Weekly Reaction #14 - What Happened?

What happened? That’s what I’ve been thinking about over the weekend as I have thought about this last required blog. I think it’s safe to say that most of us had no idea that the semester would take the path it has followed. I for one had never put much thought into climate change, population growth, and general earthly stewardship. I knew that taking care of the Earth is important and that general respect is a safe bet. But I had never truly wrestled with this topic. To be honest, skepticism was my first reaction. I think this is because I usually associate planet care with extremist green people who seem to care more for polar bears and trees than they care for hurting people. At the same time, I was semi-interested in how our professors would approach this issue from an academic and a Christian perspective. Because I dislike forming an opinion without know the facts, I was also interested in actually learning the truth behind the concerns over our planet’s health. After rereading my first blog, I remember quickly realizing that learning the truth and/or facts would be harder than I thought. There are so many perspectives and opinions! Somehow, educated and sincere people can have almost completely opposite opinions. This was made clearly evident after reading the national geographic articles at the beginning of the semester (which I found quite interesting and enjoyable to read). And then we began discussing...and discussing…and discussing…in circles. Learning about the facts and what we can do fix things became somewhat of a frustration and, seemingly, an impossibility.
Then we started reading Berry, Bouma-Predigar, and Wirzba. I began to see the importance of creation care as it pertains to Christians. Creation should be a priority because it is God’s creation, our home, and the future home of other people. To me, the last reason is the most straightforward reason. There seemed to be many theological and ethical answers in the readings but, for me, taking care of the planet we live on makes sense because there are others after us who we should be considering. I feel like loving others is the most basic and simple command Jesus gave us. Just for that command, we as Christians should take this topic seriously.
All of the reading and discussion about why we should care did not really help us understand how we should care. After Dr. Sunberg’s visit and our trip to Shipshewanna, the theme of place began to reveal itself. The real impact we have on the world is not necessarily what we accomplish but how we live. My blog, “Doing vs. Being,” really sums up this idea perfectly so I won’t go into it much. Rather, I would like to explore further the question Prof. Stipp asked us in class. How has this class affected my life, mindset, and/or future?
I must say that I have not come up with some grand idea that will decrease waste in Ludwig or increase awareness of the Earth’s food crises. What this class has left me with is a knowledge and awareness of the importance of place. I had never thought about how important putting down roots is for a family, a community, and a country. The novels and text we read near the end of the semester made me seriously consider where my place is. It has given me another reason to put an effort into investing in the community of Olivet, the community of my floor, and the community of my friends and family. It has also caused me to think about how my future will look as I meet new people, graduate, and begin a life wherever God plants me. And this means understanding that comfort and ease is not the goal. This is the goal of our culture. We are taught that making money, having the perfect family, and exciting experiences is all you need in life to be happy. But no where in the Bible are we called to live cozy lives centered around our every desire and whim. We are called to be active in our communities, whether local, national, or global, in whatever way God has equipped and called us. If this calling is to tackle the problem of child trafficking or face the food crisis or raise awareness of climate change, then so be it. We need to be ready and willing to plant our roots and take action wherever God puts us. To quote myself (I like saying that!), are we going to be of this world, living the lifestyle that is most comfortable? Or are we going to be participating in the alreadiness of God’s kingdom by living authentic lives in community with other believers and the Earth?

Mini Blog #13 - Project and Class Ideas

       This is what I got out of class: we are supposed to write a short blog on multimedia project ideas as well as class structure ideas. This is a bit vague but I will do my best. Speaking of vague, the learning service project is a bit vague and I am debating on whether it would be smarter to team up with other students interested in my field/major or other students I trust. I think it would be cool start a project in a school and do some good. But I also know it is quite hard to get into schools. You need background checks and paperwork and parental permission. Other prime locations that might offer project ideas include our campus itself, the multitude of parks around the Kankakee river, several small towns nearby, and the hospitals. I have also been thinking this: we have all (hopefully) visited farms. I imagine that many if not most of the farms we visited could hold opportunities for a project. I know that my group not only visited our farm but also explored the community that surrounded the farm. My point is that we have all gotten our foot in the door at these farms and it might be worth it to think of project ideas involving a farm, business, and community we have already explored.
As for class ideas, the library days mentioned in class would be beyond helpful since we are writing an annotated bibliography. We also talked about being kept accountable for our service project hours. I think, if each member of a group kept a log of how many hours they worked on the project every week or two, the hours could be verified and initialed by the other group members. This way, the whole group is kept accountable by each other and no individual member can just “get by” on the work of the other members.

Weekly Reaction #12 - The Quiet Cancer of Pride

Pride is a strange thing. We sometimes think of it as a good thing, a necessary thing. It is the driving force behind hard work and accomplishments, right? Now, taking pride in your work is not necessarily a bad thing but I think we need another word for that kind of pride because all God can see in pride is destruction. Pride is condemned as an atrocity in the Bible over and over again whether through the example of an old testament story or the preachings and teachings of the new testament. This semester, we have pointed to pride as one of the culprits behind the problems of earthly stewardship. I think a good example of pride and its effects is captured Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres.

My group and I read and presented our take-aways from the novel. I loved this book! It was so honest and raw. There was no sugar-coating of reality. The characters were never completely lovable or redeemable. They all had flaws and dark secrets which made the book somewhat relatable (despite its general exaggeration and drama). No one is perfect and, in our broken world, there are not many cut and dried happy endings. So, with this is mind, A Thousand Acres is a good candidate to draw real world parallels from and, if you haven’t already guessed, I’m choosing to highlight the destruction of pride.

Pride tore the Cook family apart. It is also what created the family. A few chapters of the book discuss the origins of their family’s settlement in Zebulon County. The land that the Cooks farmed was not always so fertile and productive. In fact, it had been swamp land once. But their great grandparents worked for years to drain the water away. People laughed with skepticism when they heard that the Cooks’ predecessors wanted to farm in a swamp. So, the dedication, hard labor, and success despite the negativity of neighbors instilled a sense of pride in the Cooks. The land was theirs to use as they please. They built it themselves no thanks to anyone else.

This pride in one’s power and control is a factor to what created Larry Cook, a farmer, husband, and father who, at the same time, was a sexual predator and obsessive controller. Larry found his pride in his control over his land and daughters. He controlled his young daughters by abusing them physically and sexually and he controlled his land by using any and all new farming practices from tractors to harmful herbicides, fertilizers, and pesticides.

But this is where pride is funny. Larry’s daughters, Ginny and Rose, could have exposed all of their father’s true nature but, because of pride, chose to keep up a façade of normalcy. Micah talked about this a bit during our presentation. Ginny and Rose chose to hide their family’s flaws and failures so as to prove to others the ordinariness of their family. For so many years, the two sisters kept secrets, took care of their father, worked on their father’s farm, went to church, and kept up with the neighbors. This is why the events of the book were so destructive. The family went from a seemingly functional unit of people to a deeply bitter, angry, and divided group of enemies. The somewhat small (although often times very important) family matter of inheritance exploded into a mess of adultery, betrayal, abuse, and incurable wounds. Their pride was a cancer quietly building underneath the surface of their family only to be recognized after irreversible damage.

The irony in all of this is that because Rose and Ginny tried so hard to produce the appearance of normality, there was never any justice for their father. Because they never spoke out or exposed the actuality of their father’s nature, no one ever knew of his sin.

I think this can be directly applied to this semester’s subject of creation care and sustainability. Pride has been an enormous factor in the problem and in the lack of certain solutions. We are too proud to own up to our failures. Because of this, we either are completely ignorant of the state of the Earth or we choose to ignore the problem. I can’t decide which is worse. For me personally, it is so very tempting to completely ignore everything we have been learning about this semester. It is hard to admit that we as a culture have been living in excess and contempt of creation.

“Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished” (Proverbs 16:5, ESV).
“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18, ESV).
“One's pride will bring him low, but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor” (Proverbs 29:23, ESV).
“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2, ESV).

Let us not let pride in ourselves, in our culture, or in our supposed superiority as humans blind us to wisdom. Humility is the road that will lead to reconciliation.

Weekly Reaction #11 - It Makes Me Kind of Sick

Due to a previous commitment, I had to depart early from our honor’s agricultural adventure. I missed out on the trip to Fair Oaks farm and, yesterday, journeyed to Fair Oaks to make up for my absence. I found the experience eye-opening and educational. I had no idea that a dairy operation could be so large.

And neither did the farmer who accompanied us on our tour.

Standing in a small room overlooking the “cow carousal”, a man standing next to me asked if Micah and I were farmers, or apart of or associated with farming I assume. We told him we were students and he told us that he himself was a dairy farmer. We both gazed at the endless line of cattle.

I asked him, “What do you think about all of this?”

He laughed and replied, “There seems to be more cows on that machine than I own. It makes me kind of sick.”

The tour moved on. I wish there had been another opportunity to discuss his opinion of Fair Oaks. He had brought his wife and children, four to be exact, all under the age of six or seven. Seeing this farmer of a small dairy farm with his children at a huge operation like Fair Oaks made me wonder where his children will be in twenty years. Will they be working side-by-side or near their father on a farm. Will they be in a city starting their own families? These reminded me of the theme the Hannah Coulter group presented on Thursday: Education leads away from the home.

This concept makes sense. It’s the natural order of things in our culture. Parents raise their children until they graduate high school. Then, as the children depart for college, the military, or work, they slowly let go. The goal is to create independent young adults who are capable of finding their own place in society. How often do you hear people joke about how shameful it is to live with your parents as an adult? We are supposed to be self-sufficient, to pursue the American dream. It’s just a part of our culture and thought-process.

I am reminded of the week we read about Confucius and the Eastern mindset of family and honor. It’s almost the opposite of ours. They value age and wisdom while we value youth and newness. My notes from class on “filial piety” contain phrases like: “origins are important”, “reverence for ancestors and those still living”, and “how we treat ourselves and others reflects on parents.” This way of living is so foreign to me. And, granted, the values of Confucius’ time do not necessarily reflect the general values of Eastern nations now. Phrases like these remind me of the theme we heard from the chapel speakers from Flint, MI. They were embedded in their place, doing God’s work and serving their communities. I wonder what kind of impact this type of cultural mindset on family and origin would have on the issues discussed in class.

So when did education begin to lead away from the home? Well, from the novel our group has been reading and the Wendell Berry novels, it seems that the change from agrarian to urbanization is one factor. Another factor is that education is more accessible now and open to all. And then there’s this question, is it really that bad that our culture is built on immediate family independence? In my head, leaving your parents and home to start somewhere new is an accomplishment. The only conclusion I can come to about education and leaving one’s original place is that it is healthy and necessary as long as you strive to find new place to invest in and grow in.

Weekly Reaction #10 - A Mess

I don’t know about you guys, but I went into reading Wendell Berry’s Remembering a bit skeptical. Maybe it is because his name kept popping up in all of our readings and it became somewhat of a joke to curse Berry and his insight in EVERY book or text we have read. I regret it a bit now. Isn’t it strange that once we decide that we don’t like something or someone, almost nothing can change our opinion? This is so dangerous! We need to make sure we have open minds to other viewpoints and are able to change our opinions. And this isn’t just in reference to honors and the subject we are talking about. But I digress.
As we have read a few of Berry’s short novels and heard some of his poetry, I have really begun to enjoy his work. I love his style, tone, and creativity in his writing! Not only this, he is able to capture thoughts and mannerisms that everyone can relate to but not necessarily put into words, if that makes sense. All of this aside, one of my biggest reactions to many of the themes that flowed beneath the narrative in Remembering was this: What a mess!
The beginning of the novel begins with Andy Catlett at this “Future of the American Food System” conference. Andy feels a bit trapped and panicked. He describes his experience, “Having come in just at starting time from the clear warm morning outdoors, Andy felt suddenly submerged, as if he were sitting on the bottom of an aquarium. That his ears were still tightly stopped from his plane flight seemed to corroborate this impression with physical evidence. It was as though he had changed, not only elements, but worlds” (Berry, p. 5). The paragraph before explains how Andy sits down in an auditorium with no windows, air conditioning methodically moving the air, and a huge screen as the back drop behind a stage. This struck me as quite depressing. Since when have we become so disconnected from the natural world? Sometimes I look at buildings, houses, and heck, my own dorm room and wonder when did huge buildings, spacious homes, and rooms full to the brim with stuff  became the norm. After all, for hundreds of years and in some parts of the world, the majority of humans haven’t lived in such large houses or had nearly as many material things as we have. And when I say “we,” I mean those of us in the United States or in the developed world.
Now, I understand the incredible importance of the shift from a mainly agrarian culture to an industrial or material culture. For example, without the trend towards “modern” life, we wouldn’t have developed such amazing medical practices. People live for so much longer now! That is such a blessing. But what is the quality of that life? And, to be clear again, much of what I’m referring to encompasses the developed/modern world or “my place” as we have defined it in class.
One chapter that opened my eyes and made me think was chapter five in which Andy is working for the journal, Scientific Farming. He visits a modern farmer by the name of Meikelberger. This farmer did everything right. He had an enormously profitable farm/business, a accomplished  family, and a flawless house. He had everything that money could buy. But, Andy describes him as this, “The obstacle that now lay in his way was his realization, which Meikelberger himself had left him no room to avoid, that there was nothing, simply nothing at all, that Meikelberger allowed to stand in his way: not a neighbor or a tree or even his own body. Meikelberger’s ambition had made common cause with a technical power that proposed no limit to itself, that was, in fact, destroying Meikelberger, as it had already destroyed nearly all that was natural or human around him” (Berry, p. 62). Since when has success been considered equivalent with exhaustion, too much stuff, and broken bodies? Yet, this is what our culture values as success, and it breaks my heart.
I was talking to a resident this week about the difference between the American culture and the Mexican culture. She told me that in America, there is a focus on earning a lot of money through a career and then retiring later to enjoy life while, in Mexico, they focus more on enjoying life in the present by yes, working, but also knowing when to slow down and appreciate life now. There isn’t an expectation to make a lot of money or building a lofty career.
As this semester has progressed, a lot of what I have learned has further solidified what I consider a type of calling. My goal in getting an education has not necessarily been about money. It isn’t necessarily part of my nature to desire a high salary which is something I’m thankful for. But what we have been wrestling with this semester has provided concrete reasons as to why it is important as a human created in God’s image and for God’s glory to live simple lives of service centered on building his kingdom, not ours. There is only destruction, failing families, and a hurting culture in store for us when we seek to please ourselves with what the “world” has to offer. So when my reaction to all of this was “What a mess,” I was referring to the brokenness in which we find our world. But we should never think about this and feel discouraged or overwhelmed. Instead we need to become intent on living our lives as examples of God’s kingdom, which, if I can be so bold, includes caring for God’s creation, our place.

Weekly Reaction #9 - Humble Benevolence

To be honest, this week, I have been having trouble figuring out what I wanted to write about. The connections between chapter six of For the Beauty of the Earth and Thursday’s lecture are few and far between. I usually try to look at the week as a whole when I write my blogs and then, if possible, connect to the rest of the semester. Alas, this week has been more of a challenge since we weren’t in class on Tuesday! One of the only connections I could find came down to Aristotle’s means.
I was a bit amused and nostalgic when I was reading Bouma-Prediger’s chapter six. It reminded me a bit of last year’s whirlwind of philosophy and human-ness. What does it mean to be human? We heard those words so very often! I think this reading and, while I’m on the subject, this whole semester fits very nicely into that question. The whole premise of the recent subjects of sustainability and stewardship have to do with how we, as humans, are meant to take care of our place in creation. I particularly enjoyed how this week’s reading summed up a lot of what we have been wrestling with: how are we supposed to take care of our place in creation? Well, for a quick recap, here are the seven moral maxims that Bouma-Prediger wrote about:
1. Act so as to preserve diverse kinds of life
2. Act so as to live in your means
3. Act cautiously
4. Act in such a way that the ability of living creatures to maintain themselves and reproduce is preserved
5. Act in such a way that the creatures under your care are given their needful rest
6. Act so as to care for the earth’s creatures, especially those in need
7. Act so as to treat others, human or nonhuman, fairly (Bouma-Prediger, ch 6)
Now, the virtues and vices that go along with each of these is conveniently located at the end of the chapter, so there is no need for me list those off. I feel that so many of these moral maxims simply can be summed up with either humility or benevolence. The 3rd and 6th maxims specifically deal with these two. But living in our means, acting cautiously, and giving creation “needful rest” is a matter of putting aside our pride. We have gotten to a place culturally where we feel we are so important and knowledgable that we live however we want and do whatever we want with no thought about creation and, using the definition that Jesus used, our neighbors. And then there’s benevolence or, as Bouma-Prediger says, “the willingness to promote the well-being of another” (p 148). Making others, human and nonhuman, a priority pretty much covers the rest of those maxims. When I was first reading these, I felt a bit frustrated because, in my mind, these are all non-specific. I want something tangible to do! As I read, I began to realize that in actuality, these maxims are the mean between being and doing. My previous blogs probably talk too much about this being vs. doing theme of the semester. But, this makes sense! B. Prediger writes near the end of the chapter, “Therefore, while this subject is in one sense theoretical, it is in fact intensely practical for virtues, after all, should not only be studied but should also be put into practice” (p 153). Virtues are not actually virtues unless they are evident in your actions. In other words, who you are is made known by what you do.
Aristotle talked a lot about means and extremes. That is, almost every virtue has two extremes. We are supposed to find that middle ground between the two extremes.
Since I am foolishly determined to somehow connect Thursday’s excellent and eye-opening lecture to the reading, this is where I believe there might be such a connection. So much of what was talked about on Thursday had to do with how the economy and our country in general goes through cycles between extremes. For example, we talked about Kuznet’s curve. It compared income with pollution. In order for income to grow, pollution had to grow and vice versus. But, at some point, income is high enough that pollution no longer needs to “support” it. The curve started at one extreme, reaches the other extreme, and that heads back down to the original extreme. What I’m trying to say is that one of the biggest take-aways I got from Thursday was that most things come and go in cycles. What extreme are we at? I hope that we are at the peak of that Kuznet curve and will descend to a cleaner, more sustainable culture. One way for us, as humans, to collectively achieve this is to put on humility and benevolence by throwing off pride and selfishness.

Weekly Reaction #8 - Sacred and Un-Sacred

My expectations were not very high when I heard we were going to watch an interview with Wendell Berry. His appearance, lifestyle, and way with words surprised me a bit. I guess I had pictured him as a young, radical man from one of the coasts. It took me off guard when I saw he was an older, still radical man from the South. The articulation and wisdom that he shared in some of his interview stuck out to me. Specifically when he said, “There is no sacred and un-sacred places; there are only sacred and desecrated places.” This along with the Wirzba readings and my group discussion again has fit into a theme discussed in my post (Doing vs. Being) about the “answer” I have seen through the Amish visit, many of the texts, and Carla Sunberg’s visit.

Berry was concerned that many of us believe there are sacred and un-sacred places. He argues that there are in fact only sacred and desecrated places. This theme of separation is rampant in our culture and in much of the church. Our work is separated from our homes which is separated from our social lives. We have very different faces during Sunday worship and the Monday commute. The scary thing is that I can see this in my life. I can see the sections of my life that I consider separated from each other whether this is my school work, family, friends, or faith. Thankfully, this is something I have been challenged by my parents, mentors, and pastors to check and change.

So why is keeping different parts of our lives separate dangerous? What should we do about it? I already posted about this in blog #6 but here’s a quick recap of what I have been realizing as the semester has gone on. The Amish community is a picture of how religious and secular are one and the same. I can’t speak for all of the Amish but from what we saw on our trip and from what Ben described to us, their way of life is informed by their faith and value of community. Much of this reminded me of the church described in Acts. A church where the believers supported each other spiritually and financially. They shared all they had, ate together, worshiped together, and spread the good news together. God had a say in every part of their life. And then there is the day on which Carla Sunberg came to class. She spoke about how we are called to be active in the Kingdom of God now. And this doesn’t just mean going through the motions but living lives completely centered on God.

This brings us to Wirzba and his “Sabbath Living” or, as my discussion group likes to call it, simple Christian living. For many of us, Wirzba’s description of Sabbath living was not a revolutionary idea. But he did an excellent job of explaining what happens when God is separate from different parts of our lives.

First, he talked about education. The last line of his chapter on Sabbath Education reads, “Our Sabbath education is a school of conversion and celebration in which our collective anxieties, fears, and arrogance are transformed into humility, awe, and delight” (p 141). Those last three nouns, humility, awe, and delight, are what Wirzba feels has been lost in education. We have turned education into a pathway of “success” or as a way to have a career and make money. We have come to take too much pride in ourselves and success. As an honors student, I can relate to this and see it in my own life. I often have to stop myself and make sure that I understand the reasons for any success is not my own abilities but the abilities that God has given me. With this in mind, I know where the true praise belongs and who I should take delight in pleasing. Education should not be a means to exalt ourselves; rather, it is a means to stand in awe of God’s incredible creation and character.

The last chapter we read had to do with worship. Wirzba writes, “We have divorced worship too much from our everyday lives and placed it in a purely spiritual realm, not realizing that in doing so we have rendered it abstract and anemic, cut off from the flows and patterns of daily life” (p 159). Need I say more? Worship is not something confined to the walls of a church sanctuary and only takes the form of singing a few high energy songs followed by a few (or very long) prayers and a quick (or, again, very long) sermon. On the contrary, Wirzba argues that worship should take place in everything we do. We worship God when we serve others, do a job well done, or share a meal together. And, I have to say, I’m with Wirzba here. Too often we confine worship to an hour long “experience” once a week instead of understanding that we are expected to live lives of complete devotion to God just as Jesus did.

So where does this leave us? I think it still leaves us seeking to break the barriers between each part of our lives, church, and society. We need to understand that God does not just want certain parts of our lives, he wants all of us. We must learn that each aspect of life informs the next aspect. When it comes to stewardship and sustainability, God is not absent from this subject. His creation is sacred and he found it very good, pure and simple. There is no part that is un-sacred. This theme of no separation should be taken as a lesson. Whether we label it as Sabbath living or simply Christian living, our lives need to be completely informed by God. No section, family, sustainability, or schoolwork, is unaffected. Therefore, to go along with the semester's theme, we should not take the stewardship of creation lightly.

 

Weekly Reaction #7 - Red Flags and Reoccurring Solutions

I try not to be too cynical. Honestly, I think it is a bad habit that too many people my age practice. Not only does it make for a negative way to live life but it also makes one’s worldview narrow. Something I have loved about the honor’s class this year and last year is how my worldview has been challenged and, in some ways, altered. This being said, I was having trouble reading some parts of this week’s reading without being cynical. Maybe it is because the general topic we have been digging into this semester tends to have so many opposite and often biased opinions. Maybe it’s because I need to reevaluate how I read some of the books in this class. It might really just be me.

There were two things that caught my attention as “red flags.” First, Wirzba writes in chapter one, “As such, the Sabbath is a teaching that has the potential to redirect and transform all our existence, bringing it  into a more faithful alignment with God’s life-building and life-strengthening ways” (p 20). I have been taught to be wary of single, simple methods that promise to transform my life or our society. After all, the problems in my life (or our culture) have so many different aspects and solutions that one method of solving them seems improbable. Before I actually state my real opinion on Sabbath Living, the book makes it sound like an ideal which ironically is something that it also warns about in chapter 6. Wirzba writes, “Friedrich Nietzsche argued persuasively that much of our philosophizing and theologizing amount to inventions of ideal, supernatural realms so that we despise and seek to rise about the world as we commonly or naturally experience it” (p 79). I would almost go as far to argue that much of Wirzba’s description of a Sabbath Living that will “transform all our existence” is much like the Platonic ideals that he warns against.

The second red flag I came across was Wirzba’s description of the food industry, specifically the meat industry in chapter one. He describes the absolutely squalid conditions of livestock who will eventually be horribly and painfully put to death for the benefit of the masses. He also talks about the danger that the human workers are in as they work around the dangerous, heavy machinery in the slaughtering houses. Now, all of these things have been or unfortunately are still disgusting truths about some parts of the food industry. But, my problem here is that he only presents one side of problem. I tend to be distrustful of information that seems biased and only shows one extreme. After all, if one extreme is interesting enough to write about there is another opposite extreme that also deserves attention. Of course, this book was written almost ten years ago and I believe that the food industry has taken great strides in improving animal comfort and worker safety over the last ten years. So maybe the one extreme was all that existed at that time.

Well, now that you think I am thoroughly cynical and pessimistic, I would like to share what I do think about this Sabbath Living. From what I could gather, it meant living in constant praise and gratitude to God in everything we do. There should be no difference in the way we live Sunday and the way we live the rest of the week. In fact, the bottom line of this concept concerns how we live. Now, to me, this is not necessarily a new idea. I feel like that it is something I have been taught since being a child whether it was from the example my parents set or the sermons that my pastor preached. We are called to live every aspect of our lives in constant rest in the Lord. This comes back to what I wrote about last week. What matters is not what we do but who we are being because who we are dictates what we do. This is something that my pastors have preached about and I never quite understood until recently. As much as I talk about my wariness of this fancy Sabbath Living, living with God at the center of every part of my life and goals is something that I strive to achieve because I know it will ultimately transform my life whether that means in the next couple years or for eternity.

Honors Among the Amish

HONORS AMONG THE AMISH

The Borntreger's Abode

   

To The Barn!!!

On The Move To Different Farms

Duck Manure

Fresh Apple Cidar

The School House

So many chickens...Perhaps not quite what we were expecting

Apple Pie!

FAIR OAKS

Amish Families

  

Off We Go

      

 v

  

Certainly Certified

The Merry-Go-Round

Slightly Terrified By This

Proud Mama

  

 

It Was An Adventure!!!!