What I'm up to these days.

For the next six weeks or so I'm going to be working with the Catholic Worker in Los Angeles. What's the Catholic Worker? I've been answering that question a lot these days. The Catholic Worker runs a soup kitchen in Los Angeles. The regular members live in a house in LA which they also use to give shelter to homeless people who need a place to stay or who need hospice care and can't afford it. They have an amazing Bible study as well. They spent three years on Luke and they use commentaries and look up words in the original Hebrew and Greek. They also participate in various forms of protest. So this summer I will be serving the city that I've been living near for a couple of years, and learning more about God, and exercising my democratic voice. Woohoo!

If you want to learn more, you can go to the website: www.lacatholicworker.org. If you're in the area, I'd love to see you some time. Give us a call and you can help out in the kitchen. I'm really excited about the summer. I think I'm going be able to help people in a very tangible way, and learn a lot, and meet a lot of interesting people. Stay tuned for upcoming stories. I will.

Sequoia

A couple weeks back, my parents and I went up to visit the Sequoias. They're big these days. Really big. Here's a picture my dad took of one of them.

Oh, About the Blog

The blog is for family and friends - so I can tell them all those stories and reflections that I would normally share at the dinner table or the cafeteria but can't since I'm many miles away while I'm in the process of living more stories to tell. If you're not a family or friend then I"m sorry but you'll have to leave. Just kidding. You're welcome to read as well. Hi there Mr. Homeland Security Profiler Guy! Thanks for protecting the country. Hope you enjoy the blog but please don't compromise too many of our constitutionally guaranteed rights while you're doing it! Hello there random web surfer! I hope you like the blog as well, but are you sure there's nothing better you could be doing with your time? And to the rest of you out there, happy reading to you too!

Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low

This morning I read the gospel of Luke chapter three. It’s the chapter where John the Baptist prophesies to the people living in Palestine that they should redistribute their possessions and food so that everyone will have enough.

I don’t usually intentionally theme my Bible reading, but today this chapter was especially apt. Right now I’m in a time of transition and so I’m weeding through my material possessions. When John the Baptist said that the one who has two coats should give to the one who has none, it really hit home with me because right now I’m thinking about what I should do with things like miscellaneous shirts and extra coats.

When I take the time to look at it, it never ceases to amaze me just how much stuff I actually have beyond what I actually need. And I’m not even considered rich, at least not by American standards. God has given me so much!

I have to admit, I didn’t take John’s advice. At least not completely. I still have more than one coat. For different occasions. I guess I still think that because in the future I may need to stand in front of people and look like I know what I’m talking about that I need to have something that we usually call “formal clothing” even though John the Baptist didn't seem to think so. But the boxes I’ll be taking to Goodwill this afternoon are a little bit fuller than they might have been otherwise. And I think my life may be a little bit fuller as well.