A current generation, sensing more marginalization, cannot be classed as Gen X or Millennials, and this article — by one of its own, Doree Shafrir — reflects on “Generation Catalano”:

I’m older than Noreen but younger than Mat, and neither characterization rang exactly true to me (most demographers place me and my peers at the tail end of Generation X). I was born during Jimmy Carter’s presidency, a one-term administration remembered mostly for the Iran hostage crisis, the New York City blackout, and stagflation. The Carter babies—anyone born between his inauguration in January 1977 and Reagan’s in January 1981—are now 30 to 34, and, like Carter himself, the weirdly brilliant yet deeply weird born-again Christian peanut farmer, this micro-generation is hard to pin down. We identify with some of Gen X’s cynicism and suspicion of authority—watching Pee-Wee Herman proclaim, “I’m a loner, Dottie. A rebel,” will do that to a kid—but we were too young to claim Singles and Reality Bites and Slacker as our own (though that didn’t stop me from buying the soundtracks). And, while the proud alienation of the Gen X worldview doesn’t totally sit right, we certainly don’t yearn for the Organization Man-like conformity that the Millennials seem to crave…. [Read more...]

Halloween is a good time for the candy companies.

How much did you spend this year on Halloween? (Candy, costumes, etc.)

Halloween is the holiday that puts the “conspicuous” into “conspicuous consumption.” If that sexy-Michelle Bachmann or zombie-Khadafi ensemble doesn’t draw stares, you’re wearing it wrong. If you’re under the age of 12, you had better rake in enough candy to induce insulin shock. And if you’re heading out to the bar, well, your wardrobe isn’t the only thing that should be blacked out.

Of course, all that indulgence comes with a price tag. This year, experts estimate that consumers will spend about $6 billion on Halloween-related purchases.

Skye Jethani’s newest book makes a plea that we learn to see the Christian life in better terms. His proposal is to look at prepositions as a clue to how we see the Christian life. Some see it as a life “from” God, and these folks see God supplying what they need (or want). Other see it as a life “over” God and they use God as the source of their principles and life’s laws. Yet others see it as life “under” God and they tend to manipulate God through obedience so that the person can be blessed. And then some see it as a life “for” God and they focus on their mission and purpose.

In his newest book, With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God, Skye wants us to learn to see the Christian life as a life “with” God.

He anchors this in the Trinity: The Son was with the Father, the Spirit was with the Father, the Son was with the Spirit, and the Spirit was with the Son. And the Father was with the Son and the Spirit.

An eternality of “with-ness.” This idea is potent for comprehending the Christian life, and here I’m simply saying what Skye does in other terms: in this view the Christian life is seen as communion in the already-existing divine communion.

Skye wants us to see that “with” is not the best in a list but the first and fundamental that both explains the other prepositions better but puts them to the chase. The “with” perception drives us to the heart of God and to the heart of what the Christian life is. It is about treasuring God, uniting with God, and at the same time experiencing God in the Now.

As a result, Skye is able to explain better than any other “theory” the triad of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. Those who focus on “with” see that the Christian life is lived:

With faith, with hope, and with love.

If we dwell with God, we are freed from fear and the desire to control to trust/have faith in God. If we dwell with God we see the purpose of life and find a meaning in life that can guide us forward in faith and love. And if we dwell with God we love.