The Mystery of the Incarnation

I read the following article on Beth Moore's Living Proof blog. The blog was written by her daughter, Melissa, a theology grad (from Wheaton College!) who read this excerpt from a book and wanted to share it. I loved it because it's full of scripture I'm familiar with and yet, it beautifully articulates who Christ is and why He came. We will celebrate His birth in two days... and then celebrate His resurrection in about 3 months. But... I need to be ever mindful of the years in between those two celebrated events.

Happy reading!

(The following selection is Gregory’s Oration 29.20 The Mystery of the Incarnation: A Scriptural Tapestry of Jesus as Man and God. The English translation is Rodney A. Whitacre’s own found in his book A Patristic Greek Reader (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 2007), 244-246.)

The Mystery of the Incarnation: A Scriptural Tapestry of Jesus as Man and God by Gregory of Nazianzus

“He was baptized (Matt. 3:13) as man, but he destroyed sins (Matt. 9:6) as God; he himself was not in need of purifying rites, but [he was baptized/he came] that he might sanctify the waters. He was tempted (Matt. 4:1) as man, but he conquered as God; not only this but he even encouraged [us] to be courageous, since he had conquered the world (John 16:33). He was hungry, but he fed thousands (John 6:10); not only this but he is indeed life-giving and heavenly bread (John 6:51). He was thirsty (John 4:7; 19:28), but he shouted, “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink” (John 7:37); not only this but he also promised that those who believe would gush forth [with water] (John 7:38). He was tired (John 4:6), but for those who are tired and heavy laden he is rest (Matt. 11:28). He was heavy with sleep (Matt. 8:24), but he is light upon the sea; not only this but he even rebukes winds; not only this but he even makes Peter light when he is sinking (Matt. 14:25, 29; Matt. 8:26). He pays tax, but [he does so] from a fish (Matt. 17:24-27); not only this but he is even king of those demanding [the tax]. He hears himself called a Samaritan and demon-possessed (John 8:48), but he saves the one who went down from Jerusalem and fell among robbers (Luke 10:30); not only this but he is even recognized by demons (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34) and drives out demons (Matt. 8:16), and he sinks a legion of spirits (Luke 8:33) and sees the ruler of demons falling like lightning (Luke 10:18). He is stoned, but he is not caught (John 8:59). He prays (Matt. 14:23; 26:36; Heb. 5:7), but he hears [prayers] (Acts 7:59). He weeps (John 11:35), but he causes tears to cease. He asks where Lazarus [is laid] (John 11:34), for he was man, but he raises Lazarus (John 11:43), for he was God. He is sold, and very cheaply, for [it was] for thirty silver coins (Matt. 26:15), but he buys back the world, and [it was] for a great price, for [it was] for his own blood (1 Pet 1:18-19). He was led as a sheep to slaughter (Isa 53:7), but he shepherds Israel, and now, indeed, the whole inhabited world (John 10:11). [He is] silent like a lamb (Isa 53:7; Matt. 26:63), but he is the Word (John 1:1), being proclaimed by a voice of one shouting in the desert (John 1:23). He has been weakened, wounded, but he heals every disease and every infirmity (Isa. 53:5). He is lifted up upon the tree (John 12:32), he is fixed [to it] (Acts 2:23), but he restores by the tree of life (John 6:51); not only this but he saves even a robber crucified with [him] (Luke 23:43); not only this but he darkens everything that is seen (Luke 23:44). He is given cheap wine to drink (Luke 23:36), he is fed bile (Matt. 27:34). Who? The one who changed the water into wine (John 2:1-11), the destroyer of the bitter taste (Heb. 2:9), the [one who is] sweetness and all desire (Song 5:16). He hands over his life, but he has authority to take it again (John 10:18); not only this but the curtain is torn apart (Matt. 27:51); for the things above are exhibited (Cf. Rev. 11:19; 15:5) not only this but rocks are split; not only this but dead are raised beforehand (Matt. 27:51-52). He dies, but he makes alive, and by death he destroys death. He is buried, but he rises. He goes down into Hades (1 Peter 3:18-19), but he brings up souls; not only this but he goes up into heaven; not only this but he will come to judge the living and the dead . . . ” (Gregory of Nazianzus Oration 29.20, translation by Rodney A. Whitacre)

Jesus in my Pocket

One of my favorite days of the year is when we have our freshly cut tree in the stand and I open the first box of "Christmas". The layers of decorations are like layers of years and when I dig through them it makes my heart swell every single time. 'Our First Christmas Together' complete with photo of two very young adults, a toddler's hand-print creation, a kindergartner's big grin surrounded by hot glued buttons, a felt-covered bird from great-grandmother's tree, the angel that's been proclaiming the Good News over our family tree for 20 years. Each item has a story that seems to get retold as we unpack the boxes.

One little random item caught my attention this time. It's very familiar. A tiny porcelain baby Jesus mismatched from a set long ago. But what's special about this little figure is the image it immediately brought to mind.

When Hannah was preschool age, I guess 3-4 years old, she loved babies. And when Christmas came and she heard there was a baby in that manger, she was ALL ABOUT Baby Jesus. Everywhere we saw Him, she pointed Him out. "There's Baby Jesus! I want to hold Him!" would be her cry. It seemed so sweet and sometimes I was able to grant her plea... like if we were at church or a friend's house and there was a plastic nativity set. It wasn't so great, however, when when she would lunge out of the stroller at the Town Center Mall toward an expensive porcelain set in hopes of kissing the Baby Jesus one more time.

So one day, Hannah apparently slips the tiny Jesus figure from a small set at home into her pocket as we headed out the door to preschool. Of course, in the hustle and bustle of getting a four year old and a three year old out the door I never missed it. Late that morning when I picked them up- Hannah from the downstairs class and Garrett from the upstairs class- I loaded them in matching car seats and off we went. But on the way home, I noticed the Baby Jesus from home. When I asked Hannah where it came from, she didn't hesitate for a minute.

"Jesus was in my pocket." Um, Why? "I needed Him to stay with me".

Well, after reminding her that her teacher doesn't like the kids to bring toys from home... and my three year old telling me that Jesus isn't a toy... we decided came to a compromise about taking Him to school.

As I rubbed this little figure in my hands 14 years later, I immediately heard that tiny voice say to me again, ""Jesus was in my pocket... I needed Him to stay with me". I've read the Christmas story this season and the familiar words often have the same effect as unpacking those boxes- my heart swells with familiarity and love. But now, I want to go beyond just appreciating the story of Jesus birth and how it fits into God's story of the redemption of mankind.

I really want to adore Him. And like Hannah never wanting the Baby to be far from her, I NEVER want to be far from Him- this season or ever.

As He prepared to leave this earth, that grown-up Baby Jesus said, "Remain in me and I will remain in you. Remain in my love" (John 15:4,10)

Garrett, Son of Johnna, Brother of Becca

This weekend was Family Weekend at Wheaton College. Since Louie and Hannah had a busy weekend and Rebecca had never been to visit, she and I drove the 9 hours north to see Garrett. Becca has been missing her big brother something fierce and had her bags in hand when I came home early from work Thursday to get her.

The drive isn't hard- but it's boring. Somewhere outside Cincinnati (I think) we saw a truck in front of us that was a triple-decker animal truck... full of baby pigs! As we passed, Becca snapped a picture. It was hilarious looking to see hundreds of tiny pink snouts and tails sticking out of a huge truck.

Even though we got in late, we stopped by Garrett’s dorm just to grab a hug before heading to our hotel. The next day was Friday and Garrett had an 8am class, so we met him afterward for breakfast in Wheaton’s ‘famous’ cafeteria to breakfast so we could start catching up. I was surprised to see that he’s lost weight- maybe 10 or 15 pounds. When I asked him about it he just shrugged and said he’s busy and walks everywhere and the cafeteria food has a lot of good, healthy choices he likes.

Then we headed out to attend chapel with him. All students attend chapel Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10:30. Sometimes the chapel is done by the school chaplain, a concert or a guest speaker. That day it was the chaplain. (Guest speaker next week is Richard Foster who wrote “Celebration of Discipline” among other classic Christian books) Students have assigned seats, so we sat in the balcony.

After he had Biology and Chemistry class, we met up with him to check out his dorm. Becca loved it. She checked out his desk…

His bed…

His mini-fridge…

And snuck in a few more hugs. Then she left notes in sneaky places around his room for him to find later… so sweet.

Then, we went to the annual Wheaton Talent Show- a sell out with 2500 in attendance. We saw everything from a girl who whistled a song so well I can’t even explain, to a one man band who sang and played 5 instruments he wore, to a comedian, to a super talented guitarist. In between acts, the emcees were great and introduced the new Wheaton mascot, a mastodon named “Tor”. Fun fact: He’s the largest mascot in NCAA history… but also has to be the gentlest. He looks like Mr. Snuffalupogus!

Saturday, we spent the entire day with Garrett, just hanging out- which is exactly what we wanted. In the morning, we stopped in the Wade Center. It’s a museum at Wheaton College that came about because a Wheaton English professor and CS Lewis wrote regularly and in his will, Lewis left some of his things to the school. Then a businessman funded the museum.

Becca touched CS Lewis’ desk for writing inspiration.

Garrett loves that they also have J.R.R. Tolkein’s desk where he wrote all of the Lord of the Rings books.

They even have the actual wardrobe that belonged to CS Lewis that his brother says inspired his book, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”. Becca wondered what would happen if she looked aaalllll the way in the back!

We looked all around the cute little town of Wheaton. It was trick-or-treat in the downtown businesses, so the sidewalks were teeming with toddlers in costume. We got Garrett a haircut (yep, he needed it), made the all-important “Target run” and headed over to Wheaton Bowl. He’d been wanted to check it out but it was too far to walk from campus… and a long bike ride. None of us bowled our best, even though Garrett put his game face on..

All I’ll say is, it was no Strike Zone. The shoes were… rough. When Garrett took his off, the inside of the shoe was flaking off onto his socks. (Eeewww.) I’ll not elaborate any more, but we still had a good time.

Like my cool shoes?

They look all sweet but there's a competitive spirit lurking beneath that 12 year old grin.

We had to introduce Becca to Chicago style pizza, so we took her to Ginos East, a fairly famous eatery. Since it takes a while to make a Chicago deep-dish pizza, we had time to kill… before long, I thought they were in elementary school again. Becca grabbed crayons and started coloring on the back of the placemat while Garrett leaned over and said, “Hey mom, can I have a few quarters?” I was seriously having flashbacks- if Hannah was there, it would have been perfect!

Becca was about to blow a gasket when I took her picture coloring… until I told her she could take my picture coloring… ok, it’s a little close, don’t you think?

Yum!

We hung out the rest of the night watching a movie at our hotel and talking. The next morning, we went to Egg’Clectic, a fun breakfast place downtown that’s becoming our tradition. They have a ton of fun and creative breakfast foods and the service is fast. That way, we could get on the road. It was early and we were really in need of some coffee.

We hated saying good-bye. It’s never feels right to leave your child and drive away- far away. I felt better to see that he’s doing ok. Although its difficult, his grades are good. He’s adjusting to the climate- he’s drinking a lot of hot tea, he bought a humidifier (that looks like a penguin) and he doesn't go anywhere without Chapstick. He has plenty of friends- it made Becca laugh that everywhere we went- cafeteria, chapel, talent show, bookstore, even Target- people would say, “Hey, Garrett!”.

My favorite song right now on my iPod is “Remind Me Who I Am” by Jason Gray. It says, “Tell me, once again Who I am to you, Who I am to you Tell me, lest I forget”. The lyrics speak about a person who says that when they don’t like what they see in the mirror or loose their way in life, they want to be reminded of who they ‘really’ are.

When we arrived on campus, Becca and I received a packet of info about Wheaton and name tags. This was mine:

I love it. Becca’s read, “Sister of Garrett”- she liked it a lot. I’m glad we drove up this weekend. (Sigh- even though it was 18 hours of driving- not fun) I think it’s important that Garrett not forget who he is. Yep, he’s a college freshman, and a biology major, and a member of the Wheaton Glee Club, etc. But… he’s still the son of Johnna Gaunch, brother of Becca Gaunch, brother of Hannah Gaunch and son of Louie Gaunch. The other ‘status’ will change, but these won’t… so I hope our visits- weekends and longer visits- will remind him of who he is.

A member of this family, forever.

There you are!

Since mid-September, our church has been asking one question... "What does God expect of me?"

It all started when our pastor read a book entitled, "The Hole in our Gospel" by Richard Stearns, the CEO of World Vision. Basically, the book tells of his personal struggle to accept the job God placed before him as well his suggestion that the American church leaves out a part of the gospel message- that is, we accept God's free gift of salvation by grace and then ignore all the scripture that says we have a responsibility to make God's kingdom come on earth by meeting people's needs. He suggests that our Americanized version of the gospel that is too often preached is one that teaches us to simply pray for the poor or needy without requiring us to get our hands dirty or actually becoming personally involved in people's lives. So for the last several weeks, we as a church have asked some hard questions... of ourselves as believers and ourselves as a church.

One of the passages of scripture that we've read is from Matthew 25. Here, Jesus says basically that when you feed the hungry, look after the sick, visit the prisoner, clothe the poor... when you do these things for the least of society, it's the same as if you're doing those things for Christ himself. Strong words. And a little hard to take. After all, the typical person I see that needs help in those ways... I tend to immediately start making assumptions about how they got into that situation and begin passing judgement over whether or not I feel they 'deserve' to be helped. Without knowing all the facts, that's where I often go in my brain. Unfortunately, Jesus didn't mention that I get to choose who I should help. He simply said, when you help people...

So I had the weirdest thing pop into my head this week! (I've lived with Lou a long time and I think he's rubbing off on me- in a great way!) Back in the 1991 (the year Lou and I got married), a movie came out called, "Hook". It's about Peter Pan and starred Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman and ironically Julia Roberts who is crazy tall played TinkerBell. Anyway, there's a scene in the movie that I immediately thought of when I read this Matthew 25 verse this week- and this scene almost always makes me tear up.

Here's the gist- Robin Williams is Peter Pan, who fell in love with Wendy's grand daughter and so he left Neverland and grew up. One night, Tink shows up and kidnaps him, taking a full-grown Peter Pan back to Neverland because Captain Hook is about to capture the whole place! In this scene, Tink brings Peter to the Lost Boys, who are throwing things at him because they don't recognize him. Then, one Lost Boy steps forward, hushing the crowd. He looks very closely into Peter's eyes, then pushes Peter's 40 year old cheeks and eyes back a bit, squinting as he does. Then, that Lost Boy's eyes light up as you can tell he suddenly recognizes Peter. He whispers, with a great deal of joy, "Oh, there you are!"

I wonder how many times I've acted just like those Lost Boys, running around people, even (figuratively) throwing things at them. They had invaded my space- they weren't like me- I was maybe scared of them- and I stayed away. But... what would happen if I had the courage to take a step forward and look closer... into the eyes of one of those people God placed in my path. What if I was able to push past the heaviness that covered their face. Who would I see underneath? Would I be able to whisper... with joy... "Oh, there you are, Jesus!"

Overhand, little desks, updos, and other ramblings

Fall is one of the busiest times of the year around here. So rather than take a ton of info and try to make this blog post cute or creative, allow me to ramble a bit.

Volleyball season is nearing its end. I wish I calculated how many hours we spend in practice, games and travel each season! But, the girls have gotten better as time has gone on.

Becca is using an overhand serve now- and when she nails it, it's a beautiful thing. Hannah's overhand serve cracks me up because she grunts when she serves- hilarious! It's like she's mad at the ball and is spanking it! The middle school has been winning lately and that's always fun.

I've been working at my new job for a month now and I love it. The Luke Lee Listening, Language and Learning Lab is a happy place to work. To say its a preschool isn't really accurate...it's a combination of preschool and auditory/verbal therapy. The kids are all deaf but are able to hear artificially with hearing aids or cochlear implants. We don't use sign language, but instead teach them to listen well and make the most of their aid. At the same time... we have a lot of fun!

My job is a new one- there was no one doing my job before me, so there was no place for me in the classroom. A nice new desk has been ordered. Until then, my computer is sitting on a preschool-sized computer station with a preschool-sized desk. (sigh) Well, at least it makes me feel tall!

Since I'm on the MU campus four days a week, I decided to join the Rec Center. After all, I'm right there and I really want to stay in shape. (I hear that's really important when you get past a certain age) Plus I get a (small) employee discount! I've gone a few times and I like it a lot. What a gorgeous facility! There are so many ways to plug into the treadmill and elliptical, it was a little much. It had an HDTV, cable, an iPhone cable, and more. It was actually so distracting, I turned it off, and just listened to my little 'old school' ipod shuffle. The Rec even has an indoor track I had to try out. I think I'm going to love it- except that it takes 7 laps to equal a mile. So after I ran several laps, I realized I'd only gone 3/4 mile. Also, the track is on the 3rd floor and at some points, overlooks the 3 floors below. The first time I ran around it, my knees were a little weak to look down!

Last weekend, Hannah went to the Huntington High School Homecoming Dance with her boyfriend, William. Louie and I laughed because when WE each went to homecoming, it wasn't that big a deal. Now... it's a VERY big deal.

First of all, the day began with an "updo". Hannah is blessed with cool hair- it's thick and wavy and looks great styled. Becca and I hung out with her while her hair was being pinned up. Becca was quick to point out that I was "too old for an updo". Hmmm. The jury's still out on that one.

We met at his house which is next to the Ritter Park Rose Garden and his mom and I had to practically beg them to pose for pictures.

They were thrilled to meet up with their friends and head to the restaurant.

So, school is well underway and Hannah's senior year seems to be going very well. She loves her American Fiction class... except writing poetry, that is! Becca is doing fine. She's finally finding her way through the new experience of having 6 classes and different teachers- with different personalities and expectations. She's also having to find her own study style. She's a different student than Garrett or Hannah- and so we're having to find out how to help her be the best student she can be.

This assignment was a fun one- do you know what it is? The phases of the moon... via Oreo. That's a yummy project.

We talked to Garrett this week and he lived through his very first college mid-terms! His two hardest were on the same day- Biology and Chemistry. Becca and I will be traveling to Chicago for a long weekend soon to see him. She's never been on campus, so we'll have to do all the fun stuff- eat in the cafeteria, see a concert or game, stuff like that. It's really, really fall in Chicago right now. Actually, I've already ordered Garrett's winter coat because he'll need it before we know it. He's singing in the Wheaton Glee Club and they're awesome. I watched them online last night and saw him in a tux- so handsome! I hope I can see them sing live soon.

And it was a beautiful fall day here today. As a matter of fact, I glanced out the window earlier and saw Sasha, our 5 month old Boxer-Lab mix. A gust of wind blew a shower of leaves off a tree and she went into a puppy craze, running really fast around the tree, through the falling leaves. All of a sudden the wind died down and the leaves stopped falling. She stopped running and looked right and left as if she wondered who turned off her leaf toy. She cracks me up.

I'm planning on enjoying the rest of my fall just as much as Sasha- minus the craze!

Just As Promised

As some of you may know, on Monday Hannah and Becca were in a car accident. They were shaken and bruised and it scared us all. Basically, Hannah was driving herself and Becca to volleyball practice at school. She turned from a turn lane across traffic when she should have waited and another car hit them. It spun them all the way around, knocking them across two lanes of traffic and off the road, making the air bags deploy. The car filled with air bag dust and the car was smoking which created a sense of extra panic because they thought the car was catching on fire. Once safely out of the car, they called me and then 911.

God was merciful in countless ways. I won't go into all the 'what-ifs' I noticed once I saw the way it all happened, but they were fortunate. The first officer on the scene was Tom McComas, our county sheriff, a sweet Christian man whom I know, who immediately had his arm around Hannah. There were three other school moms on the scene before I got there, having just dropped off their daughters. The other young lady wasn't hurt and was very kind.

There were consequences- Hannah was at fault and it will be documented. We no longer have a 3rd vehicle (it will be a total loss) which means a huge inconvenience with my new job, bills for towing and insurance, and so on.

But one thing jumped out at me as I was still at the scene. I was holding it together emotionally because I needed to and thought to myself... 'I'll think about that later'. You see, I needed to check the glove box for some paperwork, so I opened the passenger door. Dust flew out and I waited a minute for it to subside. Then I looked at the dashboard I'd seen hundreds of time but now it was crumpled upward and had what looked like a large, thick pillowcase hanging from it. And it occurred to me- "It worked". When we bought the car, we knew it had airbags that were supposed to deploy if there was an accident to protect the passengers... and what do you know? In that moment of crisis, it worked like it should have and they're ok. No broken bones, internal injuries or stitches needed. And for some strange reason, the fact that the airbags actually worked surprised me.

Later, after I had time to have a small melt down over the whole scary event, I could finally think about that dashboard again. You see, I think I have a tendency (maybe you do, too) to feel the same way about God as I did about those airbags. I know that God- like the airbag- is always with me. As I drive through my life, He's always there no matter where I go, just below the surface, and that brings me a great deal of comfort. But I also know that in a moment of crisis- in a split second- He will come to the forefront and be a shield and comfort in a mighty way if and when I need Him. I know this because I have a relationship with Christ that's personal and I believe what the Bible says to be true.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted" Psalm 34:18.

He's an ever-present part of my life but in times of crisis, it's as if He's suddenly closer, just as He promised He would be.

And the fact that He keeps that promise should NOT surprise me.

September is here.

You know it's September when...

it's volleyball season at Covenant School. Becca is playing on the Middle School team and Hannah is playing on the High School team. They have a new coach- Kaycee- who I've been a counselor with at Senior High Camp at Cowen. She's doing a great job with the girls- she can make them run and do push ups and say it with a smile and a sweet tone that makes you want to please her. Becca has improved a lot, especially setting the ball. Their first game was last week.

You know its September when...

Sasha has grown like crazy. Our puppy- part Boxer and part Lab-is three months old and getting bigger (and cuter) and every day. I'm walking her regularly, trying to train her so that one day I'll have a lean, mean running buddy.

You know it's September when...

it's Senior Picture time. I have no idea who started the tradition of taking pictures the very beginning of your senior year. But... through some friends, we found a nice, reputable guy who takes awesome pictures. (BTW, there are a lot of creepy photographers out there taking pictures of teenage girls- beware!) The only thing that bugged me was how mature Hannah looked! She looked 25, not 17. But she looked gorgeous and had a ton of fun.

You know it's September when...

it's Labor Day weekend. That means my 41st birthday. And that means the Kirk Family Reunion. That's Louie's mom's family- about 60 people gathered at his parent's house for food and games and a LOT of loud laughter. Louie's aunt and uncle live outside of Chicago and since they were driving to WV, Garrett hitched a ride. It was so good to see this face! (I got to hear him singing beside me in church, heard him cracking up laughing with the girls over something, and saw him help Becca with her science project.) This year, Lou made T-shirts for everyone at the reunion. They turned out great and made his mama very happy.

You know it's September when...

it's back to campus. I just had no idea that this fall, it would be me! Ever since May when I knew Covenant School wouldn't be needing me for the fall, I started looking for a new job. In early July, I saw a job posting that seemed absolutely perfect and I applied. This week, I found out that I got the job!

I was hired as a classroom teacher in the Luke Lee Listening, Language and Learning Lab at Marshall University. (It's nicknamed "the L") It's an intensive program for hearing impaired preschoolers that teaches them to speak and prepares them to be mainstreamed into Kindergarten. You can read about it at the website. www.marshall.edu/commdis/thel

I will work four days a week with an audiologist. The kids are 2 to 4 years old and our classroom is in Smith Hall. It's sooo strange to be back on Marshall's Campus- but I love it. I'm in the same building where I spent 4 years struggling as an undergrad. As I filled out my paperwork and walked all over campus, I got my MU faculty ID and parking pass. So cool. I'm an MU faculty member. Never in a million years did I think this would happen. AND I get to work with some amazing kids who I know will thrive despite the challenge they face. I have a lot to learn but the woman I will be working with is passionate about what we're doing. I can't wait to get started!!!

Tonight, Hannah got to do something cool. She went to WSAZ with the Huntington Mall fashion board (she's a member this year) and got to answer phones for the MDA Telethon. So I sat here with my laptop, looked up and there she was on tv, grinning. So funny.

Wheaton College Move-In Weekend

Two weeks ago, Garrett's took his first giant step of independence. Having packed all his things for college and leaving them stacked on his bed, he packed a duffel bag and grabbed his guitar and we took him to the airport. He flew to Chicago and made his way to the Wheaton campus. He and over 200 freshman left to spend a week bonding at a camp called Honey Rock in the northern woods of Wisconsin. Lou and I would be driving up a week later to bring his stuff and move him in, but for the girls, this was a big goodbye.

This picture of Garrett waving gets to me. It reminds Lou and I of when Garrett rode the school bus as a kindergartner and would have his backpack and wave at us...

So this week, Lou and I packed the car and headed north for a nine hour drive. I actually like road trips but he doesn't at all.

It was an easy and uneventful drive, but super boring through Indiana- no offense to people from Indiana... but it was nothing but flat land and corn... and more corn and more corn and more corn...

We arrived just about the same time Garrett arrived from Honey Rock. A swarm of kids (aka the Welcome Committee) descended on our car and carried everything to Garrett's room.

Like every other freshman family, we ended up at the Wheaton Target for some school supplies and essentials. That evening was the opening of New Student/Parent Orientation. Over two days, we heard some professors speak, saw cute skits, and mingled with other Freshman families.

Now that's an organ! It's in the chapel of the school. It's a non-denominational Christian school and their services always have a wide variety of music. Each graduating class of Wheaton has their own theme scripture and they have a song written especially for their class based on the scripture. (Their scripture is 1 Chronicles 16:8-11)

They learn the song and will sing it again in four years. :)

Evening on campus and heading to an ice cream social.

Here are some pictures of Garrett's 11x17 dorm room. The guys decided to bunk the beds to gain precious floor space. His roommate, Patrick is 6'5"! He barely has to step up to get in the top bunk! Yep, he got the top 3 dresser drawers. Patrick is also a drummer- they may try to fit an electric drum set in the future...

Their desks are turned in to face each end of the bunk bed, giving them each a separate study space.

The bed is actually really comfy!

Fischer Hall is Garrett's new home for now. For him and a few hundred other freshman and sophomore girls and guys.

He and Patrick have the 'penthouse'- a room on the 5th floor. The guys that I met on his floor are really nice and his R.A. is right next door. One night, they invited their 'sister floor'- the girls and R.A. from the other wing of Fischer Hall- over to meet them. They ended up singing and Garrett's R.A. sang and played guitar, them handed Garrett his other guitar so he joined in and Patrick played a drum.

I swear, Garrett already knows more people at Wheaton than are enrolled at Covenant School where he graduated! Everywhere, I'm not kidding, everywhere we went someone would say hi to him and he would call them by name. Weird. I'm glad we sent him to Honey Rock for that reason. But... no one called him Garrett. They were calling him 'Doc'.

When we asked why, he said that at Honey Rock they were in cabins, like at Camp Cowen. He had a counselor that had received info about each of them ahead of time and gave them a nickname for the week. 'Doc' was a fairly normal one... some nicknames the other guys in the cabin received were obscure and required a 5 minute explanation. They weren't allowed to use their real names all week... so everyone met them by their nicknames and so far, they've stuck.

Louie's aunt and uncle live about 45 minutes north of Wheaton, IL and I know, will be looking out for him while he's living there. They came by and spent a day with us and gave Garrett a bike for using on campus. It's blue. The Wheaton College colors are blue and orange... so almost every bike is blue! Louie gave him some advice on how to 'personalize' his bike so he could spot it quickly.

This slide makes it seem so real! I actually talked to him today and he met with an advisor for biology/pre-med majors. He's a sweet Asian man in his 60s that Garrett said reminds him of the guy from the Karate Kid movies. He found out that the MCAT will change in 2015 and what classes he should take and that even as a freshman he may be able to do some research.

This is Perry the Mastodon. He was unearthed near Wheaton and is sort of a mascot for the brand new science building.

So here are some campus pictures... this will all be covered in several feet of snow come January!

This is the oldest building... where Garrett will have his English/Fiction class.

This is Darrell and Sandy. Louie's aunt and uncle who will watch after Garrett a bit for us.

Not far from Wheaton is a town called Naperville. It's larger than Wheaton but they have a trendy downtown with cool shops. We checked out the candy store. They're sort of famous for their caramel corn.

Sunday morning we were getting ready to leave. We drove into Wheaton for breakfast. It has a cute downtown area just a 5 minute bike ride from the campus with restaurants and shops and parks.

This sign was hanging in a the window of a kitchen store in town- I just couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

Mrs. Magnusson, a teacher at Covenant School, suggested this resaurant. Her husband and one son graduated from Wheaton.

This stinks for me. But is great for him.

It's hard to explain what its like to drop your child off at a college and drive away. It's great and terrible. And exactly within the will of God. Which is where we all want to be. So I'm trusting Him to help us wade through the emotions and help us keep our eyes on what's important.