up and down and back again

as up and down as life seems to be these days, i want to celebrate the ups.

i just went thru the syllabus for "globalization and the poor" and downloaded all the articles that i need to read. it took a long time, but i glanced at the abstract for most of them as i downloaded them, and they make me so excited! i read the first paragraph of one, and it gave me shivers! i LOVE this stuff! if only i had enough time to read it all!

there was one book on the "recommended" list (so i didn't buy it) that is actually required reading, so i'm going to the bookstore to buy it. i remembered that there's another book that i should get for spirituality and mission. i didn't already buy it because it's a choice of 4 books, so we get to pick which one we want to read. i looked them up on amazon so i can make my choice by the time i get to the bookstore, and 2 of them look amazing!

one is i once was lost, the story of the transformation of the intervarsity group at UCLA(?) that went thru a huge transformation in evangelizing post-moderns.

the other one, which i think i will get, is the violence of love. here's one review: "Oscar Romero was converted by suffering: the suffering of a friend, of the people he served, and then finally his own suffering. There are many ways to be converted, but perhaps the best way is to live among the poor and to discover in them as Romero did, the presence of Christ. -- Samuel Ruiz Garcia, Bishop of San Cristobal, Chiapas Mexico" isn't that powerful? oh man, i can't wait to read it! actually, you can find it as a free pdf here.

the clouds are beautiful today. the mountains are similarly gorgeous. i am so thankful!

i have had the joy of friendship at key moments in the past few weeks. with the most perfect timing, someone has called, or come by, or i've run into them on campus. i can't explain it, but i am so grateful for those friendships and conversations.