Happy Reformation Day!

What is Reformation Day? To answer that question, let’s ask another question. When is Reformation Day? It’s October 31; it commemorates the events of October 31, 1517. On that day, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Now, why would Luther do that? To answer this question, we need to introduce a few more characters.

One of those characters was Albert of Brandenburg. Albert was not old enough to be a bishop, yet in 1517, he was already bishop over two cities, which was against church law. On top of that, he wanted to be archbishop of Mainz. To hold three offices was also against church law, which meant that Albert needed a papal dispensation.

So now, Pope Leo X enters our story. Leo was from the Medici family of Florence. The Medici were a prominent banking clan and patrons of the arts. It was Leo who brought Michelangelo in to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling in the Vatican. Albert met with Leo about getting a dispensation, and like good businessmen they struck a deal. For ten thousand ducats, Albert could have his three bishoprics. But Albert had a problem: his money was largely in land and not in cash, so he needed to raise the money.

The real main character in Reformation Day is not Luther. It’s the Word of God.

And so another character enters, the enterprising friar Johann Tetzel. He sold indulgences on Albert’s behalf, and some of the money went to help Albert pay the cost of becoming archbishop of Mainz. These indulgences were supplied by the pope and not only provided for past sins to be forgiven but for future sins to be forgiven as well. And these indulgences also allowed the buyer to get his relatives out of purgatory. And so Tetzel began selling these indulgences, using a jingle to sell them: “As soon as a coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.”

This development deeply troubled Luther. He saw how these things were contrary to the church’s doctrine at the time, and he watched as the people under his care went to buy Tetzel’s indulgences. So, he did what a scholar could do. He went into his study and penned his Ninety-Five Theses to invite public debate. He posted the theses on October 31.

The very first thesis says this: “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said ‘Repent,’ willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance.” It’s fascinating that Luther makes this reference to Jesus’ calling people to “repent” in Matthew 4:17. There is something else that came into play here, something else that explains Reformation Day.

In 1516, the Greek New Testament was published by the humanist scholar Desiderius Erasmus. And when Luther read the Greek New Testament, he realized that the Latin Vulgate—for centuries, the official text of the church—was wrong. The Vulgate had translated the Greek word in question—rendered in English as “repent”—as “do penance.” This translation had served for centuries to support the Roman Catholic sacramental system.

The real main character in Reformation Day is not Luther. It’s the Word of God. What Luther discovered as a monk is that for centuries, the true teachings of the Word of God had been hidden by century upon century of tradition. That’s what Reformation Day is about: it’s about pulling back the covers and releasing the power of the Word of God and the beauty and the truth of the gospel. That’s why we celebrate Reformation Day.

Also listen to:

• Martin Luther: Top 5 of the 95
• Martin Luther: The 95 Theses, Take 2
• Bride of the Reformation

Stay connected with 5 Minutes in Church History by getting the weekly podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, or via RSS. 

Family Visit!

Mom and Dad came to visit!  Although it seemed too short, it was lovely hosting them out here. Thanks for the chats, coffee times, walks, and all the activities you did with the kids. And that particularly hilarious game of Quiddler!   We love and miss you!  Thank you for visiting us!

 Preparing a welcome banner to hang in their room.

 Playing dominoes!

 Gramma brought some craft supplies.  They made their own foam visors.

 Making use of the packaging materials from our new daybed/pullout double bed.  Tracing figures.

 Hanging out in the warm sun!

 Gramma's turn!

 C-note hanging out with Grampa and reading.

 The nightly story ritual.

 Campfire and s'mores!

 Lots of visits to the local park.

 Swimming at the pool in a nearby town.

Of course we had to stop by the school to check out the new renovations.  This is C-note's new classroom!

 Beach day at Long Island Lake!

 Helping re-shingle our sad, sad shed.

Stopped by our new church building to see how it was getting along.

Bye Gwampa!  See you next year!

Two Years

On Sunday we celebrated two years of having little Strawberry in our lives!  Her birth seems so long ago!  She arrived in quite a tumultuous time in our lives as a family.  Stu had just been diagnosed with skin cancer two months before her birth.  In May of 2013 we learned that he had melanoma, and required surgery twice.  They took so much skin from his arm they had to bend it back a bit and put a cast on, which made it hard to help out and hold the baby when she arrived!  Lots of meetings with a dermatologist, surgeon and oncologist followed.

After his second surgery, the surgeon told us that the depth of the spot indicated there may be a chance it had moved into his lymphatic system, so a biopsy of several lymph nodes. which included injecting radioactive dye, which was quite painful, and full body scan.  The cancer was present in one of them, so a right radical auxiliary dissection was ordered for him, which removed all of the lymph nodes from his ribs to his neck, including his arm.  Thankfully this surgery was scheduled right when Stu's parents had come to visit so we had extra help, as Strawberry was only a few weeks old, and it required an overnight stay in the city, and I was still recovering from a cesarean section.  He had to wear a drainage tube for a couple of weeks to get rid of fluid buildup, which was awkward and became infected after a while.

So, although it was a frightening and uncertain time for us, we put our trust in God to carry us through yet another trial, because we know, whatever happens, He hold us in His hand.  We were blessed with helping hands in our community as we were both recovering.  There's always a chance of it returning, but our dermatologist sees us every four months to check his spots and watch for any changes, and every year he needs a full body PET scan.  He also needs to be careful lifting heavy things with his right arm, and watch for swelling, as it could lead to lymphedema.

So, yes, this is not only a post about Strawberry's birthday, but also a little about what was going on in our lives as well during her arrival!  Because whenever I think about when she was born, I can't help but think of that entire summer our lives were turned upside down again.  I've always meant to write the story, I just haven't yet!

Loves to swing!

Loves to read!

Loves playing with her big brother, and inseperable from her pink bunny.

Loves to dance

It was too hot to bake a cake for her birthday, so we had ice cream!

All three kiddies

Dear Strawberry, you're a bright light in our lives.  You are an intelligent, goofy-but-mostly-serious, snuggly, and sometimes quite demanding little girl, and we love you so much!  Keep singing your little ditties and dancing your crazy dances!  And we don't mind that you save your smiles and giggles for us (and one close friend!)

Salted Honey Caramels

Ever since I began making my own chocolates, truffles, and candy I have found store bought stuff to be pretty bland and...cardboardish tasting.  I have discovered that nothing compares to freshly made confectionery cooked up in your kitchen and made with real ingredients.  Whenever whipping cream is on sale, you can be sure I'll be cooking up a batch of these mouth-watering morsels!

These caramels are buttery smooth and delicious, it's hard to eat just one!  They are also super easy to make, you just need some time.  I recommend using a candy thermometer for accurate results. You can pick one up at a department or hardware store in the kitchen supply section for about $5.

I started with a basic caramel recipe from Joy of Baking.  I don't buy corn syrup and after a bit of research discovered honey can be an acceptable substitute, which is perfect for a gal who has plenty of local unpasturized honey at her disposal.  Have fun trying it out!


Salted Honey Caramels

1 1/2 cups heavy 'whipping' cream (cream with a 35-40% butterfat content)
1 cup granulated white sugar
2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4  teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 cup butter, diced
Extra salt for sprinkling

Line an 8 inch (20 cm) square baking pan parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a large, heavy bottomed saucepan, stir together the cream, sugars, honey and salt. Place the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula.  Once it is boiling, stop stirring and clamp a candy thermometer to the side of the saucepan.  Make sure the bottom of the thermometer isn't touching the bottom of the pan.    

Every few minutes I take my rubber spatula and run it around the edge of the pan and give the works a stir.  Keep checking your thermometer once it nears the 240 degree mark, because the hotter it gets, the quicker the temperature rises...aka don't try doing something else while you are making caramels or you will end up with rock hard candies that still taste amazing but are really hard to cut.  Not that I've ever done that.  Ahem.  

Boil the mixture over medium high heat until the temperature reaches 250 degrees F.  Once you've reached that sweet spot - I stop juuuust before the 250 degree mark - take it off the stove and stir in your butter and vanilla, mixing until all the butter has melted.  Pour into your prepared pan.  If you so desire, sprinkle a little kosher or flake salt on top right now.  It looks pretty and if you like sweet/salty combinations, you'll love a bit of salt on top.  If not, they are great as is.  Then you can just call them "Honey Caramels." ;)

Let it sit for a few hours or overnight, then pop it out by lifting the edges of the paper.  Cut into pieces with a large knife.  I like to wrap mine in wax paper and give as gifts in a beribboned treat bag. Another option is cutting them a bit smaller and dipping them in chocolate.  Mmm. Share and enjoy! 

Five!

A-team turned five this past Sunday!  He was, as all little boys are, very excited the last few weeks up until his birthday. We love our goofy guy, full of adventure and derring-do.  He loves to be a super hero, fire fighter or knight and save people from harm.  Often he will come up to me and proclaim in a serious, deep hero voice, "What do you want me to do?"  Then I have to tell him about my cat in the tree, or a fire in the kitchen, or enemies attacking the castle.

Dad and big bro building his firetruck for him

Lately he has become a deeper thinker and is asking questions about life and faith.  Or he will make a comment about spiritual things - and that's when we as parents realize that what we talk about is taking hold, and we rejoice in that and pray he will continue to grow in the knowledge of his Saviour.
This fall he will be going to Kindergarten!  Right now I am teaching him his letter sounds in preparation.  Right now he can read simple words with made with the letters a, s, d, t, e, r, and m.  I did that with C-note too and I think it really helped him get a head start and interested in reading as he reads all the time!

Attack of the balloons!

Fun with static!

Friends came for supper and cake!

Play Dough!

Once a year, or every other year, depending on how long our last batch lasted, we make play dough.  It's super easy to make, and a lot of fun to play with!  I can't remember which recipe we used last time, but this year we found Instructibles.  They have all steps listed and pictured so it's really easy to follow.  All cooked dough recipes out there are basically the same, this one made a bit more than the last one because it filled my dough containers and we had some left over!

 The cooked and kneaded dough, ready for colour and scent!

 Blue and a couple of drops each of peppermint, wintergreen and spearmint.  This is A-team's favourite.

Refilled containers of freshly made dough!  Yellow has lemon and lemongrass oil, green is lime, and orange has mandarin and sweet orange essential oils.

So fun!