The Body, The Blood, The Machine

Here's a sweet song by The Thermals, it's called Here's Your Future (the other songs are good but less relevant).









And for you visual learners here's a video (different song though).

Restoring a Community

With all the buzz about things, found this today on 9news:

Park Hill Methodist

What was required?

1.) People who saw a need for it.
2.) People committed to working through their differences to form on united body.
3.) People committed to work with those who disagreed with them.

Is restoration of our community something that needs everyone on board?
Is everyone on board?

What do you think?

Edward the Bear

I just listened to this podcast that pretty much made me get all choked up. It's a grown-up sci-fi Winnie the Pooh story. There's something very endearing and accessible about telling an adult tale through a child's view. It's just the story, without being dressed up with all sorts of fancy adjectives. (Is it hypocritical for me to use the word fancy in that sentence?)

Some of the deepest things can (and maybe should) be broken down into really reachable ideals.

Also - by adult, I just mean the story deals with death. This isn't a smarmy winnie-the-pooh romance novel... you pervs.

Here's the link.

una poema

endless and dark for many millions who
are counting down the minutes for when they
begin to feel again, for nothing true
is in their sights, tenebrous is the way

such fleeting time spent dwelling on the thing
that trifling would be too deserving to
describe, poor heart, the in-genuine thing
hope through disappointment is my rue

inane, just words of mediocrity
these are the breaths of life which you survive?
your soul chokes on unknown disloyalty
this is not what it means to be alive

what can one offer to the deafening plea?
a truth and light, a promise to be free

ok. now i've "shared."
(i really wish ingenuine was a real word)

Speaking of hards things needing restoration...

Last year my cousin, Scott, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I just this e-mail from his wife. I guess I am just asking for prayers for him and shannon (his wife) and their two little girls. Thank you. Bet

I have been putting off writing this email. I'm just going to make it short since I really don't want to write it. Scott had an MRI last Thursday. It showed that the latest go at chemotherapy didn't work. A doctor from Duke called me on Tuesday to tell me that they feel there is nothing left that is likely to have an effect on stopping the tumor's progression. They estimate that Scott has a few weeks of life left.

But we don't like to give up.

His doctor at KU, Dr. Sarah Taylor, has prescribed another chemotherapy that is in pill form. It is an older drug that has largely been replaced by newer, more effective drugs, but it was once the standard treatment for brain tumors. She said the chances are slim that it will be effective, but there's no reason not to try. This is the time, for all of you praying folks out there, to pray your pants off. That came out sounding weird but I'm not going to change it--I'm on a roll. Hope is hanging by a thread here. Life as I know it, as Scott knows, as little Emma and Claire knows it is hanging by a fine, precious little thread.

Think of us, pray for us, send your good vibes our way. We need your support.

If you would like to send a message for Scott, I would happily read it to him. I'm sure it would warm his heart to know he's being thought of.

Shannon

now would not be a good time to tell me an AIDS joke.

i just learned that, two nights ago, my cousin died of HIV.

id like to hear your thoughts on how this relates to the idea of restoration. please do not take the easy route and say "he is now completely restored in heaven."

Restore the world through....maps

Strange Maps Blog


Excellent blog full of different cool and funky maps. Just thought I'd throw it out there for visual ideas.

(Special thanks to my friend Brenton, who surfs the net so I don't have to.)


~H

Great Guerilla Art Idea

http://you-are-beautiful.com/

Tim thought of the phrase "things will get better" (or something like that) I randomly putting it everywhere.

What I Killed Today

One of the most moving blogs I've ever read - it's the journal of a veterinary technician who euthanizes animals.

I'm not sure, but I'm feel like there's restoration even (or especially) in death.

I look forward to seeing what our wordsmiths put together, and I'm excited to start working on some details.

I'm sure you guys already have thought of it, but just in case you didn't, I have one request - please consider showing restoration in brokenness, failure, or death, because my deepest reconciliation often happens in my lowest moments.

Kate Hurley

could we maybe use this song as part of the service, depending on the story?

Restore by Kate Hurley

Listen to it here
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=48904293

My other project

So I thought that we had to create another thingy for the last reading(The Bow and the Kiss and 1 Corinthians stuff). That being said, I wrote a poem. I don't want to appear flashy like I want to share my stuff, but if it helps Ryan, Heather, and Riles with story stuff, then I'll post it.

So here it is:


The Absent-minded Eagle

Every morning I watch
a funny figure.
It's the sight of
an absent-minded eagle.

You see, every morning,
this beautiful bird
with the powers to fly majestically over all he
sees, sadly must remember he can.

He was given
this powerful thing within.

Flight!

Sometimes he remembers;
I remember, when he did.

Sunrise! He just hopped awake
and leaped into the blue yonder.
Flight!

Most times he doesn't remember;
I remember, the days that
he flies.

Next time tomorrow?

GoT mE tHiNkInG...

So during our staff meeting today I walked away with huge revelation. The day to day stuff gets me stressed pretty much all the time... but if it is - I'm missing the big picture. Life is bigger than my daily struggle with the student in my class who is bullying other kids and can't seem to find solice because mom committed suicide and dad just got released from prison. I should be able to see that! Stepping outside of my bubble from 8-5 helped me see that I am here for a purpose and I am making a difference. These pictures kinda speak to my awe for "the big picture."


There's something about the sun that rings of new opportunities, chances, and just an overall "Re-DO!" Hope this restores some need you might be feeling as well.

For Good Friday

Here, thanks to Christine Sine, are a few ideas for Stations of the Cross for Good Friday

My Friend Wezlo's site of different creative elements for worship

Article at The Ooze about Experiential Worship with ideas

Part II of the Experiential article

Possible Prayer to use

Courtesy of Christine Sine
Words in Bold are words of the people, words in normal are words of the leader.

We are broken people,
Separated from God, isolated from each other, disconnected from God’s world

Lead us to repentance that we may pass from death to eternal life

Our bond with God is broken
We have hidden ourselves from the all loving, all caring, all embracing one

Lead us to repentance that we may pass from death to eternal life

Our bond with each other is broken
We are indifferent to the cries of dying children, the pain of the oppressed, the lonliness of the widow

Lead us to repentance that we may pass from death to eternal life

Our bond with God’s earth is broken
We have destroyed and polluted what we should have preserved, we have not been good stewards of creation

Lead us to repentance that we may pass from death to eternal life

The bonds withing ourselves are broken,
Our spirits are scarred and distorted by selfcentredness, green, violence and the worship of consumer clutter

Lead us to repentance that we may pass from death to eternal life

God in your mercy come to us,
Forgive our sins, heal our bodies, redeem our lives

Lead us to repentance that we may pass from death to eternal life.

possible the best poem about death ive ever heard:

How hardcore-right wing-conservative-evangelical christians are our brothers and sisters too. eh?

(Ok... so that title's a little silly.)


Aaron's blog really got me thinking. (So this is a tangent, not in direct response to that article, Aaron etc.)

I find it really easy to get fired up when I see Christians say crap that I think is totally the opposite of what Jesus stood for. Like "WHAT THE CRAP ARE YOU DOING?!"

But what do we do then? Humans will always disagree on things. Christians are included in that whole human thing. There are different interpretations of everything in the Bible, not to mention things in history and current political/cultural events.

So what do we do? Build walls? Create separate sides? Keep silent? Stand up for what we believe? Scream our "truths"? How do we love each other through complete disagreements?

What does Jesus model? Sometimes he got angry. Sometimes he was silent. Sometimes he said something completely unexpected. I wish the book of Matthew included a little chart that says "if situation 'Q' happens, then go to column 3 for response."

Golly.

I don't know. Christian bashing is bad. But so is spewing out lies.


What is the root of it all? What do most people want? Peace. Joy. Connection. Wholeness.

We just all have different ideas of how to get there.


Hmmm... I wish I had some conclusions.

The Publican and the Pharisee

In the Orthodox tradition, this last Sunday was the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee. IN these days leading up to their Great Lent (which begins on March 10 this year) the ecclesia (priest who runs the service) appoints this parable to be read, as a way for preparing for this time of repentance.

We all know the story....2 men went up to the temple to pray, one a pharisee the other a tax collector. The pharisee begins his prayer by giving thanks.....but for the arrogant reason that he feel better then other men. "I thank thee Lord that I am not like this Tax Collector...." The publican on the other hand could only beat his breast saying, "God be merciful to me a sinner."Christ gives us the warning that the way of the pharisee, no matter how righteous he may have lived, was the way to hell.....because he looked down on his neighbor. He gives us the example of the tax collector as a the way to heaven. The tax collector was NOT a righteous man....but he was REPENTANT. He could not see his neighbors short-comings as his own sins were so evident to him.

Who do YOU look down on? Who is YOUR Samaritan or tax collector?

New Greeley

Here's the poem. Tim tweaked it a little, but it's not that much different.


The New Greeley

I saw a vision - it was last Monday at 7 in the morning.

I was standing atop Lawrenson, looking down over the campus and city;
With a new found dawn breaking over the eastern prairie,
caressing trees and buildings with fuzzy pink light
and the Spirit of God breathed on my eyes,
And my eyes were opened.

I saw Greeley, the holy city,
coming down out of heaven;
Shining brighter than all the diamonds lining Weiss Jewelers' windows,
Sparkling like "Clear water in the eye of the sun."
and all the sickness was gone from the city,
there were no more concrete cubicles of goverment housing,
no more multimillion dollar homes lining the west side of town.

No difference between East and West,
Norteno and Sudeno.

I saw the Platte river running full and wide with the water of life,
as bright as crystal,
as clear as glass,
the children of Greeley swimming in it.

And the Spirit showed me the Tree of Life,
springing from the aquifer in Lincoln Park.
I looked out and there were no more homeless people,
no more people struggling to support families on minimum wage slaveries,
no more ignorant attacks on immigrants.
Healthcare quandries solved by the wiping clean of all illness.

There were no more drivebys
no more underfunded schools
no more gay bashing
no more rapists,
no more stabbings,
no more white and brown,
Christian and "real" Christian,
no more graffittis,
no more immigration reform marches,
BECAUSE THERE WAS NO MORE HATE!

And I saw women walking with no trepidition at night,
Saw men full of passion and gentleness
that none of the children were ever abused,
because the people's sex was full of justice and of joy.

I saw an old woman throw back her head
her careworn face smoothing of its papery wrinkled surface as she
laughed like a little girl.

And when the sky closed back,her laughter rang in my head for days and days
and would not go away.

This is what I saw,
peering from the edge of the tallest building in town,
looking up from the city of death,

And I knew then there would be a day of resurrection,

And I believe that there will be a day of resurrection.

~Heather Lunde5/3/07
As inspired by John's Revelation of the new Jerusalem, and Doug Gay's The New Glasgow

Bicycles

I'm a bit late in posting this, but this passage made me think of restoration. It's from Shining at the Bottom of the Sea, which is an incredible book, all of you should read it.

bicycles. In little Harbour, there was only one bicycle, and it belonged to the telegraph man, who guarded it so closely that it slept under his bed at night. No one but he ever had a chance to ride, so when the boys of the town tried to steal it for joyrides, their adventures always ended abruptly. They didn't know how to balance. Aenea therefore had no direct experience of bicycles when she had to teach Christophle how to ride one. She had to learn to teach what she had never learned to do herself. It was a double victory then when Christophle's velocity escaped the need for her guidance. Joy! It can be done! We progress! We Progress!

mel

I am flabbergasted

Check out this letter to the editor that was in the Tribune today.

I don't know how to handle it sometimes when Christians spout nationalism and self-righteousness. I don't want to love this guy. I hate what is being said in the name of our savior, I hate what is happening to everyone out there who already thinks Christians are a bunch of racist loonies. I hate that good friends of mine move farther from the gospel when these guys take their pulpit.

It really bothers me that he quotes the "anger in the temple" passage in scripture to justify his tirade, because I once had a frustrated church member use that as his justification for ripping into me for 30 minutes straight.

But with all of that, I know that the gospel is there to somehow restore him too. (right? part of me wants to be wrong on this one)

I'm not sure - what should our response be to stuff like this? I'm thinking about writing my own letter, but I'd really like some opinions, because I am a little bit lost, and I am sure this is equally frustrating to all of you. What I don't want to be is another biased and bickering Christian with a slightly different perspective.

If you want to know what made this pastor so bothered, it was when someone asked him to sign this, called a "Pledge of Respect":
"I pledge that as I take positions and enter into dialogue on the issue of immigration that the tone of my discourse and the choice of my words will reflect the respect I have for the sacred humanity of those about whom I am speaking and with whom I may disagree."

I'm not sure that this pledge is going to bring about world peace, but seriously, how angry do you have to be to go on a rant about such a harmless and well-intentioned paragraph?

Tim and Heather's poem was beautiful (please post it) and it really displays an amazing hope for this place.

I just get discouraged - I feel like that ugly article was the exact opposite of that poem.

Sorry for the rant, but seriously - Where do we go from here?

music

yesterday, i sat in my house and did nothing but listen to music for 2 hours and i was filled with a sense of hope and safety that i seldom feel. i believe the holy spirit was there with me, in my headphones.

eric

Math art

I found a really cool art exhibit that I am way into. It is all art based on math, like equations plugged into computers, or origami models of 20-gons (they're really called that).

Anyways, if nothing else I figured Tom would be into this.


Also Math Rock is the coolest.

Original article

This is Tim, not Betony...

Beautiful stuff everyone. Beautiful and inspiring. And this is the first post I've ever made to a blog.

Much Love,
Tim

I'm only calling it homework if we also get seatwork on Wednesday

I was always a bigger fan of seatwork than homework....

So a past story of restoration. Which shall also explain why I feel like our church is very powerful in the reason that includes adults and high schoolers.

I started as a jr high youth leader about 10 years ago (wow). I was there for the 7th grade girls who had bonded with my roommate Selena, who was going to stop doing youth group with them because of her move to Denver. I felt very strongly I needed to be there for them since I'd known them since they were 12. What I didn't factor in was that I'd also have to deal with Jr High Boys. They were crazy, insane, squirrelly, and all of those other things that come along with jr high boys. And then we had our first retreat.

Never in my life have I had conversations so profound, or seen someone worship as earnestly as some of those boys did. (And some of them still do.) It completely reworked the idea in my head that somehow we aren't "real believers" until we turn some magical age. I started to believe in (and defend strongly) the idea that once someone receives the Holy Spirit, that makes them just as able to contribute to the body of believers as someone who's been saved for years...has nothing to do with linear age.

~H

The Homework

To kind of follow Brianne's post we delve further into the high school brain; what is in our past that preaches restoration?

Beats me.

I feel very "high-schooler" anyways around you older folks; you have all traversed the path that is college and all that while we haven't even for sure pinned down our final destination(where is Ben Veilleux University?).

But while I have your attention, let me jump into what Restoration means to me, one instance of restoration to post on the blog.

The Junior Year

My junior year followed an amazing experience at The Rotary Youth Leadership Academy(RYLA) I attended the summer prior. It enhanced my life for the Ben Veilleux at the time(looking back I think it may have hindered me). Anyways I went into Frontier Academy as an 11th grader scared of everyone; everyone at RYLA was so nice and I knew that Frontier folks wouldn't be as friendly all the time.

I also had scheduled 4 AP classes that year.

My stress was heavy and my passion for everything was compromised. I fought with my band director over everything, and tried to coerse my friends into hanging out with me because I thought they didn't want to.

To put it short, I was an insecure young fella.

It was at this point that I started attending Atlas, as prompted by our dearly beloved Timothy Thane. He really took me under his wing, and from there began the never-ending quest towards restoration.

Tim catalyzed my growth as he likes to put it; he helped me realize how to be a grown man. I had girl problems; Tim told me that this girl wasn't right for me. I whined about everything; Tim told me to "man up."

I also give part of my restoration credit to EMDR(boy have acronyms saved my life?). EMDR is a form of counseling that my mom had me do to help with divorce trauma in my early childhood. While its methods seem sketchy, it is a way of desensitizing your emotions to certain events(like marital fighting, fighting in general).

At first it didn't really seem to take hold, but looking back it restored me. EMDR helped me realize that arguments come with love, and that trying to avoid them not only makes you unhealthy but also makes you weak.

So I guess that's my story of Restoration, hope y'all liked it.
See you guys Wed.
Love you all,

benJAMIN'

No artsy-ness, just some thoughts

so for the past several weeks... this idea of restoration obviously has been on my mind.
but for the past several months i've been questioning a lot of things on a big scale. a lot. i guess they're the normal adolescent/human questions of "why am i here?" "what do i believe?" and "what is the purpose for it all?"... but for me, that felt weird, because i'd never really doubted God before.

when i saw the pain of just my corner of the world, the emptiness, the seemingly insurmountable darkness... i just wondered how the strong the light really was.

when i saw the lack of passion in people who claimed to have Christ, i wondered if that was really it.

when i looked at my own relationship with Jesus, i wondered if I was just missing something.

wait, brianne, having doubts?
yeah. woah baby.

if the truth is so strong, then why is it so skewed? if the light is so powerful, then why is it so dark? if Christ is the source of peace and joy, then why are we still so miserable and apathetic? The biggest thing that bugs me is the way the Church has done things. Like, if we have found a light, and we are a window or a vessel, anything to connect our world to the truth, and there are millions of churches, then why isn't a world desperate for answers exploding with truth now?

i don't get it.

all i know now is that things are dark, but He will pierce the darkness.

the one thing I've had to come to terms with: it won't be in ways that we expect.

Jesus never did things the way we expected Him to, right? And He smacked darkness in the face.

It may not be megachurches and youth ministries and missions trips that ultimately bring light and restoration to the world. It may not be in huge explosions of growth or goodness.

It may be small things, donkeys instead of camels, stables instead of palaces, silence instead of words.



I don't know. Nothing profound here, just my thought processes I thought I'd share. Basically, I'm catching up to everyone else. I don't know how I'll contribute to this project creatively, but I'm so excited about it... Because it's met me right where I am... neat.

p.s. i cannot write a song, but if you want someone to sing with ya, let me know. cute!

Make giant pixelized images

You can use this tool (The Rasterbator - I didn't make it up)to make giant prints of any picture you want, in that cool dotted newsprint kind of style.

It converts the image into dots, and then breaks it up into printable sheets of whatever size of paper you want.

Click here to try it.

Restoration Photos

Ryan and I went photographing on Saturday, and I think we were both surprised at what there was to be found in downtown Greeley.
Taking those pictures was a kind of profound experience, especially in the context of restoration.

I think that we should continue doing this - if you have an interest in photography, set aside a few hours to get together with a photographically-inclined friend and take some pictures while you wander around.
Finding the beautiful details in a place that is often overlooked is a kind of restoration, and a small but significant way to give something back to this town we inhabit.

Click the links below to check out a few of the images. Eventually, it would be great to get one conglomerated bunch of all our pictures. Flickr lets us attach the images to a map, if we want, and I think as we go that could lead to an amazing visualization of this place.

Gallery 1
Gallery 2

Inspiration...

So I've been really distracted by work and feeling in some ways completely unprepared for the life I've been living. However, I feel as though I have finally found hope and wanted to share a glimpse of it with all of you. I drove down to Parker yesterday to just clear my mind and spend some time with my mom and dad. The drive was magnificent with the sun beating down on the road, and the mountains truly resembling purple majesties.

I thought for a moment... this is the good stuff. If I only exist to witness this, it's worth it. My life must mean something. Getting away for just a minute to revel in true beauty and letting the elements of our planet sink into my soul brought out inspiration once again.

I feel rejuvenated and wanted to share a photo I took at a wedding to send you all some inspiration...

I want to be determined just like this little guy...

even if he was on his way to the cake table!

One more - The Fall Project

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52projects/sets/72157594463021613/
I love how it shows the passage of time.

6 Word Stories

Check out the video at 52projects




---6 words


www.52projects.com

Web Zen - And lego

Web Zen makes some really cool collections of fun web-stuff, arranged on a rough theme.

I saw a lego one, and it was good. I really like things where structure and creativity mix.

Plus I would still play with legos if I could.

Coolest photo collection EVAR

If we are ever in need of some cool old-school photos, this site is amazing. They have archives going back to 2004, with (I believe) an awesome random picture each day. I think this could be some great fuel for a collage thing, or for a picture "station" like we had a while back at atlas.

These pictures are titled "Rest", "Repairs", and "Clean".

MOO: Mini Cards

This might be something interesting to do as a handout. Maybe little quotes, pieces of photographs, etc. They are fairly inexpensive too.
http://www.moo.com/products/minicards.php

Guerilla Art

Guerilla Art:
http://www.kerismith.com/funstuff/guerilla.htm

Random acts of sneaky art making

Water Collecting

Many of you know that the thing I miss most about California is my tide pools at Little Corona.

Maybe that's why this project seems particularly appealing:
What's Your Project?Project #111
Take a sample of every body of water you visit. Put them in little glass bottles and label them with the day and place. It could be an ocean or a puddle -- what matters is that that unique collection of pollution, purity, bacteria, algae, and such is a little time capsule back to that moment in time. Sometimes, if there is no water available, run a tap and label that bottle "so-and-so's tap". I recently found an old bottle of mine labeled "Grandmum's house" -- from before she moved in with my aunt, from before she died... This is all I have of her house and I now keep it next to my samples from Loch Ness and the Atlantic Ocean.
Emily WingNew York, NY

Thanks for sharing the project website, Bet, it's kept me occupied for far too long =)

The Sheep Market

There's a thing on amazon where people get paid to do random little tasks that computers can't do very well, like saying whether or not a grocery store is in a picture. It's called the Mechanical Turk.

This guy paid 10,000 people 2 cents each to draw a sheep. You can actually watch each one be drawn.

Visual Dictionary

One of the sites I found - called visual dictionary. Has people photograph words that the find, and then catalogs them into a dictionary. Really fun to look at. http://www.thevisualdictionary.net/

Here is the picture for "Restoration"

Yeah!

I love this idea Aaron. I spent my whole morning thinking about restoration ideas. My favorite site right now is
http://www.52projects.com

It kept leading me to other sites that were interesting. Start with the link over to the side that is called 52 projects. I think I might also purchase his book.

Guerilla Art

Rules of Art