Happy New Year!

Welcome 2007. It's not that I am especially fond of 2006. It was a decent year, but it's now history and life goes on. How does the old song go? "Another day older and deeper in debt." Technically I came out ahead, but when you factor in inflation and the fact my salary has not kept up with inflation since before 9/11 the belt is a little tighter - but by God's grace the only debt I do have is the mortgage on my home. The one thing about being on vacation is that it really is revitalizing. Granted I do not always get a lot of rest, but it's a change of pace. A chance to get away from the daily grind and just be with family. I only got on-line once while away and that was to respond to an 'urgent' e-mail. no blogging (which I really enjoy doing)... not story writting... no Hiku writting... and the only e-mail I looked at was on the cell phone so that I could trim the in-box. Man I missed it. Lol... :) So many things happened in the past week and a half... We had a nice visit with my brother in law and his family and learned a new card game (golf), enjoyed a Christmas Eve service at church (the first in memory since having children), had a very nice Christmas at home with just me and my family, spent times with friends that we've not had a chance to keep up with the past year, spent time with the kids playing games and going to the movies, the Panthers were officially eliminated from the NFL playoffs this year. I could easily make a several thousand word post, but it would all ramble together and not make much sense. Not to me, and especially not to anyone who might 'stumble' along this little blog. I am looking forward to catching up with the blogs I read regularly, and I am praying that each of you had a wonderful and Merry Christmas. May God bring to each of you a peace and joy filled year in 2007. God Bless you all. Verse for today: Philippians 3:7-16, ESV But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.