It's been awhile

So let me catch you up on what's been going on in my life over the past few months:

April - After the cottage, I hired a personal trainer to kick start my weight loss plateau.

May - For Meg and Karen's birthdays and for Mother's Day, I took the four of us out for mani-pedis, thanks to Groupon. :)

On the Victoria Day long weekend, I drove to London with Niki to celebrate Mike's birthday where she was interrogated by Uncle Art. :)  From there we went to church in Komoka in the morning and then headed back to St. Catharines to witness Alex's profession of faith.  Mike and Daniel had come as well so the four of us had dinner at my place before heading to Janna's for a bonfire to celebrate her and Monique's birthdays.  We burned some mattresses, visited the Mudcat, and watched as most people successfully (and one person *cough Niki cough* less successfully) went across the pond via zipline, and lit a box full of fireworks! Good times! :)

June was a busy month for school.  June 5-8 was a trip to Quebec City with all of the grade 12 class which went very smoothly.  Highlights included: driving up by myself with the radio blasting, ziplining, singing in the St. Anne de Beaupre, climbing over the rock wall for additional freezing mist at Montmorency Falls, going on a long hike with a few students and one of the chaperones, taking the scavenger hunt pictures, the Soldier of the Tower tour, and Kangaroo Court - 3 changed babies (licking is an option??), singing of a Taylor Swift song, accusations of being a cougar due to dancing with senior citizens.

 From there, Jared, Rachel and I drove to Montreal where we continued our adventures with the senior French class from Unity CHS from Barrie.  Highlights included the boat tour, the bike tour, the beautiful weather, my annual trip to the dollarama (hello prizes for French class!), church at the Eglise Reformee de Quebec, singing at St. Joseph's Basilica, being a possible extra in the movie "Smurfs"! :) Lowlights included staying in a hostel, getting a parking ticket, being there during a Franocophonie festival/Formula One/student protests, no seafarer's at the centre Sunday night.

The rest of June was a big push to finish marking, get exams written by me + photocopied + written by students + marked + entered.

The day after the secondary graduation and our annual celebration as teachers at Caroline's, I got lser eye surgery at LASIK MD in Hamilton.  I went from a prescription of -4.5 and -5 to almost perfect vision in a matter of hours.  The surgery itself took only 10 minutes and was completely painless.  Another item crossed off my bucket list! :)

On Canada Day, I watched fireworks at Port Dalhousie with my family and had a very nice chat with the Mulder family, especially Pam.

The holiday Monday was spent at Burlington Beach, followed by a short visit to Alex and Julie's new apartment (oh yeah, that also happened on June 16).  From there we drove to Jake's house where we were introduced to the art of skeet shooting.  I was pretty nervous about doing it because of how close it is to your eye and I didn't want to screw up my surgery.  But I caved into pressure and my own curiosity and gave it a go for the stationary target practice.  I hit two of three targets so not too shabby!! I also determined that I don't like the feel of a gun in my hands.  At all.  After some time there, we drove a few minutes down the road to Mark's house for a barbecued dinner and beach volleyball.

All that week, Megan and I spent preparing for a surprise Dr. Seuss themed baby shower for Karen which turned out wonderfully! We had truffula trees, a photo booth, quotes all over and our games (Scrambled Eggs Super - unscramble baby-related words, Oh the Thinks You Can Think! - try to guess Trevor's answers, Horton says, "An Elephant Never Forgets" - remember tray items) and menu were even Dr. Seuss inspired!  Here's a list of our food items with the book associations:
Green deviled eggs and Ham - Green Eggs and Ham
Baby soothers - Dr. Seuss' Sleep Book
Dr. Brown's Ba-ba-loots Truffula Fruit Tray -
Yink's Pink Ink Drink - One Fish Two Fish REd Fish Blue Fish
Turtles - Yertle the Turtle
Cat in the Hat fruit kebabs - The Cat in the Hat
Pinwheels - Oh the Places You'll Go
Caramel and White Cheddar popcorn - Hop on Pop(corn)
cupcakes with Dr. Seuss characters
Caramel Dip with Apples - Ten Apples Up on Top
Three Cheese Trees - Fox on Socks
Artichoke Hummus - Bartholomew and the Oobleck
Green Eggs and Ham Pretzels - Green Eggs and Ham (obvi ...)

After the baby shower (11 pm), I drove to Grimsby to pick up Sandra and we went to Iona for a weekend of camping fun.  Saturday's activities included a hike, a bit of a fail of geocaching, lots of beach time, bocce and volleyball back at van 't Voorts, singing praise and worship around the fire loud enough so that Oma could hear and a campfire original - the burning of a piano.  Sunday's shower schedule worked well so that we could all be clean for church in Komoka.  It was during this lunch that I got the great news that Ange and James and family are moving to Woodstock!!! No more long trips to Iowa!! :)  What a great weekend!!

Let's see ... after that ... oh yes!  My room!  I redecorated my bedroom - painted walls, installed new curtains and blinds, painted and antiqued the furniture .. quite the reno!  I also did a bunch of things around the house such as take down the side fence, repair the basement ceiling, repair a leak in the basement, install a roof rack on my car, reorganize the garage, weed eat the back garden, clean out the basement entrance and scrub the doors and steps, repair the clothesline, install a new front door handle and there are still a couple of things on my list!

This past weekend was spent with friends and family again.  Saturday morning, I met up with Shaun and his brother to practice tipping, re-entering and rolling our kayaks.  In the afternoon, I met up with the YA by Adventure Village. A few of us went roller blading while the rest mini-putted.  When we got back we signed up for mini-putting and batting cages.  A few chose to do laser tag as well.  I managed to get 4 out of 10 of the really fast balls ranging from 105-115km/h and 10/10 for the slow balls.  A group of 7 of us played the most hilarious, epic game of mini-putt ever while those who finished earlier began supper preparations on the beach.  Bible study was later that evening in Brampton which continued with late night discussions in the parking lot until about 12:30 am!  Sunday was spent relaxing at Kare and Trev's place for coffee and lunch (provided by Megan).

And now?  Well, I'm waiting for the announcement that Karen has had her baby, for Mom to celebrate her birthday on Tuesday, for a final post-op eye appointment on Thursday morning and then heading out for an epic kayaking adventure up in Lake Superior.  After that, I've got my 30th birthday, skydiving, two weeks at Campfire!, and one wilderness voyage before I've got to go back to school.

I LOVE SUMMER VACATION!! :)

Easter respite

This past weekend I went up to a cottage in Stokes Bay (part of the Bruce Peninsula) with a group of friends - Emily, Ed, Sandra, Henrietta, Joel and Shaun.  Sandra and I left after the Good Friday service, picked up Ed and the kayaks in Hamilton, and then met up with Shaun, Joel and Emily in Guelph.  When we arrived at Henrietta's in Owen Sound, we helped put on her two kayaks and some of us even got a chance to drive in Lambert's (Henrietta's brother) dune buggy which was pretty sweet! :)  An hour later and we had arrived at the cottage, ate Joel's spaghetti supper, started a fire, played some euchre and Apples to Apples.  The next morning, we enjoyed Ed's scrumptious omelettes and then all but Sandra and I went out for a kayak ride.  When they got back, Em made some gourmet sandwiches (baked chicken/arugula/tomato, bacon/tomato/avocado, ham/swiss/poppyseed dressing).  That afternoon, we drove up to Cyprus Lake which is part of the Bruce Peninsula National Park for a hike and some adventuring.  It was gorgeous!  That night we had hamburgers and a campfire on the beach.  Sunday morning saw us driving to Owen Sound for church, then lunch at the Reininks, back to church and dinner provided by me (apple stuffed chicken, roasted veggies, mom's coleslaw, baked baguettes).  That evening was more euchre and chillaxing.  Monday after Sandra's bacon breakfast, Shaun, Joel, Sandra and I played a bit of Australian footy on the beach and then went for a hike.  When we got back, it was time to clean up camp and head home. Enjoy the pictures!

Fear Not: Finding God's Comfort for my Fearful Soul

Notes from a women's conference: Fear Not: Finding God's Comfort for my Fearful Soul 

*this first portion I turned into a devotion to share with the staff and faculty at Heritage

Two weekends ago I went to a women’s conference whose theme was “Fear Not: Finding God’s Comfort for My Fearful Soul.” On the Friday night we had to fill out a card that would get handed in and read only by our presenter, Tara Barthel.  On that card we had to write down what our level of fear was from 1-10 and what were those things that we fear.

The next morning Tara said that she had read all of our cards and had taken the time to organize them into different categories based on what each person shared as their fear.  Fears ranged from personal finances, to illness, to broken marriages, to singleness.  She mentioned how in all of her 13 years of speaking at conferences, the core issues surrounding the issue of fear are different depending on her audience.  Our group had a recurring theme of fear that she had never seen intimated on such a grand scale.  A large percentage of the women feared that their children or their grandchildren would not come to know Jesus as their personal Saviour.  This was a presenting issue as there was an even deeper issue at stake which was revealed as more anonymous cards were read - a deeper fear that our group had not been or currently weren’t good enough Christians to merit salvation. This deeper fear correlated to the fear of having children who were not saved.  The thought process would probably sound something like this - if I was a better Christian, I could regenerate the hearts of my children, or put into our context - if we were better Christian teachers, we could regenerate the hearts of our students.  Some may feel unacceptable to God and struggle with the fear of being inferior to salvation.  This is committing cosmic treason as we then put ourselves in the place of God.

Praise the Lord that we don’t have to be good enough and that we don’t have to bear that burden of trying to appropriate the role of God!  We’ve got an Intercessor in whose merit we are found favorable and can be reconciled to God. This weekend we’ll take the time to celebrate that Christ took our guilt and clothed us with innocence; that he bore our shame and lifted us to a place of glory and honour in the sight of the Father; that he took our short-comings and presented us with a cup that overflows; and that he took our fear and gave us the courage to continue trusting him.

Christ is our advocate. He receives the accusations from Satan, from the world, and from our own sinful nature and frees us from that bondage and from that fear.  There is no accusation that his grace is not big enough for.  Accusations of being not worthy, of being not good enough, of being a failure are met with Jesus’ intervention who is worthy, who is good enough and whose triumph over sin and hell makes him a perfect mediator. 

Other random thoughts gleaned from the weekend: 

Adrenaline kills theology because it kills short term memory.  When we're angry or frustrated, we have to have our theology of love your neigbour deeply set so that we refrain from saying or doing things that serve to tear down instead of edify.

In faith's fight against fear, memorize Scripture!  We begin to take ourselves by our hands and encourage ourselves instead of seeking that reaffirmation from others.  

When we see someone else's struggling in light of our own struggles, we can both go to the cross.  Through this perspective, we are reminded to be gracious and find the words to encourage one another.

Fear wears us down and warps our perspective.  It tempts us to despondency.  Defeated weariness comes just before cynicism.

How to deal with pain/struggles - 1) Feel it, 2) Name it, 3) Grieve it, 4) Trust God, 5) Move on

Worriers are visionaries without the optimism.

Whatever we think we need, is closely related to fear.

The person who fears God, fears nothing.  Fear of God simplifies life.

Already pondering ...

What to do for my 30th birthday?  Hmmm ... Should I take a vote?  Here are some options:

1) Go white water rafting
2) Experience zero gravity
3) Skydive - this is the one I'm most leaning towards
4) Ride on a motorcylce
5) Go rock-climbing
6) Hike the entire Bruce Trail - as part of a summer project?

These are a few of the options from my bucket list.  I'm planning to have a big party, too!  Suggestions for activities are welcome!  I know the big event is still 5 months away, but a recent Bowmanville boy's birthday basement bash has got me thinking about my own celebration.  Step one would be to find a location for this great event.  I was originally thinking about my sister's place but she will have just had a baby, so maybe that wouldn't be the greatest idea.  Then I got thinking about my parents' place which might work.  We could go for a hike at Ball's Falls and bring some sports equipment there.  And then I thought after being inspired by an innocent question from a friend ... Hmmm .. I wonder who might be at the Rathfon that week??  That would be ridiculously amazing! :)  Unlikely, but amazing! :)  Any suggestions?

Posts to write yet ...

1) Finish East Coast
2) Kentucky flashbacks
3) Abortion debate at Mac
4) Women's Conference
5) Priceless

Je pete le feu

So one of my students in grade 7 approached me and said that he had been talking on the phone to his uncle who lives in Quebec and his uncle told him to tell his French teacher: "Je pete le feu."

It was a phrase that was somewhat foreign to me as I what I thought it meant couldn't possibly be what his uncle was trying to convey.  Or was it?  The verdict's still out.

"Je pete le feu" has two meanings.

Meaning #1: I am full of energy.

Meaning #2: My farts are on fire.

I'm still chuckling.

English > Math

This was an article written by an acquaintance of mine.  It's very well-written and rather humorous.  I'm looking forward to reading the rebuttal.  For now, enjoy!

[The following piece was prompted by a proposal from my students who run the school's newspaper to write a short piece as one side to the debate of which is the superior subject, math or english.  It was fun to write and I can't wait to see the math teacher's reactions. I have left his name out of this post.]

There is a book coming out this year in which a variety of authors and thinkers were asked to write an epistle to their younger selves.  They were asked to give advice or admonition based on what they know now and one letter worth sharing comes from contemporary author, Jodi Picoult.  The only piece of advice she thought worthy of sending back into time was this: “You will never use calculus. Trust me.”   As far as I’m concerned, she is right.

But which is greater, English or Math?  So the question has been posed to Mr. —– and myself. Of course, the unfortunate irony for my esteemed colleague attempting to sing math’s supposed superiority is that he must (to his chagrin) rely upon the English language. Therefore, I will do what I can in the way of leveling the playing field by taking the liberty to rephrase the question as such: if x≠ y; is x > y or y > x?  Find (and defend) the value of x.

I’m going to leave variables behind here for a moment (if you are a true philomath, do not worry, I will write slowly), to point out that the fruits of this inquiry will inevitably be flawed because of the nature of the question. The question, as posed, suggests a necessary, mutual exclusion between these two subjects and is therefore a question that only a Mathematic Mind (m²) would ask; but, I would venture, one that only an English mind could answer.

Let’s begin with a look at the English Mind.  As far as I have come to think of it (and with it), the English Mind is Creative and Cultured (E = mc²).  While the creative mind is responsible for imagining new possibilities and developing all the cultural activities (music, stories, poetry) that make life more than something “nasty, short and brutish,” Mathematics targets the lowest common denominator.  The Dutch philosopher Herman Dooyeweerd placed “Numbers” as the most basic type of knowledge one could glean in this infinitely complex universe; and who wouldn’t trust a Dutch philosopher?

T.S. Eliot, an early 20^th century poet, once asked: “Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”  Again, math is but the foundation of the temple of knowledge.  We have all heard that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, but I think we might add that the study of English is the beginning of knowledge, while math is but the lowly beginnings of information.  I have no problem with math in the same way I have no problem with the bottom rung of a ladder: both are necessary to step on as you move upwards.

While the mathematician relies upon the dry, yeastless factuality of numbers, the English mind places these facts into the stories in which they make sense, thereby leavening the loaf of knowledge so it is not simply edible, but enjoyable as well.  Even Jesus, with his few years upon this earth, chose not to waste his time propounding mathematical theorems; rather, he gave us story upon story, demanding that his followers be good readers.  Christians, in fact, have been called “people of the book,” which is a badge we should wear with honour.

The English Mind, then, is a mind that knows how to step back and see the entire forest, not one which is content to count and cross-multiply the trees.  The English mind can see the world in a grain of sand or a handful of dust. When Graham Greene talks of earth as a “marble floating through infinite space,” he captures something so immense and sublime in one simple phrase that you can’t help but marvel at your smallness. The English Mind also steps forward, into the dark wood to see the individual trees. It observes the particularities of a place and the idiosyncrasies of a character, the motivations and machinations that make men and women tick and it records them down with the precision of a mathematician and the love of a saint.

And here the false dichotomy between the m² and the English Mind really breaks down. The true mathematician, I assume, has a similar confrontation with the sublime in the presence of a concept such as infinity.  It would not be difficult to provide numerous examples of mathematical truths that boggle the mind; in fact, it would be as easy as pi.

But to get back on track; English is more important and will always be because it demands a more human way of thinking.  The ancients knew this, and classified it under the humanities.  Math, one of the sciences, was actually considered a handmaiden to literature and philosophy! Ironically, our culture now sees the humanities as something weak, something which needs defense, something which exists to serve the sciences by teaching literacy (as if knowing how to speak efficiently can lead to an abundant life).

Because of this, English has become the helpless victim of numerous, false stereotypes.  Here are the three most common:

1) Any answer in English can be right (ok, I’ll admit that’s somewhat true…)

2) English is an overly emotional subject which trains us how to get in touch with our feelings (frankly, I feel hurt when I hear this, and wouldn’t mind getting together with a group of other English folk to talk it out).

3) English is an easy way to get an A+ (the joke’s on you here; I mark everything with smiley and frowny faces).

So, as you can see, although English might be in disarray in our society, it is a truly superior discipline.  Now I could go on, but I’ve had this tongue in my cheek for far too long and must take care of it.  For my mathematically inclined readers, do not worry; I’ll be fine.