Carney's preparations for serving in South America

Thanks for checking out our blog! Here is where we'll chronicle the "learning opportunities" God provides for us as we seek His will in partnering full-time with Christian Veterinary Mission in Bolivia

22 June 2013

The chicken church

Have you ever thought of the church or a sermon being like a chicken?
We Americans love our processed food--Some sources say McDonalds alone sells 300,000,000 chicken McNuggets annually.  Just think of all the other restaurants and grocery store nuggets!  We are so crazy about our nuggets that those resembling presidents sell for thousands of dollars.
I think many of our churches and books about Christianity are like chicken nuggets--we take bits and pieces and smash them together with some flavoring, chemicals, and a bit of sweetener to make it palatable.  These consumers don't know what a chicken really is or where the nugget comes from, but it is quick and convenient. Consumers of this type of gospel like the convenience of feel-good sermons or quick, preinterpreted stories and devotionals, but surely don't read the whole Bible and think for themselves about it.
KFC has taken one step up from this--they have boneless original recipe fried chicken! You've seen the "I ate the bones" ad, right? I love the stuff--I am pretty lazy and like real chicken without bones, even if it isn't quite as flavorful. So, what is my boneless recipe of the gospel? I have to admit that some days my scripture study is on my phone, emailed right to me from the Upper Room with a hyperlink to the appropriate Biblical text.  This version certainly has a bit of real meat in it, but leaves out the messy parts that make you think "too much"
Next step up? The whole fryer or roaster in the grocery case. Skin, bones, heart, giblets, and skin, but no blood or feathers.  You have a bit of work and thinking to do on your own with this one--it takes a while to cook or to break down into smaller parts.  This is some serious Bible study and worship that gets to the heart of the matter.  These are great churches and sincere believers struggling with the faith and increasing in knowledge. Sounds like the pinnacle? Not quite...
The whole, live bird!  I hope we don't always leave the processing and plucking of the bird to others.  Raising a bird and processing it from field to table is an experience most people won't have in the US in this era.  Along the same vein, I am afraid that many people leave the deep theological thinking to their pastors and don't spend significant time and investment of thought in exegesis or prolonged study of the word or theological concepts.
Thanks for reading this rambling--now go eat some chicken and read some scripture!

13 June 2013

Storm poem

The storm clings to the mountain like a strangler
Wispy fingers inching around the neck.
Thunder rumbles
                                Macabre laughing.
Crack of lightning
                Splits the sky.
The torrent gushes down the red clay
                                 rivulets of blood.
Rain tatters the trees’ clothes.

Finally exhausted
                                The storm loosens its grip
Sun breaks through
                drying tears on the shoulders of the mountain.
The indomitable backbone
                bears many wounds,

but the Sun brings healing and growth to the scars




Today as I drove through Virginia a storm hovered over the ridge, inspiring an odd bit of poetry.  It was becoming rather dark and ominous (poem and the weather) and then the sun burst through and reminded me of how God uses our storms and wounds to bring new life and healing, shaping us as He desires.  Living in the Appalachians and seeing how much they have weathered compared to the Rockies or Himals makes me appreciate God's redemptive power so much more.  The big, young mountain ranges like these are raw and rugged, but the older ones like our beloved Appalachians have their scars covered with the verdant green of God's creation.  He has covered their wounds and given shade and nourishment to the land.  This creates a symbiotic relationship of the worn-down mountains and the lush plant and animal life.  This reminds me of the relationship of us with God--alone, we are craggy and sharp, unyielding and only a few relationships can grow.  With God weathering and watering us we blossom and fruit in beauty.
Yosemite last summer

view of Cumberland Gap from our farm