Life as Spiritual History -or- A Tip of the Hat to Vonnegut, Foer, and Jason Powers

Kyle articulated this idea for me in his Revangelism series, the idea that everyone has some type of "spiritual history," whether they are over-churched refugees or uber-intellectual atheists. I knew this to be true through my experiences in high school with my buddies who would not have been categorized as "God-people" or striving for the "sacred" by my previous CD burning measuring stick... but they still were the individuals rich with faith and struggle and whether they knew it or not, relationship with God. Kyle's words articulated and validated this for me.
My favorite part of viewing life as spiritual history is that it allows even the negative to be redeemed. When you decide to have a little road rage and almost get in a fight with a man who turns out to be an off-duty police officer and spend the night in jail, you need to be able to redeem that (yes, it's true, summer after my freshman year). When you decide to start following the Phish, partake in substances, and start practicing Buddhism (not me, not me, not me)(sorry Jason...) you need to be able to redeem that. When you sit in a hospital bathroom and try to cut a deal with God to keep someone you love alive a little longer, you need to be able to redeem that. When someone you love dies, when you experience the side effects of Death in all its forms, you need to be able to redeem that.
You don't have to love or be happy about all things in your past (particularly jail time, the death of loved ones, or any other number of horrible, Vonnegutian life-things), but you should be able to respect your past in some sort of way as a Christian. It is The Path. It is your story. And it can be amazing to recognize the presence of God, albeit difficult some places, in every moment and space of history. It certainly makes God a lot bigger and complicated than what the static-cling, felt board Jesus offers.
What if God didn't necessarily cause all moments to happen, but was fully present in all moments... "in the very air around us." What if our sordid pasts are Holy Ground? What if these pasts have something to offer, or have "illumintaion to spread on the 'now'". Maybe we can look at our pasts and do a little dumpster-diving... Some of the things we threw out deserve to stay there, but what if there are other moments that are redeemable, that God is saying... "that was me! you were seeing me! you were hearing me! see, I have been here always waiting for you to recognize me!"
That is a theology that I can accept. A theology that doesn't haphazardly put stamps of approval on all events in all times; but instead, a theology that invites us to recognize the big and complicated God that humbly wore skin and humbly awaits our recognition.
At the very least, this makes me sleep easier. It doesn't try to infuse a false "purpose" for things, but points to an undeniable presence and an other-than-ness bigger than all of our junk.

Is it in you? -or- It is not possible to pee and think at the same time.

64 fl. oz.'s or 1.892 liters of Gatorade's newest concoction has me replacing electrolytes I never even lost and begging for more. Gatorade X-Factor, lemon-lime + strawberry is changing my life, one sip at a time. I don't know how the good people at Gatorade Thirst Qunecher do it, and frankly, I don't care. Go out and get yourself 64 or more o-z's of this miracle of flavor and rehydration; it might just change your life.
So, high on 14 grams of sugar per serving and refreshed from ample amounts of replenishing electrolytes, I'm going to attempt another high-energy, low-content blogging:

1)Tattoos are neat things, and I now have one. They hurt, but they look sweet. Here is a brief list of what I did not get tattooed on my body:
-butterfly on my ankle
-tribal/barbwire design on any limb
-a flour design on my lower back (tempting!)
-a Jesus fish eating an overturned fish with feet that reads "Darwin"
-an overweight devil woman, naked and exposed on my rear (although this option was available to me)

2) Some of you may be aware of the increasing popularity of "Chuck Norriss" jokes. I have decided that I can be at least as funny as some computer science kid who is posting them on the web and write my own. Here it is:
-When President Bush sent troops to Iraq to try and find any of Sadaam's Weapons of Mass Destruction, Sadaam sent people to America to try find and Chuck Norriss.

3) Do not, under any circumstances, be friendly or even slightly congenial with "the guy at the video store." He WILL try and cross the line and become your "bff". The slippery slope of customer/video store guy conversation starts out with upcoming release dates and ends up with him trying to convince you to get his "band" a gig at your church and asking if you have any space for him to live over the summer. As a result of this encounter, I've developed a plan for avoiding these boundary-crossing situations. If a conversation with said video store guy starts turning personal, ask about "World of Warcraft" game and what level he is. Good luck finding a way out of that one though.

4) I bought tickets to see The Roots and Blacklicious on June 2nd at Stubbs in Austin. I am eating turkey sandwhiches and pringles for every meal as a result of this purchase. Questlove better bring it...

5) The Spurs take on the Mavs in game 7 tonight... Go Spurs, rep the 2-1-0 and keep the playoff run going. Also, cover your man-parts because Jason Terry is back...

6) Never, EVER, drink all 64 fl. oz.'s in one sitting and try to blog. It will create a sickeningly sordid entry that attests to the frequent urination breaks and subsequent thwarting of any legitimate trains of thought.

7) I'm moving into the new house this week with Matt Bates (and Harry for the summer, when he gets back from Africa). I do accept any house-warming gifts and/or warm cookies/desserts/entrees from friends/neighbors/mild acquuaintances.

8) I need some good reading list add-ons because I have already destroyed my summer reading list. Holla at me if ya know something.