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my beautiful future daughter-in-law. Isn't that a gorgeous picture?

It is a very merry Christmas

When I dropped this man off at the airport on Friday afternoon, it meant he was flying away to be gone on Christmas.  But there was no sadness.  This was an important trip to see a beautiful woman.

And there was a very important question he had to ask this woman, the kind of question it is best to ask in person.

And she said YES!

We had a feeling that the answer would be yes, so our goofy elves got busy.  We had a new stocking that had to be added to the row.

The elves had to choose the right decorations.  They chose a platypus (yes, a platypus), a ring and a camera.  She is a lover of platypi, a wearer of a sparkling engagement ring, and a fabulous photographer.

Welcome to the family, Faith.

Congratulations to you both.  We love you!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

We're busy here, cleaning up our projects and preparing for Christmas Eve service. 

Packages are wrapped. What's done is done; what's not we shall do without.

Emmanuel, God With Us. 
The Light Has Come.
We have much to celebrate!

Eagle Scout Court of Honor

Tuesday night we had the pleasure of taking a few hours to celebrate the amazing accomplishments of our newest Eagle Scout.  It was a fantastic ceremony, and we kept the party going with swing dancing and pancakes back at our house.  Below is the speech I gave in Rex's honor.

It was a night to remember.

We are so happy to have you all here in the midst of this busy and holy season of Christmas. Thank you for coming. Rex, you began scouting shortly after turning eleven. Here we are, seven and a half years later, and you have achieved the goal of Eagle Scout. Congratulations, son. You have done very well.

There are skills and experiences you will take into the rest of your life as a result of your work in scouts. There are knots and lashings, swim strokes and orienteering, hiking and wilderness survival. You know to protect cinnamon rolls from raccoons, to always expect rain on a campout, and to carry plenty of water up Half Dome. But there are some things that are woven through scouts, subtle enough that they might not be noticed. I would like to point a few out.

The first is that the details matter. Any young man who has prepared his Eagle Scout binder for his Board of Review knows this. You must have everything imaginable, and a few things you didn’t imagine, all in perfect order. As it turns out, life is full of details that matter. They impact how you care for those around you, how you serve your community, how you worship, how you work. The key is in knowing the details that matter, which means we need God’s wisdom, and His grace. You have seen God’s hand at work through these seven years of scouting, and you know He will be there through each day and every detail. Details matter.

Your Eagle Project at Dad’s school is another example of an important truth: Service matters. Whether providing an outdoor learning environment for students, helping a single mom on her property or stacking cans on the day of the postal food drive, scouts has shown you that serving those around you is important. You are entering into the adult world at a time when the economy is shaking, and people feel lonely and lost. Your world will need people who are willing to serve. You have already been an encouragement to friends and family who are hurting, reminding them that they are loved and that God is there. Thank you for that, Rex. Live a life of service; you won’t regret it. Service matters.

These last seven years you have been in Troop 401, a group of men and their sons who are working together for the goals of scouting. They have shown you that community matters. These fathers are a beautifully diverse group, each one bringing a unique set of skills and experiences. Time together has meant that adventure fun is had, mistakes get made, lessons are learned, and the community sticks together. You have been in a community of people who want God’s best for you, and that is a gift. Whatever community you are a part of, Rex, will be blessed by your gifts and skills. We can’t go it alone: community matters.

So thank you, Troop 401 dads, for being a community for Rex as he has grown up. Thank you for modeling a life of service, for helping him conquer the details in his scouting life. Thank you for modeling the many different ways a godly man can approach life. We appreciate you very much.

Rex, you became an Eagle Scout on our 25th wedding anniversary, and now you are having your Court of Honor on the 26th anniversary of our engagement. We will never forget these dates! I cannot wait to see all that God has for you with the skills and talents He has given you. I love you. Congratulations.

 

The Fourth Sunday of Advent

O gracious Light,
pure brightness of the everliving Father in heaven,
O Jesus Christ, holy and blessed! 

Now as we come to the setting of the sun,
and our eyes behold the vesper light,
we sing thy praises, O God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

Thou art worthy at all times to be praised by happy voices,
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
and to be glorified through all the worlds.

Book of Common Prayer, Evening Prayer I 

The Friday Clive

"It seems, then," said Tirian, smiling to himself, "that the Stable seen from within and the Stable seen from without are two different places."

"Yes," said Lord Digory.  "Its inside is bigger than its outside."

"Yes," said Queen Lucy.  "In our world, too, a Stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."

Beauty matters

She said it was just two minutes. She didn't seem nervous. Everything about her was saying, "This is just not a big deal."

She didn't seem to know that those two minutes would split time and shine a bit of eternity down on her weary mama's heart.

Heaven met earth in the beauty and joy she breathed as she danced.

I love you, Claire Bear.

The Way I See It: White

Photo prompt courtesy of Molly at Close to Home.

The Friday Clive: On Monday

"The Incarnation...illuminates and orders all other phenomena, explains both our laughter and our logic, our fear of the dead and our knowledge that it is somehow good to die, and which at one stroke covers what multitudes of separate theories will hardly cover for us if this is rejected."

Advent Week Three

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,

then we were like those who dream.

Then was our mouth filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy.

Then they said among the nations, 

"The Lord has done great things for them."

The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are glad indeed.

Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like the watercourses of the Negev.

Those who sowed with tears

will reap with songs of joy.

Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed,

will come again with joy, shouldering their sheaves.

Psalm 126

Wisdom

The day in front of you is always the perfect day for starting over.

Molly Sabourin 

Christmas doings

 The transition from Thanksgiving to Christmas is quick around here.  We are the early tree people, up the hill by 9:30 a.m. the day after Thanksgiving, looking for the perfect tree at the budget lot in apple country.

 

It was just the four of us this year, what with one far away college girl and two boys working their retail jobs on that most retail-focused day.

The sun sparkled, the tree is too small, but the company was excellent.

With Sophie's careful supervision, I made a wreath of ornaments.

 

I love the muted tones so much.

 

And then there was the annual "knock some mistletoe off the tree" event.  Safety glasses next year perhaps?

But shopping?  I seem to be in a serious denial rut.  Better.Get.Moving.

"You're Half a Century, Dad!"

In celebration of my favorite man's birthday, we had a quiet afternoon and evening:

Cookies and milk

Birthday tradition:  Dutch babies

Singing and celebration

But the real party was on Sunday.

Thanks to the generosity of friends, we were at the 49er game.  It was an absolute blast.

Frank Gore broke the team record for rushing yards, the team clinched the NFC West, and the 49ers shut out the St. Louis Rams.  

What a perfect birthday celebration.

Happy 5-0!

For Madelaine during finals week

 

 

We are all eager to see you soon!

The Second Sunday of Advent: The Tailgate Edition

Two advent candles  :  Candlestick Park

"Don't try to explain the Incarnation to me!  It is further from being explainable than the furthest star in the furthest galaxy.  It is love, God's limitless love enfleshing that love into the form of a human being, Jesus, the Christ, fully human and fully divine.

Was there a moment, known only to God, when all the stars held their breath, when the galaxies paused in their dance for a fraction of a second, and the Word, who had called it all into being, went with all his love into the womb of a young girl, and the universe started to breathe again, and the ancient harmonies resumed their song, and the angels clapped their hands for joy?

Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, Christ, the Maker of the universe...willingly and lovingly leaving all that power and coming to this poor, sin-filled plant to live with us for a few years to show us what we ought to be and could be.  Christ came to us as Jesus of Nazareth, wholly human and wholly divine, to show us what it means to be made in God's image."    Madeleine L'Engle

The Friday Clive

The Christian story is precisely the story of one grand miracle, the Christian assertion being that what is beyond all space and time, what is uncreated, eternal, come into nature, into human nature, descended into His own universe, and rose again, bringing nature up with Him. It is precisely one great miracle. If you take that away there is nothing specifically Christian left.