Day 115 (12/18 - Fri)

The Friday at the end of every Fall semester Finals Week, Wheaton hosts a Christmas banquet for all faculty and staff.



It's a wonderful expression of community, the sort of thing that I have only experienced here at a place like this. We all come together, share some awesome food, chat with our fellow co-workers, listen to various members of our community put on skits or sing (above you see the talented college library staff caroling for us), and then stand and sing songs together that lift up our shared faith and give praise to our Lord. Christmas carols, about the Incarnate Savior, when sung by a large room full of people who actually mean those words about "Gloria" and "telling it on a mountain" and "peace with God has come here to earth" give those songs new meaning. Rather, in such a setting such songs find their purpose fulfilled.

Indeed: Glory to God in the highest!

Day 114 (12/15 - Thurs)

Seen today during the GREK 332 Thucydides Greek final exam. :-)



They both did great. (and Julia makes great cookies!)

Day 113 (12/14 - Wed)

BIG DAY TODAY!!!

Today after I gave my Latin 201 final, I hopped in a friend's car and headed to the airport. Why? Not to pick up a friend returning from an international jaunt. Nope, this time I picked up a family of people I had never seen before but have been praying for for some time. I met a Burmese refugee family who had just stepped onto American soil for the first time! What a moment! World Relief, a great agency that helps settle refugees, asked our church to form some groups to help with a few incoming refugee families, and I got to be with the group that met the first family, and what a privilege! Peter and Benedicta and their a-DOR-able children took their first bold but exhausted and anxious steps into their new life and new suddenly freezing world -- and we were able to greet them with a smile and with friendship. As servants. There is something right about that. But that shouldn't be a surprise. Jesus told his followers as much in John 14.

Below is a group shot of our church group with the family in their new (and furnished!) apartment in Glen Ellyn. And to think they just came from a hut in an Indonesian jungle. And perhaps the biggest smile that came to Peter's face tonight came when I told him as we were navigating the snowy path to his apartment (his first snow!) that another Burmese family of his same minority ethnic group in fact lived in the same building a floor below him! He came to America to find instant community that understood and embraced him and his family. There was indeed a whole group of local Burmese there waiting for him, including one guy who had last year come from that very same Indonesian refugee camp! What a miracle!

Below is an excerpt of a letter I emailed to other people in my church afterwards:

"As one of the people there last night to walk with this family into their new life here in the *freezing* US, I have to agree that the whole thing was about the most effortless exercise in serving others I have ever experienced. What a joy! In talking with Peter a bit last night, he told me (in his better-than-expected haltering English) that he and his family left Burma/Myanmar in 2007, why he didn't get into, but almost certainly it has to do with regular, planned government programs to oppress and slowly annihilate Chin minority culture and impose mandatory Buddhism upon everybody. He went on to say that the family pretty much walked / hiked / rode buses / used any means possible (I thought he might have even said "bicycle" in this list) to get from NW Burma to Malaysia, where (as we learned from Thomas) they lived in a make-shift refugee camp in the jungle outside a town or a city or something. That journey is quite the trek -- look it up on Google Maps! But praise the Lord that his family's long trek has at last come to rest here in Glen Ellyn. They seemed so composed, and almost joyful! And that connection of Christian faith that transcends cultural and language barriers is so amazing."

I'll end this long post with this little tidbit: about 6 or 7 years ago, God out of the blue placed Burma powerfully on my heart and mind. Ever since, I have been researching the country and its (sorrowful) history, and have been waiting to meet someone in the US from the country. Well, tonight, I met my first Burmese person. Five of them. At long last. And we were all smiles. Indeed, the family of God transcends all boundaries. Amen.

Day 112 (12/13 - Tues)

Simply put, Christmas time is indelibly encoded with a lifetime of Christmas music that I've imbibed and absorbed over the years. I tend to associate time-period memories with music anyway, but Christmas has its own bustling genre of music to delight me year after year. I have an entire CD book (and not those tiny ones either) devoted exclusively to Christmas music, and I'm one of those people who break out Christmas songs at least once every summer, just because so many of them are so fun. And so full of hope and peace. It's that quality I love. Songs of comfort and peace and the hint of cherished memories.

One song that has become one of my favorites in the last few years is by Newsong, entitled simply "The Song of Christmas." Not only do the vocals just soar, but the words just speak deep Truth to me.



God came down
Here with us
It's the Song of
Christmas.

Emmanuel. That's what it's all about -- the beautiful, earth-shaking, untamed mystery of the Incarnation. God came down. Why would he bother? The Incarnation is God's declaration that humanity matters. We matter to our Creator. As the angelic host sang: Gloria in altissimis Deo!

Day 111 (12/12 - Mon)

Finals Week has come at last! And in the Foreign Language Dept, that means Grazing Day! It's kind of a potluck, with all of us faculty providing the food, and then right before the afternoon language competency exams we all gather for a lunch and generally kick back and just chat for an hour or so.



Don't worry, most of the hot foods were on the back wall behind where I was standing to take the above picture. The spread was good.

We always see each other in the halls and chat in passing, but this is a good time to get a lot of us faculty together in one place without rushing about.
(naturally, I showed up an hour late since I was having a good old yule time in the Honey Rock Office and lost track of time...)

Day 110 (12/11 - Sun)

Hooray! Today was a day I have been looking forward to for the past few weeks: it was Laura's First Annual Christmas Holiday Specials Viewing Party! (that's the LFACHSVP for short...err...)

We watched many of the wonderful TV cartoon specials from years past (Garfield Christmas is my favoritest!) and laughed to White Christmas and shared some great food:



and in general had a good time. Holidays are best shared with friends and family -- so I shouldn't have been surprised to discover that these holiday programs became even more enjoyable when viewed with a room-full of fun people!

But Glow-Worm Christmas will have to wait for another year...

Day 109 (12/10 - Sat)

Every few months, Glen Ellyn Bible Church (my local congregation) hosts a Saturday morning breakfast, a great chance to chow down on some eggs and man-meats and get to know some of the other men in the area.

Even if it is at 7:00 am in the morning on a Saturday. I mean, seriously.



This is the first one I've managed to attend, and it was good. After a time of eating and chatting, we heard Jerry Root, a fellow professor at Wheaton College, share some of his experiences of being a husband and father. In truth, it was mostly about how having unhealthy views or experiences with sex (from either end of the conservative-liberal spectrum) can damage one's ability to be a good husband and father. Great stuff -- and dead on, as far as I could speak. Needless to say, we listened attentively. It's a topic...on our minds.

Day 108 (12/9 - Fri)

Huzzah! Huzzah! We've come at last to the last day of class! And one hallowed tradition at Wheaton that I happily discovered last year is that in the last Friday chapel of the Fall semester, at the end everyone stands up and belts out the Hallelujah Chorus! Well...attempt to. There's a lot of parts in there! :-) Here are all the students sitting in anticipation of the big moment.



Fall Semester 2009 is in the books! Can you believe it? Boy this semester flew by fast.

Oh, wait. Finals week still looms next week. Not done with this road yet...

Day 107 (12/8 - Thurs)

They put up a huge sheet of paper down in the student union last week for students to write little Thank-You notes for their professors, and boy did they go to town! I love this kind of thing -- it really helps build a sense of community all-around among the students and faculty.

Click on the picture and take a look! Post your favorite note below in "comments."



(I looked...I couldn't find my name on it. Surely that's because my noble students were too busy assiduously reviewing their Latin vocabulary words to stop to add a comment...)

Day 106 (12/7 - Wed)

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting -- my Fall 2009 Latin 101 class!



I had a lot of fun teaching this group! And one nice thing about being the only Latin professor on this campus is that I'll get to have a bunch of them for three straight semesters up through 201. It's a neat privilege to get to know them over a period of time like that. My first Wheaton Latin group is wrapping up right now in the 201 class, and that's been a great ride. Here's hoping for many more great runs in the future!

Day 105 (12/6 - Tues)

Seen in front of the campus library tonight.



I don't think these guys have been moved from this rack in months. They'll probably still be there come March.

Day 104 (12/7 - Mon)

Woke up today to a new world.



Goodbye autumn.

By the way, Mr. Leaf disappeared the morning I left for Thanksgiving, a couple weeks back. He was on the tree branch you can see in the upper left of this picture -- and amazingly most of the leaves are still on that tree. When will they all fall? Apparently, Mr. Leaf was the odd-ball leaf in falling off at all. Mr. Winter isn't going anywhere soon, however. Better get that car scraper ready...

Day 103 (12/6 - Sun)

Christmas is coming!



Mr. Snowman tea light holder is getting ready.

Day 102 (12/5 - Sat)

Seen in Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago, on my back from staying at Josh's place in the city, where we watched lots of Mythbusters on Netflix and I schooled his paltry Roman armies in Commands & Colors: Ancients. (he may have beat me once or twice, I can't really recall... :-)



The point is: Christmas is coming!

Day 101 (12/4 - Fri)

Seen today: a sure sign of how the times, they are a changing.




Our first snowfall. Not much...just enough to say: Winter is coming.

Day 100 (12/3 - Thurs)

We've reached already the 100th day of the school year! Celebrate! But how?

I celebrated by attending a concert that I have literally been waiting for excitedly for the past 3 years!!! It's true. I attended tonight the opening performance of Andrew Peterson's annual "Behold the Lamb of God" tour, which he does every Christmas season. Many years ago, I picked up the recorded album version of this show and was immediately captivated. Around three years ago, Andrew Peterson came to Iowa on this December tour, but they sold it out about a few hours before I went to get advance tickets. That day I vowed that I would attend the next show of this tour that came anywhere near me. Which brings us forward to TONIGHT!!

What is this show anyway? Why am I so excited about it? Well, in a nutshell, it's designed as a single musical unit, rather than separate songs -- that is, each song in this show tells part of a story, and they're played in order without any interruptions. What story? Why, the greatest story ever told! The story of how God came to earth to restore His creation into relationship with Him once again, simply the greatest story of redemption and love and triumph through sorrow and hope long-delayed at-last fulfilled and all things made new in Him. "Oh, sing out for joy, for that brave little boy!" And truth be told, of all the musical versions of the story of the true meaning of Christmas, Andrew Peterson's "Behold the Lamb of God" is the best. Because it tells the full story, starting way back in Genesis. And because it's just plain awesome music and words and passion and Truth.
With my 3-year pilgramage at last come to an end, could the show actually live up to my expectations?



No. It surpased them. Amen. One of the most profound evenings of pure worship and joy I have ever experienced. I think the beautiful mystery of Advent became just a bit more real for me tonight. I hope I am never the same again. Celebrate!

PS - Check out the music for yourself -- a friend of the artist created a web player for the whole album, which you can find from AP's blog site here.

Day 99 (12/2 - Wed)

My Latin 201 class on MWF afternoons meets up in the coveted Tower room, the highest classroom on campus. (not sure if the observatory is higher...I don't think so) The view from the hallway leading to the tower stairs is one of my favorites.



Today the clouds were just right as they hovered over the Billy Graham Center. I love the chance to get the long view sometimes. Another example of why this campus is a great place to work.

Day 98 (12/1 - Tues)

It's the Christmas season. And that means that I dive headlong into my sizable Christmas music collection. I could name you dozens of songs that have special meaning or associated memories, but today I want to share one that both recalls a treasured memory of a past 24/7 ugly-sweater Christmas show party AND speaks words of thrilling Truth that goes straight to the bones.

Let me know your thoughts -- what speaks out to you?



"I Celebrate the Day" -- by Relient K

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know

How much You've touched my life

Because...

Here is where You're finding me,

in the exact same place as New Year's eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize

That You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever?

And so this Christmas I'll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here -- !

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might really live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me...

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize

That You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever?

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

So I could one day pray for You to save my life

So I could one day pray for You to save my life.

Day 97 (11/30 - Mon)

On my dresser sits my piggy bank.

I inherited it from my grandmother when she passed on. It's really interesting -- a pottery piggy with a real cork nose. I can't say I've ever seen one quite like it.

And right now it's absolutely filled to the ears with quarters. Suggestions on what I should do with all those Washingtons? Put them in the comments...

Day 96 (11/29-Sun)

I like music. A LOT. It was at some point in college that I consciously realized most other people weren't like me in having "What CD should I put on?" among the first thoughts to enter their mind upon entering their room. I still define past events or periods of my life by music I was listening to a lot at that time. As a result of all of this, I own a LOT of CDs. And tapes, which I still pull out now and then and listen to. I still have basically every tape and CD I've ever owned. They are a part of my life history, like old friends that you still enjoy conversing with from time to time.

Most of my CD collection has long ago made its way into various CD books, but in my bedroom there is a CD tower for my more recent music purchases. However, a few artists I like so much that even their older albums are still enshrined in their places.

Can you guess my favorite band?

Day 95 (11/28 - Sat)

On our last morning in St. Louis, we joined my brother and sister-in-law (and her family) for the fast-becoming-a-tradition Saturday morning breakfast break-your-fast at Cracker Barrel. My sis-in-law and I sure have fun together!

And look, I actually, genuinely solved the little peg-puzzle thingy they put on the tables! Only one peg left! (with some help from Alejandro) The peg-board says that one peg left means you're a Genius! I knew my college education would be validated someday.

I love eating at Cracker Barrel. Oddly enough, what I tend to get most excited about is the fact that you can get grits with your meal. Grits. I mean, once while driving on an interstate in the Chicago suburbs, I got this craving for Cracker Barrel and called up a friend who had an iPhone and asked him to do a search for one in the Chicago area and he found one in Naperville and so I promptly drove like 30 minutes out of my way just to go eat sausage, eggs, and grits with butter.

Mmmmm....tasty.

Day 94 (11/27 - Fri)

There's something strangely exhilarating about going shopping primarily for the purpose of watching a seething mass of other people going shopping.

That's what Black Friday brings out in me.



Here I am, at the Best Buy on S Lindbergh (looking momentarily unpopulated, which is weird) on Black Friday, to celebrate that never-ending holiday we Americans are best at: Holiday Commercialism.

Day 93 (11/26 - Thurs)

Thanksgiving Day!

I am thankful for a wonderful family that still gets along and looks forward to being together.

And for how fuzzy Sam is.

And for extra foam cushions for sleeping on the floor of dad's office while other guests get the real bedrooms.

And for yummy ChexMix desserts.

And for board games!

When we get together over holidays, board games are always on the menu. Today's treat was Commands & Colors: Ancients, a fun and fairly quick (loose) representation of ancient Greco-Roman warfare. Of course I like it! (I think Aaron won, but you know that history can be fuzzy sometimes...)

Day 92 (11/25 - Wed)

We had our Thanksgiving feast today rather than Wednesday, since my oldest brother is celebrating again tomorrow with his wife's folks. But I will tell you, that turkey and my mom's stuffing, gravy, and sweet-potato casserole tastes just as good no matter what day you eat it!

Eating all that food tends to make a body want to relax and kick back.

I'd have to say that Sam (the dog) definitely sets the quality standard in that arena.

Day 91 (11/24 - Tues)

Going home is a powerful thing. What is "home"? Where those who know and love you best are? (Or, as I often say: "Where you get your laundry done for free!")

Well, I went home today.

Dad, older brother who now lives in Florida, and my colleague at Wheaton, who is from Spain and thus needed a good place to go.

Hello, St. Louis! Thank you, God, for a home I get excited to visit.

Day 90 (11/23 - Mon)

Last day of teaching before Thanksgiving Break begins! Ahh! Thanksgiving break is coming at, shall we say, the right time. I think most all of us feel that way right now on campus.

So, how to celebrate?



Flavored Butters in the dining hall...mmmmmm...

Day 89 (11/22 - Sun)

The end product of a long-overdue stack of grading:



Being a teacher means you're never far from paperwork.

Day 88 (11/21 - Sat)

***Yes, I took a break from blogging over Thanksgiving and am now a bit behind. Don't worry, I'll catch up.***

What a day today! I drove to Muscatine, IA to see the wedding of a friend's brother, then drove on to Iowa City (yay, Iowa City!) to attend the must-see event of the month: my good friend Megan's birthday party! She likes to celebrate. Quite literally. She celebrates pretty much everything. How did we celebrate today?

That picture pretty much sums up Megan in a nutshell.

Then back to Wheaton, IL, all in one day. Worth it, for sure.