The Grass Has To Be Meaningful

From the tone of the last post you might surmise that not everything is working out perfectly or at least how I dream/imagine in my life. I’m not living my ideal life, or the one I have absorbed from the culture and others. I continue to work full-time in technology for a local school district which means a lot of screen time, sense of meaninglessness, boredom and a salary that qualifies my family of five for government assistance. Yet my life is also very full and filled with things I am thankful for, like my family, my community, chickens, gardens, rainwater and a job.

I recently had two interviews with a local non-profit. It was down to two candidates and I didn’t get the job, a blow to my self-esteem. I’ve also decided to quit my small business, Edible Lawns, after one last project at a local school. The stress of being successful (but not enough to quit my job) while continue to work full time for the last year and a half has taken it’s toll and proved to be too much. We’ve also been at the center of some difficult conversations in our community. All this has come together in the last week.

So, after realizing that I might not get a dream job, might not be a successful small business owner and could someday not be a part of the intentional community we’re a part of, I have sat with the thought that there is no thing on the horizon, no next thing to work on or work toward. I asked, “What if I just work at my job and go home to my family every day?”

“Don’t Call It a Comeback…

… I’ve been here for years.” -LL Cool J

I’m not sure what exactly i would be coming back from or what I would come back to, but I can say that I am planning on more frequent blogging in the near future. Some of the changes in my life will surely open up space for that. I’m also going to take it slow. This has become a place for more long form in depth thinking about issues than the link-y, trendy, traffic-y appetites I had when I first started blogging. That has been a more healthy and helpful pace.

To start I am going to post once a week. Here are some of the things I’m thinking of exploring:

Books
God, The Economist by M.Douglas Meeks
This book really blew me away and I need to read through it again and process it. Very in-depth exploration of the God concepts driving our economic theory and a political theory of God. Very relevant for how to approach economic problems as Christians and incorporate our theological framework into a practical way of living life together. As always economics is just the way we decided to arrange and organize our lives together. This book unpacks that and then some.

Making Peace With the Land by Norman Wirzba and Fred Bahnson
This little book is a good introduction to thoughts on food and faith. I won’t spend a lot of time on it, but there were a couple insights worth exploring.

Eucharist and Human Liberation by Tissa Balasuriya
This is a book I found in my church’s library and have been waiting to read for a while. Tissa Balasuriya was a Catholic priest and theologian from Sri Lanka. Interested to hear what it adds to some of my previous thoughts on the eucharist (Consumerism, Industrial Food and the Eucharist, Eucharist as Eat-in, Transforming the Body and Attachment and Detachment)

Community
We continue to learn and grow with our community, exploring what it means to live life together and try to embody a different way of being, an alternative economics and a radical faith. With all it’s ups and downs it has proven both more difficult and more fruitful than I imagined.

Practical Wisdom
Even as Edible Lawns passes on to a new chapter in someone else’s hands, I am busy growing things in my yard, building coops and experimenting with various ways to live out what I believe. My wife just braided the garlic we grew and it is hanging in our kitchen as a beautiful reminder of God’s grace and provision. I want to continue to share that here and find new ways to educate, empower and encourage others to pursue sustainability.

Til next time…

Life Beyond Facebook

Oh… hello there. Are you still paying attention, patiently waiting for more posts from me? You have the kind of perseverance and attention span that seem to be sorely lacking on the internet (and elsewhere) these days.

Well, yesterday, I broke up with Facebook for good. It was becoming an abusive relationship. (Apparently I’m not alone given the number of articles and sites on facebook addiction.) She was beginning to be controlling and manipulative about my time. It may take me some time to recover from this relationship. For example, yesterday after I got home I was in awe of my wife who had made an amazing dinner of fresh baked bread and ground nut stew for us and a friend who recently had a baby. On top of that she made pumpkin squares for dessert, granola and a fancy fruit thing for the homeschool co-op she’s a part of. I have to admit that my first thought was, “Great! Now where am I supposed to brag about how awesome my wife is, if I can’t do it on Facebook?!?”

Meanwhile…

Well, I am certainly missing the lifestyle we enjoyed in Charagua, Bolivia that allowed me to read and write so prolifically. These days I struggle just to find balance between work, more work, family and community. Welcome home to the United States and North American culture!

I am now working in the technology department for the local school district, exploring my inner geek (which is more and more becoming my outer geek). I am also continuing to try and grow my small business, Edible Lawns, which is as much about education as installing raised bed gardens, compost and rainwater systems.

For a couple months now my third job has been working on buying a house (without a realtor and with extra work getting assistance from the city and a community development corporation). Now that that process is complete life is slowing down slightly. Even though I have a long list of plans to make my lawn more edible, perhaps things have slowed down enough that I might be able to read and write some more.

I have a long list of posts that I started in the last year or so, that I can pick up and I’m still excited about the Food in the Bible series. However, I might spend some time first, processing what we have been going through and dealing with in our own lives first. So, here’s some things you might read about in the near future:

“How to Start a Business When You Don’t Believe in Capitalism” or

“Reconciliation: Something We Do or Something God Does?” or

“Adventures in Avoiding Real Community” or

“The Gospel of Unschooling and Dreadlocks”

Hopefully that whets your appetite and hopefully I will have time to satisfy it with some thoughtful, provocative posts.

Fear Not!

Seasons greetings avid reader! I hope your Advent season of waiting, hope and expectation in the midst of darkness is going well. I had hoped to keep up with writing even in the midst of our transition back to North American life and culture. Alas! I have not. Fear not! I will most certainly write again. When I dare not predict, but, as surely as Jesus is coming, I will most definitely grace these pages with deep thoughts, exegesis and snarky commentary once again. See you soon!

Meanwhile, I pray you all have a season of hope that embodies the life of the one who emptied himself in the midst of a culture that attempts to empty our pockets and lives of meaning.