62_December Delights 2025

Come, savor with me the sounds and sights of the season...

Hallelujah! How good it is to sing to our God, for praise is pleasant and lovely… He spreads snow like wool; he scatters frost like ashes. Psalm 147:1,16

How lovely to have you here! If you are a new subscriber - or you simply want to know more about me and Adventures and Academia - enjoy this welcome note.

“No Better Place (Psalm 84)” - Caroline Cobb Smith and Wendell Kimbrough

I want to be in your presence; I want to be near your heart.
I want to know you’re close even when I’m feeling far.
I don’t want what this world would offer; I want the living God
‘Cause there’s no place better than where you are.

“Teach Me to Number My Days” (Psalm 90) - The Worship Initiative

Until this world is made new,
Until my soul is with You,
Teach me to number my days -
Teach me to number my days.
Until my faith is made sight,
And every wrong is made right,
Teach me to number my days -
Teach me to number my days.

“Leise” - Miroslav Chrobak

Er kam nicht mit Posaunen,
Sondern im Stall dort als Kind.
Er kam in unsere Welt
Auf seiner göttlichen Weise.
Durch Christus sprach er zu uns -
Doch, nein, nicht laut, sondern ganz leise.

When I look back on the busy days of December, I am amazed by the amount of learning that happened on top of all the tasks. Learning by doing really is an effective strategy!

We started the month with a week dedicated to learning about Saint Nicholas and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker, as Saint Nicholas Day fell on the same weekend as my boys' first visit to the ballet (and my Mama's arrival from the US).

Sadly, the ballet was egregiously disappointing, as the choreographer decided to exchange graceful dances and emotional storytelling with eccentric movements and sensual innuendos that contradicted the gorgeously performed music. I had hoped to provide for my children an encounter with beauty. Instead, I left the theater feeling like I had exposed them to themes that we shouldn't be discussing for another few years.

To redeem the situation, we watched the 2010 DVD of The Royal Ballet's performance. We definitely broke some screen time rules, but it was necessary to replace the bafflement of my boys' first Nutcracker experience with some truly beautiful storytelling.

In the second week of December, I learned more about sōphronas (self-control, prudence, sobriety, temperance...) by examining the life of Queen Esther with my discipleship mentor, and we discussed how Esther overcame fear through obedience, established plans through prayer, and experienced success through discernment. May God help us to grow in each of these characteristics throughout the coming year, as we abide in Jesus and are transformed to be more like Him.

The following week, I learned again to let go of my own lists and to trust in His better plans, which consisted of cuddling my sick little ones and having fellowship with family.

Then after weeks - months - of preparation, Christmas still seemed to come upon us suddenly. That is the week I relearned to roast a turkey, researched how to create an online store, and remembered to pause for conversations with our Lord, whose birth as Savior teaches us to anticipate His return as King.

These final days of 2025 find me trying to tie up loose ends, even though life never fits neatly into a 52-week planner. I suppose that is a lesson I am still learning.

Looking forward to January, I am excited to learn how to better crochet baskets to replace broken storage boxes in our home, how to make my own beeswax balm for winter skincare, and how to create a prayer journal for our church-planting team. Are there specific skills you are eager to improve during the colder months? I am delighted that we get to continue sharing this lifelong learning adventure!

What a joy it has been to use the gift of lettering to share Christmas blessings with loved ones this month! In addition to hand lettering the Bible verses for your scenic scripture cards, I labeled presents and cookie collections with my trusty Tombows.

A special thanks to my wonderful parents for keeping me supplied with brush pens through Christmas and birthday gifts - and to the two generous anonymous donors who contributed to my brush pen fund to sponsor this year's gift for readers of Adventures and Academia!

My final bigger project for this year was to letter next month's memory verse for our church bulletin cover. We have been reading through the books written by the apostle John, and we are starting 2026 with his final book, Revelation. It is an interesting juxtaposition of beginning and end, but it also feels like a foreshadowing of the year to come, as our church-planting team moves forward with the practical steps of reducing our responsibilities in the current congregation to focus on building a local body of believers in another city.

I was encouraged by the promise of Revelation 22:7 as I lettered it in German, so I created an English version to pass the encouragement on to you. Let us not lose sight of Jesus' promised return - and may we abide in His word day by day as we yearn for His coming.

This full month left little time for lingering anywhere other than in the presence of Jesus during the few precious moments I found to slip away.

We did try to spend more time outside as a family during my husband's days at home, especially when the sun made an appearance. Last Sunday, we went out for an afternoon stroll to catch the final rays of the day. On the way back from the neighboring town, we could see the dense fog quickly enveloping our village, which had been entirely sunlit when we'd left less than an hour before. It made for very striking views that made me dwell yet again on the endless creativity of our God.

Fog and sun collide.

Today, we held our own bits of light to brighten the night sky for an early New Year's celebration before sending the children to bed. As we step into the plans God has prepared for each of us in 2026, let us remember:

You are the light of the world. 
A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. 
No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, 
but rather on a lampstand, 
and it gives light for all who are in the house. 
In the same way, let your light shine before others, 
so that they may see your good works 
and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16

Thank you for being my guest.
In God’s word you will find rest;
Seek Him, be bountifully blessed. 💚

Unless otherwise indicated, all words and pictures are original creations by ewebeak for the glory of God. Bible passages in English are from the CSB translation; in German, they are from Schlachter 2000. This publication is for educational and entertainment purposes only.