Brent Jarvis
Brent and Shannon are Personal Contact Ministers in Missouri
Lake of the Oaks, Missouri
Contact Me
- email: creativeimpactatcenturyteldotnet
- phone: fiveseventhree twoeighteight zerozeroninenine
Background
I'm told I arrived in this world in 1968 :) I have a lovely wife, Shannon. We have been together for over twenty years. We have a 20 year old daughter, 18 year old son, 6 year old daughter and 3 year old son.
I am currently the Minister of Record (His Church at Lake of the Oaks) for, and an elder in, our congregation. Our congregation has decided to have a rotating minister until we decide who the "real" minister is from our group of elders. Our hope is that we'll learn how to be better elders through this process of serving each other.
We've hosted a spring gathering, in northeast Missouri, each of the last few years for HHC/The Living Network, where we've enjoyed getting to know some really wonderful people in the Network.
Since about 2003, we've tried to change our "way of life". In 2006, we sold everything in the city and moved to rural Missouri. This allowed us to get out of debt and to learn to live with what we can afford, when we can afford it. I provide for my family by means of my freelance graphic design services and a small advertising business that involves my whole family. We gave up a business when we moved to the country and we've discovered that without debt, a family can live on very little.
We enjoy heirloom gardening, composting, seed saving, and learning to use our small greenhouse. We hope to expand our efforts over the years to include a u-pick orchard and maybe blueberries and blackberries. If you'd like to share seeds or would just like to have some of ours, let me know and I'll send some to you.
We also enjoy hunting, fishing and basically most any outdoor recreational activity. We have no tv reception, so our entertainment is in the form of good books and movies.
We have been home educators for over 12 years and are constantly reaping those benefits. My wife and I are somewhat extreme advocates for this. Along the way, we have encouraged our children to discover and hone their skills and talents so they will not have to rely on a someone else to provide them "employment". My wife's blogsite is: http://learningtowaldorf.blogspot.com/. We've contributed to the PreparingYou homeschooling page....have a look!
My eldest daughter just finished her "formal" high school education. She's taken a few college courses (though college has not been encouraged nor has it been entirely discouraged) and is getting ready to travel to New Zealand for 3 months. She is a talented seamstress and artist. Her website, if you're interested in her Zombie Apocalypse bags (or clothing & accessories) is: http://www.crashlandingcouture.com/
My eldest son is an apprentice for a local chef and works during the summer doing lawn mowing and other handyman jobs. I believe he could be a candidate for the order at some point.
We've been fortunate to live near, and establish relationships with, many amish families. We've been able to learn quite a bit from them and we've grown to appreciate their own efforts to support their families and community. We also enjoy their fresh milk and eggs since we have yet to buy a cow and chickens.
My Hope
Scripture counsels us to be long suffering/patient, wise and harmless. His commandments are summarized by 1) Love God and 2) Love each other. We're explicitly told not to steal, kill, covet, adulterate or bear false witness against our neighbor. So why not learn to live by honest to goodness charity instead of through the covetous arm/agency of man's governments. If we're going to change from being the covetous, thieving, murderous, lying, adulterers we are, then we've got to step away from the paradigm society has trained us in. There is an alternative to the religions/governments of man. It's His Way that's outlined in scripture.
As a Husband and Father, I am learning how responsibility is key to our Liberty. The more we distinguish ourselves and the more we refuse to access the benefits taken from our neighbors, the more the Kingdom structure becomes important to our survival...Faith, Hope and Charity take on a whole new meaning. I believe with the proper motivations, we can unlearn the corruptions and learn the ways of our Creator/King.
We'd like to find or be found by others in Missouri who are seeking the Kingdom of God. We're determined to order our lives now in the ways of our Father and to strive for His favor and seek His mercy as we take two steps forward and one step back.
Message from Brent <mp3player width="300">http://www.preparingyou.com/wiki/audio/PCMsoundbiteBrentJ.mp3</mp3player>
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