pumpkin spice latte and thoughts on culture

i had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season today. and if it's at all possible it was even better than i remember. of course it doesn't hurt that it had some extra foam, and came in an actual mug. [thanks to starbucks' "for here" mugs]

this is what the majority of my afternoon looked like today.

i had a good, albeit tiring, day. everything [EVERYTHING] starts this week, and yet somehow i'm not nearly as stressed out as i probably should be. i'm actually pretty content to swing into the schedule i've been waiting about 2 months for. everything seems to be falling into place pretty well.

today my afternoon consisted not only of a pumpkin spice latte, but also of a couple hours of reading, and plenty of artistic imaginings. the book i finished this afternoon was a manifesto about connecting culture and christianity, but not in any of the failed ways we've tried in the past. the book is entitled "the culturally savvy christian" and it made me think more about the link between these two behemoth parts of my life than i ever have before. and truth be told i have thought about it quite a bit because i feel that the church usually fails miserably whenever it tries to connect with the surrounding culture.

[image via amazon]

this text has resonated with me over the past couple weeks in an almost unbelievable sort of way. the last section of this book [what i read today] expresses what he sees as the solution to the problem. when i "taught" our high school students in sunday school a few weeks ago we discussed the problem outlined in this book. we met for a little over an hour, and it took that long to talk about the problem without even fleshing out many of the points the author makes. so it certainly doesn't gloss over the problem like many other publications.

the problems in our culture are real and big and intricately woven into our daily lives. things we don't think about affect us in ways we don't know about, largely because we don't think about them.

i could go on for a while about some of the implications of this book, but i am certain that i wouldn't do it justice. so all i'm going to say is this: read it.

go buy it, and read it.

one of the last things mentioned in the "solution" section of the book [my wording, not his] is about creating things, adding to the world. not adding crap, but adding good, truly good art, music, poetry, writings, etc. etc. etc.

create as the God of the universe has enabled you to.

i believe he created the world, the universe, and everything in it. and i also believe we [as humans] were created in his image. he could create out of nothing because he's God. we can't. but we can create new things from the substance he's given us.

one of the most gifted and inspiring people i've ever known [although i've never met her in person] is an independent artist in idaho. she creates true art. jewelry that stems straight from her soul, and her connection to each piece is obvious. i'm honored to own a few of her pieces, and each time i put any of them on i'm inspired by the beauty found in and on every square inch.

all of these thoughts have led me to pondering my little blog here. i write for various reasons, chief among them to connect to people i'm not around every day, and because it's a cathartic exercise for me. but am i really adding anything to the world by the click-clacking of the keys on a semi-regular basis?

the jury's still out...