We moved from Central Ohio to Northern Michigan late in November of 1996. It seemed so far north to us at the time. It felt like we were driving to Siberia… One thing I noticed right away was how seriously Michiganders up there took their winter apparel. People in Northern Michigan didn’t just wear a […]
Bittersweet Farm Journal | November 3, 2021 | The Quasimodo Shuffle
It’s 5:30 am. I get up and start into the bathroom. The house is dark and quiet. Halfway there I begin to chuckle when I realize the I am shuffling exactly like Quasimodo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s my birthday week and I started a new year and my body objects to the […]
Bittersweet Farm Journal | October 14, 2021 | A Quiet Place
“…aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,” (1 Thessalonians 4:11, ESV) “Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” (2 Thessalonians 3:12, ESV) When I was a […]
A Place of Our Own
A Place of Our Own How long I longed when I was young to have a place upon which I could fix my name To have a place on earth to call My own and share with those I love. I leased or borrowed or rented or in the case of parsonages, lived by virtue […]
Bittersweet Farm Journal | September 20, 2021 | Men and Boys Following Jesus
Barakel Father-Son Retreat | September 17-19, 2021 This weekend I travelled north again (In Spurgeon the GMC) with my good friend Allen Miracle and his son Jacob to preach to dads and sons at Barakel. (Have I ever mentioned that it is one of the sweetest places on earth?) Kyle preached to men from Hope […]
Packing Up to Leave
We were packing to leave. I made the two-hour drive to load the unsold candles. There were only a few boxes. I loaded them as quickly as I could, keeping my head down, working hard. I stashed all the implements and accoutrements required to display the candles in a fetching way on top of the […]