Friends

We have had some friends from out of town visiting over the Labor Day weekend. Over this time I’ve been reminded of the Importance of table fellowship to relationships. There is nothing quite like gathering around a table with friends and sharing a meal together.

Mandy and I commonly have dinner together. We think it is an important habit to cultivate. But I have spent a truly impressive amount of time sitting at my kitchen table this weekend. I have talked and listened. As I’ve already said, there is simply nothing quite like eating a meal together and catching up on the latest news with good friends.

Best Quote from Job

As many of you know, we’ve been going through Job with the students in my youth ministry over the past month(give or take a week). Today I ran across Job 12.2, and I love the ESV’s translation.

No doubt you are the people,
and wisdom will die with you.
-Job in his response to Zophar’s first speech

Absolutely brilliant. I have this mental image of Job, in an ash heap, looking sidelong at his friends and half-mumbling this line. The author of Job was an absolutely amazing poet. The Hebrew is just as, if not more, humorous and sarcastic:

אמנם כי אתם־עם ועמכם תמות חכמה׃

Back to the grind

Well, maybe not entirely. There are still about three weeks before classes start, but Mandy and I are back from visiting friends and family over the holidays. We’re going to attempt to enjoy the few weeks of relaxation before the semester gears back up again.

Our trip went well overall, and it was nice seeing Earl and Florrie, as well as both sides of the family. It really stinks to be so far from family, and Earl is going to be going to grad school/seminary next year, so he’ll be even further away. I’ve tried talking him into GCTS, but in all honesty it isn’t the school for him. Goodness, the conservatism here is making me more liberal. The thought of what it would do to Earl is horrific. As an aside, I sometimes wonder why Mandy and I are here at Gordon-Conwell, and then I remember – 1. Money (she’s basically going free), 2. it’s a real school (that is to say, academically it is robust and well-known), 3. It has turned out real scholars in the past, and the only other seminary that has turned out real female scholars in any number is Fuller – and that was way too far for our tastes.

So, Gordon-Conwell remains the correct choice for Mandy and I, but it can be extremely frustrating at times. I really need to find whatever liberal remnant is hanging out silently here and hook up.

Facebook and Pokemon

Okay, so I have this thing with facebook. I try to only confirm friends that I, ya know, have actually talked to in the past, say, three years. However, Mandy tends to have this desire to increase the shear number of her friends. It’s a classic question of quality vs. quantity. So, today I was looking through some friend requests and Mandy asked why I hadn’t confirmed them. I explained. She exclaimed: “Calvin! Just think of it like collecting Pokemon!” I required no further encouragement.

So, to all my friends on Facebook, I’m wondering if you’d like to learn, “Cut,” or “Dig.” I have the HMs, ya know.