I have a half day of teaching today, so since it’s been awhile I thought I’d write some thoughts and plans for Corgi Hollows this early foggy, misty morning.
Yesterday bad storms hit Minnesota. I saw the massive clouds from my location, north and west of the storms. They were impressive. They did impressive damage, too. Tornadoes, hail, winds.
It is eerily calm here at Corgi Hollows this morning, and I drank my coffee outside by my kitchen garden. The temps are chilly but pleasant enough. Grass is green, but leaves aren’t even changing the hue of gray trees. “Spring’s first green is gold” isn’t here yet.
Alex, the new resident cat, rushes out the door at every chance. He is acquainting himself with the territory. He comes back quite willingly, so I assume he has claimed us as home. Ed got him as a rescue, and he had been a stray, so letting him have his freedom here in the country is a little unnerving. But he would simply languish if he couldn’t go outside.
Topaz is aging! I was doing the math and he is at least 11 years old now, sweet, friendly cat. He seems ageless.
His love for children is remarkable.
Ideas are cooking in my head. Something is brewing here. After the wedding in Kyoto I hope to get a new venture off the ground. I have the help and support of three wonderful women, and we, together, have a project that could help us and many, many other people. This idea has been simmering for over a year, now, so it isn’t a fly-by-night whim.
I admit that thoughts in the middle of the night can be some inspiration, especially for topics for Corgi Hollows.
“Watchman, Tell us of the Night!”
Now, that was a thought I had the other night before sleep. We are watchmen. We have a responsibility. “How will they hear without a preacher?”
Now, I am old-fashioned, fundamental, fairly strict and fairly orthodox in my spiritual inclinations. As a believer I am more prone to err on the conservative side of spiritual issues. That being said——Here I stand:
I do not think a woman should be in a position of authority over men within a church body. I can write and say whatever floats my boat here on Corgi Hollows, and people can take it or leave it, but I truly believe Scripture is clear about the role of women in the church.
Yes, I am a teacher. I see examples of that in Scripture, and I do like to reference Deborah, a judge in the Old Testament. She did hold authority in a secular sense. I see no issue with a woman in politics. I think of a woman who held authority in Pakistan for many years, brilliant, stellar, simply genius. She was a true leader.
Margaret Thatcher had brilliance as well. Conservative brilliance, which grated on the liberal mind.
Our own Michelle Bachmann is bright and winsome. Because she is a conservative and gets excited about things she has been pilloried. I, for one, admire her. I actually listen to her.
God gave me a life lesson back in college. I will share it.
On Sunday mornings my dad watched the television preachers. This went on my entire childhood. As we were rushing around getting ready for church the TV was on—and I was exposed to several well-known preachers of the 1970’s and 1980’s.
Jerry Falwell.
When I started to attend the University of Minnesota I had a friend who started to make fun of Jerry Falwell one day. This was back when he was making a foray into political influence. She mocked him, and I asked her, “Have you listened to him preach?”
No. She hadn’t. She was simply spouting the current vibe of hatred against him.
Now, fallen human that Jerry Falwell was, like the rest of us, I have to say that when I looked at his face on the TV I saw kindness. I won’t defend anything evil that he may or may not have done.
But I saw kindness. I saw the truth and wisdom of Jesus being told.
My friend came to Christ a few months later. She had been living quite lasciviously and all of that changed.
When you are tempted to spout a vibe that is hip and cool, ask yourself if there is really truth to it.
As we grapple with Artificial Intelligence we will have a much more difficult time discerning truth and reality. Anyone can deny anything these days.
How easily we are swayed.
The whole debacle with a US President in a painting these past few days proves my point about the fickleness of people without a mooring, a worldview, that is sustainable in this shifting society. This too will be shoved aside and forgotten in a few days, but it should be remembered.
We serve a God who is above all else. The fallen people that we meet every day will disappoint us and hurt us. They will betray us.
Feeling a sense of disappointment over these betrayals is expected. I spent three years healing from a betrayal. Perhaps that is what drove me to define my worldview grid more definitively. I needed a foundation to stand on, a frame to stabilize my thinking.
As a Spirit-filled Christian, I trust that God has led me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.
Have I messed up? Have I suffered? Have I made life altering mistakes?
Yes. I am the worst of sinners, as Paul writes.
Yet God is faithful.
I can look out at my little Hollow and thank God for the earthly beauty He made for me to enjoy. The peace of my place is a gift from Him. He has blessed me one thousand-fold, one million billion fold—more than I can express. My cup runneth over.
This suffering human can say God is Good.
Check your grid. Check your worldview. Check your presuppositions.
Test the spirits, test your attitudes.
Test your “truth.”
Kindness, truthfulness, discipline. These are my 2026 words. They have become so relevant!
I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back.
MARANATHA!