“The light shines in the darkness,
But darkness has not understood it…” John 1:5
The Light is Jesus! He is the reason we celebrate in this dark, cold month of December. So many forget Him, many don’t yet understand that without Him they have nothing, but those who know Him have EVERYTHING! I pray that as you enter the new millennium you will do so with His wonderful presence lighting your way.
And this I begin another Christmas letter. Wanting to keep it concise, yet desiring that you would hear my heart and feel connected to our family once again. Is “concise” possible for me? Let’s see if I can possibly fit this onto one page…
It’s been a wonderful year – the kids are both at delightful ages and Ron and I so much enjoy spending time with them. Daniel turned 13 in October and he is now in 8thgrade (learning swing-dancing and loving it, playing basketball, making hemp bracelets, playing chess & board games whenever possible and attending youth). He is very excited about snowboarding this winter and I’m already praying for his safety! He’s got a great sense of humour and is a lot of fun to be with. He’s following in his father’s footsteps and is learning bass guitar in the school band – he’s gifted musically but feels that practicing is beneath him.
Patrice is 8 and is thoroughly enjoying 3rdgrade at the Christian School. She loves reading and writing and takes piano, jazz and tap dance after school. She is growing into a delightful little lady and we enjoy so much this sweet age of growing maturity and remaining innocence. She’s a passionate girl and loves nothing better than dancing with great freedom when the worship band is playing at church. Thankfully Ron plays bass for the worship team so Patrice goes along for practices whenever she is able. She also still likes to stick fairly close to Mom and to home, so I’d better appreciate this while it lasts!
For a summer adventure my sister and I drove down to Colorado Springs with the kids to visit some dear friends. It was loads of fun and I was so excited to visit a YWAM friend in Montana and to see Yellowstone National Park on the way down. Ron felt he couldn’t come because our house plans were supposed to be finished and he thought he’d be building... but that didn’t quite work out. As it lies, we still haven’t got a complete set of plans but we have faith that perhaps we’ll start building this next SPRING?!? We’re glad we can trust God with this building process that seems to be taking an exceedingly long time. Don’t you love having those faith muscles stretched? I just noticed that I’m migrating onto page two with my story here so I’ll scrap the idea of writing one page and just let the words flow uninhibited! Why practice restraint in such a generous season? (Please tell me that I won’t turn into one of those old ladies that doesn’t stop talking…!)
Ron has been busy on and off doing a carpentry job in Vancouver which he’s really enjoyed. Through it he’s learned some new skills and he’s been very appreciated by the company he’s building for. He’s proved himself to be a faithful, skilled craftsman. Lately he has been finishing his workshop on the orchard so that he can be warm in the winter as he creates his masterpieces. He’s thrilled to be doing something he has dreamed of for so long. For recreation he likes to ski with the kids and attend hockey games where he releases many pent up emotions allowing him to sit demurely with me through our symphony date nights. A diverse and amazing man!
I’ve also continued to keep busy. I’m so grateful for good health and that I am able to do so much. I did some biking along the lakeside over the summer which I loved and we once again spent many wonderful evenings up at our orchard having picnics with dear friends. I truly feel rich – wonderful family, wonderful friends and most of all a wonderful Jesus who gives purpose to everything in my life. I love growing older and hopefully a little wiser. Every day brings me a little closer to the day I will see Jesus face to face! Discovering that I’m happiest when “in Him I live and move and have mybeing…” My passion continues to be prayer, although I have much to learn in that area and I wish I were more disciplined. I know that through prayer God’s power and purposes are released in the lives of others so I want to be faithful. I’m also finishing up a Bible Class (Village School of the Bible) that I’ve been taking over the last year which has been a very enlightening and enjoyable experience. (& a lot of hard work!)
In January we are planning on traveling to Colima Mexico as a family with some others from our church to help out at an orphanage and have a holiday. We’re really excited about that opportunity and are trying to learn a bit of Spanish before we go. It’s so easy to get out of touch with the way the “rest of the world” lives so I pray that our hearts will be softened.
So we enter the New Millennium feeling safe in the hands of Jesus, praying that you too will let His presence light your path into the year 2000.
“Yet to all who received him… to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become the children of God”. John 1:12
