The Bonfire Sessions: Winter

By Matthew J Distefano and Michael Machuga

The Bonfire Sessions: Winter is a thought-provoking booklet that discusses: what happens to friends and family when you deconstruct your faith, whether or not conversations such as these are actually important, the divisiveness of American politics, and how Michael is handling his cancer diagnosis.

With rawness an

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quoir
• Release date: Jan 20, 2021
• ISBN: 9781938480768

Matthew J Distefano

Matthew J. Distefano is a regular contributor for The Raven Foundation. He is an outspoken advocate for global peace and non-violence. Matthew is married with one daughter and enjoys the great outdoors.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

WINTER

Twilight

Dusk

Midnight

Preface

Welcome to The Bonfire Sessions: Winter. We are so glad you’ve decided to continue this intimate, bromantic journey with us. A word of caution, however (as if we need to tell you by now): we tend to burn the midnight oil, so please first grab a comfy seat, cozy up near the fire, fill your wine glass and your hand-carved pipe, and take it all in.

As you can see, we had a beautiful setting here in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and I say had because, if you aren’t aware— but as we discussed in our Summer session—the infamous Camp Fire wiped out just about everything. The lovely little grove of fruit trees in the south part of the property? Gone. The vineyard? Gone. The orchard smack-dab in the middle of the property? Gone. The garden? Gone. Even the fucking compost—all of it—gone!

What are you gonna do, though? Nothing except continue to have our bonfire chats. That, and clean the place up, which we’re continuing to do. It won’t be long now ‘til we get the garden beds built and filled with soil, the watering system in place, and all the trees and vines planted. In fact, planting has already begun. The first four fruit trees went in recently, with many more to follow. The Shire shall live on, my friends!

Anyway, in case you’ve forgotten, what we are going to do in these conversations will mirror what we do on The Bonfire Sessions podcast. We’ll light the fire, fill our drinks and our pipes, and chat. About what? Anything. Everything. From discussions about our individual faith journeys, to conversations about theology and politics and philosophy. We’ll pretty much cover it all. At times we’ll be humorous, other times profound, but always with the spirit of friendship in mind. No matter what, we are friends. We may disagree at times, but that doesn’t matter. First and foremost, we are human, which means that grace, understanding, and empathy are crucial in understanding one another. Now, given that the subtitle of this booklet is Winter, with a little deductive skill, you can probably figure out that this series is split up into four parts: Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. We started with Spring because it is a season for blossoming, a time of genesis. And now we are in the dead of Winter, the time where the frost sets in and we are forced to sit and reflect on the year that has come and gone. Of course, not without a riproaring fire! So, again, sit back, relax, pour your favorite drink, and let’s get into it, shall we?

Matthew’s

Acknowledgments

First off, I want to thank my wonderful wife Lyndsay