KylePierpont.com

saturday evenings growing up in the pierpont home consisted of two things; getting baths in preperation for the Lord’s day, and “A Prairie Home Companion“. this is a radio show like no other. garrison keillor is the host and if you have not ever heard a program you should at least give it a try. in recent years we have not listened to him as faithfully because he has clearly rejected God. he knows the truth but has chosen not to believe it. as i write this i pray that he will accept the truth one day.

there is another show that is in its infant year that shows some promise. the “Tokens Radio Show” here is how the founder of the show, Lee Camp, describes it.

Part theology lecture, part cultural analysis, part old-time radio show,
part good conversation, part good music;
all of it serious, and all of it, for us at least, fun,
and we trust it will be fun for you, too.

i have reservation about Tokens concerning the “theology” part of the show. it seems they have pitched their tent in the emergent camp which means they could be soft in areas they should not be. there is error in the interview with brian mclaren concerning heaven that you can listen to on the web site. so in the end, i’m not sure you’re any better off listening to Tokens vs. A Prairie Home Companion at lease with garrison keillor you know where he is coming from. at any rate there is some good music on Tokens. give this a listen.

In the summer of ‘02 my brother Chuk and I and a group of teens from our youth group hiked a 75 mile section of the Appalachian Trail (AT). We hiked with a guide by the trail name of ‘Circuit Rider’. He gave up his full-time paid position in a ministry to follow his calling to be a ‘hiking missionary’. His goal was to thru-hike all 2000 plus miles of the AT and spread the gospel on his way. On July 14, 2008 he will embark on his 9th thru-hike. Groups join him along the way and he teaches the Bible around the camp fire. We were with him for six days. That week on the AT has surfaced over and over again in my memory over the past six years. Scenes like Circuit Rider reading from the book of John using his headlamp. I remember his ‘followers’, those who he had reached with the Good News along the AT with names like ‘Gorilla Jim’, ‘Splendid Shower’ and ‘Sherlock’. At the end of the week Circuit Rider said something that has stayed with me, “For some of you the Trail will keep calling you back, it may be next year or years from now, but you’ll be back.” Since that section hike of the AT from Salisbury, CT to Lee, MA I have known that I will return to the trail. Maybe in the form of a thru-hike, maybe just sections at a time, but I will return. Maybe the next time it will be with my son K2.

The AT is about so much more than just a walk in the woods. It’s about community and relationship. “Trail Magic” is a term that hikers use to describe “Acts of unexpected goodwill”. It can be anything from bottled water left for hikers on a dry stretch, to the annual festival in Damascus, VA “Appalachian Trail Days”. We experienced “Trail Magic” during our week of hiking. It was a little general store off the path about a mile that sold Stewarts Soda’s and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Circuit Rider bought a round of each for all of us. We had been on the trail for a few days and the novelty had worn a bit, we were tired, some sore, some blistered and Circuit Rider kept telling us we would stop for this piece of “Trail Magic”. We finally made it, dropped the packs and the ‘magic’ tasted sweet.

Jesus used Creation to illustrate many of his points and often Jesus taught under open skies. Jesus was the Ultimate Outdoorsman. The idea of “Trail Magic” is a Godly one and originated with Him. Jesus Himself was the One to bring “peace on earth, goodwill to men”. I like to relate the idea of “Trail Magic” to our thru-hike of the Christ-life. Many times on the path Jesus will drop some “Trail Magic” along the way. Like a passage of scripture that meets a need for you at the right time or a wife and family, or the answer to a prayer. Those are sweet times.

I look forward to the day when I can answer the call and my feet hit the Trail again. Maybe I’ll have another story of more “Trail Magic”.

it’s our last day in the door. we hate to see it come to an end. it has been a wonderful time of rest for the mind and the body. it has been a time of strengthening in the most important relationships. as a result of my time in the door i feel closer to the Sweet Lord Jesus, to my beautiful dark haired and dark eyed wife, to my little blond-haired buddy K2, and to my best bud and long-haired brother chuk. thanks Lord.

we are about to drive down the coast to the shores of eagle harbor for our last trip to ‘good eggs’. if they had a web-site i would link them. they are that good. soft tortilla shells wrapped around pipping hot eggs and your choice of meat (sausage fo me) and a pick of your kind of cheese. it’s about eight hours of happiness, it keeps you full that long. the shop is part of the experience, it’s part surf shop part back porch part coffee shop. great place. anywho, that’s where we’re kickin’ it today.

it is sunday in “the door” and first baptist church was full this morning. it’s warmed me in a deep part of my heart to see my ‘little brother’ in his ministry. he’s been here less than a year and he knows everyone in the town. he has told me stories of many of them. some sad, others not. every time i’m in public with him he has multiple conversations with acquaintances ranging from elderly men or women to fifth graders yelling out his name on the parade route. he loves the people of door county. i’ve learned from him this week.

it’s cool to know we are fourth generation pastors. my great-grandfather Kenneth Dale was a pastor on the back roads of rural Ohio. i never met him but i wish i had. i’ve heard many stories about him and i live in his legacy. my grandfather Kenneth Fredrick has been a pastor most of his life and he raised my dad (and uncles and aunt) to love the Lord Jesus and to love the Church. chuk and i are thankful for our own dad who raised us to love the Lord Jesus, to love the Church and to love the work of the ministry. both chuk and i can’t envision doing anything else with our lives other than loving people and showing them Jesus.

that’s why when chuk and i were asked to sing for special music in church this morning it was an obvious choice to reach back into our past and sing a song our dad taught us to sing, and one we probably sang a hundred times as a family growing up. (i couldn’t get the recording of the actual service, i may get it tomorrow)

so dad, this is to you. thanks for modeling love for Jesus, love for people and love for Church.

the 4th in the door was a beautiful one that we will never forget. we woke up slow and went to bailey’s harbor for a parade. we had to walk for a couple miles to get to the route, but it was worth the walk. the parade route went north on main street of bailey’s (as the locals call it) and then turned west toward us. from our view the fire trucks and old ford cars and veterans of past wars walked toward us with the harbor as a backdrop. music played, the air smelled of bbq and little ones made a scrum for candy. k2 jumped in my arms at the sound of the fire engine’s horn.

from bailey’s we came back to sister bay and enjoyed the park. they don’t have beaches like we are used to in michigan. everyone here just lays out on the grass of the park by the water. chuk and i did a few flips and jack-knives off the pier into the cool water of sister bay. elizabeth soaked up as many of the suns rays as she possibly could and k2 did what he loves best, played at the waters edge. we believe k2 looks a bit like uncle chuk did when he was that age, i also have found this week that k2 is like his uncle chuk in another way. he loves to throw rocks. i remember as a young boy going to a river in utica, OH and while mom would shopped at ben franklin’s chuk threw rocks into the river. he wouldn’t want to leave. k2 cried when it was time to leave the pebble covered beach yesterday. he could have stayed all day throwing rocks into the water. every time he threw a rock he would make an ‘oooooh’ noise. i love that kid.

the day ended with a beautiful nine mile drive up the coast to gills rock. it was the place to be. the seaquist family welcomed us to their place on the water, a warm white cottage on a bend of gills rock bay. we arrived right at dark and were given wonderful seats under the canopy of a massive pine just above the water. elizabeth sat to my right and k2 on my lap, fully reclined to take in the priceless show. two-hundred yards out in the bay a barge rocked gently were the fireworks would be set off. the horizon was a soft glow of orange and the thumbnail moon rose just above the water. the boom of the fireworks filled the bay and echoed for many seconds following each blast. k2 jumped for the first few until he became used to them. he made noises and said ‘uh oh’ over and over. off in the distance we could see fireworks from escanaba, MI. it was the most beautiful setting in which i have ever watched fireworks. after a raucous finale mr. seaquist had walked to the end of the pier with his trumpet and played taps for what we were told is a traditional ending for gills rock july 4th. the whole bay erupted with applause and cheers.

we drove back south the nine miles into sister bay with the sun-roof open. last night all over America there were little fireworks shows, but it would be hard to find one that was more picture perfect that gills rock.

today started at about seven this morning. chuk and i were in base camp by seven-thirty. the weather has been ideal today here in the door. the front that came across the bay last night brought a cool 70 degrees to us today. we had no plan for the day and that was on purpose. it ended up being a very relaxing day of laying in the sun and reading. i am reading a great book called “why we’re not emergent; by two guys who should be”. elizabeth is reading a three book series by linda chaikin “the egypt series” in which she is enthralled. chuk is always reading something. K2 even found a little trite reading of his own this afternoon (see picture below)
elizabeth and i just spent an hour throwing the frisbee (one of my favorite things to do), she is tired. at the moment we are sitting in the shade of base camp/ecology sports using the wi-fi signal in a perfect night. the sun is casting its rays toward us over the glimmering waters of sister bay. david crowder’s tune you make everything glorious flows through our speakers, a fitting song for the moment. we are about to meet chuk for some first rate ice cream. we’ll most likely find ourselves by the water. life is good.

(if you can’t tell that’s john piper’s dangerous duty of delight. getting him on the good stuff early)

elizabeth, k2 and i got to be apart of my brother’s youth group tonight. it was great, chuk and i sang a couple songs and he let me talk to the group. it was an awesome group of kids, there were 46 of them! we had a great time. i’ve included the two songs chuk and i sang tonight.

here are a few pics from yesterday…

we have found our way through the steady rain that has come across the green bay this morning. chuk and i are having good conversation about life and stuff. he’s drinking a large caramel latte and i a stout mug of french roast, fitting for the proprietor being from france and all.

yesterday was one of those ‘you couldn’t have planned this if you tried’ days. at the end exhausted we wound our way back to sister bay through the little villages with names that make you feel good. the sun set to our west behind the harbor. K2 didn’t last the eight miles home without his head tilting to the side and eyes closing on a day filled with fun. it was a wonderful day. i forgot my camera this morning so i’ll add pictures later. here’s a list of what yesterday held.

• breakfast of blueberry bagels and good coffee
• experienced base camp for the first time
• drove to peninsula state park
• spent three hours in the waters of nicolet bay
• biked the ten miles of the sunset tour route on the peninsula
• famished we stumbled to the stillwaters grill and wolfed cheeseburgers and ice tea…ah yes
• walked the streets of fish creek often resting in one of the many adirondack chairs
• climbed two hundred fifty feet above green bay on the eagle tower and watched the sun fall

tonight i’ll sing with chuk and speak to his youth. i look forward to what a rainy day holds here in sister bay.

we are in the beautiful door county wisconsin with my brother chuk! the locals refer to the area as ‘the door’. at the moment we are in an coffee shop called base camp, chuk’s frequent hang spot. a dark green canoe made by the Navarro Canoe Co. hangs suspended from the ceiling over my head. the place has just the right mix of light and earth tone color. the owner is from France, chuk introduced us to him, and his carmel frapp has a european taste to it. it’s delish.

right now i better get going, elizabeth feels the beach calling her name. more later, and pictures. out.