The Week Between Christmas Day and New Year's Day

Normally, the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day is pretty quiet. But this year has been an remarkable exception to the rule.

On the international scene, we have witnessed the deaths of two former world leaders. One of these world leaders was President Gerald Ford. As I write this, his state funeral is underway. By my count, Ford is the eighth president to die during my lifetime. For most of us baby boomers, the assassination and death of John F. Kennedy in 1963 was probably one of the saddest events that we will ever experience, aside from the events of September 11, 2001. But the funeral of any president is a poignant reminder that we live in a country that God has blessed abundantly, in spite of our own spiritual failures.

The other former world leader was Saddam Hussein. His execution is certainly a dramatic event in the ongoing Iraq War. Of course that war has divided our nation. I would like to think that this division will soon come to an end, and I am praying to that end. We need to pray for our political and military leaders, and we need to pray for our brave soldiers in Iraq.

On a more personal note, Christmas Day was a wonderful family event. All of our children, except for Michael, were able to be with us for the day. Nancy, Cynthia, and Tricia collaborated in the preparation of a great feast, with the main entree being ham (since we had a turkey for our Christmas Prequel, as mentioned in a previous post). I am attaching to this post a photo of those three most important women in my life. That photo was actually taken a year ago during the Christmas Season. The meal was followed by the opening of presents. Most of the gifts were clothing items and books, with Peyton Rose and Oscar Jonas receiving some toys in the process. I must admit that when our children were younger, they would not have been able to wait until the afternoon of Christmas to open presents. My, how they have matured.

Nancy paid a visit to Mayo Clinic on Wednesday and Thursday. She underwent several tests and consulted with Mayo physicians over the two days. As far as we can tell, she is in good shape physically, but it is reassuring to receive medical confirmation of that fact. Thursday was particularly busy for us. Cynthia, Nancy, and I drove over to Mayo at 6:00 AM to eat breakfast at Perkins, and then I dropped Nancy off at the front entrance of the clinic at 7:30 AM. The reason for this early breakfast was that Cynthia had to fly back to Greenville on Thursday morning. So I drove Cynthia to the Minneapolis airport and then returned to Rochester to be with Nancy as she waited for tests and consultations. Finally, we walked out of Mayo at 5:30 PM. We arrived in the dark and then left in the dark. The irony was that Cynthia had already landed at the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport BEFORE we left Mayo. It was a long day.

This has been an unusual week. We still have about ten days before Pillsbury begins second semester, so we have a bit of respite before that new beginning. Nancy and I wish you a Happy and Prosperous New Year in 2007.

Christmas at Pillsbury and at Grace Baptist Church

One of the great things about the Christmas Season is the opportunity to play and sing wonderful Christmas music. Two weeks ago, Pillsbury College presented its Christmas Concert. Pillsbury's choral director is my longtime friend Darrell Bevis, who was a graduate student in music at Bob Jones University back in the 1970s when I taught at BJU. I played oboe for this concert, as you can see from the attached photograph.

On Sunday evening, December 17, the Grace Baptist Church Choir sang John Purifoy's Christmas cantata, which is entitled "Born a Savior, Born a King." Again, I had the privilege of playing in the orchestra, and I also was able to sing in the bass section when I wasn't playing oboe. Although I do believe in multi-tasking, I assure you that I do not sing and play at the same time!

During my freshman year at BJU—in 1967, no less!—I discovered that there was a ton of beautiful Christmas music that I had hardly heard, much less performed. In addition to Handel's "Messiah," I discovered Bach's "Christmas Oratorio," among other great Christmas music. I remember commenting to Dr. Dwight Gustafson, the BJU Orchestra director and long-time Dean of the School of Fine Arts, that it was like discovering a whole new dimension of music. He agreed!

Even though I draw a salary to teach history and education courses, I still love the opportunity of playing at Pillsbury, at church, and in several groups here in the Owatonna community. Just this past spring, the Owatonna Community Orchestra and Chorus performed John Rutter's "Requiem," which is an absolutely gorgeous contemporary English choral masterpiece. I am thrilled to have continuing opportunities to play my oboe. I thank the Lord for allowing me to develop at least a passable ability to master the oboe.

I trust that you will have a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends.

Christmas 2006: The Prequel

Nancy and I enjoyed having all seven of our kids for dinner this afternoon. This amounts to the first installment of Christmas 2006. Michael and Anna moved to Fort Lauderdale in September, and because of their work schedules, they had to take their Christmas vacation a few days early. Cynthia arrived from South Carolina yesterday, so we were able to get everyone together on a beautiful sunny December afternoon in Minnesota. It is wonderful that our two grandchildren (Peyton and Oscar) live here in Owatonna, so they play a big part in the festivities.

The First Post

This is my first post on my own blog, so I have much to learn. As I get this figured out, I'll add more entries. But this is the beginning.