There's no time to wait!

Two and a half hours we've been waiting in this room, the waiting room of Baptist Minor Medical. Temperature-controlled, relatively quiet (except for the constant rattling-off of newscasters on CNN news), cushioned chairs, clean bathrooms. Nevermind these above-quality conditions - two and a half hours is a long time to wait. And don't you think we haven't gotten an earful of it.

Our short-term neighbor here on this side of the waiting room (thankfully, she's just now gone back to the exam room) was plenty vocal for all of us. She even went to the front desk to ask if they knew how long it would be, as they - obviously annoyed - replied that they told her from the beginning it would be 1-1/2 to 2 hours (which can really mean 2-4 hours). Then, she proceeded to mutter expletives or other signs of frustration for the rest of her wait.

In the midst of this, she called as many people in her cell phone's address book as she could cram into that 2 hours, giving us the pleasure of hearing her rudeness, argumentative nature, and less than quiet demeanor (while on the phone with Greyhound bus company, "Can I speak to someone who speaks English? Because you obviously don't understand my question.")

As I listen and take this all in, I've been struck by the lack of gratefulness. Much of the world has to walk miles, maybe even for multiple days, to reach a place that can offer healthcare. Then, among throngs of others with ailments, wait out-of-doors, even in extreme weather conditions, with a hole in the ground a few hundred feet away in which to use the bathroom.

But is there another option?

Sure there is; and people choose it all the time. Stay at home. Don't acknowledge sickness or just become numb to it and hope for survival for as long as possible.

This is a hopelessly insufficient look at health and access to care for much of the world, especially from someone who hasn't had to use these services, but from most angles, gratefulness is a good starting place.

This is not an excuse to not work for change where healthcare is concerned for our friends in desperate situations (both in the U.S. and around the world) but for my neighbor in the waiting room, gratefulness is the only thing that could have changed her perspective today.

music & lyrics: the Job song (as in, Job from the Biblical narrative)

*Some friends have suggested more music on the blog, so here's to that request.

While reading through my ten daily chapters today, rotating through various books, one of those is Job. So every day, I get to read a chapter of Job, which means lots of "Cursed be the day I was born!" and "Job, how can you question God? He is just; he only rewards the righteous" and so on and so forth. I really love reading the book of Job.

In fact, this reading is reminding me of a time in college, a "dark night of the soul" as I remember naming it (credits to Richard Foster for that phrase). I felt such a kindred spirit with Job, the back and forth with friends who just kept talking and talking and talking, and after all that, an answer from God... that leaves him with this: "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you." (Job 42:5)

And so, the Job song was born.

(My eyes drift somewhat ceiling/heavenward at times; sometimes I forget I'm recording and get a little lost. Bear with me.)

(... and the lyrics)

We keep teaching all these rules we know

making up more as we go

and I know all the answers

I've memorized them well

still I'm just so tired, or can you even tell?

These few years have been hard on us

the same old questions over and over again

but I've just kept on praying

in the darkness, on the floor

hoping that you hear me crying, Lord...

'cause my ears have heard

and my mouth has spoken

and I know all the words

still they leave, they leave me broken

but if only I could see you, then maybe I'd believe

Not much changes here from day to day

we'd rather be set in our ways

but I see people dying

people hungry to be loved

when will that be enough?

[chorus]

You made the stars, you made the oceans

you made the mountains, you made me

you make us live, you make us laugh

you make us breathe (3x)

and before my ears had heard of you

but now my eyes have seen

and Lord, I may not understand

but I believe

dual blogging

Jeff and I are blogging together (I'm still blogging here, too!) over at Foodie for Hire. Right now, we're taking the No-Chain Challenge, so go check it out. New blog today!

More to come here at Wandering and Wondering.

Choose: just or unjust?

Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay

is the man who gains riches

by unjust means.

When his life is half gone, they will desert him,

and in the end he will prove

to be a fool.

(Jeremiah 17:11)

Documentaries, in general, are a good thing. Sure, we can watch too many of them and overwhelm ourselves; "take their word for it" without seeking further information; allow this to suck our time away from being with humans, face-to-face. But many documentaries bring to light important issues, ones that we find ourselves right in the middle of.

Yesterday, the Geigers and I watched Black Gold, which is about the unjust purchase, trade, etc. of coffee, particularly from Ethiopian farmers (highlighted in this film). We already knew, without a doubt, that coffee and its farmers are one of the top most highly abused crop/producers in the world.

Today, I will choose. I will pay more money for coffee fairly traded (which is not always guaranteed just by a label declaring "Fair Trade"). Today, I will choose to use the resources entrusted to me in just and whole ways.

How will you choose?

washing dishes: a practice in the presence

Tonight we went "off the grid" (not using electricity, at least, partly) for the evening, using only candlelight for our Family dinner (the Pates + Jason). Admittedly, I was inspired by my reading of GOOD magazine: the energy issue, just before dinner, and as soon as the fellas returned from the grocery, I announced my "suggestion" (which I had pretty much decided already. I still need lessons in submission to my community, eh?)

We cooked with light, but as soon as the food hit the table (grilled cheese + tomato soup, of which Dane F. would hopefully give scratch factors of 5 and 8, respectively [we canned our own tomatoes]) it was candlelight and conversation.

We even washed the dishes by candlelight, taking candles from room to room. I washed the first half; Jason, the second. When I handed over my shift, I challenged him to find one or two things he noticed, liked, etc. about washing the dishes by candlelight.

And he said this: "The candlelight turns this into a reflective time. I can practice the presence of God, surrounded by candlelight which automatically triggers prayer for me, the nearness of God."

We both agreed that candles are a very real reminder that the Light - Jesus the Christ - is with us, around us. During my dish-washing shift, I took note of the icicles outside the window, illuminated by the candle on the sill.

Icicles, reflection, peace, the very real Light, the presence of Jesus.

Sometimes it "pays" to go "off the grid"...

Songwriter's Retreat: endings and beginnings (+ quotes!)

Well, we did it. We took off from the normal, everydayness and took the plunge into the intensity of songwriting in community. In the end, we wrote and recorded 13 songs, some which came to us as one word or phrase; others with a better skeleton; still others which were mostly finished but needed the ear and voice of another living soul. All were our seed-songs, given to each other to help them grow up.

Stay tuned to hear what happens with this collection of souls and songs. Some of us are getting married; others are going to Ghana for many months. And the songs will eventually make their way into the final stages of songmaking (mixing, re-mixing, and still more mixing!) Hopefully your ear will lend a listen!

As for the rest of this writing, below are some of our favorite qoutes (and pictures!) from the weekend, of which I gave context where needed to understand why something was said the way it was said (though mostly, when you're tired and silly, you don't know why you say what you say!)

from The Quote Page

Songwriter's Retreat 2010

(before recording a live clap-track for one of our songs)

"Should we clap off-beat on purpose?" Katie

"No; that'll happen naturally." Matthew

"They were so few in number but they had so many brains!"

Eric & Matthew

"I'm sorry I screwed it up (meaning the vocals in the song)." Matt

"You didn't screw it up, that's just the way you sing." Abbye

"Abbye, your voice is angelic!" Katie

"Well, it's debatable..." Abbye

"Don't touch my butt, Katie!"Matthew

"But your butt is just so touchable." Abbye (chiming in)

(Uncomfortable laughter from Matthew)

"Hey, you opened it... the can of worms, I mean, not your butt." Abbye

*Disclaimer: No one touched anyone else's butt. Ever.

(While looking at a picture being drawn)

"Is that Abbye?" Katie

"Um, well, this girl's black..." Eric

"Urethra Franklin!" Matthew

(in a conversation that somehow led to bladder infections)

"God, your company is so dreary." Matthew

(sometimes it's difficult to get those lyrics right)

"Tongue, what?!" Katie

(you really shouldn't eat from street vendors in Ghana...)

"Be astonished! We are common men with a mighty message." Eric

(Inspired by the reading of Acts 4:13)

Songwriter's Retreat, Day 4: freedom in confession (or "What you learn from being cooped up in a cabin for 4 days")

Confession happened in the Bear Cub Cabin this morning. By day 4 of sleeping, eating, collaborating, and singing in a two-story, 4-bedroom cabin, (with 5 people) we are bound to be short with one another, inconsiderate, and selfish at times. We have proven that even 5 artists, excited to be together, aren't immune from the sin of selfish ambition and the world's voice that says, "Your wants and needs matter most."

But even though we've not always been considerate, we've filled the air with confession and gentleness. A few of us took some time to speak of the envy we've felt about friendships, lack of confidence in our ability to find the right harmony, the strain of time-constraint when recording music that includes multiple musicians and vocalists.

And in speaking some of these things, we've been met with forgiveness and relief... which is, indeed, a relief! And with this confession, forgiveness, relief, we've grown in greater intimacy wth these friends, whether or not we knew each other's middle names or how we take our coffee before we came together this week.

I don't think we expected confession when we came here. But depth in relationships doesn't happen without honesty; I'm so thankful for these friends who helped us live into this.

What else have we learned from being cooped up in a cabin for 4 days? That meals are better by candlelight, unhurried, d r a w n out. That butter is better than margarine. That damp wood will not successfully build a fire! That togetherness is good. That pumpkin chocolate-chip muffins are best when microwaved for 20 seconds, then eaten with a glass of milk (this lesson we really learned!)

Oh, we've learned a lot; we've gained a lot. We've gained a truer picture of how we can submit to one another; we've gained new, deeper friendships; we've gained a real togetherness.