Dustin F. James
A look at earthly life with spiritual eyes.Mexico Weekend
I went to Mexico this past weekend and it was a real encouragement for my soul. Even though I came unexpectedly to check out the Ecodome project, Jose Luis greeted me with joy. He offered me coffee right off the bat, because he knows I enjoy a good cup-o-joe.
Some highlights from my trip were picking up Marcos and Diego. These guys needed a ride from Rosarito to Ensenada. They were real nice guys. It was funny, they said, “Our own people won’t give us a ride, but you will!” They helped me from falling asleep so I appreciated the company. The three of us had lunch at a great fish taco place for <$8 and then they went on their way.
Another highlight was dropping off some donation with a poor family in Camalu. The clothes were donated from my friend Rudy (some of his Asian friends gave some really cute/quality clothes). The young mothers and girls were so happy (el contento Jose Luis said).
I got to practice my Spanish and enjoy the fellowship of the abuelitos, especially one of the new guys, Lupe, 84. He knew some English so we had a nice chat. I’m thankful to be able to have a home with these people. This is my ninth trip and the first one I’ve taken completely alone. God gave me tremendous grace on the trip and made it a special time for me. I thank Him for it.
Dollar Dinner & Haiti Earthquake
Tonight we will begin meeting for our dollar dinner gatherings. Dollar dinner was an idea from several years ago that we have rejuvenated. The gathering is for UCLA students, neighbors, and young professionals to connect, eat a good meal (at recession prices), and enjoy a hospitable space where they can share and explore any topic or subject without reproach. It’s also a time to laugh!
Tonight we will ask those that come to allow us to contribute their dollars to Haiti to help with the destruction that was yesterday when a 7.0 earthquake decimated Port au Prince and surrounding areas. Please come join us tonight or on future Wednesday nights for dollar dinner. And you can donate to World Vision to help with the relief efforts in Haiti.
A Song That Will Grab You
I came across this band through a friend’s YouTube uploads. It grabbed me and I hope it moves you toward God also.
A Day in South LA
Last Saturday was a really good day. I kicked it off by going to the gym and dropping food off with an artist friend of mine in Hollywood. Then I met up with my long time friend Jose in his old neighborhood in South L.A. (formerly known as South Central but the name was changed to South L.A. to help alleviate the ugly reputation of that part of Los Angeles). We sat on his stoop and talked while the neighbors across the street had a party. I glimpsed what Jose and I discussed over the phone about the racial tensions especially among African Americans and Latinos. This is a sad reality – one I pray for reconciliation. I talked to Jose’s mom a little but not much because I don’t know enough Spanish. This week I’m going to try out Rosetta Stone. I’ve heard good things about the software and want to use it to learn Spanish.
After Jose and I hung out I went to Nelson’s house in Hawthorne and we went out with his fiancée to lunch and to discuss their upcoming wedding. They were really receptive to the resources I hoped they would study together to prepare themselves. We all left encouraged. And when we got back to his house, Nelson’s dad had bought a new TV and gave me their old one. Man, what a blessing!
So then Nelson, Denise, and I went over to another friend’s house to watch Role Models. I had a beer, made some jokes about how white people love mayonnaise, and set up plans to come back and play handball. Then I left and went to another friend’s housewarming party closer to downtown LA. The place was awesome and I got to make some friends with some really cool people – mostly schoolteachers or educators of some sort.
I finished the night off with a trip to Hollywood and my friend, Hanoch’s birthday. It was a chilled out bar in Hollywood called The Scorpion. It was a mostly Columbian party – again I was reminded how badly I need to learn Spanish! At the end of the day I could say with the words of Ice Cube, “Today was a good day.”
Marriage & Wedding Ceremony
Recently, my friends have asked if I’d perform their marriage ceremony this coming September 2010. I feel both humbled (because I’m not married) and privileged (to take on such a huge responsibility and do my very best). I have been working on hammering out a “curriculum” or “framework” for the marriage preparation before the ceremony, which will consist of monthly meetings with the couple going over the following guidelines:
Dialogue and Discovery Sessions
We will plan to get together, the three of us, monthly for a total of seven meetings starting in February and going through August. The seven times together will include the following topics:
Communication – [Walking Through the Five Love Languages, Myers Briggs, Enneagram]
Family Planning – [Finding a guide/mentor couple; A look at a “typical” year together; Resources for further study]
Money – [Stewardship, generosity, spending, and saving; Budgeting; Setting financial goals]
Kids and Values – [How were you raised?; Principles for parenting; What if you hit a road block?]
Intimacy & Sex – [Questions to consider; Deal with the past; Purity in the present; Guarding your heart for the future]
Your Parents – [How will your parents be involved?; Whose home do you visit on the holidays?; Cycles to expect in marriage]
The Ceremony & Recap – [Preparing for the ceremony; finishing well; Prayer together; Post marriage counsel and pastoring]
This comes from several conversations with my friends and experienced pastors. My goal is to provide some good questions and thoughts for the couple to walk through. My hope is to see them live faithfully, lovingly, and honorably to their Lord, Jesus Christ before and during married life. Any comments or suggestions are appreciated too – I’m sure I’ll be learning about marriage for a lifetime.
Letter Writing & Ministry
“A good letter can change the day for someone in pain, can chase away feelings of resentment, can create a smile and bring joy to the heart. After all, a good part of the New Testament consists of letters, and some of the most profound insights are written down in letters between people who are attracted to each other by a deep personal affection. Letter writing is a very important art, especially for those who want to bring the good news.”~Henri Nouwen
I continue to read about Henri Nouwen and his journal thoughts from his time living as a Trappist Monk. The ability to communicate in personal, hand written words is an important way to transfer the gospel and be the messenger of good news. I don’t think Nouwen is talking about email either because he wrote these words in 1976. Email and text messages should probably be reserved for matters of efficiency and direct/succinct communication. The hand written letter should be a pouring of the heart. Email too often leads us to unthoughtful expulsions of all the muck in our heads. I think it is so important to have a place of intimacy (the hand written is not easily copied, pasted, or forwarded) like the letter to mull over words, craft phrases of affection, encouragement, and warning. When you write a letter it’s you, a pen, and paper – when you send an email it’s you, 100 other emails needing attention highlighted in bold, 1000 websites beckoning your attention, and chat rooms with 50 friends online ready to be spoken with. In an instant we can lose concentration and miss the words that might carry our friends through the next day.
Next year clear your mind so you can think more clearly, communicate more effectively, and maintain relationships with greater intimacy. I know I plan to simplify my life.
Epiphany
The day of Epiphany begins on January 6th and it represents the day when God’s glory is beheld on this earth. The promises that were longed for have been fulfilled.
As we reflect on epiphany we need to think about ways in which our thinking needs to shift. Repentance is an ongoing act of changing. It doesn’t only have to happen when we sin outrageously. We need to change and mature in all the areas where we don’t live to the fullness of what God’s calling us to be and do. This coming year of 2010 let your mind be transformed. Seek change not out of guilt or shame, but because we have someone amazing to become like – the perfect version of ourselves – Jesus.
I had two major epiphanies this past fall. One was after I went to my 10 year high school reunion. It’s that some opportunities once they pass you will not return. We must take advantage of our youth and health and live fully.The second, is that our best testimony as a Christian is to be the people of joy, hope, and faith in all circumstances that we most definitely can be with the strength of Christ. JR Woodward says, “Sheldon Vanaulken wrote that: The best argument for Christianity is Christians—their joy, their certainty, their completeness, their wholesomeness, their aliveness.Guess what he says is the best argument against Christianity? Christians: When they’re somber, joyless, self-righteous, smug, narrow, repressive, Christianity dies a thousand deaths.”
May your epiphanies be many at the close of 2009 and the beginning of 2010.
Blogging Renewal
Thanks to an encouraging roommate I am back to blogging again. It’s always helpful to put pen to paper (or finger to typepad as it were) and articulate what God is teaching me and walking me through. One of my friends and mentors in life gave me a book by Henri Nouwen called The Genesee Diary. Nouwen is an incredible author and puts into words the struggles and trials of the soul like only a few in this world can do so well. The book is about his time staying at a monastery for seven months and the struggles within his soul. For instance, he talked about how hard it was for him when no one sent letters or there was no sense that anyone needed him. He mentioned how difficult it was to practice solitude when no one is thinking about you. I can see this – because then we are naked before God with no protective devices (our jobs, titles, kids, accomplishments, skills, etc.) to guard us from the truth of what we are – finite, needy people that depend on every breath of God for our own breath and life.
Jesus once said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). I think we would gain much if we reflect on the words “apart from me you can do nothing.” What does it mean that we can do nothing – the absoluteness of Jesus’ words warns us in our human striving.
Listening to Gossip
“Listening to gossip is like eating cheap candy;
do you really want junk like that in your belly?”
Proverbs 18:18
There is so much gossip out there these days that we’re not even sure what’s gossip and what’s normal communication. Gossip in a simple sense is listening to or speaking about someone else’s life in a degrading way that in no real way involves you. One simple test to ask yourself if someone is telling you something (or you’re talking about someone) is, “Are these facts confirmed and am I a part of the solution or problem? Does our conversation lead to a healthy conclusion?” If you answer no to any of those then it’s probably best to cut the conversation off and talk about how great the Lakers are doing in the finals!
Repentence
I said something last night that offended a friend of mine. This morning my heart aches and I long for forgiveness. Psalm 51 has been my comfort:
Psalm 51
1-3Generous in love—God, give grace! Huge in mercy—wipe out my bad record.
Scrub away my guilt,
soak out my sins in your laundry.
I know how bad I’ve been;
my sins are staring me down.
4-6 You’re the One I’ve violated, and you’ve seen
it all, seen the full extent of my evil.
You have all the facts before you;
whatever you decide about me is fair.
I’ve been out of step with you for a long time,
in the wrong since before I was born.
What you’re after is truth from the inside out.
Enter me, then; conceive a new, true life.
7-15 Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
16-17 Going through the motions doesn’t please you,
a flawless performance is nothing to you.
I learned God-worship
when my pride was shattered.
Heart-shattered lives ready for love
don’t for a moment escape God’s notice.
18-19 Make Zion the place you delight in,
repair Jerusalem’s broken-down walls.
Then you’ll get real worship from us,
acts of worship small and large,
Including all the bulls
they can heave onto your altar!
