These are unprecedented days, we keep hearing, but through it all, God remains, and Christmas is a wonderful time to remember that He is steadfast, He keeps His promises, and brings hope in the darkness. "A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices..." May your Advent and Christmas be filled with hope.

'Twas late in 2020, and the virus remained,
Causing sickness and death and suffering and pain.
For ten months and counting, the virus had spread.
"We're ready for life to be normal," the world said.

"We're weary of sickness, of masks and quarantines,
Of lockdowns and face shields, of keeping things clean.
Weary of staying home, and social distancing, too,
Weary of e-learning, weary of Zoom.

"No more new normal!" the people all buzzed.
"When can we go back to life as it was?"
But the virus ignored them, pressing on like before
And with it came rumors of what was in store -

More restrictions and closures, more unrest and strife,
More tensions, more anger, more not-normal-life.
The virus-weary world looked ahead to December.
"This won't be like the Christmases we remember.

"No concerts or pageants like we had in the past,
No visits with Santa without wearing a mask.
No candlelight service with faces aglow,
No big group of carolers out in the snow.

"But we still can go shopping, the stockings to fill
As long as our income will cover the bill."
So the world spent Advent shopping online
Desperately hoping it all would be fine.

"The year has been awful, but maybe," it said,
"More stuff will help in the darkness ahead.
More movies, more music, more candy, more holly,
More Christmas trappings to make the day jolly.

"More trinkets, more tinsel, more trees and more lights!
More presents, more magic, more fun in our life!
Christmas-as-it-was is gone," the world supposed,
"But at least our presents are still wrapped up with bows!"

"Pooh pooh to the saints," the world was grumbling,
"Who needs their Christmas or the hope of Jesus coming?
They're finally waking up to what matters in life.
It's not fairy tales! It's what brings us delight!"

And then in the midst of the world's frantic pace,
It happened to notice the look on the face
Of its neighboring saints as they went through their days
With a song in their hearts, and on their lips, praise.

Each week, one step closer to the joy of the birth
Of the One who had come to bring real peace on Earth.
The virus had failed to keep hope away,
Somehow or other it came just the same.

And the world with its focus on presents and glee
Stood puzzling and puzzling, "Just how can it be?
"They don't have the help of normal traditions
Like potlucks at church or pageant auditions.

Singing is frowned on, and so are the crowds, 
And most of what they like is just not allowed.
Even Christmas Eve service is canceled, we heard,
So this hope you're expressing, to us seems absurd."

Then the world thought of something it hadn't before.
Maybe peace, hope and joy don't come from a store,
Nor from traditions, nor absence of war.
Maybe peace, hope and joy mean a little bit more.

And what happened then? Well, just like in the spring,
The story's not done. What do you think?
How will you spend your Advent this year?
In worry and frenzy and panic and fear?

Will you follow the world, filling your days
With shopping and grumbling, or prayer and praise?
The world is weary, and I know you are, too,
But in unprecedented times, the world's watching you

To see if the Source of your hope and your joy
Is the God of Creation, or just lights and toys.
So this year at Christmas, let this be our prayer
As the virus and worry rage around everywhere.

May the world behold Peace when it looks at our lives.
May the world see Joy as we show it the Light.
May the world find Hope as we point to God's Son.
And may we show them His Love in 2021.

I have many friends who are anxious about the 2020 election, regardless of who they are voting for. I have been, too. It has been a year like no other, and there are many unknowns about the future and the direction our country is going. The message of this poem is one God has laid on my heart, especially in the last few weeks, and I pray it encourages you, especially if you are a believer in Jesus, no matter who you are voting for this year. I also hope you will join me in the prayer of 1 Timothy 2:1-3:

Election Eve

‘Tis the night before voting, and all through the land
Political races have come to an end.
Debates and commercials, banners and rallies,
Endorsements and mailing, polling and tallies.

Campaigning is finished; early voting, too.
Going to the polls is what’s left to do.
For weeks we have listened and argued and read up.
Some, fearing chaos, went shopping and stocked up.

In a year of “unprecedented”, this election tops the list,
But as history happens, this truth can’t be missed:
No matter who wins, in races great and small,
God is still on His throne and still rules over all.

The king’s heart is a river in God’s mighty hand.
He turns it according to His perfect plans.
Those plans can’t be thwarted by powers below,
Nor by heavenly rulers, nor Donald, nor Joe.

Authorities and rulers rise and fall in due time,
But not without God and His will divine.
The path He allows our nation to take
Won’t just be random, or a pointless mistake.

Whoever’s “in charge” is by God’s design,
A tool He will use, His will to align.
He works in all ways, through all situations,
To bring forth His purpose in every nation.

So, go to the polls and make your voice heard.
Argue your case, put in a good word.
And when this day’s done and you turn out the light,
Rest in the knowledge that God’s in this fight.

He‘s true and He’s righteous, and He’s got a plan
That’s been in His mind since before time began.
No matter who wins, there’s still work to be done,
Battles to fight, wars to be won.

But our real enemy when we walk with the Lord
Is not flesh and blood, but the spiritual world.
So, put on your armor and take up your sword
Through prayer and faith, through time in His Word.

Now, rest in His love, in His power and peace,
Trust in His goodness as you drift off to sleep.
For in the big picture at the end of the story,
It’s not about us – it’s all for God’s glory.

When I was in junior high school (grades 7 and 8, for those who grew up in a middle school mindset), everyone was expected to study a foreign language. My choices were French, Latin, or Spanish, and my struggle was between French and Spanish. I went with French, the language of my ancestors on my dad's side. I never even considered studying Latin. Why would I? Latin is a dead language, right? No one speaks it anymore, and anything important in Latin has been translated into English anyway.

Now, years later, I am homeschooling my children classically and we are all learning Latin, including me! Why? What is the big deal in classical circles about learning Latin? Our reasons for teaching our children Latin fall into these five categories. 

I'm a big believer in understanding and using correct grammar for the sake of clear communication. When I was an ESOL teacher, I made a point of teaching my students grammar, even if the prevailing educational opinion was not strongly in favor of it. I realized back then that English grammar is not the easiest to grasp. For every rule, we have dozens of exceptions, it seems. We often use the same word for different verb tenses, which can be confusing, and some words change parts of speech depending on how you pronounce them (think how present changes meaning depending on which syllable gets accented).

Latin, however, while it also has exceptions, is quite regular, and it is inflected, meaning it changes the ending of words according to their use in a sentence. These two aspects of Latin make it more concrete and visible than English, and ideal for teaching about grammar and the purpose and usage of words, knowledge and understanding which can then be applied to English. Some classical grammar programs teach English grammar first, with the expectation that it will make it easier to learn Latin later. The program we chose does the opposite - it starts Latin in the early elementary school years with the expectation that it can be applied to the study of English grammar and make it more understandable. 

English is a Germanic language, with our grammar and core vocabulary coming from that family of tongues, but a good bit of our vocabulary has roots in other languages, especially Latin. Along with that, many scientific words and legal terms come from Latin, and I am already seeing the benefit of my children learning Latin roots in the context of studying Latin as a whole language rather than giving them lists of Latin roots to memorize as part of a vocabulary class - it is so much easier and more fun!

Because Latin has such strict rules about its structure and inflections, it takes systematic thinking to put those pieces together. It is amazing to watch both my third grader and my seventh grader going through the steps of conjugating a Latin verb or declining a Latin noun as they consider the rules they have learned and then apply them to a new vocabulary word and then go one more step in translating them in a sentence. Years before we will study logic as a discipline, I see their minds becoming more logical because of Latin. Plus, it is fun! My daughter thinks of it like reading and writing in a code.

Latin was the language of the civilized world for a long time. It was the language of the Roman Empire, before and during the time of Christ. It remained an important language for academia through the Middle Ages and beyond. Many documents important to Western Civilization were written in Latin. Many great works of literature contain references to Latin phrases and writings. To be able to read and understand these things will enrich my children's understanding of the past.

As Latin strengthens their grammar, it will help them to be better writers in English. It will also prepare them to study other languages by helping them understand grammar and language in general. As they expand their vocabulary, other advanced studies in areas like science and literature will be more accessible. As they train their minds to think logically, those same skills will be put to use in math and science. In these and so many other ways, we feel that learning Latin now, in elementary and middle school, will prepare them to be even stronger learners in high school and beyond.