Hello

Well, today I climbed a tree and watched the last colors drain over the Rockies. It was a little awkward, because I live in a city; which means that I wondered everytime someone walked underneath I wondered what I was going to say to them if they noticed.

What is important is that I was really frustrated with myself. I have been "escaping" for a couple weeks now in my spare time, and my escapes have been starting to disgust me. So I went out angry, but when I climbed this tree, and looked at the mountains, I remembered this:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want..."

Ok Ok Ok

Enough already. I know that you all (if desired, substitute "no one") have been waiting for my list. Let me re-iterate 80's comedy. I realize nearly every movie made in the 80's reeks of some sensiblity that we have been finding humourous and ridiculous since the 80's but I am talking about comedies. Frankly, I am not sure that even one suggestion really hits it for me. My must sees are:
The Three Amigos.
Spaceballs
Better Off Dead
Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

Those are my top four, followed by
Teen Wolf
and some others

'80's film fest

Some friends and I have been making noise about having an 80's comedy festival. I don't know how many we can include (is it going to be a weekend festival? One evening? One whole night?) so give me your top five, if you will. One of my own fav's is...Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. The rest of my list will soon follow.

in response to Us = Church

I agree with what is being said about what must change in how the Church is perceived. It is true that we are not responsible to other individual's perceptions; this will make us fall. Yet the Church is the the body of Christ, and for the body to be what it should be, shouldn't it change? I find this part of the Sermon on the Mount to be enlightening, aggravating. From the Message:

"Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand - shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'rll prompt people to open up with God, thyis generous Father in heaven."

"I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out or your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best - the sun to warm and the rain to nourish - to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty...In a word what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously towards others, the way God lives toward you."

two notes

My wife is taking education classes, which are notoriously boring, but my wife did share this humorous tidbit. A teacher was telling them some bad ideas for disciplining children. A teacher in a remedial class had posted on a wall a spinning wheel; each pie slice had a different choice of punishment. It's name: the wheel of misfortune.

On a different note, I decided to try to grow a little today. My job is changing a bit, and I'm going to be hanging out with kindergarteners. So I decided that everyday I will write down something I learn about children, something I learn about how people like to be treated, and something beautiful. I think it will help me learn and grow a bit.

Stolen from sports writers, put to better use

The rabbis of the Talmud described a man's beard as being "the glory of one's face." Grow on, Grizzly Adams, grow on.

homage

An homage is a type of expression that remembers a certain person, passing on not only information and respect, but also the essence of how that person has influenced the writer. I just wish I had something more to say besides I have a lot of wonderful people to learn more about. Thank you, Rosa Parks.

Blog template blues

I couldn't handle that last one, it looked like Old Navy took over my thought life. I really need a Cory Pina to share the last fifteen minutes of his workday to get anything done around here.

breakfast

Does anyone else think that bran flakes taste like vitamins?

translator's note

Crap. I just got ruined by blog templates. Oh well. You can't win everything (some days: anything).

The question that has been on my mind is how do I translate the language of my heart so that my everyday speaks it?

without getting tired

Today, Anne and I have been married for two years. Tonight, she reminded me who I was. "Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, must be extraordinary. What we must do is love without getting tired."

it feels like fall

The leaves are about to change here. Tonight it will frost, and it will feel fantastic. Life is kind of wierd. Sometimes you just have to go buy a plunger.

the benefits of spare time and money

There are a lot of things going on in the lives of people I am connected to right now, my wife, all my friends at Calvin Crest, my friends Scott and Claire who are getting married soon, my friend Scott Parr who has just moved, all the people in Texas and Lousianna...but never fear. Fox Sports has plenty of money to pay reporters with lots of time to write fabulous works of American journalism like this: an article comparing the 2005 Clevland Indians to the 1989 "Major League" Indians.

Captain Underpants Returns!

I have a few boys who are learning to speak English, so some things are funny for them that are normal for other children. "Mr. Capp" is funny, particularly the "Capp" part. I have been dubbed "Captain America" (ironically because I had to make them stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance, which I don't normally say). At the risk of my legitimacy as a teacher, I am unsure what to do when six year olds make fun of my name. So I tell them it is inappropriate to make fun of anyone, and then ignore them.

So today in the act of ignoring them, I heard one say "are you captain underpants?"

Why yes, I am. But I can't let them know.

Mother Teresa

It is a strange thing, the way words and people, the way our perceptions and our current events converge upon our hearts at certain poignant times. In a time where I wonder what I can do about suffering, I have come upon some the words of a woman I have heard of my entire life, but paid little attention to. Two (or three) short quotes:

"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."

"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go."

"Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus."

California get ready

My friend Scott Parr has just accepted a position at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church, so I hope that all my friends in California are ready, because I just moved back to CO to bro down with this guy. I can't now, so you'll have to. He kind of looks like this

geek news just in

I'm not sure if anyone who might read this is a J.D. Salinger fan, but there are a few of of us out there who are huge fans - we've read everything he's published...all four books. He is a complete recluse, and selfishly, we are hoping that when he passes, a great horde of posthumous work will come forth.

This really isn't interesting for most people, I'm realizing, but I got excited to find out that the title to one of Salinger's novellas "Raise high the roofbeam, carptenters" is actually a line from an ancient Greek poem about a wedding! Isn't that geeky! Lates.

Pina, check this out

I'm not really sure that anyone should bother checking this blog, but if you do, greetings. This is the first chance I have had to use a high speed connection in some time - it's at my school. I am an assistant in three first grade classrooms at a local k-8 school! Sometimes, I don't like it. I feel awfully childish when doing something I don't like upsets me so much. When do I get to grow up at least a little bit? Denver is alright - I miss the mountains.

Interesting note- telling children to do something doesn't automatically mean anything. Did everyone else know this already? I am learning a lot.

Moving again...

Anne and I have moved back to the homeland, but to a new place - the big city of Denver! We spent last Thursday looking for apartments, and did not know what we were in for. After a break for my parent's fortieth anniversary, we started looking again yesterday, and after disagreements, disappointments, long goose-chases, aqua carpets and lots of driving, we called one more place. "I think this was supposed to be your apartment" the lease manager told us. So do we.

We qualified for low income housing so we got a really nice new apartment for what we were hoping to spend, and it is within an easy bus ride to Anne's campus, and it is between there and where she will be interning. (If anyone knows where I am working, please let me know). For any Coloradans, we now live where you used to ride the Wild Cat. After Elitch's Gardens moved downtown, the old site was developed into a community of apartments for seniors, low income and also anyone else. There are row houses, community houses, a common garden, and parks and single family homes. Our window looks north up the front range towards the Flatirons and Long's Peak. We are directly above the old theatre at Elitch's, which is being redone to be a local arts theatre. We know that our God is with us.

I think this internet software is not letting all the blogger icons pop up, so I can't figure out how to put up a link. Strange. Here is where we live:

My friend Hunter

First bit of information: My friend Hunter arrived here at Calvin Crest almost two weeks ago.
Second bit of information: On Mondays (most) all of the staff get together for "Bible study"; these last few weeks we have been discussing each beatitude from Matthew 5. Last week was "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

And somehow we ended up talking about the genocide in Rwanda, and the genocide occuring in the Darfur region of Sudan over the last year and a half. Hunter expressed that he was not content simply to use other people's suffering as an example.

So here is a chance not to use other people's suffering, but to perhaps do something about it.

I wear a white wristband

that says ONE on it. It's one of the rubber-band ones, that Lance has made so popular. THis wristband reminds me of people less fortunate than myself, nations less fortunate than this place I just happened to be born in. Sometimes it pisses me off, because I cannot figure out what good my life is for people who are needy, people who live on a different continent, but are not less worthy than me. There is so very much wrong in the world, death and injustice, decay and despair, and my feeling of impotence makes me want to take the wristband off.

A few months ago I read an article in Time Magazine by an economist named Jeffrey Sachs. He is now in charge of the UN Millenium Project, and the goal is to half the world's extreme poverty by 2015. An estimated 1.1 billion people live on less than $1 a day, and they cannot live like this. 8 million people will die this year because of their lack or resources. My wrist band is to remind me and help others learn about the ONE campaign, which put's public pressure on politicians to hold the U.S. accountable to fulfill its commitment of 0.7% of the the U.S GNP to the UN Millenium Project. This money will be used for education, AIDS relief, environmental, agricultural, economic aid, and debt relief for fellow humans being crippled by their circumstances.

I cannot do anything. I cannot help. I am not a lawyer, an economist, a doctor, a politician. I have no connections, no influence, no political capital, no wealth. I wear this wristband and languish in America. I want to tear this wristband off, but I cannot.

"We must never be satisfied with mere protest or complaint about the things we believe are wrong. Rather we must do the harder, more creative, and ultimately more prophetic work of finding and offering alternatives. "

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord"

Sunday Afternoon

I'm sorry, I just haven't had much drive to post about anything lately. Except that my parents are celebrating their 40th anniversary this June. This amazes me, because I am starting to feel like I have been married for a while, and it hasn't been much more than a year and a half. I am thankful for my parents, and thankful to them for this gift to us, their children. They are going to Prague in September to listen to music and then into Germany to see all the places that J.S. Bach used to live. They deserve it. (This is a very Cory Pina-esque post)

jc

the way that deal goes down

One of my favorite bands is a band called Waterdeep. Actually, they are pretty much my favorite [animal]. They love Jesus, they love singing, they love rocking, they love writing. They=Don and Lori Chaffer, who play lead and rhythm guitar respectively, and they sing and write all the songs. They have a keyboardist, a bass player, and a drummer. They are fantastic, artful, graceful with words and meldies that should not flow, would not flow for anyone else. I am learning to play electric guitar from them. It is really fun. They know about living - which I am barely able to do, most days.

A few days ago my friend asked a question about living. He lives in Westminster, Colorado, and works in Boulder. He asks if he is willing to be poor by local standards to do the thing he wants to do. And I say, before I put myself in his shoes, of course he should be willing, this making a living thing is about being generous and thankful. And now, I feel sheepish (what does that mean) - I feel naive. I don't want to be naive, but I sure cannot afford to be cynical. Cynicism steals my life. Once more, the way of living is narrow.

There is much to report...

...but little to say. So I will put this in a wonderfully organized and concise format, once this [ironic] verbosity is done with.

1. My Uncle Philip sent me (and several other people) a single-spaced six page email documenting he and Carmena's last several weeks. They are in their seventies, and still traveling to South Africa upon request. They are my favorites.

2. I went to see U2 on Sunday night in San Jose. It was in intricate experience tha I am still picturing in my mind when everything else slows down. They were great.

3. Did I just put a banner on my blog that has Brad Pitt's picture on it? Wierd.

4. Anne and I are moving to Denver in less than two months.

5. I really am thinking about getting a master's degree in architecture.

6. Jesus' blood, it is Jesus' blood that covers our sins, and his life that invades our bodies day and night, all there if I ask.

7. My wife is beautiful.

I wrote this poem a while ago...but it seems appropriate now

january sunday morning in fresno

colors I cannot name fly at me

in particle-stream-photon-waves

striking the rods of my eye at a magnificent rate

passing over and

under the pelican’s patient wings

I am anxious to know if his wing tips are

wet – they are only

one inch from the swells

poems are a great stock pot

boiling down to the sticky bottom

the tastes of all my senses

which is why at your wedding I watched everything so closely

and yet,

now the mottle on the Mesolithic bird’s back

is the same color as Nina Simone’s voice

crashing the mountains into the heart of the sea

over sunday morning tea

over heard talk about money

and nothing;

the silence of watching

is the same color as the line of sea melting

rain sometimes the naming of colors

is similar to the naming of children

colors name days and remain unnamed

casting shadows over all our conversations

how we choose our words

whether we avert our eyes

and often days are gray,

when they should be grey sea days

of my longing and aching – speaking

with rhythm

salt on my lip which

the wind dries

sea days remind me of the

Welsh grey blue green changing of the seasons

eyes of my wife

which call me to a heritage that is not my own,

eyes that speak terribly of love

divine neither of us can sound,

though the mountains should tremble at our surging

there are days when I run headlong into new words

and they break me open

tearing my heart fourteen times

cold grey rain at Laguna Beach at your

wedding slips of the seals’ oily skin

I am soaked -

by mud of colors I have named

speak to me in the language of moment

phrases that twist my tongue which I cannot learn

‘less I am taught one by one

starting with salt stinging my eyes

battering my rods with a brilliant array and speed and size

giving me five, eight, ten more senses until I

can pronounce the joy color of wind making my

skin leather and my heart

no longer just moving blood in my veins

but beating in a solid world of light

It is raining...

Hi. I am Jonathan Capp. Have we met?

Actually, I am about to post a post. Here I am, posting a post. I am the lone member of the Accommo team working today (and yesterday for that matter), and I decided to clean Cedar Lodge. Check that one off the list. My next task: begin to think about how to help someone else do my job. Yep. Anne and I are moving back to the homeland in June. Anne is going to attend the University of Colorado at Denver to get a teaching certificate, and I am going to work.

So I have spent enough time thinking about what our life is going to be like in Denver, and I have come up with very little. I do know that God knows where we are going to live, where we are going to work, who our new friends will be, and what part of what [lower-case] body we will be. If I am just supposed to trust about my future, then it is time to help out somebody else's future.

I can't decide what rule number one is. It is either "Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today" or "Never serve yourself first, ever." Sometimes they are the same rule, I suppose; most times I prefer the first to the second, and I, much too often, I follow neither. The other first rule might be "the Lord delights in my honest offerings" followed quickly by "with God all things are possible."

I suppose these rules might work for anyone, as long as you are willing to live whole-heartedly. I'm trying. Jesus loves me.

until then

Volume II

Thanks for the input on great beards. The answers ranged from Brian Miller to Jerry Garcia to cats may not like beards. My input is this: Vikings have had the best beards. I want to introduce to you all the V-coefficient. More tommorrow.

j

El Ano de La Barba

The first festivity for the Ano de La Barba is the introduction of the idea. There is a feeling out there, out here (out where?) that 2005 is indeed the Year of the Beard. We are therefore facilitating some necessasry discussions. First question: who are the people who have great beards?

year of the beard, volume I

we're working on something amazing up here. So get ready.

work day

Work days are not as cool as weekends, but there sure are a lot more of them. That makes me wish they were better than weekends. [cue Smashing Pumpkins] Today, however, was great. It started 42 minutes late, when I jumped out of bed and was immediately awake. I was walking to the Dining Hall before my eyes were focusing. To Do Before Breakfast: sweep floor. mop floor. dry floor. clean girls bathroom. clean boys bathroom. sweep floors. mop floors. sweep store. mop store. Done Before Breakfast: sweep floor. mop some floor. check the bathrooms. This what happens when you are really late.

Breakfast: we ate biscuits, honey, sausage, eggs. Lamar worked with me today and it was fantastic. He loves to be thorough, do a job right. It really is something special. He also almost threw up while we were cleaning a bathroom. The sounds were too amazing. We laughed a lot, and also started building a recycling station; the design was working well. Jess joined us after lunch, we talked about love, lawsuits, turning your cheek, Matthew, Luke. Our tire went flat; the steel belts were sticking out of it. We crawled under the muddy truck, and couldn't see how to get the tire off. So we sprayed the underside of out 17 year old toyota and voila, got the tire, put it on. Done, eight hours later. I can't explain how wonderful this all was.

create-a-blog

I apoligize for the last self-absorbed post that I left for the last half a month. I have been put squarely in my place, I do not have the sole power in the world to make upside down punctuation. I do, however have new links, and you should probably check out the Rural Studio, as well Agros. They both kick butt. Seriously. Today is Valentine's Day: I love my wife! Now I'll go tell her. She definitely doesn't check the blog.

j

hey

¿how come nobody's commented yet?

cory and I alone know the secret of the typing the upside-down exclamation point

After 4pm, actually. It has been a week of a lot of thought for me this week, and quite a bit is still unresolved. But today I: repaired some dry wall in a cabin, cut up a tree blocking a path, fixed a washing machine, jumped on trash, wrote a shopping list. Somewhat disappointingly, I feel as if I accomplished more today than I did all week last week. Getting stuff done is good. Getting it done quickly is better.

It doesn't really matter that whatever I said up there was vague and cryptic, because the only possible point of this email is to tell you that Anne and I succeeded in purchasing tickets for

¡U2!

¡uno, dos, tres, catorce!

Ah the glories of the small town

My wife and I own a 1970 Mercedes (imagined cool link to picture). It is classic. Since we live in the mountains, whenever I drive it I feel as if I am in a 1960's film in Monaco. It's had some problems adjusting to the altitude and cold, since it grew up in the Bay area. I took it to my mechanic, and he told me, "Willie is your man. I'm not to comfortable with Mercedes', but Willie is good. Call him after hours."

So I call Willie on thursday evening, and he tells me he's going to come up to my place. Nice German accent. He came this morning, spent about an hour working on my carbuerators, and tells me that they are in good shape. I sat there with him, and I found out he is orignally from Poland, and lived for a time in Germany. His wife spoke no English, and I think they must have spoken Polish or German to eachother. He lately moved from LA, and is working whatever job he can- heavy machinery for the local trash service. He wants to build a up a client base of foreign cars and motorcycles. He thought it was beautiful up here, noticed the sequioas by the gates. He tells me that there are a few things that need a little attention, but I have a beaut of a car. "How much do I owe you?" "Nothing." Wow. I love small towns.

Credit, of course, must also go to Willie, who will receive my business in the future. And my appreciation, which means more to me than money.

I just started "A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius." I like it. I would always to read something wonderful, and I think this might be.

Cory says I should use the spell check

I tried, but I wasn't patient enough to wait for the thing to work.

Comment about that, Cory!

cory is about to blog about my blog

Oh Crap. I must blog before Cory does to prepare my wonderful blog for the flood of magnificent, well thought, or humorous comments that will come, and blogger will email me about at my email address that I no longer check.

I drove to the south end of Fresno with Lamar and we pciked up a 14 ft U-Haul and drove it to the Pleasant Mattress Company where we picked up 104 camp mattresses, and yes it was pleasant. They brought out two towering palettes of blue mattresses and we all laughed, trying to imagine them fitting in the U-Haul. Our man loaded like a champ and Lamar and I had only one mattress crammed into the cab with us. I couldn't see Lamar all the way across our nice truck. Don't worry, we made it, everything is all done with the mattresses.

I would like to write something more thoughtful, to join in with all the wonderful conversations about our Jesus and how his kingdom works, but I never know what the right questions are to ask people. How do we involve Jesus in our lives daily as we live with open hands and hearts towards others, towards Christ? How?

blessings