#caleb wagner

Barely a month after we talked about our prayers for our future spouses, Caleb is courting! He "met" Opal Davenport at the Summer Fellowship Banquet. Of course they've known each other for years through Sunday School and Family Camp and so on--they're both sixteen, and Opal is one of Sienna's friends, too--but the way Caleb tells it, something about that day made him see her in a whole new light! They got to know each other through group outings during the rest of the summer and then Caleb rushed off to ask Mr. Davenport for permission to start an official courtship. They make a lovely pair!

—

Caleb: Opal’s great. We have a lot of fun talking and stuff.

Opal: Yeah.

Caleb: We talk about our devotionals a lot, and, uh, sports. And whatever else is going on in our lives, I guess.

Opal: Yeah. We get to spend a lot of time together because our families are pretty close! But I think my siblings are getting tired of chaperoning all the time.

Caleb: Well, they won’t have to deal with that for much longer.

Opal: What?!

Caleb: I just mean that my siblings can help out more now.

Opal: Oh.

Today I led Charlotte and some of my teens in an activity designed to get them thinking about their future spouses! Since Sienna already has a special friend in Michael from Willow Creek and Simon in Mackenzie Robinson, they were excused. The rest of us had a wonderful evening that centered the sanctity of marriage!

Excerpts from devotional activity led by Sophia Wagner and completed by several Wagner children, August 2051:

Caleb:

Nice

Christian

Pretty

Nice

Good at cooking and stuff

Charlotte:

If I get married, I would want my husband to still be my friend. I don’t want him to be just a stranger I live with. I’d like someone who never disappears and never accosts me with unwelcome surprises. We’ll be the kind of married couple that does things together, like weekly date night. And he’ll help me clean up after coffee & cake hour on Sundays. I won’t be like Sadie, fawning over someone as incompetent as her four-year-old. I won’t submit to a husband who can’t even lead. He definitely won’t be from Brindleton, because I’m pretty sure I know all of the single Christian men my age here and they’re all such…

Catherine:

La la la la abcefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz [in cursive] the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog [end cursive/resume print] I DON’T KNOW but he better be handsome :)

Cierra Joy:

I pray that my future husband is a strong man of God who provides for our family and is always pointing us back to Jesus. I would also like a husband who is open to any blessings the Lord gives us and willing to properly discipline them when needed. It would be really nice if his name started with C or J so we could name our kids all one letter and then share initials as a family, but I know the other things are more important. I’m prayerful that…

Stella:

Today Stephen brought Caleb and Catherine along to check out the main campus of Brindleton Bay Community College! Most of his classes are online so as to minimize distractions, but about once or twice per week he does have to make the trek up and see his professors in person. This week, all the stars aligned, and it was a good opportunity for him to share his experiences with two of his siblings!

Of course, our number-one priority for our children—especially our girls!—is ensuring they're fulfilling their God-given roles within the family. However, education can be a wonderful tool to help young people live out God's plan for their lives when it supports a realistic goal, is centered on Biblical principles (or includes additional Biblical curriculum), and the student works with his or her parents and the school to set up "guardrails" that protects him or her from stumbling.

Stephen: Listen, guys, I just saw—I gotta go talk to someone inside for a sec. A classmate. I'll be right back, just don't do anything too crazy. You can sit over there [points] and hang out. Please don't tell Mom I left you by yourselves. I'll be quick, I promise.

Caleb and Catherine: [voices overlapping] Okay—sure—

A few moments later...

Catherine: You, um...you think you're going to go to college?

Caleb: I guess. I don't really know what I wanna do. But it might be cool to try school somewhere else. Meet new people.

Catherine: [sighs heavily] Yeah, exactly.

Meanwhile...

Dear Diary,

I don't know what to do so I'm writing everything here. Then maybe I'll come up with some ideas.

It's Sunday, so we went to church this morning. After Sunday School me and everyone went to play in the garden. "Everyone" means Caleb and Sienna and Cierra Joy and Claire and Shep and Caroline (but not the babies because they were in the nursery) and a bunch of other kids who are in our Sunday School classes. Including Victor Keller. He is so mean. Caleb and me were on the swings when Victor came up and dared him to kiss Eva Parker, and when Caleb refused, Victor laughed and called him a mean name and said maybe Caleb wanted to kiss him instead. What?? I was trying to think of something to say but Caleb just got up and went back inside before I could decide what to say. I could tell he was upset, but he didn't want anyone to see. I only noticed because he's my brother and I know him better than almost anyone. After Caleb left Victor went back to hanging out with his friends, but not before he told me that I shouldn't cry when Caleb had to go to "True Directions."

When we got home I asked Catherine what "True Directions" was but she just looked sad and wouldn't tell me. So it's definitely bad. I guess it has to do with Caleb and Eva Parker. I think Momma and Daddy are worried that he doesn't want to kiss Eva Parker or maybe any girl, because I overheard them talking about it last month. They were saying how all of us talk about crushes with each other, except for Caleb, and maybe it's "just the cooties phase" or maybe it's "something else." I don't know what "something else" is but I guess it's a pretty big deal. Or maybe it isn't. Momma and Daddy get really upset about lots of things that I don't think God would be so upset about if He loved us that much. So we'll see what happens. But if Victor Keller comes back to insult Caleb next Sunday I'm definitely going to say something. It's not fair that Caleb's feelings were hurt just for not wanting to kiss a girl.

OK. I have to go to bed now, even though I don't have many ideas yet. Tomorrow we are making brownies for the monthly Youth Social at church, which will be fun. And I have to take notes on John 13 for Wednesday evening Bible study. So I better get some rest.

Love,

Stephen: The best thing about living in this family… there’s always enough people for a game of kickball. If our Mom allows us. A lot of the time she's scared our clothes will be all messed up. And the worst thing? Probably waiting for the bathroom in the morning.

Cierra Joy: We only have two bathrooms for 17 people! And one of them is attached to our parents' room!

Caleb: My favorite thing about my family is my sister, Catherine.

Sienna: …and in the morning, there’s always a line on the landing upstairs, ‘cause Momma doesn’t think it’s right for the big kids to use her and Daddy’s bathroom.

Shepherd: MY BUDDY SADIE!

No one beats me. NO ONE wins my game. (for a fun little thing I am doing with pals, @apotheoseity @citripede @feedbackblues @obscurideer @cabarettaximan @one-mp3)