You Can't Hurry Jello

Christmas 2006 is mostly behind us, and it was a great one. Our candlelight Christmas Eve service at church was one of the best yet, and Jeff Leake's message (Part 4 God Is Closer Than You Think) was a real encouragement to many of us.

I finally finished shopping Christmas Eve afternoon around 4:45 P.M.... the closest I've ever cut it :-#. We finished decorating the tree around 11 P.M. and then Leah and Samantha made what was supposed to be a pretzel strawberry jello salad for Christmas dinner. Note: never try this when you are tired and it is late, ... you can't hurry jello. It didn't taste as bad as it looked.

Everyone gave and got lots of thoughtful and fun gifts...

Samantha got a new hat.

Leah got some bookshelves for her office.

Ash & Nate got the gift we bought at The Sharper Image, tho' they are thinking about exchanging it for the robotic monkey head.

We had a lovely dinner on Christmas Day. Yia Yia brought 4 pies, and an Almond Torte, which we will likely be eating into the New Year (we're still trying to figure out why she brought so many???). Christmas night was karaoke, and lots of laughing.

In a few days, the New Year will begin, with parades, Bowl Games, and of course, ... pie. The advent of a new year is good time to look ahead, to embrace hope for the future, and to anticipate God's handiwork in our circumstances. In the words of Pastor Jeff Leake (from GICTYT), "Our perspective is often limited by time, space, present circumstances... We see what is right in front of us. We see the limitations of our current situations. We may miss out on the potential or the far reaching implications of a current happening. Sometimes God is birthing something new, something amazing, something that will transform your world in the midst of the most ordinary, painful, and unlikely moments of your life."

Indeed.