THE IN BETWEEN TIME

                Life has not yet settled back into a daily routine.

Memories of this Christmas will be a blessing to me for many years to come.  It was not a year when a lot of us were able to be together but there was great enjoyment in our small gathering.  The focus was not on giving presents but just on enjoying each other and getting to know our family better.

There is always sadness when we say good-bye to those who have been visiting.

  I feel I am still spiritually aware of the true heart of Christmas which was remembering the struggles that Mary and Joseph went through and how lonely they must have felt having this baby so far from home in a strange place.  I love this simple Christmas story that makes me feel so humble and yet hopeful too.

Yes Shandel and Cameron  are back home again.

Theresa and Mikie and children will be on their way today I believe.

Talked to Carol and Panteli by phone.

I love my children deeply but do not always understand them. 

I am thankful for friends that I can share my faith with because it is a most vital part of who I am.

There have been nations like Soviet Russia and Communist China and Khmer Rouge to name a few that have tried to outlaw religion and persecute believers.  This was done I believe out of fear and a need to control.  Sadly the church has been also used to control and abuse.

This has driven many away from the church and it is time for changes in how we practice and LIVE out our faith.  I hear from some that all  either allreligions are bad, or that all contain some truth.

I think a lot of people are somewhere in between.  The skeptics have now become the evangelists that make fun of traditional beliefs.  Growing up religion was a very private thing that I did not even know what my parents really believed even though they went to church and were good living people.

I believe that there is more to this world than just the material and intellectual reality; and at the same time there is an overlapping of values and goals.

Does Jesus teach us to be good so we can merit salvation and go to heaven?  Just the opposite Jesus came to those who realized their need of forgiveness and their need to change their lives.

I need to be more sensitive to others.

I believe there are both earthly angels without wings but also heavenly angels that bring the glory into the ordinary.  I believe in the goodness of the spirit of God that fills the emptiness of our existence! !

It was love that made the angels sing.