Well, we cooked up a lot of pancakes this evening! We had about 15 folks in our home over the evening and had a rich variety of toppings.... mmmmmm! I think I've had enough sugar to last me till Easter! We had a chicken-broccoli cream sauce, applesauce, peaches, strawberries, real maple syrup and more...

It was also Lucca's 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday, Lucca!

It was a lot of fun spending the evening with friends, even in the midst of a busy student schedule. Celebrations keep me going. I wonder who we'll spend Pancake Tuesday with next year?

Winter Fun

Yesterday was a school holiday. President's Day, I think. Faculty, staff and students were invited to bring their families to Camp Friedenswald for a Winter Fun afternoon. We went tubing and tobogganing, and Kendall and I went cross country skiing for an hour. Ah, life is good.

The snow is starting to melt, so we probably squeezed the Winter Fun day on the perfect day. :)

Janeen took these pictures of the tubing... doesn't it look fun?

Love and pancakes, Faith and doubt

We celebrated a special all-campus break yesterday with creative renditions of 'I Corinthians 13'. Lots of fun. Kendall and I won 'the most romantic' rendition - hmmmm..... It probably fit best the category "most interactive" since we encouraged folks to hug each other each time they heard the word "love". From the front of the room, the view was enjoyable. People lined up to 'catch' someone in a hug at the next moment, and at one moment of silence I heard one professor say to another, "You're next, Jake!". Ah, good fun.

I enjoy celebrations so much. They're truly the stuff life's made of. The next celebration I anticipate is Pancake Tuesday. That's coming up next week! I've never really fallen for the Mardi Gras celebrations, probably because in my experience the pancakes came first. I grew up in a small town in Ontario with British roots, Dorchester. And in the fog of my memory, I recall an outdoor celebration of Pancake Tuesday at the community centre. Somehow in my memory, we were even eating the pancakes out side Looking out at the snow right now, it seems hard to believe that memory.... I recall people flipping pancakes on huge griddles, and eating pancakes, sausage and syrop outside on paper plates. Probably we were inside the hall.

The point is, I remember eating pancakes in the larger Dorchester community. What's more, I remember that my family picked up the habit, and most years we had pancakes. I don't know if my mom and dad have kept up that tradition, but somehow it stuck with me.

At Calvin, I hosted a pancake open house - I flipped dozens of pancakes for my friends. I've probably served pancakes every year since I left home.... and next week will be no exception. If you live locally, you're welcome to our apartment sometime after 6:30 for some pancakes!

___________________

Thinking biblically: This evening after supper, Kendall and I read from the letter of James, chapter 1 and I was struck by a number of things in the passage.

James 1:6-7 But ask in faith, never doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea,
driven and tossed by the wind;
for the doubter,
being double-minded and unstable in every way,
must not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

I had a bit of a revelation about this passage, which has quite frankly bothered me for a long time. I noticed the context. Allow me to explain.

In our day and age, we still read the language of faith and doubt through lenses tinted by Luther and by rationalism/modernism. We read 'faith' and a concept of rational/mental assent to intellectual doctrine and/or dogma... with certainty! We correlate 'belief'. Consequently, 'doubt' means the lack of assent, or lack of certainty regarding these doctrines and dogmas. Having questions about God, the church, the nature of salvation, (etc.) is equated with lack of faith - and sometimes this passage is thrown up as dis-incentive for asking such questions.

Doubters are double-minded, unstable, and outside the generosity of God. (outside of grace?)

Having a long (and I think healthy) history of doubt, I dislike this interpretation. I am certain that doubt is a healthy part of an active faith life - questioning is frequently a sincere and authentic part of the search for truth in discipleship.

But tonight, as I said, I had a revelation. This verse is not in Galatians, or Romans. This verse is in the letter to James! James is so perfectly clear that faith is not mental assent, but faith is lived out in a life of justice. Faith is lived out in action!

When James is talking about doubt - James is talking about those whose actions do not match their words (or their mental assertions?). He's talking more about hypocrisy or empty living than about questioning. If we look further at verses 22ff we see that's where he's going even in this chapter

James 1:22-27 But be doers of the word,
and not merely hearers who deceive themselves.
For if any are hearers of the word and not doers,
they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror;
for they look at themselves and, on going away,
immediately forget what they were like.
But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere,
being not hearers who forget but doers who act
-- they will be blessed in their doing.

If any think they are religious,
and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts,
their religion is worthless.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their distress,
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

And that, my friends, is the heart of the matter.
Thanks for hearing me out on this one....

Windchill Days...

The kids in this part of the world get 'Windchill Days'. It's not snowing or blizzarding, but they stay home because it's too cold outside (with the windchill factor). They've been home for two days now. The logic is that it's too cold for kids to wait for the bus or walk to school. Maybe I sound like a Canadian small-town kid who 'don't know nothin'... but I don't get it. It seems to me that this doesn't happen in Ontario (or anywhere in Canada). If someone can tell me differently, I'd like to hear about it.

It seems to me that the weather here in northern Indiana is pretty much identical to the weather in southern Ontario; what's different is the attitude. People in Ontario expect the cold, prepare for it, and 'tough it out'. Kids get bundled up and sent outside. sometimes recess gets cut short. Isn't it so, Canadians? Here, they stay in from recess if it's -5 celcius. That means they've been inside for recess over 2 weeks! (poor teachers, they must be going crazy...)

Now, the logic is that poorer kids don't have the warm hats, mitts and coats. Perhaps. But the issue isn't that clear. First off, let's get hats, mitts and coats for the kids...

But those same kids might be staying home on these days in under-heated houses. There's a possibility that if they can't afford hats, mitts and scarves, perhaps they can't afford heat. It's a very common problem. So they're sent home from school to stay in an underheated apartment.
And then - their parents have to wrestle with child care arrangements, possibly jeapordizing their employment (should they have employment). Are windchill days the best for these families?

I'm not convinced that wind-chill days are that good for the poorer kids in this community.
I think that the kids should be welcomed to school even in this weather, and that their valuable education shouldn't be disrupted by the cold. But I'm not from around here, so what do I know?

I've always loved snow days, being 'snowed in'. That always meant that I spent the day outside in the snow. I think if I had a 'windchill day' as a kid, I'd probably have spent a good chunk of it outside as well. I knew how to bundle myself up so no skin was showing... and how to fun in the snow. Sigh... perhaps I'm just nostalgic. Forgive me.

I'm still thoroughly enjoying the cold snap, and get out once a day for a 'tromp' around campus to enjoy the snow and the sun on the snow. It's so brilliant in this weather. I even need my sunglasses!

I'm a bit jealous of my dad, who's skiing for the week in BC with my uncle and cousin and some of his friends. He's apparently having a fabulous time - and who would doubt that? They're skiing around Kimberly, BC, staying at my cousin Pete Bootsma's chalet in the mountains. Fun. They've spent an evening at the hot springs as well.

Winter fun.

not quite on his feet...

Well, Phil's not quite on his feet, but he's home from the hospital. And that has me pretty happy. We wish you a solid recovery, big bro!

Dumb Old Nail

My brother Philip lives in Colorado, with a lovely wife and three fantastic daughters. He works as a sound designer (running the big sound booth and setting up the speakers etc) at various gigs and festivals in the greater Denver area. He also works as an electrician.

On Tuesday this week, he stepped on a framing nail. The nail went through his work boot, his socks, and into the ball / toe joint of his big toe. At first he kept working, but then the pain kicked in and he made his way to the doctor, where the wound needed to be 'irrigated'. OUCH!

Yesterday he was admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics, since the regular antibiotics weren't reducing the infection. I'm sure he's going stir crazy in there, since my brother isn't one to ordinarily laze about for days on end. It's too bad the new Harry Potter book isn't out to keep him amused. Sigh. Or better yet, the very last book of the Wheel of Time (Robert Jordan) series!

I had a significant but small cut on the top of my foot this summer, from tripping over a suitcase in the night. For a week I couldn't wear sandals or shoes without wincing. Boy, did I ever notice my feet! Ordinarily, I pass through life without much of a thought for my toes or the ball of my feet, but these days I'm grateful for their overall wellness. I realize how much I'm enabled to do because I have un-impaled feet.... a privilege my brother doesn't have right now.

So, those of you who have two good feet right now, get on the balls of your feet, stand on your very tippy-toes and do a little dance of joy that you have those two feet. And while you're expressing your joy, say a little prayer of healing for my brother Phil so he can soon be back on his two feet.