A day after getting the Garcias off to return to CA, we drove north for HIM’s Engagement Matters Weekend, Dec. 7–8, and as is our pattern, we packed in as much as we could during those days in our beloved Northeast.
First stop, lunch with Gordon and Gail MacDonald. It was truly a joy to spend several hours with our now 40-year mentors and friends, and as is always true, we left inspired by their wisdom and life-on-life impact. How blessed we are to have such sages in our lives. As Gary Gaddini taught in a series years ago, we all need “pacers, racers, and tracers” in our lives: those ahead of us on the journey of life (racers), those running alongside us (pacers), and those following us (tracers). Gordon and Gail have been “racers” for us since 1985 and we are grateful for the gift of their “fingerprints” on our lives.
Gordon and Gail MacDonald hosted us for lunch on our first day back in New England and it was delightful in every way.
Friday night, the 6th, we had the privilege of partnering with the Arabic Evangelical Baptist Church again, continuing in their “Adam and Eve” series which focuses on strengthening marriages. It was our first introduction to their new pastor and his wife, Hady and Mary Hanna, and we are thrilled that the Hannas will lead this very important church in the next season. The evening was well attended and good interaction was had. We love this partnership and are always thankful when our schedules align.
Part of the team behind the marriage evening at AEBC: Hady and Mary Hanna and Noel and Ray Awad.
Beshoy, Diana, and David Abdelmalak are faithful and active members of AEBC and dear friends. They surprised me with cakes in honor of my 70th, assuring that this milestone birthday continues to have life.
Happy 70th, once again!!
Engagement Matters hosted 11 couples, most of whom were not yet engaged (our favorite time to have them at this conference: before the cement has dried around their decision to marry), and it will go down in the books as one of the most encouraging and affirming EM weekends ever. All eleven couples were fully committed to honoring the Lord, first in their lives and then in their marriages, and they came with open hearts and open ears. They asked great questions which revealed their deep desire to make the best decision regarding this most important commitment. We, along with our amazing team of Carl and Cathy Blatchley, Matt and Beth Ide, and Steve and Janet Hathaway, were pumped up by sharing the weekend with such a great group of wise and surrendered young people.
Especially encouraging to us was having Peter Halvorsen and his girlfriend, Allie, in attendance. Peter’s parents, Mark and Julie, had attended EM 25 years earlier and said since it was still impacting their marriage positively, they wanted their son to experience it. Very humbling.
The Engagement Matters crew, Dec. 7–8, 2024.
In between events, we met up with numerous friends, having meals, taking walks, catching up. Though there’s never enough time to connect with everyone we’d like to, we filled our quota and drove back to VA with full hearts on Dec. 10th.
Counseling filled the balance of that Tuesday and most of Wednesday before we welcomed our dear friend, Helen, for her annual December visit on the 12th.
We could never get enough of Helen! Since 1979, when she served on our summer camp staff, she has been part of our family and we love adding to the memory bank each year when we’re with her.
This year was different only in that, if you’re tracking at all, you’ll notice that since Oct. 1, our days at home have been few and those at home have been shared with family and friends. Hence, as most of you will relate to, we were far behind in preparation for Christmas, which was 13 days away from when Helen arrived.
So, except for daily walks, a productive thrift store run, a church service and a Christmas concert, we were mostly homebound: sewing, decorating, baking, mailing packages, etc. As is true with “chosen family friends,” it really doesn’t matter what you’re doing as long as you’re together, and that we were. We made great progress on several fronts preparation-wise, and were all happy to have the break afforded by the incredible Christmas concert produced at Immanuel Bible Church that Sunday afternoon. That was made even more special by being joined by our neighbors and their son.
Brand and Catherine and their son Michael joined Helen and us at the Immanuel Bible Church Christmas concert.
During Helen’s weekend, we were delighted to have a surprise visit from Lars and Bethany Nielsen and their four precious children as they made their way from a quick trip to North Caroline back to MA. We were so happy to catch up with them!
Lars and Bethany Nielsen and their crew had dinner with us on their drive home and we loved catching up with them.
And all too quickly, we put Helen on a plane back to Albany, NY, but not before donning our matching Christmas sweatshirts that I made us over 30 years ago. Some traditions just won’t die…or wear out. :)
Helen’s send-off, featuring our matching Christmas sweatshirts made by moi over 30 years ago.
Decorating in earnest for Christmas followed Helen’s departure and how thankful I was for two little elves named Rachel and Lisa, who made sure ornaments were hung on the tree.
The last two “official” weeks of 2024 were full of fun. Lisa and I took Rachel and Nathan to “Skyzone” (a trampoline park) 5 times during that period to maximize use of the month-long passes we bought at the end of our Thanksgiving reunion. We had a blast each time we went, opening the place up by arriving just prior to 9 am and leaving by 10:30 am when a critical mass had filled the place.
We also decorated our annual gingerbread houses, went to the National Zoo during the day and returned for the “Zoo Lights” after dark, played lots of games, and celebrated Christmas together. What a gift to share these days together!
We jumped ’til we dropped five different days at “Skyzone” and invented new ways to have fun each time we were there.
The gingerbread decorating crew made two houses: one to give to our friends the Solders, and the second one to keep. Unfortunately, that one met its fate just hours after arriving at the Johnsons house, as it was left unattended while we went to church and their black lab Rex made short work of it. :(
We attended an early Christmas Eve service to hear retired Patriots player, Nate Solder, preach. He did a great job.
After our second Christmas Eve service at The King’s Chapel, we returned to the Johnsons’ home for the traditional opening of one gift . . .
. . . our matching Christmas jammies.
On both coasts, the annual tradition of Gigi-made jammie pants continues.
Christmas morning was interrupted by a “surprise” visit by a very familiar Santa.
Christmas dinner ended with our “Happy Birthday Jesus” cake.
We were so happy to have David and Laura (my baby sister) join us for Christmas dinner a la Derek, a five-star feasting.
The tigers and lions put on quite a show for us during our visit to the National Zoo . . .
. . . and returning at night for the “Zoo Lights” was well worth it.
We enjoyed homemade “gumbo” on New Year’s Eve at our house, in honor of “Grammy Essie,” my mom, whose 95th birthday is marked today, Jan. 7. This is her 5th heavenly birthday.
We rang in the New Year with “Grammie Essie’s" egg nog at the Johnsons’ house.
Now in the 13th month of 2024, the 53rd week of 2024 has been full of crazy weather, deconstructing Christmas decorations, having Rob and Gabby Warren join us for brunch in our home, and flying to CA to hang with our grandkids in Oakland while their parents attend a pastors’ conference. On the 9th of January, we fly to the Pacific NW to begin a five-and-a-half-month non-stop speaking schedule, and we are thrilled to get back in the saddle after three weeks of holiday activities. We are refreshed, healthy, and excited to see how God will meet and use us in the ministry opportunities lined up.
And now, I can put 2024 to rest. Reflecting on the year we’ve now turned the calendar page for the last time, we have so much to be thankful for. Certainly there have been hard times mixed among the good, but God has been with us through it all. And He will continue to be.
We are very excited to see how.
Welcome 2025!
