Happy New Year

Needless to say, a White Christmas remained a thing of our dreams in Northumberland, but Christmas and New Year were good anyway. They weren't the hilarious fun-filled days we had last year, but it was good to spend much of Christmas Day with Ben and then New Year's Eve and Day with my Mum and Dad.

Of course I had Heather to share my time with which makes all the difference and we've had a lovely relaxing time together just appreciating the chance to enjoy each other's company rather than being busy or just plain tired, so Christmas and New Year were very different, but still very good.

Last year was quite a year with our first Winter in Canada, a trip to the Canadian Rockies, a sunrise wedding, having a cat (okay so we had the cat late 2005), eating more steak and ribs than I could imagine, making smores over open fires, having almost the entire church congregation in Lloyd come forward to pray for us on our last evening in Lloyd and then of course the heartache of leaving Canada in the summer. The uncertainty and stress of our home church situation (plans to merge with the local Baptist church) hovered in the background over all of this and then we had to come home to it, a very strange summer indeed, and then I found myself back in church leadership with the merge not going ahead. Also in the summer we had a lovely few days in Ottawa, a great time back in England with Steve and Jenny and meeting Russ, Jenny's boyfriend, September brought a relaxing week in Scotland, then in the autumn Jenny came to live with us again for 10 weeks that went too fast. Then a bout of mental and nervous exhaustion arrived - not related to Jenny living with us :-) and another Christmas came with me signed off sick for 6-weeks.

So those are some of the things that come to mind as I sit and think about 2006 - a mixed bag, but then that's the way life seems to come - the nice bits and the bits we'd sooner forget, but it's the tough bits that show us what we're really made of and who our friends really are and what they're made of. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends on both sides of the Atlantic. As I think of heaven I realise this is what it will be about - relationships - knowing God, knowing Jesus (John 17:3) but I believe it will also be about knowing each other and being together. My heart won't be torn any more over which side of the Atlantic I'd rather be, I'll have forever to be with the people I love knowing that I'll always see them again someday - those are my thoughts of heaven anyway!! :-)

Although I have little idea what 2007 may bring (apart from a wedding and a trip to Canada at some point), I know it will contain joy and delight, friendship and love, laughter and fun, even if there may also be pain, tears and sadness. I hope the former will significantly outweigh the latter!

There is already one wonderful thing that 2007 has brought and that is the fabulous news that Jenny and Russ got engaged on New Year's Day! YAY!! Congratulations to a wonderful couple.

May there be many more wonderful pieces of good news this year. Have a great 2007 and may God's blessing be with you throughout.

Steve