day no. 15,417: flowing with milk and honey

The other night (2/25/20) my family engaged in a fun dinner time discussion. The topic: what will the new earth be like?

Atticus asked if there would be cars. I explained I thought there would be. God will refine by fire that which His image-bearers have designed and I imagine that some form of the combustion engine may just make it out the other end of the Refiner's fire ready to transport us around God's green earth.

I then excitedly realized and relayed to my family that the new earth will be like a land of ice cream. God frequently describes the promised land as a place that flows with milk and honey. And if you have milk and sugar... you can have ice cream!!!  And if those two go together that well on this side of the new earth, can you imagine what the ice cream will be like in the sweet by and by?

Penelope also pointed out that milk means cows and honey means bees. (she loves animals and nature).

Exodus 3:17
I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Exodus 13:5
And when the LORD brings you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you shall keep this service in this month.

Exodus 33:3
Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey

Deuteronomy 6:3
Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 11:8-9
You shall therefore keep the whole commandment that I command you today, that you may be strong, and go in and take possession of the land that you are going over to possess, and that you may live long in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give to them and to their offspring, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Deuteronomy 26:9
And he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

Ezekiel 20:6
On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands.

day no. 15,416: rocking and resting

"It might be said symbolically that Americans have a taste for rocking-horses, as they
certainly have a taste for rocking-chairs. A flippant critic might suggest that they select
rocking-chairs so that, even when they are sitting down, they need not be sitting still.
Something of this restlessness in the race may really be involved in the matter" -- G.K. Chesterton, What I Saw in America

“Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.” -- St. Augustine of Hippo

Americans are not just restless, they are proud of their restlessness. It is one thing to be busy, it is quite another to pride in own's busyness.  We love being busy. We like being swamped. You wear our busy schedules as a well decorated, war general wears his insignia. We put them front and center and discount other people's reports of their own busyness in light of how busy we are and if they only knew.

Chesterton's observation is on the nose. Rocking chairs allow us to stay busy even when we are resting. We are restless.  We would sleep walk if we knew how.

We were made for work, which is very different than constantly working. We were not made only to work. We were meant to expand our influence and take on more and more productivity, but busyness is not productivity, it is actually its antithesis. Busyness wants to appear productive by working hard to stay and look busy. But all the work is like Shaggy and Scooby hovering in the air, legs spinning and going nowhere.

day no. 15,415: systems and sentiments

"'271 West 52nd Street' is the easiest of all addresses to find, but the hardest of all addresses to remember. He who is, like myself, so constituted as necessarily to lose any piece of paper he has particular reason to preserve, will find himself wishing the place were called 'Pine Crest' or 'Heather Crag'" -- G.K. Chesterton, What I Saw in America

There is a way of labeling things which makes them easier to locate and a way which makes them easier to remember. Certain things leave a lasting, while hard to define, impression while others are readily identified, but hard to remember.

For example, many people remember a particular Biblical sentiment, but cannot remember its address. So one may recall that God says somewhere that He is working all things for the good of those who love Him, but may have a difficult time remembering that sentiment is found in Paul's epistle to the Romans in chapter 8 and verse 28.  Working the other way, if I ask someone to look up Romans 8:28, they can easily locate the verse because of the way the location is labeled. Yet, when the person arrives, they may have no idea about what sentiments dwell there. The address has not left an impression, but the sentiment does and after reading, they remember the impression of the words and often forget their location in Scripture.

The same is true in creating culture and making memories. We have put into place certain systems which are easily identifiable and keep us on track. These systems are less memorable than the memories they are utilized to create. Quality time is a product of quantity time and these systems and schedules are in place to help us create long-lasting, loving impressions of what it was like growing up in our Christian home. The systems are important, but less memorable. The impressions are memorable, but hard to pin down. A healthy, godly home needs addresses and experiences, attentions and affections, systems and sentiments, quantity time and quality time.

day no. 15,414: bottle rockets and falling sticks

"Nothing remains at last of a flaming rocket except a falling stick." 
-- G.K. Chesterton, What I Saw in America

What sometimes begins in brilliant displays of upward trajectory, falls pathetically to the ground from which it came. That which sometimes begins in bright displays of colorful boldness and vibrant heat ends in cold, lifeless, colorless descent. 

This holds true for individuals...

Matthew 13:5-6
Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.

and for empires...

Exodus 14:13

And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.

day no. 15,413: a year in books, 2020 edition

1.   Cousin Companions - Douglas Wilson

2.   The Weight of Glory - C.S. Lewis

3.   Worlds Between Worlds - Penelope Van Voorst

4.   Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein

5.   And There is None Beside - Douglas Wilson

6.   A Justice Primer - Douglas Wilson and Randy Booth

7.   The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis

8.   Affliction of Job - Douglas Wilson

9.   Romans: An Apostolic Study Edition - Douglas Wilson

10. Song of Shulamith - Douglas Wilson

11. The Book of the Seventh Seal - Douglas Wilson

12. Westminster in Verse - Douglas Wilson

13. Everything On It - Shel Silverstein

14. Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication, 1: Warfighting - U.S. Marine Corps

15. How To Be Free From Bitterness - Jim Wilson

16. Pilgrim’s Progress - John Bunyan

17. Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton

18. Dangerous Journey - John Bunyan

19. The Dragon and the Garden - N.D. Wilson

20. In The Time of Noah - N.D. Wilson

21. The Sword of Abram - N.D. Wilson

22. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

23. Bone of My Bones - Douglas Wilson

January

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24. Beowulf - translated by Seamus Haney

25. European Brain Snakes - Douglas Wilson 

26. The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis

27. Pomosexuality - Douglas Wilson

28. The Neglected Qualification - Douglas Wilson

29. Green Ember - S.D. Smith

30. Good Country People - Flannery O’Connor

31. Flesh of My Flesh - Douglas Wilson

32. Church Music and other Kinds - Douglas Wilson

33. A Good Man Is Hard to Find - Flannery O’Connor

34. Pilgrim’s Progress, Part II: Christiana’s Story - John Bunyan

35. The Attrionist Letters - Major Paul Stokes, U.S. Marine Corps

36. The Seven Deadlies - Douglas Wilson

37. After Patriarchy, What? Why Egalitarians Are Winning The Debate - Russell Moore

38. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck

39. Everything That Rises Must Converge - Flannery O’Connor

40. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

41. The Life You Save May Be Your Own - Flannery O’Connor

42. A Temple of the Holy Ghost - Flannery O’Connor

43. Revelation - Flannery O’Connor

44. The Tell Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe

45. The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe

46. The Pit and the Pendulum - Edgar Allan Poe

47. My 1st Book of Questions and Answers - Carine MacKenzie

48. Biblical Eldership - Alexander Strauch

49. The Fall of the House of Usher - Edgar Allan Poe

50. Black Cat - Edgar Allan Poe

51. The Cask of Amontillado - Edgar Allan Poe

52. The Man of Science - Jerome K. Jerome

53. Just Do Something - Kevin DeYoung

54. Dracula - Bram Stoker

55. John Charrington’s Wedding - Edith Nesbit

February

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56. The Monkey’s Paw - W.W. Jacobs

57. The Man and the Snake - Ambrose Bierce

58. What I Saw In America - G.K. Chesterton

59. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

60. Hatchet - Gary Paulsen

61. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

62. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - Stephen R. Covey

63. The Little Pilgrim’s Progress - Helen L. Taylor

64. The Didache: The Lord’s Teaching Through the Twelve - Unknown

65. The First Epistle of Clement - Clement I, Bishop of Rome

66. The Second Epistle of Clement - Clement, I, Bishop of Rome

67. The Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrneans - Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch

68. The Epistle of Polycarp to the Ephesians - Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

69. The Martyrdom of Saint Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna - Unknown

70. Mikey and the Dragons - Jocko Willink

71. The Biggest Story - Kevin DeYoung

72. The Jerusalem Bible: Job - J.R.R. Tolkein

73. The Jerusalem Bible: Jonah - J.R.R. Tolkein

74. The Lost Tools of Learning - Dorothy L. Sayers

75. Beowulf - translated by Seamus Haney

76. The Dangerous Duty of Delight - John Piper

77. Crazy Busy - Kevin DeYoung

78. The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis

79. Recapturing The Voice of God: Shaping Sermons Like Scripture - Steven W. Smith

80. Lost in Nowhere: Joey’s Fight to Live in Iowa - Atticus J.R. Van Voorst

81. When You Rise Up - R.C. Sproul, Jr.

82. The Three Philosophies of Life - Peter Kreeft

83. Pitty-Pan-Patsy and other Fairy Tales - Penelope Van Voorst

March

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84. The Ransom Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis

85. Wise Words - Peter J. Leithart

86. The Shadow of the Broad Brim: The Life-Story of C.H. Spurgeon - Richard E. Day

87. The Ransom Trilogy: Perelandra - C.S. Lewis

88. A Light in the Attic - Shel Silverstein

89. The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man - Brett McKay

90. A Serrated Edge - Douglas Wilson

91. How to Exasperate Your Wife and Other Short Essays for Men - Douglas Wilson

92. The Ransom Trilogy: That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis

93. Bone of My Bones - Douglas Wilson

94. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

95. The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus - Unknown

96. The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe

97. The Didache: The Lord’s Teaching Through the Twelve - Unknown

98. Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction - Flannery O'Connor 

99. A Temple of the Holy Ghost - Flannery O’Connor

100. The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis

April

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101. The John MacArthur Handbook of Effective Biblical Leadership - John MacArthur

102. Principles of War - Jim Wilson

103. Weapons and Tactics - Jim Wilson

104. Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold - C.S. Lewis

105. The Sonnets - William Shakespeare

106. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

107. The Ology: Ancient Truths Ever New - Marty Machowski

108. Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery

109. Not as the Scribes: A Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount  - Douglas Wilson 

110. Pilgrim’s Regress - C.S. Lewis

111. Paradise Lost - John Milton

112. Ascensional - Todd Henry Van Voorst

113. Cautionary Tales for Children - Hilaire Belloc

114. The Neglected Qualification -- Douglas Wilson

115. The Biggest Story - Kevin DeYoung

116. Paradise Regained - John Milton

117. The Dragon and the Garden - N.D. Wilson

118. In The Time of Noah - N.D. Wilson

119. The Sword of Abram - N.D. Wilson

120. Rules for Reformers - Douglas Wilson 

121. Surprised by Joy - C.S. Lewis

122. European Brain Snakes - Douglas Wilson

123. The Other Side of the Coyne - Douglas Wilson

124. Church Music and other Kinds - Douglas Wilson

125. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis 

126. The Seven Deadlies - Douglas Wilson

127. Pomosexuality - Douglas Wilson

128. The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis 

May

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129. The Art of Manliness: Timeless Wisdom on Living the 7 Manly Virtues - Brett McKay

130. The Household and the War for the Cosmos - C.R. Wiley

131. The Great Divorce - C.S. Lewis

132. Selected Sermons of Jonathan Edwards - edited by H. Norman Gardiner

133. The Call of the Wild - Jack London

134. My 1st Book of Questions and Answers - Carine MacKenzie

135. Where the Wild Things Are -- Maurice Sendak

136. The Problem of Pain - C.S. Lewis

137. Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl - N.D. Wilson

138. Dangerous Journey - John Bunyan 

139. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

140. Worlds Between Worlds - Penelope Van Voorst

141. In The Name of Christ - Atticus J.R. Van Voorst

142. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

143. Black and Tan - Douglas Wilson

144. Miracles - C.S. Lewis

145. Pitty-Pan-Patsy and other Fairy Tales - Penelope Van Voorst

146. Pilgrim’s Regress - C.S. Lewis

147. The Purloined Letter - Edgar Allan Poe

148. The Raven - Edgar Allan Poe

149. The Tell Tale Heart - Edgar Allan Poe

150. The Black Cat - Edgar Allan Poe

151. John Charrington’s Wedding - Edith Nesbit

June

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152. Federal Husband - Douglas Wilson

153. Atomic Habits - James Clear

154. Blood-Bought World - Toby J. Sumpter

155. Animal Farm - George Orwell

156. Lost in Nowhere: Joey’s Fight to Live in Iowa - Atticus J.R. Van Voorst

157. The Weight of Glory - C.S. Lewis

158. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

159. The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis

160. Where the Sidewalk Ends - Shel Silverstein

161. The Ransom Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis

162. The Sugar Plums of the Tree of Tears - Penelope Van Voorst

163. The Law - Claude Frederic Bastiat

164. The Ransom Trilogy: Perelandra - C.S. Lewis

165. Everything On It - Shel Silverstein

166. Heaven Misplaced - Douglas Wilson

167. The Dragon and the Garden - N.D. Wilson

168. In The Time of Noah - N.D. Wilson

169. The Sword of Abram - N.D. Wilson

170. The Biggest Story - Kevin DeYoung

171. Cousin Companions - Douglas Wilson

172. The Man of Science - Jerome K. Jerome

173. The Monkey’s Paw - W. W. Jacobs

174. The Man and the Snake - Ambrose Bierce

175. The Masque of the Red Death - Edgar Allen Poe

176. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame

July

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177. The Ransom Trilogy: That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis

178. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

179. A Light in the Attic - Shel Silverstein

180. Mikey and the Dragons - Jocko Willink

181. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

182. 1984 - George Orwell

183. Ascensional - Todd Henry Van Voorst

184. Introduction to Athanasius’ On the Incarnation - C.S. Lewis

185. Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

186. Wooden on Leadership - John Wooden

187. Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction - Flannery O'Connor 

188. Beowulf - translated by Seamus Heaney

189. The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis

190. The Life You Save May Be Your Own - Flannery O’Connor

191. Everything That Rises Must Converge - Flannery O’Connor

192. The Masque of the Red Death - Edgar Allen Poe

193. My 1st Book of Christian Values - Carine Mackenzie

194. A Good Man is Hard to Find - Flannery O’Connor

195. A Temple of the Holy Ghost - Flannery O’Connor

196. Revelation - Flannery O’Connor

197. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - C.S. Lewis

198. A Justice Primer - Douglas Wilson and Randy Booth

199. Good Country People - Flannery O’Connor

200. Angels in the Architecture - Douglas Wilson

201. Evangellyfish - Douglas Wilson

202. The Divine Comedy: Inferno - Dante Alighieri (translation by Longfellow)

203. The Lost Tools of Learning - Dorothy L. Sayers

August

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204. Night - Elie Wiesel

205. The Art of War - Sun Tzu

206. Cousin Companions - Douglas Wilson

207. The Book of Five Rings - Miyamoto Musashi

208. The Ballad of the White Horse - G.K. Chesterton

209. On the Shortness of Life - Seneca

210. The Man in the Dark - Douglas Wilson

211. A Short History of England - G. K. Chesterton

212. The Ballad of the White Horse - G.K. Chesterton

213. Antigone - Sophocles

214. The Zeal of Thy House - Dorothy L. Sayers

215. A Good Man Is Hard to Find - Flannery O’Connor

216. The Lost Tools of Learning - Dorothy L. Sayers

217. Prince Caspian - C.S. Lewis

218. The Life You Save May Be Your Own - Flannery O’Connor

219. A Temple of the Holy Ghost - Flannery O’Connor

220. Parker’s Back - Flannery O’Connor

221. The Secret Garden -- G.K. Chesterton

222. The Blue Cross - G.K. Chesterton

223. Eve in Exile - Rebekah Merkle

224. The Invisible Man - G.K. Chesterton

225. The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton

226. The Creeping Man - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

227. The Devil’s Foot - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

228. The Geranium - Flannery O’Connor

229. The Problem of Thor Bridge - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

230. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

231. The Hammer of God - G.K. Chesterton

September

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232. A Serrated Edge - Douglas Wilson

233. Heretics - G.K. Chesterton

234. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson

235. The Bruce-Partington Plans - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

236. The Weight of Glory - C.S. Lewis

237. The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis

238. The Abbey Grange - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

239. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - C.S. Lewis

240. The Brazilian Cat - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

241. A Christian Manifesto - Francis A. Schaeffer

242. The Small Catechism - Martin Luther

243. A Simple Way to Pray - Martin Luther

244. Black Doctor - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

245. Decluttering Your Marriage - Douglas Wilson

246. How To Be Free From Bitterness - Jim Wilson

247. My 1st Book of Questions and Answers - Carine MacKenzie

248. The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

249. The Club-foot Grocer - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

250. My 1st Book of Memory Verses - Carine Mackenzie

251. The Art of War - Sun Tzu

252. The Ballad of the White Horse - G.K. Chesterton

253. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway

254. The Riddle of Mystery Coves - Penelope Van Voorst

255. Joe and His Dog - Laurelai Van Voorst

256. The Boy Who Became a Man - Atticus Jacob Rhyne Van Voorst

257. To Own a Dragon: Reflections on Growing Up Without a Father - Donald Miller

258. The Prince - Nicollo Machiavelli

259. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Pearl Poet

260. Black Peter - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

261. The River - Flannery O’Connor

262. Here We Stand: A 31-Day Journey with Heroes of the Reformation - Desiring God

October

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263. The Horror of Heights - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

264. 30 Theses on Culture Shaping - New Saint Andrews College

265. The Second Stain - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

266. The Silver Chair - C.S. Lewis

267. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain

268. Lectures to My Students - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

269. The Latin Tutor - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

270. The Riddle of Mystery Coves - Penelope Van Voorst

271. The Boy Who Became a Man - Atticus Jacob Rhyne Van Voorst

272. A Learned Treatise of the Plague - Theodore Beza

273. The Holy Bible (KJV) - Holy Spirit

274. Orthodoxy - G.K. Chesterton

275. Charles Augustus Milverton - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

276. The Beetle Hunter - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

277. The Thanksgiving Story - Alice Dalgliesh

278. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

279. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens

280. The Heidelberg Catechism - Caspar Olevian and Ursinus Zacharias

November

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281. The Four Loves - C.S. Lewis

282. Man of the House - C.R. Wiley

283. The Horse and His Boy - C.S. Lewis

284. The Ransom Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis

285. Mere Fundamentalism - Douglas Wilson

286. Same Sex Mirage - Douglas Wilson

287. The Ransom Trilogy: Perelandra - C.S. Lewis

288. The Plan of Salvation - B.B. Warfield

289. Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication, 1: Warfighting - U.S. Marine Corps

290. The Neglected Qualification - Douglas Wilson

291. How To Be Free From Bitterness - Jim Wilson

292. The Lost Tools of Learning - Dorothy L. Sayers

293. When You Rise Up - R.C. Sproul, Jr.

294. The Magician’s Nephew - C.S. Lewis

295. The Dangerous Duty of Delight - John Piper

296. The Ransom Trilogy: That Hideous Strength - C.S. Lewis

297. Jesus Christ, Forgiver of Our Sins: The Advent of Christmas - Penelope Van Voorst

298. The Abolition of Man - C.S. Lewis

299. The Chorus of Creation - Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell

300. Ecochondriacs: A No Quarter November Novel - Douglas Wilson

301. This is the Gospel - Trish Mahoney

302. The Ballad of the White Horse - G.K. Chesterton

303. God Rest Ye Merry - Douglas Wilson

304. The Greatest Fight - Charles H. Spurgeon

304. My Utmost for His Highest - Oswald Chambers

306. A Year With Dietrich Bonhoeffer - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

307. Morning and Evening - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

December

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day no. 15,412: alphabetical areas of interest January 2021

Interested people are interesting people.

Be interested... stay interesting.

Advent (enjoyed our traditions)

AINS / API (completed both last year, done with Insurance exams!!!)

Amazon gift card (need to pick which books to buy)

Ashland (enjoyed going there during lockdown when Boone County wasn't mandating masks)

Ballad of the White Horse (Doug Wilson directed me to this Chesterton poem)

Beowulf (on the list to listen to again)

Books (always so many to read, always more I want to buy, need to purge shelves of bad)

Boone County (changed the game by mandating masks)

Boonville (was our Saturday Family adventure fun spot during COVID)

Casey's Pizza (been regular Friday night dinner during COVID)

Chalkboard drawings (continued monthly tradition)

Chemex (began using and Austin Day gave me a kettle which is a game changer)

Chesterton (one of my favorite authors, looking fwd to What's Wrong with the World?)

Coldwar (is there a looming military conflict with China/Russia?)

COVID-19 (how is this still a thing?)

C.S. Lewis (reading and re-reading and planning on more in 2021)

Couch training (began using Reese's pieces to train in response to Toby Sumpter sermon)

Dad time (time after dinner but before family time where we watch videos)

Deeper Heaven (new book about Ransom Trilogy)

Dude Perfect (love watching these, kids love battles and stereotypes vids)

DVDS (need to arrange/organize, ditch/purge bad or boring ones)

Epiphany (excited we do 12 days of Christmas until Jan. 6)

Eldering (plan is to step down in May from Elder Team)

Election (wondering how this all ends up shaking out)

Fade to Black (Cade Foehner music video)

Fahrenheit 451 (Paige just read, excited to listen on audiobook soon)

Field Trip (was able to do virtually last year, hoping for same this year)

Garbaggio (began following after election of 2020)

Heaven Misplaced (in queue to read with Josh Miller)

Home Alone (let kids watch during Advent for first time)

HSLDA (finally bite the bullet and signed up as members)

Idahome (is this the year that steps towards this happens? has an inevitability about it)

Intermittent Fasting (2 years now of 20:4 fasting with a 5-9 feeding window)

Insurance (adding Paige to my Shelter Health insurance)

January 6th (seems like it's going to be significant)

Kraken (new brakes and tires just put on)

Latin (excited to go into 2nd semester of Latin lessons)

Liberty (excited to read Vindiciae and Slaying Leviathan)

LOTR (finished Hobbit and Fellowship, looking to complete this year)

Man Rampant Season 2 (need to watch)

Modern Geneva Bible (got NT for Xmas, excited to read Bible that changed the world)

Monster Jams (been watching clips on YouTube with kids)

MST3K (watching intermittently on Netflix with Paige)

N.D. Wilson (excited to re-read Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl)

New Saint Andrews (Atticus and Penelope both wanting to go there)

Nightlocks (making our home more secure)

One year beard (first time grew beard that long, then cut in November)

Overtime (Dude Perfect online TV show is always a fan favorite!)

Perseverance (bad dreams lately have made me pray for perseverance)

Pizza Hut (been enjoying drive-thru and rewards program)

Postmillitant (began this Instagram account posting daily polemics)

Preaching (enjoying break, preached last sermon summer of 2020)

Pull ups (do 50 every morning, followed up 20 high knees, 20 bicycle, hold for 22 seconds)

QANON (crazy, right? right? or on to something... and still crazy, but less crazy than 100%)

Reading (read over 300 books in 2020, hoping to do the same in 2021)

Reformed Basics (new episode on Governments available)

1776 (is another American War for Independence imminent)

Sherlock (just watched seasons 1-3 again and 4 for first time - BBC)

Shotgun (plans to get one for home defense - Mossberg 500)

Slaying Leviathan (seems like the time to get up to speed on this)

Sorel (got new boots for outdoor walking)

St. Anne's-on-the-Hill (wondering where it is and who is the Pendragon)

Stories are Soul Food) new podcast I've been listening to)

Story Club (finishing up Narnia for second time)

The Sword and the Song (postmillitant daily devotional in first draft)

This is War (Dustin Kensrue Christmas song and music video)

Treadmill (got new one from co-worker, Becky)

Underdog (God loves an upset and praying to see Goliath fall)

Vacation (wondering if we will have one this year)

Vaccination (COVID one is available, praying it doesn't become mandatory)

Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos (excited to read for first time)

Voddie Baucham (new book on Social Justice set for April 2021)

Walks (been walking 30 min. in morning, 1 hr at lunch and 30 min on treadmill at night)

Water bottles (began drinking refrigerated Casey's bottle at night)

Winter King (excited to read for first time with Story Club)

Working Remotely (hoping this becomes permanent option w/ Shelter)

Xenophilia (b/c of social distancing merely having others over is extreme hospitality)

Yeast Mode (praying to see the lump more and more transformed)

Yes! (need to keep working on being more willing to say, "Yes")

Zs (been having lots of bad dreams lately that wake me up)

day no. 15,411: the annual Van Voorst family poems for 2020

New Year's Eve Poem, 2020

by Penelope Page Van Voorst

--------------------------------------

The Van Voorst family is still just right here,

But everyone’s changed over a course of one year.

Let’s tell right now how everyone’s been,

In the prettiest family that you’ve ever seen.

The minivan was sold this year.

To all Companies worth nothing, though to us so dear.

But maybe it’s a good thing, that our Christy was sold,

For it might have been fatal, as now shall be told.

The Kraken was hit in the side by a hound,

The minivan would’ve been totaled, no doubt,

But that good ol’ Kraken saved us, when we might’ve been killed,

But that Kraken’s very hungry. Just imagine the gas bill!

Dad has turned 42, though he isn’t looking old.

He still takes walks in the morning, though now he works from home.

He looks all the stronger, for all his fifty pull-ups.

And he still has got it in him, and he still can run and jump.

Mommy’s getting older, too, though neither parent looks it,

And all of our Christmas shopping, well, Mommy books it!

She made some pillowcases and did a few more things this advent,

And all us kids keep shouting “go on, Mommy, go keep at it!”

Atticus is twelve years old! He already eats enough,

If he simply keeps on growing how shall we pay for the stuff!

He’s five feet tall, a tree, I think, he could fell,

And he definitely, definitely knows how to yell!

I, Penelope, am older now, too!

I have more responsibility, more things to do.

I am kind of emotional, I have to admit.

But my imagination hasn’t changed a bit!

Finneas is still just as rowdy as ever.

It’s really fun having him as a brother.

He’s got a crazy sense of humor, it’s kinda a bit farty,

But no one else comes close when we are having a dance party!

Laurelai cries less now, she’s very silly,

And no one else in the whole wide world is even half as giggly!

She still loved unicorns, candy, icicles,

And she loves “mouse on a motorcycle”

Rocco hasn’t broken any bones, absolutely none this year,

Luckily for us; last time it was a whole ordeal!

He still is just as solid, and very very nice,

But he cannot put his tongue on very cold ice.

Callista is pretty much the same ol sass

She keeps insisting she’s the boss.

She’s spicy, she’s sweet, she’s a little Missus

And she comes up with the best sentences.

Juniper is still too perfect, she’s pretty much the same,

But now she’s learned, just how to say her name!

She dances so sillily, in her own special way,

And she’ll tell you that “Pup, Pup, Pup”, is what the fishies say.

Stumpi is bigger! It’s actually true!

I know it sounds crazy, but I won’t bend the truth.

She looks less gloomy, and a bit more tall,

But her enclosure’s getting too small!

All of us together be,

The giant Van Voorst family,

From story club to blood on three,

From power clap to all “RETREATS!”

Now this Poem’s almost through,

I’ve covered everyone, what’s left to do,

Is to shout out in loudest cheer…………

2020’S BEEN A PRETTY COOL YEAR

New Year’s Eve Poem

Van Voorst Family Year in Review

December 31, 2020

…

It is fitting again as another year ends,

That we set aside time to review where we’ve been

For if hindsight’s Twenty Twenty then tonight is the night

To review what we viewed while it’s still clear in sight,

To recall all God’s done for our family and friends,

To remember the mess and the blessing it’s been.

It goes without saying, ‘less you ain’t got a clue

That the more things a change, that the less they’re anew.

So when peeps be all cray a shocked face I don’t wear

As they keep to six feet with a mask covering theirs

As though space were a cure and a panic approved

The lock down of the world for a glorified flu.

But enough about that, that’s not all that went down,

There was also Ashland and then Boonville’s playground.

There was working from home, long walks passing Edgar,

Fun nights watching Andy, and selling Christy Chrysler.

Ice cream after pizza on most Fridays was found,

Keep the party alive! I can still hear the sound.

Saturday Dadurday: burritos for breakfast,

Coffee n’ Cash, army ants, and typing that’s endless.

Then sit down for dinner as it’s time for a bite,

‘Cuz it’s S-A-T-U-R… D-A-Y night!

Wake up it’s the Sabbath, but no need to get dressed,

Sunday service from home since they mandated masks.

Sunday afternoons mean naps, Sunday nights mean movies,

Sometimes popcorn parties,  other times it’s retreaties.

Most nights it’s Story Club where Big Red is the prize,

Some nights it’s couch training, where we get catechized.

Whatever day or night, we always have a ball.

E’ryday’s a holiday, when a Van Voorst you’re called.

As for Todd, he read books: three hundred if countin’

Began working from home, began teaching Latin,

Kept fasting on weekdays, kept his showers chilly,

Kept feasting on Sundays and became a postmilly.

Grew a beard like a goat til it’s death was for certain

Passed insurance exams and preached a few sermons.

As for Paige, she read too; kept the library busy,

Holding books like a boss like she holds down the hizzy.

Painting walls, seeding lawns, cleaning trim, washing clothes,

Making cheese, baking bread, taking names, now you knows.

She ate steak by the pound, drank her iced coffee down,

And caught a ride on the Trump train before it left town.

If you’re looking Ad, I’d suggest a few spaces

Begin in the kitchen, if not there try the basement.

Unless he’s out playing, enjoying the blue skies,

Either building a truck or battlin’ the bad guys.

But if there are tacos, that’s where he’ll be dispatched,

His black hat on his head, his hunger never matched.

Next is Penelope, that growing godly girl,

Her brain full of brilliance and her head full of curls.

She loves Harry Potter and read it all again,

She’s learning how to cook, how to look, and Latin.

Her Google docs are full, her typing spells are long, 

She reads her Bible daily, fills our house with her songs.

Then there’s that Finneas, the best joke teller ‘round

He can preach a sermon and punch you to the ground.

He’s learning the guitar, likes chili best by far,

Wants a Hummer for his car, and is going to be a star.

He loves his family and likes when they’re around,

He knows what he believes and he will not back down.

Next is Laurelai, that little muscle miss,

Never missing a good-bye or forgetting a kiss

She’s as strong as an ox though the size of a fairy,

She likes Buckingham’s and loves to drink dairy.

Her drawings are awesome, her jokes are just the best,

She always prays for others and they all call her blessed.

The littlest man is by no means the lightest

Rocco’s more pounds per square inch and his smile is the brightest

He’s quick to obey, takes a nap like a champ

He’s the star of most plays and breaks winds on your lap

His head may be a boulder but his brains might be the sharpest

He’s a cannonball for Christ, not afraid of the darkness! 

Never to be ignored, up next is Lissa Lou

Callista is her name… and she’s standing right behind YOU!

Full of vim and vigor, never without opinion,

Always ready to throw down and make the masses her minions

She likes to do her “jobs,” she once cut her own hair,

Her arms cross when she’s grumpy, she super really doesn’t care.

Last but not least of all, it’s Juniper Elise,

Youngest of the ladies, but chunkiest the cheeks.

Her belly is a bubble, her eyes are beautiful,

Her buns are causing trouble, her thighs and thick and full.

She loves a plate of veggies, she likes my water bottle,

We love our little June-bug, we love to watch her waddle.

So here’s to the year and to many more like it

So raise up your cups and your spirits just like it

By this time next year, in a brand new December

We’ll have more things to praise and new things to remember 

We’ll have more things to list and more to applaud

More memories, more bliss, and more blessings from God

To be a Van Voorst is, of course, a delight

And to be full of joy is to join in the fight

For this feasting's a foretaste of the land where we're going

'Cuz with milk and with honey it's a land overflowing

So tonight we say, “thank You” and look forward to more

And tonight we say, “cheers!” like we’ve been here before.