retreat

after completing my staff training on wednesday, i spontaneously decided to stay here in michigan for some much needed rest. i feel very at home here, and i've been graciously given the opportunity to stay with my friend sara in aa, and amy in detroit. i just have to get it all out of my system... i love ann arbor and michigan in my very core, and i love the hustle and bustle of students, townspeople, hipsters, and interesting folk. i got a chance to get on campus for 20 min during one of my breaks during staff training, and that was like a breath of fresh air. big michigan 'M's everywhere.

i have been staying in detroit at the costello household. oh, detroit. i love this city... i am staying in their 115 year old home, which has been lovingly refurbished and renovated. they co-own the house with their taiwanese friends, and the husband is the pastor for a neighboring chinese church. their house does remind me of taiwan, as there are elements of asian flair everywhere - orchids in large vases, smells of taiwanese home cooking bouncing off the wood floors... and i'm just amazed and encouraged that there are taiwanese people living in the middle of detroit! we are right around the corner from wayne state university, where two of my (orgo family) friends are attending medical school.

i am trying to use this time to spend with the Lord. i just need to. i need to hear from him about himself, and about me, and to reflect on what exactly has been going on this past year and a half. however, it's a great temptation to continue working as there is ALWAYS more to do.

i bought a moleskine and intend to put it to good use. i'm in ann arbor for the day, and plan to wander around, and pray. i know much awaits for me back in cleveland, but i want to just enjoy this place while i am here...

by donica

"5 lines that get me through leadership and ministry"

quiet and still my ambitions
i do not concern myself with great matters
but i put my hope in you
you give me the keys of the kingdom
help me open the door for others
[Psalm 131; Matthew 16:19]

Reasons to say yes! to Cleveland

Good things about the cleve:

• $5 movie mondays at the Shaker Sq theatres (one block away), or at Cedar Lee (indie theatre)
• farmers markets - shaker square, west side market, miles
  
• Cleveland metroparks and nature centers. My favorite isn't "the best", nor do I have a "my favorite spot" yet, but the shaker lakes metropark comes close.
  
• RTA - rapids (train) one block away that goes to tower city, the airport, and other places
  
• restaurants - delicious little hole in the wall places, and some of the more "upscale" mod ones
• hometown feel - the people who stay really stay. elderly slovaks at my church, you know.
  
• koko bakery - bubble tea, shaved ice, and asian baked goods. yum.
  
• lake erie - it's now the cleanest of the 5 great lakes?
  
• cleveland hipsters. like my brother, I am now feeling a little neutral about hipsters, but there is something special about the cleveland hipster though... i think it's because they're living the 'poor life' and are actually poor. haha.
  
• fairly easy grid system downtown -- it gets a little complicated on the west side, but it's still good.
• culture - art, music at university circle, euclid corridor (soon to be finished) and future development of "uptown"
  
• community development corporations and urban ministry galore - 2100 men's ministry, the city mission, faith baptist (free clinic), et al.
• it's the coolest uncool city in the states. it's got the gritty, underground feeling. this is not to romanticize it though - it certainly has its needs, economic resurrection, etc.

Unfinished, unfiltered thoughts on public/private life

This morning, I was reading a NYT article about Barack Obama and his virtuosity and self-discipline not only in politics, but his emotional and personal life. This is amazing to me because it seems almost impossible to do while in the public eye, having grown up in a generation of where most politicians are expected to deal with public skepticism and endless opportunities for scrutiny. I'm also amazed because self-discipline and self-control takes years to build, and he did this even before entering the public sphere of politics. He is known as a tempered, serious man with the ability to inspire.

Of what we know about him, what gets me about him, politics aside, is that his public life and private life essentially line up. Such a characteristic is completely different from the type of person we are used to seeing - someone who has completely dichotomized their private sphere from their public one. We are used to showmanship in the public arena. Someone like Obama is what our generation of skeptics and cynics have been waiting for... someone who is authentic, genuine, and driven by vision.

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That is all.