The new year has arrived in all of its glory.  The trees are dancing and singing today and there is a dusting of snow covering the ground.  The winds are bitter but the sun is gloriously shouting for me to take note of the clear blue sky.  It is 2008. With the arrival of the new year comes a time of resolution, usually for me that means a diet among other things.  This year, however, I am not calling it a diet.  I am going to live healthy and if I happen to loose weight so much the better.  Another resolution is to keep writing, as often as possible.  I know that my thesis will require much of my writing to be research…yuck!  But I can see the light at the end of that tunnel coming in May with my graduation. Hopefully my other kinds of writing will not go dormant in the meantime! 

I think that the new year for me is a time to take stock of life.  I try to reconnect with God during the cold winter months.  For me the dormant time of winter is a time to dig deeper in the word, and renew my relationship with him.  I am full of gratitude this year because I am celebrating one year cancer free…today…Jan. 2^nd!  My kids have named this day Mommy’s Alive Day.  And we begin a new tradition of marking this day of victory as a family.  We have done this for years for Bill on Feb. 2^nd to mark his survival of the accident.  I started it when I read in Deut. that God told the children of Israel to make memorials to remind them of God’s deliverance.  The memorials were made of stones and were erected in the desert whenever there was a significant event.  This way when they passed by the markers they could tell their children the story of God’s victory.  I began marking the years after Bill’s accident to remind us that God spared him and healed him because there is a plan for his life.  When our children got old enough they also began to celebrate this day of victory as well.  We usually go out for a family dinner to mark the day.  Now I have my own day and our kids will be reminded at least twice a year that God is powerful and he can deliver his people from disaster.  We will thank him for that today in 2008.  We will pray for a healthy year of transition as Hannah moves out this year and our lives begin yet another season.  We also thank God for all of you and ask him to bless you with a Happy New Year.

Hello everyone…did you think I had fallen off the planet.  I haven’t…I have just been enjoying a busy holiday season.  I have noticed that not as many people are reading my blog over this break so I have slacked off in writing.  It has been nice, but for me, writing it kind of like breathing.  I have to do it.  So while the break has been nice I am now exploding in my head and heart from the lack of expression!  Here is my yearly Christmas reflection.

            Have you ever lost a dear friend or family member, either by the severing of the relationship or by death?  The grief is heavy, the memories strong.  This year Mom and Dad are preparing to sell Cloudwood in Clayton.  For those of you who don’t know, my parents live on some gorgeous mountain property in Rabun County , and they bought it when I was probably 6 or so.  It has been a place of retreat and refuge for all of us for nearly 40 years.  It is a part of us.  Like a friend that you have to say goodbye to, we have all begun our grieving process and it started this Christmas.  We each wrote our favorite memory of the house to share.  Mom and Dad gave gifts with stories attached.  The bird’s nests we had collected over years were distributed, along with pottery, books, and old family heirlooms.  It was a bittersweet day with tears and laughter.  We remembered good times and told stories of the past.  From childhood games of hide and seek to adult walks through the pasture, it was a heartfelt day of emotion as we spent, what could quite possibly be, our last Christmas in Clayton.

            I have often heard that the only thing that remains the same is change.  I think it is true.  Change is part of life no matter how much we might wish otherwise.  Children grow up, loved ones die, children are born…time moves on.  I remember Christmas at my Aunt Polly’s house, then at my grandmothers, then to Clayton.  With each change has come the challenge of creating new traditions while not loosing sight of the old.   We have said goodbye to family members and welcomed new ones.  What has remained constant is the love of family.  William put it well when we were discussing Clayton, “The stuff doesn’t matter if the people aren’t there.  As long as I can see grandma and grandpa it doesn’t matter where we are.”  That is quite insightful for a 14 year old.

            This special place seems to have its own life.  It is like part of the family, and that is what makes it hard.  Leaving Cloudwood behind feels like a death or divorce.  If I look at it practically, it is wood and nails.  That is all…just a beautiful shelter on the top of a mountain.  At the same time it is so much more than that.  So much of my view of life was shaped there, so many memories wrapped up in the wind.  Part of me will always be there, so it is like loosing myself in some ways…an empty spot in my heart.  It’s not like we go there that often, a few times a year, but knowing that there is a place to escape to if life gets overwhelming or I just need a quiet moment, is like an anchor to my soul.  It will be hard to let this place go. Two of my favorite things are there, family and nature.  This place has been one of God’s classrooms in my life.  He has taught me and instructed me about himself, about relationships, about nature and beauty. He has spoken to me through the trees and mountains, the stillness and the storms.  This is the place I first realized that all creation worships him and speaks of his glory.  Learning to reflect on that, and to carry it with me, has been my life lesson from him. 

The grief of loosing this family-building piece of paradise will be real.  We will all miss it and grieve in our own ways.  Hannah had a dream that they decided not to move and we had to give back all of our heirlooms.  I am secretly wishing that somehow it could be turned into a retreat center and we could still reserve it for family events. Peter wants to take up a collection from our friends so we can buy it.  William wants to give it to someone who really needs a home.  We are all trying to hang on when God is requiring us to let go.  It is human nature to hang on when he says, “Let go…I have something else for you now.”  He has blessed us with the ability to remember and to treasure those memories; to share all the good times with future generations.  We can shape the future with our stories of this place and this family.     There will always be a special spot in my heart for this place called Cloudwood, but as William said, it is the love of family and friends that stands the test of time.  The place is secondary. 

I am pleased to announce my new book.  It is called The Nature of God.  I did the writing, much of it is from this very blog page.  My dad did the photographs.  I created this book for his Christmas present as a gift to him.  Now that he has received the very first copy I am letting all of my regular readers know about it. Many of you have probably recieved an email about it already. 
I have felt the Lord has wanted me to write a book and this is my attempt to obey.  I have more to write and share in the future but this is my starting place.  It is a beautiful photo book that would be a great coffee table book.  As you can imagine I am thrilled to have it published.  I could not seem to get the tag to work here so I am including a link for you to find it at the blurb bookstore online. Just copy and paste the address into your browser.  When you get to the bookstore, enter The Nature of God in the search window and click go.  When you see the book cover just click on it.  You can preview the first few pages if you choose preview.  Let me know what you think even if you don't buy it.        Do not forget...Live Fully!!!
 http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/-/f3f43fdca1

My friends the Kingtons are having to be flown to Macon with their little one that has Lukemia because there are no ICU beds here in Atlanta.  Can you imagine that?  No beds for a child.  Please keep them in your prayers.  She was doing well and had made it to a lighter more long term dose of chemo, but her blood pressure dropped in the night to life threatening levels.  Pray for that family as this is a roller coaster ride of emotions.  Not to mention the fact that Kenn is still doing his job...comedy, in the midst of all of this. 
Next, please pray for all of the people in ICU.  The fact that they are flying Kennedy Grace to Macon in the middle of the night stuns me.  I cannot imagine how many sick people there are this season.  I guess my heart goes out to all of them because I am NOT sick this year.  I know all too well how miserable it is to have doctors poking and treating you.  It is a lifestyle I do not care ever to repeat.  I wouldn't wish it on anyone especially at Christmas.  Please pray for the families of those and that there would be good news in the form of Jesus this season for them.  Thank you, as always, for your regular support of the prayer needs I give...including my own.  Have a wonderful holiday with your friend and families.

Twelve years ago at Christmastime, our family decided to drive through Burt’s Pumpkin Farm to see the Christmas light display. We had heard it was great for kids.  They had marshmallow roasting and hot cider, a great family set up. The main draw for us was that it was close, just a short drive to Dahlonega.  For a few years prior to this time, we had driven to Christmas at Callaway for a spectacular open air shuttle ride through the gardens.  Beyond the light show, the kids made Christmas crafts and had holiday favorites like gingerbread men and hot chocolate.  It was a wonderful tradition, but distance, and 3 kids five years old and under made it a challenge to get there.

This particular Christmas I was great with child.  I had a whole new respect for Mary, let me tell you.  Determined not to let the fact that I was huge and overdue affect our family light tradition, we set out for Burt’s. When we arrived we climbed aboard the hay ride and bundled up under blankets.  It was a lovely, short ride on a cold December night.  I was reminded of the Holy family’s journey and I was glad I wasn’t on a donkey. I had to be helped down off of that tractor as we tried to keep up with the kids. Rounding them up was easy once they saw the marshmallows.  We gathered around the fire to eat charcoal on a stick…at their ages slow and easy wasn’t a concept they understood. We piled in the car and headed for home.  It was an exhausting evening for my oversized tummy.  I fell into the bed and deep sleep immediately…until 2:00a.m. when my first contraction hit.

I woke Bill and said, “Let’s go.”  He didn’t believe me, because I was forever in false labor with all three of the others.  I, on the other hand, knew that we had to make it from Clermont Ga. to Dunwoody to the hospital there.  I also knew that this was a hard and fast contraction, not a milder early labor one. We were up and out in just a few minutes and by the time we made it to I-85 we were beginning to wonder if I would have this baby in the car.  At the hospital we waited for the doctor to arrive, thinking we were settling in for a long labor.  I kept feeling that these contractions were especially hard, but the nurse assured me that they were piggy back contractions which seem much stronger because one starts before the other ends.  When the doctor arrived he broke my water and said we were ready to go!  No time for medicine!  Yikes…so how did Mary do this anyway???  I hope that Joseph was as good at helping as my husband was.  He brought me through one contraction at a time.  When the doctor had to adjust the baby’s position, I cried out to Jesus for the entire world to hear!  It was Christmas; after all…it couldn’t hurt to remind the whole hospital at 5:00 a.m. that he still answers prayer!  Shortly, I mean one or two pushes later, baby Peter Josiah was born. 11 pounds.  No wonder I screamed with no medication!   

This year my baby is 12 on 12/12.  It is another sign that time is moving on quickly.  It is also a reminder to me that God came to the world in the form of a baby completely dependent on humans to care for him.  Every birth, especially this time of year, is a picture of his heavenly plan. 

Happy Birthday Peter!

As frustrated as I have been this year at work I wanted to share a great moment.  Last night we had our Christmas
Around the World celebration.  My classes have been working since Halloween on a project for this evening.  I used the event to teach many concepts in a unit on drama.  The kids wrote, acted in, and created sets for a reader's theatre. We researched a country and the Christmas traditions with it. The kids came up with the theme, story, problem, solution and characters.  They voted on each of these and decided what they would best like to use.  I wrote it into a dialog.  They were so excited to be a part of the creative process by making this reader's theatre. (For those of you that are not education people--That is a play that is acted out WITH the scripts in hand...it teaches students to read more fluently because they have to practice over and over) 
It was a wonderful night.  One of my classes had probably 50 parents show up the other probably had 25 or so.  That many in attendance is unheard of!  It was a huge success.  One student summed it up when she said, "This is the best night of my life!"  That, my friends, is why I continue to do what I do despite the heavy load it requires...

I am pondering tonight.  I don't know if I ever had noticed this or not, but in Genesis 1 (we started a new study in Sunday school today.) God says let there be light on the first day of creation.  But then on day four he creates the sun and the moon.  Hmmmmm.  Interesting.  So if the sun and the moon were created on day four where did the light come from on day one, two and three?  And if it came from God himself why did he have to "create" it?  Just thoughts to ponder...now you know how my crazy mind works...

Well the holiday season is in full swing at our house. The Christmas production kept us busy this week.  Hannah and William are now in the high school Christmas show.  We have had concerts, recitals, and still have more to come.  It is the busy hustle and bustle of the season.  In another week things will settle down and we may be able to get some shopping in.  It is crazy like this every year.  Last year, I was unable to attend several of the events that are part of our Christmas.  I am trying not to be stressed but to enjoy the fact that I am healthy this year.  It is a blessing to be cherished. 

The house is coming along.  Today was my first day home to try to get decorated.  We got our tree the day after Thanksgiving and it has been set up in our living room ever since.  We got the lights on last weekend and promptly discovered that our Christmas tree stand has a hole in it.  We were wondering how that tree could possibly be drinking that much!  So now our tree is dying quickly because I refused to get a new stand and take it down in order to set it back up.  It took days to sop up all the water out of the carpet. So our tree will go thirsty the next couple of weeks.  Hopefully on Christmas there will still be a few needles left.
  Today the ornaments went up.  I set the box out last weekend and asked the kids to put a couple of ornaments up each time they came through the living room.  I was hoping by the end of the week they would all be on, but it was not to be.  No one has been home long enough to put any on and so today our tree finally got its Christmas outfit. 

I hope that you and yours are having a great season of living fully.  Priorities are so important this time of year.  I am trying to remember to take time to keep things in proper perspective.  I love the holidays, but the stress is high.  I do not want the stress to steal my joy of being alive and well this year. One tradition I plan to keep is taking time to reflect on the meaning of the season.  I pray that God will allow you to do the same.

Hello all…I have been extremely busy lately.  I haven’t had time to think much less write.  The church Christmas production is this week and I am serving.  It is something I wasn’t able to do last year so I am blessed. 

Saturday night I was able for the first time to go to the Cleveland Christmas parade.  Each year we have all been involved in the church Christmas play and have not been able to attend the parade.  This year since only two kids are involved (and they can drive themselves J ) I took Peter and William to the parade.  It was lovely.  On the square in town there were games and vendors selling things.  The shops were open and there was live music.  The parade was at 7:00, so it was dark, and all the floats were lit up.  It was like a Norman Rockwell scene. 

I was thinking how nice it is to be in a community that still has the small town feel.  Everywhere I went there were people I knew, students I had taught, and friends from church.  What a blessing to live in a place where you feel like you fit.  There is a great deal of pride in this town.  Sometimes it makes for interesting debate in the editorial section of the paper, but it is also what brings us together as a community.  It is funny how as a town our weakness and strength are one and the same.

I think it is like that for people as well.  How many times have you met someone with wonderful creativity that could not think in common sense terms?  Or a person that is so gifted in organization that they try to control everything?  The gifts we have are our greatest strengths and our greatest weaknesses.  I think that God did that intentionally.  He knew that apart from him our talents would go awry and yet he gave them to us anyway.  Why is that?  I believe that he gave us a choice to glorify him or not.  When we use our giftedness to build up, it blesses his heart.  When we are stubborn and use it for our own purposes, it tears others down.  It is another choice given to us by an extravagant God. He pours freedom out for us in so many ways; if we could just drink it in our lives would reflect His. Saturday night was a spectacular example of a community coming together to use their talents to bless others.  It is these kinds of events that give small town America a great name, and bring a smile to the face of God.

I have a prayer request.  I have a friend that is a Christian Comedian.  He is sooo funny.  His 3 year old daughter has Lukemia.  I have written about him before, his name is Kenn Kington.  I just got an update that Kennedy Grace is in the hosptial with a high fever, low blood pressure and an unstable heart rate.  They are nearing the end of treatment so this is a bad setback for the family.  Please pray for strength for his wife Heather, she sounds weary and scared.  Last night, evidently was a nightmare.  Today things are some better but they have tried 10 antibiotics in a 24 hour period to try to fight off the fever.  I cannot imagine what they are going through.  I have no idea how or when Kenn will be out of town next.  He has to continue to work and many times it takes him out of town for a week or so.  When that happens Heather is caring for her three kids on her own.  She has a great support group through the church and her family is close by however, I know that not having him there as a support has got to be hard.  Not to mention, his job of doing comedy when his daughter is so sick. The 2 brothers are troupers but are afraid...this has been rough on them. This family has been a blessing to so many please pray that these bumps in the road would smooth out and that the treatment would be effective.  My heart is breaking for this little one.