Wilderness Wonderings...

This idea has been swirling around inside my mind for almost two years, so I guess it’s time to put it on paper.  Now, some will say, “Why’d wait TWO years if you have the answer for us!?!?”  I don’t know.  I guess I’m busy…and perhaps a bit lazy…but more than anything,  I really wanted to turn my thoughts over and over in my mind to make sure I wasn’t telling you something misleading or incorrect.  Two years later, I believe this is a big part of the answer. The secret to joyfully surviving a recession or to living it through it basically unscathed is this:  Decide to live beneath your means. Now, the first part of that statement is SUPER important.  You (and I) must make the mental decision, must take that intellectual step.  If it’s forced on us—which is what a recession or depression may really do, then there is no joy in the living.  We find ourselves bitter, jealous, on a long-term ‘pity-pot’…if not in debt, homeless or worse.  That is not living joyfully.  That

“Gun control” can be a very divisive topic. Just mention it in a group of 15 or more, and you’re likely to find passionate people of various perspectives. If someone says they favor gun control, most folks jump to the conclusion that one wants to make every kind of firearm illegal…and if someone says they are against gun control, folks imagine that one is fine if you want to park an M-40 tank in your drive and sell AK-47’s out of your trunk on weekends. Yes, the issue is usually one of extremes. Opinions grow out of how one interprets or applies the second amendment of the US Constitution as found in the Bill of Rights. One problem is that there were at least two versions floated at the time the bill was ratified…Congress ratifying one version and States a slightly different one: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. (Congress) A well regulated militia being necessary to the sec

My wife and I head to the coast to celebrate her birthday. As always, it doesn’t take long for our conversation to turn to our children. As we drive, we talk of their many experiences in life as part of a parsonage family…as MK’s (missionary kids) in Venezuela and Mexico…and now living along the US/Mexican border. As is the way of children, they are growing up and leaving home…. Jeanne, my wonderful wife of 22 years, remarks, “I hope they don’t forget all their experiences….” My brothers, Timothy and Jeph, and I are PK’s (pastor’s kids) and MK’s (having grown up in Guyana, South America and Grenada, West Indies). Whenever we get together—even though we now have our own lives, our careers and our families—we always, ALWAYS, remember our lives and talk about our experiences as PKs and MKs. We remember the Christmas in Guyana when we left all our toys to the side to have crapo (frog) races in the ‘bottom house.’ We remember Dad sneaking up behind Mom in the lobby of the Polynesian Reso

Tiny cup, demitasse sits, steams…       Aroma wafts across empty space…             Dark, bitter life stings my nose. I reach out—confidently, willing…       Handle pinched between thumb and forefinger…             Lifting life to lips. Black, sweet, steaming elixir…       Bites my lips, rolls thickly over tongue…             Slides smoothly into me. Morning sun ignites the sky…       Morning espresso ignites my mind…             ~ So the day begins…!                                Jon ~ July 2012

Day breaking during a morning walk,      Wandering thoughts nudge me towards the islands— Morning breezes, bringing hints of my own nearby sea      Enveloping , embracing , carrying me away. Healing winds setting me gently on white sands;      A great bay opening before me, calm seas— Sea grape trees rustling in the caressing breezes;     Coconut trees rattling softly high overhead— Whispering waves of crystal waters beckoning me,     Promising refreshing, cleansing and renewal— Hot sand massaging tired feet as I’m stepping out      Moving slowly toward the sea— Standing now at the edge of wholeness and youth, cool waters rushing to meet me—      Opening my eyes to my own reality…           Waiting for the winds to transport me again…                 to my island paradise.                                                  Jon ~ July 2012