Instead of going shopping today, we stayed home and cooked all day long. Jenny's family has their annual family Christmas gathering on the Saturday following thanksgiving each year, so we are planning on going to that tomorrow and there was food to get ready to take with us for that. We also got a picture taken of the kids for our Christmas cards this year and had that sent off for processing. Other than that, it was a low-key day. Still seems strange not to be going to see my mother on Thanksgiving, but things do change and there are new traditions being forged to make the holidays meaningful. We had a fantastic day here with Jenny's folks and my sister coming to our home and had the whole spread with turkey and all the trimmings. The kids had a good day and we simply enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere without all of the stress that used to accompany holiday gatherings for me. Sort of a nice change of pace and something that I am looking forward to for manny years to come. It is nice to simply enjoy the spirit of thanksgiving without worrying about who is going to say what and who is going to try to read beetween the lines. Not a bad way to live life I would say!
Still feels a little strange to be in new community and a new home this year. I talked with a young woman from Stonington today whose wedding I am going back to Stonington to perform in December. I am looking forward to that chance to see the Stonington folks and enjoy being back with them for a couple of days next month. WIll feel like old times again. I was thinking tonight as I ran to Wal-Mart for a couple of things about how this all feels a little bit like we are visiting a new town still. I wonder when it will feel like this is "our" town. I am sure it will eventually, but after so many years in one place, it is going to take a while to get used to new environs again I suppose.
I klnow that I have rambled on about how all of the change is hard to take and I don't want to imply for one minute that we don't simply adore the people here in Wood River. Because we do think the world of them and we have been awed by the love they have shown to us. We look forward to many years of ministry with them and think they are the cream of the crop. If we didn't think they were pretty good folks to begin with, we never would have come to the Wood River church. It would obviously have been much easier to stay put in Stonington, but it was clear that God was opening doors for us in this corner of the world, so we responded and are looking forward to great things from this church and community! Attendance has been steadily growing at the church and we are praying that this continues for many years to come. Not for the sake of having a larger church, but for the sake of having a larger group of fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ to do his work in our communities! As I look at it, there really is much to be thankful for this year and the list would get quite long if I actually started putting pen to paper to list all of these things!
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