Blessings

Genesis 49:26
"Your father's blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills."

As we get ready for Christmas, we are counting our blessings. They are too numerous to mention all of them, but here are a few:

* We are blessed by an amazing family. From Tammy's brothers, who elbowed each other to get in line first to see if they could be a bone-marrow match; to our wonderful parents, who raised us to walk with the Lord and still minister to us daily; to our two wonderful children, who have jumped in to help around the house and to take care of Tammy; to all of our other family members who have been praying for us, we have been carried through a difficult time.

* We are blessed by a great church family, who have been there in prayer, and in person.

* We are blessed by friends around the country who have been praying for us. We can't count how many people have offered to be tested to see if they are a match. The love and concern is very uplifting.

* We are blessed by co-workers, who care more about us than what we do in the office.

* Most of all, we are blessed by the relationship we have with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the reason we celebrate this season. He is the reason we exist. Our goal in this life is to glorify Him. We look forward to the day when we can see Him face to face.

In Philippians 1:15-26, Paul writes about serving the Lord in all situations, and being torn whether he wants to keep serving here or to see Jesus. Philippians 1:21 is our life verse: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." We don't desire to die, but we know that when that day comes, it will be even better than anything we've ever imagined.

Our prayer for you is that you have that same peace, whether you're facing a life-threatening illness or just the mundane everyday life. God bless you. Merry Christmas.