The Return

Wow! It's almost May already. Don't know where the time has gone. Rested up now after vacation. Isn't that how it goes? Guess some icky weather forced that issue for me. Rain and cooler than I like. It's the magnolia's fault, you know. Whenever they bloom it's a signal for the weather to change and try to freeze the blossoms. Or so it seems. They are nearly done so maybe, it's time to think garden seriously. We limed the soil several weeks ago. The weeds didn't seem to mind at all. They are looking very happy right now. Need to turn them under and do all that ground prep like tilling, raking, moving a few of the rocks that have surfaced now. The ground here grows them, according to the locals. I believe them and also believe that if the rocks were removed there'd be no dirt at all. But that's probably not entirely true. Just mostly so. The groundhog family has moved to a quieter neighborhood now. We mowed this past weekend and a...

Rechurch Stephen Mansfield 2010 BarnaBooks, an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers If you have been burned or otherwise suffered a church hurt and if you like the pain and suffering you’ve been experiencing don’t bother with this particular book. If on the other hand you want to be whole again and able to rejoin the people of God without looking over your shoulder all the time this book can help you immensely. The author is firm in his approach. Sometimes he comes across a bit more strongly than most of us are used to hearing. Keep going, though. He uses examples from his own experience, which could not have been easy for him, and people from history, some of whom surprised me. Even the “super saints” dealt with the church hurt issues. Throughout the book the author provides various exercises to work through that pave the way to the following steps and eventually to healing and finally wholeness. I especially appreciated some of the discussion related to forgiveness. I thought...

The Sacred Journey Charles Foster 2010 Thomas Nelson Here is a thought provoking, well written book. I couldn't say that at first. The author’s style is bold, and in some ways quite blunt. No sugar coating some of the difficulties of travel here! I soon discovered however, that I did yearn for a sacred journey of my own just a few more pages into his book. Foster shows the similarities between cultures in our basic search for God, a name he’d very much like changed in the English language. Shocked, but I had to agree with him that it isn’t exactly a very pleasant sounding word. Okay, just one of his asides that can get your dander up if you let it. Another of his opinions has to do with the urbanization of society and the ills that it breeds. Again, after some thought, he is right about that as well. But, when he starts on the farmers and ranchers I couldn’t go there with him. Maybe he hasn’t met enough of them yet. So what has all that to do with the sacred journey? ...

Back after a short vacation. Rustic cabin as it is described with detached bath house. You know, like a detached garage is supposed to sell you on a house listing. Nice time really. Quiet, scent of pine whenever the breeze meandered through the area. Went to a place named Promised Land State Park in eastern PA. Cabins were built by CCC workers in the 1930's. That government program made sense. Young men joined, got paid for the work and if they needed to learn the 3R's they got that as well. Most of the paycheck was sent home, but they got enough to have some fun in town. Can't see today's young people doing that at all though. I guess back then times were tougher and so was the resolve of the people. Anyway, the cabin was solid and we learned that even the furniture was made back then as well. Simple but served the purpose. Walking is a major activity at the park. We walked. Found a pretty spot with a nice little water fall. So relaxing. Better than th...

Time to pay a visit to blogland again. It's been calling to me for several days and I finally decided to listen. Got through the latest holiday relatively unscathed. Didn't even see a chocolate egg or one of those little peep things. I have tried to like them but they make much better decorations than candy whether they're yellow, pink, white or some other pastelish shade. I guess someone out there does like them since they are still available. March Madness which carries over into April is over as well. And we promise not to nuke you unless you meet a stringent criteria. We'll see how that plays out on down the road. What has that got to do with basketball? Nothing except it's another winner take all idea, I guess. Can't wait to hear the talking heads later on. The conservative news site I check every now and then has it's spin on the armageddon side already. The bad guys will get us. And they might, but what will they have? It'll take a w...