Steve Haarman

Making Sense of our Story

December 4, 2025

A faith community reminds us continuously of what really is happening in the world and in our lives. The church liturgy and lectionary – commonly used prayers, rituals, scripture passages, and a calendar that follows Christ’s life throughout the year – unfold for us, for example, the fullness of the Christ-event. Christ is coming, Christ is being born, Christ manifests himself to the world, Christ is suffering, Christ is dying, Christ is being raised up, Christ is ascending into heaven, Christ is sending the Spirit. These events are not simply events that took place long ago and which are remembered with a certain melancholy, but they are events that take place in the day-to-day life of the Christian community. In and through the life of Christ, remembered in community and worship, God makes his active presence known to us. That is what Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost are all about. The Church calls our attention to the divine events that underlie all of history and which allow us to make sense out of our own story.December 4, 2025

YELLOW JACKET DREAMING

When you are asleep you

Have no control over your

Dreams or the results of them

They may drift from your

Awareness and then return

In a similar form. Nailing your

Eve’s trough back in place after

A tough winter you see three

Or four yellowjackets coming

Out of their hibernation or quiet

Time. The tendency is to squash

Them before they sting you. In the

Dream they keep coming and you

Call for spray which seems to work

The more you kill, the more that

Show up. This is to the point where

You need to call for help. On an

Adjacent wall there are more than

You can handle do you decide to

Take down the trough and all the

Troughs around the house. You need

Netting and receive apologies from the

The men who were going to store the

Troughs over the winter. One was

Carrying a large jar of canned plums

Which we were going to buy since we

Were now in a grocery store. He suggested

That we put it in the close out bin to get a

Reduced price. I suggested we put their work

In the bin as it deserved close out pricing.

I found myself in Fairbanks, Alaska trying to

Get advise on how to solve my problem. A

Man named Dan asked if I had seen the paper

Which had the retirement notice of my sister

Who had worked in the hospital as a nurse for

58 years. I thought my sister had died, but Dan

Told me to tell my sister to call the number of

A man who had an interest in her. He fixed me up

With a special noise machine which would drive the

Yellow jackets away. I returned home and gave

Up tired. Stanski on May 3, 2023, ^

My sister the paper and plugged in the machine.

The insects left and we began the repairs. I woke

Flower Child

Roses are red

Violets are blue

I love you.

…

IT HAPPENS

Free to be a Pilgrim

November 20, 2025

The question of where to live and what to do is really insignificant compared to the question of how to keep the eyes of my heart focused on the Lord… There is no such thing as the right place or the right job. I can be miserable or joyful, restless or at peace, in all situations. It is a simple truth that came to me in a time when I had to decide about my future. Living in Lima or not for five, ten, twenty years was no great decision. Turning to the Lord fully, unconditionally, and without fear is. He reminds me that I have no lasting dwelling on this earth, that I am a traveler on the way to a sacred place where God holds me in the palm of his hand. This deeper awareness sets me free to be a pilgrim, to pray without ceasing, and to be grateful.Free to be a Pilgrim

November 20, 2025

THE CHOICE BETWEEN TWO AMERICAS

I don’t blindly vote for any party or person.

I support candidates who follow our

Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

Those who have positions consistent

With the purpose of our Creator, by whom

We are endowed with certain unalienable

Rights, “including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit

Of Happiness.” The right to life includes

The life s of the unborn without exception.

I wonder how those advocating abortion

Would feel if their mothers has aborted them.

The Democratic ticket represents an anti-God

Socialism that will fleece our citizens out of

Our hard-won freedoms and hard-earned dollars.

State and local candidates support these positions.

Republican positions at all levels, although not

Perfect, reflect a greater commitment to the

Founding ideals of life and liberty. They defend

Religious freedom; protect the unborn; support

Our military and law enforcement; stand by Israel

Without conditions, guard our borders and

National security; back a conservative judiciary;

And promote fiscal responsibility. We want a strong

America that leads and sets standards not an

America that is decaying from within, and throwing

Common sense and decency to the wind, and is

Doing everything it can to control us. How we vote

In this election will have implications for our freedom.

Evil is on the march. We should pray for our nation.

stanski on october 21, 2025, ^

OCTOBER SUNDAY MORNING

Sunday morning

Bears will win

The third of October is gone

The sun is shining

Leaves are glowing

From green to purple

Birds who leave are gone

Still, many birds remain

There is music

The beauty alone is a song

Lake Michigan has its beat

Pumpkins appear in large

Numbers in the neighborhoods

The smell of the season

Is in the air

We know the year is ending

It is a time for meditation

And thanksgiving

The world is in chaos, but

Still there is much to be

Thankful for as we know

We prepare for winter and

In the meantime, enjoy

God’s gift of beauty

We are lucky people in many ways

Stanski

October 20, 2025, ^

WHEN TRUTH BECOMES OBVIOUS

I want to write without hurting feelings.

I have friends who take the position of leftists.

I have asked them several questions and their answers

lead me to think that they believe mostly the same as I do,

but still take the stunning position of desecrating the President,

some calling him the worst ever.

I ask if they know what he has accomplished and

nothing is the answer I usually receive.

I ask what he is guilty of and receive a few stumbling accusations.

I ask about the Senate probe and the Mueller probe

and point out how nothing was found.

They can only shrug.

They say the President is sexist, xenophobic, racist, genocidal,

homophobic, and imperialistic, obsessed with money,

morally inferior to those in West Europe, desires power,

does not care for the planet or animals and is materialistic.

I am dumbfounded as I listen to these thoughts and expressions.

They have taken the attributes of the left and applied them to the President.

They do not appear to be trying to be clever but are sincere in their beliefs.

I cannot ask where they are getting their information for it is obvious

that it is coming from the mainstream media.

I do not ask if they engage in critical thinking.

I do not argue. I respect them and hope

they know what socialism is and what road

their leaders are taking them down

I will remain a deplorable

Stanski

October 19, 2025

WHEN TRUTH BECOMES OBVIOUS

I want to write without hurting feelings.

I have friends who take the position of leftists.

I have asked them several questions and their answers

lead me to think that they believe mostly the same as I do,

but still take the stunning position of desecrating the President,

some calling him the worst ever.

I ask if they know what he has accomplished and

nothing is the answer I usually receive.

I ask what he is guilty of and receive a few stumbling accusations.

I ask about the Senate probe and the Mueller probe

and point out how nothing was found.

They can only shrug.

They say the President is sexist, xenophobic, racist, genocidal,

homophobic, and imperialistic, obsessed with money,

morally inferior to those in West Europe, desires power,

does not care for the planet or animals and is materialistic.

I am dumbfounded as I listen to these thoughts and expressions.

They have taken the attributes of the left and applied them to the President.

They do not appear to be trying to be clever but are sincere in their beliefs.

I cannot ask where they are getting their information for it is obvious

that it is coming from the mainstream media.

I do not ask if they engage in critical thinking.

I do not argue. I respect them and hope

they know what socialism is and what road

their leaders are taking them down

I will remain a deplorable

Stanski

October 19, 2025

I want to write without hurting feelings.

I have friends who take the position of leftists.

I have asked them several questions and their answers

lead me to think that they believe mostly the same as I do,

but still take the stunning position of desecrating the President,

some calling him the worst ever.

I ask if they know what he has accomplished and

nothing is the answer I usually receive.

I ask what he is guilty of and receive a few stumbling accusations.

I ask about the Senate probe and the Mueller probe

and point out how nothing was found.

They can only shrug.

They say the President is sexist, xenophobic, racist, genocidal,

homophobic, and imperialistic, obsessed with money,

morally inferior to those in West Europe, desires power,

does not care for the planet or animals and is materialistic.

I am dumbfounded as I listen to these thoughts and expressions.

They have taken the attributes of the left and applied them to the President.

They do not appear to be trying to be clever but are sincere in their beliefs.

I cannot ask where they are getting their information for it is obvious

that it is coming from the mainstream media.

I do not ask if they engage in critical thinking.

I do not argue. I respect them and hope

they know what socialism is and what road

their leaders are taking them down

I will remain a deplorable

Stanski

October 19, 2025

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