A Brief Defense of Irreverence

I've sometimes earned the criticism and concern of my fellow Christians for my perceived irreverence-- my preference for the companionship of honest heathens over that of most professing believers, my inability to settle down into one church community, my propensity for asking difficult questions.

When I inevitably respond that I learned these naughty habits from Jesus, I'm often promptly reminded of the obvious fact that I'm not Jesus, that I'm vulnerable to drift and contamination, to walking away.

The last part, in my current mood, makes me giggle. This isn't conceit-- I'm so very aware that my love for Jesus is broken, selfish, and sometimes downright bratty. It's just that the things that alarm me about my walk and the things that alarm others are so rarely even remotely similar. My spiritual 'safety' hasn't made it on my list yet.

I'm not speaking with the pride of someone who imagines herself infallible, but the gleeful desperation of one who's drifted, been contaminated, walked away, more times than I can count, only to find myself re-quipping Brother Peter's timeless question... where else would I go?

My my memory is too sharp and my imagination too small to picture life outside of this divine moment, this eternal 'now' with God. Because now, in the embrace of my Creator, I lay my head on His chest, listen to His heartbeat, and sigh, 'how You love us...'. I stand on His feet as He dances me, a dance of extravagantly messy and dangerously sincere love for all people, of celebrating Home in every space and moment and community of worship, of clear and simple steps set to a beautiful symphony of uncertainty. This is how He dances me, covering over my lack of Grace with the abundance of His.

Is it any wonder that reverence to an irreverent God would look like this?

Writing My Representative

A few weeks ago, when I wrote a blog article on the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, I ended by imploring my audience to 'join me' in contacting our congressional representatives to express our disapproval of the bill. This was, quite honestly, a pretty dishonest way to end the article.

I had no idea who my representative was, not to mention how to contact him/her. I've later reflected that it's a total crime that I graduated high school, let alone college, without this information. Shouldn't there have been a civic engagement class (or one-hour lecture, at least) somewhere in my sixteen years of education? But no. I was clueless.

And there may be a lot of structural reasons for my cluelessness, but remaining there even as I asked people to advocate 'with me' was a choice made out of laziness and lack of dedication to this issue. And that kind of hypocrisy can really weigh on a person.

So today, I overcame 21 years of ignorance with a 15-second google search. Don't you love the modern world? You don't know who your congressional representative is, so you type, “Who's my congressional representative?” into a little digital illusion of a box, and voila! A House.Gov zip code search page pops up, hooking up with the webpage of your man (or woman) just as fast as you can think about it.

As a resident of Riverside County, CA, my representative is Ken Calvert. He's a Republican with a giggle-ably outdated picture of himself across the banner of his website. From the mini-snippets I've read so far, I probably wouldn't agree with his stances on a lot of things, but he seems like a decent guy. I'm glad I looked him up.

In the spirit of honesty, though, I'm really not a phone person. I'm not super articulate 'on the fly'. So instead of calling him about the TPP, I wrote him a letter. I tried to talk about the issue just as one person talking to another-- letting all personality show through, from my kindergarten-teacher-looking handwriting and vintage daisy stationary to the vocabulary and conversational pace of my writing.

Just one person who cares talking to another person who cares. This is how I signed it:

From an average ordinary everyday supercitizen,

~Ely

Five Reasons for Conservative Christian America to Calm the Flip Down And Give A Sexual Minority A Hug Today

This morning, the Supreme Court ruled that DOMA, a national act that forbade federal recognition of same-sex marragies, is unconstitutional and therefore no longer valid. The Supreme Court also confirmed the validity of an earlier court decision that overturned Proposition 8, a California bill which defined marriage as between a man and a woman. (More at NPR) While neither of these acts specifically legalizes intragender marriages on a national level, many are celebrating this as part of a larger trend that is strongly headed in that direction. Meanwhile, quite a few people are FREAKING OUT.

The logic of the most vocal Christian groups is simple: God designed marriage, and He designed it as a union between a man and a woman, both for obvious practical reasons, and more subtle spiritual reasons. If we affirm anything other than that as a nation, we're stepping out of God's will and into a very, very, bad direction. 

After a few in-depth conversations with concerned citizens, I feel compelled to write out some new thinking/talking points that center around the structure of this argument.

1. A Problem of Premise
   Marriage was created by God. It's a statement that Christians can and should celebrate, contemplate, and push themselves to live out. But beginning a dialogue with someone by asserting conclusions based on a premise that they have not necessarily accepted is fruitless and unwise. It not only fails to bring people closer to God, it offends the dignity that God has given them as thinking, feeling individuals-in-progress. Bartolme de las Casas, 16^th century bishop and incredible philosopher of Christian witness, asserted that the Church has no authority over those who have never willingly walked into her doors, into her family. The testimony of the Bible seems overwhelmingly to agree. That's why I'm proud to live in a place where the Church and government generally recognize and respect their unique jurisdictions.
2. A Problem of Definitional Discrepancies
   While I couldn't possibly accurately encompass the motivations of 4 million homosexual US citizens in a single blog entry, the overwhelming demand of this community is not marriage before God, but marriage before the state-- that is, access to tax benefits, social security standing, citizenship rights for the internationally espoused, and the social dignities we grant to a couple that has made the brave commitment of forging a life together. This, civil marriage, is a beautiful and noble thing whether undertaken by Buddhists, Hindus, Atheists, or Christians, but it is not the same beautiful and noble thing that two people undertake when they come before God to forge a spiritual union, a triangle with God at the head. The state does not and cannot require or even permit people to participate in such a divine marriage before granting access to civil marriage. This will always, always be the business of the Church, and, perhaps even moreso, the business of the two individuals and God. 
3. A Problem of Cultural Inconsistency
   Civil marriage has always performed the role of affirming the legality of sexual behavior, and many people are nervous about legitimizing acts that the Bible says are not legitimate before God. But the reality is, post-sexual-revolution, homosexual activity is legal-- as is sleeping with someone and then sleeping with their (of-age) offspring  (Leviticus 18:17), marrying someone, divorcing them, and marrying their sibling (Leviticus 18:18), and sleeping with a woman during her menstrual cycle (Leviticus 18:19). Worried that being part of such a heathen nation will exclude you from God's blessing? Well, these things-- and a lot more-- were all also legal under 1^st century Roman rule, and Jesus still showed up there. The revolution has always been heart-by-heart, not law-by-law.
4. A Problem of Pointing Fingers
   

   
   Christians have too long and too cruelly enjoyed the luxury of indulging in 'majority sins', protected by the lie that certain human sins are worse than others-- that all human brokenness isn't aching evidence of our collective and equalizing disconnect from God. If we loudly preach an ideal of marriage as a God-forged union between man and woman with and before Him while showing the world how easy it is to neglect, adulterate, and break those bonds, the curse falls on us all the more. My message to those valiant picketers: go home and love your spouse.
   
   
5. A Problem of Specifics
   Underlying all of these flaws is the basic one of what the Bible actually says.  The statutes listed are not against homosexual feelings, not against homosexual marriage, but against homosexual sex. Homosexual marriage would contribute both practically and culturally to a stabilization of relationships, contributing to a trend away from gratuitious sexual activity. That's right, gay marriage could and probably would reduce gay sex. 
   
   
   If writing out these flaws and re-thinkings of popular arguments has done anything for me, it's made me realize how silly it is to be this involved in other peoples' personal lives. My purpose was to take a closer look at the assumptions under this standard argument, and, as I feel I've accomplished that, I'm going back to minding my own happy business. Please, feel free to join me! 
   
   
   ~Ely

Poverty ≠ Ramen Noodles: Five ways to Eat Better on a Budget

While I've been preparing my own food for quite some time, college has been my first, ahum, opportunity, to pay for it. Like many in this position, I was shocked at the price of things like cheese and meat, and cutting them back in favor of other whole foods came quite naturally. I soon worked out a few other guidelines that have helped me to eat well despite my shrinking bank account. 

 1. Check your Stock Before You Shop 

Looking at the fridge and cupboards may seem like an obvious pre-shopping step, but it's really, really commonly forgotten. 

Saving your leftovers does no good if they're pushed to the back of the fridge to gather ice and mold. I've also had a lot of fun letting my leftovers and neglected can cupboards inspire new meals. The results are often genuinely good, not just 'leftover good'.  For example, there are few things that can't be thrown into a soup, tomato sauce, or rice dish to liven it up-- veggies, meat, even beans. Comment with your most creative leftover remix!

 2. Stick to the Perimeter 

In standard grocery store anatomy, produce, dairy, the bakery, and the deli all tend to be located around the edges. Besides being healthier, these foods can often be much more efficiently priced. Make sure your cupboards are stocked with multi-meal foods like rice and potatoes, which can be combined with a great variety of veggies, beans, and meats to keep you well-fed for a long time. 

The perimeter is also where you'll find the discount racks-- and while not all bargain-shopping is eco-friendly (see "The Story of Stuff" video on externalized costs), buying from the discount bakery or produce racks can be a great way to get good, quality products at great prices and keep them from going to waste. 

 3. Go Beyond Meat-Eating 

The bottom-line truth: quality meat's expensive, and mystery/processed meat, well... doesn't belong in the human body. I have no desire to moralize meat-eating, and I don't think everyone needs to become a vegetarian, but the meat-at-every-meal mentality does take a toll on the body, the wallet, and the planet. 

If you had a small panic attack when you saw the title here, consider setting a small meat reduction goal for yourself, such as 3 to 5 meat-free meals per week, or all meat-free breakfasts, which are generally easier for omnivores.

Besides egg and dairy, there are many great plant protein sources, including beans and rice, avocado, peanut butter, and edamame. The Internet's full of information on how to make a healthy move away from meat. 

 4. Store Smart 
In general, 'airtight' is the magic word for stock foods, extras, and leftovers-- whether in a container or in a baggie. 

But a few special tricks: If you buy bread off the discount rack or just don't use it very often, stick it in the freezer. It toasts just as well frozen, and a few slices can be left out for an hour if they need to be thawed. Bananas can also be peeled and frozen in ziplocs for use in smoothies, but don't stick them in the fridge-- they brown faster that way. 

 5. Think Twice Before You Toss 

Speaking of brown peels, a banana that's lost its exterior graces may be utterly perfect on the inside. Milk can be equally deceptive-- a simple in-bottle sniff test may render a false foul due to that crusty ring left by the cap. Pour a glass and sniff it that before you pour it down the drain. Another fun fact: stale bread hasn't actually lost moisture, the water has just settled into the fiber molecules of the bread. Liberate the water with a quick pop in the microwave or toaster oven, and it'll be good as fresh. Most fruit with soft spots are still very good; just pare away the overly-ripe part, if necessary, and cut and freeze the rest for smoothies.

Moldy bread can't be saved in the same way, though, since mold is an external (and dangerous) invader that can spread in micro form throughout the bread as soon as the first spots are visible.


Eat real, my friends!

This is Ely the EcoNaut, Over and Out!

Life as an Accidental EcoNaut

I suppose a wonderful place to start this adventure would be to explain how I came to call myself an "Accidental EcoNaut."

The first few years of my relative independence have found me in a lifestyle that even by Orange County standards could be considered eco-eccentric: I don't own a car or a television, my diet contains very little meat, I line-dry my clothes, and the vast majority of my possessions belonged to someone else first. Granted, most of these habits are due largely to poverty (thus the 'accidental'), but I'd like to think that Mother Nature would be pleased that I allowed my poverty to manifest so kindly in her favor. This is still an experiment, an exploration (thus the 'EcoNaut'), but it'd definitely a part of my life that's here to stay. 

I suppose I took after my grandmother, who grew up in World War II and currently fills her time with crocheting grocery bags into doormats and other resource-happy crafts. A vague consciousness of myself as part of a bigger system has always rested toward the front of my skull. The real turning-point in allowing this to affect my life was breaking into relative adulthood and understanding on a new level the preciousness of resources, and my responsibility to use them properly. I've come to recognize time in particular as a valuable gift, one that should be treasured, and used to tend to myself, my immediate environment (my apartment), my larger environment (Spaceship Earth), my family, my community, my society, my species... and with this came the realization that all of these interests do not conflict. Any proper way of tending to myself must also contribute to the well-being of my family, my society, and my planet. 

There's a lot more I could (and probably will) say about this, but it seemed fitting to kick off this blog with a brief explanation of one important aspect of my worldview and lifestyle.

Ely the EcoNaut, over and out!