More Than Ordinary Lives

Smallmouth Bass

We want to update our friends on our journey. Who am I kidding? I really want to show you a picture of my fish. This is a smallmouth bass. I actually caught five today in Arkansas’ Buffalo River. We’ve holed up in a cabin nearby waiting for the pandemic to ease.

But the fish does represent progress toward our own more-than-ordinary lives. As a teenager I lived for fish. And smallmouth caught in a river were my greatest joy. For a few hours today I felt like a teenager again.

Let me challenge you. Recall some wonderful experiences from when you were younger and try to repeat them. Some experiences may not be reproducible. But recapturing the feeling may be possible, if not the experience. I had never expected to catch smallmouth again like when I was fifteen. It’s never too late to feel young.

Drew Coons

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.”

Robert Frost’s poem The Road Not Taken has been debated since being published in 1915. Was Frost advocating following unusual paths, literal and figurative? Or did he express regret for having missed the other choice? Frost himself–perhaps recognizing the value of controversy–never clarified.

Regardless, Kit and I are about to take a “less traveled” path–one made more uncertain by an unknown destination. My nature relishes setting out on an unpredictable journey. Fortunately, I married Kit who has a high tolerance for uncertain adventure. This quality has helped us be effective in ministry around the world.

Our house sells on Thursday. Then we’ll set out homeless during a pandemic. You won’t find a much “less traveled” path than that. We may not be able to blog regularly for several months. Please continue to follow us, though, and with us see what happens. Whatever our journey entails will certainly qualify for, “And that has made all the difference.”

You can always reach us through our website where this blog is posted.

In Our Lord,

Drew

“If you can’t find anything to eat in that cupboard, then you’re not really hungry,” many parents have said. As a teenager, I can remember looking at unappetizing cans of vegetables or uncooked package foods and wondering, “This is edible?”

In the current virus crisis, many are likely exploring the back of their cupboard shelves or the depths of their freezer. I propose taking a creative approach. How can we make this delicious? Take it as a challenge.

I recently found ten pounds of frozen catfish and some onions. Ever wonder why you don’t see slabs of giant catfish displayed in the seafood counter? That’s because the bigger catfish–that is over five pounds–are rubbery and taste fishy. The catfish I had found was from ten-to-twenty pound monsters pulled from our lake last summer.

But I had plenty to experiment with, plus onions. Although everything I tried was edible, the simplest turned out the best. Just dice up some onions–the cheapest yellow ones are fine–and add hunks of the least desirable catfish fillets. Season it to your taste–think black pepper–and throw the mixture in a crock pot for about five hours. The delicious soup is mild and sweet with only a hint of fish. For some zest, dash in a bit of vinegar. Served with some old fashioned southern cornbread, you have a healthy feast worthy of a pioneer. Seriously, it’s not bad.

The isolation and inactivity we are all enduring is a chance to try new things. Let’s make the best of it.

Drew Coons

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is affecting every one of us. Following are some ideas on how to respond:

#1 Remember Jesus’ words. “Do for others what you would have them do for you,” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.” These unambiguous directives are the key to dealing with this crisis. For most of us, that means social distancing and sharing of resources. For others, such as those in the medical community, great sacrifices may be required.

#2   Deal with your fears. Several years ago we published an article, Controlling Fear with Scripture, in a magazine. Un-addressed fears can paralyze a person. You can access the full article at the following link: Dealing with Fear

#3   Strengthen your faith before you need to. Everyone is going to suffer during this crisis. In our Life-Skills mini-book More Than Ordinary Faith – Why Does God Allow Suffering? we explain that the time to prepare is before suffering causes our faith to waver. We give the biblical reasons for suffering and ways to cope. You can purchase a copy (paperback or Kindle) at:  Dealing with Suffering

Or, if finances are an issue with you, we will give you either the Kindle or ePub versions. Just contact us at Contact Kit and Drew or by any other means.

Finally, “Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.”    I Thess 5:11

In Our Lord,

Drew

Social distancing, isolation, hunkering down, and self-quarantine are terms used to describe everybody’s efforts to slow down the Covid-19 virus. Whatever it’s called, the intent is to raise survival rates.

Those of us older–I’m nearly 70–are especially at risk. Being male doubles that risk. I also have the additional risk factor of a poor immunity system. Basically, I’m a virus magnet. In school, I always caught everything first–a canary in a coal mine for my class. Add to that we’ve just sold our house and are soon to be on-the-road homeless.

So what is my survival strategy? That depends how one defines “save your life.” I only have a few active years remaining. Is remaining breathing saving my life? Or does survival mean preserving the potential of my remaining life? Kit and I had hoped to buy a low-maintenance home in Washington State and enjoy the parks of northwest America, British Columbia, and Alaska. We hoped to have an influence for Christ there.

Without jeopardizing others and still doing our part to mitigate the crisis, we chose to prioritize the survival of our lives’ potential over merely not dying. To do so, we will wait for an opportune moment then dash across the country during a pandemic. If we can find a relatively safe home in Washington, we can perhaps realize the potential of our remaining years.

That’s our survival strategy. During the transition, we’ll stay away from people like they had the plague–which some will–wash our hands every chance we get, and take every health precaution. Do any of you who read this have ideas or strategies about how to most safely move across the country and find a new home? I’d love to hear them.

Drew and I hosted an Easter Egg hunt in our backyard for ten years. We usually had about 300 moms, dads, grandmothers, grandfathers and children. I well remember the first year. I made the mistake of going into the house while Drew gave the rules and began the hunt. When I came back five minutes later the hunt was winding down! The horde of children had swept across the yard vacuuming up every goodie. I had missed it all.

The next year I determined to witness the hunt first hand. Again parents, grandparents and children gathered in our yard. Drew gave the rules and off they went. What I hadn’t expected was the sheer joy finding each egg produced. Even with a full basket, the joy of finding another egg produced as much joy as the first.

This spring we and many we know are experiencing a sort of communal death. The organization we have had the privilege to be a part of is forever changed. And each of us is trying to find a way to stabilize our worlds, a way to move forward.

God reminded me of our Easter Egg Hunts years ago. Only this time I, an adult, am attending the hunt and God is the host. After accepting God’s invitation I made a list, God’s Easter Eggs To Me and off I went.

Unlike the hunts we gave, in my God-directed hunt you could go into the house and come back and find me still hunting. Since I am an adult, my eggs are harder to find. Require more effort. But, my list is growing and I experience great joy with the finding of each egg. If I hadn’t already packed my Easter baskets away for our move, I would put a egg in my basket with each addition to my list.

Maybe this year you also need to be invited to an Easter Egg hunt. I would love you to join mine. God has laid before us eggs to find and gather. Joy to be discovered.

You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. Psalm 4:7

The spread of the Corona virus is unsettling many. A little over a year ago we released a dramatic novel, The Ambassadors. The crisis in that story is a deadly pandemic originating in Asia and threatening the world. Dire warnings from medical experts, stock markets crashing, Americans living overseas trying to get home. Sound current?

The novel is classified as science fiction. Although the story includes two charming human-like aliens, nearly all the science is real–that is non-fictional. The plot revolves around a young NASA scientist and a young woman reporter who both carry emotional baggage. They struggle to protect the aliens, understand the essence of being human, and find a key to deal with the pandemic.

The Ambassadors is a rousing and relevant tale. “I’ve never read anything like it,” one Bookbub reviewer posted. If you’re interested, you can buy the novel through either Kit and Drew or Amazon (kindle or printed) at Link to The Ambassadors

Without giving away the novel’s ending, I’ll reveal that mankind is saved through cool heads, courage, and cooperation. That’s what I’m praying for in the Corona crisis.

Drew Coons

Kit in Nigeria forty years ago

According to The Week news magazine, “The US lists Nigeria as the most dangerous place for Christians in the world.” The primary reason is active persecution by fundamentalist Islamist groups like Boko Haram.

Funny thing–this week forty years ago I traveled with two others to Nigeria as a Christian missionary. The country wasn’t any safer then. Muslim jihadists were already killing Christians . . . and also less zealous Muslims. But cholera, malaria, typhoid, Lassa fever, and other many unnamed pathogens gave West Africa the description. “The white man’s grave.”

Truly I cannot describe to you our wretched circumstances and suffering. But we missionaries had each other with whom to commiserate, right? I’m afraid not. Any talk about our challenges was viewed as divisive and indicative of a personal problem with God. Our Nigerian mission director though saw us Americans as safe to blame for everything that went wrong.

Recalling the experience, I remember the initial euphoric feelings of being young, idealistic, and full of missionary fervor. Then later feeling old, fearful, and hopeless. Persisting in that despondent condition was the faith that God honored. Despite many obstacles, God enabled me to provide clean water to 19 cities and towns and see hundreds of decisions for Christ. And God gave me a reward–the sassy, spunky, and charming girl you know as Kit as my wife and lifelong companion.

I heard a D-Day veteran who crossed Omaha beach say, “I wouldn’t take a million dollars for the experience. And I wouldn’t do it again for a million dollars.” Aside from Kit–who is better than a million dollars–that’s how I feel about Nigeria. Somehow enduring the hardest things enriches our lives in a manner good times can not.

Our first novel, Challenge for Two, introduces late middle-aged Dave and Katie whose lives have fallen apart. Katie describes their circumstances. “I feel like our old life was a boat that went over a waterfall with us inside. Now we’re bobbing up in the pool below, glad to be alive, but without a boat.”

People ask us, “Are Dave and Katie Kit and Drew?” No, although we do use our real experiences to create situations for our characters. Dave and Katie certainly weren’t Kit and Drew when we wrote Katie’s statement in 2016. Then our lives were awash with opportunities and excitement. Circumstances are different now. The organization in which we’ve served God most of our lives is changing. Younger leadership, new terminology, and different values have made us not relevant. And getting older makes our previous lifestyle increasingly difficult. Dave and Katie are not us. We have become them.

Where to look for inspiration? Well, our fictional characters to start. Dave and Katie do discover new life and purpose. They choose to be more-than-ordinary and thereby experience adventure and meaning in that novel and three sequels.

I believe God has a more-than-ordinary desire for everybody. But like most things, He doesn’t serve it to us on a platter. When life reaches dead ends, you must search for new life and purpose and work for it. We hope you will join us on this journey in the coming months.

Drew

The lake at our house is a magnet for all sorts of wildlife. This week we’ve had an invasion of water weasels–that is four troublesome river otters. Cute is inadequate to describe their antics playing on the banks and diving in the water. Otters are not shy animals. They confront intruders snorting at them in defiance.

My favorite Psalm has always been 104 all about nature. “. . . teeming with creatures beyond number—living things both large and small.” I’ve wondered why I love wildlife so much.

Maybe it’s my admiration of their freedom and independence. More likely, I relish unpredictability of any kind, which wildlife brings with abundance.

Otters aren’t totally unpredictable. Today we discovered a yard long catfish and a large bass both killed and eaten by our visitors. I remembered another part of Psalm 104. “All creatures look to you to give them their food at the proper time. When you give it to them, they gather it up; when you open your hand, they are satisfied with good things.”

Did God give those water weasels my fish? Then let God give them fish from the river tomorrow. I plan to look for the place they’ve likely wriggled under the fence and then block them out.