As we have been settled into our suburban home since around last May, I've been trying to reconcile with my environment. I say "reconcile" because I've had mixed feelings about the suburbs for a while now. One side of me struggles with the suburban values of safety and comfort, upward-mobility and domestic consumerism. The other side of me has kids, wants good schools for those kids, loves front porches and backyard BBQs. I try to make myself feel better (look better) by pointing out that we found an old house (76 years) on an old street with sidewalks and lots of character. We just happened to be surrounded by sprawling McMansions and one-stop shopping complexes...

Anyway, I've included a link on the sidebar to this site - but I came across a pretty interesting article about how to "interpret" your neighborhood as "one of the primary texts of daily life - one through which God speaks." Check it out if you like:

Exploring Your Neighbourhood: An Exegetical Walk

I've also been reading (slowly) this: Justice in the Burbs. The authors begin by admitting that they now live in the city - where justice issues are more readily apparent - and that when they used to live in the suburbs, they did not pursue justice in any significant way. So now they've written a book about what they should have done when they lived in the burbs. Hindsight is 20/20, I guess. This is tough because it seems to confirm that it's harder to be justice-minded when you live in an environment that has a veneer that covers over the injustices of society - as seems to be the case in the suburbs. Still, I want to believe that walking in the way of the Kingdom and being justice-minded shouldn't be limited to the urban centers - but that even in the suburbs and rural areas it is possible.