April Fool's Day (Part 1)

April Fool’s Day always creeps up on me rather quickly.  I began conniving this past Wednesday for the perfect trick to play on Cody.  I was restricted to the items I owned or was willing to acquire in the next several hours.  No prank at all is better than one ill-executed.  I settled on random cell phone alarms and a simple mid-hallway fish line web.  I collected a few old cell phones that were lying around (I’m so thankful that we haven’t donated those old phones yet!).  I chose the ring style, volume and set the times in 20-30 minute intervals.  The hurdle in getting this part of the prank set up was in the fact that Cody’s door squeaks and rattles as you open it.  There is no sneaking into his room, sometimes no entry at all if he’s locked it.  I tiptoed toward it.  I turned it, nudged it, thought I was home scot-free, when I hear: What are you doing?  Cody was still awake in his bed!

I announced myself more openly as I reeled inside for a plan B.  A story.  Yes, a story is what I needed.  Cody liked a good story! Cody, I haven’t seen you all day!  I’m glad you are still up (DRAT, he’s still up!)… I wanted to tell you a story about my night at camp tonight.  Sitting down next to his bed, I began to spin a tale of woe while wondering two things.  I wondered firstly if he’d even believe my story, or at least be mildly entertained.  Secondly, I wondered if my story could create enough of diversion so that I could slid a few phones to various places underneath his bed.  I began in.

Now, the story wasn’t particularly exciting, except for the suspenseful inflection and various climatic moments.  In reality, the story was about how I was down at Riverside looking for my Starbuck coffee mug that I’d lost there a couple of months ago.  I rehashed every light switch I turned on, every thought, every fright.  Well, he took it all in, gasping and sighing at all of the right spots.  I left his room with my phones planted in the best spots imaginable, all the while dispelling any suspicion that Cody may have had that I was pranking him.  Good night, Cody.

The fish line: My only comment about the fish line is that it’s hard to work with in the dark.  I had to create the illusion that I was in bed (hence, no lights on) so… well, I lost quite a few strands, to be found in the morning.  That said, it was also pretty easy for Cody to see the fish line early on April 1^st.  The alarms wake him up, flashing, vibrating, ringing, dinging.  And I received a text after the last one (a phone that actually had service attached)…  nice Jaime.   And then a bit later, can you please take down the fish line?  

Over breakfast, we discussed the strengths and weaknesses of the prank and by the end of our conversation, I’d convinced Cody to walk into the fish line net just for posterity’s sake.  So, for the next few minutes, we walked and got tangled in it. 

I left for work on Thursday in a happy mood.  As I walked out, Cody mischievously asks me – so, when are you going to be home tonight, Jaime?  

I knew I was in for something. 

The Crack Heads

Meeting James and Melanie (and staying at their house) was the runner-up highlight of the trip to Fargo, second only to spending time with Mandy and being a part of her fabulous wedding day!  But a new friendship with the Iversons?!  Well, any friendship that begins with an incredibly embarrassing fart story and a picture of a horrific mustache is bound to last into eternity, right?  

Beyond their generous hospitality and immense hilarity, this couple blinded me by their deep understanding of God’s grace.  Just a few years ago, they were struggling to survive in their AA program.  I like to think of them as “The Crack-Heads.” I’m not sure if they were ever on crack, but, good gravy, they sure used the term a lot!  These sheets are like crack for your body… The scent of that candle is like crack for your nose… and others.  They were so vocal about what God had done for them, His grace in literally changing their appetites from themselves and substance to Him and his love.  

Having been a believer for awhile now, I found these concepts that rendered them speechless somehow “old-hat.” That’s why it was so refreshing to spend time with them!  It renewed my sense of awe at God’s action in human lives.  It also enlivened hope in His Power.  He can change lives.  He can and does act powerfully in unbelieving souls.  He acts mightily in my life.  It was like breathing again.

So thankful.  They didn’t sugar-coat the Christian life.  They faced it head on, struggling through the flesh.  Marriage makes you humble.  Having children reveals your selfishness and need for God. It turned my view of life on its head!  I am not here on this earth to enjoy life, have fun, and try not to face my sin.  Every event in my life has been designed by God to make me holy, to make me humble, to see my sin – and my need for Him.  

James and Mel helped me see that obedient life isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.  It was just what I needed to catapult me out of my annual March slump.  Thanks be to God for you two!  You’re like crack for my soul!

Marathon, we were not impressed. At all.

The most depressing part of the game today was that the teams could not be compared evenly on the same playing field.  The referees did not give Amherst the option of fairly showing their ability.  Every call (save 5) were against us.  The total foul count was Amherst 29, Marathon 5 (on the game).  Now, I understand that a good 10 of those were 4th quarter fouls to stop the clock (a strategy I would implore any team playing Marathon to employ.  They throw up bricks from the line.), but still -- 19-5?!  I have watched a lot of basketball in my day.  I have seen a lot of poorly called games.  It was a new world-record today. These men should never be paid to referee again.  And how can they sleep at night?!  Fifth-graders could have beat us with their calls!

Furthermore, I truly hope that Marahon did not think that they earned this win.  It was handed to them on a silver platter by three men in stripes. Normally, I can see the strengths of the team that beats us, but today, I saw little that should let them advance.  The fundamental measure of a team is whether they can make free throws and I believe they were less than 50% today from the line. Oh, I guess they did rebound pretty well, if it's okay to reach down over the back.  At one point in the first half, the game was tied, but Amherst had 9 fouls called against us while Marathon sat at 0.  They can't be that good, and they are really not!

It's normally thoughtful to cheer for the team that knocked you out to go all of the way so that you can say you'd played the State Champs.  Well, I hope that Marathon gets pummeled into the ground.  I hope every call goes against them next game.  I hope they are frustrated and foul out every senior.  I hope they get smashed (perhaps even with some injury).  They did not deserve this win any more than we did. 

Hold your head up, Amherst Boys, you had TWO opponents today!

On the Road to State

The Amherst boys basketball team has advanced to the third round of the playoffs this season, a game this afternoon against top ranked Marathon.  I have be delighted to watch them play.  There is something, however, about the playoffs - a precarious sense of survival.  It seems to be that one wrong step, pass, shot will send your team to the off season.  Yes, we have been blessed in Amherst to advance several rounds each year at least.  (I cannot imagine following a team that gets out in the first round.  It has just not ever been my experience.) 

And yet, we still see the frustration on the court by our guys when a clutch shot is missed.  The determination when the ball is coming down the court and gosh-dang-it, we need the steal.  This is what these players have prepared for all season!  They've practiced and played together for the past 5 months.  They know each other well.  Some plays are new and delicate while others, we have seen every game, like base-line Lutz or drive and dish Doll. 

I get nervous as a fan.  Perhaps it is because, at one point, I was a sister.  (I still am a sister, but not to varsity basketball players this year).   There is something about watching your own brother out on the court - knowing his strengths and weaknesses - having lived with him and seen his tantrums and triumphs, that brings the game to a heightened level.  You want his hard work to pay off.  You want to see him shine.  Trouble is, all of the players on the other team have families that want the same thing.  So, it is a battle. 

After watching these players all year, I've come to enjoy their teamwork.  The looks of encouragement, the shouts of praise and the helpful suggestions after a cheap foul.  I love seeing the determination in their eyes and the hustle in their bodies as they go for the ball.  There is a passion here.  I hope this passion continues, if not for ball, for something, for life. To live it well and with confidence, the same confidence that they have popping up the 3-ball when they know they are "on." 

Oh yes, can you tell I love high school basketball?  It is a tradition in our family. Going to these games makes me miss the days of high school as Sherf's Little Sister.  It makes me a little sad that I will not be present for the next few seasons of watching my "biggest/youngest" brother play for Jensen.  But for today, I'm going to cheer and enjoy these men and their excitement for a chance at Marathon!

Play the game of your lives!

A Social Experiment.

I stepped back in time for a day at the Berntsen Libray last Thursday.  Well, it was present day - new students, new inside jokes (that i'm outside of!), etc... - but being there brings back so many memories!  Mini-golf behind the circulation desk, scooter races, ridiculous requests from faculty... oh, it was good times.

This time, at the libes, it was a social experiment with Pegs.  It hatched out of a large lunch at the mid-town global market.  We sat in Becky's office with our "food baby bellies" and reminisced about the poems we'd written at the library, the concerned customer letters from deceased alumni, the hilarious proposals to supposedly streamline the circulation process.  And, lo and behold, a new scheme... what would people say to a pregnant woman wandering amongst the stacks of the main collection?  At a smallish private Christian college?! Let's try it. By the way, Peggy will make an adorable pregnant woman someday! (She even had the "waddle" down!)  The original plan was to convince one of our old co-workers of her pregnancy, but we got a lot of other great data in the process.  People stared, smiled, did double takes at Peg as we walked about the library.  I don't recognize that girl... oh look, she's pregnant.

How we all giggled and snickered in the confines of Becky's office after those walks!!  And then, we had good conversations about "judgment" and "disappointment."  Is "being disappointed" in someone's behavior a nice way to say that you are "judging" them?

Retreats. Jobs. Adventures. Life.

Whew. It's just been so full of bustle!  I don't want to bombard you with the details of everything, but I do want to uncover some stories and thoughts about my last couple of weeks.  My next several posts may be to that end.

Just one story tonight and then a preview of the next few to come...

Bowling with frozen poultry.  It was a sight to behold!  The winter retreat at Riverside was in full swing.  I had two "talks" under my belt.  I was half-way through the four I had prepared.  It was going well.  I was surprised that the urgency of what I was sharing came out between the shakes and nerves.  Being a first time speaker, I thought that I would come out dry and unfeeling.  Anyway, the bowling.  It was magnificent.  There is nothing quite like holding a smallish frozen turkey and looking across the ice rink at 10 2-liter bottles set up like pins.  The strategies you come up with to knock down the most pins (on the knees, granny-style, side arm) are just hilarious to watch fail or succeed in their turn.  As I heaved the turkey forward in the first frame for my team, I had visions of getting a strike on my first time and impressing everyone.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  I missed completely. Not. A. Pin. Down. 

Thankfully, everyone else was having similar luck.  Half-filled  with water and frozen, those bottles were difficult to totter over.  Getting two or more down brought huge hoots and hollers from your team.  Toward the end of the game, Jake gets a brilliant idea.  He begins running from outside of the rink, on the snow, to gain momentum.  He plans to launch himself on the ice and propel the turkey forward from the line.  Anyone else would have biffed it and broken a bone (as someone did that day).   But Jake's middle names are "gracefully athletic" so, of course, he nails the landing and the release.  He knocked down 6 pins.  This guy is my hero.

And then somehow, potentially by a mathematical error, our team (TEAM STRIKE!) went from last to first in the second half of the game.  We don't ask questions at that point.  We just go crazy bananas on the ice, screaming and slapping backs.  This is what I love about camp.  It's a place where you can tell a person about Jesus and then be utterly silly with that person in the very next moment.  What a lovely mix!

Stay tuned for...

A bit of pregnancy in the library at Northwestern (A social experiment)

Fluent in Flatulence (A look inside a fish-house full of Sherfs)

The New Job (on the effects of growing up with only brothers and then working with only women.)

Infuse. Ignited for Christ

I've been working like a mad woman on a set of talks that I will be presenting this weekend at Riverside's winter retreat for youth.  The theme for the week is Infuse: Ignited for Christ.  After getting over the hump of completely blank thoughts, I have hammered out some thoughts on our lives, God's plan for things, darkness and light and various other topics.  

I've learned so much in my preparation.  By far, the biggest thing is that if this goes off without hitch, it will be because of the Lord.  If this goes off with a hitch or two, the Lord will use it in His way.

Pray that God's purposes might stand.  Pray that all hearts would be open to understand.  Pray that God would let us see Him and ignite our hearts!