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12/25/2002 Entry: "Merry Christmas to All"

My early years were spent growing up in North Carolina, Michigan and Arkansas. Several years were also spent in Kentucky and Georgia. Christmas in those states was often cold, and many times involved a good groundcovering of the white stuff. Before venturing to Swansea this summer, I bought a Dylan Thomas cd where he tells of Christmas in Swansea and snow and cold were a definite part of the picture.

Having lived in Florida on and off since 1975, I still can't get used to Christmas without cold and snow. Last night we dodged rain storms (there was even a tornado near Kennedy Space Center last night) to hold our Christmas eve services. Instead of cold and white, fluffy snow there were torrential downpours and warm, humid air. Still, the services drew us back to the manger and the birth of our Savior (which, by the way, probably was not in winter at all). Christmas is not restricted to our expectations, but amazingly continues to transcend our attempts to standardize it. While I write this, the sky is bright and blue, the cold front is blowing all the clouds away and the temperature is approaching 60 F. But, I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas. I'm looking forward to the arrival of family, have enjoyed opening presents with Deb, Chris and Rachel and began the day with a devotion about the wise men who arrived a couple years later. We then carried out a tradition we started fifteen years ago by singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus after lighting all the Advent candles and the Christ candle on our coffee table. Joy to the world, the Lord has come! Would that our earth would quit all its foolishness and receive her King!

May all who read this have a very blessed Christmas and a very wonderful, Christ-filled New Year!

Ivan

P.S. I do need to rub in the fact that two days before Christmas I got to play golf in 75 F weather with beautiful blue sky wearing short sleeves. I didn't play well, but who cares on days like that at the beginning of Winter? I need reminders like that for me to remember why we moved to Florida from Colorado in November, 1975.