Merry Christmas!

Our first Sunday without staff duties found us returning to a former church for worship.

Thirty-one years ago, David was Minister of Music and Education at First Baptist Church in Greensboro, Georgia when we met on a cool rainy December evening at a PTO meeting in Macon. Little did we know that evening where the meeting would take us. We began dating in January 1977, driving back and forth between Greensboro and Macon each weekend. We were engaged on Good Friday in April and then married August 6, 1977. Wow, the journey has been exciting! So today we returned to First Baptist Church, Greensboro. It was rewarding to see some of the folks whose lives we touched and see the manifestation of God in their lives and share with them what God is doing in our lives and where the journey of faith is taking us. All in all it was a wonderful day of worship. And then we were able to spend some special time with our special friends who were newlyweds like us thirty years ago. It is so good to get together with them - you know, there are some friends that no matter the time and distance that separates us, we just pick up where we left off the last time. There are friends and then there are FRIENDS - Dean and Francis are some of them.

Then this afternoon we traveled to Macon to my mom's to bring her home to spend Christmas with us. This morning became a bit overwhelming for me as I thought that this would be the last time for us to share Christmas together for several years. We have shared Christmas for the past 56 years, I have never had Christmas without her! Ever since we married, David and I have been blessed to be able to spend Christmas eve and Christmas morning with my folks (including my dad until 1990) in Macon and then travel to his family's celebration in East Dublin/Adrian just an hours' drive away for Christmas Day and the day after. Last year was the first year without his mom as she made the journey to heaven in October 2006 even though most of the family is still able to gather together. But what a special Christmas celebration we have been blessed to have all these years. I must admit I did shed a "few" tears as I thought about it all. But then ONE day, what a Christmas celebration we will all share as we gather in the very presence of the Christ Child, our Savior and Lord. Oh what singing! Oh what shouting! Oh what a day! In the very presence of Him who has redeemed us! This year will be a special time of storing memories.

We pray that this year will be a special year for you as well as you store memories of family and friends sharing time together celebrating the Gift of God bringing Salvation to all to will receive Him. There are still so many who need to hear that the Gift of Salvation is available to them. How can they know unless someone goes to share Him? That is our call - to go, to share so they might know and receive Him too and one day gather with us in the very presence of Him who has redeemed us! Merry Christmas to you all!