A/C's, Fires in the Fireplace & Friends

Christmas Day was quite warm and humid, though we had a little freezing rain and sleet December 23. (Sometimes you can experience 3 to 4 seasons in 1 day in southeast Texas.) So to add to the ambiance of Christmas we set the A/C down to 66 and built a fire in the fireplace. My husband thought my parents would enjoy it. (Mind you my parents have a fireplace, they don't need firewood and can use a remote to light it, we need firewood and matches to start a fire at our house and there is certainly no remote.) So the point of this is: my husband wanted to build a fire in the fireplace.


After all the company left and the last of the dishes were in the dishwasher, my husband and I sat outside talking. We could hear the children across the street playing football until it became too dark to play. They were so happy because their oldest brother had leave and was home for a visit before he ships out to Guam, he is proudly serving in the USMC. Semper Fi!


I mentioned 2008 had been a long year, but it has also been a great year. My friends supported me with prayer and love while my father was in the hospital, they have cried with me, they have rejoiced with me. Friends visit my parents and offered to deliver meals to mom when dad was in the hospital and when he returned home. Cousins have visited from Indiana, Wisconsin and Minnesota and will be back for another visit soon. (I think they are already tired of winter.) Friends and family are more valuable than all the gold and diamonds in the world. I was a good friend yesterday and didn't wrap Doug's house, it was raining off and on, soggy toilet paper would not be funny.

One of the greatest examples of friendship we see in the Bible is found in Mark 2:

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." He said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home." He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

We don't know if the paralytic had any faith, we don't know if he prayed for his situation, but we know he was physically carried by his friends who had faith to Jesus and we know Jesus healed him. When we pray for each other, we spiritually carry our friends to the Lord. If you need prayer, please do not be afraid to ask for it. If you are so exhausted you cannot pray anymore, ask friends to pray for you and the situation.

And once more I say: Continue to celebrate Christmas...spread the joy and love of Christ where ever you go today.

Merry Christmas!