Quote of the Week

“Mathematics, rightly viewed, possesses not only truth but supreme beauty—a beauty cold and austere, like that of a sculpture.”

- Bertrand Russell

A House is a Home

Jeannette and MelodyJoy finally came home from Wisconsin this afternoon, chauffered by Jeannette's dad. Whenever I come home from work, Melody always greets me with "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, O Daddy!!!" and hugs my legs. Today when she realized I was home, I got an extra dose, with repeated hugs and kisses. Almost made it worth it all to have them gone for the last couple of days.

Grandpa Wilder

Well, here we are in metropolitan Ladysmith, Wisconsin, population less than 3000. We drove five hours to Janesville, where Jeannette's dad lives, on Thanksgiving, knowing that her Grandpa Wilder was on the verge of passing away. That evening, we got word that he had died at about 9:00 PM, at age 87 (almost 88). Yesterday, we left Phillip and Jameson with Jeannette's dad and his wife and Jeannette, Jordan, Melody and I drove the rest of the way to Ladysmith, about four more hours. While en route, we found out that the funeral wouldn't take place until Monday, which means that Jordan and I will probably leave the girls here and return home without them. We can't afford to have the boys miss that much school and I really should be at work by Tuesday.

Grandpa Wilder was Jeannette's mom's father. I've enjoyed meeting more of Jeannette's relatives this weekend. They are quite the group. MelodyJoy, of course, provided much of the entertainment for everyone but by no means was she the only source.

I only met Grandpa Wilder a few times, most memorably at our wedding rehearsal dinner, where he played his usual role of providing entertainment by quoting a couple of poems from memory. There's no doubt that he was one-of-a-kind. He was still repairing the roof of his house at age 80 and his family likes to tell Paul Bunyan-esque tales about him. Here is his obituary:

Lawrence A. Wilder, 87, a long time Ladysmith resident, died Nov. 22, 2007. He was the husband of Lavon (Brainerd) Wilder.

He was born Dec. 19, 1919 at Hammond, Indiana, the fifth child of the late Emory R. Wilder and Daisy (Hepworth) Wilder. In 1935, Emory and Daisy bought 160 acres southwest of Ladysmith, adjacent to Wilder Road. Larry helped his father clear and farm the land, as well as build a log house and barn.

He attended school through the 8th Grade, later continuing high school by a home study program. He obtained his journeyman certificate in carpentry and helped build many bridges in Wisconsin. He worked his whole life as both a farmer and a carpenter. He served as Chairman of Thornapple Township for several years. He was active in several churches over the years. He was superintendent of the Sunday School and Junior Church at The Bible Fellowship Church in Madison, Wisconsin, where he also sang in the choir and drove the church bus. Larry was the principal carpenter and builder of the Northland Bible Church on Hwy 8 in Ladysmith.

Larry inherited his mother's love for poetry and her excellent memory. He entertained family and friends for hours reciting poems and singing songs. He once said "I think it is my purpose in life to make others happy."

Larry married Lavon Brainerd of Bruce, Wisconsin, on August 31, 1940. He is preceded in death by his parents; two older sisters, Cora Rees and Beulah Wilder; one older brother, William; one younger sister, Marion Wilder; two younger brothers, Lyman and Lyle; and one granddaughter, Aleshia Rose Wilder. He is survived by his wife Lavon; daughters Beulah Wilder of Alberta, Canada; Joyce Wilder of Albany, Oregon; and Julie Newman of Clarksville, Arkansas; sons Stephen (Janet) of Tomah, Wisconsin; Stanley, Alvin and Kevin of Bruce, Wisconsin; and Curtis of Stoughton, Wisconsin. He is also survived by brothers Jesse of Camas, Washington, and Samuel of Ladysmith; and sisters Bethel O’Connor of Winter, Wisconsin; Louise Butler and Emily Strehmel of Sheldon, Wisconsin; Rosalea Teele of Glen Flora, Wisconsin; and Linda Wilder of Ladysmith. In addition, he is survived by 41 grandchildren, 42 great-grandchildren, one great-great-grandson, and many nieces and nephews who loved him and enjoyed his poems, stories and great sense of humor.

Fall Colors

Everyone talks about how beautiful Indiana is in the fall. Here's the front of our house yesterday morning. By the time we get home from Wisconsin, all those leaves will probably be on the ground.

How could anyone say "no" to this face? - The Sequel

Sure, the plaintive look was effective
but this sassy pose might work just as well . . .

Quote of the Week - Thanksgiving Dinner Edition

“She was raised in the Southern tradition of believing that it was not only necessary but also polite to extend the discussion. All of her family were proponents of saying ‘blah, blah, blah’ when ‘blah’ would have sufficed.”

- John Brock, Southern Breezes Whistle Dixie

All the Leaves Are Brown and the Sky is Gray

How could anyone say "no" to this face?

Check out our TUFW YouTube Challenge

A new contest we've just launched here at TUFW:

Quote of the Week

"Too many Christian academics either do not publish or restrict their contributions to publishing concerns that perpetuate the separatist subcultures of which they are a part. In short, they preach to the converted and do not advance their views in the mainstream academic world. This is not to say that there is no place for the Christian college or Christian academic associations. Rather, it is to suggest that Christian thinkers need to offer their perspectives not only within, but also beyond, the Christian academic community.”

- David Claerbaut
Faith and Learning on the Edge (2004), p. 88

Walking the Halls

A few weeks ago, in chapel here at Taylor University Fort Wayne, someone on the platform made a comment, which I can only vaguely paraphrase right now, about how we would be talking to God, singing to God, listening to God . . . we were coming into the presence of the throne of the Lord. My mind immediately wandered for some reason back to when I took Jordan to Washington DC during his sixth grade year.

We had an appointment to get a tour of the Capitol and so we went to one of the congressional office buildings. We quickly made our way through security and then had time to kill. We walked up and down the halls, past offices adorned with state flags and name plates for people like Kennedy, Clinton, McCain, McConnell.

It hit me hard and I put my arm around his shoulder and said something like, "Do you realize what an amazing privilege this is? Here we are, just two nobodies from Oregon, and we're walking in the literal halls of power. We can walk right into Hillary Clinton's office! Now, we probably won't get to talk to her if we do, but they'll be polite, they'll listen to us! They won't kick us out or sound an alarm; we can walk right in." I don't know that there are too many places in this world where ordinary citizens can access national leaders so readily.

I sat in chapel and compared that with another amazing privilege we have. Sure, we can make an appointment to talk to our senator and drive to Washington DC and enter the Russell Building to meet with him or her, and that's pretty cool. But even more amazing is the fact that we can actually walk to the throne of the eternal, almighty God whenever we want! If I'm impressed at getting to spend 30 minutes with Congressman Greg Walden, how much more should I be impressed at getting to spend 30 minutes with God?! Yet I can certainly tell you which experience I take more for granted and which one I get more excited about.

Reflections on the Budget Process

Over the last few weeks, those of us who serve on the Chancellor's Council at Taylor University Fort Wayne have put many hours into discussion about the budget for next year. If you've worked at a not-for-profit organization, you probably know already that this isn't a particularly fun activity since there's never enough money to go around.

Having said that, I must note that it really was a very positive experience. Others on the Council agreed. It's great to be able to talk through issues, examine pro's and con's, challenge ideas and still be collegial. Reflecting on our budget work, two insights came my way.

First, I was having lunch with my parents at Burger King last Wednesday and discussing the budget process. I think it was my mom who said, "Well, problems that can be solved with money are the kinds of problems to have." Pretty profound. I thought about that for a few moments and said, "I don't think we have any problems at TUFW that can't be solved with $2 million more a year," meaning that I think we generally have the right attitudes, competencies, vision, and so on . . . we just need more money to carry out our plans. And I'd much rather be short on money but long on vision and teamwork than to have lots of funding but have to deal with difficult people bickering with one another or fighting over turf.

Second, I read Judges 7 this Thursday morning. In that chapter, Gideon is gearing up for battle and God keeps paring the size of his army down, first by 22,000 because God told him, "If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength." From there, the army was reduced by another ten thousand, until only 300 warriors remained. Thus it would be clear that the victory came only through the Lord's power.

There seems to be a parallel to our budget situation at TUFW. Our funding and manpower are limited enough that if and when we do find success, there will be only one reason: God gave us the victory.

The Curious Savage

This weekend, it's just Jameson and me. Jeannette is in Wisconsin with MelodyJoy visiting her mom. Jordan and Phillip are at a weekend camp with their church youth group. So, I made Jameson accompany me to see the play put on by the Taylor Theatre Organization, The Curious Savage by John Patrick.

I'd heard of the play before but had no idea what it was about or anything. Honestly, I had only modest expectations for the evening. This was the third play in three weekends for me, with the previous two being at Blackhawk Christian School and at Taylor Upland. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to say the least. In some ways, it was the best of the three productions. If you have not seen The Curious Savage, you need to. It has some of the best writing, including what I recognized as one of my favorite entries in my "quotes collection" . . .

“There are a million things a man won’t do for five dollars. But there aren’t five things a man won’t do for a million.”

Jameson enjoyed the play, too, which was nice and we just had a very nice evening together. He was not keen on being left home alone all weekend with someone "who can't even cook." The TTO did a great job on a very limited budget.

TUFW's New Commercial

I just got to see the new TV commercial that will air in the near future to promote TUFW's Law and Justice major. It wasn't my idea to make a commercial and while I had a little bit of input into the concept, the final product is different than I had imagined and far better. The people at WANE-TV did a great job, I think.

Quote of the Week

“Without faith we are as stained glass windows in the dark.”

- Anonymous

Griping and Grandparents, but not Griping Grandparents

I have heard from some so-called friends recently that my blog is not living up to previously established standards for content and currency. To these good people, all I can say is, "Tough Bananas! Start your own blog and try to keep it up while you adjust to a new job, keep tabs on four kids, and try to avoid those really annoying neighbors who will remain nameless but who know who they are and really have no right to criticize another's blogdom."

On a kinder, gentler note, this evening's post features pictures of the grandparents . . .

Grandma Muntz and MelodyJoy

P. Richard Muntz and J. Richard Muntz

Time Traveling

Today, I took half a day off of work and drove my folks to Winona Lake, Indiana, where they first met many, many years ago. Winona Lake is also home to Grace College and Seminary, where they did some graduate studies. The rest of the family came along, except for Phillip, who went to a play at Huntington University.

Our first stop was the former Winona Hotel. I guess that my grandparents stayed in a room here every summer for a number of years during the Winona Lake Bible Conference, which my grandfather directed. The Winona Hotel has been completely renovated and converted into condos . . .
We also drove by the house that Mom and Dad lived in during the one winter that they both were attending the seminary . . .

We had lunch at the Boathouse, a restaurant that rests on the exact site of a cafeteria where Mom worked as a cashier during the Bible conference . . .
I got this very nice photo of Mom and Dad by the edge of the lake before we left town. In the background are two swans that you can barely see--Mom noted that she loved seeing the swans when she first came to Winona Lake--and the hotel . . .

A New Outfit

Grandma and Grandpa Muntz came to visit us this week, which means new clothes for MelodyJoy, of course!

Quote of the Week

“In 1974, a year of attendance at the University of Oregon . . . cost what a student working minimum wage could earn working 27 hours a week, year-round. That is a lot of work for a full-time student during the school year, but was not impossible and could be offset by more work hours in the summer. By 2004, a full-time student would have to work 46 hours a week to pay for the same attendance. That is essentially impossible, cannot be sufficiently offset by summer earnings and is the fundamental gap that policy makers either don’t understand or choose to ignore because it is too depressing and can’t be fixed. It is therefore disingenuous for policy makers to repeat the tired theory that ‘if I worked my way through college, why can’t today’s students?’ Because they can’t. There aren’t that many hours in the day.”

- Alan Contreras, "College for Whom?" in Insidehighered.com, 3-29-07