Bittersweet Farm

Red Jeep Journal
June 27, 2017

A Stone for a Pillow

I’m spending the summer on the road rarely sleeping in my own wonderful bed, in my own wonderful house, next to my own wonderful Lois, next to an industrial-size roaring fan she loves that drowns out the sound of crickets on the night air.

I find myself in unusual places. I carry my Wiggy Bag—my mummy sleeping bag—with me just in case. You never really know what it will be like when I pillow my head at night. Often when I lie down at night I repeat a little phrase to myself and my heart is warmed at the thought of it. “The Son of Man had nowhere to lay his head.”

Often Jacob comes to mind and the night he had a vision of God coming and going from his life. He woke up transformed. He had a stone for a pillow that night and he was far from home, but God was there and promised always to be with him.

Am I spiritualizing to see Jacob’s pillow of stone as the dim foreshadowing of the One who would come who had nowhere to lay his head? This One whom millions would follow and for the sake of the story we travel far from home with great joy in our souls and sleep in strange beds so others will have the rest for their souls—the rest only comes from the One who had nowhere to lay His head?

Kyle and Ollie

Years ago at Camp Barakel I met Elizabeth Winzelers. She was a counselor. I called our oldest son and told him to come up to camp and meet her. Today they are married and have three adorable boys, Kyle, Oliver, and Leland. I return to Barakel to preach this week and Elizabeth will meet me in Lansing with Kyle and Oliver. They will spend the week with me at the camp where their parents met. How wonderful to look back over our lives and see the hand of our good God. He is good. Never doubt it. Even when bad things happen to you, never doubt the goodness of God.

Please Consider Helping

We are full-time speaking and writing and depend completely on the gifts of folk to the Red Jeep Journeys. You can make tax-deducible donations here. Thanks so much for helping.

Ken Pierpont
Lansing, Michigan

June 17, 2017
Red Jeep Journal

William King

The first night of camp up in the mountains of eastern Kentucky I noticed William. William was a tall boy with red hair. Not the kind of red hair that chooses you but the kind of read hair you chose. It was not auburn or rust it was red, really red. It was cut high and tight and stood up straight on top and it was red as a fire engine. He was getting a little distracted during my talk the first hight. I made a mental note to try to keep things moving and hold his attention. 

Most kids will listen if you work at it a little. Some who are determined to ignore you and every once in awhile you will find one who seems like the devil himself may have planted him just to distract others. I wondered what William’s story was and what category to put him in. I should know by now not to be too quick plug people into categories. William’s story would start to come out soon. 

After lunch the next day I found a group of boy hanging out in a group. William was among them. You couldn’t miss him. He was taller than everyone and he had that shock of red hair on the top of his head. We made small talk for a bit about basketball and breaking your angles and then William said; “I only have one ankle.” 

Kids are full of jokes but I had a hunch he was serious. I said; “William, are you serious.” He pulled up his pant leg to reveal a prosthetic leg ankle and foot. The other boys grew quiet. 

When he was four he was riding with a family member on a lawn mower. He slipped off the back of the mower and his leg went under the deck. They rushed him to the hospital. They could not save his foot and ankle and part of his leg. The doctor told them they should thank God he was alive because he lost so much blood. 

We all sat overlooking a quiet lake and line after line of blue and purple mountains out into the distance and we talked about why God would allow such a sad thing to happen to a little boy. 

Thank God for places where kids can go to process the pain that they experience in this beautiful but broken world we live in. Places with Bible answers and people who listen, good food, fun things to do and time for eternal things and ultimate questions. 

Fruitful Ministry

John Piper said; “The true usefulness of our (ministry) will not be known to us until each fruit on all the branches on all the trees that have sprung up from all the seeds we’ve planted has fully ripened in the sunshine of eternity.”

Only the Lord knows the eternal fruit from our ministry. But there were many campers who made decisions for salvation and decisions to consecrate themselves to God. Some of the campers this year reminded me that they were saved when I spoke there last year. Many professed faith in Christ this year. I wish you could have seen the mountains or heard the campers sing.  I wish you could have seen them after chapel, lifting their hands up to the Lord as a sign of their consecration to God. I wish you could have been there around the fire on Thursday night. You would have wept listening to their sweet testimonies of God’s work in their life. 

Will You Help Us?

I don’t have any time this summer to raise funds to meet our basic expenses. I am busy travelling to camps and churches to preach. Would you pray about signing up for a monthly gift of any amount? That would be a great help to us. You can donate here.

Ken Pierpont
June 17, 2017

Red Jeep Journal
June 12, 2017

The Mahoneys

Friday-Sunday I was a guest of the Mahoney family in Tennessee. They hosted me in their home and treated me with great kindness. The night we arrived we had dinner around a huge table. They have ten children. (That is not a typo). I arrived just in time for salmon and broccoli, then they took me to town to a cute little place where we had frozen yogurt before showing off their town. We closed the evening with a song. One of the daughters played the piano, another a flute, and dad played the guitar. We had Bible reading and family prayer before bed. (OK I may have told a few stories).

Saturday we did the seminar and it was a delightful time. In the afternoon they drove me into the mountains and we hiked out to a beautiful place called Stone Door the view out there was worship-inducing. On the way home they stopped by a wonderful local BBQ place and we literally feasted on pulled pork and smoked wings. (How did they know BBQ is my love-language?)

I complained that there was not enough singing on Friday night so Saturday night Dad (Thomas) led the whole crew in a couple hours of singing hymns and songs that became kind of “Jewish-sounding” somewhere toward the end of the second hour and turned into joyful dancing. I watched Thomas and his children interact. Anyone could see the deep love the children had for their Dad and their Mother, Donna.

On the Lord’s Day morning Dad was up with some of the others making a wonderful breakfast. If I’ve ever had better pancakes, I don’t remember it. We smeared them with real butter and drowned them with real maple syrup. The family had me inscribe their copies of my books and then surprised me with a beautiful hard cover of Leland Ryken’s biography of J. I. Packer. (I made a mental note to post my book wish list on line more often).

Liberty Cumberland Presbyterian

Sunday I preached in their delightful church, the Liberty Cumberland Presbyterian Church. It is a beautiful read brick colonial and filled with hospitable southern people. Their worship with beautifully liturgical. I am not used to that but it was sweet to experience it. There was a time of confession early in worship. I especially loved “The Passing of the Peace.” There is something special about looking a brother or sister in the eyes and warmly blessing them with “The Peace of Christ be upon you.” They allowed me time for a full message and received it warmly.

As I sat on the platform waiting to preach a Tennessee memory came back to me that I don’t remember ever telling before. We were on a family vacation and saving money by camping out and eating from the cooler at roadside rests and parks. We came into a little Tennessee village one morning and stopped near the town square and began to lay out our breakfast on the trunk of the old Chrysler as I recall. On old gentleman saw us, noticed our out-of-state plates and opened the town hall to us and made us welcome. I asked the Tennessee people of the Liberty Church to open their hearts to me and welcome the message of the word. They did. After tears prayers and pictures the Mahoneys drove me to the edge of town and waved me off.

A Token of God’s Favor

I aimed the Red Jeep back toward Kentucky. When I glanced at the gifts I was given my heart was humble and full. I drove along the beautiful highway thanking God that He was blessing the Red Jeep Journey and the Fellowship of the Red Jeep. We are well-fed and healthy. Our bills are paid. I have gas in the Red Jeep.

In an hour and a half I drove across the border from Tennessee to Kentucky and followed a narrow well-paved, winding road that connected two major highways up over a mountain. At the peak of the mountain a deer was standing calmly by the side of the road. I stopped in the road a few feet away, rolled down my window and took her photo. It was as if she posed for me. I drove way. She never moved. No one will ever convince me that God has not poured out his grace on the Red Jeep Journey so far. Thank you to all who are a part of the Fellowship of the Red Jeep. My heart is filled with great Joy to use my little Jeep to make Christ known. I pulled into tidy grounds of the Kentucky Mountain Mission in time to preach again before a good nights rest.

Ken Pierpont
Kentucky Mountain Mission