rereading one of my favorite books

Travels with Charley. By John Steinbeck
Reading this part made me think of yall. Breakfast on a certain porch came to mind.

"I soon discovered that if a wayfaring stranger wishes to eavesdrop on a local population the places for him to slip in and hold his peace are bars and churches. But some New England towns don't have bars, and church is only on Sunday. A good alternative is the roadside restaurant where men gather for breakfast before going to work or going hunting. To find the places inhabited, one must get up very early. and there is a drawback to even this. Early-rising men not only do not talk much to strangers, they barely talk to one another. Breakfast conversation is limited to a series of laconic grunts. The natural ... taciturnity reaches its glorious perfection at breakfast."

book club perelandra

Mike, Bettwy, David Perks, and I are probably going to start a discussion on the book Perelandra by CS Lewis. Once MacFarlan returns from Jodi-fest! If anyone else is interested then let me know.

pooper scooper
BW

Why are we Far Apart?

Xi nian qui le, wo de peng you! (Happy New Years, my friends!) I love you and am asking consistently for your hearts to live out the words He speaks, with authority, over us daily and that the world might know that He Lives. -Ryan

Why are we Far Apart?
… protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.
‘Why are we far apart?’ I ask.

‘You are the one who left,’ you’d say;

no, no, from such you would refrain,

in kindness wondering on this task:

why are we far apart? Is it

we’ve grown too old to be among

the presence of our Father’s sons?

I snub such satanic hindrance

that says there’s any day we’ll meet

where we can’t share foolish wisdom,

the grass growing through our toes. Some

say we’ve lost the desire, deep

in places where guilty sin stings

the mightiest of men who pray

and stumble through the narrow way,

to pursue the heart of the king.


To this, I offer one brief thought:

to whom else would we go? It’s true,

you are the one who we look to,

the one who is what we have sought

beneath the cracking walls of some

old house in memories and dreams.

You’re first to hear lyrics we sing

among those walls, beckoning us come.

Is it the burden of the helper

standing by, nagging out his life

as she dishes his troubling strife?

No. Let each dear sister know her

life is well-loved among these men

with whom she’s chosen share this space.

May she wear honor on her face

and lend, in turn, the same to them.


Have we viewed mercy so many

times that we know His love enough,

the great love which he had for us

and by grace gave us eyes to see?

Before you give this answer, please

stop and tell me how you have gazed

upon the riches of his grace

immeasurable: how wide and deep?

how long and high? Do get behind

me, Satan! I laugh and ponder,

why are we far apart? Summer

was the last time we sat and shined

mutually in His Glory:

the ripening sun as we jogged on

and watched lightning in a field some

long-remembered day in July.

I see guys everywhere who need

Whoppaheads, and they need to know

they are one with the Father so

that they may be one just as we

are one, brothers living actions

and truth. He made us in His image

to mutually seek his visage,

and showed one body how to love.

Therefore, we’ve wept and seen the cross

(I see it squarely as before),

and bowed, united, on the floor.

We asked for grace (G., grant us grace!):

that’s why we ever came together,

why on separate paths we’ve embarked,

why perhaps one day we’ll unite

and why now we are far apart.

 

-Ryan Bettwy

Advent Study: "The Willard House Special"

I wanted to write y'all to let you know that I'm starting a study on Tuesday, something I'm calling "The Willard House Special." Remember with me the basement of the Willard House which, among other "charming amenities," housed a collection of several books. One of these books, for reasons perhaps some of you know better than I, was Max Lucado's God Came Near, which had a radical number of copies (maybe 30) that I never thought much of except that I wondered what they were there for.

Long story short, I stole a copy last Summer from the House and am going to read it as preparation for Christmas/ celebration of the Advent season (there's 31 chapters, so that will go from nov 24- dec 24). Please keep this pursuit in your thoughts, that it would expose me to Truth and the Greatness that He is in my life.

Feel free to join in the reading if you're looking for something to focus studies, thoughts, the like...let me know if you do. It would be a shame to buy it, considering the likelihood that there's still a bounty in Blacksburg, but as many of us are no longer there, so it may be.