Autumn

The updates have been infrequent lately… But we have had eventful lives these past few weeks.

     We decided to relate to the Fellowship as Novice members – which means we are trying on the fellowship budget and discerning the call on our lives for a future in communal living.

     Work at the furniture shop has been steady, and I celebrated a year on staff there.

      The oatmeal group is continuing on Saturday mornings. Family celebrations are certainly a part of community life. We continue to practice some Sabbath keeping, and we’re learning about the struggle to rest. (It sounds so good in writing, but I have to get the laundry done sometime, and wouldn’t it be nice to go out to eat today?)

     Since Savanah (Candace’s youngest sister) is in school at Asbury College, and many of our friends are studying at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, we made a trip down there last weekend. Halloween is a wholesome event in the “Holy City”. We saw Ryan and Amberly Strebeck, Billy and Kelly Lawson, Jay and Charity Leeson, Greg and Jennifer Haseloff, and  many more. It’s pretty strange that so many people we know are in this little town about 7 hours away, but it’s pretty great too.

     This past Friday Candace coordinated a potluck for the families at Jedidiah’s pre-school. It’s an annual event that we’ve never participated in before. Candace did a great job, and the teachers said it was the most organized potluck they’ve had so far – a huge success. (Think about 100 people in a church gym – approximately 50 are under the age of six, and then think “organized”).

     The kids are still holding on to a little cold, and they’re sleep is off – so our sleep is off. But we continue to pray for health, and God is faithful. We had a house blessing this past week as well – a tradition here, where we go from room to room and invite the Spirit to do creative work in our lives as we tend to domestic endeavors.

     Pop Pop Tom (Nisbett) will be coming to visit again this week. We all look forward to that, but Jedidiah especially!

The Night

Night-time is a time when I lie down at my “post” (my bed) and anticipate the exciting experiences that await me. I smile as I consider the possibilities…Who will be sick tonight? Will some one throw up on me or simply wake up afraid? Will some one have a fever or a stuffy nose? How many minutes will I sleep before the first call? Will it be our cat who awakens me first? Beside my bed I see my special tool for sucking snot out of noses and a pile of tissues. I am ready for whatever comes my way. The night is such an exciting time – to think that I used to sleep through it.

In other words, two sick kiddos for over a week. They seem to be on the up-swing now.

Lilia is 6 months old

This here video is about 1 minute long.

Family Shabbat

     We have hosted a few more visitors lately. Eric and Carmen Kluth from Cleveland (pictured), Rachel, Andy and Hannah Devorak from Jacksonville, and Laura Edwards from Albuquerque. The last few weeks have had a pretty normal routine, aside from the visitors. We have our Saturday morning oatmeal group that has sort of taken roots and runs pretty well without a lot of organizing. This weekend we had 21 people in our living room. It was over-full.

     Our life in community has been very busy, often hurried, and we have given in to worry a time or two. As I think about the past year there are just a couple themes that I have been particularly interested in as I study, think, and dream. One is Sabbath. Our oatmeal group started talking more about practicing the discipline of Sabbath this week, and it seems like something that many of us in families see as a form of worship and devotion that is radical and meant for the whole family. Reba Place used to have a pretty well established celebration around Sabbath, but nobody remembers a regular thing in the past four or five years, so we have some investigating to do to uncover the local traditions.

     Some helpful guidelines as we plan on a Saturday night through Sunday Sabbath celebration: We will rest, worship, and delight in good things. We will not work, participate in commerce, or worry. See how radical that is! It will take us a long time to get it rolling, but we have already started. Shabbat Shalom!     Josh

What's with the new look?

     I am home alone – Candace and the kids are away in Arkansas visiting most of the Nisbett clan. That means I have time for projects. Hopefully there will be a new year in review video ready by Monday.

     Also, I have a few minutes for reflection. It has been a year since we set sail across the great plains in our Budget truck loaded with worldly possessions. A year ago we posed the first WakeUpdate message. It started with this quote: “If you want to change society, then you must tell an alternative story.” We’ve changed the look of our web log based on this anniversary.

     We want to raise our family and to live our life in another frame of thinking from the competitive, individualistic, materialistic main stream. We want to but…

     Just this week Jedidiah started pre-school in what turns out to be quite an elite program. We were blessed to stumble into this slot for a bilingual Spanish-emergent multi-age class, heterogeneous school. At the first informal orientation it was clear that some of these kids come from well-to-do families. Strollers and car-seats are a giveaway. I felt pretty self-conscious about the clothes I was wearing and the way Jedi was dressed. I had to keep reminding myself that we are choosing this other way – not pursuing the status symbols. But I want to tell you that I was embarrassed, even though everybody was very warm to us.

     I could go on about that, but I won’t. Here are some pictures instead!

First day of school pictures

Trip to Clovis

Jedidiah and Josh went to Clovis NM over the weekend to see Katie and Jerri Palmer get married. It was a great wedding, and a great visit. The old church seems to be doing really well, and we got to see a lot of familiar faces – there was a lot of love.

It was a highly relational time. We ate every meal with someone we knew, usually two or more. I met a number of new people through the wedding. Some were interested in the intentional community. Jedidiah was the ring bearer and I was honored to play the part of the best man. Katie’s maid of honor came from Chicago too, so we will try to convince them to make a visit our way before too long.

Hospitality was extended by everyone. Dear sweet Rhonda, my former coworker, drove the 100 miles to the airport to pick us up and bring us to Clovis – she had baked me a pie as a gift as well! We stayed comfortably at the home of Sid and Selena, helping ourselves to whatever treats we found in the fridge. Selena even kept Jedi a couple nights while I tried to keep up with younger single people. My friend and mentor Jim (who happens to be a Church of the Brethren pastor) drove us back to Lubbock. In Lubbock we spent a little time with my friends Keith and Erica and then went with them to a Quaker waiting worship service (I’d never been to one before). Then sister/aunt and uncle Jessica and Chris had us stay at their house before catching our flight the next morning.

Candace and Lilia had a peaceful and restful time in Illinois, napping, and doing girl stuff. When Jedi saw his mom and sister at the baggage claim he was super excited. People in the airport asked us how long they had been apart. He’s a sweet boy.