Well, Christmas has once again come and gone.
We held 11 Christmas Eve services at RiverTree which nearly 5,500 people attended. We collected a special gift offering for the Christian Children’s Home of Ohio. More than $100,000 was given!!! That will enable the Children’s Home to open a new cottage to care for children who are even at greater risk. Yeah God!
If you missed the Christmas Eve teaching or would like to watch it one more time . . . here’s a video link: www.vimeo.com/8443521.
Since Christmas, the stomach flu has ravaged our household. It began with me in the wee hours of Monday morning, moved to Elijah a few hours later and then Tabitha on Tuesday. Run, Julie, run!
Two of my favorite Christmas gifts? A family in church found a “Grateful Dead” Christmas bulb for me. I love it! Because I am dead and Christ now lives in me. My friend Tom gave our son Elijah an amazing gift. Tom climbed mount Kilimanjaro with me. When we came down off the mountain our guides gave Tom a traditional Masai blanket wrap that an honored elder would wear. It would only be given to “Babu”–the honored one. Tom graciously gave his wrap to Elijah after he had it embroidered: “To Elijah, love Babu.”
I pray you will have a very blessed close to 2009 and that you will walk with God into 2010.