No Room In The Inn

Christmas is a wonderful season, full of delightful stories, and thoughts that inspire.
Most, if not all are derivative and don't start you pondering in a new way.
However, this past Sunday, while attending Blair and Julie's ward, their main speaker struck a chord with me, and gave me new thoughts to ponder. Probably old stuff to others but new to me.

He spoke of the phrase in the christmas story of "no room in the inn'; and how we normally consider that a bad thing. That people were insensitive to the mother of jesus and how lowly and miserable conditions were. We further probe the question of personal introspection - would we make room for the Christ child. That all still holds true and has a good feel to it.

This approach however takes the 180 look - the opposite point of view - that ' no room in the inn' was a good thing, for it meant
> a peaceful birth place, not a crowded to overflow capacity inn; full of noise, commotion, contention maybe
> a clean place, the inn would be too busy to be clean, while a manger could be cleaned up
> a private place, the inn would be shoulder to shoulder, the manger just rearrange the animals
> a visit able place- would the shepherds and the angels come visit and worship in a crowded inn. Or would the manger be more conducive for drop by visitors of humble sort.
> if the inn was simply the guest room in the relatives home, the above still would have held true

His birth most likely took place in the natural place for a peasant to be born—, the relatives had no room in the guest quarters, Bethlehem probably not even having something that qualified as an inn; back with the animals it was. That said, the context is probably different than tradition would have us think,but the question we should ask ourselves doesn't vary much - do we have room for Him? Will we accommodate Him in our lives?

Where can you find a Christmas miracle

Where can you find a good Christmas miracle these days?

Our son Evan like many a capital hiller takes the metro from Crystal City to the Capital South  metro station then wends his way to Congressman Roskum's office. It's part of his regular routine and normally is un eventful. This last Wednesday was different.

I received a call on the home phone, which I rarely answer, but looking at the caller ID it's a name instead of a company so I listen.  It's a guy calling from DC named Jonathon  who just got off the Metro.  Evan had gotten off the stop before this guy and had left his wallet on the floor behind his seat, Jonathon had found it.  When Ev got off the train, realizing that he had lost his wallet,  he turned around and proceeded to pound on the door to get back on, the train took off. Evan was freaking out but had the wherewith all to somehow not get hit by the train, get out of the station without his metro card,  and get to his office on capitol hill.  Our son Evan has Down Syndrome and was navigating his commute on his own. 

The wonderful people at his office sat him down, went over everything he had in wallet and began the process of trying to figure out what to do next. Meantime, Evan had his Illinois ID with our illinois address on it in the wallet. Jonathon found the card, then went online, reverse directoried our phone number and gave me a call.  What a kind and nice guy. Not only does he go the extra mile in locating us (Evan) but goes twain.  Jonathan  is in DC for a meeting and had a break around noon so he volunteers to walk to Roskum's office and give Evan the wallet.  One of the things he mentioned in meeting the people at Ev's office was how kind and caring they are about Ev.

Wonderful people all over the world
Angels both those seen and unseen watch over Evan.

Where are the miracles in DC this season?

Ev having the where wits  to not chase after a moving train and going to a familiar place for help.

Rep Roskum's wonderful staff who stand beside and support Evan.

A stranger named Jonathan who saw someone in need, interrupted his day and made a difference in the life of Evan.

If you are looking for a good christmas miracle this season, look no farther than the Capital South Metro.

attack yasmina khadra

I thoroughly enjoyed this painful book to read. One that challenges the comfort of not only dr Amin but of me as a reader. I kept waiting for the calming resolution - there was none. As in this conflict there appears to be none. One reads and ponders what could in fact heal the world.


" Dr Amin Jaafari is a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship. He is an incredibly successful surgeon, awarded numerous honours and living a seemingly idyllic life with his beloved wife, Sihem. They have a beautiful house, but no children. They have strong friendships with Israelis, absorbing a lifestyle that rejects a traditional approach; they’re not practising Muslims. Amin and Sihem are ostensibly the best examples of integration, and despite some tension in the hospital, Amin is blissfully unaware of differences. If we are to believe him, his wife is generally satisfied too.

Dr Amin Jaafari is a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship. He is an incredibly successful surgeon, awarded numerous honours and living a seemingly idyllic life with his beloved wife, Sihem. They have a beautiful house, but no children. They have strong friendships with Israelis, absorbing a lifestyle that rejects a traditional approach; they’re not practising Muslims. Amin and Sihem are ostensibly the best examples of integration, and despite some tension in the hospital, Amin is blissfully unaware of differences. If we are to believe him, his wife is generally satisfied too.

“They can take everything you own- your property, your best years, all your joys, all your good works, everything down to your last shirt- but you'll always have your dreams, so you can reinvent your stolen world.” 

“We’re not Islamists, Dr. Jaafari,” one man tells him. “And we’re not fundamentalists, either. We are only the children of a ravaged, despised people, fighting with whatever means we can to recover our homeland and our dignity.”

― Yasmina Khadra

Days of Honey. - Annia Ciezadlo

The Nytimes says -Ms. Ciezadlo is a seasoned young foreign correspondent — she reported from Baghdad for The Christian Science Monitor and from Beirut for The New Republic — who in “Day of Honey” turns her attention to Middle Eastern culinary traditions and to “the millions of small ways people cope” during wartime. Her book is among the least political, and most intimate and valuable, to have come out of the Iraq war.

It's a unique angle on ingesting war and the coping mechanisms built to go on. The food descriptions inspire one to open one's palate and core dinning s. the  dealing with living in war torn strife is challenging as you are grateful not to be in it yet saddened and guilt laden for having relative ease.

Food is a key part of everyone'slife, whether its live to eat or eat to live. Brigham has always had his own take on the reading / eating discussion and I thank him for the invitation

Food alone can not make peace. It is part of war, like everything else. We can break bread with our neighbors and kill them the next. Food is just an excuse - an opportunity to know your neighbors. When you share it  with others , it becomes something more.

In talking with kid guess the  mom-made foodscare our anchor. Cinammon rolls, salmonn, ribs, trifle, scones, and pancakes for a Saturday .   But they have to be at least similar to how mom makes them, or else they are just food. I wonder what a. Pioneer's take on the subject would be?

ReMake

Same story different movie

You've probablly seen a remade movie at one point in time. a movie that stays true to the basic script but is  fundamentally different because of a new producer and or director. the movie i have watched the most in my life was recently remade, and it is dramatically different.

New Director?

A person who supervises the creative aspects of a dramatic production or film and instructs the actors and crew.

They are chiefly on the hook for taking a screenplay and bringing it to life on the big screen.  A director determines the overall look of the film, sets its mood and tone, and instructs actors, actresses and members of the crew how to carry out the vision that's whirling around in that creative mind of his. 

Summary:

1.The movie director is the person who directs or guides on what the actors and actresses will be portraying in a movie while the movie producer is the one who makes the orders for creating the films.

2.A movie director is the one who envisages the script, managing a film’s creative and theatrical aspects while a movie producer starts, co-ordinates, manages and controls issues such as hiring key personnel, fund-raising, and arranging for film distributions.

3.The movie directors are the ones that do the imaginative visualization of what the completed movie will be while the movie producer is the one who carries out all the phases of film-making procedure from development to the completion of the project.

4.The movie directors don’t have the full control in a film while the movie producer is the one who has the general control of the whole project and considered to be the chief of staff as a particular movie is being made.

same scene in someone else’s movie where you’re in a supporting role? Anyone seeing these two take place at the same time would quickly realize that, while they are both about the same event, they each interpret the situations and emotions in entirely different ways. No two movies will ever be the same, because no two perspectives are ever identical.

And so my favorite , most frequently viewed film has under gone a transformation of emotion, tone, spirit, doctrine and overall effect. Not that the old one is/was bad; not that the new one is flawless and without room to improve. But the new is better for me. And has truly demonstrated the power of a new director - producer.

Traveler's gift - or another list of seven

The travelers gift

Andy Andrews

“The Traveler’s Gift effectively combines self-help with fiction . . . sustaining momentum while simultaneously passing on instructions for positive thinking . . . an exemplary job at providing positive suggestions for overcoming life’s obstacles.” - Publishers Weekly

Not the kind of book you read every month but an enjoyable quick  read . The starting premise of the struggling mid-aged male is too common of an entry point; but gratefully there is hope, inspiration, and a pathway to deliverance. Our hero takes a trip through time and visits several historic figures who bring him insights that if acted upon change the world. They are worth considering:

7 Decisions that Determine Personal Success

1. The buck stops here. President Truman. Forget the past and quit blaming it on yourself or someone. You are responsible from this day forward.

2. Seek wisdom. King Solomon. Be with wise people and those who are searching for truth. Not just those who are on a journey.

3. Be a person of action. Joshua Chamberlain-Civil War-20th Maine Division. Do something. Don't be paralyzed by fear. Make decisions.

4. Have a decided heart. Christopher Columbus. Decide to have passion about your vision for the future. Don't worry about what others say. Poor is the man who believes what people say about him. 

5. Choose to be happy. Anne Frank-Jew during WW2. It's a choice. Be grateful. Choose today to be happy. It's contagious.

6. Have a forgiving spirit. Abe Lincoln at Gettysburg. Forgiveness must be given away. Give up bitterness. Forgive yourself and those who did not ask for forgiveness. 

7. Persist without exception. Gabriel in the room of unanswered prayers. Keep going despite. Don't worry about the pain of the process, picture the end results. Persist, work hard, expect. Have faith....

Yeah, those are seven things worth doing.

Humble Pride

Humble pride

Sunday, a friend of Parker's described how he perceived I should feel about Parker's labour as a missionary; Humble Pride - a very apt description. Proud of what he did, how he did it, and who he became; and intensely humble and gratefully that he had the opportunity, that he took advantage of it, that he  had presidents, leaders, missionaries, members, and non who loved him, worked with him and watched over him. And mindful of a god in heaven who was in the details.

Each of the boys served well and honorably. Their missions had much in common and all grew spectacularly. All were as unique and differed as Spain, Greece, Chicago and Paraguay do from each other . We have been fortunate to have met there ending Mission Presidents. There are few things as humbling  as learning /observing the power of your son(s). There are few things that make you more grateful than witnessing the love of adults for your child and knowing the energy and effort they willingly sacrificed and put into forming, shaping, and supporting your child's growth. There is  a strong emotion when you observe others looking at your son in adoration and witness that to them what your missionary had done was of vital importance.

I am indeed humbly proud of all my children. I am extremely grateful for the transformational power of a mission. 

A late quartet

Yaron Zilberman’s recent film “A Late Quartet” — about multiple crises among members of an esteemed Manhattan-based string quartet as it embarks on its 25th-anniversary season — makes this rarefied subject central to the drama. At least that’s true until the movie, which boasts a powerhouse cast, takes a melodramatic turn toward simmering resentments and an inappropriate affair.

So goes the nytimes review. The movie was thrust upon me in a flight from panama to Paraguay . I say thrust given sitting in coach with the monitor stuck in my head space .  What was more disturbing the dysfunctional relationships themselves or the way Parkinson's arrival on the scene disrupts and is the starting point of a cascade of problems?

Yes the movie was indeed too close. It did cause me to reflect on the necessity to "play big" as the Parkinson's constrains you to go small - in voice, stature and demeanor. 

The movie was interesting in its dissection of professional musicians and their music and their lives; but a little to soap opera -sequence in its story. The actors skilled and convincing.

Instagram and blogs

I ran out of free space to upload images on my blog , yet I developed the hair of photographing many events as a visual journal. I kept taking pictures but stopped posting. Then instantagram became popular. Many in the family and a few key friends insta - so I succumbed to that abbreviated form of communicating.

I don't find it open to philosophy, and post on books don't quite appeal, and it's not as satisfying as the blog writing. Which is interesting given my propensity to short, haiku like blog posts. Almost as many words in instagram but..

So new resolution, trying to keep up with both by doing both in moderation. We'll give it a whirl

Mr Colonial

Evan's ward in Washington DC does a beauty pageant of sorts - it is the Mr Colonial contest. The contestants sing, dance, demonstrate ant and have a beauty pageant of sorts. Evan entered and  had a tremendous experience. Thanks to those who helped him succeed and show his talents'

opening dance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXW5IgrA_So - Evan shows up at 2:20.

Interview Vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrlN8hedu0k - Evan is at beginning for 15 sec, then my roommate has a good story about him at 1:28, then he is dancing starting at 1:49-1:55

Casual wear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeJEDbKPczY - Evan is at 6:50

 haven't found footage of the kung fu yet but it is theere