Words, words, words, words. . .

Lord, Christ, Messiah, Savior.

 

I know that I rant about words a lot. In fact, I had to have a(nother) conversation with my wife the other night and try to explain why I tend to nit pick over our use of words – especially as disciples of Jesus. Admittedly I too, being nowhere near perfect tend to use words like this . . . sometimes incorrectly as well.

These four words have recently climbed toward the top of my "All time most irritating words" list. Why??? Yup, paint me the heretic – they are officially irritating.

These words are good words, great words, words descriptive of the one who would save the Jewish people, and indeed all man kind from death, forever. But these are words (and forgive me those of you who are staunch lovers of that largely lost and archaic language that is "Old English" – which consequently is NOT the language that was used in Jerusalem or Israel at the time of Jesus, or at any time really, but was used by an English King to attempt to unite people some years later – making it no more Holy or special or necessary correct than any other language that the Bible has been translated into) that have no real value outside of the church. Then again, I take it back, at least two can be found in Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and a handful of other modern movies.

My beef with these words is that over time and overuse they have been usurped of their true meanings. Like using your favorite toy for too long, it loses its grandeur. That and we have no real bearing on what a "Lord" or "Savior" is anymore, and we non Jewish folk have never had any real attachment to Messiah and Christ outside of the Church. I look throughout the history of God's relationship with man and there are soooooo many names that God uses for himself. Names that make God a personal god to the people with whom he is relating directly. The "I Am", the "Alpha and Omega", and so on.

Perhaps they are just nicknames like we have for one another? Regardless, they are personal, something that we largely lack with God now-a-days. I can live with "God", and I can live with "Jesus", but beyond that I think that I am at a place where I would love to see God known by a personal name again. There would be some of the proof positive that we are still in God and He in us, at least for me!!!!!

Thanksgiving - It's the most wonderful time, of the year!!!

Thanksgiving – season of the turkey, the lost holiday. So far Halmark hasn't found away to get their hands on it just yet.

It is my favorite holiday, and perhaps the most important holiday that this country could have. Historically there is some dispute over its purity, but it is the last holiday that really follows Jesus teaching. Sure Christmas has its ties to Jesus birth (culturally anyway, and that seems to be eroding at an unbelievable rate), but in this country even Christmas is as much about "what's in it for me" as it is about other people. Sometimes I think that it is more about "what's in it for me".

But Thanksgiving the day to think about the things that we are thankful for, things that we already have . . . and what we can share. It's not about the turkey or the stuffing, the mashed potatoes or gravy . . . not even the pie. If my understanding about the "original" Thanksgiving is correct, it was a day, a celebration dare I say, about being thankful and about helping one another out – about sharing.

And so, if I had the opportunity to change one thing about my favorite holiday (and I can say that my family has done this J), it would be to NOT spend Thanksgiving with your family. . . Ok, not just your family. Thanksgiving should be celebrated with two or three or seven or twelve families! Bring in those with no family or those who don't get to be with their families. Bring in the homeless and orphaned and the widowed – share and be thankful and enjoy each others company.

Try it! It might be weird at first, but after you have done it for a couple of years, the whole idea of a one family Thanksgiving will seems so weird!!!

 

Be at peace, and be thankful.

Is it today already?

I need a break! I had a great weekend - so good that my head is still spinning with thoughts. We had some friends down for a sleep over (Yea! Slumber parties even in our old age) Saturday, it was as always way to short. Still we had plenty of silly card games and conversation, really yummy food, and even a weeeeee little hike. Since then I have had a chance to talk to some of the men in our fellowship about our need to break down barriers. It has been powerful and scary.

Throughout the weekend we spoke of methodology; structure vs. just living Jesus. I woke up angry today. I can't put a finger on it. Everything seems to be the trigger. I can only deduce (or at bare minimum hope) that this is one of the spiritual attacks that so many speak of.

I fear structure because I don't want to do something just because "that's the way it's done". If we reinvent ourselves I want to examine Jesus' teachings and understand why we do things.

It is difficult though to find the proper balance of just living and communing. I think that it is a hard thing to find. I fear that just living we will become much too lackadaisical.

There has been talk of forming confederacies among the local fellowships. Perhaps that is the best thing. Then we can find what works well and what doesn't and share . . . so long as we promise NOT to form a denomination.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, in the digital age do we measure letters and books in pixels?

-          Global Warming Alert –

 

It was warm outside yesterday. In fact I didn't even mind going outside. Now that is a terrifying truth seeing as it is middle November.

 

-          In Other News -

 

There was a major break through in the neighborhood yesterday. i was out hanging my bear (that is still a pretty warped thing) when one of my neighbors walked by. We have no fences in our neighborhood (minus the one that keeps Holly the horse in her corral) so he came on back to check out the fun and give me a hand. After talking a bit he told me that he was going to my immediate neighbor's house to help him haul some lumber. This particular neighbor has a heart of gold but is rather reclusive. We have talked a couple of times, but only just that.

So I walked down to give him a hand for a moment. The three of us talked for a bit and loaded some lumber into his tractor's trailer. Fast forward to the evening when my oldest and I were out closing up the birds for the night (did I mention that the prodigal Pea-hen has come home – and I thought she had been eaten). As we were inspecting the debris pit that will one day be our pond I saw a scraggly looking character with a blaze orange vest and a chain saw coming over.

It is the first time that he has approached me to talk. We spent just shy of an hour talking and we shared some dreams and goals. He offered some of his land to plant a larger garden on for next year. Lord willing this relationship will grow!

In the meantime it is nice to sit back and watch the Lord working.

Somedays i think that i am losing my grip on reality. . .

So there is a bear in my trunk. Yup, a bear. Sometimes I think that I should be committed.

Last night I had to talk a guy with a gun out of a building, tonight, we had to put a bear down after it sustained pretty major injuries from an auto accident. No the bear wasn't driving.

Part of trying to live more simply is becoming more dependant on older ways of living – growing our own food, making our own clothes, being dependant on God (rather than technology) to provide for us. This particular bear was destined to be left to in whole to nature to be eaten. I simply seized the opportunity to try my hand at making leather. I have been successful in the past with making leather from deer hides. Bear is a bigger challenge, but I believe will be well worth the effort. There are also educational benefits for a local home school co-op if we clean and reassemble the skeleton.

-          Am I completely out of my mind???

In other the garden is cleaned out, save for a couple of rows of carrots. It is resting and being fed with debris from turkey and chicken coops.

Also I have been contacted by a fellowship that meets in the next town over. It sounds to be another small fellowship, but they are interested in meeting together to find ways that we might mutually encourage one another. It sounds awesome!!!!

Always it's exciting to sit and watch what God is unfolding. . . .

Here comes winter. . .

Well, we're back from vacation. We bid fare-thee-well to the lovely warm weathers of the Midwest to return to the frosty, joyful conditions of the northeast. It was a wonderful escape. The children had a wonderful time on the ranch. James played with his eldest cousin Caleb for a solid week, while we couldn't pry Owen away from the animals. He was out every morning and every evening with Nana feeding, haying, and mucking the horse, donkey, mini-horse and goat stalls. Meanwhile Adelyn decided that this was the week to learn to walk. Amy and i spent the week just unwinding. We walked about the ranch a couple of times and worked on projects. Amy found a new love for donkeys, which really are a great animal.

It was also a sobering trip. There were a few more wrinkles on mom and a bit more white to her hair. my little sister is all grown up and her kids are getting older, and having most of the family back together again allowed me to gain some deeper insights to the way my family and i function, succeed and fail. Two of our larger failures are greed and control. More control than greed, but perhaps a greed for control. Whether conscious or subconscious i became really aware of how we crave it, use it, and wield it against one another. But i guess that knowledge and acceptance are the first steps to recovery.

And so we have returned. It's great, i love autumn!! The leaves are mostly down here, the neighbors have bush-hogged their fields and the neighborhood looks clean and wonderful. With the foliage down i can see the river again, and the wildlife that moves on the ridge behind my house. All of our hens have grown up and are laying so we have enough eggs for us and also to give away. The turkeys have beefed up nicely and are ready for butchering and processing, and the garden is down (except the carrots and potatoes that we will gather until the ground freezes) and we are starting to compost and fertilize – preparing it for a nice winters nap.

All that remains now is to start the inside projects and look into ways to reach out to our neighbors and others in the community.

One thing that i am super excited about is that, in an attempt to be more energy conscious and in light of the sky rocketing prices, we have decided to limit the amount of lights in the house to no more than two rooms at any time. We are going to devote time in the evenings to gathering together and reading a book as a family. This idea was in part inspired by the past when families would gather around the fire place, and in part by a desire to strengthen our family bond.

For now i will sip my chai and wait to get home to my family. . . Life is a great gift.