The Way Home in 2015

Christmas Eve dinner was a huge success. We had a good turnout in spite of all the squadron parties that competed for attendance. We had a delicious smörgåsbord of lasagna and pasta dishes for dinner! We also had a competition between the gentlemen and the ladies with their own renditions of the 12 Days of Mountain Home Christmas. Here's a group shot. The letters spell out 'Happy Birthday Jesus!'

Well, we had a white Christmas due to a Christmas Eve blizzard – anyway what passes for a blizzard here in Mountain Home, Idaho. (You can stop that snickering you 'Lake Effect States!'  This is our 'Snake Effect!') It was pretty treacherous driving home the 12 miles from the Christmas Eve candlelight service at Liberty chapel. The wind was howling and the snow was horizontal and we could only see a few car lengths ahead on the dark sagebrush lined highway. Fortunately, very few other cars were out. The wind toppled a 100+ year old tree in Railroad Park.

On Christmas I went with an Airman to see 'Unbroken' and, in spite of all the controversy, I can recommend it (for older kids and most adults). It does have some rather tense concentration camp and survival at sea segments that can be quite unsettling but essential to the true story of Louis Zamperini's survival (and what would prove to be just the beginning of his awesome spiritual journey). 
 
Then, as the wind continued to blow, as it does all the time here, the snow began to evaporate rather than melt for the next two days. On Friday evening we had our usual dinner and Bible study but the weather and continuing squadron events kept the attendance down to about six families. 
 
But this morning, the Lord's Day, the dawn greeted us with another four inches of snow. Janet is usually up early and she went out and began shoveling without waking me. But, after I had some coffee I noticed and soon joined her. Hopefully we will have forestalled the formation of ice on the driveway and sidewalks tonight!

It was a great Sunday service although sparsely attended. I think the snow held some back while others are still gone on Christmas leave. Chaplain Schrader challenged us to examine our personal response to false accusations the way that David did in Psalm 7.

This coming Wednesday we will have our final En Gedi event of the year: our New Year's Eve fellowship. We will be having finger foods, board games, and a prayer countdown to the New Year. We are going to use East Coast time so the littlest ones can get home as they need to. We nearly always have 3-6 toddlers and infants.

New Year's Day Janet will be leaving to visit her ailing stepmother in Tucson who is in the last stages of Alzheimer's but still trusting Christ. She has been busily preparing freezer meals for while she is gone.

I plan to teach a series called 'Roadblocks to Godliness.' Our first two related roadblocks are the enemy of contentment and godliness. They will be examined this coming Friday night: 'Love of Strife' and 'Love of Money' from 1 Timothy 6:2-10. We then look at these in some practical ways in the following weeks.

Here's to a contented New Year!