Does anyone else ever feel like all of a sudden you realize that the universe has converged to tell you the same thing over and over? Like the same topic keeps coming up in conversation, on the news, in books … I’m trying harder to pay attention to these themes when I notice them. And I feel like I’ve been noticing them A LOT recently.

Today is one of those days, and I think I want to share it, even though I don’t share a lot of personal stuff on here. *Point of clarification: I like it a lot when other people publish their personal business on their blogs, but I just don’t feel comfortable doing it myself.

Anyway … today is a hard day. There’s a lot of upheaval in my life right now. My mom is getting married. I’m trying to sell my house in Springfield. I’m worrying about money and needing another job for the summer. And I’m trying to navigate the important relationships in my life in the midst of feeling very anxious. Today, for whatever reason, it has crashed in on me, and I’m not handling it very well. But life goes on. And so I have to go to school and deal with little children.

I’d already decided that I didn’t care what they did today and that I wasn’t going to let it bother me. But I have a little guy named Joshua who makes my life hard almost every day. The other day he had a giant tack, and Josh with a sharp object is my worst lunchroom nightmare. He’s always talking and making messes and making trouble. And today was no different. A few minutes after he arrived he tried to change seats, and I didn’t let him. He got really mad about it and slammed his stuff down and put his little head down on his arms. And all of a sudden I had a moment of clarity.

I went over and put my hand on his head, bent down to his level and softly said, “Are you having a hard day?” (No response.) “Because I’m having a hard day. Are you having a hard day too?” (Tiny nod.) And suddenly we had a connection. We understood each other, and could maybe help each other, even from a place of weakness. So I stood there and rubbed his back and spoke quietly to him for a few minutes until he was ready to sit up and eat. At the end of lunch, Josh had finished almost all his food, kept his place clean, and hadn’t bothered the other kids at his table.

All this seemed to go right along with an entry on Greg Boyd’s blog. It’s been the reminder I needed that everyone else is at times just as fragile as I sometimes am. I will get so much further in life by extending grace and compassion, even when I feel like I need it myself. Maybe especially when I feel like I need it myself.

Actually, it’s the day before my birthday, and so I get to post things I like. And tonight, the thing I like would be CHUCK NORRIS QUOTES:

Chuck Norris doesn’t read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

Chuck Norris CAN divide by zero.

In Pamplona, Spain, the people may be running from the bulls, but the bulls are running from Chuck Norris.

If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. Forever.

Lightning never strikes twice in one place because Chuck Norris is looking for it.

Chuck Norris sleeps with a pillow under his gun.

There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.

Chuck Norris CAN eat just one Lay’s chip.

Chuck Norris CAN touch MC Hammer.

Chuck Norris counted to infinity… twice.

Before the boogeyman goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.

Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.

Chuck Norris is so strong that when he does a push up he actually pushes the world down.

Chuck Norris can strangle you with a cordless phone.

Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table, because Chuck Norris only recognizes the element of surprise.

If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can’t see Chuck Norris you may be only seconds away from death.

When Chuck Norris plays Oregon Trail his family does not die from cholera or dysentery, but rather roundhouse kicks to the face. He also requires no wagon, since he carries the oxen, axels, and buffalo meat on his back. He always makes it to Oregon before you.

Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.

The quickest way to a man’s heart is with Chuck Norris’ fist.

Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.

When Chuck Norris falls in water, Chuck Norris doesn’t get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.

Chuck Norris CAN believe it’s not butter.

Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.

Chuck Norris can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.

If at first you don’t succeed, you’re not Chuck Norris.

When Chuck Norris says, “More cowbell,” he gets it.

And my favorite one: Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.

On days like today, I love my job. I mean, I usually love my job. But this is the kind of day when I know that I LIVE for the stuff I’m doing now.

Continuum Church had another outreach event this morning, oh so cleverly named “Pickup Sticks.” A month ago, our outreach team member Kelly said that she had an idea for an event. One of her friends in the Weinland Park neighborhood had just moved into a house that had a vacant lot next door. With permission from the landlord, he wanted to start using the lot to benefit the neighborhood: events or a community garden or something. But before any of that was even a possibility, he needed to get it cleaned out. He knew Kelly was a member of Continuum, and would her church be interested in helping his family clean out that lot? Ummm … YEAH. We would.

After a couple weeks of conversations, we finally decided that May 9 was the day. But we decided that right before I left town for Washington DC. Thankfully, I now have a fantastic team of people from Continuum who are passionate about making the Kingdom of God visible to our community, and so the event planning moved forward without me. Wendell took the lead: scoping out the lot, figuring out what needed to be done, finding the right people with the right tools … making sure everything was ready when we all arrived this morning. Working with this talented team is one thing that brings me great joy and fulfillment.

So off we went this morning to knee high grass, a lot of dead tree limbs, broken bottles, and some platic toy heads. (Early in the day, Alisha says “Oh look! I found a Batman toy!” But her sister and I both heard, “Oh look! I found a FAT man toy!” Which raises many questions …)

Wendell had figured that with around 10 people, we could get the lot done in a couple hours, thinking that 10 a.m. to noon was reasonable. We had 14 from Continuum, as well as Mom and Three Kids from the family that came up with the idea. Everyone jumped right in and got to work, and we had the place totally cleaned out by 11:30! Around 11:15, the next door neighbor Brian comes to the fence line, using the biggest machete I’ve seen outside of the Crocodile Dundee movies to hack down every mulberry tree in his path, and offering everyone Mountain Dew.

Now there are several things that really get me jazzed about what we did today:

1. We were sought out. This family had an idea for something good that they wanted to do, and they thought to ask Continuum Church to help them. Not only am I thrilled that they know who we are in the first place (!) but I’m even happier that they know that we’ll be interested. That’s the reputation I know that Jesus wants us to have.
2. Other people get excited. I believe that when we’re doing the kind of good in the world that God wants each of us to do, we’re in our sweet spot. We had a lady slow down as she drove by, just to give us the thumbs up and a huge smile, thanking us for what we were doing on her street. And Brian the next door neighbor was inspired to finish the work he’d already started in his own yard. Good stuff, true stuff, resonates with each one of us, and we want to be part of it.
3. This was about more than clean-up. With our actions, we said that we will NOT give up on the abandoned places in our communities. We believe that there is nothing beyond the reach of redemption. It doesn’t matter what it’s been used for in the past, or how long it’s been ignored, we can still find the good that God wants to do there. We’ll pick up the trash, dig out the weeds, mow down the tall grass, and get ready to nurture some new life.
4. It’s symbolic of what we believe. Re-read #2 above and know that we don’t just believe that about places, we believe it about people. We believe that God has deep, unconditional, never-ending love for each person on the planet. And we will live and die to make sure that is abundantly clear. No one is beyond the reach of grace. We believe that following Jesus offers us a way out of the systems we’ve created that ultimately bind us and others. We believe in reconciliation, wholeness, peace – a whole new way of doing life. Already given to us, just waiting to be recognized and accepted.

And THAT’S why I love being the outreach director at Continuum Church.

The final day in D.C. was a long one. I was out the door of the hostel a little after 7 a.m., carrying all my stuff. This amounted to probably about 40 pounds, much more than I would usually bring, but I thought my car was going to be close at hand and I planned to leave a lot of it there. However, if you’ve been following this little adventure, then you know that the car was NOT close at hand. In fact, at this point, the car was parked in the lot at Union Station. I’d finally decided to leave it there for most of the trip, and was now on my way to get it. I wanted to drive it to the Convention Center, park it close, and then take off as soon as the Mobilization was over. But first, I had to walk there, carrying my stuff. This was one of those moments in life when giving up is just not an option. There was nothing else to do but keep walking, despite the ever-increasing pain in my arms and shoulders. I’m sure that these moments are good for us sometimes. And I was thankful that it was about 30 degrees cooler than it had been the previous few days.

Half an hour and $38 later, my car and I were on our way to the Convention Center. I had several more good conversations with other attendees while I was at the Convoy of Hope table, and then went in for the first session: a talk from Dr. Vincent Harding. This unassumingly powerful speaker has been witness to many changes in American history, most notably the Civil Rights movement. His address to us that morning was on the question of how we can really advocate for the poor without both knowing poor people personally and having them present in our discussions. He then opened up the floor for us to respond and talk to each other. As much as I enjoy hearing from experts, I am always grateful for the chance to hear from the many other passionate folk who have turned out for this event too. As expected, we didn’t come up with an answer to this question, but we were able to hear how our friends across the country are beginning to address the issue.

We then had a church leader roundtable, moderated by Brian McLaren. He didn’t speak much himself, and I would have liked to hear more from him. But the diversity of voices on the panel lead to a very rich discussion of how we can continue to see the whole of Gospel lived out in our home congregations. We heard much about the need to work together, and I loved hearing the language from the different Christian traditions. One phrase stuck out to me specifically. We talk a lot about how Jesus said the Kingdom of God is at hand, and we pray that God’s will is done on earth as it is in Heaven. I’ve heard a lot of different opinions on what we are actually doing then. We aren’t really bringing the kingdom about because it’s already here. And we’re not helping God, because he doesn’t really need our help. The phrase that one panelist used is that the Kingdom of God is at hand, and we are working to make that visible. Have I mentioned that one of my favorite parts of this whole experience was hearing from so many different Christian perspectives? It seemed very much like exactly what we should be doing.

We moved straight into a workshop session and I attended the one on health care and poverty. Now, there are many different opinions on how health care should be fixed. But I would hope that most people assume that something must be done. There are too many families who do not have access to health care. Many diseases can be directly traced to the neighborhood in which you live. And many people wind up with very serious conditions that could have been prevented if they could afford to see a primary care doctor before the situation got out of hand. My new friend Jonathan works as a patient adovcate in an emergency room in west Baltimore, and he taught me a lot about this issue. I guess you can’t look people in the eye day after day, see their suffering, deal with the complications of the insurance system, and feel like they should still just be able to figure it all out on their own. Maybe the rest of us need to shadow Jonathan for a while.

One think I appreciated about this session is that they did not advance any specific policy initiatives. There are still many decisions to be made. But the point is, we cannot overlook those who are vulnerable. As people of faith, Jesus calls us to identify with them, care for them, and when necessary, take up their cause if those in power aren’t listening.

I’d have to say that my favorite part of the whole conference was the Post-Mobilization Training I attended. I guess this means it was after the official stuff was over, but I thought it was so good that it should have been front and center. It was a discussion titled “Theology, Scripture and Social Justice,” hosted by Dr. Chuck Gutenson and Dr. Shaun Casey (who perfectly fits the picture in my head of a Founding Father … without the breeches). They each gave a brief overview of what they believe, and then opened up the floor for questions. They each have a wide path of experience, and were able to speak to the experience that many of us share, moving from a a traditional conservative evangelical view to one that embraces a wider scope of issues. I especially enjoyed their treatment of the question “What is the Biblical role of government?” They believe that a better question to ask is, “What does the Bible show us about how God intends us to live together? THEN, what kinds of public policies empower that way of living?” Neither of them would say that there are easy answers to our questions, and they encouraged us to live in the tension. It was a fantastic way to cap off the Mobilization to End Poverty.

I got back to my car at 6 p.m., and had planned to drive straight back. I had to take Taylor to school the next morning at 8:15, and it’s only a seven hour drive, so I should be home by 1 a.m., and that didn’t seem like too much of a problem. However, I had NO idea what D.C. traffic can be like at the end of the day. It took me an hour and half to go the first six miles, during which Tom changed his mind about the route about 18 times. And then, he took me on a maddening scenic tour of some expensive Maryland suburb, totally bypassing the obvious entrance to the highway. I think Jill has finally recovered her hearing after I called her screaming in frustration.

Once I got outside the city, things picked up. I knew I needed to stop for dinner, and was hoping for Chick-fil-A. No luck. So I finally stopped for fuel at a station that had a Blimpie inside it, figuring this would be a better nutritional option than fried chicken anyway, although not nearly as satisfying. They were out of roast beef, so I went for ham. However I neglected to think about the fact that I’d been crunching my way through a bag of salty Gardetto’s snack mix, and the ham proved to be just too much for me. As I’m trying to pull it out of my sandwich and drive at the same time, I glance up in time to see that I’m passing the next exit … with a sign for Chick-fil-A.

By the time I climbed into the mountains in Maryland, it was quite late. And quite colder than it had been the last couple days. Which means it was quite foggy. And by “quite” I mean zero visibility. Really. Zero. But, there is always grace. The semis I had been so afraid of proved to be exactly what I needed. I got behind one of them who was going much slower than usual because of the fog, and stayed right with him until it cleared. I could see his lights and knew I was on the right track.

I have discovered that the secret to staying awake when you can’t listen to your iPod because Tom’s battery needs to be charged and you’re driving through Pennsylvania at 1 a.m. is country music. Normally, I don’t care for it at all. But I guess they play all the fast songs for me and the truckers who are driving all night, and the tempo, excellent fiddling, and really ridiculous lyrics kept me going. That, and a best friend who stayed up talking to me as long as I wanted.

I finally made it home at 3 a.m.

Well, here is Monday again and I’m participating in the final installment of Blue Plate Mondays. (Kelly, are we gong to keep this up? I just know that the drawing for the apron I want so bad is tomorrow!)

Anyway, tonight I’m posting a real Blue Plate recipe. This is definitely the fastest one yet, which I think was supposed to be part of the point of the Blue Plate exercise. So far, mine haven’t been all that speedy, but this one is.

I got this idea from Michelle M. She generously offered me a place to live when I was in Columbus on my own last year. She’s a compassionate advocate, a fun mom, and a great cook … and a lawyer! What kind of a fantastic combination is that?! As you can imagine, she’s quite busy, and had lots of great ideas for quick, good, balanced meals. So without further ado, I give you …

Tortellini Soup

This soup is also good cold, and can be made in whatever size batch you need. This is a five-person sized batch … I think. Again, I’ll post it the way I made it, but I’m sure there are lots of good variations.

Slice 5 cloves of garlic and sautee in a little olive oil.

Add 8 c. water and 8 tsp. chicken bouillon.

Add Italian seasonings to taste. I rarely measure seasonings, so I can’t help you here. I used lots of oregano, some basil, a little marjoram, cilantro, and rosemary. The rosemary may have been a mistake because it never cooks down well and you always get it stuck in your mouth. We’ll see. I also added a generous helping of onion powder. I’ve made this before by starting with a base of caramelized onions (yum!) but not everyone in my house likes to know there are onions in food. I can use the powder and thus approximate the flavor, but that’s it.

Add 1 each regular sized can of petite diced tomatoes and crushed tomatoes. Add some water to the crushed tomato can to get all the good stuff out. Add one 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, and rinse it well too. This should add about another 2 c. water total.

Bring to a boil and add one 20 oz. package of tortellini and one bag of fresh spinach. We like the Buitoni mixed cheese tortellini, available in the refrigerated deli section. This soup base can simmer for quite a while, but I don’t recommend adding the pasta and spinach until you are ready to eat. The tortellinis will start to fall apart if they are boiled for too long.

Serve with garlic bread, salad, or strawberries if they were on sale yesterday!

I woke up on Tuesday excited for another day in D.C., but nervous because we were actually going to our Congressional offices that day. On Monday we’d received a crash (and I do mean CRASH) course in the three main issues that Sojourners would like to address. That wasn’t too hard to grasp, but the additional info about how the budgeting process actually works was mind-blowing. It’s no wonder that we have so many opportunities to fight about stuff – especially money. It’s a really complicated system! It’s eery to me to think about having created a system that seems too large to change. But as was often stated this week, slavery and segregation seemed unchangeable at one point too …

Anyway, there were about 40 of us from Ohio, and we visited the offices of both Senators Voinovich (R) and Brown (D). And then we split up to visit the Representatives from our individual districts. I have never visited a member of Congress before. In fact, I’ve never written a letter until last month, so I feel like I’ve made huge strides in a very short amount of time.

Obviously, these are very busy folks, and so we didn’t meet personally with either Senator or with my Representative, Mary Jo Kilroy. At each office we met with legislative aides. I admit that I was a little disappointed by that, but from what I understand it would have been much more unusual to have actually met with our elected official in person. The House was actually taking a vote when we went to Congresswoman Kilroy’s office, so she had the best excuse, I think

(By the way, did you know that there are underground tunnels that run from all the Congressional office buildings to the Capitol? I didn’t. How National Treasure is that?! Actually, it’s just quite practical, but I know that if I were a member of Congress I would pretend to be James Bond every time I went down there. I have to admit, I didn’t actually know that not all members of Congress have offices in the Capitol. Some have space there in addition to their main office, but everyone’s main space is in another building. So now I’ve been to D.C. three times and still have never been inside the Capitol.)

Overall, the 1100 attendees of the Mobilization to End Poverty met with 83 Senators and 200 Representatives that day. I feel good about that. It was a good lesson for me because during the Presidential election I was very frustrated because I kept feeling like I couldn’t get close enough to either candidate to know if he was trustworthy. There’s just really no way to know for myself what kind of person someone is when all I get is highly filtered messages. So I’ve long since decided to just put my main focus on local politics. But suddenly there I was on Tuesday standing in my nation’s capitol, meeting with staff from the offices of my Senators and Representatives. I know – it’s not like I met with President Obama. But it did suddenly make national politics seem much more accessible than it ever had before. It was empowering. I think I’ll be making some visits to their district offices too. So Continuum Church folk, I will be asking some of you to come along!

TuesDay2 also included picnic lunching in the park with new friends, a little frisbee throwing in which I injured my thumb because I am not coordinated at all, iced chai at Ebenezer’s, a wander through the Smithsonian American History Museum, some dim sum (ha!), worship lead by Vicky Beeching, and a commute home on the Metro by myself.

I think I could have as easily chronicled this trip by person, not just by day. Maybe I’ll work on that next …

For now, I leave you with verse from Wonderful Cross that I have never heard before. Vicky led this song with a melody unfamiliar to me, and included a verse that everyone else seemed to know, but was powerfully fresh for me:

“Forbid it Lord that I should boast
save in the death of Christ, my God.
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.”

This morning, I had to be at the Convention Center by 7:30 to help set up the Convoy of Hope booth. They have generously provided my conference registration fee, and I am happy to be representing them at their sponsorship booth. My new friend Linda rode along.

Set up was rough, as somehow we had the right banners but the wrong stands on which to display them. So we borrowed some bright turquoise Duck Tape from the Wesley Seminary folks, and jerry-rigged one of the banners on an easel. It works, but I don’t love it.

I explained my parking situation to Dave Donaldson, and he fixed it for me immediately by making sure that I could park close by and it would be covered. Very generous, but what else could you expect from such a great organization.

Let’s just admit: I’m totally in my element at the booth. I LOVE to talk to people and I REALLY LOVE to talk to people about organizations and causes that I’m passionate about.

Within the first 45 minutes, I struck up a conversation with a lovely young lady who was interested in Dave’s book. She’s a high school history teacher who does an entire unit on global activism. And if that wasn’t cool enough … she’s from Columbus. Get out! No, really, she is! And we think that we might be twins separated at birth.

Needless to say, we hit it off. Immediately. And were inseparable for the rest of the day.

I heard some fabulous speakers, my favorites being Rich Stearns, CEO of World Vision, and Tony Hall, former representative from Ohio who I think needs another run.

I had lunch and fantastic conversation with my good friend Pam Pryor. We don’t agree on everything, but we do agree that there is value in that. And we can work together.

At our lobby day training, New BFF Angel and I met Jonathan, who is passionate about health care and might be our long-lost twin brother. And so the three of us stood around and talked for another hour or so.

Then Angel and I ate dinner at Union Station. I went ahead and left my car securely in the garage. And then I walked back to my temporary home.

I think that the lesson so far is that I will not be conquered. There is no question that evil in the universe conspires against the people of God when we are on to something good. And today it was confirmed that I am on to something REALLY good here. And I’m so glad that I stuck it out yesterday. I’m thankful for friends and family who encouraged me to come, made it possible for me to come, and prayed hard for me when I was so discouraged yesterday. It will be worth it. It IS worth it.

Tomorrow is Lobby Day. We’ll be visiting Senators Brown and Voinovich, and then Angel and I will be visiting Representative Mary Jo Kilroy. And hopefully a trip to the Smithsonian American History Museum to round out the day.

Stay tuned for further reports, which might not come until I’m home because I don’t think I’ll pay for another day of wireless connection. This city needs to learn the value of Free Wi-Fi.

So today is technically D.C. Day 1, but it won’t make nearly as much sense if you don’t know Day 0. So here we go and I’ll try to be succient but powerful. I am in Washington D.C. for the Mobilization to End Poverty.

I really wanted to arrive in time on Sunday to attend the 4:30 meet and greet with Jim Wallis. I am attending on very generous joint scholarship from Sojourners, Convoy of Hope, and Continuum Church. That event was specifically for scholarship recipients. (And I found out today that there was a little program with bios of all the scholarship recipients so today I’ve actually had several people say, “Oh I saw your bio and I’ve been wanting to meet you.” Ego stoke.)

However, I left the house a little late. I had the <ahem> “trusty” Tom Tom, generously loaned to me by Jill. However, Tom can’t find the Penn House where I’m staying, so Jill spent a lot of time programming in the exact latitude and longitude of the House so that I could use Tom for directions. However, just to be safe, I had a Google map and directions from Penn House. With all this, I believed I could still be on time.

The drive itself was harder than I thought. Within the first couple hours, a deer tried to commit suicide in front of my car. I literally yelled out asking for help from Heaven, and managed to narrowly avoid the deer. When I entered Maryland, there were signs reminding you to watch out for Maryland wildlife, with the typical graphic of a leaping deer … and a bear. A BEAR?! I could hit A BEAR?!?! What kind of place is this?

Maryland is mountainous! (Who knew? Not me!) And while I enjoy road trips in solitude, I don’t enjoy driving 75 mph … down a 6% grade … for 13 miles straight … surrounded by semis. There are actually “runaway truck ramps” on this road!

Finally when I arrived in D.C., I tried to reconcile all my different directions. At one point I would up in the wrong lane, but in my defense there were no less than NINE choices! So instead of a nice direct, mostly highway route, I wound up driving all the way through the city. I barely missed being part of a four-car pile-up in a roundabout. And then when I finally arrived, I could not for the life of me find the hostel. Again, in my defense, there is NO SIGN in front of the place! And the address is hard to see.

So I park, come inside, and check in. At the end I asked where I could park my car, because I wasn’t sure I could leave it on the street for the next three days. “Oh” says Intern Ben, “there’s nowhere to park.”

“Nowhere?! At all?”

“Well,” says the ever helpful Ben, “you could park it at the garage at Union Station. It’s about $18 per day.”

Now, because I am a hard-core Midwesterner, this comes as a total shock to me. Really. There’s a whole section about what to know before you make your reservation and there is not one word about parking! Not one! But, I’m here now. So the options are 1: go home (which I seriously considered) or 2: figure it out later. I took option 2.

When I got upstairs, and I got unpacked I discovered I had left my cell phone charger at home. This was basically the last straw. I have to find where to park. I’m missing my first session. And now I am about to be without communication. Unacceptable. The only thing I can think at this point is that I cannot think anymore until I’ve had a shower.

But I forgot my shower shoes. And there’s no hot water. I’m not kidding.

And then, I think because I have some wonderful friends praying for me, things turned around.

The hot water started working.

I met some of my lovely roommates: members of Womens’s International League for Peace and Freedom who are here to lobby for nuclear disarmament. None of them are under 65. Some of them are also members of the Raging Grannies (which would be an exceptional name for my garage band, but it’s already taken. Right now I can hear them talking about a 90 year old woman who periodically gets arrested, and hopes that the next time it happens, they take her to jail on a motorcycle.)

Darling Margaret invited me downstairs to their dinner where they were going to eat Thai food and strategize. At the dinner, I met Linda, who is also here for the Mobilization.

I found my cell phone charger.

I decided to drive to the convention center today and then figure out the parking from there.

Linda and I took an amazing walk to the Capitol in the twilight. I really love this city.

So, although my bunk bed creaks and sways like a cheap cruise ship, I went to bed happy. Until the Raging Grannie on the bottom bunk started snoring.