Can I get two minutes?

February 1, 2017Posted inVillage Posts7 Comments
I am shocked and horrified at what I'm seeing in the news and social media. I don't have a Facebook right now (deactivated about a year ago) and I don't have twitter or that other big social media site I can't remember the name. I recently signed up for instagram but I still don't really know how to use it. However, sometimes I cheat and sign into my hubbies Facebook…

Self-Control as the Last Moral Apologetic

January 26, 2017Posted inVillage Posts1 Comment
  A few days back I posted a quote (and link) from NT Wright which said (roughly) that "All of the fruit of the Spirit can be counterfeited by happy, healthy young people, save one - self-control."I've been thinking about that a lot over these days.  And I've been thinking that there is another truism in our cultural context: "All of the fruit of the Spirit have a counterfeit…

accepting my broken identity

January 25, 2017Posted inVillage Posts1 Comment
peeling, flaking, rubbing, shedding. the old is gone and is going. the new has come and is coming. this was my prayer tonight. my new creationness is ongoing and it's messy. messy and embarrassing. i feel acutely how this cracking, splitting, broken, old hull still clings annoyingly to my new self. ugh why can't i just be rid of it? why doesn't it just fall off for good? sounds…

Poem, Marvelous Distractions

January 24, 2017Posted inVillage Posts
I wrote this a few years ago. I find it interesting that the same things that I sometimes use to numb out/distract myself are also the things that unexpectedly occasionally touch my heart. Marvelous Distractions Give me a cup of tea," she said, "I need a cup of tea. Something to sip the day away, Warmth to comfort my frozen heart."   "Give me a book to read," she…

Being Sent: Re-post from my blog

December 26, 2016Posted inPastor Eric, Seneca MC, Village Posts
In Mark 16:14 we find our selves smack dab in the middle of the Great commission. Jesus has appeared to a few people, but as a collective the disciples are doubtful of his Resurrection. In verse 14, Jesus appears to the eleven 14Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had…

A Kodiak Christmas….

December 22, 2016Posted inVillage Posts3 Comments
Hey village family, Our journey has taken us even more northward to our boat in Alaska. We are roughing it, so to speak, living in a 6x6 galley while we build our spacious 10x12 room on the back of the boat. The project isn't without it's unforeseen problems and unforeseen joys. problem: boat starter just fried....we need this to move the boat to fill up water tanks and fill…

When the phone doesn’t ring…

December 9, 2016Posted inVillage Posts1 Comment
Every day the phone rang. Sometimes a day or two might slip by without it ringing, but for the most part it rang every day. Sometimes it rang several times a day. I couldn't or wouldn't always answer because I was in a meeting or counseling someone or cooking dinner or any of a myriad of other reasons. Sometimes I just wasn't in the mood to answer. I'd be…

Jolie runs wild

December 7, 2016Posted inVillage Posts1 Comment
The 'I love you' girl is running wild. Missing part of her brain and experiencing fine motor skills issues has meant that she's been unable to walk. She crawls all over the place and loves to 'walk' which is her name for being pushed around in her stroller. At age eleven she is incredibly strong primarily because she is constantly pulling herself up into chairs and dragging her ever…

Mom is with Jesus

November 9, 2016Posted inVillage Posts2 Comments
Sometime around 5:30 this morning my Mom went to be with Jesus. It is an answer to her deepest longing. We rejoice that she is with him and grieve our loss. She was a good mom. Born during the depression as one of ten children she knew the realities of being poor. She married young and had a us kids to care for, especially my little sister who struggles…

looking for a compass…

October 31, 2016Posted inVillage Posts1 Comment
life is messy. communication is messy. relationships are messy. how then can we expect God's plan for us to be so cut and dry? believe me I want the cut and dry. I want the writing on the wall. I want the specific plan stamped by the divine approval stamp. but instead I get mixed feelings, mixed messages, all mixed up with fear and doubt. so what propels me…

Drumming Circle prayer

October 19, 2016Posted inVillage Posts2 Comments
At the Drumming Circle I asked you all to pray for my Mom. I asked that you pray that Jesus would answer her longing to go home to be with him. Mom's dementia got worse and worse and on Saturday night she fell. The caregivers called the paramedics and it was determined that she likely had fractured her other hip. One of the paramedics called me to ask if…

when community crumbles

October 11, 2016Posted inVillage Posts10 Comments
Yesterday Eric preached on what it means to belong to The Village. Community is the essence of Christianity- it's the expression, the experience, the joy, the pain, and the presence of God. Community allows us to draw closer to the heart of God. It allows us to care for one another. It allows us to disagree and push one another. It is essential. The problem with community is that…