Asturias (Three Word Wednesday)

He hails from the Land of Asturias
But his careful Castilian is curious
I'd caution, "Be wary
Suspicious and chary".
It's inevitable that he be spurious







This "Three Word Wednesday" our given words were curious, wary and incredible.  While seeking a rhyme for the word curious, I stumbled upon this beautiful principality on the Northern coast of Spain.

 It has its own language, although the people also speak Spanish, and a rich history of independence, kings and castles.

The Capital city of Oviedo is one of the safest in Europe.

And it seems to be a hiker's paradise.

Beaches

Mountains











Picturesque little towns.  How enlightening Three Word Wednesday can be! Especially when I choose to write a limerick.

That, students, is one of the reasons I force you to write structured poetry.

Philosophical Epitaphs

My seniors are doing a brief study on philosophy and, in order to help them learn a little bit about several famous philosophers, I've been writing limericks about them. There's something ironic about condensing a man's life into five lines...particularly men as verbally prolific as all these guys. I know I wouldn't want just anyone to summarize my life like this...unless I  had a  hand in the creation of the summary.  Maybe it's not even forgivable, but it helps me remember who they were, and maybe it will help my students as well.

 

Friedrich Nietzsche

Nietzche shook off all Deity’s commands

Postulated a strong “Superman”

“God is dead!” “It’s too sad!”

Then he died—raving mad

Cause he couldn’t "wipe the blood off his hands".

 

Immanuel Kant

Beyond God and nature he stood,

So what was the source of all “good”

The “Thing in itself’”

Sat on too high a shelf

Attain it? Well Kant never could.

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis, though once a contender

Became a strong, Christian defender

"Surprised" through the years

"By his joys" and his fears

He discovered the truth in surrender.

Bertrand Russell

He “pursued what was gentle and wise”

A society where  “envy dies”

He chased “beauty”,   “nobility”

“Insight” and “gentility”

Did he reach it? Just ask his four wives.

Blaise Pascal

Pascal wagered, “What if I choose

To have Faith, and abide by those views

If death proves me right

I gain Paradise

If it proves me wrong, what do I lose?

The Gratitude Wall

Our English teacher had a brilliant idea for giving thanks in November. Everyone was invited to post notes throughout the month--what they were grateful for that day. It's fun to stand and read them all.  From the mundane to the sublime...Gratitude shines!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
Praise Him all creatures here below!

And I too would give my praise
For the thousand different ways
I feel His love throughout my day.

Biology Project--Cell Models

The biology class just finished making these cell models for a project, and students were carrying a great variety of their finished products in the hall today. I asked a few of them to step outside where I could take pictures of their masterpieces. They are impressive! Well, I was impressed anyway.

Another Fall Morning Drive to Work

I took all these pictures this morning on my way to work.  See why I think living in the city must be torture?  Where would you pull off the road for a quick picture of the sky--If you could see the sky? And what about those trees leaning into the wind? They probably would have been uprooted long ago to make room for beautiful little straight ones with no innate lessons about perseverance and tenacity.

Humor-challenged

I never remember jokes and punch lines--at least not until someone starts telling the joke again. Then it might come back to me, or  a version of it might. In the same vein, when it comes to writing humorous posts, or status updates, or pretty much anything funny for that matter, I’m not very adept.  While other family members, namely my offspring, just seem to have a knack with writing material to make people laugh,  a tentative smile is all I can elicit. So I usually don’t try to make jokes.

But today I actually came up with a good one…in the middle of a CSIV lecture. We are studying polls and surveys, and the use of such materials to shape public opinion. I had copied a newspaper article to discuss. Its headline, “Funky Chickens Prefer Music”, had been derived from a skewed analysis of a faulty survey, so we were discussing the merits of that conclusion. 

I said: “Here's another thing:  the survey doesn’t consider what kind of music was played. Did one farmer play hard rock music and another play classical? Did they notice what kind of music the chickens liked best?  I think most chickens probably want to listen to Bach…since they ask for him all day long.”

And my seniors actually got it. They laughed. They didn’t roar or anything, just a gentle chuckle, but I feel really good. 

It doesn’t take much to make me happy.

Faith

How do I know? Anything for that matter. It involves a certain amount of trust. I believe the grass is green in May because I trust my eyes that saw it, my memory that remembers it, the lessons on chlorophyll that explain it to me, the poem books that rave about it, and countless human beings who have made reference to it.  Granted, in South America grass may be green in November, so I may have to qualify my assumption, but most of the time I don't bother. I just accept it. Healthy grass should be green during the growing season. That's the nature of grass. I don't have to live in a state of constant doubt and verification attempts. I just believe it.

Everything we know is the same. There is no one way of knowledge. We build. We rest  on past assumptions that held water. There is no need to blow up everything and begin anew, and if we try to go that route, we end up bleeding, confused, and no nearer the answer than we were.

Is there a God. Yes. What language did He speak? Well, DNA, for one. It's a complex living program more intricate than the finest code our programers have seen, and they, more than anyone should realize that code can't randomly make itself and function. Messed up code brings the program to a halt. Do we see glitches? Sure. We see where things went wrong and were replicated that way, but we also see the "how they should be" sitting right there above it...to the extent that we can repair some of it and are learning every day how to fix the rest.

There is a God.
So how do I know?
I am drawn to find Him. There is something within me that wants to know Him, and feels secure that I have found Him. That's intuition.
How do I know?
I am pushed to find Him. There is a world without that defies explanation in the absence of Him. That's reasoning.
How do I know?
I trust my memory--a thousand times He nudged me to an answer and reassured me in times of fear and frustration. That's experience.
How do I know? I trust the witness of thousands who have embraced Him and lived; I've listened, read their testimonies, and seen the difference in the lives of those who tried to follow Him closely compared with those who didn't. That's culture.
How do I know? I've seen miracles. And I've heard of amazing incidents in the lives of my grandparents and parents. Was I there? No. But I know these people. They never lied to me. Why should they lie about their faith, to which they held fast until we buried them in hope of resurrection day. That's testimony.
How do I know?
I trust the scriptures...internal evidence, external evidence, the historicity and veracity of narrative and prophecy. I'm not going into all that this morning. But I will say that I never study the scriptures without a sense of the value they impart to me.  I watch the impact of their presence in lives and civilizations. I believe they bring revelation. What men do with that is their own choice.

Simple. Sure. I agree. If you want complicated theses on the subject, there are countless very good books. Your mind will follow whatever you keep reading and you have a choice to feed the doubt or feed the faith. I choose faith. And I feel very confident about that choice.

Nothing but the Truth...Senior Play

The seniors just finished performing their fall play, "Nothing but the Truth",  by Philip J. Anderson. I've posted the introduction to the program as a favor to them...just a little something to help them remember it always...or at least as long as the internet keeps this record.

Welcome to a cruise aboard an impressive ship:  "The Deja Vu". 

The year is 1913. Passengers are wary of ocean crossings for the name "Titanic" still makes everyone nervous. 

David McNeely and his younger sister Mary are on their way to China, where Mary plans to serve as a missionary. 

 


The beautiful Miss Kate Miller immediately catches David’s eye and aspires to capture his friendship as well.   

 
Of course, a stunning beauty like Kate cannot help but attract the attention of other eligible bachelors aboard the ship. Pete Jones soon singles her out and attempts a conversation. 

The room stewardesses, Stella  and Phoebe, work hard at making everyone aboard  less nervous about the trip.

Not all passengers are easy to please. Take Mr. Walter Elias and his determined wife Lillian. They are involved in a plot more sinister than sabotage: Finding a husband for their young ward and passenger.   

Their ward, Paulette Cartier, is a young French girl returning to her native Paris after having spent four years at the university in America.  

The captain of this cruise ship, Werner Krause, calmly hosts his nervous passengers, reassuring  them with pleasant conversation and invitations to dine at his table in the exquisitely decorated dining room. 

Our final member of the cast is the manager of that dining room, an opportunistic and pragmatic young waiter. 

So board this ship with us for the next few minutes. Ride along as we sail into the perilous Atlantic. The senior students extend to you a special invitation.

We're still recovering from all the late night practices and from the performances, but if you missed it, I'm sorry. It was wonderful fun to watch.