Enjoying the Task and Enjoying God

This was suppose to be up yesterday- sorry. I am in the process of changing blog sites and didn't get a chance to do all I wanted. My blog site will be up and running very soon.

As I have written before, all we have is from God, and it is given as gift and task. Because ALL is gift this brings to bear two things:

First, is that the ONLY proper way to think, act, live, breathe, etc, is through gratitude. Giving thanks and praise to God for His gifts to us is our primary task. Out of gratitude comes humility, stewardship and generosity. I will be commenting on these in the future, but it is important to know that it is "meet and right to always and everywhere give thanks" to God. If you recognize the quote, it means you come from a church background that properly sees our Eucharist (thanksgiving- Lord's Supper) as the pinnacle and purpose of worship on the Lord's Day. Gratitude and communion go hand in hand, and what is enacted and celebrated on Sunday is meant to direct and carry you throughout the week in all your tasks.

Second, is that all life is lived by faith in the Giver. That means that if you are comparing your lot in life to other people and feel that some injustice has been carried out against you, you need to repent and trust in God once again. ALL is gift from a Giver that loves and knows you. These tasks he has set before you are NOT TOO MUCH for you to bear, neither are they beyond finding joy in them and especially in Him. These tasks are uniquely yours, stop wishing for something else. In EVERYTHING give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus!

I am convinced from Scripture AND experience, that enjoying God, and I mean a real joy that takes place even in the midst of sorrow, comes only when we learn to give thanks to God for all his gifts.

Random Stuff on Friday

Here are some random things going on in my life and/or in my head:

1. Although our main goals for the garden are to produce a lot of food, with an eye toward beauty, we are going to be planting more heirloom plants than ever. We are doing this for two reasons: First, for the taste! Second, to be able to save seeds, making it cheaper to plant next year.

2. I'm happy for the Canadian women's hockey team- they did great and should celebrate.

3. I miss football and talking draft doesn't satisfy my longing.

4. I just started reading a book called Coop (thanks Mary Jo!)- I have enjoyed it so far and promise a few posts on it in the near future.

5. Has anyone seen Where the Wild Things Are? What is an appropriate age to see this? It was my favorite kid book as a kid, and next to Good Night Moon, it is my favorite kids book to read to my kids.

My Wife is now a Blogger

Check out my bride's new blog: Little Farm in the City.

Blessed are the Cheesemakers

Forgive the Monty Python reference, but my middle son thought it would be appropriate. I just wanted to brag about my wife.

"What's for dinner?"
"I don't know. I have spinach we have to use up- any suggestions?"
"How about pizza?"
"No problem."

Little did I know, we didn't have cheese, so my wife MADE SOME!! She then used the whey in making the crust. Delicious!

Garden Planning at Seed Saver Exchange

Just wanted to share this with you.

To End All Wars and Plato's Republic

To follow up on this post, I wished to commend to you one of my favorite movies of all time: To End All Wars. From Wiki:

To End All Wars is a 2001 war film starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Sakae Kimura and directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is set in a Japanese prisoner of war labour camp where the inmates are building the Burma Railway during the last three and a half years of World War II. It was filmed primarily in Waimea Canyon, on the island of Kauai, Hawai'i, with some excerpt shots of Thailand. The film was awarded the Crystal Heart Award and Grand Prize for Dramatic Feature at the Heartland Film Festival.

The screenplay is based on the autobiography of Ernest Gordon and recounts the experiences of faith and hope of the ínterned men. The autobiography was originally published under the name Through the Valley of the Kwai, then later as Miracle on the River Kwai and finally re-issued with the title To End All Wars to tie in with the film.

What makes this such a powerful film for me is the outworking of "justice" through three groups of people. In the movie, the POW's form an underground school and begin discussing Plato's Republic. One group of POW's believe that justice entails doing good to one's friends and harm to one's enemy, a concept of justice spoken of in The Republic. The second group are the remaining POWs who believe Jesus Christ was the Just One and justice must entail following the teachings of Christ, including his command to love enemies. The third group are the Japanese soldiers, and most importantly, the soldier/warrior who was directly in charge of the prisoners. This third group follow the principles of Bushido which regulates the different classes of society- a view of justice very similar to Plato's.


So we see in the film Plato's Republican society at work. Within this camp some are trying to do harm to the guardians of the camp, and others seek to bless them. One group tries to topple the society through violence, the other overcomes the unjust society through love. It is a great movie.



Oh, by the way, it is a true story (in every sense of the phrase)!

Tending to Our Plot

Everything we are and have has been given to us by God- our life, time, possessions, relationships... everything. God gives us these things as gift and task. In this post, I will speak of these things briefly as task, but on Friday I will post on these things as gift. Since we are in the middle of a conversation, you may want to read this, this, and this, first.

God put Adam in the garden to work- he is to make things, order things, name things, relate to things, people, and God. This is our basic task as well- we tend to all that God has given us. All these things, I call my little plot. If I tend to my plot well, it flourishes, but if I neglect it, all these gifts wither.

This spring, I will plant my garden. Even now we are planning and ordering seeds. I have a great array of choices to make, but until I plan and execute the plan, I will only have a plot of weeds. I can plan for utility, or I can plan for extravagance. I can plan to make things easy or hard, sparse or abundant, plain or beautiful. I have the freedom to do anything the bounds of my plot allows. It is a task I enjoy immensely, yet it is hard. I want to grow an abundance of food, with a great amount of beauty. The pleasure for the tongue and eye is well worth the work.

Of course, you know what I am getting at. All our tasks are like this. Take the task of tending to your family. What are you planning and executing? Aiming for easy? How about beauty? Do you take time to evaluate and pull the weeds? Is your family flourishing? Are the relationships bearing fruit?

Over the next several weeks, I will share my thoughts and experiences with tending to the various facets of this little plot of mine. Until then... get to work!

Plato's Republic and the Just Man

One of the tremendous benefits of homeschooling our five kids is the opportunity to talk about things that really matter. Our oldest and I have been discussing JUSTICE over the past few weeks. What is justice? This is a question that has been asked for several millennium, and it is great to bring my son into the conversation.

I won't go into detail about Plato's view, but the discussion on whether it is best to be just or only to seem so is a great discussion. Although Socrates pokes holes in Glaucon's arguments, his concern seems universal and is a theme the prophets of Scripture bring up. According to Glaucon, the happy (blessed) man is the one that is not actually just, but only seems to be. Here is one of the gems in Plato's Republic:

...let him be clothed in justice only and have no other covering... Let him be the best of men, and let him be thought the worst; then he will have been put to the proof; and we shall see whether he will be affected by the fear of infamy and its consequences. And let him continue thus to the hour of death; being just and seeming to be unjust... [T]he just man who is thought unjust will be scourged, racked, bound... and at last, after suffering every kind of evil, he will be hung on a pole (impaled). Republic, Book 2, 361-362ish.

Sound familiar? Do you recall that the cross is foolishness to the Greek? Do you remember the testimony of the soldier at the foot of the cross?

"Truly, this was a just man."

Reforming Marriage (2)

One of the main reasons I love this book is that it is theological in nature and not therapeutic. By this I mean that Wilson is calling husbands and wives to a right understanding and practice of marriage, rather than trying to help people cope with the marriage they conceived on their own.

God is Lord. He is central to the coherence of all things, including marriage. He has preeminence over heaven and earth, and all His human creatures have the moral responsibility to acknowledge that preeminence in all they do, including how they marry. A man and woman who have this orientation together, in a covenant bond, enjoy a Christian marriage. If they deny or ignore this truth, they do so at their own peril. Reforming Marriage, pg. 11.

A Taste of Summer

One of the great things about summer is eating your work. One of our favorite dishes in the summer is ratatouille served on a mound of polenta! We grow the egg plant, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and most of the herbs. This past summer, we froze some to try in the winter. Today we had our summer treat and I am glad to say it was great. I want spring to come sooooonnn!

Great Men Have Been Among Us

GREAT men have been among us; hands that penned
And tongues that uttered wisdom--better none:
The later Sidney, Marvel, Harrington, Young Vane,
and others who called Milton friend.
These moralists could act and comprehend:
They knew how genuine glory was put on;
Taught us how rightfully nation shone
In splendour: what strength was, that would not bend
But in magnanimous meekness. France, 'tis strange,
Hath brought forth no such souls as we had then.
Perpetual emptiness! unceasing change!
No single volume paramount, no code,
No master spirit, no determined road;
But equally a want of books and men!

by William Wordsworth

I sometimes feel a longing for great men among us. It is like Wordsworth is talking not about France, but contemporary America.

On Being in the Image and Likeness of Our Creator

I mentioned here that our lives should display the distinctive excellence of God; that is, we should show forth the glory of God in what we do and how we live. We can do this with intent, because of all creatures we are made in the image and likeness of the Creator.

If you take a look at the first couple of chapters in Genesis, you can see the likeness on display. God had a plan, and then made things, ordered them, named them, and evaluated them ("good"/"good"/"very good" and "not good"(for man to be alone))... and so do we! For instance, someone had a plan to make coverings for feet, made them and called them "socks". I bought some, use them, order them in my sock drawer, and determine if they are still good or not. I do this because I am made in the image and likeness of God. God has made us in order that we have dominion over all earth. We make wilderness into a garden. If, from the beginning Man had been faithful to God in carrying out his task, we would still be in Paradise, but because sin entered the world, we have not ordered our world to the glory of God.

So now, in Christ, we are to live our lives in and by faith, taking our little plots and ordering them to and for God's glory. How have you ordered your life? Does it display the distinctive excellence of God? Is your life characterized by truth, and goodness, and beauty? Faith, hope and love?

On Wednesday, I will continue the discussion. Please feel free to comment.

Trials and Temptations

Just a couple brief Lenten observation:

1. If Jesus spent times of waiting, times of trials, temptations and suffering, why do we think we should be exempt? We should all expect these times as a part of life and assume that the people we meet along the way, or in the pew next to us are going through these times even now.

2. If Jesus got through these by faith in the Word of God, how can we expect any different? Why do we look for everything but the Word of God for strength, encouragement and promise?

Perhaps we who are called by Christ's Name will use this Lenten season to take seriously the life and sufferings of Jesus, and so follow Him.

My Titus 2 Wife

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children... Titus 2:3-4

Today, my wife has her "Cook & Book" time with a group of younger woman. Now to clarify, my wife is NOT old, just older than the group of 20-something women that come and learn some cooking skills and discuss biblical principles of home keeping and husband loving. I am proudly her guinea pig in all this and the husbands of these women have also expressed their gratitude.

Of all the things churches attempt for Christ's Kingdom, I can think of nothing better than just doing what scripture teaches. A "Cook & Book", once a month is not an overwhelming commitment, provides a few hours of good teaching and good times, and an opportunity for the guys to do some bonding time with their kids.

Seven Brides For Seven Brothers

In my Random Things post the other day I mentioned that I was looking forward to seeing East High School's production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Well... it was wonderful. The entire production, from the stage props to the pit orchestra, to the choreography- great!

Our friends who played Ben and Dorcas did us proud. If you aren't familiar with the details of this musical, Ben is the 2nd oldest brother and he ends up with Dorcas, so watching the two of them together was fun.

The surprise of the night was seeing the lead brother, Adam, sing and act and do his thing. He did a fantastic job. Then during intermission, as I was looking at the program, my wife reminded me of who he was. This was the kid that would come to our church Vacation Bible School and talk our ears off!

To all involved in the musical (including you supportive parents)- thank you!

Temps for the Teen

In a few hours I will be taking our oldest son to the DMV to get his temporary license. And you know what? I am not worried in the least. I think our son is ready to drive and he will do well on the road. I am glad he wants to drive and have some independence- this is part of the goal in raising our kids, is it not?

I am actually proud of this moment. Here is our 15 year old boy (man/child as we call him, being 6'2" and growing) in whom we trust, taking a big step toward adulthood. If only auto insurance wasn't so expensive, we'd probably celebrate. Maybe when he gets his permanent license.

A Link From the East- sort of

Fr. Stephen is a former Anglican priest who converted to Orthodoxy. He always has some good things to say, but often he says some very profound things. There is much to commend to you in Orthodox thought, especially their Biblical view of creation. The following link is a great example of something that is both profound and simple. Miracles and Creation

This Little Plot has a Tag Line

Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

This is the first question and answer in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. All Christians; Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Evangelical, Reformed, Pentecostals, and even, dare I say... Baptists (!) should commit this to memory and teach it to their children and their children's children. This one question answers, and answers correctly, THE question: What is the meaning of life? (I can already hear my son ask, "You mean it is not 42?") So my "little plot" is one that seeks to glorify God, and to enjoy Him, both now and forever.

But let me ask, what does it mean to glorify God? Glory is one of those Christian words that is often used, but not well understood. For the purpose of this blog entry, I will focus on and simplify the main concept of glory. Glory is the distinctive excellence of a thing. If you came into my house last August and saw on my back porch 20 good sized and great looking zucchini from my garden, you would assume (besides being crazy to have that much zucchini in my garden) that I was a good gardener. That zucchini is my glory. It displays the distinctive excellence of my gardening abilities. If we are to glorify God, our lives should display the distinctive excellencies of God!

My next post about the Little Plot will talk about more about how this is done.

Random Stuff

Random Thing #1

This is the image of the day. Just thinking of a friend. Enough said.

Random Thing #2

Andrew Garcia is my favorite on American Idol, he is probably the most talented, but I know he will not win. If you don't know who he is or what I mean by talent, you can check him out at this YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5V0iKkfuuA

Random Thing #3

I am looking forward to this: http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20100207/GPG04/2070672/Green-Bay-East-to-present-%5C-Seven-Brides-for-Seven-Brothers%5C- tomorrow night. Dorcas and Ben are played by two we have known since they were 5, and are both very talented "kids".

Random Thing #4

Do you know anyone in NE Wisconsin that has been successful with growing peaches? I notice some that say they can grow in zone 4 and we are technically zone 5, but I am sceptical.

Random Thing #5

Steven Wedgeworth has a good article about the goodness of, well, stuff. This is a constant theme in my preaching, teaching, and life. http://www.credenda.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=164:the-goodness-of-stuff&catid=96:theology&Itemid=122

Random Thing #6

I am a blogging newbie and I will learn how to make these links look a whole lot better very soon.

Ash Wednesday

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food

until you return to the ground,

since from it you were taken;

for dust you are and to dust you will return.

Genesis 3:19

Remeber that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

May you and yours be blessed this lenten season!

On Our Wall (2)

Dave of Neco Dracones guessed it! Our other Van Gogh print is The Sunflowers (1888). We always have sunflowers in our garden and bring cuttings in our house throughout the late summer and into the fall. Sunflowers, as my wife puts it, "are just so happy!"

Coincidentally, this is why Van Gogh painted them. After a long depression, he and his friend, Gauguin moved into his Yellow House in Arles. His depression lifted and Van Gogh painted a series of four sunflower paintings, the one shown here (and on our wall) is his most famous.

It is nice to have sunflowers in the house all year long.

Book Plug: Reforming Marriage

And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma (Ephesians 5:2)

How would you describe the spiritual aroma of your home?

Thus begins Doug Wilson's introduction to his book, Reforming Marriage, in my opinion the best and most challenging book on marriage that I have read- it is not for the faint of heart. I especially recommend it for men, as Wilson calls men as men to be responsible for their marriages:

The text noted above says that when Christians walk in love they are imitating Christ, and the sacrifice of Christ is a pleasant aroma to God. Similarly, a Christ-like home atmosphere produces this sort of aroma before God and consequently before man... Where should this aroma originate? Jesus taught us, with regard to individuals, that cups must be cleaned from the inside out.If we apply this principle to the home, we should see that the "inside" of a family is, of course, the relationship between husband and wife, as they self consciously imitate the intimate relationship between Christ and the church... The health of all other relationships in the home depends upon the health of this relationship, and the key is found in how the husband is treating his wife.

As I mentioned, this is good stuff. I will be putting up more excerpts from this book in the coming weeks. This is just one of many great books on the family Canon Press has published. I hope you check them out.

More on JP II's Theology of the Body

Good stuff again from Peter Leithart:
http://www.leithart.com/2010/02/15/world-of-lust/#more-7651

http://www.leithart.com/2010/02/11/shame/

RE: This Little Plot (1)

My first thought for this blog was "My Little Plot". But as my wife pointed out, this is way too close to My Little Pony, and to avoid mockery, I adapted.

"Plot" is usually taken two ways: a garden, or a story. I intend for it to be about both, and taken literally and figuratively. This (my) plot is both about my garden and my story, as well as about THE garden story that began in Eden (see Genesis 1+2) and ends up in the Garden City (see Revelation 21).

My plot is also "little". This is not to say it is unimportant- all of our plots are important. This is just to say, my plot is simply a "verse" in the grand story (see the post below).

My next post in this category will explain the tag line.

O Me! O Life!

O ME! O life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill'd with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew'd,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring-What good amid these, O me, O life?

Answer.
That you are here-that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.



The above poem, by Walt Whitman, is the first in the category Poems, Prayers, and Promises (yes, I am a John Denver fan). Every Monday I will post some.. "things that we believe in!"

On Our Wall

We have two Van Gogh prints that have hung on our walls for the past six or seven years. This one is my favorite and seems apropos to my blog theme. It is called First Steps and pictures a man who was tending his garden pausing to receive his daughter as she takes her first steps. He stopped tending the garden, to tend to his family!

In the next few days, I will post more about the name and purpose of my blog.

I'll give a spacial shout out to any who remember or guess the other Van Gogh print on our wall.

Oh Yeah! We Also Had Chickens

I forgot to mention, we had chickens. Our girls, pictured on the left were a great addition to our urban farm. When all were laying, we had 14-17 eggs a week. We will get another four sometime in March. I miss my fresh eggs and the company they provided. The meat is still in the freezer though (we have to sneak it in so our daughter doesn't freak out).

On another track we are working on a much larger flock of hens out of town. We should be getting them sooner than later. A few families are getting together to raise 100+ chickens, taking turns to care for them and collect eggs. In the late fall we will "harvest" them and divide them among the families.

If any of you have the desire to raise chickens, check with your city's ordinances and go for it! They bring a lot of pleasure and good eats to our family!

Did I Mention We Had a Garden?

This is a picture of our garden from July of last year. I will post other pictures of past gardens soon. When the spring comes, I will show our progress.

Peter Leithart give props to John Paul II's Theology of the Body

For those of you who do not know of him, Peter Leithart is a pastor, teacher and theologian in Moscow, Idaho. He has written a ton of books and is my favorite modern theologians by far. One of the things that I appreciate about him is that he studies a wide range of subjects and theologies, including the theology of John Paul II (who is also a favorite of mine).
http://www.leithart.com/2010/02/08/sex-as-theistic-proof/#more-7585

I will also link his blog on the sidebar.

Thinking of the Spring and Ordering Seeds

I am looking through our seed catalogs, figuring out what we want to grow this year. For those who don't know us, we have a large garden out back. Last year we ate a ton from the garden fresh and in the end did a lot of freezing and canning. We also harvested a bit of winter squash and cabbages to eat through the winter. We are expanding the garden this year so we can grow more corn, and potatoes (which we have not done). We also expect great things from our raspberries and apple trees this year.

For any of you interested, this is what we ended up with for winter consumption. The strawberries, apples and much of the corn were not from our garden (thanks Rose, Mary Jo and Don).

Froze or Canned:

12 pints of strawberry jam

1.5 gal strawberries

7 cups of rhubarb

10 cups of cherries

180 cups of zucchini

36 cups of green beans

5 pints of dilly beans

14 quarts of dilly beans

140 cups of corn

12 cups of Swiss chard

8 cups of kale

8 pints of pizza sauce

7 quarts "Italian" tomatoes

8 quarts spaghetti sauce

12 quarts diced tomatoes

5 quarts tomato sauce

3 quart bags of dried Roma tomatoes

14 quarts apple sauce

21 quarts apple pie filling

7 pints jalapeno jelly

Not What I Expected

So I launched my blog today, after a couple weeks of investigation. I thought I would begin this weekend, but I am home sick, with a sick kid and a sick dog. Despite the sickness, I am excited to do this and feel like (to quote Steve Martin's character in The Jerk), "I am somebody!"

First Post

Welcome to my blog. Thoreau once wrote:

How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.

I shall keep his admonishment in mind as I sit down to write. I do not intend, however, to write as a substitute for living. On the contrary, I have stood up for quite some time, and will continue to stand and live. I just want to sit and write as a way to invite you to stand with me.

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