The semester officially ended on Friday.  Classes are finished, the dorm is mostly empty, and the students are headed home for the holidays.  We’ll take a trip to Oklahoma where we’ll celebrate Christmas, Judah’s second birthday, and our fifth anniversary.  Then we’ll return for what we hope will be a restful and productive several weeks of family time, catch-up, life organization, ministry planning, pre-semester homework, and a winterim class.

One reason why I’ve enjoyed living, studying, and serving in an educational environment is the semester set-up.  Winter and summer breathers balance out the semester sprints.  I know it won’t always be like this for us, but it has been a blessing throughout the years.

May your Christmas season be full of deep, childlike wonder at the birth of Jesus the Messiah and deep, childlike joy at the new and glorious morn that dawned that day.  And if you find you or your family suffocating on the shadows of empty Christmas traditions instead of satisfied with the staggering story of the incarnation, may the Lord guard you from the poison of cynicism and help you to celebrate Christ in fresh ways while humbly bringing those around you into the glory and joy of our Savior’s birth.  Like looking up into a peaceful starry night sky, contemplating the birth of Jesus leaves a serene and soft-hearted happiness that can make life worth living again.