how long has it been?

I'm not sure anyone is still checking the blog, but just in case, I thought I'd write a sketchy update on my life for those who are wondering if I'm alive (I am!).

As every other term has been at L'Abri, this one is different. I'm working as a helper with a solid group of people, and there are around 9 people or so who were here last term who returned for the winter, giving the dynamics of the community a different flavor than before. I'm in the kitchen every day, usually making lunch or preparing breakfast, and this work is enjoyable but challenging. Planning menus on a tight budget for large (and multiple) groups of people is more difficult than I anticipated but nowhere near impossible and still very satisfying. Besides that I'm enjoying closer relationships with the workers and staff at L'Abri, and have started studying with Greg Laughery as my tutor (his website's link is available on the right). I still go grocery shopping, this time with Jasie.

I'm studying harder than I have before, particularly about the dynamics of sanctification and (somewhat relatedly) aesthetics. I also am studying the book of Philippians with Greg, and reading one of his recent publications, Living Spirituality. Meanwhile, we're having lectures on bioethics, the hidden nature of God, the imagination, the body, and a rotating exegetical series on 1 Peter, Romans, and Mark.

It's beautiful here, as always. We're enjoying the snow and have plans to go snowboarding tomorrow. I'm glad I bought my board; hopefully this is a time to improve and become more comfortable on it.