Curt's Ponderings From The Bioshelter

As I moved my boat out of the brackish swamp into a freshwater stream to collect drinking water, a baby moose lay on the riverbank.   It was perfectly framed in a bed of spring grass, its tiny body and disproportionately large eyes identifying it as a newborn.   In that moment I was filled with wonder; I wanted to stop my little boat and just be with this marvel!                           Every birth is a marvel.   Yet on this Christmas Day we remember that the birth of Jesus was especially marvelous.   Exalted angels combined with lowly shepherds to impart amazing news that is for everyone: the Savior was born!   If Mary pondered these things in her heart, we should, too. In its praise of God Psalm 139:13,15 shows that each of us is born from two mothers: For it was you who formed my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’...

Advent offers a counterbalance to our frantic lives.  It invites us to a darkening, quiet, reflective time.  It asks us to ponder with Mary the order of a disordered world.  With her we wonder why God picked that time and place to reach down and give birth to a new way of being?  Can we birth that hope again, this season, in a world gone mad with consumption?  Can we take one step away from the glitzy enticements of the season?  If you are reading this, it is a certainty that you have already taken many steps away from the things of this world.  Can we all go just a little deeper, no matter where we are in our advocacy?  Can we?  Somewhere deep inside us there is a voice that says “please”,  please put aside the frenzy.  Listen to the urging of that voice! Name one thing that will take you deeper into the season, and then go there. We invite you to take a breath and feel the peace that the Prince of Peace wants each of us to have in...

Third Week of Advent: A Time for Preparation Going Deeper Advent offers a counterbalance to our frantic lives.  It invites us to a darkening, quiet, reflective time.  It asks us to ponder with Mary the order of a disordered world.  With her we wonder why God picked that time and place to reach down and give birth to a new way of being?  Can we birth that hope again, this season, in a world gone mad with consumption?  Can we take one step away from the glitzy enticements of the season?  If you are reading this, it is a certainty that you have already taken many steps away from the things of this world.  Can we all go just a little deeper, no matter where we are in our advocacy?  Can we?  Somewhere deep inside us there is a voice that says “please”,  please put aside the frenzy.  Listen to the urging of that voice! Name one thing that will take you deeper into the season, and then go there. We invite you to t...

'We Three Trees of NYC Are' - Advent Week 2 Going Deeper Advent offers a counterbalance to our frantic lives.  It invites us to a darkening, quiet, reflective time.  It asks us to ponder with Mary the order of a disordered world.  With her we wonder why God picked that time and place to reach down and give birth to a new way of being?  Can we birth that hope again, this season, in a world gone mad with consumption?  Can we take one step away from the glitzy enticements of the season?  If you are reading this, it is a certainty that you have already taken many steps away from the things of this world.  Can we all go just a little deeper, no matter where we are in our advocacy?  Can we?  Somewhere deep inside us there is a voice that says “please”,  please put aside the frenzy.  Listen to the urging of that voice! Name one thing that will take you deeper into the season, and then go there. We invite you to ta...

 The national Presbyterians for Earthcare is posting one Advent devotional each week.  You can find it at http://www.presbyearthcare.org/ I was honored to write the Christmas Day devotion.  I will try to remember to post that devotion at the same time as it comes out on the PEC web site. For now, here is the first week's devotion: Sunday, December 1, 2013, the First Sunday of Advent (Year A) Scripture: Psalm 122:1­9 I rejoiced with those who said to me,     “Let’s go to the LORD’s house!” Now our feet are standing     in your gates, Jerusalem! Jerusalem is built like a city     joined together in unity. That is where the tribes go up—     the LORD’s tribes! It is the law for Israel     to give thanks there to the LORD’s name,     because the thrones of justice are there—     the thrones of the house of David! Pray that Jerusalem has peace:     “Let thos...

The Situation We tried to get away from it all last week, taking a few days vacation when our son and daughter-in-law visited from out of state.   In about the second day of their visit we were enjoying a lively conversation about friends and family.   As the conversation began to wind down, I turned the conversation to an idea about solving a construction problem.   My son and daughter-in-law laughed.   “And once again, back we go to talking about the greenhouse,” they said. The greenhouse project at the bioshelter has been much more all-consuming than either Cindee or I had expected…and others are noticing. In fact, it is not just our friends and relatives, who are affected.   The whole bioshelter project has been affected.   We try to employ the principles of permaculture in our daily life, and one of those principles is to catch and store energy.   Putting so much time and effort in the greenhouse has stood in the way of our ability to do ...

  The Situation It has now been a month since Lasse Holmes arrived to teach a class on Building with Clay-Straw at The Alaskan Ecoescape Permaculture Center , which is also our bioshelter home.   The first hour was truly an uncomfortable experience. Lasse arrived, entered the construction site, looked at what had been built so far, and sat there for the longest time.   He looked at the terraces we had excavated, the house posts we dug into the ground, the trenches we had dug for the rubble foundation, the double-wall framing we had put up to hold the clay-straw and, finally, the roof.   Cindee and I sat with him and wondered what he was seeing.   At first, Lasse was very silent, and Cindee and I began to grow a bit uncomfortable.   Then the silence drew on even longer, and our discomfort grew.   In my experience it is not a common thing for someone to come to your home and sit in silence—at least not for so long. Finally, Lasse began ...