Life's an Adventure: October 2010

Random Facts about the Republic of Georgia

Saturday, October 23

Continuing my mini-series on the Republic of Georgia, here are a few facts you may not know:

1. Stalin was born and raised in a small town just outside of the capital city of Tbilisi. He spent his early adulthood in Georgia as a community organizer, seminarian, and later revolutionary.

2. Marco Polo (1254-1324) traveled through Tbilisi on the famous Silk Road and wrote, "there is a handsome city named Teflis, around which are settlements and many fortified posts". This shows that Tbilisi was a thriving city early on.

3. The scenery is breathtaking

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True Hospitality

Friday, October 22

A few weeks ago I posted a little something on hospitality. Now, my friend (wife of my former college pastor) is posting a whole series on Hospitality on her blog, The Hoover Household. This one was so good I had to post it in its entirety:

Martha, Martha, Martha

Sometimes, when my house is a mess, I seriously think to myself I hope Oprah Winfrey doesn't knock on my front door. You've probably seen those shows where she surprises a viewer at home, telling them their wildest dream is coming true, like meeting Tom Cruise or getting a home makeover from Nate. On one horrifying episode-- the one that haunts me-- she went door-to-door in an unsuspecting neighborhood, invited herself into the homes of anyone who answered their doors, inspected their refrigerators, and wanted to know what they were making for dinner.

I don't want Oprah surprising me at home, but there's someone I don't want surprising me even more: Martha Stewart. I make it a rule never to read Martha Stewart Living because even glancing at the cover in the check out line at the grocery store makes my blood pressure go up. "I should be making my own butter?", I ask myself as I put the Doritos on the conveyor belt. I am especially stressed out by the the recipes, party suggestions, and table decorations. It's all way too perfect. And that says something coming from a recovering perfectionist.

But is this the goal in hospitality? To have placecards, expensive centerpieces, matching placemats, and beautiful table linens? Should we only invite people into our homes when we finally get our lives perfectly together?

Our culture's version of hospitality involves beautiful events with beautiful decor for beautiful people. It's too bad that we Christians often believe this is true hospitality and, therefore, don't invite others into our homes. When we don't practice hospitality regularly, we miss opportunities to invite people to be known, to know us, and to experience a tangible gospel. We also miss opportunities to give and serve.

We miss these opportunities because we worry about the size of our space, the decor in our home, the cleanliness of the bathrooms, or our ability to cook. We're not Martha Stewart, we say. But hospitality is not about setting a scene or a table, it's about connecting over a meal and opening ourselves to relationships. It says: Here is my carpet covered in Cheerios. Here are the dirty dishes in the sink. Here is a pretty basic meal (or takeout). Here are my energetic children. And here I am. You are welcome in my home and in my heart.

"Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love....distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality." Romans 12:10,13

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Short History of Georgia

Monday, October 18

I have to say the Republic of Georgia is a little off the beaten path. No, it isn't a 3rd world country, but neither is it an up-and-coming super power. Since I knew little about this region until recently, I thought I would share a few of the most interesting facts I have learned in regards to it's history.

The Georgian Orthodox Jvari Monastery (Monastery of the Cross) was built in the 6th century A.D. overlooking Mtskheta, the ancient capital of Caucasian Iberia. The monastery is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Georgia has been continuously inhabited since the early stone age. They were known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as the region of Iberia and Colchis and were considered and advanced society with well formed political systems in place. Colchis may sound familiar from your past knowledge of Greek mythology, as it was the place that Jason and the Argonauts went to find the golden fleece.

After the Romans began their conquest, the area now known as Georgia became a client-state of Rome for nearly 400 years. They named Christianity as their national religion in 327 AD, which gave a great stimulus to the development of literature, arts and the unification of the country. After Rome fell, Georgia was aligned with Byzantium and thrived.

Due to its geographical location between the powers of the Byzantine Empire and Persia, it became a buffer zone of sorts. Power switched back and forth between these two powers until the Middle Ages. Then, Georgian kings pushed out the Turks and regained power and saw a rebirth of their culture and political structure.

Wikipedia, that great source that is *always* to be trusted says, "this early Georgian renaissance, which preceded its European analogue, was characterized by the flourishing of romantic- chivalric tradition, breakthroughs in philosophy, and an array of political innovations in society and state organization, including religious and ethnic tolerance."

In the late 1700's, Georgia entered into treaties with Russia with the idea that Russia would help defend them against the Turks. They did not come to their aid, and the Turks continuous attacks weakened the region. Then, in 1800, Russia forcibly decreed Georgia was now under their control.

During the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia declared their independence and had it until 1921 when the Red Army invaded. It wasn't until 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, that Georgia was able to declare Independence again.

Russia still claims it has control over two areas of present day Georgia -- South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Georgia is on very friendly terms with America as it sees us as a much-needed ally against further oppression by Russia.

I am very much looking forward to seeing this country for the first time and learning more while I am there about its rich history. Sander and I have been learning more about the Byzantine Empire and I am fascinated at how often we have overlooked this part of history in the west. The Byzantine Empire was alive and well during the dark ages in Europe and in many ways kept learning alive when the west forgot. Georgia was a big part of this.

Ok, I hope this wasn't too nerdy of a post. If no one reads it, it at least helped me organize my research and cement it in my own mind.

*Most of my "facts" come from the CIA factbook and wikipedia.

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Part I: Headed to Georgia

Sunday, October 17

It is time for a little more of an informative post. The pictures of Dexter are cute and all, but we do have a few other exciting things going on.

This won't be a long post, but more will follow in a little mini-series I am calling: We're Headed to Georgia...and I Don't Mean Athens.

In early spring of 2009 Sander headed to the Republic of Georgia (see map below for location) with a small group of guys from our church. They had been praying for a remote people group who lived in the Caucasus mountains. I think I have an old post that tells all about that trip -- let me find it and post it soon.

Well, several people from that initial trip have decided to move permanently to the region to provide relief and development work with a Non-Governmental Agency (NGO) and in partnership with our church. Those families became really close friends of ours after Sander went on the trip, so we have been missing them terribly. One family had a baby soon after arriving, so as soon as I knew she would have the baby in Georgia, I offered to come and visit in the fall to help her with the new baby as they ajust to a new culture.

The plans have been slow to come together, but now our tickets are booked and Sander and I will be going in mid-November. We will miss Dexter terribly, but he will be safe with the grandparents while we are away.

More to come that tells you why we are going and what we hope to do while there. Before I go, you have to see a picture of some of the types of things we will see while we are there. Georgia is a country rich in history (oh yes - you know I will share about that too!) and there are many sites like the one below: