g|s|i

first day of school

2010-08-12T11:21:00.001-07:00

isaac has completed his first day of traditional school. after 3 years in the wonderful Montessori classroom isaac began first grade at Ashland (a public elementary school about eight blocks from our home). he had a great day and was full of stories when we picked him up. especially good to have kath (Geoff’s mum) here to help with the transition.

here we are having some ice cream to celebrate the end of the first day.

and here he is on day two with grandma out the front of Ashland.

grandma’s visit

2010-08-10T05:39:00.001-07:00

geoff mum is visiting us from australia for the month of august and as you can imagine, isaac is loving every minute. sadly, geoff’s dad wasn’t able to come but we are all excited about visiting melbourne in december to celebrate christmas australia-style.

here they are at our favorite orchard picking peaches.

here they are ten pin bowling.

and here they are checking out the lexington farmers market…

and our new neighborhood farmers market.

the tooth fairy cometh

2010-08-01T12:25:00.001-07:00

friday afternoon…big day here at 262. isaac lost his first tooth and survived the trauma. chomping on some mac’n’cheese had the tooth hanging by a thread. with a twist, geoff popped the peg right out of there. here’s some video and pics to tell the story.

saturday summer garden

2010-07-25T04:25:00.001-07:00

another warm weekend here in Lex. the tomatoes needed some serious tidying up. sherry managed to harvest a tasty load of veg including okra, tomatoes, carrots, ground cherries (a new favorite), raspberries, beets, and peppers.

some local peaches from the farmers market topped things off for dessert – peach cake in the cast iron skillet.

we also discovered an empty bottle launched over our fence into the Jerusalem artichokes.

finally, a bonus visit from the kids at SEEDS (a seedleaf and kid’s cafe initiative teaching kids to grow and sell their own veg) who sold their produce from our driveway.

Turners – the final chapter

2010-07-21T16:41:00.001-07:00

sad farewell to match the joyful arrival. another chapter in the transatlantic affection we share. final pictures of the turners in kentucky and already longing for our next reunion in hackney.

we love the turners and especially adore our god-daughter, milly. cherished memories. it’s no too early to become sentimental about the blessed reunion of 2010 in the USA. follow their ongoing adventures out west at http://turnertale.blogspot.com/

Turners – post two

2010-07-21T08:36:00.001-07:00

the good times keep rolling with the Turners. several meals with our communality family, visits to the freedom center in Cincinnati and local treats from sunrise bakery and spaldings. walking and biking around our east end neighborhood and visiting the community garden…gathering images to go with our phone conversations in the months to come. they leave later today and look forward to San Francisco and an RV driving tour around the south-east before heading home to Hackney.

the Turners of London

2010-07-16T13:37:00.001-07:00

we are in hospitality heaven at the moment hosting some of our dearest (but most distant…geographically) friends – the Turner family from England. we are cherishing the chance to share our beloved Kentucky with these dear ones who have hosted us countless times in their home across the Atlantic. we picked them up from the airport after their whirlwind 4 days in NY city. they leave us next Wednesday for further US adventures out west (San Francisco and two weeks in campervan exploring the wild west). Millie is our Goddaughter and the day they arrived was her birthday so the reunion celebration was all the more special – we gave her a USA-style birthday chocolate chip cookie cake.

july garden

2010-07-05T13:27:00.001-07:00

things are kicking off at the world cup…and things are kicking off in our garden. here’s a quick sample (of the garden, that is).

- blackberries, sweet potatoes, raspberries, green beans, figs, peppers, okra, apricot, tomatoes

the 4th and summertime

2010-07-04T16:22:00.001-07:00

we had a wonderful holiday weekend. on saturday i ran in the bluegrass 10,000 race and managed to complete it in a personal best time of 44min14secs (that’s 7min10secs per mile for those of you who still like to measure things in miles). it felt good to pound it out with 3,487 other runners and i came in 223rd overall. we also enjoyed walking the parade with our friend Chris Ford who is running for our district council seat.

on friday night we walked downtown with our new housemates, thad and felice, to hear the lexington philharmonic belt out some patriotic tunes.

today (sunday) has been sabbath-y with some shopping and gardening and a lovely afternoon/evening of rest and books-on-tape (roald dahl). finally resetting the rest-clock after a wonder-full month. now we are looking fwd to a visit from the Turners of London and Kath’s (Geoff’s mum) visit in August. hooray for summer!

front yard

2010-06-29T16:52:00.001-07:00

we find all sorts of things in our front yard. it is a very public space pressing up against the busyness of a downtown intersection. lots of foot traffic and late-night activity. every now and then we discover something other than miscellaneous trash. this morning we awoke to discover this.

an abandoned crutch. it had me wondering was this the site of a miracle? is there crime or an accident behind this curious item? ideas? by the way, it is now almost 8 in the evening as i type this and the crutch still lies in the same spot.

thanks

2010-06-28T05:31:00.001-07:00

a wonderful mission team from Riverstone in Marietta, GA have returned home after 5 days. they served our life together and the wider community by working to care for the London Ferrell Community Garden, Kid’s Cafe (bowling, picnic, fun at the fountain), and a brief visit with Luella at KRM. the team of 11 (6 adults and 5 kids)worked very hard and showed such generosity and grace during their time with us. her are some pics…

sad farewell.

2010-05-25T15:50:00.001-07:00

for the last two years i have enjoyed having an aussie mate live nearby. Mick brought his Canadian wife and two kids (they had a third while here) to study at Asbury Seminary. it is no guarantee that a fellow ex-pat will become a good friend but we hit it off and relished in the opportunity to talk cricket and aussie football as well as share ‘lost in translation’ stories than only foreigners can relate to. Our time sharing in life and reflecting on his masters work in biblical studies has been a true gift. anyway, he is finished his degree and he left yesterday to drive back to British Columbia where he will serve in ministry. we’ll keep in touch via skype but there is nothing like a proper chin-wag in person.

lest Mick think i am becoming soft and sentimental i should point out that Mick is a very difficult person to put up with…he is horribly ugly, intolerably loud, and he is from Adelaide. He also struggles to admit Collingwood are the greatest footy team ever and the Crows will never get off the bottom of the ladder because that is where bottom-feeders belong.

here are a couple of pictures of our community farewell to Mick’s family and another seminary-student-family who have become dear to us these last couple of years – here’s mick with his youngest.

cousins

2010-05-20T04:51:00.001-07:00

we had a quick but fun trip to atlanta last weekend. we met with some wonderful people planning to form a mission team and vsiit us in the summer. we spent some time with family (including a visit to Krispy Kreme and a visit to Chic-fil-A). And we took isaac to his first broadway musical at the fabulous Fox Theatre in downtown Atlanta – Mary Poppins. we all enjoyed the great show and isaac’s favorite song was supercala…etc.

dog trials

2010-05-13T03:48:00.001-07:00

isaac and i went to check out the collies in action at the dog trials yesterday. nice to see dogs and humans work so beautifully together…a sign of God’s kingdom? we then got caught in a huge storm. it’s one of the many things i really love about living in this part of the world…the powerful storms that roll across the bluegrass.

things that grow in our yard

2010-05-11T15:39:00.001-07:00

took some pictures of blooms in the yard over the weekend and some cut flowers.

is this the beginning of adolescence?

2010-05-10T13:04:00.001-07:00

isaac made it clear to us sunday afternoon.

plees leef me ulaon

staying is the new going

2010-05-10T12:51:00.001-07:00

Chris (from word made flesh) writes beautifully here of what it means to engage in meaningful mission in our day and age. he is writing in response to Jonathan’s wonderful book, “the wisdom of stability.”

read the article

keeping our faith cheerful

2010-05-07T12:30:00.001-07:00

"What keeps our faith cheerful is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things: through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweet corn and flowers, through sports, music, and books, raising kids p; all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through. Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people."
-- Garrison Keillor

gardening and faith

2010-05-07T07:56:00.001-07:00

check out this post from Christine Sine at MSA where she references seedleaf.

http://godspace.wordpress.com/2010/05/06/edible-art-churches-and-backyards/

missionary lesson

2010-05-05T10:42:00.001-07:00

from our most recent newsletter:

Missionary Lesson: Love thy neighbor

To be a missionary across the street or across the world one must come to terms with the most basic unit of loving engagement….being a good neighbor. As the weather warms up and people are outside walking the neighborhood we are reminded about the importance of kind words and actions that pass between friends and strangers alike. We have discovered that being a good neighbor does not mean “minding your own business” with an occasional friendly but distant wave while you collect your trash cans. It is, rather, much more involved and a lot less convenient to be the kind of neighbor Jesus demonstrated. If we can look to the Good Samaritan as our pin-up neighbor we soon discover that being inconvenienced and finding ourselves outside the bounds of safety are critical elements in biblical neighborliness.

This last couple of months we have found ourselves put out and frustrated with our neighbors…many of them show up just at the wrong time, outstay their welcome, and leave us frustrated with our lack of progress on the work we had deemed ‘most important’ that day. But through all this God gently shows us what it means to be gracious when we feel least like it and to give as freely as we have received. We are being formed by the inconvenience as we receive it as a gift for our discipleship. May the Lord of the Universe (and of our front door) keep disturbing our comfort and drawing us deeper into the lives of our neighbors…for the sake of the Kingdom that is coming.

overflowing weekend

2010-05-02T15:23:00.001-07:00

so many wonderful gatherings this weekend…and then several of our basements flooded. cups runneth over!

we had the growing community event in the east end, (saturday 10am-2pm), billy’s birthday party and derby gathering (saturday night), and the baby porter shower/celebration at the koch’s place (sunday morning). good times and even in the midst of soggy basements, some cherished community time.

here are some picture (see more here)

gardening and god

2010-04-30T10:31:00.001-07:00

a wonderful post from christine sine.

here

…and here’s a taste:

Is This a Move of God?

Saturday I facilitated a Spirituality of Gardening seminar at the Mustard Seed House. A small but extremely enthusiastic group gathered to discuss basics of organic gardening and how we encounter God in the garden. Towards the end of the day we talked about the current move towards faith based community gardens that are springing up literally all over the world as churches discover they can not only produce food for their congregations but also help feed those at the margins.

christian community

2010-04-28T17:05:00.001-07:00

jonathan talks about community in this 5min WOTP video…i’m honored to have my photos incorporated into this piece.

Christian Community w/Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrve from The Work Of The People on Vimeo.

a half-born condition

2010-04-27T03:28:00.001-07:00

if i’m reading something other than fiction, it is usually because geoff has convinced me with a fair amount of cajoling that a book is worth my time. i didn’t need any form of convincing to start into jonathan wilson-hartgrove’s new book “the wisdom of stability.”

just from the first chapter alone, i feel like his gentle words (which read just like the sound of the slow drawl of his southern accent) resonate with a place in me that is still unresolved yet full of hope about the stability that can come from life in community. in one passage, jonathan quotes a saint of christian community, clarence jordan of the interracial community called koinonia farm in my home state of georgia. about the rising and falling tides of their life together, jordan claims, “this is what always baffles me. koinonia is forever dying and forever living. we should have conked out long ago, but somehow others came in the nick of time. this half-born condition is agonizing, and i could wish it otherwise, but there it is.”

jonathan goes on to reflect, “stability in community is always a half-born condition. we are suspended between heaven and earth on a ladder that promises communion with god but is also planted firmly on the ground…stability is a commitment to trust god not in an ideal world, but in the battered and bruised world we know. if real life with god can happen anywhere at all, then it can happen here among the people whose troubles are already evident to us…community is always a risk. we cannot know beforehand who will stay and who will leave. but each decision to stay – every prayer lifted up from our half-born condition – can be seen as an act of faith that our god will give us what we need, as clarence jordan said, ‘in the nick of time.’”

while reading this, i couldn’t help but recall the rich and mysterious observations of wendell berry in his “unsettling of america” in which he depicts this same kind of half-born condition from the lens of the condition of soil, “if healthy soil is full of death it is also full of life…nothing that dies is dead for very long. within this powerful economy, it seems that death occurs only for the good of life.” these things seep in slowly for me and help recast my sense of the last decade of life in this place with these people of communality, those still here, those long gone. i certainly receive the paradox and greyness of it all far better than a few years ago. i’m glad jonathan’s book about stability will give company, comfort and weight to this journey.

(sherry)

good question

2010-04-26T15:04:00.001-07:00

isaac was reading his comic-book version of the new testament tonight. at one point he paused, pointed to Peter, and asked, “does that guy have the same powers as Jesus?” i wondered if i should take the “jesus is not a super hero” line or argument. i wondered how to break down social trinitarianism is easy-to-swallow chunks. i ended up going with the biblical anthropology dissertation. first i i umm-ed and ahhh-ed and then suggested that we all do have the power of Jesus by the holy spirit and according oto the will of the Father. he looked up at me with ridicule in his eyes and said, “i can’t heal people just like that like Jesus did.” he had me there. isaac is yet to heal people like Jesus. i think i need some help with theology for 6-year-olds.

the stranger

2010-04-26T11:39:00.001-07:00

there is a storm brewing out west. recent legislation adopted by AZ threatens to unearth our fear and hate a scape-goating inclinations. while the law of the land is important we are always challenged to affirm our ultimate obligation to the reign of God. our story tells us (without qualification)

“when an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be ot you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I an the Lord you God.” (my emphasis…Leviticus 19:33-34).

i know it is a complicated issue and i know there are qualifications to be made but this passage (and many like it) must be our touchstone…along with careful reflection on the way Jesus positioned himself in the public sphere where stones were cupped in white-knuckled hands.

this group is doing some good work to help frame a christian response…check it out. they say:

· We believe all people, regardless of national origin or citizenship status, are made in the "image of God" and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect (Genesis 1:26-27, 9:6).

· We believe there is an undeniable responsibility to love and show compassion for the stranger among us (Deuteronomy 10:18-19, Leviticus 19:33-34, Matthew 25:31-46).

· We believe that immigrants are our neighbors, both literally and figuratively, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves and show mercy to neighbors in need (Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:25-37).

· We believe in the rule of law, but we also believe that we are to oppose unjust laws and systems that harm and oppress people made in God's image, especially the vulnerable (Isaiah 10:1-4, Jeremiah 7:1-7, Acts 5:29, Romans 13:1-7).

We recognize that the current U.S. immigration system is broken and reform is necessary.

The biblical princples above compel us to support immigration reform legislation that includes the following elements:

· Enforcement initiatives that are consistent with humanitarian values;

· Reforms in our family-based immigration system that reduce waiting times for separated families to be reunited;

· A process for all immigrant workers and their families already in the U.S. to earn citizenship upon satisfaction of specific criteria;

· An expansion of legal avenues for workers and families to enter our country and work in a safe and legal manner with their rights and due process fully protected;

· Examining solutions to address the root causes of migration, such as economic disparities between sending and receiving nations.

spring days

2010-04-24T14:09:00.001-07:00

we have the long-awaited rain. we are 7 inches down from where we should be so the storms currently brewing overhead are greatly appreciated. between the rain showers we were able to do some harvesting and devoured a home-grown salad from the asparagus, broccoli raab, radish, cilantro, chives, spinach, turnip greens, and onion growing in the raised beds.

tea-time

2010-04-23T08:57:00.001-07:00

our friends, the samsons, have opened their tea shop. a beautiful downtown space with delicious tea (and coffee and scones, etc.). i can highly recommend the earl grey with vanilla. finally, a place where you can get (as my mum would say) a “proper cuppa”.

check them out:

Cuppa

greatest show on earth

2010-04-23T08:36:00.001-07:00

isaac and his classmates did a great job with their circus spectacular this morning. he was proudly wearing his clown-collar which he has been busy sewing in class these last couple of weeks.

here he is with his best buddy, omar.

Bryan Moyer Suderman concert

2010-04-21T20:34:00.001-07:00

check out bryan’s music here

great concert tonight at the high st house….

see more pics here

urban garden

2010-04-20T07:31:00.001-07:00

sherry’s friend (and boss) posted a picture and comment at his blog after a visit to our place yesterday.

http://steveaustinlex.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/urban-gardening-in-lex/#comments

school trip

2010-04-19T11:18:00.001-07:00

can you tell we are trying to post more on our blog?

this morning i (geoff) joined isaac’s class for their annual trip to see the blue-eyed mary wildflowers at the nearby nature reserve (raven’s run). gorgeous weather and a nice long stroll in the woods. here are some pics. more at our flickr page.

now what lexington?

2010-04-19T05:09:00.001-07:00

it was a full weekend for some communality peeps….on saturday the Campus Community Partnerships for Sustainability Conference happened at BCTC as well as the creative cities gig follow-up downtown: now what lexington? put on by progresslex. i wandered into one discussion to discover our very own dustin, david, jodie, and sherry scheming with a room full of other active and engaged citizens.

karate kid

2010-04-18T06:07:00.001-07:00

isaac is loving his foray into the martial arts. he is taking a beginners program at the YMCA.

the wisdom of stability

2010-04-16T10:33:00.001-07:00

our friend jonathan has a wonderful book out.

you can pick up a copy here

self portrait

2010-04-14T18:28:00.001-07:00

isaac was proud to display his self portrait at the school art show this week. he said it was him when he is angry and he showed us his angry face to illustrate. certainly some pathos there.

MLK march article

2010-01-19T03:32:00.001-08:00

sherry and isaac get a brief mention in this article from today’s Lexington newspaper.

link

MLK day march

2010-01-18T16:48:00.001-08:00

today we remember the life and legacy of Rev. King today. it’s always such a moving experience to march through our city streets singing “we shall overcome” with all kinds of different people. King’s Jesus-inspired words against war, poverty, inequality, and hate continue to be relevant, and hearing his dream speech again this morning while we waited to march brought fresh tears for that which remains unfulfilled. as a new citizen to this remarkable nation i am grateful today for this man and his dream…

this weekend

2010-01-18T05:33:00.001-08:00

we are about to head out and march in somber tribute to the Rev. Martin Luther King (i’ll post some pics here later today). in the mean time, here’s a weekend update. we had a full couple of days which included some time with the Koch family, a birthday party, saying farewell to the Basses family who are headed back to their home country of Togo to serve in ministry, and on sunday evening our regular fellowship gathering.

last advent of ‘09

2009-12-21T11:46:00.001-08:00

a special night last evening to celebrate the last advent reflection. here’s the text from our community liturgy and some pictures to go with it….

In this final week of Advent, almost upon the inbreaking of Christmas, we conceive of reality in which the Messiah is right here. Imagine the coming of Messiah. Break out of cynicism and pessimism. Challenge yourself and others with the presumption that God is acting and that creation is being drawn into redemption - conceive the re:creation that starts with Jesus and continues with us. Conceive of a love as genuine, as tangible, and as pervasive as the struggle which we more readily perceive. Let that conception be birthed in your actions.

This is the stuff of faith.... a substantial outworking of what we haven't fully seen yet; the kingdom of God, just within reach.

God calls us to the same radical re-visioning of life to which the people of God have been called throughout Scripture. We are called to "see" through the eyes of God's redemptive story. Mary is told that she will become an unwed mother, and she obediently rejoices. Zechariah hears that he will be a father, contrary to reason and biology, and loses his voice for his unbelief. Joseph moves his family to Egypt on the word of a dream and the trust of his faith. Magi journey to see in flesh the child whom they have glimpsed in the stars.

And the beauty of submitting to the dreams of God is that they become reality.

Some suggestions for action:

Give $10 when asked for a quarter by the guy on the street. Imagine that God can change a life with grace.
Take lunch with a coworker whom you've written off as "impossible". Imagine that you can appreciate them without antagonism.
Imagine an hour without cynicism, skepticism, fear, distrust, or something else that you struggle with.... and then meditate on your feelings within the context of the whole redemptive story of God, and the ultimate hope of new life.
Imagine your own action, and post a comment here.
read these scriptures and let them shape your imagining: Isaiah 2:1-5, Isaiah 11:1-10, Isaiah 35:1-10.

east end christmas

2009-12-21T07:39:00.001-08:00

here's some video from the east end tree lighting a couple of weeks ago...this was a neighborhood event that involved many of the organizations sherry is partnering with in her community liaison work.

for the grandparents

2009-12-14T07:55:00.001-08:00

this one's for you, grandma, mimi, poppa, and papa. sherry cut isaac's hair on the weekend and he looked pretty sharp so i took some head shots with the late afternoon window light. enjoy.

k's

2009-12-12T13:32:00.001-08:00

these are a couple of the dearest people in the world to us. they will be moving back home to eastern europe next year and, though we are so glad they can move home to be with family, we dare not think about how this will break our hearts. for now we are cherishing time with them and dreaming of visiting them in their native land.

family portraits

2009-12-12T12:52:00.001-08:00

i have had the good pleasure of taking a couple of family portraits this Christmastime...very informal and geared low for my level of expertise. i'm learning so much each time i do something like this and on both these occasions learned some valuable lessons about lighting (one is natural/outdoors and the other with a flash).

despite my incompetence these are some good looking families.

friday night fun

2009-12-12T12:43:00.001-08:00

had some kids over last night. it was part-michael-jackson-dance-party (isaac is currently obsessed with the former king of pop), part-old-fashioned-christmas-story-time. here's the crew.

tree goes up

2009-12-05T12:12:00.001-08:00

our tree (a ceder harvested by farmers porter and koch at three springs farm) went up today. smells and looks like christmastime in our living room. not only that but it was our first snow today for this 09/10 winter season (isaac was especially thrilled). 'tis the season...

goings on

2009-12-03T07:22:00.001-08:00

it has been tooooo long since our last post. sorry about that. it has been a beautiful and full month. here are some illustrated highlights. (see our flickr page for more pictures)

we built a path along the east side of our home..here's sherry working hard.

we celebrated thanksgiving at the Samsons house with a wonderful crowd of people including one of our neighbors, Ms D and Dino, Aida, and Tarik (here's sherry, D, Aida, and Geoff)

we kicked off the series of Advent sunday gatherings at communality.

we're making time to enjoy downtown morning walks on these brisk Fall mornings...here's isaac and sherry leaping across the street.

the autumnal leaves have fallen to the ground but God still sends us color to enjoy in our backyard.

we celebrated the first east end (our neighborhood) tree lighting with friends, neighbors, and city officials. here's sherry (below) with our neighbor, Judge enjoying some hot apple cider at the tree lighting.

...and last night we enjoyed fellowship with several hundred people at an event promoting the voting rights of former felons (in kentucky, even after you have served your time, it is very difficult to regain the right to vote - Virginia is the only other state with such laws). it was a heavenly gathering of choirs and solo singers giving thanks to God and promoting restoration and forgiveness.

morning at the maddock's of lexington

2009-11-03T12:11:00.001-08:00

lilly the dog and isaac the boy

aussie visitors

2009-11-03T12:09:00.001-08:00

over the past week we have had the privilege of hosting some of our favorite people in the world. First we had John and Glena Smith of Melbourne come and stay...they are life-long family friends of Geoff's family as well as co-workers in the founding of Communality over 10 years ago. lot's of catching up about family and culture, mission and ministry, not to mention the very particular pleasure of face-to-face meandering conversation in the "australian language". here's glena, geoff, and john at our favorite bakery, sunrise.

yesterday another dear friend and mentor arrived to stay with us - Mary Fisher. Mary lives and works in Sydney. here she is at our dining room table with Sherry and some other guests (from England and Columbus, OH).

civics 101

2009-10-27T03:29:00.001-07:00

as the east end project liaison for the legacy center, sherry has been working with a local non-profit to host a grassroots leadership course. last week they met at the city council building. the vice mayor and several council representatives were there to greet the students and talk about how local government works. it has been an important exercise in civic engagement and a key learning experience for those eager to make a difference in this city. many of the participants are neighbors and friends from our east-end neighborhood. (sherry is standing on the far left).

here sherry and isaac cuddle in the back row of the council chambers. and here's sherry talking with the vice mayor.

a new kitchen

2009-10-25T12:26:00.001-07:00

last week we received the beautiful present of handmade kitchen furniture. Sherry's dad (Paul) is a gifted furniture maker and crafted this piece from an idea-sketch Sherry had. after our bathroom/kitchen disaster of the summer '08 we made do with a potting bench from the shed as our kitchen countertop. now we have this magnificent piece to use and enjoy. thanks Papa!

and then there were 4

2009-10-12T16:41:00.001-07:00

we added a family member this week. sherry's sister had been fostering a dog in Birmingham Alabama for an animal shelter. she told us about Lilly and after much prayer, discussion, worry, discussion (we talk a lot), and excitement we decided to adopt her (the dog, not sherry's sister...Dacy already has a family). Lilly is an 18 month-old Kelpie - an Australian cattle dog. how could we say no? she just weaned her litter of 9 pups and has been spade so there's no more of that business. she is house trained and a very sweet natured puppy - and hardly sheds any hair (very important). isaac is over the moon and we can't help but love her too. here she is enjoying the warm Fall sunshine today.

big weekend

2009-09-15T08:32:00.001-07:00

another fun and full weekend here in lexington. the annual roots and heritage festival bought hundreds of people to our neighborhood and around our home which is firmly planted at the heart of the action. here are a few pics of the festivities...more at our flickr page.

taken in our driveway..sherry talks with her friend, Judge.

sherry and isaac explore the street market with Mrs R.

great band warming up before the parade.

our neighbors turned their front yard into a marketplace.

isaac, maggie, and seth take in the parade

our house is perched in the middle of this reflection (this marching band tuba has a wider angle of vision than my camera lens)

our driveway..sherry is eagerly twittering the event for her work.

labor day

2009-09-08T17:57:00.001-07:00

on the labor day holiday (monday) we went out to our favorite orchard to pick up some of the early ripening apple varieties. sean and seth gladding came with us. it was overcast when we arrived and soon after there was a torrential downpour. the boys and i stayed on the porch while sherry and sean braved the wet to finish out the fruit picking. the afternoon was very relaxed back at home....some lego construction, yahtzee, reading, and a movie to finish of the evening. all in all a very satisfactory celebration of work via rest.

placed people

2009-09-06T17:03:00.001-07:00

we have been working on this project for almost two years now and we finally have a web site that describes 'placed people: a school for missional formation.'

(check out the website for more information.)

it is our attempt at creating a space in our work for mentoring those interested in learning more about what it means to engage in God's mission of love and justice. this work has been an integral part of the life of communality for over ten years and this project represents a formalization of sorts.

over the summer we were delighted to mentor a student from Wheaton and a student from Asbury Theological Seminary in environmental stewardship and refugee resettlement respectively. we appreciate your prayers (and advice) as we move forward in this work.

magical evening

2009-09-06T16:51:00.001-07:00

on friday night we enjoyed a remarkable event at duncan park. it was the first of a series of concerts staged in the park to build community and celebrate the way music brings people together across race, age, and socioeconomic barriers. much hard work has gone into the fruit of friday night and the 'stage one' initiative. under the enthusiasm and leadership of Marty Clifford and alongside the partnership of neighborhood associations, city officials and east end/north side neighborhood residents this project is a sign of the goodness that can come when people work together for common good.

it was a special joy to revel in the tunes of Tee Dee+band with so many of our neighbors and communality peeps. here are some pics that tell the story.

back to school

2009-08-25T13:16:00.001-07:00

isaac was thrilled to start school again today after the summer break. here he is this morning as we set out to walk to school. he is standing beside our garage and the new mural. this mural is one of many being displayed in the east end neighborhood.

traveling mercies

2009-07-29T06:19:00.001-07:00

sean and i made it safely from houston to lexington - thanks for your prayers. two days and one thousand miles with a HUGE truck and trailer. one blown tire and one hot-and-bothered radiator. an englishman and an australian at home in the united states eating interstate fast food along the way. it was a relief to complete the journey and a joy to have the truck unpacked (thanks to the generous and tireless helpers of communality). sean returns to texas where he and the family with finalize their departure with a farewell feast at mercy street - their beloved community for 7 years. here are some pictures to go with these words...

off to houston

2009-07-25T14:01:00.001-07:00

kath, isaac and i dropped geoff in cincinnati this morning for his non-stop flight to houston. this is a long-awaited moment. geoff will get to texas and spend one evening there with our dear friends the gladdings. tonight, sean, rebecca, maggie and seth will say farewell to their community of faith, mercy street, as they prepare for an epic shift to kentucky.

in the morning, geoff and sean will depart from houston and spend two days traveling north together in a super long moving van (originally they would have been separated into two separate vehicles but the gladdings have consolidated all their belongings, giving much away, and now geoff and sean will have an abundance of time together in the cab of a truck). after a sleep in memphis (and to geoff's chagrin, not anywhere near graceland) they will turn up in lexington on monday evening and unpack the life and things of the gladding family. sean will fly home for a few last days and the trip north will be repeated again with the family in the car with their final, final destination of lexington at the first of august.

seven years is a long-time. the gladdings have lived, worked and given of themselves to the fullest in houston. after seminary and their move south years ago, we never got use to living without them. the tale of their return is filled with prayers, deliberations, lengthy conversations, dreaming, planning, and lots more prayers. while there is great loss in the big state of texas, a tiny part of the bluegrass will be ignited by the joy of many of us here next week. we receive the rare gift of reunion and the kind of restoration the imagination kindles for a time when the kingdom is known in its fullness. we, by grace, patience and a lot of hope, get that now and we breath deeply.

snapshots

2009-07-19T04:37:00.001-07:00

some pictures from the last week in Lexington:

Isaac with a horse in the Kentucky countryside.

Sherry with Karen (our summer intern) and a neighbor.

isaac and sherry making a bike-propelled fruit smoothie at the farmers market

kath and isaac enjoying a special mexican food feast

brian the builder showing off his guns as he works on our siding

great summer weekend

2009-07-15T03:55:00.001-07:00

we started the weekend with a visit to the farmers market and finished it with a lovely cookout at the Koch's place.

kath in the garden

2009-07-09T17:02:00.001-07:00

mum is with us in lexington and before she is over jetlag we have her out in the community garden working. we've also enjoyed visiting our favorite coffee shop (third st coffee) where barrista extraordinaire, hendrick, remembered her preferred drink after a year away. AND we took in the sights and tastes of our favorite bakery (sunrise) this morning.

grandma's here

2009-07-07T04:28:00.001-07:00

last night, it was a joy to pick up kath (geoff's mum) from the lexington airport. isaac spent weeks counting down her arrival and yesterday he went from hour to hour asking "how much longer till grandma arrives?". she had safe, uneventful flights that took her through new zealand, los angeles and chigaco, before getting to us. she will be with us until the end of july. after almost 10 years of a cross-cultural marriage, geoff and i, and the rest of our family, are becoming very adept at savoring every moment and relishing the memories formed quickly that have to sustain us for the long drought in between visits. we have lots of plans for our time with kath and we are glad to wake into the first day of her visit.

our 4th of july holiday

2009-07-04T17:55:00.001-07:00

by 7.30 this morning, geoff was running down the streets of lexington in the bluegrass 10,oo0. without much training, he manage to finish this 10K in under 50 minutes. while he was working hard, karen, isaac and i wandered through the farmer's market and purchased produce for the day.

for lunch, we grilled hot dogs (the terrible but ideal july 4th food) and enjoyed fresh kentucky corn and purple cabbage coleslaw. geoff and i finally returned to the infrastructure tasks in the garden and today we manage to complete 1/2 the brick path that dissects our potager-style plots.

after a shower and an afternoon nap (and once the other three of the house returned from the downtown parade) we relaxed with the newspaper. as we sat at the kitchen table with our large window open to the back garden, we heard a neighborhood boy exclaim as he walked past, "man, they've got crops!"

we walked one block to share an evening meal with our most special neighbors, steve and rona, and the koch family. rona delighted us with the tastiest cornbread leftovers. jodie baked an outstanding corn and basil tart and we contributed subie's famous vidalia onion dip, sunrise bakery bread, and a raw beet salad. for dessert, we savored every mouthful of rona's homemade ice cream - black raspberry (reed valley orchard) and vanilla buttermilk (with fresh local milk).

the garden was watered in the late afternoon by a sweet shower and i don't think the temperature rose above 75 F. i can't remember a more pleasant 4th of july.

small harvest

2009-07-03T04:20:00.001-07:00

...from the backyard

more pool fun

2009-07-01T13:36:00.001-07:00

isaac and asher and i have hit the pool a bit in recent weeks. these lads are certainly gaining confidence and even plunging their heads under the water on occasion (sometimes this is an accident but they both recover quickly). isaac can 'swim' into the deep parts alone with his floaty vest on and asher is not far behind, wading out till the ripples reach his bottom lip. here are some pics.

this last one captures two bored boys...they are waiting for the pool to be reopened after someone had an 'accident' - these 'accidents' are more common than you would like or think in our nearest neighborhood pool and they usually mean 30mins of pensive waiting for dozens of anxious children.

visitors

2009-07-01T12:20:00.001-07:00

we thoroughly enjoyed a visit from one of sherry's wake forest friends last weekend. such a delight to catch up and to share family time together. here we are enjoying the courthouse fountains.

beets!

2009-07-01T11:39:00.001-07:00

unearthed these beets this morning. we ordinarily harvest these when they are lot smaller but this row got out of hand.

the role of land in blessing

2009-06-24T05:08:00.001-07:00

i'm reading the foundational text of deuteronomy at the moment and it is reminding me of god's sovereignty, fidelity, and grace. grace probably isn't a primary thought for most in reflecting on this book of law, but the book is rife with it. it is nothing short of stunning that in this part of israel's history, when the people have gone after idols and infuriated god, god's mind is changed midstream by the intercession of a human (that hard working priest, moses). but that another story.

today i came upon a passage in chapter 11 that brought me sweet surprise. in this bit, as the people are learning what it means to love and obey god, they are promised that they will receive

"a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end."

now i find that enormously reassuring and my comfort from this would only be as recent as my passion for my own garden and our community garden. working the land and recognizing more fully our dependence upon it have taught me look to the sky for rain and sun, to trust cycle and season for the crops to grow. my faith in this God of land and place hasn't been robust enough to see and rest in the knowledge that god's looking over it whether i wait anxiously or sleep in. who would have thought that part of what god is up to in the world is to lovingly look over land. what good news.

and the passage goes on in verse 13 to link obedience and blessing to land and food -

"So if you faithfully obey the commands i am giving you today - to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul - then i will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and oil. i will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied."

for years this kind of promise would have been missed completely on me. in fact, if i'm honest ,i think i would have begrudged such a thing and wished for blessing to be manifest in entirely different forms. but the way we see the world is different now, even from five years ago. we are thinking in new (or old) ways about faithfulness and what it means to be blessed. most certainly we have begun to reconcile with creation as we take responsibility for how much damage we've done to the created order around us. this daily sense of our connection to place and creation comes as grace and acts, despite myself, to make me a better gardener and resident of god's good world.

conference in chicago

2009-06-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

nothing like a road trip to a conference on missiology to bring out the wild side. professors samson and pavey, farmer porter, intern k-rice, sherry and i set out today for the fair city of chicago. we are attending the ASM annual conference. should be a good time of catching up with some of our professors and meet many of the authors of books that have shaped our imaginations. we'll also enjoy meeting with al hirsch, doug pagitt, and jonathan wilson-hartgrove....they are all presenting papers here. sherry will also present a short reflection on communality on friday night (if you are the praying kind, say a prayer of courage for her as it can be intimidating to stand up in front of you mentors...essentially your bookshelf).

Juneteenth

2009-06-15T11:40:00.001-07:00

Sherry, Isaac and I went to the Juneteenth celebration in our neighborhood on Saturday. a very moving occasion and we learned a lot about this important annual gathering (see here and here for more info).

the highlight was to meet an elderly woman who had a very old photograph of her mother standing on a wagon celebrating Juneteenth in 1910 in Texas. an incredible picture of people 100 years ago who were all too aware of the tragedy of slavery for the immediate generation before them. this energetic woman delivered an impassioned exhortation to Isaac about the importance of going to college (her mother had graduated in 1915 and she had graduated from college in 1941...remarkable achievements for their respective eras).

here are some pics.

birthday girl - 39 today

2009-06-10T06:42:00.001-07:00

happy birthday, sherry. isaac and i are very happy you were born (and thanks paul and subie for making this wonderful lady).

pool lads

2009-06-10T06:39:00.001-07:00

i took the lads to the pool. it was crowded and wild and there were way too many people in a little splash of water. these little boys loved every minute of it. there is never a dull moment at a crowded city pool...fascinating to watch the variety of parenting styles on display and the ways children make friends with each other so easily.

another garden party

2009-06-10T06:25:00.001-07:00

here's sherry instructing a group of kids at the london ferrell community garden yesterday. a large VBS group exploring what it means to be "stewards of creation". thanks to seedleaf and christ church cathedral the kids a had a great morning. sherry chatted with the kids and read "frog belly rat bone" (a brilliant book given to us years ago by the dear gladdings...check it out).

pea party fun

2009-06-08T13:52:00.001-07:00

we had a wonderful time with neighbors at the community garden over the weekend. there was a crew of trainee chef's cooking food growing in the garden. can't get any fresher than that!

see here for more details...

and here for more pictures...

family time

2009-06-05T06:13:00.001-07:00

we had the remarkable blessing of a family reunion last weekend. We (Sherry's parents, her brother and sister and their families) met up in the beautiful town of Cashiers, North Carolina. the mountains were stunning. the grandchildren enjoyed swimming in the lake and running on the trails. our accommodations were just perfect - no TV, Internet, and almost no cell phone coverage. it is always a joy to be with family but even more so without the intrusions of modern technologies. here are some snap shots that give a sense of God's creative grandeur in NC.

and here's the whole tribe

and here's sherry and isaac reading and doing numbers work at a little coffee shop in Cashiers

school's out

2009-05-28T12:17:00.001-07:00

last day of school for isaac yesterday. summertime is here. yesterday his school celebrated their 'field day' and reveled in the sports/activities on offer. here are some pics of the fun.

coming along

2009-05-26T03:49:00.001-07:00

we are slowly seeing our garden come into shape. we still need to lay the brick path between the raised beds.

whoa!

2009-05-20T10:04:00.001-07:00

i'm interested to see this movie

wonderfully provocative promo comments...

Bowling for Columbine did it to the gun culture.
Super Size Me did it to fast food.
Now The God Who Wasn't There does it to religion.
The movie that has been astounding audiences in theaters around the world is now available on a high-quality, feature-packed DVD. Own the taboo-shattering documentary that Newsweek says "irreverently lays out the case that Jesus Christ never existed."

is religion really an analog to fast food and guns? Lord, help us if people generally believe this to be true. i hope faithful people of God overturn this perception with gracious lives of love and justice.

9 years

2009-05-20T03:38:00.001-07:00

today we have been married 9 years (in a row). our dear friend LF is caring for isaac this evening so we can go out and share a special meal together.

first goal

2009-05-19T15:05:00.001-07:00

isaac scored his first goal in soccer this weekend. here he is just after the goal with sherry and paul (Sherry's dad). we were delighted that sherry's parents were visiting and were able to attend the soccer match....and to witness "that goal." on a related matter, isaac has declared his intention to play for Manchester United after seeing an add for the UAFA cup at an electronics store TV. look out Man. United!

here are some more pics of our weekend with family.

peony roses

2009-05-13T13:24:00.001-07:00

our peony roses have bloomed and look wonderful as always.

it was just at dusk when i took these pictures so they are long exposures but turned out okay.

soccer

2009-05-08T08:15:00.001-07:00

isaac is loving the soccer season. here he is at practice in the glorious spring sunshine.

and the parents on the sideline...

sowing seeds

2009-05-05T16:54:00.001-07:00

hope is a very fragile thing and sometimes it is better to say less than more about your most precious hopes.

i took this photo over the weekend...sherry is planting corn with some of our neighbors. fragile seeds in young hands might be one of the best ways (along with this photo) to summarize what it is we hope for.

in the news

2009-05-02T11:48:00.001-07:00

check our local (Lexington) paper for this article about our urban gardening work. apart from the misspelling of our name it is a good article that summarizes so much of Sherry's recent work.

http://www.kentucky.com/150/story/781906.html

bus stops and missio dei

2009-05-01T05:18:00.001-07:00

sherry and i continue to be formed by our attempts at mission in our household. one of the lessons we have learned over the last five years is the high value of bus stops. our home sits on a corner with two bus stops and we are daily given the blessing of meeting people for the first time and deepening relationships with regular commuters. a simple "hello" or longer conversations serve our love of "neighborliness" as we go about our work to "seek the welfare of the city" (jer. 29).

so, if you are looking to rent or own, we encourage you to consider this as a factor as you wonder about a place to make your home. as is so often the case, these 'ordinary' factors become well springs for the holy work of loving a place and its people.

new trees

2009-04-30T15:13:00.001-07:00

this week we fulfilled a long-brewing hope by planting four fruit trees in our backyard. slowly, over the last five years of owning this place, we've pushed out the garden boundaries and imagined the most from a small urban space. the most precious tree we introduced to the garden came from our friends Dragana and Navenka. it is a well-developed, 10 foot purple plum, a variety from Bosnia.

the other three (so far) are another plum, an asian pear (hosui), and a sour cherry (montmorency). in terms of sustainability and fidelity to place, it is a big and loving step toward long-term stewardship for this part of God's earth.

stand up for your love

2009-04-26T16:32:00.001-07:00

loving the new u2 album at our house. this song is a great shot of rock...and the lyrics aren't half bad. i'm listening to this track with an ear to it being a wake-up call to the people of God.

Stand up, this is comedy
The DNA lotto may have left you smart
But can you stand up to beauty
Dictator of the heart
I can stand up for hope, faith, love
But while I’m getting over certainty
Stop helping God across the road like a little old lady
Oh, oh
Out from under your beds
C’mon, ye people
Stand up for your love
Love love love love love
Love love love love love

my dad reminded me the other day of a C.S. Lewis quote that suggested that God/'the good news' is like a lion...does not need to be defended, just let out of it's cage.

cup overflowing

2009-04-23T18:07:00.001-07:00

so much good going on all around us. see this post for some things we have had the privilege of being a part of in recent days.

here's sherry talking about the community garden with some neighbors at the isaac murphy event.

here's isaac maddock hamming it up with laura and ryan at the same event.

here's sherry (far left) on earth day sitting next to jeff barrie, director of the fantastic documentary, "killowatt ours."

easter pic

2009-04-14T05:54:00.001-07:00

here we are sunday morning after our household chocolate egg hunt and before we headed out to celebrate easter with the community. it is not often we are all dressed up so we snapped this picture (thank you tripod) to capture the moment.

isaac speaks

2009-04-14T05:33:00.001-07:00

yesterday was a long day for Isaac. he was in his Montessori class from 8 till 11.30..then he had lunch and spent several hours in the extended day program. at 3pm he went to an art class he is taking for the next few weeks. when i picked him up at 4pm he was a little foggy with tired.

when we came home he had a snack and i asked him about the day. here's the dialogue that followed:

isaac: (long pause)

geoff: are you okay, buddy?

isaac: (concerned expression on his face) do you know why i look angry and sad at the same time?

geoff: no.

isaac: because i just spent 7 hours at school and there was so much talking i have a head ache.

(long pause - geoff trying not to laugh)

...and there were 6000 or more people talking to me today. it's too much.

-----------------------------------------------------

he recovered later in the afternoon and was excited to be back into the fray this morning as i took him to school.

here's a picture of him in his Easter Sunday best.

garden update

2009-04-07T16:03:00.001-07:00

we have been eager to get into the garden and as you can see from this photo we are trying to maximize food production from our modest urban plot. our four raised beds are only half way there (the two on the right still need the sod and winter cover crop turned over - each bed it 14ft long by 5 ft wide) but to the far right and bottom of the photo you can see where we tore up the concrete in front of the garage to make more beds. we are just a short way in to a long term project...our hope is to lay brick paths between the beds (we saved the bricks from our crumbling chimneys) and plant fruit trees along the fence to the left of the photo. we already have 3 rain barrels around the house and can't wait to plant nut and berry producing hedges to act as windbreaks. a real urban homestead in the making. we are grateful our nearby friends have the room for chickens and others are even planning for rabbits and fish ponds for meat.

so we have seeds in the ground and some lovely seedlings coming up behind the garage...and then april sends us a blast of winter cold. all day we have had sporadic sunshine and snow as well as hail showers. last night dipped below freezing and we are expecting the same for tonight.

this photo (below) shows our peas growing nicely but surrounded by hail pellets and that cloth is our row-cover...an attempt at saving the spinach, beet, lettuce, and radish seedlings that have sprung up.

and here is a nice collection of hail on one of the rhubarb leaves.

the tulips were open basking in the sun yesterday....

today they were closed against the snow.

go green

2009-03-20T11:45:00.001-07:00

check out this wonderful new book by our friend nancy sleeth. a comprehensive and creative exploration of all things 'green'. have you ever felt inspired to do your part about the environmental crisis but ultimately fallen short of your own ideals? The scale of our wanton wastefulness and this desperate hour for our planet combine to paralyze the ones we have been waiting for: us! This book combines everyday advice with global insight so that, finally, we can join the dots between air drying our laundry and global warming, driving less and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels, switching out light-bulbs and mountain top removal. Nancy has artfully combined thorough, up to date research, personal stories, and practical advice to make a way for creative, sustainable, life-giving sacrifice. This is a fantastic resource for any household wanting to understand and practice the twin aspirations of Christian faithfulness and green living.

soccer

2009-03-19T18:37:00.001-07:00

today was an exciting day for the household. isaac embarked on his first team-sport experience. thanks to our wonderful and generous friends, the Browns, isaac was signed up to play on a soccer team with his buddy, Z. today was the first practice and in the cool air and setting sunshine of an early spring evening the lads ran around and had the time of their lives. here are some pics...

urban orchard

2009-03-19T07:54:00.001-07:00

sherry, ryan (seedleaf) , and billy (one horizon) have collaborated with several community groups as well as the city government to plant a 4-site urban orchard on the north side of our city. great work peeps!

here's a blog from our neighbor (Rona) about the planting this saturday. please come and help out if you can.

follow this link to Rona's blog.

the quotidian fragrances of the kitchen

2009-03-15T17:22:00.001-07:00

we spent a good part of our sunday gettting ahead with baking/cooking for the week. it was delightful to spend the morning in the kitchen as a family. in a few hours time we managed to roast a chicken (an old rooster actually that geoff, himself, slaughtered), make a rich batch of stock and bake eight loaves of bread ( 4 whole grain, 1 white sandwich, 3 sourdough).

when it was finally time to set out from the house and take care of a few errands, i raced upstairs to change clothes. as i came out into the upstairs hall i was hit with a delightful aroma from downstairs - rosemary, garlic, warm bread. these were the most ordinary of fragrances that brought great comfort and seemed the perfect collection of smells for a rainy sunday.

at the moment geoff is reading a book called "the quotidian mysteries." quotidian, being such an uncommon word, actually means ordinary or commonplace. we continue to discover that the sweetest stuff of life is almost always wrapped in the ordinary.

isaac

2009-03-14T07:53:00.001-07:00

here are a few pics i took of isaac this morning. it is raining outside and cold but a nice filtered light is coming in from our north windows. he wanted the third image to look 'tough'.

the not-so-long now

2009-03-10T17:29:00.001-07:00

sometimes things take generations (see this wonderful story about the long now) while other things happen with grace at a fierce rate.

these pictures are of the same plant - it is a tree in our backyard we call "isaac's tree". 5 short weeks of temperatures ranging from way below to freezing to 70F and now buds pop out where ice was layered thick like icing on a cake. what a recovery!

a bit of lenten resurrection

2009-03-06T08:39:00.001-08:00

yesterday we stepped in the garden for the first time this year. after bitter, freezing temperatures kicked off the week, it was surprising to find the weather mild and inviting and green shoots pushing through the soil. we worked without coats. the majority of our efforts involved un-fun of gardening - weeding, removing leaves, trimming last year's dead growth, and poor geoff fixing a broken gutter from the ice storm. but in the mundane tasks, i was converted all over again.

last december, racing against time, i put some potato onions in the garden (thanks to my generous neighbor and friend, rona). it was a cold, dismal day and the ground was muddy - very unpromising circumstances. this type of onion is just wonderful because it produces more like shallots, clusters of onions, that can be divided up for some to be eaten and the rest replanted for next year. a solidly sustainable crop. yesterday, as i scrounged around to remove a most-resented, ubiquitous weed that got away from me last summer, i found the green tips of these unexpected characters coming up through soil and mulch.

three years ago, during the same lenten stretch, my faith had left me and the garden was the only place of refuge where the gentle grace and love of god would emerge and undo me. at that time, i remember the same sense of wonder and spontaneous joy overcame me (and the tears too) when i discovered tiny swiss chard (silverbeet) seedlings presenting themselves in the poorest soil of our garden. in that moment, i found the edges of myself and the beginning of god's good and always miraculous work of creation and recreation.

the garden reminds me to give thanks for the recreating work of the one who made all things. it is always when i least expect it that i am converted again to a life in and with this mysterious creator. and if i look to where hope comes from, at least in my life, i'd say a good bit of it is rooted in the soil, literally.

lent begins

2009-02-26T15:53:00.001-08:00

we gathered together to celebrate ash wednesday last night. lent has been an important time for us as a couple to renew our commitment to the kingdom and to be reminded of our mortality. last night we remembered that "from dust we came and to dust we shall return." in reading this remarkable book last week i was overwhelmed by the fact that we are 'dusty' beings - creatures with limits and reliant every minute on the gift of life from our creator. the scriptures say that, "YHWH formed the human being, (adam) dust from the fertile soil (adama)." (gen 2:7) indeed we are dusty people. humans from humus.

lent is a time for pondering the darkness in the hope that we will be shaped into the kind of people that will properly receive the light of a resurrected Lord. we hope you will take this season to consider your mortality and your limits. to employ fasting in such a way as to be freshly reminded that it is God who provides for us.