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Communion Unconfined

Handpicked blueberries and Nectarines
given to Miah and Kaylani for their
wedding top a tostada made by
Claire for Sunday dessert.
(9/4/11)

I've been pondering thoughts inspired by a post Kendal wrote a while back called "sunday times." The post described a dinner he prepared for our family at The Keep. "I find this act of us eating together a core thing that has brought us all together," Kendal writes. "I understand what communion is and that it is something Jesus told us to do often, but in all honesty the act of communally eating a meal with others is so much more spiritually filling than eating a piece of pre-cut bread dipped in some nasty grape juice..."

Communion is a fellowship experience; a celebration of Jesus' life, and the restoration of Humanity's relationship with God that his death accomplished. 


Communion is not a ceremony.


The following images depict communion experiences I've had with my family.

Josiah helps prepare a soft taco
extravaganza for Sunday dinner
at The Keep. (8/21/11) 

Kendal prepares his hookah to share
as an after-dinner continuation of
 our communion gathering.
(8/21/11) 

The crew shares hookah and Star Trek together
at The Keep while digesting dinner. (8/21/11)

Claire concocts a tostada (see above
image) topped with figs and sweet
chevre cream to share with
 friends. (9/4/11)

Family, meet family. Communion gathering at Vic's Pizzeria
 following Kaylani and Miah's wedding rehearsal. (8/27/11)
photo by: Teresa McLain

After-wedding celebration/fellowship/grub at Mud Bay Coffee.
(8/21/11)
photo by: Teresa McLain 

Evidence Of Angels (at least, if you ask me)

Josiah at The Keep, post accident.
Apologies if this ruins any suspense.
Photo by: David McLain 

Last Saturday etched itself into my history book for a few reasons. Some reading this might notice it was the day before my wedding. Others may recall this was also the day Hurricane Irene hit the East coast. Neither of these, significant though they may be, impacted my memory like the experience my dear friend Josiah had.

That morning, Claired and Josiah opened the coffee shop. As they were preparing the shop for the day, they realized a few crucial supplies were missing. On weekends the shop operates sans manager, so Josiah offered to drive to Cash & Carry to remedy the situation. "Don't speed," Claire made sure she told him.

Maybe an hour after Josiah left, an ambulance showed up at the shop. Paramedics stepped out, and Claire's heart raced as they walked toward her. "Are you the only one working today?" they asked. "I'm afraid Josiah won't be making it back in."  After she was assured Josiah was alive and OK, and her initial panic subsided, she began calling the list of Mud Bay employees to find someone to cover his shift. After initially ignoring her phone call, that person happened to be me. Jeremiah dropped me off, called Josiah's dad and left straight for the hospital.

In between pulling shots and steaming milk, Claire relayed to me the details of the incident. Just minutes after leaving the shop, Josiah flipped his 4Runner merging onto I5 from Highway 101. He may or may not have been speeding, but he did wind up with a ticket for "Speeds too fast for Conditions." Regardless, he found himself upside down on the side of the highway in a totaled SUV.

Here's where the story gets me grinning. The first to arrive on the scene was a pair of bicyclists. Bicyclists who were also off duty EMTs. "I was upside down," Josiah recalls. "The next thing I realize, they are reaching their arms in, checking me out, and pulling me out the window."

A volunteer firefighter happened to be driving by, and was next on the scene. He held Josiah's head in his lap and asked him concussion questions while they waited for an ambulance to arrive. Next on the scene was yet another off duty EMT, who took more vitals and did more EMT-like procedures.

By the time Jeremiah arrived at the hospital, fully prepared to sit at Josiah's bedside and read him tabloids as long as necessary, Josiah was up and walking. His parents dropped him off at the coffee shop a couple hours later looking banged up, but confident he'd be at work the next day. (The rest of us were not nearly as confident, and so he was written off the schedule for the next day or two. Must admire the boy's spunk, though.)

Josiah sustained some solid bruising on the side of his face, a concussion, and his ear turned an odd shade of blue-ish purple. His mother informed us that he's always wanted a black eye, so wish granted so to speak. The way I see it, God's got his back and it's a good thing.

Brain Art

Josiah and I shared a morning shift at Mud Bay yesterday. It was a slow and steady day, not much excitement as far as coffee goes (I simultaneously hope for and dread an overwhelming, adrenaline pumping rush of people. One that requires ground espresso war-painted on my cheeks and leaves the shop completely destroyed). The last hour of our shift was dragging by particularly slow until one of our friendly regulars, Galen Radtke, came through the door. He carried a board with him that looked like some kind of mosaic artwork. Immediately, our interest was sparked.

Our first guess wasn't completely off the mark- the piece is artwork in part. I would argue, in fact, it's closer to "art" than the heart I poured into Galen's cappuccino. It's also a game. The working title, Galen says, is Tic-Tac-Toss. A very different game with the same title does already exist, so he also says to let him know if we think of any awesome names.The game is seriously awesome, and I'm not sure I'm up to the task to be honest.

These Xs (who shall not be named) are about to get beat by these Os.

Long story short, Tic-Tac-Toss is a complex version of the simple game (you guessed it) Tic-tac-toe. Just like the original, each player is either X's or O's and exchanges turns placing their respective letter in the hopes of getting three in a row or preventing their opponent from doing so. This is where the similarities end. Instead of paper and pencil, you have a game board and pieces. The pieces are illustrated with a small version of a Tic-tac-toe board and a directional arrow. The arrows illustrate the direction the opposing player's piece must slide on the board. Three in a row can be achieved anywhere on the board, but pieces can only be placed in the red center. The result is an intricate puzzle experience; both eye-candy and brain-food.

Galen has been playing Tic-tac-toss with people for a few months, gathering feedback and working in new ideas. Now on his third prototype, it's advanced beyond the idea phase to a beautifully made, well executed game. Not to mention, it's ridiculously fun. Josiah and I played at least four times. Galen spent just a few minutes explaining the concept and rules, then sat aside to occasionally officiate. From the first piece we placed, our brains were being tested.  

Josiah fervently places an X with Kendal and Galen's encouragement.

While Josiah and I battled, we discussed Galen's plans for the game. I mentioned that it would make a neat I-Phone app, but Galen's response was even better. Inspired by games like chess, which can be carried around and played anywhere, the most recent Tic-Tac-Toss prototype includes a hidden, cut out space to store game-pieces. "I want it to be a game you can play in the park," he said. He envisions making the board and pieces out of wood, and burning in the details. He doesn't want to lose the aesthetic aspect of the colors in his current prototype, however, so we discussed different ways to include them. My favorite idea was a cloth board and tile pieces. The cloth would double as a satchel to carry the pieces. Since they're tile, the pieces would hold down the board on windy days at the park. 

Galen, the creator and designer of Tic-Tac-Toss.

Galen pointed out an aspect of community in his game that I'm sure he didn't overlook. Rather than a game that can be played alone or against a computer, his creation thrives on friendship. When two people sit down to play Tic-Tac-Toss, they share an experience that's growing more rare as the technology age advances. The sheer inventiveness of the game puts the players in the position to learn together. Beyond this, it's a chance to interact with, discuss, re-think, and co-create a piece of art. 

      *The game-board and pieces in the above images, along with all written descriptions and rules, are the copyright property of Galen Radtke.

Nix Boredom and Love Your Neighbors In 4 Easy Steps

God inspired and supplied.
Click image for a much larger and more easily read view.

Someone Planned This...

Last Thursday, in continuation with the previous week's lesson on plans, did not go as expected. Once again, Jeremiah and I found ourselves alone at Capitol Lake. This time was our fault, to an extent. But I contend our situation could not have been avoided. We were set up I tell you. 

Usually, we sit around Moon Base with nothing to do until our pals show up to prayer walk. This week I figured, why not make music at the park while we wait. I planned - or perhaps imagined would be more accurate - to start the evening off with Jeremiah. We'd jam and sing, and as our friends showed they'd join. Once everyone was gathered we'd set out on our walk with our hearts focused and our spirits high.

Problem was, I didn't properly convey my imagined plan to anyone. I did mention my thoughts to Kendal and Winter early on in the week. At that point though, it was more of a: Wouldn't it be cool if we had a jam sesh at the park... than a: Meet us at the park before the prayer walk. I realized this just after Jeremiah and I found ourselves a comfy spot in the grass and discovered that neither of us had phones.

Since we were already set and ready to make noise, we decided to wait and see if anyone would show. I was hoping the vague informaiton I mentioned to Winter and Kendal would make them curious enough to come to the lake. Once there, our loud and anti-melodic sounds would lure them towards us. After waiting 15 minutes or so, we started to feel a little nervous and impatient. So, we got to praying. "We call forth our friends in Jesus name," we said. "Carry these sound waves to their ears and inspire them to move toward us." We determined to wait what we felt was 30 minutes and if we were still alone, we'd head home. The night was young still and we hoped to rally the troops for a walk before dark.

Moments after we concluded our remaining time at the lake was limited, Jeremiah squinted into the distance behind me. "Is that Dave?" he asked. I could just make out a man with long gray hair. Without thinking, I waved. The man waved back and started walking our way. "Is that you guys?" Dave asked. What a funny coincidence, we thought.

"I don't usually come here when I want a walk, but I felt like I needed to," Dave explained. "And I would have parked sooner but none of the spots felt right, ya know?" By dusk, the three of us were still chatting merrily away. Dave is Josiah's dad. He's been a missionary for at least 30 years and has been witness to some incredible works of God. Josiah has invited him to a few Bible studies and my mind gets blown every time. Our conversation that evening ranged from miraculous healings, to why we've disassociated from the church; from raising the dead, to Wee Todd's giant, hand-made djembe (if I can acquire a picture of this, I will most certainly add it).

As it so happens, Jeremiah and I are getting married at the end of the month. It also so happens that Dave came to Bible study last Tuesday, where we dropped the not so subtle hint (coaxed by Josiah) that we would be ultra stoked if he would marry us. Since Jeremiah and I happened to be alone at the lake, it was an excellent opportunity for Dave to sling disarming questions at us like, "So why do you want to get married?" I semi-believe this was retaliation for putting him on the spot at Bible study.

After several minutes of long-winded stammering to express simply, we love each other, we noticed the time and remembered the prayer walk. By now, it seemed official that no one else was coming and that it was too late for a walk. Dave was on his way to visit a friend before he veered our way; our time was coming to an end. The whole experience was incredibly refreshing. I couldn't get over how happy the very air felt - like an incredible weight I didn't realize I'd been carrying had been lifted from my shoulders. Jeremiah started to explain the sensation he was feeling, but couldn't quite find the words. As a last ditch effort, he started to say "It's like..." and then a light flicked on behind his eyes. "We were set up."

We parted ways with hugs and perma-grins. Jeremiah and I have been glowing all week. It's amazing the effect a good conversation can have on the soul. This has been an oddly difficult Thursday evening to write about. I was so excited I wanted to get this posted the very next day, but it's taken me all week to find the words and the time to write. My hope is that all who read this will find themselves similarly "set up" in the near future.

tusdaynite at Moon Base (Godstory talk)

so it is the after hours of tusday, just got home from Moon Base, now siting on the foor of my room with Alistair my cat and cold one listenting to some hardstyle with insents burning.

so another nite of whut we call Bible study tnite we finished up chapter 5 of Acts and u know whut as far as our talking whent we rilly didnt davel much in the text we wher going thru we ended up just talking about other random subject like (i rilly wonder whut Jesus's life wus like growing up like, wus he more in the state of Adem and Eve thu his life, or wus he simply purfict) you know that kinda stuf.. one thing that wus a kicker for us wus this dood named Gamilal tord the end of chapter 5. he wus prity much a dood who wus respected buy the entire city, the context of whut hapend is just that the tempel leaders wanted to kill the apostels becus they wher cosing the masses to tern away from the old law (religen). but wut wus cool wus whut Gamilal sed.. in a nut shel he told the tempel leaders that they shouldent kill the apostels becus if whut they wher doing wus of human desires then it would fail inevidubly, so thers no need to kill them, and if its somthing actuly of God then if they kill the apostels they are fiteing agenst God, and lets be onist if God is owly a sliver of whut we can conjer up Him to being then it probly isnt a good idea to fite with Him...

in a nutshel if its not of God it will enevitably fail at some point even without our interaction, and if it is of God then ther is no stoping it.

after our (Godstory talk) and the food the amazing Claire made wich wus salmen noodels and a tipe of sweet peper saus. along with wut i beleav wus a basl and lemon maraing and our usual close to 45 minets of just siting and talking with God praying for eachother and others in our lives. we satdown and watched an episode of startreck and a bit of futcherama then it wus bed time for the lot of us.. except me.. iv got tomaro off so il be up for a wile ... probly guna finish my beer play a little portal 2 or pokemon befor bed... hopfuly hang out with Jery tmaro being that we both hav the day off ... we'l se wuts in store ....

goodnite all