To my tens and tens of readers, to borrow a phrase, I would like to extend a Merry Christmas. It has been an insanely tumultuous yet growth giving year for me and my family. I have been involved in a failed corporation gone bankrupt. Worked out of state for several months through June and returned home in worse financial state than I started. In all these trials I continually found myself on the failing end of my spiritual walk. Wanting to be a great man of faith yet exhibiting anything but.

Through all of this my family suffered greatly yet was ministered to with great tenderness from a wonderful church body at Summit Harvest Church, our home church. I began new employment in June at a local company which turned out to be an enormous blessing for me and my family. I work for a very stable and trustworthy employer who has shown great generosity.

My church has been a tremendous blessing in helping me transition back into the community and into a new phase of life. I have seen God move in enormous ways throughout this year and God has extended to me eyes to see and ears to hear and a heart to believe. I look forward to all He is doing in me and my family and through my church. I look forward to the teaching opportunities before me and pray for a reenergized heart for evangelism.

This is really a post about mainly nothing yet it just seems to help to get an overview of where my life is. Pray for Lisa and I and our different challenges we must face this coming year. She is working at a great new place and has time challenges between ministry and work and her love for the Word. We also face the challenge of parenting teenage boys whom we love very much but who both insist on wearing their life explorer hats before committing too much. May you be in prayer with us towards them as well. I just finished, on December 15^th, 2008 having a complete hip replacement, so I am disabled at this moment as well. All glory to God for the opportunity to stop and rest in Him.

God bless the readers of this post and Merry Christmas to you all.