Charming Cellos

              The days directly following big events kind of depress me; everything that I've been looking forward to and preparing for is suddenly gone. Although the finished product is often super amazing, it feels kind of sad that it's over. For the past 4 months, I had been looking forward to last Saturday. This past Saturday was the premier of Calvin's Charming Cellos in our Cello Cabaret.
              I was very hesitant to get involved in it at first, because I didn't know if I could handle the time commitment and didn't want to be judged because I'm not exactly the most amazing (or dedicated) cellist out there. It's not that I'll flake on what I've committed myself to, I just don't have the passion to go and seek out tons of opportunities to play. I'll do my best with what I'm involved in for sure, but I'm definitely no genius cellist. But, with the influence of a few lovely cello ladies, I decided to be a part of it. Who could pass up an opportunity like an all cello recital?

All 12 of us!

            The concert opened with the Klengel, and it was amazing. Just the effect of having 12 cellos playing all together was awesome, even while on stage it was hard not to get distracted listening to the beauty of it all. I think my favorite part was the fact that it encompassed wide range of technical ability— everyone from cello enthusiast to cello prodigy.
               Then came the Vivaldi. Surprisingly, I don't have much to say about it... other than we gave it our best shot! Overall, I think it was one of the best times we had ever played it. Even better was the fact that I got to meet and get to know some really quality people through the process. Rehearsal usually isn't my favorite thing; it's tiring and sometimes frustrating. These rehearsals were so much fun though, even if I was tired and frustrated— we grew together as musicians and as people and we had fun doing it.

Vivaldi Cellists after the Cabaret.

                For the majority of the rest of the concert I got to listen to the great amount of talent that was found onstage playing Bach, Led Zeppelin, Popper, Metallica and so much more. I do have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the rendition of Bad Romance. Cellists, being clever characters, always have to throw in a twist. To the audience's surprise, the song ended out with a chorus of kazoos played by the rest of us Charming Cellos hanging out on the balcony. It probably sounded terrible, but the audience's reaction was highly entertaining.

             The program listed "You Know What" by "You Know Who" as the second to last piece. Every cellist despises Pachelbel's Canon in D, but we decided to make the best of it and maybe poke a little fun at it. Filled with dragging chairs, a little heckling, Jesus Loves Me, bridesmaid-type entrances, cello being played like a violin, and interpretative dance this number was definitely not run of the mill. It was pretty funny and the perfect segway into Nearer My God to Thee. The traditional hymn in a cool new arrangement was really powerful and left you to revel in the glory of cello.
            I honestly loved every second of it. I'm not a natural performer, but getting to play with these amazing people helped calm the nerves a bit. I know some better than others, but I think that all of them are talented people and am really blessed to get to know them and perform with them. There's a sense of unity between us all, even though we're all super different. It's like we're all one big cello family! I am thankful now more than ever that I play cello; all the fun little things we've done and the friendships formed have made this year a little easier. And I can't wait to see how God is going to use us individually and as a group of cellists, with or without music, for His own glory.

Namaste

Namaste is a traditional Indian greeting that many people understand to be the equivalent of “Hello.” From what I have read recently, it conveys so much more meaning than that, though. Shane Claiborne, in his book The Irresistible Revolution, mentions that from his experience working in Calcutta, namaste means something along the lines of “I see God in you” or “I honor the Holy One who lives in you.” Yeah, go ahead and point out that the Hindu gods/ Buddha are not the one true God. I understand, and agree, but I think the meaning behind the idea of namaste is an incredible one, no matter the deity being spoken of.

In The Valley of Vision (a collection of Puritan prayers) there is one prayer called “The All-Good” that talks about God’s goodness to us, and the goodness of His divine will, even when we don’t recognize it. Suddenly, another connection appears—“My God, thou hast helped me to see… that it is an amazing thing to see Deity in a creature, speaking, acting, filling, shining through it…” How beautiful it is to see God in someone, indeed!

All humans were created in the image of God. That is something that gives me hope: God loved humanity enough to set us apart from the rest of animal kind and put the image of Himself in us. And if you look, you can clearly see God in other people. Their talents and abilities clearly reflect how God has blessed them. Moreover, their personality reflects the image of God. I love being able to see how she sweetly and endearingly shows God’s love to everyone around her, how he has such startling and true insight into people and life, how she can use logic and reason in such a skillful way that makes her argument strong, how he can take something chaotic or broken and innovate a way to make it beautiful and functional. I see God in them.

"To love another person is to see the face of God." This quote from Les Miserables adds another dimension to the whole seeing God in a person idea. It is through loving one another that we truly see God in a person. Selfless love, like the love Christ had for the Church, really enables us  to see them for who they are and see God in and through them. 

Even after all of this, I still can't define word for word what it means to "see God" in another person. My guess is you can't either. But we feel it; intuitively our being knows what it means to see God in someone. It's one of those mysterious balances in life. We know what it means, but can't verbalize it. Even if we can't, at least having it stretch our minds and make connections with our lives is a wonderful place to start. Namaste.

Ordinary Radicals

               What is this thing we call “culture”? And why is it important to everyone, but especially Christians? In the broadest sense, this is what I spent my first Interim thinking and talking about. I know that I was drawn to that class for a purpose; God needed my eyes to be opened a little further and my horizons to be widened a little more. It was the gateway to a changed way of thinking.

                So what is culture? Culture is a neutral thing in and of itself, although many Christians (and others) misuse the term to mean “what is wrong with the world.” It encompasses high culture—going to the symphony, art galleries, opera, museums; ethnic culture—the foods, traditions, etc. that pertain to certain ethnic groups; political culture—the view and values held in high esteem in the realm of politics; and the most obvious branch: pop culture. Pop culture is all the music we listen to, everything we watch on TV or in the movie theatre, every book we read, and all the websites we browse. Everything comes from somewhere, everything has a purpose. Everything points toward the future. People often fall into the trap of just condemning culture as terrible or mindlessly consuming culture. When we stop making our own culture, stop questioning the culture, stop trying to break the status quo, we fall into having a certain view and interpretation shoved down our throats. Our eyes and minds are numbed to the world.

                And so, culture touches more than meets the eye. It fully includes the environment, stereotypes, the food we eat, the fuel we put in our cars, the advertisements we are bombarded with and so much more. We live in a fallen world. Every one of these areas mentioned have been twisted and distorted by sin. Culture contains both very good and very bad, truth and untruth, wisdom and folly mixed together. I learned I needed to… Wake up! To see the world around me as it is; to reorient myself to engaging culture and choosing to embrace the pieces (however unpopular) that bring about the Kingdom.

                This is where the idea of ordinary radicals comes in. Ordinary radicals are people who see the upside-down world (upside-down in comparison to how things should be) and make a choice to never stop inquiring and never settle for the world’s idea of success. They take righteous risks in attempting to fulfill the Lord’s call in their life. Whether this risk is job-sharing, befriending a social outcast, or standing up against social/political injustice, the Kingdom is being pursued. These people are humble, live simply, abound in generosity and hospitality, and all in all look like “Martians” in comparison to the general public. They have ridiculous joy because “We have hope beyond ourselves.”

                The values I listed are wonderful things, and are all things I want to embody, but putting them into practice and connecting them with food, the environment, community, ethnicity, advertising, etc. is where things get tricky. Over Interim we compiled a list of many practical ways to challenge the normal way of the world. I do want to mention a couple things that I think are great ideas, and a couple more things that I plan on putting in to practice as soon as I can:

Consuming consciously, buying food from local farmers/ organic farmers, being engaged in a community, recycling, spending real quality time with family, teaching kids (if you have them) Kingdom values, starting a garden, using eco-friendly products/fuel, getting to know your neighbors, carpooling, having block parties, having a clothing exchange, shopping at thrift stores, connecting with intentional communities, buying fair-trade products, having potluck meals.

Buying local and organic produce (when possible), learning to cook real food from scratch, learning to sew and knit, eventually getting a more eco-friendly car, trying to reform my mind into living a more simple life, attempting to glorify God and bring about shalom on the earth with my every action.

Almost of all these ideas were sparked by an Interim 2013 class, “Culture Making in the Empire,” taught by Rob & Kirstin Vander Giessen-Riestma at Calvin College. Additionally, these themes and discussions were based off of the books: Engaging God’s World: A Reformed Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living by Cornelius Plantinga Jr., Everyday Apocalypse by David Dark, and Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat.

Mixed Signals

           No, this isn’t some whiny blog post about unrequited love or anything like that. This is me, actually considering the importance of signs, symbols, signals, etc. I first stumbled upon this idea when I realized the “math” class I was taking hardly used numbers anymore. It is more a mix of variables (letters), Σ, e, ∞, θ, ln, π, and ⌠. After developing basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry skills, I (more or less) understand and can use these symbols in calculus to some extent. Let’s suppose that, although I don’t see any evidence for it, there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Would the most intelligent mathematician from another planet be able to understand my work? Even if our understanding of calculus was the same, he (or she… or it) would be totally lost because the symbols we use would not be the same.

            I also noticed this phenomenon while sight-reading The Semiramide Overture in orchestra (pretty cool piece, by the way). What are musicians actually doing when they read music? To the outsider, it looks like staring at a piece of paper with little black dots attached to sticks on a set of five lines—with some funny looking b’s (♭) and hashtags (#) thrown in the mix. Each little dot corresponds to a note, and the flats and sharps tell you how to manipulate that note to the correct pitch. Would the most proficient musician from thousands of years ago be able to sit down play a piece given the music notation we have today?

            Is anything actually as it seems? Is there anything that doesn’t need interpretation? Honestly, I don’t know. Everything we experience is picked up by one of our senses, but only has meaning because our brain interprets the signals. The feeling we call love is, in part, a confluence of chemicals in our brains: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, etc. This is not meant to downplay love by any means. It is a beautiful gift from God, and without God there could be no love, even with all the chemicals in the world. However, it is amazing that we can figure out what signals our brains that we love someone! This is only one example of how reliant we are on the interpretation of signals.

            I guess it just surprises me how much our brains do for us, that we don’t even realize. On top of the involuntary interpretation of bodily signals, we are also able to use our brains to decode outside signs. Like reading a book, driving a car, playing a game, or playing an instrument. The amount of things we are interpreting at one time is, to me, astonishing.

We Only Get 24 Hours

               We're starting to hit the point in the semester when there is so much to do and so little time to do it. There's homework to be done, papers to be written, music to learn, and mid-terms to take. Add in trying to work part-time, being social (at least on weekends), and getting enough sleep to muddle through the next day and you have like 30 hours of activity packed into a 24 hour time span. Everything is constantly go, go, go... and it's exhausting. 
               A night in advance, I can pretty much tell  you how I will be spending every minute of the day to come. Whether it's in class, grabbing lunch with a friend, doing homework, practicing or taking a nap- I learned pretty fast how to manage time in ways that will bring me the least displeasure. Meaning: learning about centripetal motion certainly doesn't bring me pleasure, but if I study it effectively and get my homework done quickly, I can move on to things that I am passionate about and that bring me joy.
              On days like today, when every minute feels scheduled and time fades away much too quickly I find it is good to just stop for a little while. To embrace the beauty of silence.  To meditate. To pray. To focus in on the random little things that brighten my day; things that seem mundane but are truly wonderful when you think about them. Things like:

• A good cup of coffee in the morning to give energy when it's most needed
• Colorful pens that help me color code my notes
• Hearing your favorite song from a few months ago, and reminiscing on good times passed
• A smile from a total stranger
• A smile and hug from an old friend
• The reassuring "Mhmm" sounds people make when you're talking to them or they're listening to someone else speak (lately, I've mainly noticed it from professors)- it lets you know they are listening and actively engaged in what is being said
• Sharpie doodles on binders
• A group of 12 cellists using their talents together to make glorious music- I seriously cannot help but smile when I see and hear everyone weaving the musical lines together in a way that encompasses the prodigy, the beginner and everyone in between
• Organic almond butter
• Thought provoking questions and statements that alter your thinking on a particular subject
• Thinking of all the wonderful possibilities for the future
• Good music, no matter how you define that
• Star-gazing
• Comfy clothes, my big pillow with colorful fish on it, and a heating vent/ fireplace that make doing homework a little more cozy
• Reading God's Word after a long day and remembering that everything is going to be alright in the end

Things like these make life lovely, even in times of work and stress.

Worth It?

           Every day we are faced with literally thousands of choices. Some as little as picking which sweatshirt to wear and some are much weightier and hold much more significance. I think these choices can put too much pressure on us, especially teenagers finishing up high school and venturing into the land of college. It seems as if by graduation day we have to have picked out our perfect college, career goals, be in a long-term relationship and have everything figured out. Let me tell you, that none of that is true. You don’t have to have everything figured out because there is someone who does. And He directs your path better than you ever could. You may pick a college for some very good reasons, but then decide it isn’t for you; you may think you know what you “want to be when you grow up,” but tastes and interest change as your horizons are widened; relationships are a lot of time and energy— and people/ feelings change over time. Nothing really goes according to plan. There are always bumps in the road.

Last year, as a senior in high school, I went along doing the usual senior thing and decided on a college. It was totally my decision, and I kind of rushed into the process by only applying to one college after going on only one college visit. But, I am so thankful to be at Calvin. God kept Calvin in my heart and mind, and going anywhere else just didn’t feel right. I absolutely loved my first semester, my first interim, and now I’m diving into the spring semester. They are very challenging and required a lot of work, but the work paid off! It was worth it. All the late nights spent doing Calculus and writing Spanish essays or watching documentaries on BioFuel were so worth it. I have learned so much, am beginning to understand how to really apply the things that I learn through classes to my life (mostly character traits, skills, and ways of thinking, not really things like how to find velocities and such). In that sense my work paid off.

Everyone I run into now asks how school is going. Usually I respond with “It’s busy, but it’s going well.” This is true. What many people have said next is what surprised me. Especially those connected with Calvin, or who know of Calvin’s reputation tell me that in the end, it is going to be worth it. I am getting a wonderful education (although it does deprive me of sleep at times) and am meeting incredible people. The literal monetary cost of coming here is great, but I am being reassured that in the end, I won’t regret it because the experience is worthwhile. [Note: I am not so naïve and biased as to think that Calvin is the only place I could be getting a great education, but I do think that right now it’s where I’m supposed to be.]

My real question goes something along the lines of: will the time and energy I put into every different facet of my life be worth it in the end? Ultimately, when I look back on my life will I remember that my time was wasted—uselessly spent looking at pictures of cats on the internet? Or will I be able to look back on my actions and see that every moment I could, I used to bring about the Kingdom? That is truly why life is worth living, to bring glory to God. And now through my studies, through orchestra, through building community at lunch or dinner, I am trying my best to serve the Lord and honor Him in everything. Even the things that seem meaningless in the grand scheme of things have meaning. Everything says something about who you are as a person and who you’re trying to become. So be the person who you’re going to be, today. In the end, it will all be worth it.

Why My Kids Will Listen to Simon & Garfunkel

             Growing up, I remember always having a couple black cases in the car filled with CDs. They ranged from Pirates of the Caribbean to Barry Manilow, the Beach Boys to Rascal Flatts, Collin Raye to England Dan and John Ford Coley. I was definitely influenced by all this music; and I’ve grown to appreciate it and even like some of it. I’ll turn on a little Huey Lewis when I’m feeling spunky and Collin Raye’s “Little Red Rodeo” has been on my top played song list from the time I was really little until now. I, of my own free will, sometimes choose to listen to things that my parents introduced me to. That is exactly why I will play Simon & Garfunkel songs for my children.

[Preface: First, I have a very good memory in regard to some things. I remember a lot about dates and times, clothes, quotes, and events in which I took part. Second, I can tell almost instantly whether or not I like something, I don’t really waver back and forth when it comes to things like picking out dresses, the way I like my coffee, music or television. In most cases, I sense something for the first time and know in my heart that it is the right/wrong thing for me then.]

With that being said, I can remember the first time I really listened to Simon & Garfunkel. I was sharing an iPod with a friend as we tried to pass the time on the bus when our senior class traveled to CO. The Sound of Silence and Bridge Over Troubled Water came on and I remember thinking “What is this magical music and why have I never heard it before?” Their sweet and clear voices melded in perfect harmony and immediately found a place in my heart. As I began to discover more and more of their music over the following months, I came to appreciate and love it all the more. A deep and personal connection to music is strange if you think about it, and is hard to explain. But, I think most people have experienced something of the sort and can therefore relate. For me it’s Simon & Garfunkel. For others it could be Kelly Clarkson, Eminem, Claude Debussy, U2 or Martina McBride.

Paul Simon is a brilliant poet and songwriter; the words he penned are so full of meaning and the way he tells stories are so complex, but at the same time simple—using few words. And Art Garfunkel’s tenor voice is just lovely. When they make music together, it brings a smile to my face and on occasion a tear to my eye. The poignant line, “The fighter still remains” in the midst of defeat from The Boxer and the insight into pure friendship from Bridge Over Troubled Water always strike a chord somewhere inside me. The nonsensical happiness of Feelin’ Groovy is contagious and I can’t help but sing along and smile.

           I think there is great meaning and passion in the lyrics and beautiful melodies in the music of Simon & Garfunkel, which is why I want to share it. I want it to encourage, provoke thought, and inspire others like it has for me. This is why (Lord willing) someday in the future when I have children I’ll use whatever new music playing technology is available and crank some good old S&G tunes. Then maybe they’ll decide to pull it out and listen to something I introduced to them.