being named

(from Blood Diamond. If you haven't seen it, you need to)

Poll of the Day!

This evening, a friend confessed to me that they didn't really like Lawrence (which I am proud to call home), citing that it is 'full of either college students or pretentious adults.'

My immediate reaction: 'so, which am I?'

They then proceeded to back-peddle saying that me (and my friends, of course) occupy a whole 3rd category.


But, the question must be asked: which do I better represent, a college student or a pretentious adult? Votes please.

Also, 10 points for guessing which friend made the comment (2 hints: she lives in Kansas City).

Wisdom from a Shipwreck

As to going home, shame opposed the best motions that offered to my thoughts; and it immediately occurred to me how I should be laughed at among the neighbours, and should be ashamed to see, not my father and mother only, but even everybody else; from whence I have since often observed how incongruous and irrational the common temper of mankind is, especially of youth, viz., that they are not ashamed to sin, and yet are ashamed to repent; nor ashamed for the action for which they ought justly to be esteemed fools, but are ashamed of the returning, which only can make make them be esteemed wise men (emphasis mine).

~ Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe

Merry Christmas!!

The people who walk in darkness
Will see a great light;
Those who live in a dark land,
The light will shine on them.
You shall multiply the nation,
You shall increase their gladness;
They will be glad in Your presence
As with the gladness of harvest,
As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.

For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
And the government will rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:2-7

Psalm 146

Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the lord while I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Do not trust in princes, in mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
His spirit departs, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
How blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind; the Lord raises up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous; the lord protects the strangers; He supports the fatherless and the widow, but He thwarts the way of the wicked.
The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

Merry Consumermas Pt. 2 (the slightly funny, moderately offensive one)

[Below is a portion of an email I sent to my good friend, Cindy, requesting Christmas ideas for the family. I apologize in advance for crossing any boundaries or cultural expectations.

Please note my inaccurate understanding of the month Jesus was born... I bring up a controversy and don't even get the facts right! It just goes to show that I don't take nearly as much time researching the factual basis of my emails (0 minutes) as I do with my blogs (5 minutes)]

Cindy,
Despite the anti-consumer movements of the Advent Conspiracy and others, I have decided that Christmas gifts are of absolute importance.


My reasons being:

1. Jesus wasn't even born in December. It was more like early spring, say March. Therefore, it is completely legitimate that we celebrate Consumerism (my suggestion: a rename to Consumermas) December 25th, and then have a huge throw-down for Jesus, March 8th (or 10th or 29th… really it doesn't matter. We're going ballpark here). Jesus Celebration will include: Pinatas filled with Pixie Sticks and miniature Bibles supplied by the Gideons (Sugar-rush Bible Study… better than crack!). For the evangelistic amongst us I would recommend: $20 bills & fake $20 Gospel Tracts. Trust me… they'll take the tracts home with them. ...

And so my friends, I wish you a Merry Consumermas, hoping that somewhere behind the towers of packages, multiple Holiday parties a week, and general stress of the season, that you find joy, simplicity, and the dream that a helpless baby born in the backwoods will make peace, love and freedom reign.

Merry Consumermas Pt.1 (the serious one)

Last Sunday, some Manhattan friends randomly gave me a call to let me know they were hitting up Liberty Hall to watch the documentary, What Would Jesus Buy?

But really, with a description like this, how can you not go see it?

Through retail interventions, corporate exorcisms, and some good old-fashioned preaching, Reverend Billy reminds us that we have lost the true meaning of Christmas. What Would Jesus Buy? is a journey into the heart of America – from exorcising the demons at the Wal-Mart headquarters to taking over the center stage at the Mall of America and then ultimately heading to the Promised Land … Disneyland.

Seriously.

It's worth your time. Don't let the Shopocalypse hold you down.

we who dwell therein.

Psalm 24 was the Advent passage I meditated on Monday morning. As I spent time with it, I felt like I was in the standing chest deep in the sea, the water gently and thoroughly cleansing me, setting me free.

The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness,
the world and those who dwell therein.
For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.

Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
Or who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who has not lifted up his soul to an idol,
nor sworn deceitfully.
He shall receive blessing from the Lord,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is Jacob, the generation of those who seek Him,
who seek your face.

Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty,
the Lord mighty in battle.
Life up your heads, O you gates!
Life up, you everlasting doors!
And the King of glory shall come in.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
He is the King of glory.

Psalm 24

on repeat.

I missed Once in the theaters which is absolutely ridiculous considering I live in the capital of independent films, movies, art, etc (this is not a factual statement; Lawrence is not the capital of independent media). Yet, with places like Liberty Hall, I'm crazy to miss great independent/limited release films.

I do, with regularity.

Falling Slowly from Once has been on repeat on my iPod. LOVE it!

more hours down the drain...

Thanks to Nick' pointing out that you can stream interviews from the Colbert Report off Comedy Central's website, I am now forced to watch hours and hours of Colbert interviews.

Here's my favorite thus far, and by favorite, I mean: most awkward.

the Real reason for my blog:

for YOU to utilize my Amazon Wish List and buy me stuff. All the other words, ideas, notions, jokes, ironic situations, etc. are all just pointing to my Amazon Wish List screaming: Buy Graham stuff!! Buy Graham stuff!!

After all, it is Christmas.

better.

What's better than an afternoon @ la Prima Tazza in the rain?

An afternoon @ la Prima Tazza in the snow.


(the peppermint tea also adds to the experience)

graham says yes to accountability

Some questioned the accuracy of my last post. Because I completely agree with accountability, and desire my blog to be known as a place of 100% truth 100% of the time, I have done a little research on whether or not the U.S. has an official language.

For those of you who gravitate towards social and political activism, there is a fine organization you can join forces with to ensure the U.S. adopts English as it's official language.

And last, merely because it didn't fit in my last post, but is far too good to not share:


I call it 'Jesus, Texas Ranger.'

Quote of the day

Earlier today, a co-worked shared with me this quote he had heard:

(with regard to making English the official language of the United States):

'If English is good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for me.'

tragedy. comedy. fairy tale.

Tragedy: I lost (misplaced) my copy of Telling the Truth: the Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy & Fairy Tale. Undoubtedly one of my favorite books; I treasure that copy especially because a good friend gave it to me.

Comedy: This losing/misplacing happened right as I was intending to complete my blog series of quotes from that wonderful book.

Fairy Tale: I've looked high and low, and even emailed an ex-roommate in CO to see if he accidentally grabbed it. All to no avail. Maybe it will show up!

Psalm 43

3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.

4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy; and on the harp I will praise You, O God, my God.

the awards i win (post #100!)

A few days ago, I had the chance to attend my first sales/continuing education seminar. This one was on Helical Screw Piles (no, this wasnt the company presenting). Here are the awards I won at the aforementioned seminar:

Best Dressed (I was competing against a bunch of middle-aged, suburban white men... they didnt see me coming!)

Most Improved (Being the least experienced gave me a leg up, but I appreciate the nod toward my hard work.)

Runner Up for Best Question (My 'overturning' question was only overturned by the dude to my left who pulled out the brilliant one on 'unsupported column length.' Damn.)

Tightest Accessory: my watch (I recognize this is a gimme, but an award I won regardless.)

Best Choice of Drink: Iced Tea (Does no one drink sweet iced tea anymore? tragic!)

Most Eligible Bachelor (I'm pretty sure I won this by default, but I dont turn down the bling.)

Best Prepared for the Seminar (Apparently my close proximity to college reminded me that it was absolutely necessary to bring some outside beverage, a tea latte, with me. My boy Jordan at Latte Land hooked me up. It was excellent.)

Flyest Shoes (There was a quick, but heated debate as to whether shoes should count as a sub-set of the Best Dressed category, especially with my strong showing in both the Best Dressed and Best Accessory segments. In the end, it was decided, by a narrow margin, that Flyest Shoes should be it's own category.)

Sadly, I was not wearing shoes acquired from Habitat Shoes and therefore can't turn this post into a shameless plug for Habitat. But if you want to win similar awards in your context, I'd recommend going to Habitat Shoes and letting John & Kristen hook you up; they've got tight shoes. And tight other things!

NT on Postmodernity

Collapsing reality; deconstructing selfhood; the death of the metanarrative. These are the keys to understanding postmodernity. It is a ruthless application of the hermeneutic of suspicion to everything that the post-Enlightenment Western world has held dear. It goes exactly with the microchip revolution, which has generated and sustained a world in which creating new apparent realities, living in one's own private world and telling one's own story even though it does not cohere with anybody else's, is easier and easier. This is what the Internet is partly all about. We live in a cultural, economic, moral and even religious hypermarket. Scoop up what you like and mix it all together.

~ Bishop Tom Wright, The Challenge of Jesus

church in my living room

When someone discovers that I'm a part of a House Church network in Lawrence, KS, I'm generally met with a lot of questions. These questions can arise from a variety of places within the questioner. Sometimes it's fascination, other times it's freak-show curiosity. I'm met with concern and with admiration. But generally, people seem to be interested in how House Church actually works and how they can apply it to their local context.

Thus far, I have been hesitant to share the secret of our community, but in a moment of clarity, I've decided it only appropriate to share from our riches. The secret success of our house church comes from one activity that we, as a community, engage with together: Hearts with Consequences.

For those unfamiliar, Hearts with Consequences is basically a combination of Hearts and Russian Roulette. Before the commencement of the game, every participant chooses a 'consequence' that they must perform if they end up losing (ex. signing up for eHarmony & going on a date through it, getting a tattoo of the card you lost the game with, driving your car decorated with 'Just Married' all over it for a week). In case it isn't perfectly clear, the point isn't necessarily to win, just to not lose!

Now, some of you will question the theological and Biblical basis of Hearts with Consequences and it's effect in bringing about the life of God. To those, I would encourage a fresh reading of Acts 2:42-47:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to intense individualistic competition, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders, miraculous signs and humiliating consequences were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common despite the risk of social humiliation. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Their competitive spirit so rampant, every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved and joining in on the lively festivities.

As disciples of Jesus, it is important to discover modern pictures of what it looks like to follow Jesus both as an individual disciple and as a community of disciples. On both accounts, I offer one picture:



(a special thanks to T$ whose gracious permission to use his picture made this post possible)

working definition

The last months I've grown a fascination with the language and it's adaptation through time and geography and culture. Increasingly, I've been a part of discussions on language being dynamic: words ever change and therefore are in regular need of redefinition.

Though there are many ways this can happen, one I see especially prevalent is over-use of a word or phrase to the point of meaning pollution. At this point the word effectively becomes more of a cultural (or sub-cultural) staple rather than a word with actual meaning. It is, as if, there is a point where language tips from having a real definition with rich imagery and meaningful associated practices to being a word we use because we're used to saying it.

Naturally, I am most aware of this within the Christian sub-culture and am painfully present to how many of our words just don't make sense outside this context. But rather than tear down words and stop using them, I like to reinvent them, redefine them. That way, they're rich to me, full of meaning, and a discovery to invite others into.

One of the words that nearly lost meaning for me is disciple, a word thrown-around a fair bit in expressly Christian circles. My working definition of a disciple is someone who postures their life to listen to Jesus and faithfully respond over time.

(I stole this definition from Ken Primrose and the entire Norman Community Church. Ken goes on to define faithfulness as sincerity + time)

What's your working definition of a disciple?

how to know you're loved.

At a party last weekend this gem was unveiled. Yes, I am loved. And no, I had no part in its creation.

(My favorite is the awkward 'me' who jumps back in at the end and doesn't seem quite sure what to do)

anti-growth

(alternate blog title: growth in the wrong direction)

I usually wear size 34 x 32 jeans. Saturday I went shopping for new jeans. The size that I eventually settled on: 36 x 30.

This effectively means I'm getting fatter & shrinking. Perfect.

no really, the joke is on me!

Friday night was my first Christmas Party with my new job. It was quite an experience. And probably more so for my friend Megan who graciously accompanied me.

The highlight of the evening for me was upon being introduced, one of our less than sober accountants declaring: 'when I first heard your name, I thought it was a joke!'

Now, I've always known Graham Ripple is a unique name, but I didn't realize it was that unique! What I have known is that I've received some pretty crazy nicknames over the years. And so, I thought it only fitting to share some of my favorite nicknames (along with who originated them) which really are a joke!

~ dirty (Johnny B started it and continues to keep it alive)

- the grahambulance (Zak & the Rome crew)

- graham 'ripples of pain through your jaw' ripple (Ryan Campbell... last night)

- g-ram (far too many people, but Chris Howard stands out)

- g.rip (again, too many to name!)

Anyone have a favorite they want to share?

You're also, of course, welcome to share some of your favorite nicknames that you've received, but really, shouldn't you be posting that on your blog!?!

just a taste.

Scrolling through my iPod at work yesterday, I ran into the Weepies' song Gotta Have You. How it got there, I have no clue. Needless to say it has been on repeat.



Sorry it isn't the complete song... best I could do!

Oh, and here are the lyrics, for those interested:

Gray, quiet and tired and mean
Picking at a worried seam
I try to make you mad at me over the phone.
Red eyes and fire and signs
I'm taken by a nursery rhyme
I want to make a ray of sunshine and never leave home

No amount of coffee, no amount of crying
No amount of whiskey, no amount of wine
No, nothing else will do
I've gotta have you, I've gotta have you.

The road gets cold, there's no spring in the middle this year
I'm the new chicken clucking open hearts and ears
Oh, such a prima donna, sorry for myself
But green, it is also summer
And I won't be warm till I'm lying in your arms

I see it all through a telescope: guitar, suitcase, and a warm coat
Lying in the back of the blue boat, humming a tune...