Whispering...

Starting Friday afternoon I came down with a terrible cold/sinus thingy. Naomi has it, too. It almost sounds like BJ's home with both of us blowing our noses. I'm awfully close to losing my voice so I'm avoiding talking altogether which is very difficult for me.

I'm done reading Calvin!! *crowd bursts into cheers* I have 4 more weeks of break from Worldview but thanks to Sam assigning holiday work and scheduling a test for the first day back I'll spend the break writing essays and studying. I think I'll do Spanish and chemistry through December and just take off the Christmas week.

This week is going to be crazy and fun! It really started yesterday with a party the Sut. had for Coburn volunteers but we didn't go. Today our church is having their ground breaking ceremony and performing their Christmas cantata tonight. It is also the last Sunday of our music minister so we're having a fellowship afterwards for him.

Monday is back to the salt mines and I sure hope I'm well by then. Monday night a group from our dojo is carpooling over to Oklahoma City to help out with another dojo's fighting for their test.

Tuesday evening is RCRY's general meeting/Christmas party. Cassie is very graciously hosting that. And I'll give Isaac his piano lesson.

Wednesday is piano lessons for Ethan and Joshua, nursery for me in the evening, and a juggling show in OK City for Ethan and Samuel in the evening.

Thursday evening is Tad Bol.'s dojo's Christmas party and we'll probably get to hear about how the mission trip to Guatamala went.

I don't think I told y'all about that. ABKA is having a mission trip to Guatamala 7th-13th. Friends of mine that are there are Josiah Z., Tad B., and Jay Bar.. They'll get home tomorrow.

Friday is another piano lesson for Isaac (he has two 15 minutes lessons a week rather than one half-hour which would be a little long to sit.) and the monthly Twilight Prayer and Praise at the Mur.'s.

Saturday at 11 is our Christmas party. Wish all of y'all could come to it!

I'm glad all of these (except for our party) are in the evening. It'll give me time to get school and cleaning done in the mornings and afternoons.

Note: we are usually not this social. It's a combination of factors: the season, Samuel wanting to see everybody before leaving,... A lot of these are monthly things (Prayer and Praise, RCRY) that just happened all in the same week.

This is from our homeschool group's county president for the December newsletter. I found it thought provoking and thought y'all might, too.

PRESIDENT’S DECEMBER NEWSLETTER ARTICLE

Well, folks, another year is rapidly coming to a close. And what a year it has been. In the last twelve months we have had a son graduate from college, a daughter in law graduate from college, a son graduate from high school, a grandson born, two sons married and a daughter married. I almost died when I rolled my truck into a creek after choking on my coffee. Both Crista and I have felt the dramatic transition into grand parenthood. On the work front, two of my three employees quit. A childhood friend of mine died of a heart attack at forty four years of age. The wife of an old friend died at forty three after a two month illness. To say the least, I have been reminded of how transitory and brief my life on this earth is.

There is nothing quite as sobering as a good funeral. Whenever I attend a memorial service I cannot help but reflect on my life. What will they say about me? What have I accomplished worth mentioning? What will my children have chiseled on my tomb stone? What response will I hear from my Lord? We watched “It’s a Wonderful Life” last night. How would the world be different if I had never been born?

As we prepare for the coming year, I would encourage you to ask yourself a few questions. In order to avoid the usual personal denials and excuses we all use let’s compare our current situation with the way things were at this time last year.

Am I more disciplined now? What tendencies or habits have I conquered? Is my relationship with my spouse more intimate than it was? Is my conversation with my Creator more constant and intense? Am I more familiar with my children? Have I been faithful to ministry opportunities the Lord has given me? Am I less distracted by worldly temptations? Am I more confident in who I am in Jesus? Has my knowledge and love for the scriptures grown?

My intention is not to give you an all inclusive list of questions. It is only to imagine yourself watching your own funeral. Will there be joy in the hearts of many because of a life well lived? Will there be disappointment for what could have been. Will anyone really notice that you’re gone? You know yourself better than anyone else, so you are the one to answer the questions. Search your heart. Pray. Change. Live.

Bret