Tag Archives: Faith

Advent 1 A: Holy Dissatisfaction

Posted on November 23, 2022 by John

The readings for the First Sunday of Advent are: Old Testament      Isaiah 2:1–5 Psalm                    Psalm 122 New Testament     Romans 13:11–14 Gospel                   Matthew 24:36–44 In his 1843 book, Fear and Trembling, the Danish philosopher, Søren Kierkegaard, criticized … Continue reading →

Posted in Church and Social Movements, Featured, Free Range Philosophy, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Breakfast Guest

Posted on June 15, 2022 by John

Breakfast at Heatherhope is a reward for completion of morning chores, prayer-of-thanks time for the long chain of harvest to truck to mill to truck again to middleman to grocery to cereal bowl…and a time for coffee brain and deep … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Epiphany 6 C: Rooted for Rough Relations

Posted on February 8, 2022 by John

The lessons for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany are… Old Testament      Jeremiah 17:5–10 Psalm                    Psalm 1 New Testament     1 Corinthians 15:12–20 Gospel                   Luke 6:17–26 Do you like the use of consonance—the three “Rs” in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Easter 3 B: Ambiguity and the Sense and Sensibility of Faith

Posted on April 12, 2021 by John

The Readings for the Third Sunday of Easter are: First Reading         Acts 3:12–19 Psalm                    Psalm 4 New Testament     1 John 3:1–7 Gospel                   Luke 24:36b–48 Ambiguity drives us to distraction. We want black and white answers to … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Faith, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Household Power Structure Changes!

Posted on December 16, 2020 by John

Pictured here are Connie, with Sméagol the cat, and Nell the sheepdog. I’m John, taking the photo. In the life of Heatherhope Farm, over the 18 years of its existence, Sméagol has run things inside the house. He meows like … Continue reading →

Posted in Border Collies, Church and Social Movements, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Good Shepherd Sunday

Posted on May 6, 2020 by John

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is, famously, Good Shepherd Sunday. The Gospel reading for this Sunday is John 10.1-10.   I was asked to provide a video from our sheep farm that would give a little insight as to what … Continue reading →

Posted in Border Collies, Faith, Featured, John's Posts, Pandemic Blog, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Sheep | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Watching Dogs in the Cold—Musings on the Widow’s Mite

Posted on November 7, 2018 by John

This past Thursday through Sunday (November 1-4), Connie and I hosted our latest dog clinic, with Gordon Watt presiding as trainer and teacher. I’m certain some people driving by on Airport Road on Sunday, spotted our little crowd of people, … Continue reading →

Posted in Border Collies, Faith, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Say “No” To Fear

Posted on February 28, 2017 by John

Remember those, “No Fear,” decals that young, tough men used to put on their pick-ups? Let’s bring them back and retool them to read, “No to fear.” Talking with friends lately it is obvious that there is a great sadness … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Featured, John's Posts, Social Political Issues, Spirituality, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Evangelism as Deprogramming

Posted on March 17, 2015 by John

    Last night was a night of inspiration. Six motivated laypeople and I were discussing what good doctrine might teach us about current practices in our congregations, and the conversation turned to evangelism. We returned to two ideas we … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Faith, Featured, John's Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jim Smith, Julie Cork, and Real Faith

Posted on December 26, 2013 by John

A 26 year-old hipster comedian held forth on Comedy Central a couple of weeks ago. My wife and I laughed at him for a few minutes as he did his impressions of drunk young women and his friend who acted … Continue reading →

Posted in Border Collies, Church, Faith, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments