It's Buy Nothing Day!

I'm proud of her

House Visit

Greg Rosser is scheduled for a house visit this Monday, November 12th, from 7:30-9pm. Greg is a mentor of mine. I would not be where I am today (wherever that is) without his influence. Although Greg is a student of Spiritual Formation, I consider him to be a teacher. So come and meet my friend Greg on Monday night.

Stetler Painting

the bruderhof are coming, the bruderhof are coming!

Old friends from the Spring Valley Community are coming tomorrow afternoon to visit. Feel free to stop by and visit with us.

luxus consumption

We must remember that there is nothing in life that is not dangerous, and the greatest danger of all is not firearms, is not edged tools, is not wild beasts, is not tornadoes or earthquakes, avalanches or floods, but it is Luxury; expressed in boy language, it is ice cream, soda water, candy, servants and automobiles; it is everything which tends to make a boy dependent upon others and soft in mind and muscle and to make him a sissy. But hardship, in the sense of undergoing privation and doing hard work like chopping trees and sawing logs, makes a rugged body, a clean, healthy mind, and gives long life. So, boys, don't be afraid to build your own little shack, shanty, or shelter, to chop the kindling wood for your mother, to split up logs for the fun of doing it, or just to show that you know how. Don't be afraid to be a real pioneer so that you may grow up to be a real Abe Lincoln!

If I am talking to men, they need no detailed definition of luxury; they know all about it, its cause and its effect; they also know that luxury kills a race and hardship preserves a race. The American boy should be taught to love hardship for hardship's sake, and then the Americans as a race will be a success, and a lasting one.

-Daniel Beard from The American Boys Book of Camp