Aloha! While New Englanders are digging out and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation in the magic of freshly fallen snow, we’re experiencing His creation in a whole different way. We knew we weren’t in Bedford when we wakened this morning, tossed off the covers—which consisted of a thin white sheet—and stepped outside in shorts and a sleeveless top to take a run. The sunrise was our reward for getting up early.

The first morning sunrise over the Kailua-Kona coastline was a fabulous start to our day.

Backing up: early on Friday morning, Dec. 10, we flew to St. Louis for our annual visit with Grant and Emily Williams and their daughters. Though never long enough, we’re grateful for each moment with them. We’re always so impressed with the Christlikeness of this family.

This was an extra special year as we joined them in the “rite of passage” celebration of Meegan’s 13th birthday. Inspired by my book Raising a Trailblazer: Rite-of-Passage Trail Markers for your Set-Apart Teens, the Williams family used it as a template for their celebration. Their home was filled with family friends who are journeying with them through life and it was a beautifully done and very meaningful event. We were so honored to be a part of it. The celebration dominated the weekend in a wonderful way and though snowy weather which arrived Sunday morning briefly threatened our flight home, with mixed feelings, we were able to make it home that night (or early morning.)

First things first: Mister Paul makes his world famous chocolate chip cookies soon after arriving.

Grant Williams listens as Paul gives his tribute to Meegan.

Home from St. Louis briefly, in the next four days, we lived like crazy people as we finished preparing for Christmas (which meant lots of sewing, a little shopping, lots of baking, wrapping, mailing, delivering, etc.), did lots of counseling, and wrapped up our two Patriots studies. The wives’ study concluded on Wednesday with a baking session during which we set a record, turning out ten Almond Puff Pastry Christmas wreaths in about an hour. The women then caught me completely by surprise by tributing me! Each brought me a gift which represented what I meant to them. I was totally blown away—and deeply touched. As I reflected on how reticent I was to lead the group when Betsy Hasselbeck invited me to do so back in the spring, listening to the women express how God had met them through the study was very confirming and affirming. Driving from Attleboro to Bedford after saying tearful good-byes to an extremely special group of women, I was filled with humble gratitude for God’s faithfulness.

All smiles around the Almond Puff Pastry wreath—before we devoured it!

Another very special part of the morning was having Betsy Hasselbeck showcase 13 beautifully and uniquely wrapped gifts. We have admired her gift of creating beauty all fall as we’ve watched her turn a simple snack of fruit and bagels into an almost too-lovely-to-eat presentation. She can make any ordinary anything extraordinary, so by popular request from the women, she demo’d beautifully and creatively wrapped gifts which elicited ooh’s and ahh’s from everyone. Very inspirational!

Betsy shows us how to make an adorable presentation of a gift for a child’s birthday.

And here are all 13 gifts she wrapped! She amazed everyone with her talent.

Thursday night, Dec. 16th, we concluded our 11th season of working with the Pats’ couples’ study. This has been an exceptional year in many ways as God has filled the gaps left from last year’s group (a number of whom either retired or were traded). We’ve had five new couples this year who have brought enthusiasm and commitment to the study, and, joined with six veteran couples, we’ve had a great group. Our grand finale was hosted by Doug and Julie Macrae, who along with the chef from Il Capriccio, Richie Barron, fed us like kings and provided a warm, welcoming, and fun video arcade that resides in the Macraes’ basement. We enjoyed eating, reading the Christmas story, sharing our favorite Christmas traditions, and the camaraderie which has grown among us these past three months. It was a wonderful and fitting wrap-up for the year.

And that was it—what got done was done. I flew to San Diego the next morning to spend four days with my parents and siblings en route to a Sacramento-based Christmas. It was truly wonderful to be there and to finally lend a hand to help my parents get more settled. The time was a good mix of work and play. One of the “play” highlights was a family get-together hosted by my sister Sue and her husband Ed. After a yummy dinner, we gathered in the family room and “jammed” on the piano, trumpet, and slide trombone a medley of Christmas songs. I’m not sure there’s anything my dad enjoys more than these such moments, and it was a joy to see him enthusiastically singing and clapping to songs long ago stored in his memory bank. It was a great evening.

My brother-in-law Ed on trumpet, nephew Frankie on slide trombone, and nephew Chris as the human music stand, lead the way for a festive Christmas sing-along.

My parents are getting more at home in San Diego and are especially grateful to have three daughters living close by.

Once again, the days seemed to evaporate (even though the record-setting rainfall did not!), and before I knew it, I was bound to Sacramento to help grandson Brandon celebrate his first Christmas.

A baby changes everything.

That thought was not lost on us as we delighted in every moment with Brandon—and concurrently reflected on the Baby who really did change everything. I was once again struck with how easy it is to let everything else go that would compete with devotion to Brandon—and yet how easy it is to shortchange my devotion to the Christ Child in the “tyranny of the urgent.” I’m not proud of that, and re-ordering my priorities is on my list of new year resolutions.

Brandon is 4 months old today (Dec. 29) and is on a trajectory of growth that foreshadows a possible career in the NFL. He’s 17# and 26.5#...and very, very strong. He’s also very easy to get along with. Quite honestly, he’s spoiling his parents. :) And grandparents.

It was pure joy to spend 4 days together with Kari, Gabe, Lisa, and Brandon in Sacramento. Though we all missed Julie terribly, she elected to spend Christmas in Mbale, Uganda, with her fiance Derek, taking advantage of her only almost-3-week break from physical therapy school. She had all of our support.

The Christmas season continues to be my favorite time of year. I love the decorations, the food, the music, the giving, the colors, the traditions, the warmth, the gatherings. I love connecting with people via cards, letters, calls, and photos, and catching up annually on ones dear but not near. I love having an excuse to sew and to bake once-a-year specialties, like gingerbread houses. I love to remember Christmases gone by, which hold so many sweet memories.

I love that no matter what traditions are created in a given year or are upheld year by year, the focus on the Christ Child is consistently central and really is the only thing that matters. Christmas can happen without the gifts, the decorations, the foods, and the gatherings—but it couldn’t happen without the birth of Baby Jesus, who was born to die. I love reading and hearing read the scriptural account found in Luke 2 of His birth. I love singing “O Holy Night” with the passion fitting the dramatic musical score framing those powerful words.

And this year, as I did 30 years ago when our firstborn was 7 months old on her first Christmas, I loved holding a little baby who reminded me that the incarnate Jesus was very, very human as He came into the world in like manner. That Mary fed him, burped him, changed him, comforted him, rocked him, and held him. That she loved Him, prayed for Him, and treasured Him. That her world would never be the same because of that little babe.

We are most deeply grateful that our children have embraced the message of the manger and are living their lives dedicated to Him. No other gift will ever compete with that.

Gabe reads the Christmas story to Brandon, who’s clearly paying attention!

All dressed up—and off to church we go for the BOSS Christmas Eve service held Dec. 23.

At BOSS, we were thrilled to reconnect with Alton and Danielle Green, cream-of-the-crop family camp staffers.

John and Marilyn Nugent drove over from San Francisco to continue our long-standing tradition of joining us for a Christmas celebration.

We joined Gabe’s parents at their home for Christmas Eve and attended a great service at their home church. An extended family celebration followed that, with great food and fun fellowship. Christmas day was spent with Gabe’s grandparents and the whole extended Garcia family and that was also delightful. Their tradition of having a huevos rancheros brunch is one we’d happily adopt. The food was fabulous. Lots of gift opening, eating, talking, and laughing filled out the day before we directed the gingerbread house building party for Gabe’s nieces and nephews. There was an amazing degree of civility in the process which produced 4 houses and lots of happy children.

Home from Christmas Eve service, we grab a quick photo before the guests arrive for a lasagne dinner made by Gabe’s mom.

Christmas day at Gabe’s grandparents’ house: 4 generations of Garcias: Kari, Debbie, Grandma, and Brandon.

The gingerbread house professionals conduct a workshop as Christmas day wraps up. The tradition continues!

Auntie Lisa couldn’t get enough of Brandon during her short Christmas vacation.

Back to Kari and Gabe’s for yet another Christmas celebration, and a chance to wear our matching jammies. Historically I’ve made matching p.j.’s for the girls, but since Brandon is a boy, we expanded to include the menfolk this year (much to their delight, I’m sure!) All were good sports.

Grandpa, Kari, and Brandon model their Christmas jammies...

...while Lisa models her new Patriots sweatshirt.

All too quickly, gifts were unwrapped, food was eaten, and Christmas 2010 became part of history. The airport runs began the day after Christmas as Lisa returned to VA to tend to the needs of her athletes. A bunch of digital photos are the only tangible reminders of what had consumed the month of December.

Thankfully, it doesn’t end there. The story of Christmas is just the beginning of God’s plan of redemption, which culminates at Easter, with the death and resurrection of the Christ Child.

As we close out 2010, though it’s an end in some ways, it is really just a continuation of a journey towards the heart of God. We don’t know what 2011 will hold, but we confidently know Who holds it. Just as the Baby from Bethlehem changed history over 2,000 years ago, He is still changing history today. O come let us adore Him!

3.5 month old Brandon is growing like a weed!

Christmas has come and gone, and there are many blog entries from this past month that have not made it beyond my mind. I’m sure you’re getting as tired of reading (as I am of writing) “Where has the time gone?? It has flown by!”—so I won’t write it again. But it’s still true. And I’ve talked with more than a few of you who agree, which is comforting in its own discomforting way. I know there must be a way to slow things down, but I also know that it’s harder than ever to do so with the pervasive invasion of technological devices that fill in the gaps which previously existed in any 24/7 time period.

We’re in our airborne “office” as we wing our way to the big island of Hawaii for a week plus of R and R, and as is always true, I’m loving the solitude one finds on a flight. No real interruptions, save an occasional drink cart bumping down the narrow aisle. Usually when a flight ends, we are launched into a weekend of ministry opportunities, but at this flight’s end, we’ll enter a period of mostly rest. It’s a very promising way to enter the new year, even though we’re somewhat envious (honestly) of our New England friends who are being buried by a blizzard as we fly into 80 degree sunny skies which frame the crown jewel islands of the Pacific.

Our lives became richer this fall when our dear friend Helen Challener let us know of a couple in her church in upstate New York who would need a place to stay while the husband received proton radiation treatment at Mass General Hospital. We invited Al and Bonnie to live with us during the 2-3 month process and we have fallen in love with this very dear couple. We’ve shared many meals together and discovered many areas of compatibility, the most treasured one being our love for the Lord. Al will hopefully be done with treatments in mid-January, and we’ll bid them adieu, knowing we’ve made life long friends.

Al and Bonnie moved in just after Julie’s engagement and we’ve become fast friends.

These past weeks are blurry in my fatigued mind and body, but memorable nonetheless. Just before Thanksgiving, I spoke at Barbara Becker’s 6th annual Creative Memories Scrapbooking Weekend held at the Old Sea Pines Inn in Brewster. To a sold out crowd of (mostly) serious scrapbookers, I spoke four times, and in between talks, did a bit of scrapping myself. I love this weekend and am so honored to partner with Barbara on it.

One of the things that strikes me at this weekend every year is how important memories of people-centered events are to us. All through the weekend, women work intensely on projects that are all about important people in their lives. Memories, mostly good but some painful, are captured in artistically rendered settings made with colorful papers and stickers to join pages upon pages of life moments in a book. These treasured books keep the past alive and preserved for the generations to come. As I challenged the women, however, God’s call to us is to thrive in the present. The enemy’s strategy is to ensnare us in the past, as that will effectively cost us both the present and the future. We must press to find the balance between the two worlds.

All thirty women broke for a special dinner Saturday night before getting back to the saltmines to scrap.

While I was speaking in Brewster, Paul was speaking in Sandwich. Mike Allen invited him to give a stewardship charge to the congregation at Lighthouse Christian Fellowship as the culmination of a series he had given. Paul loves to give and believes in the discipleship commitment of giving, so he happily embraced the call. Mike later wrote that his congregation committed more financially than ever before. God obviously used Paul significantly.

I drove straight from Brewster to Sandwich, where Paul and I connected, and then on to Gillette Stadium where we joined 65,000 others to cheer the Patriots to a decisive victory over the Colts. At the dinner in the tunnel afterwards, we had the delight of sitting with Danny Woodhead’s family and talking about our mutual passion for kingdom values, especially related to marriage and family. That was a definite highlight.

Arriving at Gillette for the Patriots’ dominance over the Colts.

As I’ve said in previous blogs, leading the Patriots’ Wives study this fall has been a joy and a delight. In addition to doing the study, we’ve had three different baking workshops, featuring jam making, cinnamon rolls, and almond puff pastry. Just before Thanksgiving, we had fun making cinnamon rolls together.

These Patriot wives show off their “monkey bread,” made with cinnamon roll dough. It was delicious!

Thanksgiving was different this year, as we headed south to northern Virginia and for the first time in over 30 years, did not find my parents there. They are adjusting to life in San Diego, and we’re all trying to adjust to life without them on the east coast. We had a wonderful time with two of my sisters and their families, as well as with Julie. Lisa was in Cancun. Tough life. She assumed the role of interim ATC for the women’s division 1 basketball team at JMU as soon as soccer ended and this was her first gig. :) She assures us she missed being with everyone at Thanksgiving—but also admits that it was a pretty nice vacation at an all-inclusive resort for 4 days.

Post-Thanksgiving feast in Sutherland, VA, with my sister Francene, her husband Thom, son Jon, and our bro-in-law David.

Home late Monday, counseling and Patriots Tuesday through Thursday, and then off to California early on Friday. This time to Monterey, one of the most spectacular seaside towns along the central California coastline. We filled in for our dear, dear friends, Johnny and Lori Potter, who took leave from their responsibilities as lead pastor to vacation with their children in New Zealand. John and Marilyn Nugent, Board members for H.I.M. and chosen family friends, drove down from San Francisco to join us for the weekend and that made the whole experience even more special.

We spoke Friday night on marriage to an intimate gathering at the home of Dave and Suzanne Overton. Loved it. Saturday we hung with the Nugents, taking walks between rainy spells and exploring the world-reknowned Monterey Aquarium. Sunday Paul preached at the service, followed by lunch with nine young married couples from Stone Harbor, where we fielded questions about building sacred marriages. Almost nothing thrills us more than helping couples wrestle with God’s design for marriage. Our time with them was stimulating and very interactive. We rounded out the day by watching the Pats rout the Jets. Few in Monterey understood our joy. :)

At the Monterey Aquarium with John and Marilyn Nugent.

The young marrieds from Stone Harbor chewed on more than lunch as we fielded questions about marriage.

The jelly fish exhibit at the aquarium was spellbinding.

Really!

We stayed through Monday in Monterey, knowing we were returning to more intensity, and thoroughly enjoyed our only dry day. Tuesday was a travel day and Wednesday we repeated the cycle: Pats’ wives study, counseling, more counseling, Pats’ couples study, fly out on Friday.

Whew!! In between the lines, we spent plenty of time getting ready for Christmas: sewing, baking, making caramel corn, batches of jam, shopping, wrapping, mailing, etc. Sadly, not as much time preparing my heart. Fortunately, God’s arms are wide open and His love isn’t determined by my preparation. As the craziness has squeezed out most of my routines, including quiet times and running, I’ve experienced more homesickness than guilt. And that’s reflection of His unconditional love and boundless grace. Wow.

Closing Out 2010 (Part 2)

Closing Out 2010 (Part 1)