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Sharing What I Know About the Bible
Two & a half months ago, I shared about an adjustment we recently made in our family dynamic. And as usual, we’re always having to remain flexible. Given the harsh pre-winter weather, I ended up spending more time in the mountains in December than I had originally intended. While that put a pause on my endeavors at the homestead, it enabled me to complete two writing projects that were on my Fall To-do List. Two Bible-Related Writing Projects Messyanic.com is a website of mine that focuses on the Biblical studies I have done over the past 15 years or so. For several years that site sat dormant while I focused…
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Adjusting to a New Family Dynamic
This year marks another major adjustment to our family dynamic. Our Family Dynamic Up Until Now Up until the fall of 2024, our family (of five) has been largely together 24/7. In the late summer of 2019, we bought a second home in the mountains and migrated the bulk of our daily living to up there. Then, in March of 2020, when the world all around us turned upside down, we made our way back to our homestead. With each move, we stayed together, adjusting as necessary to either the environment around us or to the effects of what was going on in the world-at-large. Then, in the summer of…
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Little Free Libraries: Human Connection Venues
A few years ago, our daughter established, built and stocked a Little Free Library at the front edge of our property, because of her personal passion for reading & circulating hard copy books. Thankfully, we’ve had many different people donate books to the little green box perched at our Homestead Stand. I’ve personally enjoyed reading some of them and donated a few of my own. Look Inside! In an attempt to draw attention to this gem in our local neighborhood, I recently took a physical inventory of its contents and published a list to distribute to those who regularly visit us and to those who live nearby. Then, I blogged…
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What Good Is Following the Lively/Baldoni Case?
I realize the pop culture outlets want to focus on the names of those involved in the Blake Lively vs Justin Baldoni legal drama because that’s what gets most people’s attention, but the people who are actually following this case & reading the documents are operating on a different level than many of the general public. We’re using our critical thinking & reasoning abilities. Given that we each have a voice, we can shape the public narrative going forward. We can make it more about the wrongful actions than the people who are making them. That’s what I want to do anyway — because honestly, nobody I know within my…
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Who Wants to Learn From Me?
I’m not a board-certified teacher, but I have a unique set of experiences, skills, knowledge & understanding, and I believe I have value to offer those who are interested in the kinds of things I have personal experience with, adequate skills in, and a personal knowledge & understanding of. And I personally am able & willing to share with those willing to hear from me. And then, while I have a Bachelors of Science Degree in a particular field of study from an accredited university (from over 30 years ago!), I wouldn’t consider myself an expert in that field — because I haven’t kept up with it, and I’m not…
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The Lively-Baldoni Legal Drama
I’ve been following the legal drama currently taking place between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni for the past three months. And a few weeks ago, I started a new Substack publication called Celebrity Justice to lay out the various court filings as they unfold. Since then, I’ve been debating whether or not to blog about it, too, giving my personal commentary. At first, I just wanted to present the facts to whomever might be interested, but now, this case keeps getting more complex and I don’t have anyone in real life to talk to about this matter…and I want to talk about it.
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Free Books at the Homestead Stand
Years ago, when we first built our Homestead Stand, I had toyed with the idea of putting a Little Free Library at the front edge of our property. (I was trying to think how we could better serve our neighborhood and get folks in the local area to come around.) But, with all the other things going on around here, that thought got put onto the back, back burner.
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A Quiet Revolution
Let’s face it. [Keeping It Real] Most of us were raised in an environment where our housing, utilities, food, energy, transportation, healthcare & communications were all provided for us in exchange for money. Very few of us, I think, inherited our housing. (I didn’t.) We more than likely had to acquire it with money. And then we all have to keep paying money to keep it. While some have their own well water & septic systems, most rely on municipalities for these services in exchange for money. And most buy the majority of their food and pay for electricity and/or gas/oil to power & heat their homes. And this is…
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A Man with a Guitar & a Message
Have you seen/heard the red-bearded man singing his song, Rich Men North of Richmond yet? He goes by the name Oliver Anthony online, but his real name is Chris, and he lives in Farmville, VA. He’s not a professional musician, he’s just a man with a guitar and a message. If you haven’t watched & listened to it yet, please do so now. [WARNING: Contains foul language.] (Feel free to listen to it again…and again.) What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Here’s mine…
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Creating a Domain in the Real World
In recent years the Powers-That-Shouldn’t-Be in this world have been shoving us all into the virtual realm, whether we like it or not. And frankly, I don’t like it. I was already quite a bit behind the times, technologically speaking –– as I’m typing this post on a hard-wired desktop computer hooked up to a printer/copier/fax machine that’s nearly two decades old. (And my wired landline telephone is stationed just around the corner, with another extension linked to an answering machine.) While I was on the cutting edge of web-design-from-scratch and the blogosphere nearly twenty years ago, I have failed miserably at keeping up with the latest & greatest of…
