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go here to buy my stock photography Alan Creech
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aaron klinefelter
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  The Summer has been lumbering along. Right now in Kentucky it's very hot and humid. For the last week or so, it seems to have been in the mid 90's (F) and lots of humidity in the air - very sticky. We've had plenty of rain this year, as opposed to last. We're due for another one soon. I thought I'd run through some of the things I've been doing regularly this Summer. You see one of them on the right there - tomatoes. Liz planted this garden and somehow I've sort of adopted these tomato plants. I've put cages around them. I make sure they're tied up, staked up, etc. I take time each day to go out and water the whole garden, along with the tomato plants. I've found myself a little place in the shade of our redbud tree, in that chair on the left, to sit quietly for a little bit while I have the hose set up watering sections of the garden. I try to meditate there - maybe pray a decade of the Rosary here and there. Since we moved into this house, almost 3 years ago, we have wanted to put either a patio or deck in the back but never have gotten around to it. Well, it's finally happening. You can see the progress so far on the left. I'm very excited about it. And no, we can't really "cash" afford it right now, but it'll add value to the house, that's the way I've got to look at it. Listen, it'll add value to my life as well, I'm certain of that. It becomes an outdoor room and will draw us to spend more time out there. Also, we're hospitality people and lately, we haven't done a lot of hospitalitizing. Life has been such that it just hasn't happened like it used to. We want that to change and I believe this will help. It's a huge excuse to invite people over all the time to hang out on the deck. There will be a party very soon - prepare yourself! Fishing is one of my life hobbies. See, even calling it a "hobby" doesn't seem right. It's more than that. It has been woven into the fabric of who I am since I can remember being alive. And I too up that mantle. Lately, it has fallen by the way of life. It's sad. I recently made a point of getting both myself and my Dad out to go fishing. He's more pitiful than me - hasn't been for a long time. So, we took a little trip to Harlan, land of our birth, and fished the old River of both our youths - the Poor Fork of the Cumberland River. It was a good trip. We didn't catch many, too early in the day I think, but it was good to be there, actually fishing. We both remembered what a work-out our kind of fishing is too. I seriously need to make myself do this every week. People who know me, know I love to cook, and that I am pretty good at it. My daughter McKenzie (12) (she's not the only child who has) has taken up this mantle. She loves to cook and has become quite the little chef. That is, in fact, her stated career goal now - to be a chef. We'll see how that works out, but she's got my support. Anyway, we both love Asian food and she's pretty brave when it comes to trying new foods. We have Vietnamese neighbors whom she eats with sometimes. So, we decided, since she now likes it and it's growing on me, to make a batch of our own Kimchi - a Korean fermented cabbage and spices dish. It's basically the staple side-dish/condiment of Korea - they eat it with everything. And we did it! It's not that hard actually, just takes time. So, after 4 days fermenting in a plastic container in the kitchen, we opened it up (wooo hoo! what an odor!) and we now have a very spicy quart of homemade Kimchi. Yes, you can have some if you come over. :)OK, that's it for now. Nobody reads blogs on the weekends anyway for some odd reason, so "see" you on Monday! Peace. Labels: cooking, family, fishing, personal :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: July 18, 2008 >> 10:34 AM my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Ant. 1 We saw him despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with infirmity.I prayed Terce this morning (the mid-morning prayer in the Office) instead of the Morning Prayer. I'm glad I did. I feel now as if it was providential. This is what stood out to me - well, nearly the whole thing, there's only one section of a Psalm in the little hours, but these parts particularly stood out to me as I have felt like this lately. I have often found myself in the Psalms. I'm sure we all can here and there, and that's why they're there for us. So this time, I find myself inside the cries of Jesus, both prophesied and actually, as well as of the writer of the Psalm. And even though these words sound painful, and they are, to read them in conjunction with my own inner goings-on is comforting. Labels: liturgical prayer, prayer :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: July 17, 2008 >> 9:06 PM introducing.... That's Steve Harvey, comedian of the Original Kings of Comedy fame, introducing Jesus. Thanks to Michael Spencer for pointing this out. I've you've never heard of Steve, you might need to stop being so white for a minute and check him out - and that's Ricky Smiley on the keyboards (way too funny not to know about). I'm pretty sure Steve done preached himself happy by the end of this, for real. And I'll tell you what, he might preached me happy too. This is classic stuff. I've sat in preaching services like this. I have room for it. Amaan mistu Steve, Aman! :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: July 12, 2008 >> 2:07 PM in a galaxy far far away...  This is my very good friend Kevin Rains. Today he wrote a little piece on his blog remembering some connections some of us made several years ago. It was a little bitter-sweet for me to read. As he said, two of our comrades have since moved on to a fuller expression of God's Kingdom. Also, the connection we all had after that day, growing for a few years, seems to have faded a bit. That's not necessarily bad. God has moved some of us here and there, shifted our focus, etc. It still feels like something I'm personally lacking though - sometimes. That's a little sad for me.When I was at the event Kevin describes in his post (it began the night of July 25, 2001), I kept a very constant written journal. I recorded my thoughts as that weekend progressed. In 2005 I posted my own memorial post about the same event. The poem you see at the end there was one I wrote after a bunch of us went to a local bar/music club there in Cincinnati one night. I actually have pictures of that time somewhere, probably on a roll of film that never got developed. I'll try to track those down. I love you people - still - believe it. Palmer and Chad, pray for us. Labels: church, emerging church, friends, midwest crew :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: July 11, 2008 >> 8:43 PM benedict on my desk  Today is the feast of St. Benedict of Nursia, the father of Western Monasticism. I've not had a huge devotion to or focus on Benedict most of my Christian life - probably more implicitly than explicitly because I share a drawing to similar monastic ideals. He does sit in my "cloud of witnesses" you could call it - icons on top of my desk in the study. He's there with Patrick, Francis, Jesus the Teacher and the Blessed Mother. Jesus with his burning Sacred Heart takes up residence across the room in a special, central place on top of my book shelves. Thank God for visual aids.I don't have tons to say about Benedict. You can read a sketch there at the link. The thing that always, without fail, comes to mind when I focus on him is that, and consider all he has been and is to the Church, to monks, to many in Orders that bear his name, to Christians all over - is that he was really just a lay person who wanted to find a way to serve and focus on God with others while they were being transformed into the Image of Christ. Not a priest. Not even a Deacon as far as I know. But he is Father Benedict. There's hope there. Pray for us, O Abbot. Labels: monasticism, saints :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: July 10, 2008 >> 10:39 AM my birthday - a meme I still hate that word - "meme" - goofy sounding. So is "blog" but what are you 'gonna do? Anyway, I picked up this deal from Chris Kan and thought it sounded cool, so here you go... The instructions of the meme are as follows if you're interested... 1) Go to Wikipedia 2) In the search box, type your birth month and day but not the year. 3) List three events that happened on your birthday 4) List two important birthdays and one death 5) One holiday or observance (if any) Here's mine - September 25th - pretty cool thing. Events: 1066 - The Battle of Stamford Bridge marks the end of the Anglo-Saxon era. 1789 - The U.S. Congress passes twelve amendments to the United States Constitution: the Congressional Apportionment Amendment, the Congressional Compensation Amendment, and the ten that are known as the Bill of Rights. Only the Bill of Rights were ratified at the time, while the other two were proposed by James Madison but not ratified. In 1992, the Congressional Compensation Amendment was ratified as the 27th amendment to the Constitution. 1996 - The last of the Magdalen Asylums closes in Ireland. Two Births - One Death: 1764 - Fletcher Christian, English Bounty mutineer (d. 1793) 1930 - Shel Silverstein, American humorist and author (d. 1999) 1617 - Francisco Suarez, Spanish Jesuit theologian (b. 1548) Holidays/Observances: R.C. Saints - Saint Finbarr. :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: July 09, 2008 >> 10:25 AM old mountain woman Can I just talk like an old mountain woman (womern as my Mammaw used to say) for a minute? Here's what they do: How's it going Alan (or Berthy, whoever)? Weeell, let me tell ye, I can't hardly make it back and forth to the smoke house any more my back is so bad. And this pain in my elbow is about enough to make a big ole man cry sometimes. They laaaaaw, and did I tell you about my knees - laaww me, I can hardly get up and down some days, it's a sight. All the way down to the bottom of my feet, my right foot that is, my toe or foot, I b'lieve its the gout. In the sweet by and by I reckon all this pain'll fade away. 'Course I don't sit around thinkin' about dying and going to heaven, but you know, all that pain business is true. For some reason it just feels "good" to whine about it sometimes. Sleep last night was at a precious minimum - tossing and turning to relieve the back pain. I mean seriously people. I'm only 41! I feel like I'm fallin' apart over here. It's downright disheartening, I tell you. Liz and I went for a walk yesterday. I actually initiated it. I'd like to stay consistent at that, but I don't have much faith in myself on that one. We'll see. Hell, by the time we got through, I was so stiff I was nearly bent over - riDICulous! It's time to do something about that - let's see if I do. I know, by the way, what to do, it's just a matter of doing it. It doesn't help that I'm likely physiologically depressed these days either. Bryan was talking about his battle with depression lately. I don't have mine figured out as well as he does - I just know it's there, just sitting there like a frickin' lead weight on my soul, and I don't seem to have the strength to get it off. Fortunately it hasn't gotten so bad that I've just chucked everything and given up (although I feel like it sometimes). I keep praying, worshiping with the Church and doing mostly normal life stuff. Anyway, there's that. Peace be with you and me. Labels: personal :::
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three quotes |:: "Then, if we cannot as yet think alike in all things, at least we may love alike. Herein we cannot possibly do amiss." "Keep your eyes on the crucifix, for Jesus without the cross
is a man without a mission, and the cross without Jesus
is a burden without a reliever." "...I am deeply convinced that the Christian leader of the future is called to be
completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self."
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