What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
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It is hard to believe that just a few short decades ago (depending on one’s age) weather spotting was a questionable art filled with myths and wives’ tales. I suspect that many of those tales were conveniently placed at the feet of women by men, but that is for future discussions. The only definitive way of forecasting weather was to view it directly, not much help when a storm was already bearing down on you. Contrast that with todays advanced weather technology that not only apprises us of...
One of the first lessons learned by novice backpackers and hikers is to avoid putting oneself in danger. Trailhead signposts of recent past in the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness area underscored the concern by declaring “Mountains Don’t Care.” The warning truthfully lays it out for those who believe themselves above such concerns. Even the most experienced outdoors persons can get caught unaware when changes surrounding them turn ugly. It’s not only about wildlife, but also weather and more than a little...
Our annual denominational gathering is once again behind us. We cannot say that every moment at conference was noteworthy, but there is a case to be made that we conducted our business, our worship, and our fellowship with an earnestness belying our size. As conferences go, we are small fish in a big pond (with nearly 2000 participants), yet the venues we are invited to return to recognize what we have long known as part of a community of caring: the Brethren are a gentle folk in a raging...
One of the most intriguing items in our kitchen/household junk drawer (c’mon, you know you have one) implicates an iconic office necessity, the embossing label maker of old. It’s the one that uses stiff plastic tape and sports a rotary alphabet and number wheel atop a hand-held grip. No batteries for this baby. If you wanted to label something, you had to live with the hard work of squeezing a handle before moving on to the next letter or symbol. It was best not to allow interruptions while cre...
Recent political conversations have once more drawn national military conscription into the light, albeit reluctantly. Count that as no surprise given today’s geopolitics, but know also that it is nothing that has not been visited before. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, by most a brilliant Civil War strategist of his time, acknowledged the roles that were to be played. “Those who remained faithful to non-resistance faced persecution from the larger community. Early Confederate draft law had no...
Like burning fuses for the upcoming Fourth of July, our garden delights in the moment are foxtail lilies. Sturdy stalks support tall conical blooms of bright yellow flowers. What most amazes, however, is the way the plant reveals itself. Over the course of 10 days or so, vibrant color explodes from the head, but only in a particularized manner starting at the base of the bloom. The blossoms open sequentially and upward. It is that disciplined but fleeting nature that endears the plants to us....
An oft used small group exercise inquires of participants the characteristics they find most meaningful in church settings, the elements that hold the most meaning for them as a friend or a member of the church. Those present are tasked with winnowing out a hierarchy of responses. As the number of requisites are reduced, people find it near impossible to sit still and come up with a final short list on which everyone can agree. But, as hard as it might appear, most groups are reluctantly able...
It will never be said of me that I am a coffee snob. Is it black, hot, and at least lightly roasted? Good enough. I take some modest degree of pleasure, having waited in line as others’ coffee vocabulary is tested, in simply ordering the core components mentioned above. One would think that at least one or two thank you’s for my promptness would be forthcoming from those remaining in line, but the mental pressure can be acute in laying out coffee particulars. It’s usually best to let them work i...
Ask any gardener this time of year what the signature bloom in their garden is in the moment and you will likely receive praises for the iris family; ruffled, plain, double, domestic, bearded, multi-colored, rustic, mysterious, bright, solitary and altogether amazing! Can one word give them justice? Let’s try ‘fantabulous!’ Each has a pedigree that is noted when purchased, then quickly forgotten in lieu of common designations to our liking, ones tied to family members or friends that gifte...
The artful use of mnemonic devices can assist memory recall through association with related words and phrases. This is especially true for numbers of stories from the Hebrew Bible and New Testament writings from ancient scripture. From an early stage of understanding, and vacation Bible school classes, rose the story of King Nebuchadnezzar and three youth — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — who refused to fall into line with the king. As punishment, they were thrown into a fiery furnace (is...
On the isolated plains of Eastern Colorado are found homestead windbreaks, shelterbelts that protect property in high winds, reduce erosion, and drop snow in the form of moisture granting drifts. Two inches of wind-driven snow can do wonders for the soil profile inside a windbreak. Wildlife also depends on the windbreaks to support links in the food chain including rabbits, kangaroo rats, gophers, snakes, owls and other raptors such as the red-tailed hawks and an occasional brown or bald eagle....
The first three books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are known as the Synoptic gospels. They are broadly related and represent a unified historical approach for many. Similar theological themes connect them in forming a floor for scriptural understanding. The life and times of Jesus are laid out, to the extent we know them and the narratives and parallels between the three gospels are reassuring to hang our hats on. As a collection, they could easily have been titled, “New T...
Spirituality and numbers make for uneasy companions when it comes to relative importance in the life of the church. Most people disavow a dependency on numbers as a reflection of how well a church is doing. Deep down they know better, but neither will any church turn away numbers of people if they appear at the doorsteps of the church. To say a church is accomplishing all it can as justified by head counts, is an afront to the Word. In years of participation in church, I have encountered...
Despite snow and cold this week, the end of the school year is fast approaching. It is a time of expectation, for things completed and a future waiting on the near horizon. Everything is measured by graduation and family gatherings. Future plans often hang out in the mailbox disguised as acceptance or rejection letters while other students join the working world post haste. It is a mostly heady time, filled with optimism and confidence. The highlight is the conferring of degrees to eager...
“How can such tiny seed produce such beautiful results?” It is a question we ask multiple times each year as bedding plants move from the catalog pages to peat starter cups to transplanted wonders. A few grow lights, plentiful water, and a can-do attitude contribute to a successful start to the gardening season. Thank goodness for LED lighting that has helped curb the expense of starting seedlings in the dead of winter. Unfortunately, it grants even greater license to plant even more. Many see...
A family member completed her PhD requirements this week, successfully defending five years of reading, research and data gathering while suffering the occasional indignities that accompany any graduate program and its institutional biases. That has not changed much over the decades. The “good ol’ boy network” is alive and well, but progress is progress any way we measure it. A three-and-a-half-decade gap separates her graduate experience from my own. The most significant change during that...
Why is it that we are so surprised when inspiration and goodwill collide to produce something good? There are numbers of individuals across our community that are doing amazing work in support of worthwhile projects. It is an important observation to make as harder times continue to spiral for many people. One hopeful potential calls for the human spirit to focus on the best of who we are in contrast to the panoply of seemingly unresolvable conflicts worldwide. If we are intent to expend...
Overwhelming is only one of many descriptors assigned to the world today. News images and stories are at times both horrific and disappointing. We face the stark fact that in successive generation after generation, our current setting is largely the best we can muster. It leaves us bewildered and notably discouraged. If we want a better world, we’ll have to start over with the small stuff, like being kind to one another or going out of our way more frequently than we have in the past, though i...
Labels infuse our culture, transforming us in ways we do not fully understand. Commercial labels are the easiest to process and dismiss. We see them as identifiers, product enhancers, and information centers about the content, sale and receipt of materials and goods. Other labels become ones of convenience that spell out our personal choices, spending habits, or political leanings. At its best, the right label on the right product in an appropriate moment can be difficult to beat. Not so with...
When is a palm a palm? Is it a palm if it is only a few feet tall or do we need to see it in our mind as towering high above? Does it matter if its trunk is rough or smooth? How about the fronds? Does one style of frond say “palm” and another doesn’t (even if it is)? What if it looks like a palm but is taxonomically something else? What of the fruit it produces? Are date palms more “palmish” than coconut palms? What if it merely flowers, producing no fruit at all? Does that make it more or l...
There are but a handful of Supreme Court opinions that constitute fixed stars of understanding. Perhaps the most well-known is by Justice Robert H. Jackson. “If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion or other matters of opinion or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein." [West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)]...
Most of us would agree that how we gauge priorities can be difficult and challenging. It is an easier task when they are closely aligned, but that is seldom the hand we are dealt. Despite our best efforts, priorities end up in a jumbled heap before us, waiting for some semblance of order or direction that will prompt us forward. Getting started on the task is always a critical first step, especially for the mullers among us. Eighteen months ago, issues of stewardship clouded our vision...
In our household, going shopping has a different connotation than what many consumers embrace. The goal is much the same however. Find something which strikes your fancy, or an item that a household member would appreciate, and offer it to them in ways that make everyone feel good. In our setting, the difference is even more broadly noted as interactions that fall primarily between rather than within species. Dogs for example. It appears to be true that many dogs are ecstatically happy to have...
Time flies when you’re having fun, or at least when you’re a National Weather Service reporting station. For over two decades, the daily routine has included recording highs and lows from the previous weather day: precipitation amounts, wind velocities and directions and other noteworthy meteorological events. While ultimately compiled and collated with other volunteer observer sites across the nation, the original data is most often hand recorded prior to being sent in over the net. Dep...
Chicken behavior has long been studied for its contribution to, and partial explanation of, models of human sociology. Aside from establishing pecking order and other flock behaviors, chickens in particular exhibit a number of unique responses to frustration conditions, and just like humans, responses are variable. When individual birds are highly stressed or frustrated they tend to react in surprising ways. One is to become more aggressive, targeting that which frustrates by taking it out on...
