“In Hell, all is self-righteousness.”

William Blake

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“No wonder that the well-installed like to speak about the triumphant Christ, while the poor and the lowly prefer to speak about suffering, flagellated, and crowned with thorns Jesus of Nazareth! One justifies power and glory while the other assures us that the God of life is with us in suffering and struggles.”Rev. Virgilio Elizondo - Notre Dame Professor of Pastoral and Hispanic Theology

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readings and such:

• In today’s LA Times Opinions section - You’re adopting who?”: This guy recounts a lot of things we’ve heard. And shoots off some of the witty responses I’ve sometimes felt like sharing.

• effective urban ministry IS rocket science: I think Rudy is definitely onto something here.

• Same name, different sources - The True cost of Illegal Immigrants & The True cost of Illegal Immigration nobody knows & Paying their way and then some: Even though you get the idea, they’re worth reading.

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“If Christ is followed only because his gifts are great and his threats are terrible, he is not glorified by his followers.

A defective lord can offer great gifts and terrible threats. And a person may want the gifts, fear the threats, and follow a lord whom they despise or pity or find boring or embarassing in order to have the gifts and avoid the threats.

 If Christ is to be glorified in his people, their following must be rooted not mainly in his promised gifts or threatened punishments, but in his glorious Person.”

John Piper, When I don’t Desire God.

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I’m preparing a seminar with Abner Ramos for the upcoming La Fe Training Day next Saturday, March 31st at Harambee. The seminar is entitled - “Redeemed Images: Working towards Latino male wholeness.” about Latino. Abner sent me this link from Christianity Today, of an interview of Robert Lewis. He says:

We compared the first Adam with the last Adam, Christ, and we found four differences. They are our four foundation stones for authentic manhood.

A real man is one who rejects passivity, accepts responsibility, leads courageously, and expects the greater reward, God’s reward.

I usually cringe with cheesy categories and generalities about manhood, but I think this interview has some substance to it.

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Funny thing - I just started reading this book by Kent Keith last night when I saw a blog post on it today (nice job Kathie - you must shop at Costco). Anyway, looks like a helpful reminder of the reality of the upside down nature of the kingdom of God.

Here’s the synopsis of the Paradoxical Commandments:

1. People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
   Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
   Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.
   Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
   Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
   Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.
   Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.
   Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
   Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
   Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
    Give the world the best you have anyway.

Source: http://www.paradoxicalcommandments.com/

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I’m riding the #2’s into this year’s Final Four. I won’t reveal who I’ve gotten going all the way yet, but I’m looking forward to some great basketball games this weekend and the rest of the month.

P.S. All of the talk this time of year is about “your office pool.” I was starting to feel sorrow that the downside of being on staff was not having any office to have a pool with. Until yesterday, when I discovered that my “office” of staff peers was having a pool. Woohoo!

UPDATE: I picked VCU in the upset over Duke, but I’m actually a little shocked that it happened.  I didn’t really know anything about VCU, but I thought Duke played awful this year.

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I just read a post-title on a friends blog about “free Starbucks next week.” Before reading the post, I wasn’t sure what the title meant.

Was this a call to rise up in armed revolution in order to set Starbucks free from some type of an enslavement?

Or was it referring to the cover price that people seem obliged to pay in order to utilize a simple table & chair (to which I thought “Starbucks has always been ‘free’…“)?

Then I realized that the freedom of which the post spoke - free tall drip next Thursday, March 15th at any Starbucks - and thought to myself - “If only I enjoyed Starbucks for the coffee…”

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“For most of us, the great danger is not that we will renounce our faith. It is that we will become so distracted and rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre version of it. We will just skim our lives instead of actually living them.”

John Ortberg, author

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How is it that Kobe Bryant is suspended for 1 game for an inadvertent elbow to Manu Ginobli - albiet painful - when last year in the playoffs, Raja Bell was only given a 1 game suspension for intentionally horse-collering Kobe & throwing him to the ground?  He should have been suspended for the remainder of the playoffs, and Kobe should have been given a small fine. If that.

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I never thought it would happen, though I guess all streaks must someday come to an end. Caltech’s men’s basketball program ended a 10 year, 207 game losing streak (just imagine that for a second) by thumping Bard College of New York, 81-52. Now that they’ve dumped that record, they are trying to break a 245 game losing streak in conference play. I just hope that doesn’t happen versus the Tigers. That would be shameful.

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While I had hoped to spend some time during the holidays updating my blog & making some design changes… that didn’t happen.  But I’m back blogging again, so look for the changes in the next few weeks.  As I come to the end of my sabbatical and return to campus in February, look to see this blog continue to morph.  Not anything drastic, but you can expect a lot of the content to center around the following (but not always related) themes: following Jesus, the Bible, etc.; Los Angeles, life in Boyle Heights, ghetto birds, etc.; college students and campus life; sports; and my beautiful daughter, Isabel and the joys & sorrows of raising a daughter with cerebral palsy.  More on all of that to come….

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I figure if major airports can delay flights - and even an NBA game - then it would be understandable that I’m a little delayed in returning to the blog.  The holidays were great for many things, just not sleep, since my daughter has been sick until just recently.  But I’m planning on coming back by Friday, so don’t lose hope — you can expect your daily fix of SpanglishGringo to return soon…

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I’m heading out tomorrow for a prayer retreat at Prince of Peace Abbey - a Benedictine monastery down in San Diego. (Read as = more time with my new friend Job) Don’t worry, though, I’ll be back in time to watch the Monday Night matchup between the Colts & the Bengals (I’m crossing my fingers for the Colts…). Then next Tuesday, we are taking Isa to have an EEG (aka electroencephalogram) test. While she hasn’t shown any early warning signs, the neurologist would like to rule her out as a risk for seizures. Your prayers for her are appreciated. Then Veronica & I are getting a night away together on Wednesday, courtesy of Vero’s mom & the Hulls, who will be cuddling with Isabel until we get back. And somewhere in the time before Christmas, we’re going to find our way down to Placita Olvera for the Posada celebrations that they are hosting every night. Other than that (and the traditional Christmas celebrations), we’ll be watching CSI season 4 on DVD until Jesus comes back, or until New Years, whichever comes first. Look out for some design changes on this blog that I’ll roll-out for the New Year. Otherwise, unless something really exciting captures my attention, I won’t be blogging much for the rest of this month. See you in 2007.

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Water drops tiptoeing over head.

Eyes closed in her crib.

First rain, soothing.

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Kobe has 52 points after 3 quarters. 30pts. in the 3rd. He hit 11 straight shots. And against the NBA-best Utah Jazz. (Its not like this is the Raptors D). These are the games that make me love being a Laker’s fan.

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A pretty accurate, fun & “don’t-take-it-too-seriously” list of things to be grateful for with special needs children. #1 made me laugh and #5 is just true. I’ve heard #7 isn’t always so true, and while I think that #8 is ironclad for anyone with kids, its more true for special needs children.  Not that I’ve ever misused that one.  Plus, I confess, #3 has crossed my mind.  Several times.

1) You never have to worry about worrying over nothing.
Let other parents obsess over the frivolous and the shallow. Your child will make sure you always have something worthy to worry about.

2) Developmental delays = more years of hugs, kisses, and little-kid sweetness.
My 13-year-old still wants to sit in my lap, give me hugs, and tell me he loves me. What mom of a sullen teen doesn’t secretly wish for the same?

3) Maybe someday, Ty Pennington will come build you a house.
Hey, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition loves families of children with special needs. Your little one may be your ticket to a lavish living space.

4) Any little milestone is a cause to throw a party.
Your child works hard for every step, sit-up and syllable, giving you lots to be excited about.

5) Every day is a learning experience.
Some days it’s a pop quiz, some days it’s a crash course, but life with your child is always an education, for sure.

6) You have the privilege of putting several doctors’ children through college.
After paying for all those appointments, you may feel like a one-family scholarship foundation. Put your child’s name on some letterhead and take pride.

7) You meet a better class of parent in waiting rooms and support groups.
Your child frees you from having to hang out with those snotty parents on the playground, and gives you entry into an exclusive club of people who are sensitive, sarcastic, and sure of their priorities.

You have an iron-clad escape excuse for any occasion.
You’d love to stay at that boring party, crowded event, endless church service, but, you know, your child just can’t tolerate it. (And if sometimes it’s you who can’t tolerate it — who’s to know?)

9) Coming up with new strategies every day keeps your brain sharp.
They say doing crossword puzzles helps ward off Alzheimer’s. Figuring out your child’s schedules and treatments and lessons and rights and restrictions must easily provide twice the protection.

10) Your blessings will always be fully counted.
Other parents may take the gifts that their children bring for granted. Not you. Not ever.

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“Even as a fools walk along the road, they lack sense, and show everyone how stupid they are.”
God - courtesy of the Bible (Ecclesiates 10:3).

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“Evangelism has a way of judging our devotional life, and our devotional life is the anchor for evangelism.”

- Don’t remember when or from whom I heard this, but I was impressed upon enough to write it on an index card.

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“Yesterday is over. Today is here. Tomorrow is not.  Live accordingly.”

The challenge isn’t to think the thought, but to live it.  But the thought was helpful to wake up to.

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