Wacht am Rhein

First, it's been an exhausting holiday. We had EVERYBODY over for Christmas. All my siblings, including Don and Peg and Brady and Cory, who sneaked in to surprise Nana. Matt and Sarah and Rosie and Trey, along with all my kids. Big crowd. Went well in general. But when the plans changed and there was some miscommunication as to when everyone was leaving, I didn't handle it well. I'm ashamed that when an opportunity arrives to show the grace of Christ, I blow it. Live and learn.

We've slowly been recovering the house and ourselves. I built a gorgeous storage rack in the garage. Suzanne and I have finished our counseling sessions with Pastor John Morrison, and I must say that I'm really impressed at how God can use a wise man to open the Scriptures in such a powerful way. I have really learned things that have changed my life. (This from a guy who used to think all counseling was a total waste of time, which it usually is.)

Other stuff...We have been blessed to become such good friends with Dan and Sara White. It's funny that you can have (1) good friends, or (2) Christian friends, or (3) good Christian friends! When you get that last category, it's really awesome. As you would expect from people who are devoted to the Lord, they are genuine, kind, charming, and just very interesting people. It's really a privilege to have them as friends. Our whole home group is such a blessing to us. Every person there, including the young folks, is so unique, and each one is precious.

We were treated to a violin recital yesterday by Rachel White. I was blown away. I simply can't understand how she can have such focus, concentration, and endurance for 50 solid minutes of performing complex pieces like that. And she was able to pull such emotion from the instrument. I was enraptured.

Tonight Peter came over, and we tried out "Bulge 20"--a wargame about the Ardennes Offensive of 1944. There have been countless games on this battle, but this one is different, because it focuses on putting the players in command at the Army Group level. Basically, you are an Army Group Commander (like Bradley or Montgomery), and you have to manage your general staff--the G-1 (administration), G-2 (intelligence), G-3 (operations), and G-4 (logistics).

I played the Germans, and I chose a limited objective of taking Aachen. To my surprise and delight, Peter's allies reacted to the shock of my initial onslaught by abandoning Aachen in order to defend Liege! I took the city without firing a shot. But then I made my critical blunder: I spent three major operations trying to attack Clerveaux from St. Vith with the 5th Panzer Army. I had decided that it was important to advance on a broad front in order to confuse the Allies, so my plan was to out-flank the defenses there, rout the Americans, and then advance the weak 7th Army across the river. Unfortunately, the American corps there kept holding against my assaults. I eventually took the town, but I had wasted precious time. In retrospect, I should have ignored Clerveaux and concentrated my resources on taking Liege with 6th Panzer Army. In the end, I attacked three times but failed to take the city. By the end of the game, Peter had committed Patton's Third Army (big mistake!), which gave me a marginal victory. We are hoping to play this one again.

Meanwhile, my wife is awesome. There couldn't be a woman more perfect for me. I am so impressed by her devotion to God, her strong spirituality, and her love for me (and the new kitteh). She is composing a blog documenting her journey from Mormonism to atheism to Christ, and it is fascinating. Her honesty, incisive understanding of theology, and her ability to relate her innermost struggles have captured the attention of her readers. I really feel God is using her in ways that will reach people for Christ in a powerful way.

Life with a wonderful wife

I feel that either I'm an absolute genius, or I've been incredibly blessed. Probably both are true.

When I met Suzanne, I was immediately attracted to her intellect, her sassiness, her sense of humor, her honesty, and, despite her irreverence, her spirituality. I could sense about her that here was a woman who had depth. Like a pond you discover deep in a jungle--you wonder how deep it really is.

Well, I married her without knowing exactly how deep. And each day has been an adventure. My wife challenges me and fascinates me with her insights, her introspection, and her devotion to God. It is such a pleasure to see her in action, because I see her as not only my lover, my spouse, my partner in crime, but also my fellow soldier--on the battlefield, deeply engaged in the fight and able to hold her own. Never in my life have I had someone that I can rely on like her. I have confidence in her relationship with Jesus Christ. Is that cool, or what?

I watch my Zanne struggle with life, with family, with issues that we face. I see the grace of Christ mixed with the beauty of her own unique Suzanne-ness. Wow. What a treat! I never expected such surprising joy at this stage of life.

Okay, gotta go now. I have to go study so's I can keep up with her.