Alternate Routes | Advent

I first saw this on Barbara and Nathan's blog. If you haven't seen it already, you should take a look. Andrew and I have been thinking lately, how can we "do" Christmas differently? How do we best embrace Advent, I mean, really embrace it? Not just by singing some carols and lighting some candles, but rather, how should we change our practices to prepare ourselves for the coming Christ? I'm sure at first thought, we could all rattle off a few things: give more to charity, spend more time in prayer, savor those quiet nights of anticipation, read the Christmas story with more expectation. To be sure, those are all good things. But I think the story of Christmas, and indeed, the life of Christ, requires more. For me, this video excites the imagination and so I find it pretty apropos for Advent, but why stop there? The more I entrench myself in a different kind of Christmas, the more I find that the Christian life requires not just a change of shopping habits in December (although it does indeed require that), but a comprehensive change of lifestyle. Year round.

And so the question becomes, how do we "do" life differently?

This question in particular has been hounding me lately. A lifestyle change requires not just deeper pockets (that would be easy), but it requires broader perspectives, freer schedules, trusting hearts, a relentless commitment to each other and our neighbors, and hardest of all, resistance to the idols of prosperity, security, comfort and safety. I've given this much thought, but not too much action. And while at times I berate myself over this fact, I am also realizing that perhaps big change takes some big preparation. Of course, maybe that's just an excuse. But either way, Advent is the time of preparation and I will take advantage of it.

Alternate Routes | Pure Michigan

I think I'm a sucker for state tourism ads. First Montana, now Michigan. But how can I help myself when in between phone calls and emails I am suddenly arrested by the lulling voice of Tim Allen (yes, Tim Allen from Home Improvement) crooning about water and sunrises? And have I mentioned that every ad is set to the music of the Cider House Rules soundtrack? GLORIOUS! I'm sold every time. We have taken several trips to Michigan since the launch of the Pure Michigan ad campaign and you can bet that I pop in the Cider House CD every time we cross the border. There's just something about that ad, that music, that makes me believe Michigan is truly pure. This past weekend, we spent two purely enjoyable days with friends lapping up all the purity Michigan has to offer.

Alternate Routes | The Boring Store

While I have yet to become familiar with the works of Dave Eggers, the most notable of which include A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and McSweeney's publications and humor site, I have had the pleasure of exploring the fascinating creativity behind his non-profit writing and tutoring centers. 826 Chicago (there are also centers in Boston, Seattle, Valencia, NYC, Michigan and LA) provides after-school workshops, drop-in tutoring, in-school tutoring and a variety of programs to encourage and enhance expository and creative writing skills for students ages 6 to 18.

To this end, 826CHI is not your average tutoring center. In order to get to your tutoring session, you would have to enter The Boring Store, a "cleverly disguised" spy shop that warns you on entrance: "Not a secret agent supply store." The boring rows of boxes and drawers belie an abundance of crazy spy gear, such as "Watergate Fingers", "Heated Stakeout Gloves", mustache disguise kits, wigs and Groucho glasses. On each boring box is written a non-description of its contents, such as, "The product within this box is not comprised of a thirty-three foot nylon rope and collapsible hook for grappling." Because, after all, this is NOT a secret agent supply store.



All the proceeds from the store help fund the tutoring programs, while the store itself sparks imagination and creativity among its students. The store is also quite handy when it comes to attracting potential volunteers who help facilitate the writing programs. Who wouldn't want to be part of this endeavor when faced with a banana posing as a cell-phone concealment device?


The Boring Store is located in Wicker Park at 1331 North Milwaukee Avenue--a stop in this series that, while not out of the way for those of us in Chicago, may inspire all of us toward something truly alternate. Indeed, there are ways in which we can, and must, think outside of that boring box.

[The pictures and content of this post are credited to an article by Brad Flora in the Windy Citizen.]

Alternate Routes | Big Sky Country

Montana. I want to go. I think there's some kind of irony in the fact that when you're young and relatively free of responsibilities, you're also relatively free of cash. These are the times when I'd like to pick up and go, and lately, I've had a hankering to hightail it out to Montana. There's something about the open air, beautiful wildlife, rustic cabins, big skies and big mountains that's calling me. I want to rent a little cabin for the week, hike by day and campfire by night. I want to go on a pack trip, where it's me and my horse and the path ahead. I want to breathe the mountain air, feel the sun on my back and head out into the unknown.

All this to say, I certainly don't feel starved for adventure or beauty (albeit of a different kind) in Chicago. Chicago is absolutely wonderful in the summer, and in some ways, I'm happy to stay put for these few precious months. But I can't help but feel drawn to a new place in which I can get lost between blades of grass and mountain paths.


In this "Alternate Routes" series, I hope to explore new places, destinations, things to do and things to see. Some may simply remain on a Wish List until I retire or win the lottery, while I imagine others will be readily available and attainable. Through it all, I hope to diverge from the main paths ahead and breathe new life along the way.