Life can be peaceful in rural Missouri

Yesterday I sat on the front porch of a little house in the historic town of Leopold, Missouri. The air smelled like summer turning to fall, and the birds were singing, the sun was shining. It was a peaceful moment.
I was in Leopold to put the lockbox on a little house that I am selling there as a Realtor, and doing a few things to help the seller have the house ready to sell.

As I sat on the front step, I thought about what it would be like to live there. My dog, Cleo, was with me, and she was making friends with the neighbor's male daschund. The two of them were sniffing each other and jumping all over the front yard. She was enjoying being with a dog her own size, instead of the 80 pound brother she has at home.
 
The 1.4 acres of land was mowed and smelled sweet. I thought, I could be here, live here, feel at peace here. There is a historic church just down the road built in the late 1800's. I can see its spire from my spot on the front porch; it is lovely and I want to tour the inside of it. The schools here have won awards. There is a small general store that looks like it tries to meet the needs of its community.
 
I am sure that I could get to know people here easily, and I already have one friend that lives here. It felt a little like going back in time, when we were not so concerned about the digital age,(even though I checked and my cell phone did have great coverage there on the porch). And it made me think of all the places in the world to which I have travelled, where the focus is on taking life easier, going slower, and developing relationships instead of just getting business done.
 
History Lesson: In 1856, Reverend John van Luytelaar established Vinemount, Missouri when he and 12 other families went looking for farm land. These families traveled down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi River by boat to Cape Girardeau and then found the community of Vinemount. Other families followed them and the community was starting to unfold. Some of these families were unable to make the pioneer life and left back for Cincinnati after two years of living here. In 1894 the first post office was built to serve the town of Vinemount. In the process of building the post office, they realized there was already a post office in Missouri by the name of Vinemount. This was when a name change was in order. The people then decided on the name of "Leopolis" (City of Leo), in honor of the Pope. This name was rejected and the present name, Leopold, was then proposed and accepted.

Interesting Facts: St. John’s Catholic Church, located on Main Street in Leopold, was built in 1899. Work began in the spring and the church was built in pure Gothic style from native limestone found around and near the town. Parishioners of St. John’s did most of the work on the church themselves. In May 1944, the Shrine of Our Lady Queen of Peace was dedicated to the members of the parish who were serving in the armed forces. Children of the community were asked to find the stones used to construct the shrine. After the shrine was built, evening Rosaries were said for those serving in the armed forces. The prayers for the safe return of the service men and women have worked, for not one member of the armed forces who lives in the Leopold parish has failed to return home alive.

Sometimes, it is meaningful to take a moment and appreciate the history of a place. I wonder why life was so hard for some of those early families that made them return home to Cincinnati and I could imagine the pioneers working hard on the land, creating farms for food and commerce. I wonder what the families that stayed saw when they looked around their new community, and how they conceived of building a limestone Gothic church in this remote newly adopted home.

Check out my listing on www.homesbyreno.com or www.semohousehunter.com or www.houseviewonline.com
Maybe you will find the same peaceful experience I did.




 
 

Chasing Francis...Someone send me to Italy, please.

A sort of review of Chasing Francis by Ian Morgan Cron

Fiction wisdom literature is an interesting genre in Christian publishing, and it has been revived in recent years. This genre had mostly been used for self-help or even new age authors trying to pass on a story with underlying morals, principles, and yes....wisdom. I generally stay away from Christian fiction, because I am an English Literature major, which means I am a snob about good writing, and except for the exceptions like Madeline L'Engle or C.S.Lewis who are in a category of their own, the fiction I read is generally not published by Zondervan.

Think of when The Shack exploded onto the market a few years ago. When I read The Shack, I knew it was fiction and read it as such. People were recommending it as a must-read but they all refused to give you any details. "You have to read it for yourself," they said. I heard preachers praising it or condemning it because some thought it was being portrayed as an actual experience and that scared them, and some thought it had some new and interesting thoughts and that excited them. What I took from reading it was that God was awfully fond of me, and I like the idea of God having a good sense of humor. While I take my faith very seriously, the novel introduced me to the possibility of a sense of playfulness in my relationship with God.

Reading a blog recently that praised a new book, I went to the website of Ian Morgan Cron and saw the chance to download two chapters of his new book, Chasing Francis. Reading those two chapters made me laugh and made me cry....and I immediately went to Amazon and ordered the book. When it arrived, I was disappointed to discover that the book was a work of fiction...wisdom literature it was called. Don't get me wrong....I am a fiction junkie. I often read 100+ books a year, and over half of those would be fiction. But those two chapters had led me into believing this was someone's real life account of their experience, and I was hooked.

I wanted to vicariously follow this stumbling pastor who had lost his way and see what he saw on his pilgrimage in Italy. I wanted him to be a real human being that I could relate to, and not just use his story as a fictional escape from my own life.  Like The Shack, The Celestine Prophecy, and many others, Chasing Francis has a fabulous idea, and pulls you into a story that keeps you going.....until the third last chapter or so....every one of those authors seems to have a little schmaltzy lag in the story line around that part of the book, which in this case, revives again, even with a fairly predictable ending. Chasing Francis has its' lag when the hard-luck, clumsy but beautiful single woman from his congregation chases him to Italy.

The pastor has this perfect (and much coveted by me) opportunity to find himself in Italy. He conveniently has an uncle who is an Italian Franciscan monk who takes him on a pilgrimage, following the life work of St. Francis of Assisi. I learned a great deal about the saint's life that I never knew before, and it made me want to read more about this rich kid who turns his world upside down and restores the faith and the church of a community in rural Italy (Francis would be considered a bit of a celeb today, maybe even a bit of a nutcase, but loveable and very admirable in his faith). In the process of his pilgrimage, the pastor meets with the wise hermit who can give wisdom just by his presence, the jovial friar, and the clumsy woman who wins his heart. All the characters help him in his inner pilgrimage to "restore the joy of his salvation".

It is different when an actual autobiography or even memoir where the author tells a story of what actually happened, but when you are making it appear to be a memoir, and it lapses into schmaltzy, even if for a chapter or two, it is deflating for the reader because you want so badly for this to be a true actual real story. I REALLY DID!!

I did greatly enjoy the book, and would hope that Mr. Cron would not take offense at the word schmaltzy, as his writing has moments of brilliance and despite the one chapter, the reader is left with a connection (with the pastor's struggles), a sense of wonder (at the life and work of Francis of Assisi) and longing (I too would love to take the same pilgrimage). If only I had an uncle who was a Franciscan monk and would invite me to Italy.....alas, none of my uncles would ever qualify as monks.




 

Shining a little Light into Darkness

Light vs. Darkness

Two friends shared extreme opposite views on their FaceBook status this week. One, a woman whose blog I love and follow, said  "How can light enter the dark if Christians are too afraid of what the dark will do to them?" She was in Asia, seeing the destructive side of darkness personified in the sex-trafficking of girls in Cambodia. She wants to shed light into this darkness. 

The other, a guy who works in a prison and sees darkness everyday, posted a photo that he says looks tame compared to his workplace. Everything about the picture made me think of living in darkness. Grimy people using their middle finger, lying or crawling on the ground like Zombies; it seemed to me to personify the hopelessness I imagine the world might hold for people who have no faith in God and do not live in the Light. 

As a Christian, and as a Victim Advocate in the legal system, I know there is evil in this world. One defendant recently walked out of the courtroom where he was given probation after beating up his girlfriend, and declared, "I just made a deal with the devil." He went on to beat up another man very severely and is now in prison for the next 7 years. Some deal. John 3:19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.

I appreciate the fight against darkness that Jamie (FB: Jamie the very worst missionary) and so many others are in thick of, often standing toe to toe with evil on a line in the sand. That is why I am doing the job I have (in spite of low pay and few perks) as a Victim Advocate. Every morning as I drive to work, I pray...for not only the victims of crime that I spend time with, but also that the whole armor of God protects my heart and my mind in the hearing of how often children and women and men are treated by other human beings in a ways that make your stomach turn and your eyes want to weep. I do it because I also strongly believe in the power of The LIGHT. John 8:12 Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus is the light in the darkness. 

Ephesians 6:10-12: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

The only way we can fight the fight is covered with the armor of God. There are a lot of pieces to this "armor". Ephesians 6:13-19: Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith,with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. 19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. 

The good news is that we can make a difference. John 1:5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The darkness does not win. "Evil only happens when good men and women do nothing" as Edmund Burke said. Put on your armor...it's time to fight.

Special Words....

Our Director of CE and Youth Pastor, Emily, a wonderful and energetic young woman, is off to Texas with a whole bunch of teenagers to go to a National Youth Convention event.

19 of them and her, I think I heard. Traveling on a bus for a few days...fun, fun!

As a member of the church where Emily works and ministers, and as a writer, I was asked to create notes to some of these 20 young people as they attended this event and travelled back and forth by bus. One of the fathers had the idea that a surprise note for each person attending this event every day would be a good encouragement to them. (I hope he is right. )

So I did that - wrote 9 or 10 notes to the young people whose names I was given, and one to Emily as well, as she was also on my list. I was to write a note for the individual for a certain date of the trip, and these were to be handed out on the bus every morning.

It was an interesting process, writing these notes. I spent time in prayer before writing each one, and asked the Holy Spirit to guide my thoughts as I was writing, and to touch each person as they read my notes. I wrote from my heart and what I thought God wanted me to say. Then when I was done, I re-read what I had written, and was quite amazed at my audacity. Well, actually, not mine, but the Holy Spirit's boldness. These were not words I would have ordinarily written to people I knew, even if I was their best friend. The words all spoke directly to certain issues, and believe me, except for Emily, I do not know these kids. But God knows their hearts, and what they need each day of this important week.

Mark 13:11 "Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit."

And I was reminded that God does know our inner heart, knows us better than our best friends, or even our boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, or our parents. God's Holy Spirit amazes me continually, and gives me information and direction about how to live my life to please God, if I only listen. That's why I have two ears and one mouth, I also keep reminding myself. Not to sound weird or airy-fairyish, but I know that if I listen, God will give me direction. And innately, I already know what was right - in God's eyes - and what I need to do, because I am a much-loved child of God.

As children of God, we have not only the right, but also the privilege, to be directed by the Holy Spirit. We are to be guided and comforted by his nudges to do what is right in the eyes of God - not in our own eyes, because we often have warped views of right and wrong based on how we were brought up, or what experiences life has brought us, or past poor or wrong decisions we have made. However, if we have given our hearts and lives to God and his forgiving love, we can take a quiet moment, and actually listen to His Spirit's gentle nudge. I say nudge because God rarely speaks with thunderous tones. If He did, we would all listen, wouldn't we?. No, it is with quiet nudges and gut impressions, so that we will slow ourselves down enough to listen...and understand that this is God's direction, not our own.

Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit".

So as you go through your day, with continual choices to make, I pray that the Holy Spirit of God will guide you with joy and enthusiasm!!