Ann’s Art

On what turned out to be the most beautiful evening of the current ’09 year, we were privileged to attend Ann Porter’s, one woman watercolor show in Fairfield. Ann dedicated this show to her late husband, Jon, who had encouraged her to pursue her love of art. It was well attended, well received, and a privilege to be part of. We have been friends of this couple since our post Wesleyan days when Jon started quoting “Jabberwock” and Warren grinning, spontaneously joined in and finished the quote with him!
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TA in TW (Today’s American in Today’s World)

“In Today’s World”, we clearly need commandments rather than suggestions, though too often we eschew such old-time religious strong-arming. Not so for many God-fearing – and often impoverished – Americans.” This quote is from Rod Dreher in the March 9th issue of USA Today, p. 11 of section A. A portion of his first paragraph reads: “The long prayer (of 8th century St. Andrew of Crete) is an epic journey into awareness of sin and intense longing for repentance and mercy. It will rest assured, harsh your mellow.”

“Well good: (he continues), “Our collective mellow needs some harshing. The strong words of the long-ago saint have the effect of hacking away the sentimental accretions American Christianity has slathered like butter cream icing on the Gospel. How much better off we would all be in this time of economic trial if we had less Joel Osteen and more Andrew of Crete.”.

“. . . We middle-class Americans are so accustomed to a therapeutic approach to religion that we’ve lost touch with the reality of sin and the need for a strong ethical guide to life. We need commandments, not suggestions.”

He goes on to share how he attended a church service “still reeling from having caught an advance screening of Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’ two days earlier. The film had torn my conscience to pieces, shattering my spiritual complacency, forcing me to understand the seriousness of sin – my sin – and what Jesus suffered to deliver us from it.”

“And then, in his homily, the comfortable middle-class priest in our comfortable middle-class parish instructed the congregation that the Lenten season is all about – no kidding – learning to love ourselves more.”

If Andrew of Crete could see us today, would he conclude that the problem with Americans is they don’t love themselves enough? To the contrary, our problems consist chiefly in that we love ourselves and our pleasures entirely too much.”

The rest of the article continues to be riveting: He refers to our schools in our narcissistic middle – class culture . . . “whose purpose seems to be to reassure its practitioners that they’re all A-plus students, rather than to lead them to the hard work of repentance and authentic renewal”.
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, of course, but when educated middle class people do so, they typically have the resources to ameliorate the damage that can result. Not so the poor, whose attraction to more fundamentalist forms of religion tends to mystify and even appall the middle classes.”

The concluding paragraphs of the article are motivating and uncomfortable but so refreshing and practical. I have the article and would love to share its relevant comments- or perhaps you can find it one line. Let me conclude with his closing thoughts: “You’d never catch bourgeois me doing something like that (like what?-editor’s comment-read the article!) I bet Andrew of Crete would have, though. Poor me.”

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In the first “PUP” section, I’ve encouraged everyone to probe with thoughtful, penetrating, questions through and about any pressure you or I may be under, because the issues facing our beloved nation are certainly pressure filled and affect all of us. Can we any longer afford not to cut to the heart of our problems? :

“How deep and central are the questions we raise?”

What is the most important question we could be raising today? If we don’t have a ‘core issue’ from which all others are affected, we’ll tend to be like the blunderbuss gun without the capability of effectively targeting a goal and we’ll live as we are living now with the results. More on this topic are intended to be forthcoming in our next blog.
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PUP I had understood from the doctor who surgerically implanted a “PURPLE POWER PORT” in me that it could be used to put in the dye for the C-T Scan. The nurses in Iowa City told me that they had not learned the procedure yet. When I consulted with our nurses in our local HCHC infusion center, they confirmed that it is not unusual for the smaller hospitals to know some of these procedures before the larger hospital personal. Interesting, isn’t it? Hummm, maybe, small town grass roots people are savvier than might be perceived-or at least the small town folk can be equipped to serve because there are fewer to train!

Infusion therapy for me: I was given the first in a 3rd series of chemo Tuesday, March 10th. So far this Gemzar has given me few side affects. The taxotere will be given next week and it has caused significant fatigue. Praise God, tho’, it has been used of our Lord to cause the 4 cysts to disappear, with the last one seemingly affected by it! I thank our God that He is the Great Physician and that He works through the prayers of His family.

Drink plenty of water – I had to be reminded again!
I learned Tuesday, that I could receive an infusion of saline solution before the more severe of my chemo, to further energize me. What a terrific idea! I may do that next Monday when I have my blood drawn. Ask about this for yourself, if lack of energy is a huge problem, through your therapy.

Enjoy the Relationships: Some of your and my doctors may have more of a stern personality. I had occasion to deal with one during my last Iowa City visit. We really seek to bathe our appointments and relationships with prayer because we need our Lord’s intervention. Anyway, I told my doctor that the last time I was examined, it hurt (just wanting him to assure me that he would be as gentle as he was professional). He didn’t respond so I repeated my concern. He curtly reminded me that I had already told him that!

15-20 years ago I would have been hurt and consequently shut down, but the Lord’s work in me did not allow that. The doctor was gentle and his exam didn’t hurt so I told him that he could have the other half of my sandwich, he had done such a good job! His nurse said that she didn’t think he had ever been offered such a gift!

In this same kind of context, a friend of mine said that she has become thicker skinned through a difficult relationship that she had. I queried her with ‘haven’t you become more focused and assured of God’s promises to you, so that comments like that are not significant or important in light of those God has given?’ Comments by people don’t make us, God’s Word and His love is the only true source of changing and making us. How really freeing God’s Word is through pressures!
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