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Monday, November 22, 2010

Where is your Thanksgiving Favorite grown?


My adviser asked our research group what our favorite traditional thanksgiving dishes were. I said mashed potatoes and gravy. Something about that dish is very comforting-- piled high, thick potatoes, whipped to perfection, layered with tasty gravy. It reminds me of family, Auntie Linda and Uncle Brad's house, and other fond memories.

Others loved stuffing (2), squash/sweet potatoes (1), and their mom's wild rice dish (1). Our research group member from Nepal preferred wine :) Another group member proudly explained that everything except the SALT on their table was grown in MN!

Linda Zellmer, Librarian at Western Illinois University, has done research on this exact point. Where is food coming from to get to your table? She has pulled together the birth places of Thanksgiving dinner items.

Looking at the location and concentration of growth are interesting! The darker the color, the more are grown there. If we couldn't ship food by truck, what would you eat in your home state?
What surprised you?

Take a look! Talk about it at your table! And let's be thankful this Thanksgiving!!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Great Conversations

Our God is great. He brings people and relationships into your life during different seasons…with different joys and different challenges.
I’m sharing some notes I took from a conversation with a man who directs a transitional prison ministry. I can’t commend him enough. Sharing a meal with him and his wife was …comparable, in my limited experience…to eating with Jesus. His Love for the Lord, practical experience, and wisdom blew me away. I hope can find some helpful gems in these notes, too, for your relationships.
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Boundaries.
Establish boundaries from the get go. Lay out boundaries for each relationship. This is where we are going: tell him* tough things. What desires do you have for the relationship? What expectations do you have for the relationship: what do you want? Be on the same page. It’s important to define the relationship for what it is. Don’t compromise on anything on your end, period. Know where you at. Attitude: this is going to be messy- God help us! God help us to be wise.

Accountability.
You are not doing people any good if you don’t call them out on issues. Be it pride or anything, help and sharpen your brother/sister who calls on the name of Christ! Being held accountable in every where: financially, with work, with relationships… PLOMS Disease: Poor Little Ol’ Me Syndrome. The cure is confronting it!

Discipleship.
If you have any amount of Christian life experience, you are mentoring. Don’t let the “buddy effect” diminish your relationship. Go the word: what does God’s word tell us? This is your backup; this is your foundation in speaking into someone’s life.

Addiction.
Cigarettes: not as much about health as about self-discipline. Think of how a $25 dollar a week habit ends up as a $1200 dollar a year expense.

Dependency.
Getting rides: health, family, job interview. Otherwise: self sufficiency through bussing or biking. It is an issue of self-sufficiency vs. dependence. (He was willing to take 9 buses across town to get dope, nothing would stand in his way. Is it the same now, for church and work and other things?) Don’t give gifts. Individuals can be a crutch. It is easy to give people things. It is not about your giving heart, but about getting things without earning them.

Transition.
Coming out of prison, where you make 300 decisions a day, to life, where we make 3000 decisions a day. It’s a big difference. Structure is really important for this transition process, and those without structure often flounder and go back to prison (recidivism).

Opportunities.
There is the MN Workforce Center (on Chicago and other locations) where you can look for a job for free and get resources. There are also life skills classes, about budgeting. Providing a financial mentor.

Warning.
With a violent background, be careful. Things can happen. Also, no alone time with opposite sexes. Limit time to mixed company, in groups.

Prayer.
Pray for guys in prison! For example, spend one night in prayer for him. Week after week it can be “needs, needs, needs.” And one of the unseen needs is prayer.

Get in the Word.
Take time, right away, to study the Bible. At least 15 minutes of hard-core study. That is going to do more good than chatting for an hour.

*Him here is used generically—it is the him or her you are relating to, they may be transitioning from prison, or they may just be a person with overwhelming needs that you are seeking to support and love.

Thursday, November 04, 2010

Lyrical Visions Continued: Too much


The artistic process continues. Click on the title for a Youtube audio, and here for live video.
This song inspired me to think about themes of this work as enforcing repetition, bold lines, mono-chromatic + red color scheme, and a chaotic/over-whelming feel.

I wish I could do this full-time! But apparently if you are a graphic-designer, your work is client driven, and bottom-line limited. I think doing it for fun keeps that magic- but maybe I should take a class to learn more about possibilities I'm not even aware of yet!