Toast rhymes with post...

revive

Again I resume the long
lesson: how small a thing
can be pleasing, how little
in this hard world it takes
to satisfy the mind
and bring it to its rest.

With the ongoing havoc
the woods this morning is
almost unnaturally still.
Through stalled air, unshadowed
light, a few leaves fall
of their own weight.

The sky
is gray. It begins in mist
almost at the ground
and rises forever. The trees
rise in silence almost
natural, but not quite,
almost eternal, but
not quite.

What more did I
think I wanted? Here is
what has always been.
Here is what will always
be. Even in me,
the Maker of all this
returns in rest, even
to the slightest of His works,
a yellow leaf slowly
falling, and is pleased.

Wendell Berry

_____________________________

happy first day of spring. lets revive this little old blog.

. I am not sure of myself so much as how often my room is clean. I sing and live. I work hard. But I am still in transit, waiting for a place to sit down inside of myself. Settle in and drink a cup of tea. Trade glances with the ones you love. Know that you, for one moment in your life, are exactly where you should be. Then sing, sing again and loud. Let this moment surround us like air, and the thankful will approve. Yes, we have been given much. Much has also been taken away. For reasons some we will never find. Thankful and smiling in the mess that was made by living in love, in truth and weakness. So much that we find in each other branches of the same tree, just look at the veins in our hands. Humming now out of joy and in the presence of life. The living. giving way to closeness and gentle hands. Stop and breathe and feel the moving heart inside you friends. Merry Christmas

Salida...

Salida listed in America's top 10 outdoor towns at MSN City Guides!!! Check it out.

Even though the article doesn't mention it I'm sure the primary reason Salida made the list is because of our good friend Jon Fritz, his legs, and of course Simple Lodge.

Other notable towns that made the list, Livingston, MT and Ely, MN.

Today is a big day

Yo. Miss you all. Today is National Recycling Day! I think that is good. Did you know that before 1920, 70% of american cities had a recycling program? It dropped for a while after WWII. Now it is building back up, but I don't know the specifics. I do know that 10,000 cities have curbside recycling. However, composting is a lost practice that is gaining steam again. Hooray!

This is a picture of me supposed to be dressed like a woman who has slept over at a man's house and then in the morning has nothing to wear except the man's dress shirt...like in the movies. I'm not confused about my sexuality.

Urban Sun Club

Hey there kittens, we had a good time this a.m. along the river watching the sun come up and drinking a bit of coffee. Thought you'd like to see a pic or two.

On an unrelated topic, can 50 million people be wrong?...resist popular thought if it is not for a good cause...

New environmental challenge... unicycle everywhere you go for a week...

Hello House Church People,

I've talked to some of you about this but if you haven't seen the movie Into The Wild, you really should. I just found out it's playing at the Lagoon Cinema, and chances are it won't be there long. I would say it's probably one of the best movies I've ever seen... and I'm not just saying that, my lovely wife Rachel and wild man Jon Fritz can both vouch for me on this one. I know going to a movie is pretty pricey and all but this one is totally worth it. So check it out and let me know what you think. I hope everyone is having a fantastic week.

Later

Day 1 of this week's environmental challenge

Hey kids. Hope all is well. Last night we decided to make this week's environmental challenge a team effort. We rolled around varying ideas of showering only three times, only turning water on to get wet and rinse off, make it a month on one tank of gas, etc. But we decided on this:

Before week's end, get together with someone, go for a walk, and pick up trash along the way. There you go. Robert and I are going maybe tomorrow!

easy, good luck, peace out,

fritz

This is a picture of Julia and I.
She's nice!
She's a girl!

Hello everyone. I noticed no one has posted in a couple days so I thought I would throw a post up just for a change of scenery. Other than that I can't really think of too much to say at the moment. Hope you all are having a great week.

Opportunity to give

I thought I would directly paste the e-mail I received into the blog....Here is a need both the North and South house churches could help out with--lets round up s0me blankets and coats for our friends from warmer climates...

Hello Volunteers! We have an urgent need!

As I step outside, I am constantly reminded that the season is changing. Fall is here! I feel that no matter how many years I am out of school, I will always think of fall as being the beginning of a new year. For our recently arriving refugees, this fall is bringing many new changes. In fact almost everything has changed for them: familiar faces, food, types of shelter, transportation systems-everything. One of the first things that refugees notice is that MINNESOTA IS COLD! Many of our refugee populations come from very warm countries such as Somali, Burma, Thailand, and Liberia. They are chilly now with our 50 degree fall days; imagine what happens when January rolls around. Even now we have several families who are cold at night.

We are looking for people to respond to this need. It is time to raid your storage closets, garages, and attics. World Relief needs all the warm blankets and winter coats you can find! Help us extend a warm hand of welcome to our newest Twin Cities neighbors this fall. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Blessings,
Katy Ross

Office Manager
World Relief Minnesota
1515 E. 66th St.
Richfield, MN 55423
T: 612-798-4332
https://owa.wr.org/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://minnesota.wr.org

Mikhal got me all inspired

"As I did not know then but know now, the surface of the river is like a living soul, which is so easy to disturb, is often disturbed, but, growing calm, shows what it was, is, and will be."

-Wendell Berry

quotes...

To friends who I believe have all struggled at one point or another with the fallenness of some churches today... David Bosch's "eloquent description of our contradictory feelings about the church":

"We can be utterly disgusted, at times, with the earthliness of the church, yet we can also be transformed, at times, with the awareness of the divine in the church. It is this church, ambiguous in the extreme, which is missionary by its very nature, the pilgrim people of God, in the nature of a sacrament, sign, and instrument, and a most sure seed of unity, hope and salvation for the whole human race." (David Bosch, 1991, Transforming Mission: Paradigm shifts in Theology of Mission)

Even before he goes into missions there, I thought that was a great little bit on loving the church. I'm trying to hold onto that as I look for a church out here among the culture of wealth in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

Also an interesting thought on politics and social systems from Walter Wink:

"God at one and the same time upholds a given political or economic system, since some such system is required to support human life; condemns that system insofar as it is destructive to full human actualization; and presses for its transformation into a more human order. Conservatives stress the first, revolutionaries the second, reformers the third. The Christian is expected to hold together all three" (Walter Wink, 1992, Engaging the Powers: Discernment and Resistance in a World of Domination)

Love from the east

hello dear friends. it's so fun to see you've been posting on this! i am a historically bad blogger, but if you would like the update on life in PA, check out http://www.thenyouwillknow.blogspot.com/. matt sorry if some of it looks familiar.

a little plug for FCEAC, you should all go. i'm crying many sad tears over missing that experience this year. it never fails to be a good time.

i'm loving the pictures, and it sounds like you had a good house church last week. i hope everyone feels good about the decisions made.

much love to all.

William and Marta_ young lovers

look at these young "lovers".....aren't they cute?!? I think we have set a record for posts today...I had to add one myself. This one is for the new Shaw family :)

She's going the distance, she's going for speed. FCEAC goers on your marks

This is what I think of when I think of fall colors...

Fall Camping Trip

Friends.
You've heard the building hype...and hopefully it will deliver again. Please consider attending the 8th annual Fall Colors Extravaganza Adventure Competition (FCEAC) - pronounced 'cack', the f is silent.

Friday after work October 5 through Sunday afternoon the 7th. Superior Hiking Trail- North Shore.

no gear? NO PROBLEM!

hiking, art, problem solving, creative imagination, food, relationship building.

It usually costs $15 for everything and maybe $10 for gas.

peace

Potato Music!



Soupy Poop!

Chicken! Its a go...

Just to let you all know, we're doing a last-minute meal tomorrow (9/11) at simpson womon's shelter. The girls (Rachel, Marta, Jayme?) will be at the shelter around 6ish while another crew slaves over the stove, even if it's store-boughten rotisserie chicken. So if you can and want to get involved (especially serving and hanging out w/women @ the shelter) let me know. Peace to you all, and if I don't see ya tomorrow I will hopefully at the sunday-split-celebration! -Justin