The Insomnia Chronicles

Weekend of Insanity

yes, it's true, Hamtramck's 28th annual "Labor Day Festival" is upon us!  what this means, in short, is 20,000+ people getting drunk and crazy(ier) all over our streets.  with famous bands (only to our city) playing on stages late into the night... here's a few of their names: Kielbasa Kings, Swamp Siostrzanys, Danny D, and of course, The Polish Muslims. 

our main street is blocked off and filled with beer tents, sausage stands and carnival rides. the smell of fried dough and cooked pork fills the air (makes me want to belch just thinking about it... not a good belch, by the way... ugh) and the, unofficial, security guard of the city, Tex, is standing on the corner barking out orders at anyone who will look his ways.  hilarious.

each year, we do our best to minister to these people and be a positive influence and witness. but, it's sad to see even our 'city officials' drunk by the first night. we've also had acts of violence the last few years.  honestly, it's out-of-control much of the time. 

so, please pray that God will make us LIGHT in the darkness, that He will provide safety over our city and that lives will be saved in the midst of chaos...  I'm also praying that the beer tastes bad!

Here we go...

misery... or, possibility?

• what's the HIGHest price you've paid (so far)?
• has the price of gas changed any of your summer plans?
• where do see the prices being by September?
• (depressed yet?)
• have you thought about how you can be a witness at the pump?
• people are looking for HOPE... so, GIVE it!
• (not depressed anymore, right?)
• every situation has a God opportunity IF you look.

Faith, Hope and PORN?

Christian dating web site BigChurch.com's motto is "Bringing people together in love and faith." A pointed quote from the Old Testament ("A man will leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh." Gen. 2:24) precedes the site's Bible-verse search library. Further testimonial from a fresh-faced woman leaves little doubt as to the site's higher purpose: "I feel like my prayers of finding a respectable man have been answered! Thanks BigChurch!!"

So it may surprise users that BigChurch.com has a decidedly promiscuous corporate parent: Penthouse Media Group Inc. (NEWSWEEK May 19, 2008 Issue).

So, do you suppose that 'porn-brokers' are God's chosen agents for orchestrating the sacred, miraculous and wonderful gift of marriage??

Ick.

PACZKI update.

ok... I'm fasting...

but, I ate a pączek today. our Xmin students went to every polish bakery in town to get paczki from each. they waited in various lines from 2 hours to 15 minutes... such dedication! so, out of curiosity, I tried a traditional one filled with the marmalade made from fried rose buds - it was...  yummy!  maybe because I haven't touched dessert for over 30 days. 

and now we just finished our Tuesday teaching time - X-Factor - spent 2.5 hours focusing on the Lordship of Christ!  Wow!! 

from here, we go back to the streets to shoot a late night video for NightLight (Feb. 16th) - we'll be all over Detroit from rooftops to alleys! 

I have a cool life. Thanks, Lord!

can you say: PACZKI?

The streets of Hamtramck will be soon be crammed with people, from near and far, all in search of something sweet, round and fat (no, not me!)... very funny!  They are in search of the notorious: PACZKI! Even as I write this, the air is filled with the smell of fried dough and sugar as polish bakeries all over our city bake these things all night in order to have them ready tomorrow from 5am - 7pm!  Lines will be several blocks long with people craving those polish pastries and various media (TV, Radio, Paper, etc) will pack store fronts & street-corners.

A pączek (singular name for plural: paczki) is a deep-fried piece of dough shaped into a flattened sphere and filled with plums or other sweet filling. A traditional filling is marmalade made from fried rose buds. Fresh paczki are usually covered with powdered sugar, icing or bits of fried orange zest. Pączki have been known in Poland at least since the Middle Ages.

Traditionally, the reason for making paczki has been to use up all the lard, sugar, shortening, eggs, and fruit in the house, which are forbidden during Lent (a religious time of fasting)...

Hamtramck is known to be the only U.S. city to organize an annual Paczki-Day (Fat Tuesday) Parade, and lines can be seen up to 24 hours before the deep-fried delights go on sale at the numerous local bakeries. Many bars in town open early in the morning, and provide free entertainment, a party atmosphere, and even Paczki-clad mascots. The Paczki-Day celebration in this town is even larger than many areas have for St. Patrick's Day.  Here, prunes are considered the traditional filling, but many others are used as well, including lemon, strawberry, chocolate, bavarian cream, blueberry, custard, rasberry and apple. Due to French influence, paczki are eaten on Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday).

So, what's the spiritual application?  Simple: I'll be out among the people, praying the God allows me to share His authentic love (far beyond ritual or religion) with others.  Yeah, I think it's a bit ridiculous to gorge oneself with fattening donuts as a way of preparing to fast... but, I won't get into that this year. I want to reach people for Christ.  So, Paczki Day is Jesus Day in Hamtramck for me!