- Bethlehem Revisited, gifts,giving,thankful,, Life on the Farm, Prayer Walk, The Gift of Community, Uncategorized
“Wokeness” on Kitten Creek
The weather in Kansas can be fickle. Countless times this year, we have watched the threatening clouds bear down on Kitten Creek and then watch in amazement as the storm circles left or to the right and totally misses us. Sooner or later, though, we get the storms. So we prepare. Presently, we are watching the threatening thunderstorms forming in our larger, cultural surroundings. We are not naive. Inevitable cultural pressure is coming (and presently seeping) into the area that surrounds our community. We are preparing. One of the storms forming around us is a “woke” culture, filled with judgment for anyone who is not “woke.” What does a “woke…
-
Why Would I Leave the CHURCH?
A better question might be: Could I leave the Church? This imperfect, sometimes questioning, sometimes unloving, always searching, yet redeemed soul. Could I be free to leave the Church No. I have been sealed by the Spirit, bought by the blood of Christ, adopted into the Body of Christ which IS the Church. And, God help me, why would I want to leave? I have just finished reading Searching For Sunday; loving, leaving, and finding the church. The author has recently left this world in a very sudden and tragic illness leaving behind two little ones and a devoted husband. As I read, I learned to love the searching and…
-
Who Am I? #2
“You need to write a song!” These words coming in Messenger from a nephew startled me. “Who? I don’t write songs!” I wrote back. “Yes,” he replied. “You.” He proceeded to give me some of his reasons and suggestions. Both he and his young son have been involved in bands and gigs. They were looking for words that my grand-nephew could put to music for his next gig at The Hard Rock Cafe in their city. Gazing at Steve’s Facebook picture I tried to see the little boy I once knew. Yes, behind the long gray hair and the white beard I still could see a semblance of that little…
-
Authenticity: The “Real I” and the “Real Thou”
At fourteen, a few days before I turned fifteen, I had a crash-bang encounter with the Real Thou…and He spoke directly to the Real I. Having been chosen at the last moment to replace someone on our Youth For Christ Bible quiz team, I had crammed for a week, trying to memorize scripture that we would cover in quizzes against other teams from our North Atlantic District. We were going to represent our group at a large convention in Ocean City, New Jersey. This was a big deal…and I was scared. By the time we got to Ocean City, I was not feeling well. I got worse as the…
-
No Pretension
Authenticity. Reality. I think that was what drew us to our farm. Yes, it was badly run down. The farm had seen a lot of living. It had been used to raise chickens and pigs, to grow crops, to supply milk, to allow a tiny family of three with little outside income to live comfortably for years. The eighty-five year old farmer had told us when we noticed the huge stacks of firewood around the house, “In the winter I stay snug as a bug in a rug.” The tiny house had been a shelter, a place of love, heartache, joy, loss. No pretense, no desire to impress, just…
