Chicago morning

On an ideal day, I get up around 6 or 7, start coffee, then check my calendar, email, news, blogs, and twitter in that order. I jump onto iChat and catch the people who live in different time zones or work third shift and say a quick hello.

Israel wakes up when I do, but quickly climbs onto whatever item of furniture is closest to my desk and quickly goes back to sleep. Coffee finishes and I get up to pour a cup, Israel opens one eye and watches me walk in the opposite direction of his leash. He closes his eye and groans as he stretches into an awkward position over the arm of the chair.

Coffee in hand, I grab my blanket and curl up in another chair, switching on the news for a few minutes. My mind wanders to my friends' updates on their blogs and I think about how it seems like everyone is getting married and writing about their spouses and children. I glance over at the dog and remind myself that I don't want any more responsibility than I already have.

Switch off the tv, grab my running shoes and a hoodie and the dog's leash. He quickly jumps up, more awake than I am even after my coffee, and stands at the door waiting for me to grab a bag for the pleasant responsibility of cleaning up after him. Hook the leash on with a snap, unlock the door, and he bounds outside, shoving the outer door out of his way with his head.

An older gentleman is walking across the street to sit in his spot on the curb outside of my building. I pick up after Israel and toss it in the dumpster around the corner. The man starts talking to me with a heavy enough accent that I can't understand what he's saying. I smile and say good morning as I pass him by. Start jogging.

A couple of blocks away, Israel decides that he's more interested in smelling a tree next to the sidewalk instead of running, but doesn't give me any warning. He stops dead in his tracks and my body whiplashes as his leash catches my arm and pulls me to a complete stop. I half laugh, half yell as he looks up at me, then starts walking as though nothing had happened. I give up, we walk the rest of the way around my new route and head home.

The sun is coming up as I get back to my door and my neighbor has just shown up outside with his dogs. We exchange a few words, the dogs sniff at one another, and I head inside.

Shower, breakfast, feed the dog.

The day has begun.

From Gaza

Voices for Creative Nonviolence received the following report from
Kathy Kelly at 11:10 a.m. on January 17. She is currently in the city
of Rafah, in southern Gaza.
----------

Dear Friends,

Hello from Gaza. We're in Rafah, in southern Gaza, a small town which
has been fiercely assaulted by the Israeli Air Force for the past
three weeks. Last night, we stayed in a family home about 450 meters
from the border between Egypt and Gaza. We were one block away from
the area between the border and Sea Street, (Rafah's main street).
The Israeli military had dropped leaflets over the area, warning
everyone to leave because Israel planned a fierce assault. Many
residents stay with relatives overnight, but we drove through the area
after sunset and saw numerous children playing in the streets.

Beginning at 12:30 a.m., Israel F-16s and Apache helicopters bombed
the neighborhood once every eleven minutes for about the next 46
minutes. The bombing resumed at about 3:00 a.m. and again at about
5:00 a.m. By morning six family homes were destroyed.

Throughout the day, today, the bombing has continued.

One humanitarian worker told us that he has heard of many groups
speaking about agreements that might be made but he said the only
reality is that people are buried in the ground.

Today, we visited Rafah's hospital, the Abu Yusif Al Najaar hospital,
where we briefly met several people who were injured by the bombing,
including two children and a grandmother. The hospital lacks basic
common surgical tools and the area's pharmacy was destroyed during the
first days of the bombing.

We also visited with Int'l Solidarity Movement workers who told us
that ISM members in the north need more help accompanying ambulances.
At this point, we're told it would be very difficult for us to travel
north because of roadblocks.

At the World Vision office, here in Rafah, the director told us that
not one kilo of cement had come into Rafah over the last two years.
He wondered how they would rebuild after this latest "catastrophic
and unfair war."

Several families displaced by the bombing are living in a primitive
camp, with plastic for doors, and as many as 17 people crowded into
two separate makeshift shelters, - very cramped quarters.

Very best,

Kathy

---
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
1249 W Argyle Street #2, Chicago, IL 60640
Phone: (773) 878-3815
E-mail: info@vcnv.org
web: www.vcnv.org

Gaza

I have nothing new to say about what is happening in Gaza but if you want to stay informed, I'd suggest any of the links I'll post below.


Dr Marcy Newman: http://bodyontheline.wordpress.com/

Sameh A Habeeb: http://gazatoday.blogspot.com/

Electronic Intifada: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/

Al Jazeera: http://english.aljazeera.net//news/middleeast/

Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/world/mideast/index.html?wprss=rss_world/mideast

Time Mag Middle East Blog: http://mideast.blogs.time.com/




What are your thoughts on all of this?

Model United Nations conference in Chicago. Check. (semantics, drama, politics)

Thanksgiving with family. Check. (cocoa with zing, football, mashed potatoes)

Christmas decorating at the parents' house. Check. (two trees, many lights)

Locked out of my house. Check. (keys on Kate's keyring)

Road trip to Ohio. Check. (amy bracken, new shoes)

Catching another cold. Check. (attacking it with vitamin c)

Change in perspective... again... Check. (a new layer)

New job options for next fall. Check. (stateside, international)

Learning that I am a "4". Check. (enneagram test, uncomfortable)

Remembering that God is not surprised. Check. (thankful)

I'm sitting half in the kitchen, half in the living room, on a chair from the dining table. Israel is curled up under a blanket I got in Mexico on the chair my grandfather sat in every night for decades. Sufjan Stevens is playing on the record player.

The house is cold, my fingers are a bit numb, and my keffiyeh is pulled loosely around my neck.

Tomorrow, we go to a funeral for the 9 month old son of a neighbour.
Today, I received a voicemail saying a teenage friend of my old roommate finally passed away after attempting suicide a couple of days ago.
This morning I attended a lecture on the oppression of the Palestinians and the refugees who are "fleeing from the United States version of freedom and democracy" (as one speaker put it) in Iraq.

I'm thinking about my upcoming trip to Yemen, my role here in Grand Rapids, and why my heart beats differently when I think about the poor and the hurting.

I am learning practices in this house that will change me forever. I am meeting people who have impacted my life extensively in regards to understanding more than my mid-west suburban upbringing.

Last summer, I had a friend sit me down to inform me that I don't really end conversations, phone calls, or hanging out times well. Basically, I just take off when I'm finished, no real exit strategy. Aside from explaining this to you, that is how I am ending this post. I have nothing else to say.

Tim is reading (out loud) a poem from the 1st century about Passover called "The Mystery of the Pascha" ...translating it from Greek as he goes.

Jason is catching up on news about last night's presidential debate.

Israel is sleeping, per usual, on the dog bed Kate made him.

We spent this morning with Sara Rose (Vruggink), eating french toast, drinking coffee, and chatting about peace issues after reading aloud from Jesus for President.

Thursday night was "Girls' Night" with Kate and Holly... we spent it goofing off, eating ice cream, doing mud-masks, and "hashing" through some ideas and concerns we've encountered.

Yesterday I came home from work to a basement full of people playing music and praising God. Israel and I listened from the living room while I continued to read The Count of Monte Cristo.

I feel actively loved in this place, challenged daily, and at a place of rest and wrestling with my Creator.

Reading Brooke's blog started some conversation with the women in this house and I've come to the realization that I feel very much like a sister, mother, daughter, wife, and friend in this house of my Jesus-following peers. How could I ask for more?

Billy Joel is playing through Charlie's speakers, singing about Captain Jack.

Tomorrow is our first potluck! I'm pretty excited... the turn out looks like it will be pretty incredible. According to the facebook invitation alone, we have close to 50 people coming. That doesn't include family or neighbours, so I'm sure it will be an eventful evening. God has provided so much for us already that I have to remember not to worry that we won't have enough food.

Bob Dylan has taken over for Billy Joel.

If you enjoy bagels, let me know. We're getting roughly an entire trash-bag worth of bagels twice a week for free and we definitely can't eat them all. Also, any suggestions for easy/cheap/reusable bags that we can put the bagels in each time? We're running out.

Ben Harper jumped in to tell me he is a God Fearing Man.

I am very seriously considering joining the Orthodox church that I have been attending for the past few months, yet I want to walk my way through the core beliefs of the church some more first. I've been attending an Inquirer's class as well as the adult Bible study they offer at St. George's and I can't get enough of them.

We'll see how that turns out. Time for work!

The clouds have drizzled a grey haze over everything in my neighbourhood while the humidity has creeped into the house. I am sitting at my desk in front of a window that looks directly into the window of the next house over, listening to Over The Rhine through my headphones while Jason sets up his desk across the room. A small fan is on top of one of the book cases, pushing air around the room.

Israel is curled up on the floor next to me, on a pillow that is not large enough to act as the dog bed he thinks it is.

I have a stack of Arabic text books and some novels Tim brought home for me from Nader sitting to my right.

Classes start again on Monday and I have yet to buy books. I have this introduction paragraph to send on to Tom Johnson before tomorrow. Saturday will be filled with Shabbat service and a work day and a come-check-out-our-new-house party.

God is showing me things about myself that need to change, things I didn't even realize were problematic until now. It seems that I have a lot to process through to figure out exactly what I'm learning.

Sara Rose came over this morning and we had time just spent... talking together. I can honestly say that I love that woman, she is without a doubt my closest friend.

Today feels like a day to read through an entire book, drinking tea and spending time alone. That is, until going to Ben's wedding tonight...

"We don't need a lot of money, we'll be sleeping on the beach... keeping oceans within reach." OTR

We pulled off a last-minute surprise party tonight to celebrate a friend's birthday. No a/c means we sweat our way through multiple rounds of Catch Phrase, eating cake, and telling stories.

I love this.

I must admit, I have rediscovered my love of Star Trek.