Jacob turned 26 on Wednesday, April 7. Birthdays have always been a monumental day in my childhood so I try to do just as well for my husband. Last year I got him a bookshelf for our terribly under-furnished apartment. This year he asked for books and his favorite beer, so I got him both. His favorite beer is “Three Philosophers” available at Hy-Vee and first introduced to Lincoln at the restaurant downtown, “Bread and Cup.” I’m not much of a beer drinker but it’s reportedly very good.
His two birthday books were about the development of American Christianity from the puritan movement through the civil war era. Yes, a thrilling topic to be sure. He’s been reading and raving about, “America’s God” by Mark Noll so I ordered a copy of that. He immediately transferred bookmarks and I returned his other copy to the library at UNL. The next book I learned of from the librarian at Beeson Divinity School for whom Jacob worked, Mike Garrett. He recommended “Theology in America: Christian Thought from the Age of the Puritans to the Civil War” by E. Brooks Holifield. He was quite giddy when he received each of the books.
On top of the aforementioned gifts, I planned a surprise party for Friday night. Thanks to the help of my family and friends, Jacob was completely surprised and looked like he was about to have a heart attack when they greeted him. We went out to dinner with his family and returned to a wonderful crowd of friends and my mom’s red velvet cake (let know if you’re interested in the recipe). All in all, we had a great time celebrating his birthday and I have no idea what I’m going to do for the following years that will be as good. I’m afraid that I’ve set the bar quite high for myself and am unsure of what I can do to improve in the coming years. More books each year? We’ll have to see,
Allison G.
