We literally traveled 5 days for a 2 hour appointment with an electrician and the dropping of a load of furniture at our new second home in the middle of a small Amish community in North Western Montana. We bought the property a few weeks ago from an Amish Pastor who had moved to Ohio. We met our tenants who are also Amish and have 10 children from 19-years of age to newborn. It was such a pleasure to meet this family. Many Amish live very simple lives and do not use electricity. This family does use electricity, they have a cell phone, laptop and even an email address.
Thinking of my own children, I had asked if their 19-year-old daughter was able to take online college courses from home and learned that they educate their children through high school while learning the art of home making, sewing, cooking, baking, and educating and caring for young children. In the garden hung a recently skinned deer that the boys would help their father grind into meat patties. It was fascinating and made me realize that I better teach my kids how to cook. And it’s amazing what we don’t learn while living in modern society where our needs are met by 24 hour supermarkets and 18 wheelers shipping in our food and gas.
So back to the road! While traveling across Utah I tuned into the radio to hear the Sounds of Sunday. The Minister spoke about the anticipation of Christ’s Birth and the joy and hope that his birth represents for Christians around the world. The miracle of the Virgin Birth shows us that God can do the impossible. The birth of Christ gives us a sense of renewal both in our hearts and in our homes as we prepare for Christmas. This particular broadcast has been in effect for 82 years. They played organ music and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sang several songs.
In total I listened to 3 services – might as well focus in on God while hurtling 80 miles and hour across space and time to get home. The countryside was spectacular and I felt as though I could see the presence of God expressed through nature. The other 2 services were about the Atonement and living a Pure and Chaste life prior to marriage. Both fascinating!
There is a man in the Philippines who has nails driven through his hands each year to atone for his sins. The point of the service was that we do not need to take such extreme measures. The man could make a choice to stop sinning, ask for forgiveness and repent. He asked us to stop rationalizing away the seriousness of our sins, make no excuses and face the nature of our sins head on.
The talk on Personal Purity and Chastity was interesting. The speaker declared that we must be bold in our openness on the topic even if it makes us uncomfortable. Many religious faithful feel as though they are raising their children and teenagers in a media driven, peer-pressured battle field. As parents they want their message to get through to and protect their children. And I was focused on possibly teaching my girls to cook! I would love to listen to this message again and even include my teenagers so that they could hear this perspective. It was pretty much an eye opener – passion and lust and fire! Oh my!
Thank you God for keeping me on my path – almost half way there!
Here is the link to the Sounds of Sunday! http://soundsofsunday.com/
Music for the Road – http://mormontabernaclechoir.org/info/person?person_id=1
52 Churches 52 Weeks 