Welcome to the last issue of 2021. This coming week is the week of reflection and resolution in preparation for 2022. My first reflection is that as flawed as I am, I have a loving Savior and God. That God considers me His personal work of art. If I keep that in mind, I can keep out the negatives of daily living. My second goal is to cultivate a thankful and happy heart. The Bible states that “a happy heart makes for good medicine.” Our world needs to learn to laugh at itself instead of crying over imagined offenses. So many good things have been dumped into a grievance bucket for people to dump their grievances. Laughter is good medicine. So, I intend to laugh a little more, take myself less seriously, love my students more, and worry about my weight less.
I’ve stated before that the holidays are difficult for those who have lost family or have family in distant places. Donna Hill and Debbie Phelan have conquered that issue. Every year, they gather up the couples or singles that have no plans and meet at George and Donna Hill’s home. This year, I officially named the group. It’s called TOPs or Temporarily Orphaned People/Parents. We met at the church so that no one home would bear the brunt of decorating and cleaning. It was an outstanding success. We were blessed by the presence of Vera Ralston on her first trip out after her surgery. I suspect we will do this again next year.
My San Antonio kids came to church and spent the day with Russ and me. The kids are all in college, so our visits are not frequent.
Facetime talks are good, but nothing beats a good healthy hug. To save time we ate at the Stagecoach, then sat around the big oak tree and enjoyed each other. Brother Mack had a whole pew full of relatives to enjoy his sermon as well.
For those looking for news of Al & Billie Behrens, they are doing well. Al caught a mild case of the flu, but he is doing better. Gerald and Kay McKee are waiting on the doctor’s report so they can see how to proceed with the cancer treatments. Heather Lewis is doing better with her pacemaker. Mrs. Bea has yet to make the trip to Dallas to see her lung doctor. Mondo Garcia’s mom was transferred to Dallas after a stroke. They will keep her in that area until she is fully stabilized. There are many opportunities for prayer. Please pray for our nation, our government, our police officers, and border patrol agents, for this most recent strain of Covid, and our precious troops and their families. Please pray for the rain we urgently need. Have a Happy New Year.