RIP, Coach Woodin

HT: TC

Three people dressed for the wedding...

Can you see Person #3 in the photo below, Gentle Reader?

Off and running...

...to Tucson, again, that is. Blog break ahead as we drive to AZ to meet up with both the chillun and their wives for Thanksgiving at Tim and Nikki's house. Be back next week-end. Happy Thanksgiving, Gentle readers!

Camping: Redondo, Jemez Mountains, Santa Fe National Forest

I promise more photos all week. And any of you who have never camped here in our mountains, ought to think about it. They are beautiful!

The Eclogues

I received a copy of this little book for my birthday from my dear husband. Now, he is not usually wont to buy me old Latin poetry for my birthday, but he had particular reasons for doing so in this case. Eldest ds (Ben, the Classicist) is likely writting about this very set of 8 poems by Virgil, and we feel we need to understand what he is writing about. Still, I find the thought a little intimidating.

There are only 8 short poems in this book. Why the pages and pages of introduction? Do I have to wade through that before I read the poems? Do I need a tutor to understand them? These are the questions I ask as I slide it to the bottom of my nightstand pile.

One of these days, I will be courageous, and just dig in to the first poem. And i can always call Ben and have him explain them to me.

Any other courageous souls out there want to read Virgil with me?

Tantalizing takes from Tucson

An ad for Ben

Here is my eldest son Ben, and his dear wife, Elsa. He is offering classes and tutorials again online, and I am giving you all the information just in case you would like to take advantage of his services. He knows his subject, is a funny and interesting teacher, and needs some additional funds and teaching experience, so if you are interested, his contact information is at the bottom.

My name is Ben Finnegan. I am a former homeschooler (all through elementary, middle, and high school), and, having finished my Bachelor's and Master's degrees, I am currently working for my PhD in Classical Studies at Indiana University. I'm looking for more teaching experience in an environment that I know and enjoy, so I thought I would offer Greek, Latin, and Classical Culture classes or tutoring to members of the homeschool community.

I would be willing to do a larger cooperative class or smaller tutoring sessions in any of the following subjects. I must say that, given the difficulty of the material and my expectations as a teacher, these classes are generally limited to those of high school age, though if a student is well developed enough and has a good work ethic I would be willing to accept younger children as well.

--Beginning Latin
Using the venerable and exacting Wheelock's Latin Course, this course of study would introduce students to learning foreign language in general by close grammatical study, and would provide the same amount of Latin as one semester of College language study.

--Intermediate Latin
With this offering, I would ask for a diagnostic meeting with any prospective students in order to ascertain at what level their Latin is. This course would work towards greater reading comprehension and analytical grasp of the Latin language.

--Advanced Latin
As with the above, a diagnostic meeting would be required. I would give students an overview of several types of Latin literature (poetry, history, drama, oratory), and then move on to intensive translation and study of particular authors and works, dependent on the interests of the student. Books for this class would likely be more expensive than any of the other offerings, given the high price of original language texts.

--Beginning Classical Greek
The study of Greek is a difficult but rewarding enterprise. This class would be at a much slower pace than any of my Latin classes, as the material is much more demanding. The textbook used would be Chase and Phillips' course for Classical Greek

--Beginning Koine (New Testament) Greek
For those who do not wish to embroil themselves in Ancient Greek literature, but would like to approach the Bible and other Late Classical and Patriarchal authors. Koine is a slimmed-down, simplified form of Greek. The text used would be the beginning text written by the great J. Gresham Machen.

--Greek Literature in Translation
This class avoids the problems of a second language altogether, but still gives a larger cultural and historical grasp of Ancient Greece. With this class, I would read at least one work by all the major authors, and at least one work of each literary genre. The emphasis here would be on religious, political, historical, and cultural ideas viewed through the lens of beginning literary criticism and a good understanding of the Greek world-view. A word of warning, though: much of Greek literature deals with troubling themes of violence and sexuality. While I will avoid the lewd and obscene, these currents are too strong for any class in Greek literature to avoid completely. So please consider this offering only for those spiritually and emotionally mature enough to discuss these subjects from a Biblical world and life view

--Latin Literature in Translation
Like the above class, this will deal with English translations of the great works of Latin literature. Again, the emphasis in this class would be on developing a good understanding of the Roman world-view through literary-critical reading and involving discussions of the Roman religious, political, historical, and literary world. As with Greek literature, much of Latin literature is filled with themes of violence and sexuality. Again, I would avoid the more lascivious of the works, but the history of Rome is filled with too much corruption and deviance for any course to completely avoid the actions of immoral men and women.

These classes would be offered twice a week beginning in September and continuing through early December for the first term, and beginning in February and ending in May. The exact schedule of the classes will depend on interest and enrollment. I can accept a maximum of 18 students per session because of the software that I will be using.

---Summer quick-start and review classes for parents
I am also willing to tutor parents over the summer who wish to review any of the above subjects to equip them to better teach their own children. This can be done individually or as a group, meeting once a week or more frequently depending on the goals of the students.

At this point, I do not want to settle on a price, as that will depend on demand and the number of students. Books for each course should be readily available at an online bookseller, and would average about $40-60 per class, depending on the class. My rates for each class will be negotiable, but as a ball-park idea, in the past I have been paid $15-20 per hour of one-on-one tutoring, $12-18 per hour of class with less than five students, and $8-15 per hour of class with more than five students. However, I am perfectly willing to work with anyone who wants to come to a reasonable price that they find more appropriate for the services rendered.

If you are interested in any of these classes please either e-mail me at: bdfinn@gmail.com or call 505-690-8936.

References available upon request.

Agrarian literature and maturing children...

In a recent discussion with my eldest son Ben this week (you should know, Gentle Reader, that Ben and I cover deep territory in our talks: literature and theology and philosophy, and Ben always acts like he thinks I understand what he is talking about, which is very gracious of him) we turned to talking about the agrarian movement, and utopian movements in general. This topic came up because I am reading Thomas Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd, and Ben identified this as English agrarian literature. He claims we Americans tend to read seriously English agrarian literature and take it at face value, while if we were reading the same novel placed in the antebellum South, we would dismiss it as a romanticized version of reality. He then went on to describe agrarian literature as doing the same thing as progressive literature, but in retrograde. In other words, where the progressive plants his utopia in the future and grasps towards a future than can never be reality, the agrarian places his utopia in the past and grasps towards what never was. We went on to discuss Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry, and the fact that you rarely hear the agrarians talk about the stagnation that can occur in a rural setting, nor the fact that breaking into such communities results in just as much displacement often as breaking out of them does.

I found these fascinating ideas, and have been pondering them ever since. And I feel blessed to have had such conversations with a child of mine, grown to adulthood, and surpassing me in many ways. And he is becoming a friend in a way childhood never allowed. I feel like he is rising up in the gates and calling me blessed because he enjoys my conversation, and has so much to teach me. What a joy to watch your children leap ahead of you. May each of you, Gentle Readers, be so blessed!

Wednesday without words (from Bloomington, IN)

At Ben and Elsa's

I am in the home of my eldest son and his dear wife. I am surrounded by books (Virgil's Eclogues, short stories of Mark Helprin, Wheelock's Latin, several Dorothy Sayers novels, Strunk and White, just to name a few of the ones here at the computer.)

Ben's CDs are in alphabetical order downstairs, and include lots and lots of bizarre groups: Danish troll music, hard-rock meets opera, folk and kletchmer music, and 80's style rock, just to name a few.

The front closet has a stash of strategy games, so we played Carcasonne this afternoon, and Quest for the Galaxy tonight. I lost all games badly...also part of the atmosphere playing with two brilliant strategists, and me with an old and slow mind!

Everywhere, the kids' personality shows through... from the comfortable furniture, to the eclectic art, to the ancient and anti-social gerbil.

This has been a fun and relaxing trip already, and one I will treasure for a long time to come! My only regret is that these kids are so far from us, and this visiting stuff happens so infrequently. All the better then to enjoy this visit!

Thoughts for a baby shower

Today I was asked to give a short devotional at a baby shower. Below are the thoughts I shared.

What a joyous occasion this is: and made even sweeter for those of us who have prayed for you in the past. We prayed when you were single, that God would bring a godly husband, and He provided. And we have prayed for the Lord to bless you and with children. And here we are, with Baby on the way! This is a time to rejoice in the God who answers prayer!

As I considered what I might say to encourage you today, I’d like to start by reading Psalm 127:

Unless the LORD builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the LORD watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.
Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

As I thought about the exciting road that is ahead of you, this psalm seemed to address many of the things that motherhood will bring your way. Each of us who become a parent for the first time discover that we have a God-given capacity to love that is deeper than we ever thought possible. We also find our hearts can be more crushed and broken than we ever thought possible. We discover new heights of joy in our children, and often more depths of sorrow. We are amazed as our children show child-like faith, and discouraged as we see our own sin become their sin. We have hopes and dreams for our children that overcome us and them if we are not careful.

But the first thing I encourage you to remember as you encounter these strong and amazing emotions, is that this baby is not really yours at all. This baby belongs to the Lord, and you will only be entrusted with this little one for a short time. Unless the Lord is building your house, or your family, you are laboring in vain. Give this baby to the Lord every day. Remember that God has dreams and hopes for this child, and give her to Him over and over again, and wait patiently for His dreams to be fulfilled..

One of the great temptations that come to every mother is anxiety and worry. We worry about health and development, about intelligence and education, about acceptance and opportunity, about our own loss of freedom and independence, about a million different details concerning this little child. But when we worry, we are denying that this child belongs to God. No matter how hard we work to bring about perfect opportunities or friendships for our children, or protect them from danger and evil, the plan of God is perfect for their lives. If we labor day and night and let anxiety rob our sleep, we are usurping God’s place, and laboring in vain again. As it says in verse 2 of Psalm 127:
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives to his beloved sleep.
As we depend on God, we learn to release our anxiety and trust Him with these precious little ones, who belong to Him and are beloved of Him.

Verse 3 tells us that children are a heritage from the Lord. They are our heritage, but more than that, they are His heritage: they belong to Him, and your first responsibility as a mom will be to teach your child about Christ, and to show her what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. She will learn everything you show her—those things you try to teach, as well as those things you would rather she never saw in you. I challenge you to watch your walk with the Lord, and live it out before this little one in faithfulness. Be her example of how a child of the King behaves, and set priorities in your family that will always remind her that she is a heritage from the Lord.

Verse 4 tells us that children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. As you train this child to be a follower of Christ, she is a weapon you send into the future. She will begin at your side, but she will fly forth and go places you have never been and will never see. Never forget that you are preparing a warrior for Christ, to stand for Truth in a broken and hurting world, and to speak love and redemption there. But for our children to perform that task, we have to let go of them, and let them fly as the Lord has ordained them to go. The job of a mother is to put herself out of a job, by remembering that she is training the next generation of Christ-followers.

So, we will continue to pray for you as you embark on this great adventure. We’ll rejoice with you when you rejoice, and weep with you when you weep, and we look forward to watching God’s plan for your family and this little one.

Just how geeky are we?

The answer is, pretty darn geeky...

Take last night, for instance. After dinner, we took a walk, then spent the next couple of hours finding small objects that could fit into graduated cylinders and had varying densities, weighing them, and calculating their densities. I guess we would have a higher geek quotient if we had just done it for fun, but we were preparing for the high school chemistry class Dave is teaching. The really geeky part is, it was fun for both of us!

Ben's New Venture

These are my kids in Indiana. Aren't they cute? They are smart and love the Lord, too. What parent could ask for anything more?!

Ben is beginning a new venture... or at least checking to see if he can start a new venture: offering online tutoring in his beloved classics! Below is a summary of what he's doing, and how to get in touch with him if you are interested. I think he is making a fine teacher!

My name is Ben Finnegan. I am a former homeschooler (all through elementary, middle, and high school), and, having finished my Master's degree, I am currently working for my PhD in Classical Studies at Indiana University. I'm looking for more teaching experience in an environment that I know and enjoy, so I thought I would offer Greek, Latin, and Classical Culture classes or tutoring to members of the homeschool community.

I would be willing to do a larger cooperative class or smaller tutoring sessions in any of these subjects. I must say that, given the difficulty of the material and my expectations as a teacher, these classes are generally limited to those of high school age, though if a student is well developed enough and has a good work ethic I would be willing to accept younger children as well.

--Beginning Latin
Using the venerable and exacting Wheelock's Latin Course, this course of study would introduce students to learning foreign language in general by close grammatical study, and would provide the same amount of Latin as one semester of College language study.

--Intermediate Latin
With this offering, I would ask for a diagnostic meeting with any prospective students in order to ascertain at what level their Latin is. This course would work towards greater reading comprehension and analytical grasp of the Latin language.

--Advanced Latin
As with the above, a diagnostic meeting would be required. I would give students an overview of several types of Latin literature (poetry, history, drama, oratory), and then move on to intensive translation and study of particular authors and works, dependent on the interests of the student. Books for this class would likely be more expensive than any of the other offerings, given the high price of original language texts.

--Beginning Classical Greek
The study of Greek is a difficult but rewarding enterprise. This class would be at a much slower pace than any of my Latin classes, as the material is much more demanding. The textbook used would be Chase and Phillips' course for Classical Greek

--Beginning Koine (New Testament) Greek
For those who do not wish to embroil themselves in Ancient Greek literature, but would like to approach the Bible and other Late Classical and Patriarchal authors. Koine is a slimmed-down, simplified form of Greek. The text used would be the beginning text written by the great J. Gresham Machen.

--Greek Literature in Translation
This class avoids the problems of a second language altogether, but still gives a larger cultural and historical grasp of Ancient Greece. With this class, I would read at least one work by all the major authors, and at least one work of each literary genre. The emphasis here would be on religious, political, historical, and cultural ideas viewed through the lens of beginning literary criticism and a good understanding of the Greek world-view. A word of warning, though: much of Greek literature deals with troubling themes of violence and sexuality. While I will avoid the lewd and obscene, these currents are too strong for any class in Greek literature to avoid completely. So please consider this offering only for those spiritually and emotionally mature enough to discuss these subjects from a Biblical world and life view

--Latin Literature in Translation
Like the above class, this will deal with English translations of the great works of Latin literature. Again, the emphasis in this class would be on developing a good understanding of the Roman world-view through literary-critical reading and involving discussions of the Roman religious, political, historical, and literary world. As with Greek literature, much of Latin literature is filled with themes of violence and sexuality. Again, I would avoid the more lascivious of the works, but the history of Rome is filled with too much corruption and deviance for any course to completely avoid the actions of immoral men and women.

These classes would be offered twice a week beginning in September and continuing through early December for the first term, and beginning in February and ending in May. The exact schedule of the classes will depend on interest and enrollment. I can accept a maximum of 18 students per session because of the software that I will be using.

At this point, I do not want to settle on a price, as that will depend on demand and the number of students. Books for each course should be readily available at an online bookseller, and would average about $40-60 per class, depending on the class. My rates for each class will be negotiable, but as a ball-park idea, in the past I have been paid $15-20 per hour of one-on-one tutoring, $12-18 per hour of class with less than five students, and $8-15 per hour of class with more than five students. However, I am perfectly willing to work with anyone who wants to come to a reasonable price that they find more appropriate for the services rendered.

If you are interested in any of these classes please either e-mail me at: bdfinn@gmail.com or call 505-690-8936.

References available upon request.

Happy anniversary, Dave!

This was Dave and myself 28 years ago tomorrow. We were babies then, with so much to learn!

On our first wedding anniversary, Dave wrote a sweet "Marriage Alphabet" poem for me, and on our 25th anniversary, I wrote one back to him. So at 49 or 50 years, it will be his turn again: and every 25 years or so is plenty! Mine isn't very good poetry-- and I have some excellent poets in the family-- so you will have to be generous with me! But Happy Anniversary, Dave! I'd marry you all over again!

A Marriage Alphabet (after 24.5 years)

Always together, from where we began.

Boys, we’ve watched grow from a child to a man.

Care is the way we look after each other,

Dying to self for the love of another.

Every day cuddling when the day is done.

Father and Friend, you’re a wonderful one!

G is for Grace, on which we depend,
and

Hope which will carry us through to the end.

“I” is for each of us, forming a “we”.

Jesus, is making a “one” of us three.

K is for kitchen, where we make a great pair,

Laughing and Loving and cooking out there.

Your Mom now has joined us as part of our home.


Never is when I will leave you alone.

One and Only: for me that is you!

Pain is for changing and growing anew.

Q is for Quicken, which helps with my math.

Running is always a part of your path.

Saving and dreaming and planning together,

Tenderness, Trust increasing in measure.

Useless are Satan’s attempts to defeat us,

Verily going where Jesus may lead us.

Wanting you still after all of these years, after

X-rays and chemo and trials and tears.

You are God’s perfect plan for me.

Zealous for you I forever shall be.

Some thoughts on children in church

I was recently prompted by a post at 22 Words to recall what we did about incorporating our children into corporate worship. I hadn't really thought about it for some time, but was reminded what a great idea it is to have our children with us in worship.

In Scripture, whenever the Word of God is read in the Old Testament, the families are all present. We are training up our little ones into the covenant family of God, even as we train plants in a garden to grow on a trellis, pruning them, feeding them, giving them nutrients and a sunny spot, and rich earth. This process of training is work for them and us, but so worth it when they follow after God and see the importance of being in the covenant family. My eldest ds, recently married and almost finished with a Master's degree, recently joined a church along with his wife. They are plugging in to the family there. I must say that outside of taking communion with my children for the first time, this is a highlight for me in parenting: watching the next generation enter into the promises of the covenant! It actually makes me weep to think of being in eternity with the Lord, and my children being beside me!

I wrote a comment at the post linked above if you want to see some specifics ideas for what we did to bring our little ones into worship. It has been a joy to watch others do the same. And I really appreciate that when we have a particularly noisy morning as children are learning to come along in the worship of God by his people, our pastor will stop, and remind everyone that those noises are the noises of the covenant, the sound of God's family, and a source of rich blessing. That has settled the heart of many an embarrassed parent!

I believe it is a uniquely American idea that when we worship God, it ought to be a time to concentrate on our own encouragement and peace, free from "distraction". Worship was never intended to be so self-centered! Worship is about God: who He is, what He has done, what He deserves from us. It is our "service" to him. And part of that service is the training up of our children to know Him rightly.

Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.
~Proverbs 22:6