Urban Village of Pasadena

A recent lectionary reading was the passage from Mark about the baptism of Jesus.

The baptism of Jesus has, I think, been woefully under-appreciated. Because we tend to think of Jesus as divine and without sin, we assume that he did not need to be baptized, and so we find some easy and simplistic explanation for why he was baptized, e.g. to be an example for others because that's what a good leader does.

Back when I was fighting depression in my early 20s I stumbled across the book "Freedom from the Performance Trap" by David Seamands. It really convicted me. The first anecdote was about a young man who came to Seamands for pastoral counsel with regards to his persistent feelings of negativity and inadequacy.

I'm feeling pretty exhausted right now. I've traveled back and forth between Upland, Pasadena, Arcadia, and San Marino this past week - all to accommodate our trying to live part-time here in Upland with my parents while Glory is completing her Clinical Pastoral Education internship at Arcadia Methodist Hospital. Part of our reason for wanting to stay with them is because it's just a lot easier to be out here. My wife Glory has felt it, presumably, due to the fact that she hasn't had to concern herself with preparing meals, something which both my mother and father take care of.

I've always wanted to find an outlet for my writing. Right now I have the opportunity to write on this website given that I have a login. (Actually, people who do not have logins are also able to write on this website by commenting on other blogs.) I was watching my two and a half year old son Jude today. I took him to Magnolia Park on 15th and San Antonio around 3:30 PM. There was hardly anyone at the park when I first got there. There were two men who looked as if they were using metal detectors. From far away it looked as though they were blowing leaves with wind-blowers.

Three of the Republican candidates at a recent debate (the 14th or 15th, I think...these debates are like the latest "reality show," sheer low brow entertainment) were asked what they would be doing that night if they were not running for president.

Week One

On being “called”

(If you don't care what I have to say, just listen to the music at YouTube.)

There was lots to like in 2011, but for the first time in several years there was no album that grabbed me and said, "You're listening to me 100 times this year." I saved a lot of songs to my "Potential Best Songs of 2011" playlist, but none of them stand out above the rest. So I'll just write about the ones that are the most fun to write about!

Record of the Year: Stevie Nicks - For What It's Worth

All other things being equal, why not continue my tradition of honoring aging rockers who peaked when I was in high school? It's a darn good album.

The Decemberists - Don't Carry it All

One of the biggest decisions in my life - or at least I thought so at the time - was choosing where I was going to work and live right after college. Upon graduating in the mid 90s, I was fortunate enough to have multiple job offers from a few companies here in Southern California.

Seven people carpooled from Pasadena, including two Urban Villagers: Bob and me.

We arrived in Long Beach just before 5:00 a.m. There seemed to be several hundred protesters (when we marched, we looked like a thousand; when we were clumped together, we looked like 250). We gathered at Harry Bridges park and marched to one of the entrances to a terminal of the port.

http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/changing_the_conversation...