We hope your Christmas was blessed and that your new year has started off in just the way you wished. We've enjoyed having J's mom and dad here with us for the last two weeks. Our Christmas was, of course, thoroughly non-American but it was sweet nonetheless, and we experienced joy as we contemplated the birth of Jesus with our loved ones.
J's parents leave us on January 8th and we'll be sad. But we're so very happy that they got to live our lives for three weeks and experience what we do. Such understanding is, for us, invaluable. It's just good to know that our families "get it."
Well, it's a new year. I want this year to be better than the last for my family. I want to spend more intentional time with them and live more in the moment--not always an easy thing for me to do. And then there's the reality that each day has only so many hours in it and I have only so much energy to expend. I want to live my life to the fullest this year and choose joy.
To that end, I've decided that I'm going to refrain from writing about our lives for quite some time, maybe for always. Writing is a hobby of mine but it requires me to finely comb my daily experiences for meaning and merit. It means that I have to be the scientist in the lab, straining into the microscope as he attempts to name and conquer. And you know what? That might be ok for me to do someday, but not now. Not this year.
This year my life--our lives--are going to be private. We're going to laugh a lot, work hard, love God and people (by His grace) and do a lot more than hang on by the seat of our pants. We're going to have hard times if the last two years are any indication of the future. But we're going to be more than conquerors.
Most of you all know our e-mail address and many of you already get our family newsletter. We'll be in touch. In the meantime, I'm going to be too busy living my life to write about it. Love to all of you and Happy New Year.
