-
An Ode to High School Study Hall: “Quiet”
Quiet, all is quiet,Except for the turning of pages,We sit and study quietlyFrom the halls of the knowledge of ages. Cars drone past outside,The heat from the furnace hums,A pencil scratches then stops,Feet tap the floor like drums. Students with heads in handsLook up from their quiet reprieve,Like a herd of bustling cattleThey close their books, pack up, and leave.
-
Let All the Nations Praise the Lord {New Music Monday}
Our spring program at school is coming up in a little less than a month. The students have been learning and practicing their songs since late in January. They did such an excellent job for the Christmas program that we’ve been working on some fun extra things as well. The theme of the program is “Let All the Nations Praise the Lord.” Here’s a summary of what my students will be performing for the spring program this year. Dona Nobis Pachem We’re beginning the program with “Dona Nobis Pachem,” a lovely canon, or round, meaning “grant us peace.” This song fits the theme of the program because it’s written in…
-
Sweet Potato Curry Soup, For Wintery Spring Days
Earlier this week, the temperatures here in the Midwest reached into the high 50s, the sun shone with real warmth, and the robins sang their cheery, rollicking spring songs. Now, as I type this recipe, the wind is whipping snow around the house outside and the temperatures, taking into account the wind chill, have fallen into the low 20s. It is the perfect evening for soup. Here’s my recipe for Sweet Potato Curry soup, one of my original creations: Ingredients 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced 1 stalk celery, diced 1 tsp. minced onion 1 tbsp. butter 3 cups frozen sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 1 tsp. curry powder Cilantro…
-
Strawberry Cake and Cultivating a Biblical Worldview
Imagine you are making your friend a birthday cake. Your friend happens to love strawberries, so you decide that you are going to make her the most strawberry strawberry cake you can imagine. You go to the grocery store and buy strawberries to decorate the top of the cake, strawberry jelly to put between the cake layers, and strawberry extract to flavor the frosting and the cake. You even buy strawberry ice cream so you can offer your friend strawberry cake a la mode. Strawberry, strawberry, and more strawberry. Now, imagine that instead of making cake layers that taste like strawberry, you make chocolate cake layers instead. Chocolate is your…