Tim Keel's Blog

The Omnivore's Dilemma

I just picked up and started reading The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan. Has anyone read this yet? Thoughts?

Remaining in One Place

"One abba said, 'If some temptation arises in the place where you dwell in the desert, do not leave that place...For if you leave it then, no matter where you go, you will find the same temptation waiting for you.'"

From Kathleen Norris, Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life

A New Niece!

At seven o'clock this morning I became the proud uncle of Lucy Genevieve Keel - born to the Oregon branch of the Keel clan. Congratulations Mark, Alix, Liam, & Malachi!

Bon Iver on La Blogoteque

I mentioned in the post from last week titled, "Some Thursday Morning Randomness," that one of my favorite records this year is Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago.

I have also posted in the past about the work that Vincent Moon does in France convincing musicians to play random shows walking down streets or sitting in apartments. He films these performances and posts them on La Blogotheque as Take-Away Shows.

Tonight I found some great performances by Bon Iver on La Blogotheque - a marvelous intersection. I suggest watching "Flume" (the second take) and "Wolves (Act I & II") here. Then watch "For Emma, Forever Ago" here.

God Getting Busted

Found this from the artist Banksy.

Christ in My Neighbor

As we have been trekking to Christ through Advent one of the themes we have been exploring is that of being prepared, of being awake and alert searching our lives for Christ wherever he may be found. That search is necessarily bi-focal: we are present and alert in anticipation of Christ's future second coming while simultaneously looking for him in our day-to-day lives.

It was in the message I preached on the theme of "Prepare" during the second Sunday of Advent that we discussed Benedict's prescription that those live by his rule welcome all guests as Christ himself. It is so easy to move through life in a haze of distraction that looks over/around/through people, never really seeing or at people as a means to fulfilling our own ends. But seeing and treating the people who populate our lives as Christ? That takes a presence and alertness and intentionality that must be cultivated.

Talking about this last week, my friend Beth shared a quote from C.S. Lewis', The Weight of Glory that challenges us to see one another more theologically and imaginatively that we might otherwise.

"It may be possible for each to think too much of his own potential glory...it is hardly possible for him to think to often or too deeply about that of his neighbour. The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbour's glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses...There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal...Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbour is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbour, he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ vere latitat - the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden."

A Day in Allen Field House

Amazing to be at KU watching the Jayhawks play Temple today. The game is off to a great start (13-4), but with this young crew who knows how it will play out?

It is great to see the 2008 National Championship banner hanging from the rafters and the trophy in the case (next to the 1988 one - my freshmen year at KU).

Best is being here with Blaise, the last of my three kids to make the pilgrimage to Allen Field House. It is called 'indoctrination.'

Design, Theology, and Writing

When I run my finger over the pulse of my life on a macro-level, I consistently discern three expressions of my identity that play out wherever I am and whatever I am doing. I don't have to think about these things. These things pulse in my system unconsciously. They are a definitive part of who I am. I can trace these particular expressions backwards into my childhood and see how they have developed and unfolded over time, but I haven't always been able to own or express them like I can now. It takes time and help to be able to discern the patterns of our lives with any level of clarity.

I love design and to design. It doesn't matter what kind of design: interior, graphic, architectural, community, ideas. I don't get to do all these kinds of design, obviously, but I am always thinking about design solutions to problems/opportunties I encounter. I am also passionate about theology. I love to do theology, to talk theology, to live theologically. In fact, everything is theological for me. The search for God in all things animates my life - though that sounds more serious and pretentious/presumptuous than I mean it to. For what it is worth I think that statement is true for most people - it is simply a question of our consciousness and intention. And I love writing and everything that accompanies what it means for me to create and shape and communicate ideas with words. There has never been a time when I haven't been writing something. Everything else I do - preaching, teaching, painting, conversing, etc. - flows out of the writing sensibility. Getting to focus on any one of those three elements of my identity always feels like a privilege. But when all three of those things come together at once, then I am alive in a way that seems too good to be true.

So everything I do comes from a core that is shaped by these elements. But in addition to that, I love space - shaping environments in a way that allows for possibility. And space defined broadly: intellectual space, emotional space, relational space, spiritual space, aesthetic space. That is why I often talk about leaders as environmentalists - people who create and shape and host environments that allow for some kind of encounter or engagement or exchange: with God, ourselves, one another, our context...

Why all this?

A couple of days ago I found a video about a space designed by an architect for a writer and it was all I could do to stay in my seat. Not just the explicit architectural solution to the problem, though that would be enough to post about. It is extraordinary and I would love to create/write in such a place. Beyond that I am captivated by the way this designer has integrated so many seemingly disparate elements into a unified whole that communicates with one voice: this is a space to write. It has an integrity of purpose, concept, and execution that connects it to its environment in an unassuming yet profound way. Such creative harmony is rare in my experience and yet it is integral to the kind of engaged living/creating/impacting I believe we long for, whatever our context: church, home, work, or school. In that sense, the integrity of this building is manifested in its simplicty, its beauty, and its functionality. And we know it because it speaks to us through those things. Those characteristics are its apologetic.

I think we all look for this kind of integrity in the expression of our lives, whatever the three (or two, or four, or seven) elements of identity we discover at work in our lives. I think we all knowingly and unknowingly seek to integrate the seemingly disparate elements of our lives/identities into a unified whole that communicates with one voice: this is who I am, this is what I do.

What do you think?

Private Library from A Space In Time on Vimeo.

The Value of Community

"The monastic perspective can assist us specifically with regard to understanding the value of community. Imagine for a moment that the people you encounter at home, work, or school are the very people God has given you to pray with, eat with, and play with for the rest of your life. And you are supposed to thank God for this, every day, several times a day. This is what monastic people take on. And what they've learned from this particular asceticism, in attempting to live in peace with themselves and with others, may constitute their greatest gift to us. How radical to think that we can best know ourselves by embracing commitment, not rejecting it; by relating to others, not callously relegating them to the devilishly convenient category of 'other.'"

From Kathleen Norris, Acedia & Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life.

Some Thursday Morning Randomness

Bracing for an ice storm...hoping it happens...

Our friends in Oriole Post are playing tonight at the Roasterie Cafe in Brookside from 7:00-9:00 p.m. If you have the night free you couldn't do much better than to sit in the Roasterie, drink something warm, and listen to some amazing music - music they describe as western swing/bluegrass/folk. I have a previous commitment, but I am going to try and get there late.

Speaking of music. I am always late to the party, but I recently bought the record, For Emma, Forever Ago, by Bon Iver. Really great.

Books? Just updated the list to the left - I always forget to do that. Robert Benson's book, A Good Life, is the best book I read this year. 85 pages. More on this later...

And also just saw a movie that I am ready to declare my favorite of the year - in a year when I saw lots of great movies: The Visitor.

Now for the randomness...

Fast food is a particular weakness that can become something of a vice for me. It's fast. It's food. What else do you need to know? However, within the broad category of fast food, I do have something of a discriminating palate. For instance, when I am on the west coast no fast food passes the threshold of my esophagus unless it contains any of the following six letters: In-n-Out. In the midwest, however, those particular six letters, arranged in that particular order, are not available to us and so there must be compromise. My compromise? If I can't get to Winstead's or Town Topic, then it is Burger King. I like the flame-broiled goodness of a Burger King cheeseburger. So imagine my delight and surprise when I stumbled on this yesterday:

Smell Like Burger King With New Body Spray: "FLAME"

"Just in time for your mom Santa to toss this in your Christmas stocking, Burger King has released a limited-edition men's body spray that evokes the smell of freshly broiled Whoppers. But isn't this what they spray on the burgers already for authenticity? No! According to a press release, "The King is setting hearts ablaze for the holidays with his new scent of choice. FLAME™, a new men's body spray by Burger King Corp., features the scent of seduction with the hint of flame-broiled meat. A favorite of the King, FLAME™ is available for purchase for a limited time at select Ricky's retailers in-store or online." Because nothing's more romantic than the scent of mass-produced beef patties...except maybe the sultry FLAME™ website, which is really putting us in the mood (for salad)."

Be honest. You want to order this, too, don't you? Guys, do yourself a favor and order this for yourself - your wife and/or girlfriend is going to thank you. I promise.