz. soft goat cheese (or feta)


DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat bottom and sides of 9-inch glass pie dish with olive oil cooking spray. Scatter breadcrumbs over bottom of pie dish.

2. Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil in large pot. Add leeks; boil 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat, add Swiss chard, and let stand 30 to 45 seconds, or until greens are wilted. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again, squeezing out excess water with hands. Set aside.

3. Whisk egg whites until frothy. Whisk in eggs. Whisk in milk and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper, if desired. Whisk in tarragon and basil.

4. Scatter leeks and Swiss chard over breadcrumbs in prepared pie dish. Dot cheese on top. Pour egg mixture into pie pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown on top. Cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving.


These other recipes are back in heavy rotation right now:


Thai Curried Noodles

Broccoli Pesto

Arroz Negrito (Gallo Pinto)

Almost Alfredo

To paraphrase The Most Interesting Man in the World, "Stay hungry, my friends."

Waterfall

I love reading several blogs, of "real" friends (as in, yes, I know them) and blog friends. As I read through them today I was caught up short in realizing I haven't posted anything in over two weeks. Not good, when my goal is to post at least twice a week....

But I'm happy to say it's not for lack of anything interesting to write about! I have so many things going on that it feels like I'm sitting under a waterfall and enjoying an abundance of adventures and challenges and opportunities. As the saying goes, when it rains it pours. I also know what it's like when things are so heavy and dark that it is nearly impossible to get out of bed, so I take these good times as gifts to be enjoyed to the fullest, and not clung to.

Some of the fun is found in little things... discovering a new blog that makes me smile, using swiss chard from the garden to make an omelette, listening to a bunch of new music and rev up for summer, taking yet another great ride along Alameda Padre Serra on my "scoot scoot" (looking at sailboats in the harbor, the Channel Islands, scudding clouds in the sky...) with such a big smile that I'm sure I come home with bugs in my teeth!

Additionally, some adventures have to include my ongoing life with young people: the joy of seeing beloved students graduate from Westmont last weekend, catching lunch with former youth groupies and continuing to be deeply touched by their earnest souls, teaching my new class of students for Westmont Mayterm, and sneaking in a remarkable lunch with a high school student who asks such. hard. questions. week after week. See? It's a waterfall of goodness!

I look forward to other endeavors soon to come ~ the kickoff for Year 2 of Free Methodist Summer Interns this week, a cool new leadership development conference in Seattle that is one big unknown, a lovely week of vacation in Grand Teton National Park, plus a wide assortment of consulting and coaching that ranges from Washington State to Florida to all over So Cal. More waves of God's faithful care wash over me, and I am grateful.

These words speak to some of what I am living:

These words were spoken to Catherine of Siena, a fourteenth-century mystic: “Beloved daughter, everything I give to you comes from the love and care I have for men and women. I desire to show my mercy to the whole world and my protective love to those who want it. My care is constant. I did all this so that they will know me and rejoice to see me forever.” 

Henri Nouwen: When the mother of James and John asks Jesus to give her sons a special place in his Kingdom, Jesus responds,  "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?"  (Matthew 20:22).   "Can we drink the cup?" is the most challenging and radical question we can ask ourselves.  The cup is the cup of life, full of sorrows and joys.  Can we hold our cups and claim them as our own?  Can we lift our cups to offer  blessings to others, and can we drink our cups to the bottom as cups that bring us salvation?

By God's grace, I have been able to choose to drink deeply of my cup. As I prayed this morning, "I accept my story. While it has pain and grief that still hurt, it has brought me to a tender and open place where I hunger deeply for your Spirit on a daily basis. THAT is worth it. I am free, I am happy to be in this creative and encouraging place."

Pray this with me...

Psalm 108:

1 My heart is confident in you, O God;
    no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!
2 Wake up, lyre and harp!
    I will wake the dawn with my song.
3 I will thank you, Lord, among all the people.
    I will sing your praises among the nations.
4 For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens.
    Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
    May your glory shine over all the earth.