The journey and the quest...

Hmmm... I wonder who will not be seeing "The Hobbit" when the movie comes out in 2012? One of my favorite lines in the story appears about 2/3 of the way through. After an arduous, adventure-fraught enterprise for Bilbo Baggins and the dwarves:

"They were at the end of their journey, but as far as ever, it seemed, from the end of their quest. None of them had much spirit left."

They had already been through so much, but the thing that they had set out to do was just now barely upon them... and it looked to be the most daunting task of any that they had faced.

I'm not overly concerned about the outcome of a superbly written fantasy. I am concerned that I might be closer to the end of my journey than I am to the end of my quest. And, honestly, sometimes I don't feel like I have much spirit left, either.

One year later...

Yes, it was one year ago today: Linda suffered congestive heart failure while we were visiting family in MN and WI. For 9 days in Cardiac ICU, we were not offered much hope of her coming back. Obviously, she did!

Today, she is 50+ lbs. lighter and with the aid of her walker, she is walking 45 minutes every day at the Mall, something she has not been able to do in years.

The chronic back pain from the scoliosis and previous major surgeries will always be there; she suffers from chronic bronchitis. It seems that the walking has helped her to get past the bouts of severe shortness of breath.

If Linda had not come back, she would be in heaven now with our Savior. She gave her heart to Christ many years ago... actually about 6 weeks before I did. It was her prompting that got me to start listening to what the Gospel was really about.

We don't understand the "why" of many things that have happened to us. But Linda and I both desire that it would all be as it was for the Apostle Paul:

“But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things [which happened] unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;” (Philippians 1:12)

If you are not absolutely certain of where you will go when you die... or if you think you are religious enough to make it to heaven on your own: we ask that you would take just five minutes of your time to look at the video in the blog entry below: "Keeping it simple..."

We hope to see you soon... if not here, then forever together in heaven!

Thank you for reading; thank you for praying for us.

Keeping it simple...

Are you a good person?

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)

“For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” (Galatians 3:10)

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:28)

The virtues of a small footprint...

ECOLOGICALLY:

This mini-home comes equipped with a ladder for the loft (sleeping space); also a bathroom, but its bucket with sawdust does require a compost pile nearby!

A minimalist lifestyle is often associated with ecologically conscious folks who work at leaving as small a footprint as possible. In other words, they study ways in which to reduce the drain on our planet's resources generated by their own presence. That may include trying to build living spaces with less material, less waste, with a net result of significantly reduced CO2 emissions. "Small footprint living" intersects at times with Zen Buddhist concepts of simple living, clarity of mind, an uncluttered life.

My uneasiness about this comes from Jesus' own lifestyle and teaching. (Matthew 6:24-33) It would appear that we ought to be examples of the same principles: simple living, clarity of mind, an uncluttered life (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

I drink alone...

I am considering trading in my life verse for a life song. The first minute makes my point for the blog entry. If you just have to watch the whole thing, though, I'll wait for you.

My life in Cancun for the last 29 years might be characterized to some degree as "life in a vacuum". So here go a few thoughts around how I think that has affected me:

IT CAN BE A BAD THING:

Long ago, I chose to accept this life as the Lord's will. So, these comments reflect solely on me, not on anyone else.

Perfect peace...

Turn the volume up! Listen carefully! Can you guess what it is?

A black bear in hibernation... snoring a lot louder than your spouse!!!

Their body temperature drops about 6° F., their metabolism winds down to a mere 25% of normal, they become so efficient in hibernation that they do not urinate or defecate the entire time, their body fat provides nourishment and water, their thick skin shelters from the severe, extended cold, their muscle mass and bone density remain the same in spite of the total inactivity.

Sometimes I wish humans could hibernate... don't you ever dream about just curling up somewhere and sleeping away the next few months? (oops, am I the only one? this could get embarrassing...)

Sometimes we have to choose...

"One can't be a Christian and a nationalist at the same time." (Jean Lasserre, French theologian and acquaintance of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I just finished reading an excellent biography entitled: "BONHOEFFER")

This statement appears in the context of the Nazi crisis emerging in Europe in the 1930's. However, it strikes me that it approaches a maxim of universal import.

If the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), then I'm thinking that nationalism might be a close runner-up.

Excerpting from something I wrote 22 years ago:

Since it has nothing to do with an act of volition, who has the right to be unduly proud or ashamed of his "race" or nationality? (Luke 12:25) Among us we agree, for example, that no one is morally obligated by promises made for him by sponsors when he was "baptized" as an infant. One can be responsible solely for decisions of his own making. How then am I obligated to sing the praises of my nationality to the point where it becomes exclusive and offensive to others? What I owe Caesar is cheerful submission to civil authority and taxes lawfully exacted. But my citizenship is in heaven! An exaggerated spirit of nationalism is the fruit of a narrow perspective. It is arrogant, disrespectful and divisive.