VoteSmart

Ten weeks in Montana on a ranch 12 miles down a mostly unused road with no cell reception and a room door that doesn't enjoy the idea of closing. It's going to be an adventure, but it already has potential to include both working hard and a lot of laughing. Here's an idea of my new home:

Turkey tracks. The guy in charge of the property has decided to feed a local flock of wild turkeys, so now they know to head down to the barn every morning for breakfast. I view them as "mildly domesticated." Other critters include the lodge cat and the four ranch horses. 

Here's the barn. My roommate and I fed the horses today, which was a lot of fun. All of them are adorably fuzzy, as is appropriate for this much snow. All the snow. I want snow shoes.  

Moose Lake. Haven't seen a moose yet, but apparently they pop up occasionally.

Basically it is gorgeous and peaceful here. I'm excited to do some more exploring after I get used to the altitude a bit more. Definitely an altitude wimp here.

Musings on Javert

All of us have presuppositions about the moral foundations of the world. Some have articulated these ideas clearly, but most simply work off of cloudy ideas that we learned in childhood or from knowledge accumulated in our lives. School, work, religion, friends, family - these all influence how we define morality. Anyone who crashes into a situation that contradicts these presuppositions suddenly finds themselves on shaky ground.

I find myself thinking a lot about Javert recently. An honest man, but fatally flawed. He could not adjust his foundational ideas when confronted with more profound truth. Grace could not coexist with justice. Love could not be a law. Black and white had to rule, with no room for grey.

All of us have Javert moments when it feels as if the world has been turned inside out. I'm sure it is rare for reality to mirror the clarity of Les Mis, but still, every day holds the possibility of a challenge to our beliefs.

My hope and prayer is to never act like Javert. To accept grace instead of giving up. Our presuppositions can only take over our lives if we allow them.