In honor of my title I am doing something different this week and am first featuring some of our CAST Team's great shops then my post will follow.
Peace angel by Andreatdesigns
Maple cutting board by RusticLogDecor
Col 3:12-14 by angelasheartwork
(When we purchased our 40 acres we were quite surprised to find on the property this old "camp" containing a couple bunk beds and a propane stove. It appeared to have been used up to 2009. Trust me it will not be used for camping again though it makes a good shed!)
I often have mentioned my move from northwest suburbs of Chicago to the northlands of Minnesota. I always thought that Minnesotans & Illinoisans were very similar in our lifestyles and values. (That does seem true for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area compared to Chicagoland.)
But… there are quite a few differences with the northlands. The suburbs where I was from you did not have dandelions on your lawn, a truck in your driveway overnight, kept the lawn a certain height and you put your garbage out only after dark for early morning pick up the next day (do you think we pretended not to have garbage?). Here the dandelion could be classified as the town flower, trucks are not only on the driveway but also the lawn and garbage goes out whenever convenient.
Another thing I notice is that back home in the ‘burbs of Chicago cars shine. They are always kept clean… no one could write anything on those vehicles (except in the midst of a winter storm). Here in the northlands there seems to be a certain satisfaction in their dirt.
No matter what the economic level it seems that everyone has a “camp” or their family has a shared camp. Camp could be anything from a beautiful home on a lake, a trailer on the back 40, or a shack in the woods. No one seems to brag about the value or size of their camp but they do seem to have an unspoken pride in the dirt on the vehicle. If your camp is deep in the woods only accessible by gravel and dirt roads you return pretty caked on with dust or mud, depending on the season. When your vehicle sits in the parking lot at work, “you betcha” everyone knows you were at camp over the weekend. “That there’d be a good weekend” by the northland standards. Where I was from, you’d have hit the car wash prior to entering your garage let alone drive to work that way.
If you were to categorize these people by their differences you may be judgmental of either group but that is not how God sees them. He is not looking at their clean or dirty vehicles nor the height of their grass or the weeds on their lawns. He sees into their hearts. And one constant I have seen no matter what the cultural differences, true Christians are all one. We are one in the body of Christ. Sisters and brothers in Him.
Our cultures at times may collide but our hearts are one. So no matter where we live, who we are with, when we are with those who love Christ we are a part of each other. Etsy has been an incredible example of that. Our CAST Team is from many countries across the globe and yet we are one in Christ!
Peace angel by Andreatdesigns
Maple cutting board by RusticLogDecor
Col 3:12-14 by angelasheartwork
(When we purchased our 40 acres we were quite surprised to find on the property this old "camp" containing a couple bunk beds and a propane stove. It appeared to have been used up to 2009. Trust me it will not be used for camping again though it makes a good shed!)I often have mentioned my move from northwest suburbs of Chicago to the northlands of Minnesota. I always thought that Minnesotans & Illinoisans were very similar in our lifestyles and values. (That does seem true for the Minneapolis/St. Paul area compared to Chicagoland.)
But… there are quite a few differences with the northlands. The suburbs where I was from you did not have dandelions on your lawn, a truck in your driveway overnight, kept the lawn a certain height and you put your garbage out only after dark for early morning pick up the next day (do you think we pretended not to have garbage?). Here the dandelion could be classified as the town flower, trucks are not only on the driveway but also the lawn and garbage goes out whenever convenient.Another thing I notice is that back home in the ‘burbs of Chicago cars shine. They are always kept clean… no one could write anything on those vehicles (except in the midst of a winter storm). Here in the northlands there seems to be a certain satisfaction in their dirt.
No matter what the economic level it seems that everyone has a “camp” or their family has a shared camp. Camp could be anything from a beautiful home on a lake, a trailer on the back 40, or a shack in the woods. No one seems to brag about the value or size of their camp but they do seem to have an unspoken pride in the dirt on the vehicle. If your camp is deep in the woods only accessible by gravel and dirt roads you return pretty caked on with dust or mud, depending on the season. When your vehicle sits in the parking lot at work, “you betcha” everyone knows you were at camp over the weekend. “That there’d be a good weekend” by the northland standards. Where I was from, you’d have hit the car wash prior to entering your garage let alone drive to work that way.If you were to categorize these people by their differences you may be judgmental of either group but that is not how God sees them. He is not looking at their clean or dirty vehicles nor the height of their grass or the weeds on their lawns. He sees into their hearts. And one constant I have seen no matter what the cultural differences, true Christians are all one. We are one in the body of Christ. Sisters and brothers in Him.Our cultures at times may collide but our hearts are one. So no matter where we live, who we are with, when we are with those who love Christ we are a part of each other. Etsy has been an incredible example of that. Our CAST Team is from many countries across the globe and yet we are one in Christ!
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity
Col 3:14
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.
1 Peter 1:22by Phyllis Ducey
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