Let me introduce to you...

...Pascaline!

Pascaline is my "French daughter"! She has come to live with us for 9 months. She arrived in August. She is doing an internship for her university at Voice of the Martyrs. It has been a delight to have her here. The only places in the US she had previously seen were Oklahoma and Houston, therefore, we decided we needed to get her to Denver for Christmas to see the Rockies. She liked what she saw! ;0) Here she and Katie are enjoying snowy Colorado!



We are learning so much from her. We are being encouraged to "press on" even harder as we learn first hand from her reactions and surprise to what she sees in the American church, a thing that we have often talked about... mediocrity in passion. In France, a relationship with God and all that it brings is so counter cultural, that when found, it is a true treasure. She is saddened that our passion in worship and serving does not reflect our treasure. Maybe I will have her guest log about it someday! What encouragement for us in Christ's family to stay the course where Christianity is not at this moment counter-cultural, though on it's way, to not be mediocre in our living for the Lord. The persecuted or alone Christian cultures have much to teach us... about dying for our belief, yes, but also about living in such a way that we do not find ourselves as well in a counter-culture or oppression of our belief in Christ... a half-hearted service or worship. May passionate, service minded lovers of God come against the mediocrity of God's church... that we may be "in whom I am well-pleased."

Thanks to Pascaline for again reminding us what we have, and stand to lose...

It's been a another year...

I could have wished you a blessed Christmas... from sunny and snowy and snowing... Colorado! But, I was too slow! We spent it with Becky in Littleton, and though we missed Ryan, we had the fun of visiting with him an hour by web cam/phone! We had not seen him since August, except in a few pictures, and it was fun watching him as he peeled carrots for Christmas dinner. I just couldn't hug him! We showed him the lights on Becky's tree that Jonathan had put on... many on the bottom, few on the top... our "bottom heavy light" tree, and he his apartment living room. It was a joy! We look forward to having Christmas in July with him.

Life has gone so fast in 2007, and 2008 will bring so many changes...an empty nest, finding anew those things in which God wants me involved, having my own freedom for the first time in, ahh, 26 years. Marriage and parenthood changed my life in a drastic way and I would trade it not, but this new freedom is rather beckoning and exciting. Ah, exciting life! And this is nothing compared to my real home, heaven. Now, there will be real life! And, as you have heard before, I am looking forward to it, even longing for it, but not at the expense of frittering away the life I have been asked to live here...as a tool in a good, good God's hand.

I loved the thought given to us by Becky's pastor on Christmas Sunday...that Mary, Jesus' mother, as a member of the first church, WORSHIPPED HER SON! I'd always known she believed, but never thought of the depth, or the unnaturalness of it all! Yes, this baby grew up without sin, and that had to be life altering for a mom, but totally subordinate to a son? Worshipping him? (Sorry, Jon and Ryan, you are wonderful sons, but not worship material! The delight to my heart is you know it! Love you both!) Even as a family grows older together, Mom and Dad usually have the edge on wisdom of experience and living, let alone what they may have learned in their faith along the way! And to my great joy and humility, I have found God to be faithful to teach me from His Word, without the schooling my children have had the privilege to gain. As a matter of fact, it is a delight to my soul that what God has revealed to me in His Word... is really no different that what they are concluding in their strong education... it's just that I am more restricted to communicate it in less intellectual ways...in vocabulary and in philosophical ideas or terms. Indeed, I'm limited in terminology to communicate to you who this Jesus is to me, what He has done for me, and what He has revealed to me... and all of it is a very good thing. I don't have the potential traps set by intellect (though I love learning and listening to such conversations, and participate and learn), and I do use the simplicity of understanding what is most important... that Christ died on the cross and I am saved from my sin by simply believing He did so. That I am a daughter now of the Great King, and He will take me home someday, but in the meantime... gives me life abundantly, even amongst the junk of it all! That there are those in this world who do not believe and they too will live eternally... separated from God. Which brings me back to Mary...she realized her son was The Son... as simple as that. She watched Him die, she saw Him raised, she heard of His ascension... she believed. Therefore she worshipped.

May I worship the Son in 2008 as never before... He my husband, my companion, the protector of my gone away children! May I never be hesitant to jump into life for HIm!

Ahh... the next holiday is Easter, my favorite of all, because,

Christmas began what Easter completed!
... the salvation of our eternal soul!

Life is good! Have a blessed New Year!