Heading for the New Year

Tom and I had a wonderful Christmas yesterday. We stayed home and did nothing except rest. It was very similar to Christmas Eve. We didn't do anything that day either. Tom is recovering from a broken rib that he received in a minor car accident the day before that. Me, I don't have to be told to rest. I can do it if I am left alone, so we didn't go anywhere or get involved in any frantic last shopping day before Christmas activities.

Our grandkids did not get their Christmas package even though I mailed it on November 30th. Now I am just hoping that it gets there at all. There being Lithuania in eastern Europe. Good thing they are used to having Christmas at odd times of the year. They have had Christmas in November in time past and also in January. If there is a time when all of us can get together, that is when we have Christmas. This year we decided to send actual gifts instead of money. Probably won't do this again. The cost of postage was almost as much as the cost of the gifts. Oh, well, you try different things and eventually sort out which works best.

We had a white Christmas here in Fort Worth. The first one in 80 years, I'm told. It was nice to be able to stay inside and just look out and enjoy it without having to get out and drive. I really hate driving on slick roads. I got my share of that living in Denver, Colorado, for 10 years. I don't miss the snow. Once in a blue moon works fine for me, and if it happens to be on Christmas, that is a plus.

Right now we are enjoying eggnog lattes that are much better than the ones Starbucks makes. Myra Noel gave us an espresso pot. The coffee is Blue Mountain Garoka from Papua New Guinea compliments of Ken and Velda Black. Ahhhh...the simple pleasures. Gotta get to Wal-Mart and grab a couple more quarts of eggnog before they are gone for another year.

I am so glad that Al Gore invented the Internet. It is so good to receive texts and photos instantly when your family lives half way around the world. It is good to send greetings around the world at the speed of light to those you can't be near for the Holidays. We really have so much to be thankful for. No matter what happens with the economy, health care and everything else, just remember that the Lord Jesus is still in control, in charge and watching over us.

Oh, yeah, and Al Gore didn't really invent the Internet, and I am not the Queen of England.

Merry Christmas

It's 6:30 AM Christmas Eve morning. Tom is still asleep and the house is quiet. I had a wonderful dream and it ended just as I woke up. As a matter of fact the ending of the dream is WHAT woke me up. I know some of you are thinking that I was dreaming some esoteric Christmas dream or whatever and have words of wisdom and an application for this season. I do and I hope all of you appreciate this as much as I do.

I dreamed that I was in the huge Cabelas Sporting Goods store here in Fort Worth. I was carrying a watermelon under one arm. (Now, Tom will immediately know where this is going as soon as he reads it.) Anyway, I was carrying this watermelon to the side part of the store where they had an indoor shooting range. The man behind the counter handed me a rifle, and low and behold it turned out to be my own customized 270 elk rifle. You know how dreams are; I ended up with my own gun. At some point the watermelon got set up down at the end of the range and I aimed and pulled the trigger. Just as the watermelon exploded wonderfully and in slow motion, I woke up smiling. It was so fun. Something I have always wanted to do.

It's Jesus' birthday celebration, but He gives us the gifts. Remember to take time to give Him thanks for the many blessings He gives both great and small; eternal salvation, family, friends, a real nice hunting rifle...and watermelons. Don't forget the watermelons.

Thanksgiving is Not Over

The first thing I noticed upon arriving back in the United States the last day of September--SEPTEMBER, mind you, was going into Wal-Mart and seeing Halloween decorations on the shelves right across from Christmas decorations on the other side of the aisle. Nothing about the holiday, which is one of my favorite, Thanksgiving, was on display anywhere. Seeing folks in the mad frenzy to get into the "holiday spirit," I was reminded that I was now back in frantic America. In my world the holidays begin about mid-November. Halloween is a one-night event where we give out tracts and candy to the kids who come to our door. One night, no decorations, and over. Then there is a 3 week break , in my world, where we look ahead not to Christmas, but to Thanksgiving. Having a day to remind us to be thankful is needful, because we are not all that bright, and we tend to forget. We get caught up in the spectacle of Christmas and all the hustle and bustle just takes over and we forget the things that God has done in our lives. In our frenzy to buy gifts for the kids, we forget to thank God that we have the kids. We forget to thank God for the money, if sometimes meager, to buy stuff for the people in our lives. In our mind-bending endeavor to figure out what to buy for those people in our lives that we love and appreciate, we forget to be thankful that we have those special people in our lives that make our lives worth living.

Yes, we all know that we should be thankful every day. That is a no-brainer, but we still need to be reminded on this special day of the year to be thankful for the people in our lives that matter, and for the blessings that God has sent our way.

By the way, if you really want to make me mad, here's how; call Thanksgiving "Turkey Day." It really won't make me mad though, because I will just consider the source and I will understand that you are just celebrating your own holiday. You are the Turkey!!

By the way; Happy Birthday to our Daughter, Lisa, who was born December 12th. She and her husband, Brian Johnson and their 4 children, are missionaries in Lithuania for the last 12 years. These are the things I am thankful for. Family, friends, and most of all, a Saviour who paid a heavy price for our salvation.