Bowl Full of Cherries

Jerri and I are successfully moved and half way unpacked into our new home.

A farm house

We have dreamed of living more simply and here we are. Playing in the dirt, lighting fires to warm the house, and eating fresh eggs that our neighbor's hen laid in our barn.

Life is good
Air is fresh
Breathing is easy

Two day ago we crossed the dirt road to explore the creek that sings us to sleep at night. Under the trees our true identites became known and we played on as Robin Hood and Maid Marianne. After our adventure into the wild was over we walked the ten feet back into our house to chop more wood for the fire.

There are many differences between a house in the country and a house in the city. I quickly discovered the innerworkings of a farm are meant to be dusty and scatterbrained. Everyday I walk outside to check on the dafidills and ivy, I sit in the garden and dream of fresh tomatoes and basil, and I dig in the dirt if for no other reason than to touch the earth. And everyday I walk back inside not knowing which is dirtier: my hands or my kitchen floor.

Oh well, only true things are important now.
It's time for tea

And while I know eventually I will need to sweep the floor, eventually I will go to town and get back to work, today I am making Cherry Crumble from the cherries my landlord canned last summer and left for us to enjoy. Jerri and I pitted them ourselves. One bowl full of seeds, one bowl full of cherries. And I can't help but think

Life is... well... good.

Jesus For President

I am sure that today I am only one of the many Americans, who choose to reveal their thoughts to the world by a thing we call a blog, that is writing of the Historical Health Care Reform that took place yesterday. The two of us watched the newcast on our neighbor's Canadian TV set. Canada, as we all know, has had socialized health care for years. We have asked people here what their thoughts are on the matter. We've heard responses such as, "It sickens me to think that if some one needed to be taken care of they wouldn't be able to if they did not make enough money." Even people who are far above our financial standing replied, "If I pay a few extra dollars a month, but know that my friend here will be able to have medical attention in a time of crisis, it is all worth it in the end."

A couple of years ago our small group did a study called "Jesus for President".  It has been awhile but I believe the over all lesson we recieved is that throuhout history there have been politicians in all cultures both good and bad, and you can see God work either through or inspite of them. God's hand moves around them. And if you read Christ's teachings it is clear that he is not one to praise the powerful, but the weak. He constantly tells us to sell what we have and give it to the poor. He is infact a God of the least of these.
It upsets me that we call ourselves a Christian nation, and yet refuse to give our excess to someone in need. How is that Christ- Like?
I know next week many preachers will stand against my view saying things like, "God will pour his riches upon you," and assume that this means money. (Take a look for yourself. What does Jesus really say about money?) But as for me, I have to believe that socialized health care is in fact a good step, and perhaps a long overdue humbling experience for us all.

If you meet Buddah on the road to enlighment, Kill him

This saying hangs on the wall in the Kung Fu studio. Don't let it throw you off. This is not a statement of ultimate power. I imagine that many of you reading our blog are not Budists, but probably Christians, based on our list of followers. So lets rephase the quote.

If you meet Jesus on the road to enlightenment, kill him.

I wish I could have remembered this saying earlier on this week as I watched my pride swell up and take the best of me.
     Paul would call it our flesh
     The mystics call it our ego
     As Richard Rohr puts it, "Ego is just another word for blindness."

In our journeys of life, enlightenment, sactification (whatever journey you prefer to be on), we must beware of our false self. When we come to the point in the road that we find ourselves "in the right", we have never been farther from the truth. If we view ourselves, and our opinions over others we have truely lost all meaning of being Christ-Like If we meet Jesus, if we become our own god, we must kill this idea. We cannot allow our ego, our flesh, our pride, to blind us into thinking we are more than we are.

I walked on this road this week, it is time to keep on walking.

I would like to encourage everyone to check out spilledwinenews.blogspot.com if you are interested in learning more about the style of Kung Fu that Jerri is learning while he is here. This is Sifu's blog, and pretty interesting!



The Red Jade martial arts full time students (Jerri and our roommates) were featured on the Creston Valley Radio station this past week! They discussed a little of this student's background and some eastern philosophy. I believe you can listen to it online if you are interested! Although you will have to be better at the computer than me to do so! Good luck, I hope you enjoy it!

A few scattered thoughts

 God's love is so ingenious and victorious that I find God is willing to turn the world around to get me facing in the right direction- Richard Rohr

I (Katie) must say I find this truer than ever since we have made our big move to Canada. Because I am an American citizen finding a job has been more challenging than I expected, and yet I have to consider this a blessing. This has left me with much time to meditate, and reflect, which is something I have felt called to do for the past year. Since my first trip overseas, it seems God has been directing me in two different ways, 1) to live more simply and 2) to sit down and rest. Both of these areas have appealed to me, but have been so difficult for me to accomplish while the world around me encourage other things. But now it appears God, in his grace, has led me to a place of stillness.  I am finally  where I feel free to be free, and I believe I am changed because of it.

This transformation has been not because of my knowledge, or study, or even teaching of Christ, but because of my willingness to finally come vulnerably before him, understanding that I am not in control, and also that I have no understanding of who he is. It is easy and safe to spend our lives trying to be right so that we do not have to face our own fears, but I have come to believe that a life lived in fear cannot be lived in love. And so I had to choose.

I chose to change.

I leave you with a few more words from Richard Rohr's book Naked Now: 


You might think change means losing your sense of order or risking making mistakes including a mistake about your belief in God. Yet even that is okay, because the deadening alternative is much worse. The Holy One does not really need your loyal verbal protection.

Home Sweet Home

Well we are here! Creston is beautiful. Nothing we expected, but everything we dreamed it would be! We have already started getting adjusted in our new home. Jerri started classes right away, if you ask our roomate he is a natural! He comes home every day buffer and more bruised than the day before... he's loving it.
Katie has been job hunting and in only two short weeks it seems to be paying off. She has a couple of possibilities at a coffee shop and at a local clothing store that supports women's co-ops in Nepal!
Sifu and his wife Leanne have been more than helpful. They furnished our apartment for us and even bought us groceries for our first week! Leanne and Katie have already had a few opportunities to connect and they seem to have lots in common. The two are already making garden plans for the summer!
Jerri's two classmates (kung fu brothers) are also living with us... lets just say there is no shortage of kung fu movies being played on our computer!
Today we experienced part of history as we celebrated the Olympic torch coming through Creston. It was quite the ceremony (a party that only a Canadian retirement community could put on) and we believe every one of the 5000 community members were present!


Pictures and Videos will be coming soon!