Tuesday, January 31, 2006
So, we have a mini gym in our apartment building, and I've been using the facilities. What can I say? A new year's resolution to do some form of exercise. I like the cross-trainer (the machine where you run and move your arms like cross-country skiing), but have been avoiding the treadmill like the plague. I HATE running. But then I got to thinking that there will likely not be cross-trainers in Zimbabwe, but there will be land where I can run. So, I tried the treadmill the other day, and ran for 4 minutes. It almost killed me.
Today I ran for 15 minutes continuously. Now, trust me, I realize this is not a marathon (John's the marathon man), but for me this is a huge athletic victory. Yay!
This reminds me of when I was helping out in a grade 3 classroom and they were playing soccer baseball. I was put on one of the teams and actually kicked a grand slam (where all the bases are loaded and you get a home run). It was incredible. Most of the kids had never even seen a grand slam before. Never mind that I was 20 years older than them - it was huge.
So, I'm thinking maybe the Olympics...
OK - I read a great sentence in the Miroslav Volf book last night - here goes:
"There are good reasons for the vacuity of divine femininity. For if we were to give it concrete content, we could not avoid freezing a particular cultural construction of gender and then infusing it with divine powers and claims."
Good, eh? (Yes, I'm a geek - I love university!)
In every day English - we should be cautious of creating or promoting a Female God because we will - undoubtedly - impose our own gendered/cultured views onto that God.
And yet we do that all the time with God now, right? Sure, we would never say that God is male, but sometimes we sure describe "Him" as male, infusing our particular constructions of gender with divine powers. People always complain of "political correctness crap" when someone is unsure about using male, gendered language for God, but the language DOES affect our thinking.
And speaking of feminism - Amnesty International has an interesting campaign advocating on behalf of Stolen Sisters. Read the stats about the risks that Aboriginal women face in this country - they are scary.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Whew - we're not too good at this whole keep-up-to-date-on-the-blog thing. We just got back from a nice trip to B.C. Lots of good times with Nana, Barbie and the gang. And another tearful airport good-bye. I'm tired of good-byes. Oh well.
We got down to Seattle for the day and went to the aquarium. And I got to see my oldest friend Julie's baby - so cute!
I also spent a day visiting my sister in the downtown eastside of Vancouver. My sister is currently - by choice - living in Vancouver's worst slum hotel (the Balmoral) and I had an interesting sleepover with her. She let me have her bed and enjoyed some time with the mice on the floor (thank you, Kirsten - I have a strong aversion to mice!) It actually wasn't THAT bad (well, ok, the shower was bad!) Being in the downtown eastside with my sister for the day made me proud of her - how she's living in this oppressed place and just meeting people and learning how to love them and building community. While we were walking down one alley way she showed me a building where trees are mysteriously growing out of the side of the building. It was beautiful. In such a "hopeless" place, you never know where beauty will grow or when it will surprise you.
Anyway, there's lots to share, but you could always just check out HER blog (on the side panel). Kirsten Ivany - got to love her! (I do!)
