"Dear Mick Henry,
thank you so much, I enjoyed reading about your Tolkien angle (or Quaker angle to…"
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Primitive Christianity Revived, Again
Ice and power
This is our third day without electricity in Fayetteville, Arkansas, along with thousands of others in the region as the result of an ice storm. I'm at my office today (Saturday), as I came to work on my meeting's budget for this year. There hadn't been power at the office so I have been working from a coffeehouse at Hastings. I'm almost embarassed to admit how good it felt when I flipped the switch at work this morning, and the lights actually came on! I've been feeling a little depressed by this whole "freezing in the dark" situation, but we are lucky -- no major damage that I know of to our house. A fairly large branch did fall on the roof, so there may be some damage, but probably not major. A friend had a tree limb literally come through her ceiling.
I've been reading Exodus along with all the other 1-Year-Bible readers. Yesterday and today we got through the various plagues. Going without electricity? Of course that wouldn't have been a deprivation to the Egyptians or Hebrews, or for most people throughout history. On the other hand, we moderns use electricity. Its scary to find out how dependent we are on it, though its also been fun managing without -- cooking with propane and heating with firewood. Walking my dog at night, the stars were very bright, and my suburban subdivision seemed more rural -- like walking through a well-populated forest.
I'm asking, what is God saying here? Although Northwest Arkansas has been declared a "disaster" area, our family is blessedly "disaster-free." And today the sun is shining. But I've still found this more of a challenge than I would have thought -- a spiritual one. Just prior to this, I was "voted out" of one of the bands I play in. While I also wanted to leave the group, this too was a little more wrenching than I'd expected. I feel God saying, "turn to me." Whether or not there's power in the electric lines, there is still "life and power" coming through.
Now I really better get that budget done.
I've been reading Exodus along with all the other 1-Year-Bible readers. Yesterday and today we got through the various plagues. Going without electricity? Of course that wouldn't have been a deprivation to the Egyptians or Hebrews, or for most people throughout history. On the other hand, we moderns use electricity. Its scary to find out how dependent we are on it, though its also been fun managing without -- cooking with propane and heating with firewood. Walking my dog at night, the stars were very bright, and my suburban subdivision seemed more rural -- like walking through a well-populated forest.
I'm asking, what is God saying here? Although Northwest Arkansas has been declared a "disaster" area, our family is blessedly "disaster-free." And today the sun is shining. But I've still found this more of a challenge than I would have thought -- a spiritual one. Just prior to this, I was "voted out" of one of the bands I play in. While I also wanted to leave the group, this too was a little more wrenching than I'd expected. I feel God saying, "turn to me." Whether or not there's power in the electric lines, there is still "life and power" coming through.
Now I really better get that budget done.
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Comment by Elizabeth Bullock-Rest on 2nd mo. 3, 2009 at 1:53am -
Having lived through the ice storm too, David, I am having similar thoughts---surprised at how off kilter I felt and foggy-brained I was, though the "disaster" was not a whole lot worse than enforced winter camping with a bit of worrying about structural damage to our house and how to reach or help folks in Meeting who have health issues or who live alone. Today I read in the newspaper that 3 kids from Fayetteville High School, Ryan's cohorts, died in a fire during a sleep-over, It happened the same night Ryan was having a sleep-over for his friends whose homes still did not have electricity. I tell myself, "That's a real disaster." Is God calling to me? I don't know, but the reverse has certainly been true. ----Elizabeth
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Comment by Amy Hostler on 2nd mo. 7, 2010 at 4:38pm -
I like your reflections here. John Punshon wrote something in "Encounter with Silence" about hearing another Friend's vocal ministry about snowstorms in England and how life is more precarious than we like to admit.
What is the one-year-Bible project? I assume a group of people are reading the Bible in 2010, but is it a QuakerQuaker thing? I'm obviously late, but have been trying, or planning, to make it through the whole Hebrew Bible this year and would like to know if there's a group doing something like this. Thanks!
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Comment by David Carl on 2nd mo. 8, 2010 at 2:06pm -
Hi Amy,
Here's the info on the One Year Bible - http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/. You can get a printed One Year Bible or do it on line, I believe. Also note that they list a blog that you could follow along with on a daily basis. Its not so much a QQ thing, though I believe Martin Kelly was doing this and posting some here last year. I've fallen behind and am still finishing up Revelations, I guess it might be the 14 month Bible plan for me! (Note that I posted the above in January of '09). Thanks for your comments on the post.
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Comment by Amy Hostler on 2nd mo. 10, 2010 at 5:30pm
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Ah...sorry David, I did misread your post and think that it was written in January 2010! But thanks very much for the link and explanation.
Comment
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