From time to time I am going to take a moment to write about the major influences on my life: authors, preachers, music, movies, and the like. I will put these posts up in a thoroughly biased manner because each post will strictly be my opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but hopefully, each post will shed some light on why I think the way I think. And, maybe, you'll come to appreciate them too.
I'll get straight to the point: I like breakfast. I like it a lot. There is very little about the Most Important Meal of the Day that I dislike. In fact, I think it is so important, that if it were at all possible, I would eat breakfast all day, every day.
Think about it: at what other meal can you combine sweet and savory, dessert and entree, all in one course, wash it down with coffee, and call it 'normal'? The typical breakfast menu involves meat, eggs, various confectionery delights, fruit, breads - a veritable cornucopia of cholesterol and sodium/sugar laden dishes simply waiting to be obliterated.
My favorite breakfast order? The skillet. Why? Take everything I just said, throw it all on one plate together, top it with some hot sauce and go to town! With a cinnamon roll on the side, of course.
This is also why I like diners - which is a separate post all on its own. Diners serve breakfast all day, which makes them the place to go when you're me. Doesn't matter what time it is: If I find myself at a diner, breakfast is getting ordered.
Bon appetit!
Showing posts with label Why I Like. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Why I Like. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Why I Like: Chicago
From time to time I am going to take a moment to write about the major influences on my life: authors, preachers, music, movies, and the like. I will put these posts up in a thoroughly biased manner because each post will strictly be my opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but hopefully, each post will shed some light on why I think the way I think. And, maybe, you'll come to appreciate them too.
I am originally from a very small town in rural, western Illinois. For those who care, and for those from there, the town is named Aledo. Christen moved to Aledo in junior high from an even smaller town in central/southern Illinois. When we got married, we flew out to Colorado for our honeymoon and then back into Chicago, where we promptly drove to our apartment and began our lives in the Second City. When we told folks from back home that we were planning on starting our married life in Chicago, every single person had the same reaction: 'Why?!' After being here for nearly seven years, I am prepared to more fully answer that question.
Now, before I jump into why I love Chicago so much, it must be noted that this is a tremendously difficult city with a notorious history and a troubling present. Chicago was founded for the purpose of making money - transporting goods from the fertile Midwest to the East Coast was no easy task, but Chicago made that possible. This led to all sorts of greed, swindling, strong-arming, and oppression (mostly of laborers). In Chicago, many people saw opportunity. Those that took advantage of that opportunity built themselves empires which were ruthlessly maintained. Politicians were paid for while laborers were not. Further, due to immigration and the way labor was distributed, Chicago was a segregated city from the beginning.
Today, these themes remain. We can see the greed on display on the Magnificent Mile, the segregation in every neighborhood, the crime and poverty, and the corruption of the political system. This is no city for the faint of heart.
But I love it.
I love that, though the neighborhoods are segregated, they celebrate who lives there throughout the year. There are parades for every possible Independence Day you can think of. It also makes it easier to know where to go if you're in the mood for a certain type of food. Puerto Rican? Head to Humboldt Park. Indian? Go to Devon Street. Italian? Little Italy - or any shady, obviously-mafia-run place you can find. Steak? Downtown. Pizza? It's Chicago - pick one.
I love that there are some neighborhoods that buck the segregation trend. I live in Rogers Park. It is considered one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, sporting more than 80 languages spoken and every major religion represented. I can go to the park with my kids and hear seven different languages spoken. My kids have learned that the first question to ask isn't necessarily, 'Do you want to play?' but rather, 'Do you speak English?' Even then, if the child doesn't speak English, everyone knows how to play 'tag'.
I love that Chicago hibernates during the bitter winters but wakes up to celebrate Spring, Summer, and Fall. The appreciation is seen in outdoor festivals, block parties, sporting events (including the Cubs, White Sox, and Bears for the outdoor fans, and the Bulls and Blackhawks for the indoor fans), concerts, movies in the park(s), and on and on. There isn't a city I'd rather be in during the Summer.
I love that Chicago embraces culture. This goes back to its founding. Because Chicago was so notorious for being all about manufacturing and shipping and smelly, dirty, hard labor, the elite made a concerted effort to bring in class and sophistication to the city. This is why Chicago has its museums, parks, art, and architecture.
Mostly, I love that Chicago is uncompromisingly itself. It is not a mini-New York or a mini-Los Angeles. Chicago is Chicago. It has its own identity, and it is certainly a force on culture as we know it. It is full of people with Midwestern hospitality and yet an urban propensity to, shall we say, tell it like it is. We have the richest of the rich, the poorest of the poor, the cultured and the not, the educated and the not, the immigrant, the native, the family, the single, the old school and the new, the creatives and the traditionalists.
I love Chicago because it is home.
I am originally from a very small town in rural, western Illinois. For those who care, and for those from there, the town is named Aledo. Christen moved to Aledo in junior high from an even smaller town in central/southern Illinois. When we got married, we flew out to Colorado for our honeymoon and then back into Chicago, where we promptly drove to our apartment and began our lives in the Second City. When we told folks from back home that we were planning on starting our married life in Chicago, every single person had the same reaction: 'Why?!' After being here for nearly seven years, I am prepared to more fully answer that question.
Now, before I jump into why I love Chicago so much, it must be noted that this is a tremendously difficult city with a notorious history and a troubling present. Chicago was founded for the purpose of making money - transporting goods from the fertile Midwest to the East Coast was no easy task, but Chicago made that possible. This led to all sorts of greed, swindling, strong-arming, and oppression (mostly of laborers). In Chicago, many people saw opportunity. Those that took advantage of that opportunity built themselves empires which were ruthlessly maintained. Politicians were paid for while laborers were not. Further, due to immigration and the way labor was distributed, Chicago was a segregated city from the beginning.
Today, these themes remain. We can see the greed on display on the Magnificent Mile, the segregation in every neighborhood, the crime and poverty, and the corruption of the political system. This is no city for the faint of heart.
But I love it.
I love that, though the neighborhoods are segregated, they celebrate who lives there throughout the year. There are parades for every possible Independence Day you can think of. It also makes it easier to know where to go if you're in the mood for a certain type of food. Puerto Rican? Head to Humboldt Park. Indian? Go to Devon Street. Italian? Little Italy - or any shady, obviously-mafia-run place you can find. Steak? Downtown. Pizza? It's Chicago - pick one.
I love that there are some neighborhoods that buck the segregation trend. I live in Rogers Park. It is considered one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country, sporting more than 80 languages spoken and every major religion represented. I can go to the park with my kids and hear seven different languages spoken. My kids have learned that the first question to ask isn't necessarily, 'Do you want to play?' but rather, 'Do you speak English?' Even then, if the child doesn't speak English, everyone knows how to play 'tag'.
I love that Chicago hibernates during the bitter winters but wakes up to celebrate Spring, Summer, and Fall. The appreciation is seen in outdoor festivals, block parties, sporting events (including the Cubs, White Sox, and Bears for the outdoor fans, and the Bulls and Blackhawks for the indoor fans), concerts, movies in the park(s), and on and on. There isn't a city I'd rather be in during the Summer.
I love that Chicago embraces culture. This goes back to its founding. Because Chicago was so notorious for being all about manufacturing and shipping and smelly, dirty, hard labor, the elite made a concerted effort to bring in class and sophistication to the city. This is why Chicago has its museums, parks, art, and architecture.
Mostly, I love that Chicago is uncompromisingly itself. It is not a mini-New York or a mini-Los Angeles. Chicago is Chicago. It has its own identity, and it is certainly a force on culture as we know it. It is full of people with Midwestern hospitality and yet an urban propensity to, shall we say, tell it like it is. We have the richest of the rich, the poorest of the poor, the cultured and the not, the educated and the not, the immigrant, the native, the family, the single, the old school and the new, the creatives and the traditionalists.
I love Chicago because it is home.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Why I Like: John Piper
From time to time I am going to take a moment to write about the major influences on my life: authors, preachers, music, movies, and the like. I will put these posts up in a thoroughly biased manner because each post will strictly be my opinion. I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but hopefully, they will shed some light on why I think the way I think. And, maybe, you'll come to appreciate them too.
It is fitting for the inaugural post in this ongoing series to be about the influence John Piper has had on me. In his writing and preaching I discovered the emotional and spiritual grounding for the notoriously intellectual theology I most resonate with - Reformed Theology (or Calvinism, though the total system doesn't belong solely to John Calvin...but I digress). Piper's books came in and infused my largely academic faith with passion, purpose, and a desire to pursue God in His Word, my thought life, relationships, and even nature. His preaching makes me say, "Wow, I need to read my Bible more..." and, "How great is the glory of God!"
To be perfectly honest, the first time I picked up Desiring God, his seminal work and my '+1' book, while in college, I couldn't get through a chapter without falling asleep. I was patently not a reader at that point, and his sentences weigh about 800lbs each. The combination was exhausting, literally.
My desire for learning eventually caught up, and I have been reading and listening to Piper for the better part of a decade. His most commonly used statement is visible in my personal mission.
His words inspire reverence, biblical astuteness, deep thought, conviction, repentance, joy, passion, and missions, to name a few of the side effects I have experienced. Further, his teaching has been one of the sparks that has caused what is being called the New Reformed movement (or, more awkwardly, the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement), headed up by such leaders as Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Joshua Harris, and revolving around events like the Passion Conference.
In short, I cannot overestimate the impact John Piper's ministry has had on my personal walk with Christ. He's not Jesus; he's by no means perfect. But his ministry, his words, have been of great benefit to me and many others over the last 30+ years.
Here are some great resources to check out:
Books:
Desiring God
The Pleasures of God
Don't Waste Your Life
Let the Nations Be Glad
Think
Sermons:
Romans (over 200 messages)
Hebrews
It is fitting for the inaugural post in this ongoing series to be about the influence John Piper has had on me. In his writing and preaching I discovered the emotional and spiritual grounding for the notoriously intellectual theology I most resonate with - Reformed Theology (or Calvinism, though the total system doesn't belong solely to John Calvin...but I digress). Piper's books came in and infused my largely academic faith with passion, purpose, and a desire to pursue God in His Word, my thought life, relationships, and even nature. His preaching makes me say, "Wow, I need to read my Bible more..." and, "How great is the glory of God!"
To be perfectly honest, the first time I picked up Desiring God, his seminal work and my '+1' book, while in college, I couldn't get through a chapter without falling asleep. I was patently not a reader at that point, and his sentences weigh about 800lbs each. The combination was exhausting, literally.
My desire for learning eventually caught up, and I have been reading and listening to Piper for the better part of a decade. His most commonly used statement is visible in my personal mission.
Piper: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
Me: To be joyfully spent making others glad in God.
The pursuit of our own joy is and can only truly be simultaneously the pursuit of knowing Jesus and passionately pursuing the glory of God in our own lives and the lives of others.
His words inspire reverence, biblical astuteness, deep thought, conviction, repentance, joy, passion, and missions, to name a few of the side effects I have experienced. Further, his teaching has been one of the sparks that has caused what is being called the New Reformed movement (or, more awkwardly, the Young, Restless, and Reformed movement), headed up by such leaders as Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Joshua Harris, and revolving around events like the Passion Conference.
In short, I cannot overestimate the impact John Piper's ministry has had on my personal walk with Christ. He's not Jesus; he's by no means perfect. But his ministry, his words, have been of great benefit to me and many others over the last 30+ years.
Here are some great resources to check out:
Books:
Desiring God
The Pleasures of God
Don't Waste Your Life
Let the Nations Be Glad
Think
Sermons:
Romans (over 200 messages)
Hebrews
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