MWR : Articles : Carpenter's Line

Articles : Carpenter's Line

Jobless but not idle

How do you deal with life when it becomes mundane? Life has its moments when work is exciting or circumstances are challenging or even blissful. But what about the in-between times? Not many of us derive meaning from mowing the lawn, raking the leaves, cleaning the gutters and doing laundry. What do you do when life’s routines become mundane, when cold cereal turns to mush?

A little over three months ago, I left my position with Virginia Mennonite Conference. As conference coordinator, I had an exciting executive-level position with much responsibility and a lot of flexibility.

Access is enough

The debate about how to stimulate the weak U.S. economy reminds us that our economic system is not driven by government or business spending but by consumers.

Racism undermined

The Help is a memorable new film about civil rights set in Jackson, Miss., in the early 1960s. Based on Katheryn Stockett’s best-seller of the same name, it is not only heartwarming and entertaining but also wrestles with serious issues.

Pilgrims in the Holy Land

On the day my wife and I returned from a 24-day trip to Israel-Palestine, we read an editorial in our local newspaper filled with misinformation about the situation in the Holy Land. I am writing now to help readers understand what I saw there.

Roadside signs of the gospel

Before creating CNN, Ted Turner got his start in his father’s billboard advertising business in Atlanta. Although he would not understand the cultural reference, Dennis Bennetch is the Ted Turner of roadside gospel signs. At 65, his passion for sign evangelism is palpable.

Seven times seven

Among biblical scholars who reflect on the religious meaning of numbers, seven is known as the perfect number because God made the Earth in six days and rested on the seventh.

MDS on TV

Often the network evening news broadcasts end with a human interest story. On March 29, NBC Nightly News featured Mennonite Disaster Service.

God’s grace exceeds ours

Recently, I fired an employee. It was the first time I have taken such action, despite many years as a supervisor.

Bond of brothers

My parents had four children, all sons. When I was 6 years old, the six of us moved from a cramped city apartment to a modest 1,200-square-foot, three-bedroom, ranch house in the suburbs. Sharing a bedroom, stacked with bunk beds, wasn’t a particular hardship. Having only one bathroom was more challenging. Although we lived together in a confined space, we brothers have not been particularly close, partly because we were separated by 10 years, oldest to youngest. Being the “baby,” by the time I was 8 my oldest brother Bill had moved off to college.

‘Blind Side’ sneaks up on you

Brad Yoder, a Pittsburgh-based Mennonite musician and songwriter, is fond of saying, “You can’t make this stuff up.” If the film The Blind Side weren’t based on a true story, as chronicled in Michael Lewis’ book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, I wouldn’t believe it.