Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you who are reading this. I have been delighted this Christmas. I received an email from two relatives in northern New Zealand. These are maternal cousins I have never met but I have been interested in getting in contact with. Lovely :)
(I also get regular emails from another distant cousin from my dad's side of the family! equally delightful!)
It has been delightful to spend Christmas Eve with two families joining together.....our family and N's (who is engaged to our M.) family. We shared presents and presence, laughter and toasts.

With the wedding being less than one week away, I have managed to arrange some quiet time for myself!!! Right now everyone is out and I am all by myself writing this blog. I feel like it's a secret because noone is here. Shhshshshshsh.

I(we) have been busy with my choirs at school practising and performing, with school coming to an end for the holidays just 3 days ago, with visiting and caring for my dear 95 year old aunt, with preparation for Christmas and a wedding, with leading worship in the morning service and the evening Christmas Eve service....with Christmas eve here at our house and wanting to relish time with my dear family......

One of the most poignent stocking stuffers was from my daughter T. who included a note that she paid for two people to have Christmas supper in lieu of an additional stocking stuffer.

Well, Merry Christmas. I hope you all have a delightful Christmas .... and if you have time alone relish it. If you are too alone, seek out friends or family to spend time with. If you are with family, look for the treasure...treasure it.

If you have a friend who is near death and you wonder if you should pray for a miracle, pray! We can only ask, it is God who does the miracle. There is no problem in asking...in fact it's good because it connects you with Him. But there is one thing I have discovered this season, the greatest miracle at the end of your life is the transformation from dying here and being translated into heaven and meeting with God face to face!!!! This is the greatest miracle. We can ask for healing....for a little longer here...(or a lot longer) but in the end death does come. And with death comes the greatest miracle, new life...a transformation...a translation....or is it a releasing...or ultimate healing.....? or maybe it is all of the above. One thing I do know is that it is the greatest miracle.