Thanksgiving
No.135: November 25, 2022
Welcome to The Square Inch, a Friday newsletter on Christianity, culture, and all of the many-varied “square inches” of God’s domain. This publication is free for now, but please consider clicking on the button at the bottom to become a paid subscriber to enjoy this along with Monday’s “Off The Shelf” feature about books and Wednesday’s “The Quarter Inch,” a quick(er) commentary on current events.
Dear Friends,
Happy Thanksgiving Day! Oh, I know that it is Friday. But since Thanksgiving is one of those holidays permanently chained to a Thursday, I feel I am well within my rights to pretend that my Friday newsletter is a Thanksgiving edition.
Forgive me if this week’s edition is a bit more personal than usual. I have quite a bit to be thankful for and I’d like to express those thanks publicly.
We sometimes need reminding that the Apostle Paul says the deepest manifestation of human rebellion against God is thanklessness. “They neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him” (Rom.1:21). And that means that the deepest manifestation of godliness is, you guessed it! Thankfulness. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess. 5:18)
This coming Sunday marks twenty-three years of marriage for Tara and me. I have now officially been married for over half of my life. What a strange ratio that is to contemplate! Marriage, of course, means that you are no longer “your own.” But now an actual mathematical turning point has occurred. The “me” portion of my life, the time when I was a single, independent person gets smaller and smaller, now inevitably and increasingly dwarfed by the “we” portion of my life. It seems significant to me, somehow.
So I am thankful for Tara. We are companions, in the truest sense of the word. Our first date involved us—well, me—talking for over four hours, and somehow over twenty three years later we still never get tired of talking to each other. She’s godly, sanctified, frugal, an expert domestic, teacher, discipler of our kids, an awesome artist, and a terrific cook. I am blessed.
I’m thankful for my eldest daughter. She’s twenty and one of the coolest people I know. She has excellent taste in almost all matters. She likes quality and fine things. As an outstanding pianist, she has a successful business teaching the instrument. And she is the senior employee of the local rock climbing gym, where she is also the retail buyer for all their equipment. She takes full advantage of her “pro” deals and walks around looking like a Mammut or Black Diamond advertisement. Did I mention she’s cool? She drives a Land Rover that’s she’s decked out with a bed and curtains and blacked out windows for her climbing and camping trips. I kind of want to be her when I grow up.
I’m thankful for my middle daughter. She’s sixteen and one of the coolest people I know. She, too, has excellent taste on almost all matters—books, movies, music, art, you name it. She’s a Renaissance woman. She’s an outstanding guitarist and an outstanding singer. She’s an apprentice in all manner of physical arts; she is learning automotive repair and restoration, welding and metallurgy. She will soon be a forger of swords and knives. On other days, she handcrafts fine tobacco pipes out of blocks of briar. And before you think she’s a tomboy, I should mention that while she very vocally “hates” feminism, she loves femininity. She dresses to the nines at every opportunity, loves doing her hair in fancy ways, and—oh yeah, is also learning to become a seamstress so that she can design and make her own clothes. She’s got a killer sewing machine setup in her room. Aside from the femininity part, I kind of want to be her when I grow up.
I am thankful for my youngest daughter. She’s eight and one of the coolest people I know. Also quite an adept at the piano, she also effortlessly sings harmonies, which is highly unusual for her age. Maybe she’s the real musical genius of the family! She loves serving in church, loves memorizing scripture, and talks of wanting to be “a scholar” like her Dad. She’s cheerful and compassionate, kind and imaginative. And I am excited to see what she becomes when she grows up. I’m sure I’ll want to be her, too.
I am thankful for my parents, who are enjoying their 55th wedding anniversary today in the warm comfort of Arizona. They are always supportive and encouraging to us.
Speaking of, I am thankful for physical comforts. Our house, obtained by way of an actual miracle years ago, is wonderful and will be more so if I ever build this basement bathroom (I’ll get on that in 2023, promise). Our books and furnishings. The copious amounts of original artwork decorating our home—I don’t know that there is a print of anything hanging anywhere. Our many fine musical instruments—I am extremely thankful for the generosity of one who is enabling me to have a luthier build, just for me, what will be one of the finest instruments on the planet.
I am thankful for my friends. My best friend from my teen years, with whom I’m blessed to still share a hometown. The friend that calls me from his basement while sitting in front of six monitors feeding him information from drilling tools thousands of miles away and thousands of feet deep in the earth—just to ask me yet again why I am not a regular guest on National Review’s “Editors” podcast. The one that FaceTimes me during happy hours in an effort to fill the void left when he moved away. The three guys on my daily group chat, fellow-soldiers for the cause of Christ and a free and virtuous society—I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’d be insane by now if not for those gentlemen.
I am, above all, thankful for God’s faithfulness to me and my family. Everything about our life is what you would call “unconventional.” And along with unconventional comes unpredictability—financially, professionally, and otherwise. And the Lord continues to provide for us. We make do with little, and that affords me something else I am deeply thankful for: freedom. Our political and cultural upheavals have revealed instance after instance of people shifting their foundational convictions to suit the tastes of crowds, the “higher ups,” the “bean-counters,” the “suits.” Forced to chase after clicks, to give a hot take on every passing fad, desperate for access. There is freedom in this unconventional life in which I find myself, and I would be loathe to have it any other way.
I will endeavor to continue to use that freedom for good, to continue to tell you what I believe is the truth, not what I believe you or some “tribe” wants to hear.
And, of course, in this most-unconventional of ventures, I always welcome your support with great thanksgiving. That’s what the following button is for.
Happy Thanksgiving, friends!
Oh, and don’t forget to order a Christmas present or three!