Sunday, July 20, 2025

Joonas

My middle child graduated this year. He is the one child for whom I would receive phone calls and emails from the school. He had been caught throwing banana peels off the roof. He had gone hiking out of bounds with his friends. He had a flask that he was using as a water bottle. He had violated the tech policy...He was also the one that told me in kindergarten that he had chosen a friend because, " I like him because he is BAD!!". It is because of Joonas that I am a better teacher. I love the crazy active little kids in my class who have spunk and personality plus. I understand them. I like them and they know it. It makes my job so much easier when I like the sassy students and they in turn like me. 

Back to Joonas. Despite his many antics, he did very well in school. I am proud of how well he did and how he managed to be successful even though I rarely saw him doing homework. He is smart and funny and I am excited to see where God leads him. Joonas graduated this year and it was such a great time of celebration. I already blogged about our family party in May. In June, there was the convocation and the grad banquet. We were celebrating not just Joonas, but also his really great group of friends, who may also act first and think later, but who are just really great kids. Joonas and his friends formed a group called the Harmonica Boys and they performed at both celebrations. They formed a fishing club which became one of the official clubs at the school. I often hear that a group of boys has invaded our basement and that the group of them are going for swim and sauna at midnight. I hope their friendships continue even though they are all going their separate ways in a sense. 

Joonas isn't sure what he wants to do yet, but as long as he's not living in our basement when he's 40, I am okay with that. Besides, he cooks a mean steak and I like having him around.



Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Summer Bible study


So after a five year break, I have finally resumed summer Bible study. I started these summer studies back in 2018 because I was annoyed that all programming ends just when my holidays start and I would have more time for reading and studying. When you can't find anyone offering what you're looking for, start your own...So that's what I did. 
We meet in Lois' lovely backyard to discuss, chat, have coffee and snacks. We are studying the prophets of the Old Testament and it's fascinating stuff. Today's lesson was on Habakkuk and I think it was my favourite one so far. Then again, my favourite book of the Bible seems to often be the last one I've studied...lol. But Habakkuk, what an honest and relateable prophet. He questioned the when of God's timing. Why wasn't God doing anything? Then when God told him that he planned to act and how he planned to do so, Habakkuk questioned the how of God's methods. How like us. How like me. God is either sovereign and in control or he isn't. All things work for my good, not just the pleasant ones that I "approve" of. I want to be able to say with Habakkuk that "though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food....yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in my salvation." I am working on it.