TDF Stage 3

Route: Saint-Malo – Nantes
Riders: 178
Distance: 208 km
Climbs:
- None

More wind (and rain), a crash near the finish line, and a peleton that gambled a bit too much on their ability to reel in a breakaway made for some interesting racing today. The scenery was interesting as well, heading out of Brittany and into the beautiful Loire Valley, known for its wine production and for the longest river in France.

The day was dominated early on by a four-man breakaway comprised of Samuel Dumoulin, Romain Feillu, Will Frischkorn, and Paolo Longo Borghini. They headed away from the pack in the second kilometer, thinking (I suppose) that they would get some visibility for their team sponsors at best. Well, when the peleton was still working to catch them with less than thirty kilometers to go, their wildest dreams came into view --- that of winning a stage of the Tour de France or, in the case of Romain Feillu, of capturing the overall lead. Who would have thought?! A little known (to me anyway) twenty-four year old cyclist from Châteaudun, France taking the yellow jersey from Alejandro Valverde. Talk about having a great day!

By contrast, Angel Gomez had a horrible day, crashing with about twenty-five kilometers to go when he mixed it up with a piece of road furniture (in America, these are generally referred to as medians). The result? Certainly not a yellow jersey. No, Mr. Gomez received a trip to the hospital and a suspected broken pelvis. Ouch! Also involved: the Danish road racing champion, Nicki Sorenson. Thankfully, he is fine.

A bit of the incidental television coverage on Versus today: the Agency for Cycling Ethics. I am very intrigued by this effort: physicians, researchers, and athletes working together to determine a normal band of physiological measures for an individual human athlete and to develop a way to spot broad-scale changes in physiology, as well as the presence of illegal substances. The whole idea seems very proactively health-oriented. Don’t just look for banned substances; be concerned about the health of rider too. Team Garmin Chipotle and Team Columbia have both signed on to this. Good for them. I would love to see both American teams race clean and with reams of documentation to prove it.

Withdrawals
- Angel Gomez

Overall Standings
- Romaine Feillu
- Paolo Borghini Longo
- Will Frischkorn
- Alejandro Valverde
- Kim Kirchen

For the latest Versus.com video, click here.

Currently Riding in the TDF

Yesterday, I needed to find a link for cyclist Frank Schleck, to provide some biographical information for those readers who may be interested in learning more about him. In my search, I came across this YouTube video of Mr. Schleck “taking a spill” during the Tour de Suisse. Personally, I think it is a miracle he is still alive. Let’s just say, “ouch” is a major understatement. Thankfully, he is ok and currently riding in the Tour de France.

TDF Stage 2

Route: Auray – Saint-Brieuc
Riders: 179
Distance: 164.5 km
Climbs:
- Côte de Bieuzy-Lanvaux (category 4)
- Côte de Kergroix (category 4)
- Côte de Mûr-de-Bretagne (category 3)
- Côte de Saint-Mayeux (category 4)

Some windy, rainy weather today in France. Lots of lovely countryside, though. I am always curious about the local churches the riders pass along the way each day. There seem to be a lot of them. It makes me wonder: do they have large, active congregations or are they struggling; do they utilize traditional worship liturgies or have they adopted a more contemporary worship style; are they as beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside? Maybe someday I can visit France for myself and take a look.

New knowledge for today: the Breton language and the Gallo language are spoken by folks in Brittany. I was curious about this when Paul Sherwin mentioned it during the live coverage this morning. This is what I found about Breton on Omniglot.com:

Breton is a Celtic language spoken mainly in Brittany (Breizh) by about 365,000 people, about 240,000 of whom speak it fluently. Breton is closely related to Cornish and less closely related to Welsh, though these languages are not mutually intelligible. Breton has also absorbed quite a lot of vocabulary from French, Latin, and probably from Gaulish languages, which are now extinct.

- snip –

Between 1880 to the middle of the 20th century, Breton was banned from schools and children were punished for speaking it. This changed in 1951 with the promulgation of the Deixonne law, which allowed for the Breton language and culture to be taught for one to three hours a week in public education if the teacher is willing and able to do so.

For more information on the Gallo language, visit this page on Wikipedia.

A duh moment for me today: Team Columbia is really young! Lots of riders age 23-27. George Hincapie is the “old man” on staff at 34 years of age.

Race highlights for the day:
- Another feed zone crash. Nicolas Jalabert bumped wheels with Frank Schleck.
- First category three climb of the race: Mûr-de-Bretagne.
- The final sprint was exciting. Lots of action, lots of jockeying for position. I was glad to see that Team Columbia was in the mix. The peleton really picked up the pace in the last few kilometers. Too bad about that crash, though. I was glad to see Kim Kirchen and Gerald Ciolek take second and third place.

Withdrawals
- None today

Overall Standings
- Alejandro Valverde
- Kim Kirchen
- Oscar Freire
- Juan Jose Cobo Acebo
- Cadel Evans

For the latest Versus.com video, click here.

*Lesson learned for today: Do not videotape the race with a plan to watch it in the evening. Family members will interfere. I did that this morning and my husband took over the television this evening to watch our latest Netflix arrival --- Hellboy. Ugh! Tomorrow, I will be watching my video in the afternoon. :-)

Great TDF Article

I was catching up on my Google Reader feeds this afternoon when I came across this article from The Fat Cyclist. Normally, I would just share it through Google, but I didn’t want my readers to miss it. I didn’t have time to pay close attention to all of the changes that Christian Prudhomme made to the Tour de France this year, which led me to believe that the competition would be as exciting as ever. Well, that may not be the case, what with all the “improvements” that have been enacted. I will have to stay tuned to be sure. Anyway, The Fat Cyclist has a great take on what viewers can expect during the 2008 ride around France, and some suggestions for additional "enhancements." Enjoy.

Happy 18th!

Yesterday, my daughter turned eighteen. I can hardly believe it. My husband sees it as a big deal and has been asking Katherine the Great if she feels any different, if she feels like a "grown-up." Not surprising, she could care less about how it feels to be eighteen. What is she excited about? Yup, you guessed it, registering to vote.

That celebration will happen on Monday morning. To recognize her actual “birthday," she had dinner with our good friends, the F family, at our favorite restaurant, Russell’s Ribs. Next week, she will have a picnic dinner in the park before the annual fireworks at Fort Griswold. Then, at the end of July, when her magician friend returns from magic camp in Pennsylvania, she will have an actual peer-group birthday party with letterboxing in one of the local hiking spots, ending with ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. Nothing like spreading your birthday out over an entire month. Then again, you only turn eighteen once, right?

I don’t remember what my eighteenth birthday was like. I do remember one thing: I certainly wasn’t looking forward to voting.

Happy birthday, Miss Katy!

Fourth of July 2008

No BBQ plans. No friends or relatives at my house. No day off for my husband. Sounds like a pretty rotten Independence Day, doesn’t it? It really wasn’t that bad; after all, we finally attended our first Fourth of July parade in Groton.

No, we didn’t just move here. We have lived in town for almost 19 years. We just never took the time to go to the parade. Around our house, the Fourth of July is usually consumed with work (as it was yesterday), with either my husband working on the submarine base or me working on something at home. Plus, since my husband often travels for work, traveling on a holiday (even to go to a parade) is often something he does not want to embrace; consequently, we usually stay home. Yes, we generally have burgers or hot dogs, potato salad, and watermelon for lunch. We just don’t make a big deal out of it.

So, this year, our dear friends --- the F family --- invited us to the parade. Since my husband was working, my daughter and I decided to join the party. They picked us up in their van so we didn’t need to drive (always a plus) and all headed to the side of the road not too far from our house. The parade was much longer than I anticipated, with a lot more local fire equipment than I knew existed. I also saw a lot of fife and drum corps units, a huge difference from the parades of my youth in southern Minnesota where marching bands dominate the landscape. The youngsters representing their Girl Scout troops and Boy Scout packs were adorable, and we waved at our friends who were walking with their church group. It was all very…small town, which I wouldn’t trade for anything at this point in my life. It was a very relaxing time.

The other big event of the day: the arrival of the Explorer of the Seas. For a picture and a description, click here.

TDF Stage 1

Route: Brest - Plumelec
Riders: 180
Distance: 197.5 km
Climbs:
- Côte de Ty-Jopic (category 4)
- Côte de Kerivarc’h (category 4)
- Col de Toullaeron (category 4)
- Côte de Guenervé (category 4)

Ah, July 5th: recovery day from the Fourth of July, my daughter’s birthday, and (this year) start day for the 95th Tour de France. The latter promises to be exciting, as always, but not the same as usual. For instance, the time bonuses are gone; the opening Prologue has been eliminated; and, of course, the 2007 winner, Alberto Contador, is absent, as is his fellow teammate and podium finisher, Levi Leipheimer.

And then there are those ads on Versus: Take Back the Tour. I found the first one a few days ago when I checked the website for televised programming information. This morning, I saw the second one during the live race coverage. Forgive me, but I don’t recall the ads from previous years being so…what’s the word…pointed. I understand the reasoning behind them --- to reclaim the image of cycling as a sport of athletic endurance and not doping --- but I am not certain the ads need to play quite so frequently. This morning, I saw at least one during every commercial break. I almost have the music memorized, but I digress…

Another novelty for 2008: the entrance of two American teams: Team Columbia and Team Garmin Chipotle. I must say I am psyched about this development. I only wish my favorite riders were all on the same roster. George Hincapie, of course, is riding for the former, while Christian Vande Velde is committed to the latter. Team Columbia had a productive first day in the saddle, snagging fourth place overall after Kim Kirchen’s break for the line. It was sad that he didn’t win the day, but I don’t think anyone expected Alejandro Valverde to launch such an explosive attack right at the end; very impressive on his part. I will definitely be paying closer attention to him when the race hits the mountains.

Sad event of the day: the loss of Herve Duclos-Lassalle from Team Cofidis. A short way into the race, he hit the pavement and broke his wrist. Fifty some miles into the first day of his first Tour de France and he was the first guy out of the game. Ouch.

Withdrawals
- Herve Duclos-Lassalle

Overall Standings
- Alejandro Valverde
- Philippe Gilbert
- Jérôme Pineau
- Kim Kirchen
- Ricardo Ricco
- Cadel Evans

For Versus.com video of Stage 1, click here.

Tour de France Route 2008

Saturday marks the beginning of the 95th Tour de France. Starting without the attendance of the 2007 winner (Alberto Contador) and third-place finisher (Levi Leipheimer), the race will skip the Prologue stage and dive right in with Stage 1. Setting off from Brest in Brittany, the route promises to produce some exciting racing and, when it hits the mountains, some exhausted racers. Stage 17, for example, sports no less than three hors category summits --- the Col du Galibier, the Col de la Croix de Fer, and L’Alpe D’Huez --- toward the end of a 210 kilometer day, ridden consecutively with a single feed zone between the first and second summits, and very little break between the climbs. If the goal of the race organizers was to find an iron cyclist, that stage should shake out the fittest among the peleton. It would kill me!

Anyway, for a 3D preview of the 2008 route, check out this video (see below). It was originally available on the official Tour de France website but, for some reason, cannot be loaded there. I found it on Youtube. If you don’t have time for the video, check out this race summary from the Tour website:

Running from Saturday July 5th to Sunday July 27th, the 95th Tour de France will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3500 kilometres.

These 21 stages have the following profiles:
- 10 flat stages
- 5 mountain stages
- 4 medium mountain stages
- 2 individual time-trial stages

Distinctive aspects of the race:
- 4 mountain finishes
- 2 rest days
- 82 kilometres of individual time-trials
- 17 Category 1, Category 2, and highest-level passes will be climbed

Live streaming starts on Versus.com at 6:30 AM; television coverage begins at 8:30 AM. See you Saturday!

History on My Kitchen Table

My kitchen table has a very bad habit of collecting “stuff.” It has been doing this since my husband tore out the wall between our family room and our kitchen when my daughter was younger. It was filled with “stuff” during that demolition and we just never recovered from the temptation to toss things there...until later. Well, one of my missions before the end of next week is to have the table cleared off; hence, my archaeological dig. Today, I found this, a letter from my fuel oil company:

August 1, 2006

Dear Valued Customer:

As we all know, this year we have seen oil prices hit very high levels; as of July 1, 2006 it is already over $70 a barrel with predictions of spiking to $100 per barrel. The continued uncertainty in the Middle East and current supply issues will most likely keep prices extremely volatile for the foreseeable future.

Oh, if only oil was that low priced!

Better Than Previously Reported

This past January, National Geographic ran an article about the sad decline of many towns in North Dakota. The accompanying photos were downright depressing: a dilapidated school, a neglected home, an abandoned church, etc. Well, after feeling sorry for the residents of the Peace Garden State, I was tickled pink to hear this recent, more cheerful report on FoxNews.com:

In less than a year, [Oscar] Stohler and his wife, Lorene, 82, have become millionaires from the production of one [oil] well on their land near Dunn Center, a mile or so from the sod home where Oscar grew up. A second well has begun producing on their property and another is being drilled --- all aimed at the Bakken shale formation, a rich deposit [of oil] that the U.S. Geological Survey calls the largest continuous oil accumulation it has ever assessed.

Landowners in western North Dakota have a much better chance of striking it rich from oil than they do playing the lottery, say the Stohlers. Some of their neighbors in the town of about 120, from bar tenders to Tupperware salespeople, have become “overnight millionaires” from oil royalty payments.

Fortunately, this new-found wealth doesn’t seem to be changing these folks:

[Mr. Stohler] still drives his old pickup [truck] and wears a mesh farm cap --- but it’s by choice.

- snip –

Lorene [Stohler] said the only thriftless purchase was an automatic sprinkler system for her flowers that surround the couple’s new home. And Oscar bought a $1000 ring for his wife to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary.

How sweet. I would say life in North Dakota is just fine.

Busy Days Ahead

Summer is finally upon us here in Connecticut and, boy, do we have our work cut out for us!

Normally, my daughter has a pretty relaxing summer with only a little bit of schoolwork. Being homeschooled, she sometimes takes time off during the “academic year” and makes it up later. This year, however, we are fully involved with school clear through July (at least). You see, she has the opportunity for an internship with the Salt Marsh Opera Company in Stonington, Connecticut. In preparation for this job (because it is a paid position), she will be taking dance lessons, etiquette classes, and instruction in how to apply makeup. The latter is necessary for two reasons: one, my daughter is a “naturalist” who doesn’t wear makeup and needs to know how to wear it; and two, she needs to determine if she is allergic to anything that may be used on her face before the opera performances in October. The former classes are to improve her ease with people since she is rather shy around folks she doesn’t know, and to gain experience with “stage presence,” if you will.

We will also be taking to the road for a week or so to attend the first wedding of my daughter’s homeschool friends, a young man who lived in Connecticut for awhile before his family moved to the Washington, D.C. area. Katherine the Great was pals with his younger brother, but they all used to hang together playing computer games in their elementary years. The last time our families got together was several years ago; we met up one morning at a Krispy Kreme donut shop in near their home, while we were returning to our home for Thanksgiving. My husband was working a job in the Tidewater area at the time, and my daughter and I had gone down to visit while checking out the latest exhibits at Colonial Williamsburg.

Third on our list for the summer is planning for winter. The last time the Midwest had major flooding (see The Great USA Flood of 1993), Connecticut followed up with more than a half-dozen snowstorms from January-March 1994. My husband was enduring thyroid cancer at the time and Katherine the Great was only three years old (yikes!). I already locked in my heating oil at $3.799/gallon. Now, I would like to replace our family room windows and make certain we are well outfitted with insulating window treatments, not to mention winter clothes, before the snow flies. Lacking the cash flow to pay a contractor, my husband and I may end up doing the work ourselves (ugh!). Hey, we put a roof on our house, so a few windows shouldn’t be too much of a challenge, right? :-)

So, are you relaxing this summer or are your days as busy as mine?

‘Tis the First Day of Summer

This morning, one of my girlfriends wished me a happy first day of summer. At the time, I thought she a day ahead of herself. Then, I found this from WikiAnswers:

When is the first day of summer in 2008?

It depends where you live, since the first day of summer is timed with the summer solstice. For most of the United States, summer begins on June 20. In Europe, it’s June 21. In Australia, it’s six month later, on December 21.

On the other hand, if you are looking for an “official” first day of summer, there is no such thing. The United States, for instance, has never declared when the seasons start. The International Astronomical Union hasn’t either. In many areas of Europe, May 1st is considered the first day of summer (as the meteorologists in the United States do) with the summer solstice being the “midsummer” (as in Shakespeare’s play).

So there you have it. Today is the first day of summer. I wonder if my girlfriend celebrated by taking her girls to the beach? I went to the chiropractor, took my daughter to church so she could practice the organ, and spent the afternoon sorting through old books and paperwork in my house. Sad, I know. What can I say; I’m not a beach person. I am a person with a summer cold, though. That’s my real reason for laying low today.

How about you? How did you spend the first day of summer 2008?

One Down, A Few To Go

In a musically inclined family (like ours), the end of the “academic” year is filled with recitals and performances, and this year is no exception. Tonight was our daughter’s piano recital. Performance piece: "Allegretto from Sonata in B-flat" by Mozart. Tomorrow night is the last handbell concert featuring a program of twelve pieces, some classical, some modern, and some just for fun (like "Plink, Plank, Plunk" by Leroy Anderson). Saturday sees the first music theory exam by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. Last, but not least, Sunday is the year-end recital for Calvary Music School. This performance includes an original setting of Psalm 23 for voice and organ (written by Katherine the Great) and a voice solo piece --- "Build My House" by Leonard Bernstein from the musical Peter Pan.

Busy weekend afoot around here! What’s going on in your neck of the woods?

2008 Hurricane Season

Tomorrow, June 1st, is the beginning of the 2008 hurricane season. Living on the east coast (in Connecticut), with many friends who also live on the eastern seaboard (in Virginia and North Carolina), plus having experience with tornadoes from my early years in Minnesota, I like to keep an eye on the weather. And with the tornado season being so active --- more than 600 tornadoes thus far --- I am wondering if the hurricane season will offer more activity than usual as well. Regardless, I will be monitoring these websites as needed:

National Hurricane Center:
Officially designated in 1967, the center was actually founded in 1898 when then-President William McKinley declared that the weather bureau establish a hurricane warning network. Here is the remainder of a history description from Wikipedia:

The Miami office [of the weather bureau] was designated the National Hurricane Center in 1967, and given responsibility for Atlantic tropical cyclones in their vicinity. Other hurricane warning centers, such as in New Orleans and Boston, played a role even into the 1980’s. In 1984, the NHC was separated from the Miami Weather Service Forecast Office. By 1988, the NHC gained responsibility for eastern Pacific tropical cyclones as the former Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center in San Francisco was decommissioned….In 1995, the NHC was moved into a new hurricane resistant facility on the campus of Florida International University.

The Weather Underground Tropical Weather page
Considered the first Internet weather service, here is an abbreviated history of the Weather Underground from their website:

Jeff Masters, when a PhD candidate in meteorology at the University of Michigan and working under the direction of Professor Perry Samson, wrote a menu-based telnet interface in 1991, which displayed real-time weather information around the world. By 1992, the two servers his system used were rattling off their desks as “um-weather” became the most popular service on the Internet.

Perry and Jeff, in 1993, recruited Jeff Ferguson and Alan Stermberg to help build a system to bring Internet weather into K-12 classrooms…The growing Internet weather program was given the name “The Weather Underground,” a tongue-in-cheek reference to the 1960’s radical group that also originated at the University of Michigan.

And in case you want to use hurricane season as the basis for a meteorology unit with your homeschool group, don’t forget to order a hurricane tracking kit (good for 25 students). While I have never done this, it looks like a great way to get kids tuned-in to observing the weather. Setting up a weather station might also be of interest if weather is your summer homeschool project. I prefer this build-it-yourself version from FamilyFun.com.

Oh, and don’t forget, unlike tornadoes, the National Weather Service names the hurricanes (and tropical storms) that come long each year. The 2008 names are listed below. Stay safe out there!

2008 Hurricane Names
Arthur
Bertha
Cristobal
Dolly
Edouard
Fay
Gustav
Hanna
Ike
Josephine
Kyle
Laura
Marco
Nana
Omar
Paloma
Rene
Sally
Teddy
Vicky
Wilfred

Karbon by Kohler

A few days ago, my husband and I began discussing a bathroom remodeling project. As part of the planning process, I surfed the Internet for the latest in bathroom faucets. What I found was this, the latest in kitchen faucets. If anyone out there has one of these, please let me know what you think of it. I would love some first-hand feedback.

A Political Ally?

My husband came across a version of this video on No Looking Backwards (formerly, Mass Backwards). It is a blog that he frequents. This version is from CNN.com and reporter Jeanne Moos. Anyway, I thought it was funny If only my cockatiel had such a large vocabulary. Enjoy.

2008 Giro d’Italia (To Date)

I have been so busy with homeschooling tasks this year that I haven’t been able to catch much (if any) of the Giro d’Italia. I tried posting some of the live coverage transcripts from the Journal of Competitive Cycling through my Google Reader feeds; lately, I haven’t even had time to do that, so I decided to do this instead. Here are the links to everything that I found interesting about the race thus far. It has not all been smooth sailing, but what else is new. I just hope I have more time in my schedule come July so I can watch the Tour de France!

Live coverages and/or stage reports:
- Stage 1
- Stage 2
- Stage 3
- Stage 4
- Stage 5
- Stage 6
- Stage 7
- Stage 8
- Stage 9
- Stage 10
- Stage 11

Articles:
- Giro jury rules against Leipheimer
- Contador vows to ride despite fracture

And, finally, not directly related to the Giro d’Italia but interesting nonetheless: a look into the mind of a cyclist during a five-hour race. Probably more information than you wanted about cycling, but I found it entertaining. What would you think about on a five-hour bike ride?

Mellow Johnny’s is Open

For those of you who were wondering what seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was up to these days: he opened a bike shop in Austin, Texas. Mr. Armstrong and his business manager Bart Knaggs collaborated in the venture, which (to this economics major) has all the earmarks of success. Take the location, for example, quoting from a Velonews article:

The store occupies a converted 9000-square-foot brick warehouse just west of downtown Austin, wedged between a trio of banks and an almost-completed high-rise condominium building. It’s also a block north of the planned Lance Armstrong Bikeway that will run east-to-west on the left bank of Lake Austin past the almost-finished Austin Music Hall.

Talk about being in the hub of the city! A bike shop that is close to home, a bank, a lake, an entertainment venue, and a bikeway. What more could an urban dweller want? Not only that, what store have you been in lately that fits this description:

But MJ’s [Mellow Johnny’s] is more than a store. On the south side is a coffee shop named Juan Pelota (is that Tex-Mex for Johnny’s Peloton?), where Austinites can get their morning fix after bike commuting into downtown and having a complimentary shower in the bike shop’s locker room at the northwest corner of the building.

Or this one from Competitor TX Magazine:

…visitors will find Juan Pelota’s, an indoor/outdoor coffee house with healthy grab-&-go food, and a soon to be introduced power-based indoor training facility. With hours of operation from 8 am to 7 pm, the shop is awake and ready for those riding into downtown early…The shop is equipped with showers and changing facilities and free bike storage for commuters.

I don’t know about you, but none of the bike shops in my town come equipped with ready food and a shower, let alone free bike storage. Pretty astute business planning! Of course, I would go to the store just to see the memorabilia: Mr. Armstrong’s seven yellow jerseys and the Trek bikes that he rode to victory. My daughter is planning a family trip out west and down south this summer. I wonder if her route takes us anywhere near Austin, Texas? If it does, I know where I want to have a bite to eat --- Mellow Johnny’s Bike Shop. Check it out for yourself: 400 Nueces Street, Austin, Texas 78701.

BR: Contemplative Youth Ministry

This is the first book review related to my reading/study of the Emergent/Emerging Church. Subsequent reviews will be posted as books are completed.
----------------------------
Contemplative Youth Ministry: Practicing the Presence of Jesus
by Mark Yaconelli

I received this book as a Christmas gift from a gentleman in my church (a Sunday School co-teacher, to be exact) this past December. At the time, I had only recently become aware of the Emergent/Emerging Church and the role that contemplative spirituality plays for some people within that movement. Interestingly, I reciprocated his gift with a seven-volume set of sermons written and delivered by Martin Luther during the years 1532-1534. Nothing like exposing our philosophical/theological positions! Modernism (or earlier) vs. postmodernism in the same classroom. Suffice it to say, our discussions can be quite thought provoking…but I digress.

This book was a real challenge for me for a number of reasons. First, it wasn’t the best starting point for learning about the Emergent/Emerging Church, the whole point of my Church/Christian reading list for 2008. It didn’t define terms like “emergent,” “emerging,” or “spiritual formation,” vocabulary that is common to discussions of this rapidly growing trend within Christianity. In fact, the movement wasn’t even mentioned. Instead, Mr. Yaconelli discussed the use of Lectio Divina, the Ignatian Examen, and centering prayer, making this the kind of book that youth ministers/workers (or pastors) could use to guide the implementation of worship and praxis once a congregation had embraced the contemplative path. Of course, the poor choice of a study starting point isn’t the fault of Contemplative Spirituality; that is my fault for reading the first book that dropped into my lap. To begin a study of the Emergent/Emerging Church (which, as I stated, was my intention), I would start instead with Stories of Emergence by Mark Yaconelli or They Like Jesus But Not the Church by Dan Kimball. Those books do a much better job of explaining how the Church leaders who are espousing these ideas came to hold their beliefs, why they feel the Church desperately needs to embrace a different (more postmodern) philosophy, and what exactly postmodern non-Christians (the primary target audience of the Emergent/Emerging Church movement) don’t like about the Church.

Second, the author came across as very anti-parent/anti-family, although this was everywhere implied but never explicitly stated. For example, in the introduction, while addressing “those of us who seek to share faith with youth” (remember, this book was written for youth ministers/workers, not parents), Mr. Yaconelli stated the following (emphasis mine):

We don’t know how to be with our kids. We know how to entertain them, market to them, test them, and statistically measure them. But we’ve forgotten how to be with them.

Who has forgotten, parents or youth ministers? And, again, in a chapter on teen angst and adult anxiety, the author said:

We worry about the young people in our care. We don’t know what they look at on the Internet. We can’t keep up with the electronic gadgets they play with. We’ve never heard of the bands or celebrities they talk about. We don’t know what they do after school. We’re unaware of the subject or codes in their e-mail conversations.

Does this paragraph not describe the concerns that parents have for their children (or should have for their children)? Yet, Mr. Yaconelli doesn’t prompt parents to move into these anxieties. No, instead, he says the following, admittedly not about parents directly but certainly about the world inhabited by children, a world that includes both parents and family:

…youth are being raised in a culture of people who no longer live from the center of their lives.

And then later:

This book is born of my hope to provide every young person with a handful of adults who incarnate the love, compassion, and presence of Jesus…I pray that our churches might be filled with adults willing to move beyond words and ministry programs --- adults willing to take the time to seek out the young people in their communities, to sit with them, to listen to them. May every congregation be filled with adults who view the young people in their lives and communities with the eyes of Jesus, beholding in each and every one of them a unique revelation of the presence of God.

Again, does this paragraph not describe the type of relationship that exists (or at least should exist) between parents and teens? Yet, Mr. Yaconelli doesn’t mention parents at all. Instead, he leaves the reader with the impression that parents are part of that “culture of people who no longer live from the center of their lives,” that group of people who do not “incarnate the love, compassion, and presence of Jesus.” Instead, Mr. Yaconelli says that youth workers and people at church are the adults who should be interacting with teens per their spirituality. Again, why does the author not prompt parents to fill this role, especially when Scripture so clearly states that it is their responsibility?

These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. --- Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it. --- Proverbs 22:6

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. --- Ephesians 6:4

Please note: I do understand that many children are without a consistent parental presence in their lives for a variety of reasons. But wouldn’t it be better, in the long run, if youth ministers worked to bring parents back into the lives of children instead of consistently attempting to replace parents with other adults (assuming, of course, that the parental influence is neither dangerous nor unhealthy) or consistently assuming that children (especially teens) don’t wish to interact with their parents?

Third, the general tone of the book struck me as replete with a negative view of modern culture --- the speed of life, the pressures of the world, a lack of fulfillment, etc. For example, in chapter five, I found this narrative:

Imagine a woman sitting on the front porch at the end of the day, calling to her husband inside the house, and saying, “Work was so draining today. I couldn’t wait to get home. Come sit next to me on the porch.” The husband then comes to the doorway and replies, “Isn’t it interesting how work takes up so much of our lives. I mean, here is this activity that we have to engage in to pay the bills; an activity that we hope will be satisfying at some level. Yet at the end of the day, we feel like we’ve been, as you say, ‘drained.’ Like something has been taken away from us or maybe we’ve given a part of ourselves that we now notice is missing. It’s like we leave our true selves at work and…

Granted, in the book, the point Mr. Yaconelli made with this example was that the husband missed the point about sitting with his wife and, instead, stood in the doorway and yakked about his philosophy of work. My point in using it as an example is that the passage typifies the sad perspective of everyday life that seems to permeate the book. Here are some other examples:

…we’ve become “dispirited.” We live narrow lives. We tend to act as if we’re nothing more than our roles and our jobs.

…the burned-out life of materialism that deadens spirits and kills creativity.

Do you know how to become yourself despite the constant messages telling you that you’re lacking? Do you know how to keep from becoming overwhelmed by the pain and suffering in the world? Do you know how to find a home, a place of welcome and relationship? Can you tell me how to stay hopeful and creative in a world obsessed with violence, death, and conformity? Do you know where I can offer my gifts meaningfully in a world that feels consumed with trivia? How do I stay alive? How do I remain open to God and others when so many people seem closed, distant, and angry?

…as any parent knows, domestic life can quickly make anyone fatigued and cranky.

Where in your life did you stop singing? Where in your life did you stop dancing? Where in your life did you stop telling stories? Where in your life did you stop listening to silence?

Well, to answer these last few questions, I haven’t stopped doing any of those things and I am forty-six years old! I sing everyday in the shower and every week at church. I often dance around my house to old music and am desperately trying to get my husband to take a ballroom dancing class. Oh, and allow me to tell you this story…about silence:

My mother taught me how to listen to and appreciate silence by taking me out into the countryside of southern Minnesota on a cold winter evening so I could “listen” to snow. This was either in December 1973 or January 1974. One night, when the temperature was well below zero, my entire family climbed into our Chevy station wagon and drove into the farm country west of my hometown, parking alongside one of the rural truck routes, in order to see a comet. Our science teacher had heard about Comet Kohoutek and had encouraged all of us to view it if possible. While waiting for this astronomical wonder to appear, my mother asked us all to stop talking so we could listen to the snow skim across the cornfields, cornfields that were lying dormant with nothing but the yellow-brown stubble of dead plants peeking out from under a blanket of frozen, white precipitation. I can still see all of us, sitting there, shivering in the cold green car, gazing up at the stars, searching for the comet and “listening” to the snow. What a memory.

Ok, getting back to reality. Lest you think I found nothing at all redeeming in Contemplative Spirituality, I must admit I was intrigued by the advice that Mr. Yaconelli gave on how to conduct meetings and call volunteers. Being the co-coordinator of a homeschool support group, I am always looking for more effective ways to connect with volunteers and “do business,” so to speak. Dubbed “the discernment approach,” the process employed by Mr. Yaconelli prompts those in authority to put their managerial tasks back under the authority of the Lord (rather than under their own authority) and to wait on His direction, all while receiving input/feedback from the group they are charged with directing, be it a congregation, a support group, or a book club. The idea of actively and intentionally engaging in conversation with God while planning activities and prioritizing tasks for any group is a reminder we all can use now and again. I know it prompted me to rethink how I do some of my work.

Overall, I cannot say I enjoyed this book. I disagreed with much of the philosophy and theology embraced by Mr. Yaconelli. That said, however, I would recommend it for those who are searching for a way to walk more deliberately and actively with the Lord in their decision-making process, whether at church or in their private lives. To read more about this book, to read additional reviews, or to purchase a copy, visit this page on Amazon.com.

Somewhat helpful. Plush Duck Rating: *****

The Perfect Coffee Press

Two years ago, for Christmas, I gave my husband a Starbucks coffee press, which he has used in fits and starts ever since. He likes it well enough, but the wire mesh filter at the bottom of the press, even though he purchases the correct grind of coffee, still allows a few grounds through now and again. Actually, a little more often than now and again, but he solves this problem by cutting and using a size 4 filter (the kind used in drip coffeemakers) in conjunction with the wire mesh filter to catch the stray grounds. He seemed content with this solution, but it is somewhat more time consuming than a drip coffeemaker. Because his mornings are pretty tight on time, King Richard has, of late, entertained the notion of replacing his coffee press with a new coffeemaker. The primary requirement for this new appliance: it cannot burn the coffee.

Now, I gave up my daily dose of coffee (try twenty-two cups per day) almost seventeen years ago when I was pregnant with my daughter. Occasionally, I will take a sip of my husband’s brew but, these days (generally speaking), I am a confirmed tea drinker. So, when he said he wanted a coffeemaker that wouldn’t burn his coffee, I thought he meant he didn’t want a coffeemaker that would make more coffee than he could drink in one sitting, a coffeemaker that would leave the additional coffee sit in a carafe on a hot plate and bake all day. Even that kind of confused me because I figured he could just turn off the coffeemaker as soon as the coffee was finished brewing and put the extra coffee in a thermos or something. No, and this demonstrates how far removed I am from my coffee-drinking days, he wanted a coffeemaker that didn’t have a hot plate under the carafe because the extra heat transferred while the coffee dripped into the container was too much additional heating. That, apparently, is when the coffee begins to burn and lose its flavor. (???)

My initial reaction to this statement, I must confess, was somewhere along the lines of:

“You have got to be kidding.”

Followed closely by:

“Are you nuts?”

Ok, call me insensitive, but I thought he was carrying this “burnt coffee” idea a little too far. I just shook my head and wandered around the Gray Goose Cookery store looking at fondue pots and food samples while he examined all the coffeemakers, coffee pots, and coffee presses the owner had in stock. Eventually (and not a moment too soon for my daughter), King Richard came away with this: the Aerobie® Aeropress™ Coffee Press for ~$30.00.

And how does he like his newfound gadget? I believe his exact words were “This is awesome! I can finally duplicate that cup of coffee I had in Hong Kong twenty-five years ago.”

Now all he needs to do is find the perfect tool bag and all our problems will be solved. :-) Anybody need a Starbucks coffee press? I have an extra one hanging around my kitchen.