Pouring over lists of hostels last week my only concern was to find a place to stay somewhere in between Crater Lake and Lassen Volcanic National Park. Realizing that I would probably leave Crater Lake in the evening I thought it might be nice to have a place to crash after a few days of camping. I also love hostels and jump at opportunities to discover new ones. Finding a hostel in Ashland, Oregon looked perfect for my route.

Planning merely to pass through I discovered that I had stumbled across a gem of a town in Ashland. The hostel proved to be a warm and friendly place. It was an actual home right on Main Street with large common areas to relax and converse with other visitors. While talking with Eric and Roger, two road-tripers from Northern California, I learned that the Oregon Shakespeare Festival is not just an event as I had supposed, but that it is ongoing. Curious, I looked up the list of current plays and decided that the Merchant of Venice looked the most interesting. To my delight, it just so happened that this was to be the featured play the following evening.

Now I had a decision to make. Do I continue on with my plan to pass through to the next place or do I change everything to stop and live in the moment? The next morning I awoke still pondering this decision. Having been warned that I should get my ticket as soon as possible if I hoped to go, I decided that attending the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in a place that literally revolves around this attraction was a wonderful opportunity.

One of Ashland's local musicians dressed like a sprite and playing beautifully on various wind instruments.

Driving downtown to seek out tickets I felt like I had stepped into a village on the English countryside. Tudor styled homes and typical British names for businesses lined the streets. I learned from the friendly attendant that there were not any tickets left for the Merchant of Venice at the lower price. He asked if I was a member or new somebody from town who was so that I could get the tickets half-priced. Mentioning that I was in town for the day and did not know anyone, he said that he would check and see if he could use a local friend’s discount. He then offered me the lower price for a seat. I love it when spontaneity aligns with good fortune and things work out!

I spent the first part of the day cheering on Spain in their World Cup match versus Germany. Learning from Yelp about a local coffee shop that roasts its own coffee, I decided to check it out. I loved the place the moment I walked in the door. It is large and open with somewhat of a rustic feel. The most interesting looking menu item that I had never tried was called “siphon service.” It seemed the more adventurous path to try something new and I was not disappointed. The process of siphoning coffee is something that has to be seen to be understood. I have posted a link to a video of the process at www.justandyblog.com/2010/07/coffee-siphon-service/

Forewarned that I might want to prepare before watching the play, I purchased a summary and analysis of the Merchant of Venice and sat down in beautiful Lithia Park to read it. I also attended a brief lecture given as a preface to show on the festival’s campus. Feeling prepared to comprehend the show, I stepped outside and found a girl dressed as a sprite playing a variety of interesting looking wind instruments. Her music was mesmerizing and seemed quite fitting for the streets of Ashland.

Every evening at 7:15 there is a free outdoor event called The Green Show” and I attended for a musical journey through the history of blues. It was quite entertaining and drew a large crowd. At last the time had come for the play.

The Tudor-styled Elizabethan Stage at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Finding my way to my seat on the upper level, I was immediately drawn in by the scene. Of Ashland’s three theatres, this play was held at the Elizabethan Stage, a large outdoor venue with a beautiful Tudor-styled set as its backdrop. The play was absolutely fabulous, professionally executed within a beautiful set. The acting was so well done that I leaned forward and felt like I was living part of the story, empathizing with Antonio, hoping the best for Bassanio and struggling to understand the cruelty of Shylock. The Oregon Shakespeare Festival provided an exceptional cultural experience.

It was a very satisfying day for a traveler. One that began with one plan and ended having followed another. I stumbled across a wonderful opportunity, gladly responded to it and experienced its rewards.

Noble Coffee Roasting is one of the finest coffee shops that I have ever visited.

During my first day of driving I took a different route to Monterey than I normally take. Traveling up 5 North and exiting at Jayne Avenue, I took 98 over to 101. The scenery along 98 is absolutely gorgeous. This particular mountain took my breath away! I will be adding ongoing photo updates to my new Tumblr blog as well at www.andyjohnson.tumblr.com/

One of the unique features of the Christmas story is that due to the intervention of history, a Roman Emperor’s call for a census, Jesus came into the world under circumstances that were far from ideal. Rather than preparing to give birth in the safety and comfort of her home, Mary embarked with Joseph on an arduous journey to Bethlehem in the final days of her pregnancy.

Nazareth, where Joseph and Mary resided, lie in the hills of Northern Israel, not far from the Sea of Galilee. Since Joseph came from Bethlehem in Judaea, just outside of Jerusalem, they had to travel a long way by donkey and by foot back to his hometown to register for the census. Upon their arrival in Bethlehem, it would seem likely that Joseph sought out relatives with whom to stay in his hometown. Although the traditional interpretation of Joseph and Mary’s accommodations is that there was no room in the “inn”, a closer look shows that the same word is more often translated as “home”.

Ancient Near Eastern society valued hospitality, especially extending a warm welcome to family. This is why it seems unlikely that Joseph would have needed to stay at a local inn. Since Joseph almost certainly had relatives in his hometown, how did he and Mary end up staying among the animals on the night of Jesus’ birth? Two factors that likely contributed to this unusual circumstance were a lack of space to provide adequate hospitality and the design of Jewish homes during that time period.

This is a manger found among the ruins at Megiddo in Israel.

The second factor is that the design of ancient Jewish homes typically involved a single level with blocked off rooms and a common area that typically housed the family’s domestic animals at night. If there were no rooms left for Joseph and Mary, the only place for them to stay was in the common area of the house, not unlike our living rooms, among the animals. What then was the manger that Mary lay Jesus in after wrapping him in swaddling clothes? Far from the quaint little wooden cradle of our imagination, Jesus’ bed was a single block of stone with the top chiseled away to leave space to hold animal feed. The King of Heaven come down, lay in a trough meant not for holding babies but for feeding animals.

When our tour guide in Israel first pointed out this manger among the ruins at Megiddo, the group found it hard to believe her. It was so different than we had imagined. Yet a significant part of the Christmas story is that from the moment Jesus entered the world, he identified with people everywhere who have no proper place to lay their head. This newborn baby came to us not for the comfort of a well-suited home but to be received by those for whom he came to give his life.

How do we welcome Jesus, providing hospitality like we would for close friends or family during the Christmas season? Jesus said that whatever we do for those in need, we do to him (Matt.25:37). We provide hospitality to Jesus by feeding the hungry, giving drinks to the thirsty, inviting in the lonely, providing clothes for those who cannot afford them, caring for those who are sick, and visiting those who are in prison. If Joseph and Mary were to visit us with their newborn baby Jesus, would we leave them to sleep in our living rooms, providing that which was meant to hold food for our pets as a place for the baby to lay? Or would we offer the very best space in the house for them to rest? How we respond to Jesus’ challenge to care for those who are in need is the best indicator of the kind of hospitality that we are offering to him with our lives. Let’s dedicate ourselves to assisting those who lay their heads in “mangers” all over the world this Christmas night.

If you are interested in connecting to organizations in East Africa that care for the needy, please let me know and I will be happy to do whatever I can to help provide you with an opportunity to show hospitality to Jesus by loving people.

I woke up this Thanksgiving morning struggling to feel thankful. All I could think about was how for yet another year, I can’t be back with my family for this special time. Realizing that ingratitude is often a matter of perspective, I tried to think again about my circumstances and made an important discovery. I am thankful for friends who become like family.

Sometimes our most valuable treasures are right in front of us yet we overlook them in our search for what we think we need. I am trying to learn to appreciate the gifts that are already present in my life. My friend Susan invited me to join her family and some friends over Thanksgiving dinner for the third consecutive year. Although I do not see the rest of her family outside of this event, it occurred to me that they have become my Thanksgiving family. This made me look forward to seeing them and helped me to appreciate the significance of our time together and of enduring friendships.

I recently visited Minnesota where I once lived for five years. While visiting friends there I realized that I used to think of friends as family more than I do now. As I thought about how to caption the photos I posted to Facebook, I realized that it seemed natural to refer to the people in them as family. Not wanting to confuse those who don’t know my Minnesota friends I had to think creatively about how to describe these relationships. I want to love people in a way that makes them seem like family to me in all the best senses of the word. Developing loving relationships is a way of cultivating family and some of our richest moments in life come when we look around and realize that the circle of people we call family is expanding to include the faithful friends who have graced our lives.

The Stewarts are friends who have become like family to me in Minnesota.