We returned Sunday night from our trip to Hickory, North Carolina, where we conducted funeral services for my mother-in-law, Lorena Moore. It was good to re-connect with family, even on such a sad occasion. She is the second of 14 siblings to pass away, and most of her brothers and sisters came to bid her farewell. The outpouring of love and gratitude was both healing and refreshing. Here is a copy of the funeral bulletin:
Speaking of funerals, today is the tenth anniversary of the death of Dr. David A. Dorsey, my Old Testament professor who I adored. I may post later today the eulogy I gave at his funeral. I miss him a great deal, as do the rest of us on the seminary faculty. He had a high view of God, a high view of Scripture, and a high view of others, even while he himself was the humblest (and smartest) person I had ever met.
Christmas was a real joy, despite the death in our family. We kept our plans in place, and the immediate family gathered at our house for several days to celebrate. The kids, of course, were adorable. They were a bit overwhelmed at times by the sixteen people and two dogs who assembled under our roof. It’s a fairly large place, but when you have two 2-year-olds, one 1-year-old, and a 5-month-old in the midst of all that activity, you get a meltdown once in a while. That said, they were all fantastic and got along beautifully.
We were heavy on the gifts for our kids and their kids this year, but Sonya and I went light on each other. We decided that our newly renovated kitchen—which was completed two weeks ago—was sufficient. One of these days I may get motivated and post a few pictures of it. We’re thrilled with the results. Next up is converting the “Granny Flat” (as we called it) to a master bedroom. We’re not in a hurry, though. We need to grieve and discern what’s next in our lives before moving any walls or reconfiguring things. A few life changes are coming, and those changes could affect what we do with the space.
My sister-in-law got me the complete set of Harry Potter DVDs for Christmas, which totally took me by surprise. I had watched them online years ago just to see what all the fuss was about, but that was during a time when I was burning the candle at both ends, and I kept falling asleep. It will be good to fill in the gaps of what I missed the first time around. I remember them being quite charming and creative with wonderful cinematography and casting. The magical worlds of Narnia and Middle Earth always trip me into the boundless, and I suspect the same will happen with Hogwarts when I’m alert enough to follow the storyline.
There’s so much more to write, but I’ll leave it here for now.
May you be supremely blessed in 2024.
