back to the old salt mine

Now Playing: A recording of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, International Conference, 2004, Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan. Psalm 68E.

I nearly spelled "college" with a "d". So if this post seems weird, blame my fingers....

Last week was spring break. Ah, blissful spring break! :o)

On Wednesday night, we had Bible study at our house. I spent most of the afternoon reading a book that Daniel (in Tulsa) had loaned me, a modern setting of a fairy tale. The story was interesting, but the writing wasn't particularly enchanting. Logan came over for supper and helped get the house ready for Bible study since my father and Philip were both down at another tournament game. The Yosts and Parnells came to the study. An old friend of the church showed up late in the evening and spent quite awhile chatting with everyone. My mother, Stephanie, and I stood outside in the cool evening, talking and watching Laura play with Stephanie's two young children. Rather an amusing sight: Laura swung Raychel in circles in the air, while Joseph toddled around waving a stick.

Thursday was another fairly quiet day. Stephen and I spent the morning watching an old TV series of Dorothy Sayers's The Nine Tailors. He lounged on the sofa while I scrapbooked. My father's parents came over for lunch. Since the day was rather chilly, my mother fixed hot potato soup for lunch, which was really good. In the afternoon, Laura went off to spend the night with my mother's mother. I went for a walk alone around San Born Lake. I'd intended to do some thinking, but the woods were so lovely that I found myself simply reveling in God's goodness: the pure white plumes of the pear trees, the songs of cardinals, the warm breeze. Later on, my parents and Philip went to a tournament game, leaving Stephen and me at home to hold down the fort. During supper, at Stephen's request, we watched some Three Stooges episodes, and after supper, we played basketball together until Logan showed up. We went for a walk around Boomer Lake, which was very pleasant and even refreshing. Back at home, Stephen and I spent the evening quietly in the schoolroom: He played computer games while I typed up a journal entry, and we both laughed at the antics of the cats, who went wrestling around the schoolroom, pouncing on each other.

Friday was somewhat of a hassle for me. In the morning I had a meeting with the Parnells, which was pleasant, but when I returned home, my grandmother was there for lunch. Then I had to do the lunch dishes, drive Stephen to the gym to hang out with J.D. and Daniel, fill out ten more pages of unexpected paperwork from the study abroad program, and whip my room into shape for Sarah, who came to visit after Irish dance. We ate an early supper, and then all of us (my whole family and Sarah) drove down to the City for yet another tournament basketball game. It was a great game: The boys played spectacularly and won by sixteen points. Afterwards, Sarah spent the night at our house. We stayed up for awhile, chatting quietly in my room in the dark before we fell asleep.

On Saturday, Sarah and I took a stroll outside in the wind and sunshine, talking quietly and laughing. Then, after taking Sarah home, my mother and I went shopping. We bought all sorts of good fruits and vegetables: bananas, pears, strawberries, cabbage, celery, carrots, grapefruit. I like being at home because everything is more "real"--not the sterilized, packaged feel of campus, where life is lived on a grid. As soon as we got home, I rang Elizabeth up in something of a panic, between scurrying around, doing loads of laundry and packing my suitcase, to ask her if she would like to come to the game this afternoon. She said she would. So on our way out of town after lunch (my mother made spicy Thai noodles--can you tell I like her cooking? :o), we stopped by the Fs' house briefly to pick her up. The boys played their championship game for the 3A division. Philip's team lost. It was his last game in highschool. It was a bit disappointing, but they played pretty well considering the team they were against. After the game, Philip, Laura, and my father went out to eat with the boys' basketball team. My mother, Elizabeth, Stephen, and I turned around (we had taken two cars--my father had the Buick, and my mother had the minivan) to drive back to Stillwater. We stopped and ate supper at a Cracker Barrel, which was a jolly good time. Teasing Stephen is great fun, as is watching Elizabeth try to figure out the pegboard game. :o) On our way back to Stillwater, we stopped in Guthrie to meet up with the Stewarts, a family from Kansas who were also at the tournament. They followed us back to Stillwater. After we dropped Elizabeth off at her house, we escorted the Stewarts back to our house. My mother played the model hostess, getting them settled into their rooms, providing them water, and talking enthusiastically about all sorts of things. I would've stayed up, but I was tired, so I elected to disappear quietly to bed.

Today was the Lord's Day. Mr. Parnell preached yet another convicting message about charity (he's been giving a series about that lately). And there were the usual fellowship pleasures: Laughing with the Fisher girls about old pranks, listening to Anna and Logan discuss theology, telling an outlandish story to a troop of little girls, frisking around in the sunshine after second service, watching J.D. and Calvin hunt for boxelder bugs, hearing Sarah and co. discuss robotics and youth retreats, etc. My father read to us when we returned home, which was restful. After supper I spent awhile up in my room, reading "The Weight of Glory" by C.S. Lewis, to give me motivation for the week ahead. He reminds me of God's delight in His people and of the importance of treating others as God's creations. We had family worship, and then I left Stillwater at about seven-thirty to drive back to Tulsa. On campus, I drove past the Penthouse, but the light was out. When I reached the room, Rachel greeted me with open arms. We shared stories about our weeks while I unpacked.

And now it's time for bed!

Please pray for contentment and skill in this week ahead. Coming back to school won't be easy, and the lion's share of the semester's work is crammed into the next six or seven weeks.