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| Favorite neighbors... |
(I somehow took not a single sunset/sunrise photo this year, so instead of the customary burning atmosphere, you get the local ducks. Sorry. I shall do better in 2026.)
Faith
God continues to call us further down the road to the Celestial City. He has blessed us with a great bunch of fellow travelers here are King's Cross in Moscow, no matter what the rest of the internet says. Our church continues to grow (we started a second service downtown to help ease the numbers) and look forward to what is next. No one has much of a clue what that is, but if it's like the past I guarantee it will involve a lot of weddings and baptisms. Molly and I continue to be encouraged, challenged, and loved on by a great group of saints, and we're very grateful.
God continues to push me to love those around me even more, instead of withdrawing and commenting on their follies with a sardonic smile. It's a good thing I'm not independently wealthy, because that temptation would be hard to beat! On that note, I've was asked to serve as one of the deacons of King's Cross this year. It's an honor to get to serve the saints every Sunday, and I hope I never grow bored or proud of it. Community really does have its roots in communion.
Family
God continued to be utterly merciful to my people in 2025. It's been over twenty years since even a very extended Goode family member has died, and we've cherished every year we can get. This year in particular we got the wonderful opportunity to travel down to Texas for my grandparent's 70th wedding anniversary--both sides! Now all in their 90s, and with great-grandchildren marching into the double digits for both the Goodes and the Ingrams, my grandparents continue to provide a picture of sweet faithfulness and deep roots that your average millennial can't even fathom. It's good to know who your people are in a rootless age. We got to visit the San Antonio Riverwalk and the Alamo (which has been markedly improved some since my last visit twenty years ago), hang out with my parents and siblings, and eat ALL the Texas food. It was a great blessing and a treasured memory. Also, my horde of nieces and nephews sure are cute.
married almost six years now, and it keeps getting better. See adjacent photographic evidence for proof.
The big surprise for this year was that Molly and I managed to buy a house--thereby breaking a promise I'd made when we were married, when I assured her I'd never be able to afford a place here in Moscow! We're grateful to Story Real Estate (and Jordan Clemans in particular) for finding us a cute little two-bedroom right next to a splendid bike path. It has a back yard, a chicken coop (Molly is very excited about that one), two plum trees, and a pear tree. (I tried to find a stuffed partridge for it for Christmas, with no success.) We got so many plums this fall that we invited over everyone we possibly could to pick plums and still had hundreds left over. And, to top it all off, my study was painted a macaroni shade of orange by the previous owner. Not sure what he was thinking, but it sure is bright! If you can, take us up on an invitation to dinner and come see it. We love having a place to entertain, and I'm learning all sorts of homeowner handyman tricks (some more successfully than others...) In a real estate market like the present, it is a tremendous blessing, and one we weren't expecting. God is very good.
Adoption
On the adoption front, while I know many of your are eagerly waiting for goode news, there is really no news to report--we continue in the waiting period. (God has obviously decided we need more practice in patience.) If you're curious about what that process looks like, take a look here, at this post I wrote. Please continue to pray for us no matter what happens; we need it both ways!
Vocation
Teaching continues to be my dream job (second only to running a steam train on a heritage railroad). Once again, Logos Online School and New Saint Andrews College were kind enough to employ my services. Molly continues to teach a few logic classes for Logos Online as well, and if I may say so, she's pretty good at it. No, I'm not biased. Ever.
For LOS, I continue to do ancient humanities and writing, as well as picking up a brand-new medieval humanities course this fall. Most of my students are solid, and a few are truly delightful--the sort of students who make you think the world will be all right in twenty years after all! Teaching both high school students and college students has been helpful in allowing me to think about exactly what high school education does and how it should be approached. I hope it has allowed me to avoid some of the pitfalls I see in the process--grade inflation, teaching data instead of ideas, and allowing sloppy students to go on and be someone else's problem. The more I do this, the more education is far more about virtue and character than it is information. However, teaching Hannibal remains a highlight, but Boethius is reaching a close second.
NSA continues to have what I think is the best classical rhetoric program in the country, bar none. For most of my freshmen, their quality is matched only by their generosity--whether that be giving me cookies for Christmas or one of the best end-of-year gifts I've ever seen, currently hanging in my study. It's been an honor to have been a part of it, and I am continually thankful to Brent Pinkall for the last four years.
I also finally finished my master's degree from NSA this spring! I am now a master of classical studying, and I have the piece of paper on my wall to prove it. We'll see if I ever get pretentious enough to start putting "M.St." after my name in my blog bio. The next step--revise and clarify my thesis project and go hunting for a publisher. If you know anyone interested in classic Roman declamation prompts, send them my way. And no, I'm not currently thinking about a doctorate...though I know better than to ever say never.
Writing and Books
I continue to try to be mildly amusing and informative on both X (@Goodeguystuff) and Facebook (James Goode). If you haven't already, I'd appreciate if you'd give me a follow, and a perspicacious comment now and again. I also try Substack ("The Goode Stuff") occasionally. While it is good to keep up with the world, I finish this year plagued by more doubts than before about whether these platforms are a net positive for me and mine. I'm going to continue to keep trying to make them better, but this needs more thought and prayer going in to the new year.
I continue to write history articles for ACCS' magazine, The Classical Difference, and enjoy every one of them. For a sample of that, check here. And I remind you that a subscription is quite cheap. The next one should be on New York City, so keep an eye out for that in the future!
As for books, I chugged through seventy-five of them last year. Most of them were worth the trip. If I had to pick a top five or so, they would be these:
- Irenicum: To the Lovers of Truth and Peace by Jeremiah Burroughs. A superlative book—it ought to be required reading before any Christian can have a social media account. Reading things like this reminds you that none of the squabbles between Christians are really new--only the speed at which they move.
- The Great Betrayal by Ernle Bradford. A detailed and moving account of the scurrilous Fourth Crusade—which did not crusade at all but was diverted by scheming nobles of Venice to destroy and sack their great rival Constantinople, the last Christian barrier to the Mohommedan hordes in the east. All your Crusades-maxxing Gen Z friends should be forced to read this, to remember that no war (or series of wars) is entirely positive in the end.
- Idylls of the King by Alfred Tennyson. This is one of those books I should have been exposed to years ago but wasn’t. Truly excellent poetry, and some truly touching stories--"Geraint and Enid" is probably his best, though he has some masterful moments showing the downfall of Merlin in "Merlin and Vivien" that for my money improve on the original.
- Non Nobis by Tom Garfield. The story of the first thirty years or so of Logos School. Witty, hilarious, and full of lots of faith. I found this one on Canon+ and thoroughly enjoyed it.
- Philosophiae Consolationis by Boethius. At the bottom of the list only because it was a reread. Still amazing, though.
Moscow
Moscow finally wrapped up its national-news murder trial, endured a massive windstorm (gusts up to 100 mph were recorded), and elected a new very liberal government (shocker). Businesses continue to hum and improve, and I still love living here and running into acquaintances walking down main street. The food is great, the people are better, and I love never having to go over forty miles an hour to get anywhere--as I was painfully reminded driving around San Antonio this fall!
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| Logic! What do they teach in these schools? |
Goals
So what's next? In the coming year I want get to where I can read Cicero in Latin (didn't get around to that last year--I blame buying the house), publish something somewhere besides the Classical Difference, complete one major house project, read a lot, sort out what I think of stasis theory, and become a better teacher and a harder worker. And I'd love to bump into a few of you readers and find out that writing things like this is not merely the sophisticated version of talking to yourself.
Thank God, 2025 was a good year for the Goodes--here's to what God will do in 2026!
