Category Archives: Family

2024/MOORE FAMILY: TOUGH TO SUMMARIZE!

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How does one capture a year in a few pictures? How does one capture a year in many pictures? 

How do you capture even a fraction of inner thoughts and emotions of all kinds? 

It is impossible, but to quote G.K. Chesterton, “Anything worth doing is worth doing badly.” Here then is a very potted look at our year:

As mentioned in last year’s newsletter, Doreen lost her beloved father late in 2023. This year came with the death of her mother. We are grateful that Doreen had many sweet visits with both over the last several years.

The birth of our granddaughter was certainly a joyous occasion. She is deeply loved. David and Reese are (not surprisingly) already quite adept at the parenting stuff!

Our youngest son Chris, graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School. Not only did he excel academically, but we think he excelled in finding a girlfriend. Yudith (or Yudi as we call her) and Chris first got to know one another during their 1L (=first year) at Harvard. This link has some pictures:

HARVARD LAW GRADUATION | Moore Engaging

While we were in Boston, we received the news (literally while sitting down to dinner in Little Italy) that our dear friend Randy Newman had died. Doreen and Randy were on Campus Crusade for Christ staff together. Randy and I became close when he and his wife moved to Austin. Here is my tribute to Randy:

RANDY NEWMAN: REMEMBERING OUR FRIEND | Moore Engaging

Chris surprised us with a trip to England. David, Reese, and Yudi all pitched in. We went to London, Cambridge (where Yudi was finishing another degree), Oxford, and the Cotswolds. All the places were amazing.

The church in the Cotswolds is where we worshipped. Though there were only about twenty-five of us in attendance, it was one of the most meaningful services we’ve ever attended. After the service, we talked to the rector, and he told us that our friend Randy Newman’s book made a significant impact on him. What an encouragement!

We also had a wonderful time staying in Philadelphia with Yudi’s parents. Though her parents have been all over the world, they had never been to Gettysburg. Both of Yudi’s parents are MDs and were born in Spain. They moved to the U.S. to practice medicine. 

We reunited for a terrific time with some old friends at a wedding.

So much is left out, but I will close with the Christmas gift we received from Yudi: tickets to Handel’s Messiah along with a wonderful picture of her and Chris in Spain.

THE END OF WOMAN

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Wife. Mother of five. Writer. Roman Catholic. PhD in philosophy.

Carrie Gress has the perfect background to write this book. Her training in philosophy and her commitment to womanhood and motherhood are put to great use.

This book is not long (under 200 pages), but the endnotes showcase the serious research that went into the writing.

Gress does a terrific job of describing the origins of modern feminism. It is a truly sordid story.

Since Gress writes as a committed Catholic Christian (I am a small c catholic Christian) her appreciation and explanation of the body’s importance is a real strength. Bible-believing Christians have much to learn about the importance of making arguments from natural law, though there are plenty of Roman Catholics who could also use a refresher course. Remember Clarence Thomas trying to explain natural law to his fellow Roman Catholic, Joe Biden?!

So, Protestants may be surprised to find that there is hardly any Scripture in Gress’s book, but that should not keep them from reading this terrific book.

Highly recommended!

HUMILITY AFTER HUMILIATION

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Pat Nemmers is a pastor of a thriving church in Des Moines, Iowa. That church has planted several other churches that are also doing well. Pat is the father of ten children and thirty-eight grandchildren. No typo there.

Lest you think Pat’s life is one of blessing upon blessing, his wonderfully conceived Retractions: Cultivating Humility after Humiliation will quickly disabuse you of that assumption.

Pat’s book is an honest yet hope-filled book on the life of a pastor, husband, father, and friend. Honest books on the pastoral life are somewhat rare, but I am happy to say that Pat’s book makes a healthy triumvirate alongside Zack Eswine’s The Imperfect Pastor and Eugene Peterson’s The Pastor: A Memoir.

Pat knows joy and he knows deep grief. His first wife died in his arms while still in her thirties. He knows what it is like to have wayward children. More importantly, he knows the importance of submitting his own life all over again to the Lordship of Jesus.

This is an honest, searching, life-giving, and Christ-honoring book that you just might want to give to your pastor.

 

HARVARD LAW GRADUATION

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In late May, our family was in Cambridge, MA to celebrate the graduation of our youngest son, Chris.

Chris’s time at Havard was terrific on all fronts: he excelled academically, made great friends, loved his Cambridge church, got to know some wonderful professors, AND met his girlfriend Yudi. 

Here are a few pictures:

Our family: Reese, our daughter-in-law, our oldest son David, Chris, and us.

Chris listening to his favorite professor, the inestimable Jack Goldsmith.

It’s official!

 

 

IN HOFFA’S SHADOW

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In Hoffa’s Shadow details the riveting story of Jimmy Hoffa’s mysterious disappearance. It is amply supplied with roller-coaster drama and elegant writing.

The author is the stepson of Charles “Chuckie” O’Brien, the loyal and longtime assistant to Jimmy Hoffa. (I should add that the author is a professor at Harvard law school and a wonderful mentor to our youngest son.)

I well remember the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. My young assessment was that his Teamster job was really a front to make lots of money from his mobster connections. The reality, like many true things, is more complicated and compelling than the simple narrative I believed in high school.

Goldsmith artfully tells the story of his stepfather’s quest to gain his innocence. I am convinced that Chuckie had nothing to do with the disappearance and death of Hoffa. The story is told with judicious detail and an appropriate pathos that one would expect from a loving stepson.

But don’t be mistaken. This is not a hagiographical account. Goldsmith is quick to admit the many faults and foibles of his stepfather. Perhaps you noticed that Goldsmith did not keep his stepfather’s surname. I won’t go into why, but it underscores that this book is not some cheap, laudatory account. On the other end of the spectrum, it is equally not remotely in the Mommie Dearest genre.

If you are looking for an engaging book full of twists and turns, I highly recommend In Hoffa’s Shadow. I should add the subtitle: A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth.

EXCELLENCE!

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I have wanted to see this for many years, and finally did.  Absolutely great!  I love seeing excellence.  And to think that so many are consumed with excellence when it is only for a perishable wreath?  How much more ought I as a Christian shoot for excellence!  (I Cor. 9:24-27) It also makes me long for churches to be more like a great restaurant.