February 26th, 2006
So L’Abri is sweet. It’s really been nice to have relaxed time to slow down from the busy pace of life. It’s pretty laid back here, though things do run on a schedule. We eat three home-cooked meals a day, and so far the cooking has been top-notch. We eat homemade bread at least once a day, and have only had the same main dish once in the past three and a half weeks.
I’ve become used to getting up early, as breakfast is at 7:45 each morning. My chores are between breakfast and lunch, which frequently entails refilling the wood bins for each of the wood stoves throughout the house. I’ve also shoveled snow, done laundry, polished wood furniture, vacuumed, hung a shelf, painted a wall and am helping to rip the some few thousand taped lectures onto mp3s. Needless to say there is plenty to do around here. The house is an old (1800s old) New England mansion, which they say used to take a staff of 12 servants to run, so there’s always plenty to do around here.
In the afternoons, I do my studying. Dick, the director, has me reading books and listening to lectures on faith, doubt, and cynicism. It’s all been pretty helpful so far, as I try to make sense of the cloud of doubt that’s been my companion since college. I’m learning some things that are helping me to deal with stuff that came up through my Religious Studies degree and some big disillusionment with Christianity that I went through my senior year of college. So I’m pretty optimistic that I’ll be able to put some of that stuff away or at least in it’s place so I don’t have to be overwhelmed by it.
We’ve also had some fun jaunts out of the house. This past Thursday a bunch of us drove into Cambridge, Mass to Harvard University for a panel/debate put on by the Veritas Forum on religion and social change. The two panelists were Dr. Tim Keller, a Presbyterian pastor from New York City, and Dr. David Koepsell, who is the chairman of some secular humanist society. It was pretty interesting to hear both perspectives on the place of religion in politics, and was amplified by the ivy-league atmosphere of Hah-vad (incidently, I did attend Arizona State, the “Harvard of the West”).
Not much clarity yet on what we’re gonna do post-L’Abri. Jen and I have started to kick around some ideas such as going overseas for a year, or going back to grad school (mostly Jen’s desire). But it’s too soon to say whether any of that will become a reality. If nothing else crystalizes in the next month, we’ll probably find an apartment in the East Bay and maybe get temp jobs to pay the bills while we try to figure out what to do next.
I’ve been snapping a few photos of our L’Abri experience, which you can check out on my flickr page.
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February 10th, 2006
I want snow. When we arrived a little more than two weeks ago, there was snow on the ground. It was especially fun to lug our three rolling suitcases off the train platform up a icy/snowy sidewalk to the general store where we first waited for our ride to L’Abri.
But in the past couple weeks, the weather has warmed up (by New England standards) to a sweltering 40-plus degrees, enough to melt off the snow from the previous storm. But the weather forecast says lots of snow tomorrow night, so I’ve got my hopes up that we’ll be back to a winter wonderland. Since the temps have dropped back to the low 20s here, it made me think that there’s something about snow that justifies the frigid temperatures.
You know, the snow makes everything glistening and white, but without it, things just seem barren and cooooooold, so I’m hoping for a dumping tomorrow night.
Yesterday on our day off from studies at L’Abri, four of us took a jaunt into Boston for the first time since our arrival late last month. We found the Freedom Trail in the quaint Italian North End and walked it all the way to the State House on Beacon Hill. Some stops along the way included the Paul Revere house, the Old North Church (where the one if by land, two if by sea lanterns were lit), and a stop for some calzones at Cafe Pompeii (where the music jukebox kept cycling between Mozart, Sinatra, and some sort of European techno).
If you’ve never been to Boston before, the Freedom Trail is a literal line on the ground, in some places a red-brick path, and in some places only a painted red line that traces a path past many historically significant sites. Interestingly enough, it also took us past about a dozen Starbucks, one of which Paul Revere may have stopped at to fuel up before his fabled midnight ride to warn New Englanders of the impending British attack.
The only sight we did not see was the boat that figured into the Boston Tea Party, when members of the Sons of Liberty heaved a bunch of Chai Creme Lattes over board, which had the effect of giving the British a collective middle finger from America (thanks but no thanks), and ensuring a caffeine high for all Boston marine-life. But seriously, we walked from South Station about a mile (with wind chill seemed like an eternity) roughly to the spot where the map said the boat was supposed to be, only to find out that it had been moved to another location (I’m sorry Mario but the princess is in another castle).
All in all, it was inspiring to be surrounded by great architecture and to learn about history. But do you think the founding folks had any idea what their fight for freedom would lead to? Do you think any of them had a clue that they were creating what would one day become the most powerful, the most loved and most hated nation on Earth? Do you think if they could have hit fast forward to see a Starbucks on every Boston corner that they still would have thrown all that great English tea overboard? Hmmmmmmm…
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February 2nd, 2006
Just wanted to drop a quick note. I’m at the small library right now while the snow is coming down pretty thickly and sticking. We’re talking about sledding tomorrow night!
Obviously Joe and I made it safely. We’ve been warm enough and have really enjoyed making friends. There are 4 other students right now besides us and some helpers we spend regular time with. Some others have been here for a few days and are gone now, but it doesn’t seen weird to make their acquantaince and then say good-bye quickly. Everyone is embracing and family-oriented. We eat every meal together and have already had a lot of great discussions on a variety of things. One of the other students isn’t a Christian so it has been great to hear about his struggles and to wrestle through them together.
Both Joe and I really love it here. I can’t tell you how much freedom I’ve experienced in less than a week. Just to be able to talk about how I’m really doing and feel total safety and encouragement because no one here has it figured out completely either. And, at the same time, getting a sense from our leaders that this place is okay to be because God can be trusted. It’s clear that our leaders’ faith is firmly founded on Scripture and comes out in every formal and informal discussion. It really gives me a sense of peace and stability because even when I’m not sure, they are.
It has been great to see things from a variety of perspectives and not in the formal black and white, right and wrong way I’m used to. I feel that my relationship with God and my faith is expanding wholistically for the first time, even when answers aren’t clear-cut and simple. I guess the best way to describe how I feel is hopeful. And, for those of you who know me fairly well, I have felt pretty hopeless at times.
So, my note became longer than I expected. I have to get going. I have the afternoon chore shift at 2:15. Yesterday I did all of the laundry. Maybe I’ll do the bathrooms again today. I’m reading a really good book in my morning studies called Beyond Identity by Dick Keyes. I’d recommend it.
P.S. I didn’t realize it before, but we can get mail here. So, if you’d like to drop us a note or such feel free. Here is the address:
Joe and Jen Golike
c/o L’Abri
49 Lynbrook Rd
Southborough, MA 01772
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