Hello World!

I should be doing something else right now. There is no milk in the fridge, a book waits for me at the library, and the Young Life office here in Seattle is expecting me to register for the leader's retreat this weekend up at Malibu. (On a side note, don't tell anyone, but I am going to Malibu for the first time this weekend. That you can tell people. What you can't tell them is that the main reason I am going is just to go to Malibu. My intentions are all wrong, to meet YLers and grow in my Jesus relationship should be the main reason, but it is really is to see the camp and I have the added benefit of the people.) These "pressing" issues will not get done on their own, but I made the mistake of sitting down at the computer while eating my late lunch consisting of a turkey pastrami sandwich with the best cheese, Tillamook Cheddar, and red onions. Having full time access to the Internet at my new place, I can get on-line and check all sorts of interesting things. This time was to others blogs. Once again I made it to Barb Iverson's blog and once again she was inspiring.

Barb, you must write more because you are great.

In a subtle and insiders sort of way, she described with detail and emotion the short trip I was blessed to be a part of. It truly was a great four days and one that I will carry with me for years. Greece is one of my favorite places just for that reason. I won't even try to explain it, but read her comments and that is enough.

There is a second thing that I will comment on. Last week I spent at Lakeside Bible Camp on work staff with 18 others. The director, for the past five years, was Scott Golike of Grace Fellowship of Puget Sound. We had a wonderful week naming the elephant. Let me explain.

One day a little boy came to his father. "Today the teacher showed us a big round globe she said was a model of the world. She said the world was just surrounded by space. How can that be? Dad, what holds up the world? Why doesn't it just fall down?"
His father, knowing that this was just a child's question, gave him a child's answer: "It's a camel that holds up the world, son."
The boy went away satisfied, for he trusted his father and for the moment it made sense. He'd seen pictures of camels holding up all sorts of things. So why not the world? But then he got to thinking about it and by the next day decided something was missing in his father's answer. He asked, "Dad, I was just wondering: if a camel holds up the world, what holds up the camel?"
His father now thought that he might be in trouble. So, knowing that a quick answer turneth away further questions, he said, "It's a kangaroo that holds up the camel."

Again the boy went away, but this time only for a couple of hours. Back again with his father, he asked, "Dad, if a camel holds up the world and a kangaroo holds up the camel, what holds up the kangaroo?"

This time the father realized that he was in deep trouble. So he chose the largest animal he could think of and he put a capital on it. That is, he shouted, "It's an elephant that holds up the kangaroo."
"Come on, Dad!" his son retorted. "What holds up the elephant?"
His father, in a fit of genius deriving from necessity, replied, "It's... it's... it's Elephant all the way down."

"Naming the Elephant" is a book by James W. Sire. In it he is discussing world view. Though we talked for a week about world view, I still don't fully grasp it and therefore feel inadaquate to expand upon that topic. So what are we talking about, Jason? Well, I do like the story so how about it. Name your elephant, what is it in your philosophy that is all the way down?

Most people don't think about this stuff. Most American's that is. We are content to take life in its most simplest form, bottled for our convience and served fresh, fast, and hot. I have got no idea where I am going so who cares where I came from? But at some point the question arises, Where did I come from? Is this all that is out there? Is there more to this thing called life? And in the words popular today and taken from a incredably boring book that I couldn't get past day 27 of; Is there any purpose?

What is the elephant?

I am going to let you all, my ppls, dwell on that a while. If you are like me, then you will, if you aren't then you probably stopped reading this months ago.

It is tomorrow.

Jason