Five Poppens & a PhD: A Glorious Wonder

"In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made;

without him nothing was made that has been made.

In him was life,

and that life was the light of all mankind.

The light shines in the darkness,

and the darkness has not overcome it."

John 1:1-5

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.

We have seen his glory,

the glory of the one and only Son,

who came from the Father,

full of grace and truth."

John 1:14

The Word became flesh.

The very radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of God's being

The One through whom all things were created and are sustained

God

became

flesh

and came to live among us

Immanuel

God with us

Oh, the glorious wonder!

You, Jesus, Heaven's King

Who created all and sustains all

The source of life and light

You came down

You left your throne in exchange for a manger

You traded power for weakness

Glory for meekness

You came down

You traded honor for shame, beauty for pain

but out of immeasurable love

You came down

to live with us

to rescue us

to save us

the True Light

to bring light and life

to a world in death and darkness.

Oh, the glorious wonder!

May you find life in his light

and wonder at his glory

Jesus

The Word made flesh

Immanuel

God with us

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

Here is a little *snapshot* of each member of our family and an update on our lives as we finish out 2019:

Zoë

3rd Grade

Age 8

Is quickly entering the pre-tween stage

(Both delightful and terrifying)

Zoë is incredibly helpful, hard working and has a sweet tender heart.

Loves spending time with her BFFs

pretending to be in college (!)

Is a beautiful and graceful dancer

She is taking classes in ballet, tap, jazz and hip-hop

Is a fantastic artist

Loves to draw, paint, create

Is a talented and expressive musician!

Is always working on her tumbling skills

Isaiah

Kindergarten

Age 5

Loves legos!

Started Hip-hop

Played soccer for the first time this fall

Is a budding musician

Is the silliest of sillies

(followed closely by his little sister)

Enjoys learning about outer space and undersea creatures

Isaiah has a lot of fun at school (too much fun)

but he is a smart kid and is reading like a pro!

Always wants to PLAY!!

Isaiah brings a lot of laughter, energy and fun to our home.

Isabelle

Mommy School and "Bubbaday" (Bible Study)

Age 2

Loves to swing!

Loves to slide!

Loves to smile!

(And cry.)

Her favorite activities are playing on her scooter/bike,

lining up cars, drawing and painting, and building with blocks.

Is in the running for silliest of sillies

Isabelle is a delight.

She is adding new words each day and loves to run and jump and play!

She is silly and sweet and strong.

Zac

27th grade (5+ years in PhD)

Age 33

"2019 was a long year for me in my PhD program. When things move along slowly, every step seems harder, every word written seems to disappear into a pile of paragraphs and pages. This isn’t to say that 2019 was a 'bad' year. I’ve been cleared to write my dissertation topic, I had a chapter published in a Festschrift (a celebratory publication for a retiring professor), submitted some articles for publication in journals, and presented at my discipline’s national conference (AARSBL – a joint meeting between the American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature) in San Diego on some of the work I’ve done on my dissertation. But since so much of my dissertation journey has shifted around over the past year, I thought I would update y’all on what I’m officially writing on. The short version is that I’m arguing that we need to re-read the text of Deuteronomy using a particular thinker – Enrique Dussel – and his work to re-imagine how approach the idea of the “stranger” (the ger in Hebrew) in terms of immigration, both in ancient Israel’s context of the Ancient Near East and in our contemporary context today in the United States. Dussel, among his many intellectual and praxis-oriented contributions to theology, history, and philosophy, developed a concept called the analectical method. Without getting too deep into the theory it responds to, the main point of the analectical method (or analectics) is that our ethical responsibility begins with what Dussel calls the Other. The Other is anyone who isn’t you, who isn’t me, who isn’t known – the stranger. By doing this, the conversation about laws and rights and ethics shifts from the interest of those in power to the stories of people who have suffered abuse and oppression at the border (if we’re talking about immigration). By writing about this, I hope to push folks to think about how our ethics and our politics are inextricably linked together and how what we believe about loving the stranger results in certain material consequences for folks looking to escape the poverty and violence of their countries."

Zac proposed his dissertation topic this past month and is **officially** writing his dissertation!!!! Hooray and hallelujah!!! It has been a long journey, but we are so proud of him and his perseverance, hard work and passion. Zac also had multiple people give him significant positive feedback and affirmation at the recent conference which has left us all greatly encouraged!

Larissa

Done with school

Age 34

2019 has been a tough year for me mentally, emotionally and physically. It has felt like a constant battle inside and out. Draining depression, oppressive anxiety, and a host of physical issues that have felt all consuming of my time and energy. It has been a year of working through different diets and ointments to deal with an itchy, blistering rash on my face. I've cut out gluten when I found I had an intolerance but am still having issues with the rash. I recently started taking Claritin again for pollen allergies and the rash on my face drastically improved, so it seems to support the idea that it is an allergic reaction to something - I'm just not sure what. That will be the next adventure in the new year!

Through it all, my hope has been in Immanuel. The light of Jesus constantly breaks through my darkness, daily dissolves my fears and brings grace and truth to sustain me moment by moment. I am grateful for the Holy Spirit's sweet presence that has guided and encouraged me day in and day out, leading me through each battle to hope and healing - inside and out. May this coming year bring overflowing joy and peace!

I continue to teach piano and voice and have an average of 16 students in the Music Makers Studio. We had a fun "Christmas Around the World" recital earlier in December and it is a joy to work with them and watch them all grow in their musical gifts. I am also teaching 2-3 year olds at Bible Study Fellowship each week and serve in the kid's ministry at our church once a month. I am grateful for opportunities to use and grow in my own gifts!