Let it Snow - February 24, 2021

 My An Arkie's Faith column from the February 24, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

For several days the weather forecast has been dominated by the probability of snow. It has been over three years since we have had any significant snowfall. On the Arkansas Weather Blog, Todd Yakoubian wrote, “There are no guarantees in weather until after it happens, but confidence is very high snow will fall twice over the next several days.” My Friday afternoon shopping trip to Wal-Mart confirmed the forecast. The parking lot was full, and the bread aisle was empty.

Last weekend there were light flurries here in town. Just a few feet higher in elevation, there were several inches of snow. My cousin, my Dad, and I drove up to Queen Wilhelmina State Park. The skies were grey and dreary, but the snow-covered landscape was lovely. In several places, the road was so slick that we had difficulty making it to the lodge on top of Rich Mountain.

This Saturday, as we drove into Mena from the south, we could see frosty trees covering the mountaintops. Late that afternoon, we made the drive up onto Rich Mountain to take photos. The bright white trees, along with the moody skies, made stunning pictures. Occasionally the sun would shine through, putting a portion of the hillside in the spotlight. 

On Valentine’s Day, we woke up to soft snow falling. Snow fell through the morning until a thin blanket of white snow topped everything. Late in the evening, snow once again began to fall. The next morning, I woke up to temperatures in the single digits and continued snowfall with several inches of snow already on the ground. A pristine white blanket covers our neighborhood. 

This historic week of cold and snow will be something to tell your kids and grandkids about one day. Wind chill values will be well below zero. I’m sure we’ll break several other temperature records along with a few snow records too.  This week will also be one of the most extended stretches below freezing in Arkansas weather history. Temperatures below zero are possible.

I have never liked the cold. The last few days have been unseasonably cold, the coldest stretch of weather we have seen in many years. I have been miserable and just a bit whiney, or maybe a lot whiney. I am not a winter person. During the winter months, I patiently wait for spring. Well, at least I wait. Even though I’m not too fond of cold winter weather, there isn’t anything quite like a significant snowfall that leaves the ground a fluffy pure white, without any dirt or debris. It covers everything it encounters in perfect white.

A fresh snowfall makes any landscape beautiful. What lies underneath the snow might be ugly, but the snow hides any blemishes and makes everything pure and white. Rusty old cars and piles of debris become beautifully soft and white. God does the same thing with each of us. We may have a sordid past. We may not be currently living as we should. But God wants to make us beautifully clean. He longs for us to ask for forgiveness so that he can cover our sins. “Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV)

Have you ever been pleasantly surprised when you woke up and looked out your window to see snow covering the landscape? A dull and dreary day unexpectedly transformed into a beautiful day blanketed with snow. Bare and seemingly lifeless trees turned into marvelous works of art. In the same way, God is pleased when we allow him to cover our sins.

Because of His great love for us, God doesn’t abandon us in our sins. Instead, by His grace, He wants to change and transform us. “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Col. 1:13,14 (NRSV) And God wants to give us peace. “Now may God himself, the God of peace, make you pure, belonging only to him. May your whole self—spirit, soul, and body—be kept safe and without fault when our Lord Jesus Christ comes.” 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NCV)

Have you ever noticed how peaceful it seems after a significant snowfall? It is not just your mind playing tricks on you. Snow does make the world quieter. Some of the calm after a snowfall is logical. People tend to stay home during snowstorms, so there are fewer people outdoors. And birds tend to hunker down during severe weather, so they are quieter during a snowstorm. But there is science behind the stillness as well. That is because snow absorbs sound, so when a fresh blanket of snow covers the landscape, it absorbs many of the sound waves, making it seem quieter outside. 

The reason snow absorbs sound is because it is porous. Snowflakes are six-sided crystals filled with open spaces. In a blanket of snow, those spaces absorb sound waves, creating a quieting effect. When God takes our sins and makes them white as snow, it cuts down on the noise of the world around us. The world becomes quieter and more peaceful. We can more easily hear God as he communicates with us.

Gentle Reader, we all have sin in our life that makes us dirty and separates us from God. But God has provided a way for us to be clean again. Through Jesus, we can all be as white as snow. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 (KJV) God wants to cover your sins. He wants to give you peace. “I pray that God, the source of all hope, will infuse your lives with an abundance of joy and peace in the midst of your faith so that your hope will overflow through the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (VOICE)

The Bucks' Home Opener - February 10, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the February 10, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

I watched the new baseball fields’ construction at the McMillan Park site on South Mena Street for the past year. Every night, as I drive past the location on my way home, I look to see the project’s progress. As the construction crew made more and more headway, I became excited about the prospect of watching baseball at the new ball field in my back yard. 

In April of 2019, the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain announced a new baseball program. “I could not be more excited to announce the addition of Coach Lance Spigner as the first baseball coach for the University of Arkansas Rich Mountain,” said Chancellor Dr. Phillip Wilson. “Coach Spigner is as good as any coach in Arkansas, and he comes with a pedigree that is rarely matched. He is a winner, a leader, and a baseball visionary.” The news caught my attention, but I did not start following the new baseball program closely until I saw that the Bucks’ were building the new ball field so close to my house. 

As the fields took shape and the start of the baseball season neared, I looked forward to being able to watch baseball. I wanted to be there for the historic home opener of the Rich Mountain Bucks’ first season. I was working, but I got away during my lunch break and spent some time at the new Union Bank Field. I arrived just before the bottom of the second inning. The Bucks were behind 3-2 but scored a run to tie up the game. I was able to stay through the third inning but then had to get back to work. Although I couldn’t stay long, I will always remember being present at the Bucks’ home opener.

I first became obsessed with baseball when I was in the fifth grade. I went to a small private school, and fifth through eighth grades were in class together. The older boys loved baseball, and I wanted to be like them. I would beg my Mom to get to school early because there was always a pickup baseball game before school started.

The first team that I followed was the Boston Red Sox. My pastor was a Red Sox fan, and his enthusiasm for the Red Sox made an impression on me. It was 1967, and the Red Sox had a season that came to be known as the “impossible dream.” The previous year they had finished in ninth place. But in 1967, they made it to the World Series, losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games.

 

My favorite player was Yaz, Carl Yastrzemski, the Red Sox team captain. I wanted to be Yaz. I played in the driveway of our house batting rocks with a broomstick imagining that I was playing in the Major Leagues. I wanted to play Little League baseball, but we lived out in the country, and there was no way that I could play.

As an adult, I made it to Little League when my neighbor asked me to help coach a Little League baseball team. The kids on the team were 6 to 8 years old. This age group of Little League had special rules to help tone down the competition and give everyone an equal chance. It was supposed to be about learning the game and having fun. In each inning, every player was allowed to bat. We didn’t keep score on the field, but everyone knew the score, especially the parents. But of course, no one was keeping score; well, not officially.

That Little League experience taught me how powerful comparison and competition could be. Even when I didn’t want to compare and keep score, I couldn’t help it; and neither could anyone else. We all knew.

The problem wasn’t with our comparison; it was what we did with that information. We mentally ordered the kids from best to worst. Parents would feel better or worse about themselves based on what their kids did in the game.

Little League taught me that we have a powerful urge to compare. This tendency is unfortunate enough in Little League, but it is tragic for our spiritual life. When we compare ourselves to others, we can never know the whole story. Often our conclusions about people are entirely wrong. 1 Samuel 16:7 (NLT) tells us that, “People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

One of the reasons we compare ourselves to others is to feel superior. But doing that separates us from God. Did you know that God says that he hates pride? Proverbs 6:16,17 (NKJV) tells us, “these six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look,”... Leading off this list of things that God hates is a proud look; a feeling of arrogance when we see others. God hates it.

I’ve noticed something interesting about this sin of pride. It is often found among the people who think that they love God the most. Many Christians are proud of their works and look down on others. But God says that we are all sinners. “When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6 (NLT)

Spiritual pride is a blind spot. We never see the pride in ourselves. We never think that we are looking down on others. We believe that we see things as they are. We can’t help it if we are better Christians than others.

How do we keep from falling into the trap of spiritual pride? We need to ask ourselves if there is any group of people we are responding to with disgust, disdain, or aversion. If the answer is yes, it is a sign that we are falling into the trap of spiritual pride.

I don’t know what tempts you to feel superior. I don’t know what kind of people you look down on, but most of us have a list. I don’t think that we realize how dangerous that list is. Unless we can get rid of the list, it will leave us separated from God. It can put us at the top of God’s “I hate it when you do that” list.

Gentle Reader, spiritual pride isn’t a small insignificant sin. It is front and center in the battle for our heart. Let’s pray today with David his words found in Psalms 51:10 (NLT), “create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a loyal spirit within me.” It is the only way we can overcome spiritual pride.

Gentle Reader - February 3, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the February 3, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

Walking down Broadway in downtown Boulder, Colorado, the shy, gangly teenage boy opened the door to the store with his younger sister in tow. The sign out front said Duck Soup. The boy looked inside the small shop and saw used books and records with some other weird stuff thrown in. As he browsed through the stacks of paperbacks, the title and the cover art of a book grabbed his attention. A futuristic scene burst from a bright orange-yellow cover. The blurb at the top said, “Tales of the Near Future by the Master of Science Fiction.” The boy picked the book up and carried it to the counter. The friendly man took his quarter and placed the book Nine Tomorrows by Isaac Asimov in a paper bag along with a colorful flower power sticker. “You will enjoy the book,” the man behind the counter said. “Isaac Asimov is one of my favorite authors.”

That night, the boy opened the book and began reading. He was fascinated by the stories of space-age detectives, the ultimate computer, future Olympics, baffled aliens, a cave boy, a suicidal computer, and a new kind of mathematician. Before he went to sleep that night, he had finished reading every story. When he woke up in the morning, descriptions of the future raced through his head. He made plans for the time he would go back to Duck Soup and buy another book. 

The next week, the boy and his sister were again looking through the books at Duck Soup. The owner of the store asked him, “did you enjoy Nine Tomorrows?” “I sure did,” the boy replied. Time seemed to stop for the boy as he and the owner discussed the stories. “Do you have any more books by Isaac Asimov,” he asked. “Here, you might like the book Foundation,” the owner replied. “It is the first book in a series. That night, the boy became immersed in mathematician Hari Seldon’s story and his life developing psychohistory. 

Over the next year, the boy made weekly visits to Duck Soup. He purchased lots of paperback books and collected many flower power stickers. He looked forward to his visits with the owner, discussing books. Before long, he had purchased all the Isaac Asimov books for sale at Duck Soup. He had become immersed in the world of Foundation and Empire. He read all the R. Daneel Olivaw novels. He became obsessed with the robot short stories.

On every visit to the Boulder Public Library, the boy looked for books by Isaac Asimov. Because Asimov was a prolific writer, publishing over 500 books on a wide variety of topics, the library had many choices. At the library, the boy discovered the collections of Asimov’s science essays. From November 1959 to February 1992, a science essay by Isaac Asimov appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction every month. Over the years, his publishers collected these essays into more than two dozen books. As much as the boy loved reading about Asimov’s future in his short stories and novels, the science essays became his favorite thing to read.

I was the boy whose life was changed on the day that he walked into Duck Soup. A whole new world opened to me as I read Isaac Asimov’s books. I found his nonfiction writings incredible, not only because of the sheer volume of books but also because of its extraordinary breadth and diversity. Though he concentrated on the sciences and especially loved astronomy, there are not many topics that he did not include in his writing. One of the things that he said that stuck with me is, “Education is not something you can finish.” I never attended college, but because of my curiosity, which Isaac Asimov helped foster, I never stopped learning.

In Asimov’s nonfiction essays, the conversational writing style made me feel like he explained those challenging scientific concepts to me personally. In his articles, when he talked directly to his readers, he would start by referring to them as Gentle Reader. When I came across those words, it made me feel special, like an important, brilliant and knowledgeable person was speaking directly to me. When he was at the end of his life, one of the last things he wrote was, “To all my gentle readers who have treated me with love for over 30 years, I must say farewell.”

When I first agreed to write a weekly column, one of the goals that I had was to write in a conversational style that would make the reader feel at home. I had no formal training or prior experience. As I sat at my computer to write that very first article, I remembered all those Isaac Asimov essays that I had read in my life. I tried to emulate his style of speaking directly to his readers. When it came time to write the final thought wrapping up the article, without even thinking, I started the sentence with, “Gentle Reader.” In every piece I have written since, I have used the phrase Gentle Reader to introduce the conclusion of my thoughts. It was not a formula that I decided on in advance, but it feels right to me.

In the book of 1 John, when the Apostle John wants to address his readers personally and wants to call attention to an important point, he refers to them as little children. He uses this form seven times in the book. In 1 John 2:1 (NKJV), he writes, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”

Gentle Reader, I hope that I have been able to connect with you through these articles in some way. Your comments, encouragements, and affirmations have blessed me. My goal is writing that is thought-provoking but not confrontational. I hope that there will be something in each article that you find inspirational. I leave you with the words of the Apostle John; “My little children, don’t just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.” 1 John 3:18 (VOICE)

Our World - January 27, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the January 27, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

In 1966, the television producer, Aubrey Singer, brought a bold new idea to the British Broadcasting Corporation. He was interested in the latest satellite technology emerging during the space race. He suggested a live international satellite program with participation from many countries. After ten months of organizing, negotiating, and technological hurdles, the production was broadcast live on June 25, 1967. 

The program was titled Our World and included creative artists from nineteen countries. The show’s ground rules were that everything had to be live without videotape or film. It would not involve politicians or heads of state. Over ten thousand technicians, producers, and interpreters took part in the broadcast. It was an undertaking of incredible complexity, involving control rooms worldwide, three geostationary communication satellites, and almost a million miles of cable. Fourteen countries participated in the production, which producers transmitted to 31 countries on every continent but Antarctica. Over 400 million people watched the program.

Creative artists, including The Beatles, opera singer Maria Callas, The Vienna Boys Choir, and painter Pablo Picasso, appeared in separate segments featuring their respective countries. The portion of the program from the United Kingdom starred The Beatles. Our World producers asked The Beatles to provide a song with a message easily understood by everyone, using basic English. John Lennon’s lyrics were deliberately simplistic to allow for the show’s international audience. The Beatles performed their song, All You Need Is Love, to close the broadcast. 

I can still remember the summer of 1967. It became known as the Summer of Love, and the single All You Need Is Love by The Beatles was the anthem. Just like other kids from around the world, I loved the song. It seemed that everyone knew the simple chorus. “All you need is love. All you need is love. All you need is love, love. Love is all you need.”

Is there any truth to the catchphrase, all you need is love? Or is it just a silly pop song? I believe that it is the truth. “All you need Is love. Love is all you need.” In 1 John 4:7,8 (NCV), the Bible tells us, “Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has become God’s child and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

Love should be the basis for everything we do. In his gospel, Matthew recounts a story where an expert in the law asked Jesus, “which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 (NLT) When you distill it down that much, it seems simple. It is true; all you need is love.

God has written a love letter to you called the Bible. It says, “I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:38,39 (CEV) How would you feel if you wrote these beautiful words to the love of your life, but they ignored them? God’s Word, The Bible, is His love letter to us. Don’t leave your love letter unopened and unread. God loves you, and he wants to tell you just how much. Open his love letter and listen to what he has to say to you.

The greatest love poem found in the Bible is in John 3:16,17 (NKJV). “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” What beautiful words. We need to keep in mind that God loves the world, not a single nation, not a single race. Not just the good people, not only the people who love God back. “God so loved the world.” The people God loves include the lovable and the unlovable; those who are popular, and those who have no one else to love them; the ones who love God and those who never think of God.

In 1 Corinthians 13 (NLT), Paul expresses the importance of love to the Christian. “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing… Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.” 

Unfortunately, I have noticed that we Christians often don’t show love to others. We are slow to listen but quick to speak and get angry. Angry Christians fill my social media feeds. But Jesus challenged us to love others, even our enemies. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemies.’ But I say to you, love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you. If you do this, you will be true children of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:43-45 (NCV)

Gentle Reader, remember that God loves the world, the entire world. Henri Nouwen wrote, “For Jesus, there are no countries to be conquered, no ideologies to be imposed, no people to be dominated. There are only children, women and men to be loved.” Jesus tells us that no matter what we do for Him, it is nothing if we don’t have love. You see, it really is true. All you need Is love.

The Harp Glissando - January 20, 2021

 My An Arkie's Faith column from the January 20, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

The lighting was dim, and Megan joined in the noisy chatter as the elementary students streamed into the cafeteria. The tables were against the walls, and the chairs in the middle of the room faced an impromptu stage. The children were entranced by what they saw under the lights of the stage. An impressively large and ornate harp seemed to magically rise from its small pedestal base to a height taller than the students.

Megan found a seat near the back of the room and waited for the assembly to begin. After a couple of announcements, the principal introduced the woman with the harp. Beautiful music filled the room as the woman started to play. Megan listened intently. “That is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard,” she thought. After a few songs, the woman stopped playing and started telling the students about the harp.

Megan had noticed that some of the harp strings were colored and some were not. She wondered why. Her ears perked up when the woman began to explain. “The strings of a harp are color-coded for quick reference,” she said. “On my harp, all the C strings are red, and all the F strings are black, although, on some harps, the F strings might be dark blue. All of the other strings are not colored.” She continued, “why are the strings colored? It is simply so we harpists can find our place at a glance.”

“Do I have any volunteers who would like to come up and play the harp?” Almost every hand in the room shot up. Megan wanted to see the harp up close and to touch the strings, but she was a quiet, timid little girl, sitting in the back. She was sure that the student chosen would not be her. “I will choose one boy and one girl,” the woman said. After selecting a boy from the front of the room, she looked towards the back and pointed directly at Megan. Megan slowly walked up to the front of the room, with her heart beating fast. She could not believe that the woman chose her. She was shy about being in front of all her classmates but excited about the harp.

When Megan reached the front, she forgot about everyone in the audience. Her only focus was the beautiful harp in front of her. The woman with the harp said, “ladies first,” and Megan found herself directly next to the harp. “Do you remember when I talked about the colored strings?” the woman asked. “C is red, and F is black. Find a C and play it for me.” Megan reached out and plucked a red string. With that first note, it was a done deal; she wanted to play this instrument.

“Next,” the woman said, “we are going to play a glissando. It is one of the most beautiful sounds that the harp makes, and you will be able to do it. It is played by rapidly sliding your finger along the strings like this.” The sound seemed magical to Megan. “Now you do it,” the woman said. As she drew her finger along the strings and heard the glissando, Megan knew that she wanted to learn to play the harp and make beautiful music.

Megan talked to her parents about playing the harp for a year before they agreed, saying, “we will find you a harp teacher.” From that moment on, playing the harp was a priority for Megan. She did not know what that would look like, but she just knew that she wanted to play the harp. She received a Bachelor of Music in harp from the University of Arizona and a Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin. She gained a Premiere Prix from the music conservatory in Grasse, France, under Alessandra Magrini and Elisabeth Fontan-Binoche’s tutelage.

Megan’s music showcases a mix of jazz, folk, contemporary, and classical styles that always drive after authentic, meaningful expression. She is an accomplished performer and avid collaborative artist, working with numerous artists in other disciplines, including songwriters, composers, dancers, choreographers, visual artists, poets, and studio musicians.  

I heard Megan’s story in her interview on the podcast, Instrumental with JJ Heller. After telling the story of her life pursuing excellence on the harp, even moving to France to learn from the living legend Elisabeth Fontan-Binoche, Megan recounted the story of her first experience with a harp. That day in the cafeteria at her elementary school profoundly changed her life. In retrospect, her future hinged on that seemingly unimportant moment. During the interview, Megan said, “we can never really guess what God has in store for us.”

In his letter to the church at Corinth, Paul wrote, “No one has ever seen, no one has ever heard, no one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 (ERV) I know that Christians usually quote this verse in connection with heaven. I do believe that we can not imagine the wonders of living eternally with God. But I think that the verse also contains an essential lesson for our lives here on this earth. When young Megan walked into her school assembly that day, she could not imagine her future life as an accomplished performer on the harp who teaches in her private studio in Cabris, France. But God had plans for her.

Gentle Reader, just like God had plans for Megan Metheney to make beautiful music on the harp, He has plans for you. In Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), God says, “I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” What are God’s plans for your life? I don’t know. But I do know that he has a plan. You can be just as sure as David was when he said, “the Lord will work out his plans for my life; for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.” Psalms 138:8 (NLT)

Talasbuan Fäbod - January 13, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the January 13, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

Not far from the edge of the mountain, in Jämtland Sweden, lies Talasbuan fäbod. It stood empty for 80 years before Tova and Mathias decided to give new life to the old place. 

There is no easy way to translate the Swedish word fäbod into English. It is a summer pasture for one or several homesteads’ livestock. A fäbod consisted of several simple buildings such as a dwelling-house, cattle shed, storage cabins, and a cooking cabin. Each building had a specific purpose. These buildings are simple log cabins for summer use only. 

The use of a summer pasture is ancient; The practice goes back over one thousand years. In this part of Sweden, the hay meadows were small. The amount of hay produced by the homesteads in these areas was barely enough to keep the livestock alive during winter. The fields were for winter fodder only. The cattle could not be allowed to graze in the homestead’s meadows. If they did, there would be no winter fodder. The farmers in these areas used summer pastures on common land in the forests and hills to survive.

In 2012, Tova and Mathias moved into a small cottage at an old fäbod. On their blog, Talasbuan Off the Grid, Tova states, “I have always, or for as long as I remember, wanted to have a fäbod. Live there at summertime with my animals and make cheese and butter. Then I met Mathias and after a while we thought, why not live like this year around? To come closer to nature and feel the shifts in the seasons in a deeper way. Feel the calm and be away from all the things that beeps and make a sound in an ordinary home. We have surely made it harder for ourselves, we could probably have bought a place with electricity and so on. But keeping this fäbod tradition, and guarding traditional skills is important to us, and so is the satisfying feeling of living a very resilient life.”

She goes on to say, “The to-do list is long, build the new log house, because currently we live in 15 square meters, a cheese cellar and a root cellar, the creamery, the kitchen garden and so on. We have sheep, chickens, pigs, rabbits, cats and dogs, In time cows and maybe goats. We are harvesting, making hay for the animals and going for the self-sufficient life.”

In February 2017,  Tova and Mathias published their first vlog and have been making them ever since. I recently discovered their YouTube channel and have been fascinated by their videos. The forests of Sweden are beautiful and peaceful. Watching these two young people learning to live off of the land gives me a new appreciation for the hard work that goes into such a life. Seeing the love that they have for their animals, their land, and their life together is heartwarming. The simplicity of the life they have chosen, juxtaposed with the required hard work, fascinates me.

As much as I enjoy watching about life at Talasbuan Fäbod, I can’t imagine living off the grid. I can’t imagine living with the cold, the snow, the dark winter. I’m not ready to give up all of the comforts of electricity, running water, and indoor plumbing. 

There are not many people in the western world who are living their lives off the grid. Electrical power is one of those things that we don’t think about very often. We usually only think about electrical power when it isn’t there. When we flip the switch, we expect the lights to go on. When we come home from work, we expect the house to be comfortable. When we open the refrigerator, we expect the milk to be cold.

When the power isn’t working, it suddenly becomes crucial. Anyone who was living in Polk County during December 2000 remembers being without power. A significant ice storm developed on Christmas Day and continued through the early morning hours of December 27th. A layer of ice up to 3 inches thick covered everything. 300,000 Arkansans were without power for many days. The 2000 ice storm may be the worst natural disaster in Arkansas history. We were without power for six days and had friends in South Polk County without power for 23 days.

Even though our house still had all of its electrical wiring, outlets, and switches, nothing worked. Habits are hard to break, and even after days without power, I still found myself trying to turn on the lights. Even though everything looked fine, there was no power. The experience gave me a taste of what it would be like to live off the grid.

Many people in our culture, in our society, live their lives apart from God. Spiritually, they have chosen to live their lives off the grid. Just like a house without electricity, we have no power in ourselves. We need to plug into the grid of God’s power. There are even Christians who seem reluctant to plug into God’s power. They feel that they have enough strength of their own to overcome sin. But we cannot change ourselves. I’m sure that your experience verifies the fact that sheer willpower cannot conquer sin. On our own, living like Christ is not difficult; it’s impossible. In John 15:5 (NLT), Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Gentle Reader, just like we take our electrical power for granted, we also often take God’s power for granted. We expect Him to love us. We expect Him to be there for us, but how often do we think about His power? I don’t want to live off the grid. I want to say with King David, “I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.” Psalms 59:16 (NLT)

_________________________________________________________

You can check out the Talasbuan Fäbod YouTube channel here.

Kindness and Helpfulness - January 6, 2021

My An Arkie's Faith column from the January 6, 2021, issue of The Polk County Pulse.

The houses on the street were shrouded in early morning darkness as I left for work. Before opening my business, I had to pick up a load of glass. As I drove along the highway, the trees’ outlines became more apparent as the first light of dawn softened the grey skies. By the time I reached the storage building where my supplier had dropped off my glass order during the night, there was enough light to see to load my truck. A soft drizzle along with a sharp cold breeze made loading the glass unpleasant. When the last piece of glass was on the truck, I quickly slipped into the cab to dry off and warm up.

I took the key out of my pocket and hurriedly stuck it in the ignition. When I turned the key, the only thing I heard was a click. I turned the key several more times, and each time there was just a click. I was cold and wet, and now I was irritated. The battery was less than two months old; how could it be dead? What was I going to do? It was early in the morning, and there was no one around. I knew that in an hour, the auto parts store next to the storage buildings would open. There was nothing that I could do, but wait.

When the auto parts store opened, I went inside. There was one other customer, a young man who had been waiting for the store to open. He was in a hurry to get his parts so he could go to work. As the young man finished up his purchase and picked up his parts, the counterman asked me what I needed. I told him that I needed a boost and asked if he could help me. He said that he couldn’t leave the counter, and I would have to wait until another employee came to work. “How long will that be,” I wondered. I knew that there were already customers at my shop waiting for me to open.

The young man overheard my predicament and said, “I have a booster pack in my truck. I can help you.” My spirits lifted as we headed over to where my truck was parked. I opened the hood, and we quickly attached the cables from the booster pack to my battery. When I turned the key, expecting the engine to come to life, once again, I only heard a click. We made sure that the cables were making good contact and tried one more time. But there was nothing but a click. Now I was beginning to suspect the starter. During the seventeen years that I have owned the Chevrolet S-10 shop truck, I have had to replace the starter several times. 

The young man who was helping me was thinking the same thing. “I think your starter is stuck,” he said. Grabbing a wrench from the back of his pickup, he slid under my truck and began banging on the starter. When he crawled out from under the S-10, we tried to start it one more time. But there was nothing but a click. “If we had a chain, we could pull it and get it started,” I said. “It is a standard transmission, so it would be easy to start.” The young man rummaged around in the back of his pickup and came up with a length of tow strap. I didn’t have any ends, but he tied one end to the S-10, and the other end around the ball on his pickup. 

I put the S-10 in second gear, switched on the ignition, and pushed in the clutch. The tow rope tightened, and the S-10 began to move. I popped the clutch, and the engine purred to life. Thanking the young man profusely, I wished him well as he headed to work. As I pulled out onto Highway 71 and headed for my shop, I thought about the cheerful, helpful young man who took the time to help me even though his day had started badly, and he was late for work. His act of kindness and helpfulness made me want to be the kind of person he was.  

As Christians, many believe that we have to do great and mighty things to change the world. The truth is that a simple act of kindness can start a ripple effect. If you are kind and helpful to someone, they are more likely to pass it on. But an act of unkindness can also start a ripple effect. If you start the day in a lousy mood and mistreat someone, they are more apt to be in a bad mood and pass it on. Christians should strive to have so much of Jesus’ love, generosity, and kindness in them that they can’t help but share it with others. Being kind and helping others should be the natural outgrowth of living as a Christian. 

Colossians 3:12 (NIV) says, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” Kindness is love in action. It is a practical expression of love, visible and active, not just emotional. It is helping a stranger when you are already late for work. Jesus gave us an example by showing everyday kindness and helpfulness to others. He made breakfast for His friends after they spent an exhausting night fishing. He blessed the children who the grown-ups were trying to shoo away. He fed thousands of hungry people who had followed Him to a remote hillside. Jesus spent much more time taking care of people’s needs than he did preaching.    

Gentle Reader, remember that God has blessed you so you can bless others. Ask Him to help you see the needs of the people He brings into your life. Then, be ready to help with no expectation of anything in return. God will put someone in your path who needs your help. Consider their needs and help them with a spirit of kindness and helpfulness. “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Hebrews 6:10 (NIV)