July changes

squash, nasturtiums, and marigolds growing

ah, the verdency!

sean, rock's partner, helping to renovate a storage shed

storage shed renovation

soon to be a cuke

Prayer Update #4

Summer is flourishing. We've had a great season of warm days, enough rain, and beauty all around. The first Board of Directors meeting of Lagom Landing will be held this coming Saturday, July 24, and we ask your prayers for that. It's exciting to be able to share this journey with others, and we give thanks for those who are so gifted in areas we lack! We'll take their photos this weekend and post bios and photos next week.

We've been working hard on the business plan, forming partnerships, and the legal and financial details of Lagom Landing. New terms and legal language is daily joining our vocabulary!

Rock and I have had quite a July in our family life. Mary, Rock's ex-wife, and our kids'--Jake (23), Rose(20), and Peach/Violet (18) mother--has been struggling for six months with a re0ccurence of breast cancer. She died in hospice on July 5, surrounded by family including all three kids. All three have been an inspiration, showing compassion along with strength, courage along with an ability to laugh, and a thoughtfulness to others, even as they have undergone such loss. We've interspersed mourning with celebrations: Jake turned 23 on the 8th, calling hours, service, and a reception honoring Mary's life were held on the 9th, Peach's high school graduation party was at their home on the 10th, Barry (Mary's boyfriend) celebrated his birthday on the 14th, Rose turned 20 on the 15th, and Rock celebrated his b-day on the 19th. The celebrations have been occasions to come together and celebrate life, and have been truly fun, even hilarious at times. So we give thanks, especially for all the beauty Mary brought into the world as an artist and mother.

The last five photos of our garden were taken by Peach, who has lately been exploring this form of art and receives a lot of life from it. She'll be starting at the University of Buffalo this fall, majoring in environmental engineering. Rose will continue studies for her speech pathology degree at SUNY Plattsburgh this fall and is up there this week moving into her apartment. Jake continues to build up his construction skills, and is up with Rock this week in Albany, helping some friends on an addition. Please be praying for all the kids as they work through this time. May they be surrounded by the support they need as they continue the process of grieving.

We'll share more about Lagom Landing in the next update, but thought that an update on our personal lives was in order, as it will definitely effect the future of everything!

These words from Psalm 84 echo through my summer days:

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts."

With "dwelling place dirt" in my fingernails and love in my heart,

Laurel

mom and dad in wny 06\2010 (49 photos), by Laurel Nelson

Laurel's mom and dad, Jane and Kent Nelson, visited for a week in June and helped out as we continue to settle into this place. Dad removed a bunch of fitzer (sp?) bushes and helped stain the deck that Rock built last fall, and Mom helped a ton with finishing up the planting and getting the house organized. Rock and Jake also gathered some stones out of the woods and made garden paths to keep our feet from getting muddy. They're looking great, and we'll continue working on them this week. I threw in a few photos from my mom's camera of her visit to see my new nephew Everett and his parents Lindsey and Keith, and my brother and his family--girlfriend Meredith, neice Abbey (10) and nephew Jack (9). Click here to view photos

One-page program description edits

I changed the March 15 post and updated it according to the work that's gone on the past few months. It's good to be getting things a little more focused! Have spent much of the week connecting to others running young adult programs, and it's making me excited to be in this work!

Prayer Update #3

May 31, 2010

Good people, most Royal greening verdancy, Rooted in the sun
You shine with radiant light.
In this circle of earthly existence, you shine so finely, it surpasses understanding.
God hugs you.
You are encircled by the arms of the mystery of God.
“Encircled”, by Hildegaard of Bingen

These words hang on our fridge, and have come so alive to me in the past few weeks. It is high spring. May, in all its glory, does indeed “shine so finely.” Biking on the country roads around our home, we plunge into tunnels of “most Royal greening verdancy”, truly “encircled by the arms of the mystery of God.”

The beauty and wonder of this experience is beyond words. It does “surpass understanding” and I find the words of of Bob Marley echoing around my insides: “Thank you Lord, for what you've done for me. Thank you Lord, for what you're doing now. Thank you Lord, for every little thing.”

So in this spirit of rejoicing and gratitude, Laurel and I greet you from Lägom Landing, encouraging you to find that place where “you are rooted in the sun”, and humbly remembering your own brilliance. That you are a totally unique, created wonder, “shining with radiant light in this circle of earthly existence.”

How often we forget and how difficult it is for us to rejoice in ourselves—the incredible gift of being brought forth into this universe. “Life on Life's Terms” can beat the wonder right out of us. We may have the capacity to appreciate the unique gifts and personalities of others, but can we extend that appreciation toward ourselves? Can we grasp the truth that we “shine so finely”, that “God hugs us”?

10,000 Maniacs sing it well in “These Days”:
“These are days you'll remember, when May is rushing over you . . . to be part of the miracles you see in every hour—you'll know it's true, that you, are blessed . . . you'll know that you are touched by something that will grow and bloom . . .”

Yes! May is calling us to grow and bloom and Lägom Landing continues to sprout new growth. Raised bed gardens have been built, 10 yards of new topsoil and manure added and planted with a few of the seedlings that we've been raising in our window, plus some store-bought plants, and some hardy seeds stuck into the ground directly. We've been blessed with a warm spring and great planting weather. Flower beds surround our little blue house, and the yard is coming into shape; all remind us that we are but caretakers of this gift. That ultimately ownership is an illusion. It is all Gift. We have an acute awareness that only through grace and resurrection power can Lägom Landing sprout, grow, blossom, bloom, and bear fruit. “No branch can bear fruit by itself but only if it stays joined to the vine . . . I am the vine and you are the branches. If you stay joined to me then you will produce lots of fruit.”

The business plan for Lägom Landing continues to take shape. We are grateful for the counsel of our local Small Business Development Center, which has helped us immensely in putting onto paper the nuts and bolts that will help our vision come alive. This is a very specific answer to our prayers in the first prayer letter-- Lägom Landing is looking less and less like trees walking!

The Board is still in the process of being formed and we ask for your continued prayers in this area. We also ask for guidance, creativity, and wisdom as we begin to look at how we will market the unique opportunity that Lägom Landing offers young people.

I close in deep thanksgiving. For May, for the gift of life, this place, this opportunity, for my wild and wonder-filled partner Laurel Dee, and for you, my friends and family. You are all the hands and face of God to Laurel and me. Thanks.

Love,

Rock

Just updating with a spring photo of our sunset view, as well as a pic of Bennie and Kitty Ruby, who are good buddies.

Calling Hours in Wyoming

It's a rainy day, and I'm reflective, and not being very productive, so I'll write a bit.

Most of you reading probably know Rock and I, and know that last year at the end of August, I left my position at the First Presbyterian Church of Wyoming, and the two of us moved to Dansville and enterred into this new call to provide a gap year/foundation year/interim year to young adults.

Rock and I have lately been talking about how this year or two of planning and preparing offers time to experience for ourselves what we hope to offer not only to the young adults who live with us for a year, but also to the board and supporters of Lagom Landing.

It's challenging to live differently in this 24-7, fast-paced, technologically driven world of ours. How do we live faithfully pursuing what gives us life?

The land and the quiet, the birds and the trees have already served as such a gift for us.

But some encounters over the weekend also remind me of other places that offer me life, and of remarkable people who model good living.

Wyoming, NY is a unique place. It carries a sense of the old ways with it, even though it is not immune to the problems facing so many rural U.S. communities. I loved being able to nurture relationships with the grocery store owners who've run the store for over fifty years. A lot goes on in that store's back room. Delicious Apple Sausage (and now blueberry, apple-pumpkin, elderberry, chorizo, italian and even pineapple varieties too) is shot into casings. Inventory is unloaded, usually by volunteers who offer their labor with love. Cans are recycled. Signs and equipment are stored. Coffee, a great piece of toast, and friendly conversation and hospitality are freely offered to anyone needing company. Even though the store has not been able to keep up with competition from larger stores in nearby towns, and now barely ekes out an existence by selling that specialty sausage and other fresh meat, some dairy products, and beer and cigarettes, it continues (as it has for who knows how many years) to serve as the communication center of the village. Anything shared there can and will travel within minutes to all corners of the community.

Those who are no longer able to do what they used to do sometimes wander to this back room for conversation, for connection. A good friend who died last Wednesday hung out there a lot in the last year as he recovered from a bad hip injury, as well as cancer treatments.

On Friday, Rock and I attended his calling hours, which, following a long-standing family tradition, were held in his daughter and son-in-law's home. Calling hours in a family's home are completely different from calling hours in a funeral home. Friends and family cleaned out gardens, scrubbed the house clean, and rearranged the furniture so there would be a good channel for people to flow through. People lined up from the front door all the way back to the sidewalk, and filed into a dining room and family room where the person who died shared countless meals, played poker and euchre, opened presents, held babies, and argued and debated year after year. Offering condolences to family in the place where they spent time with the deceased feels miles different than doing so in a sterile commercial funeral home.

At the end of the family room, our friend was laid out in a simple pine coffin with rough rope handles, which was (as per his strict, and quite vocal request) constructed lovingly by his son in law.

Around the corner, in the kitchen, friends gently asked mourners if they would like a cup of coffee or some water. The table was spread with the best-baked goods in three counties, juicy bite-sized fruit, and hot dishes of comfort food made by friends and family and even local businesses that cherished our friend and reached out to his family.

All this reflects a deep-seeded theme of our friend's life—pure joy in the simple things of family, hard work with one's hands, and the pleasure of friendship. A trust in the old values and in keeping things simple.

As I sat eating home-made mac&cheese on the sun porch at those calling hours on Friday, I distinctly felt the spirit of Christ shining throughout the home filled with everyone our friend loved and laughed with. Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote that
“Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.” (sic)

I saw Christ in the face of our friend, and also how Christ's love has filtered down to his family and friends through 77 years of loving investment.

It made me want to live well.

It added enjoyment to my running a half-marathon a day later. To seeing "Love, Janis" performed at Rochester's Downstairs Cabaret Theatre and reflecting on the passion flowing through Janis Joplin's veins.

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose" (those weren't Janis' words, but Kris Kristofferson, but they sure have irony as I reflect on her life).

We all have freedom to choose life or choose death, and our choices certainly accumulate.

It's been a major transition for me to leave full time work, and to still feel like I'm contributing to the world. It's also tough not to waste the day on the internet, catching up with friends, sortof, but, more accurately, procrastinating.

Running, as well as weekly attendance at the Mercy Prayer Center for 30 weeks of learning from St. Ignatius Prayer Exercises, have been two touchstones centering me throughout this transition. I'm grateful for the gift of prayer in my life, and for running over quiet roads as they've blossomed into springtime.

Finally, I'm grateful for the gift of having lived six years in a community filled with many who aspire to fill their days with that which brings them life.

Thank you, Wyoming.

Prayer Update, #2

Lägom Landing
Prayer Update, #2
April 18, 2010

The skis have been stored away in the shed. We have said goodbye to a wild wonder-filled winter. A new season is upon us. Spiring is bustin' out all over.
Forsythia speak to us in golden glory. The fragile spring blossoms say change is in the air. Biking the beautiful country roads, all the senses are engaged--the fresh smells of spring, buds on trees waiting to pop, birds singing expectantly. All witness to me of life that cannot be contained. Resurrection energy is at work and play in all of creation.
Laurel and I sense this power working within us. The Spirit is gently leading us to let go of the old and safe and open up to something wild and new. It is a time of getting ready, of preparing heart and body and spirit for a brand new thing.
Part of this process for Laurel is running. Clarity, connection, and life flow in as she runs. She has signed up to run the New York City Marathon in November, and will train with the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation benefit team. She has a new comprehension of Paul's words to the Philippians: “Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what lies ahead, I press on toward the finish line of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
As we “press on” together in launching Lägom Landing, we ask for your prayerful support in this time of getting ready. With strain comes new strength and freedom. Pray for the willingness to be stretched, to seek a power greater than ourselves, to be formed into healthy channels of the BIG Place to a planet in desperate need.
We seek wisdom as a board is formed for Lägom Landing. We ask for prayer that the Spirit would guide this process, that those who would say yes would respond out of a creative call. And as we continue the application process for nonprofit incorporation, we need to be patient.
It's hard to put it any better than The Hothouse Flowers in their song “One Tongue” (we encourage downloading it!):

Give us the strength to look straight at you.
Let doubt be the furthest from our minds...
That we can be here, and know that we should be here,
and we can see the light inside.
As it gets more complicated,
simplicity must arise,
so we can follow in this feeling, and we can keep this song alive. . .
Yes, there are many many questions.
Yes, there is red tape all around.
The simple truth can cut through anything . . .
Talking “one tongue.”

We experience that “simple truth” in the beauty of this place. Pruning back overgrown shrubs and trees is a therapeutic way of “cutting through” the complications of red tape. Starting seedlings, clearing land, planting the gardens, brings hope in a tangible way.
We know there is much to do, but we have faith in the Risen One, who brings forth the springtime and who empowers us in this adventure. We are grateful for uplifting visits from friends and invite you to come and see this good place for yourself!

In the one tongue singing, “Christ is risen”, we send love to all,

Rock and Laurel