Checking in
I know it’s been many moons since I’ve written, so I just wanted to check back in to let you know that I’m still alive and that all is well.
We’re out in Northern California at the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains in a suuuuuper small town enjoying time with family and being under the open sky as much as possible. What started off as a 2-week trip has turned into an (at least) summer-long stay.
I’ve been taking this brief transition time to quiet down on the blog and let the Holy Spirit do His work as my family and I discern several possible life changes (which I’ll update you on if/when they come to fruition - all good things!) as well as the direction of this here bloggy wog.
As a daily blogger, breaks are necessary. Listening to the Spirit is necessary. Seasons of quietude are necessary. It all bears good fruit, creatively speaking. It’s good for both of us, trust me:)
Just know that I WILL be back to my regularly-scheduled daily(ish) blogging soon. Good things are coming to mind. I miss it like crazy but I know that I have to shrug off the temptation to babble during this season of discernment and listening.
I’ll check back in here in the next week or so. Until then, I pray that you and yours are safe, healthy, and well. May you rest knowing that the Spirit is actively at work in your life and in our broken world as you read these words.
Amen.
Grace + Godspeed,
Jonas
P.S. That photo up there was taken at Donner Lake. One of the most beautific places in the werld:)
Glad you're doing well, Jonas. Good to hear from you. Just wanted you to know, there is some debate among Black folks whether Juneteenth is a "happy" occasion or not. As with so many of our importnat dates it is an emblem of sadness for some. The fact that it took two years for enslaved peoplein Texas to find out they were free is a tragedy which inclines me more towards tears than celebration. Sure, they were free--eventually. But hanging over the story for me is the sense that we should rejoice in whatever crumbs we are given, no matter how imperfect, no matter how watered down, no matter how delayed. Juneteenth for me is the date that enslaved people in Texas had been swindled, bamboozled, disenfranchised for as long as possible before white supremacists were forced to do the right thing. And, therefore, it is complex for me. That said, you will encounter Black people celebrating and wishing each other a "Happy Juneteenth." Because I refuse to stand in the way of other Black people's joy, I won't decry it as some in the community have done. Nevertheless, I personally marked the occasion with tears of frustration rather than joy. I live in the hope that someday this will not be the case.
Thanks for the update. We've been missing your blogs.