Goodbye Summer

Terri Reed here, coming up from my writing cave.  Can you believe the summer is almost gone?  School is just around the corner. At least for those of us with kids still going.  For the next two weeks we'll be rushing about, getting supplies, going through the closets and drawers to see what fits and what doesn't, then off to the stores to replenish the school wardrobes and passing on the outgrown outfits to friends with younger kids or donating to a local charity.  We'll be taking a short vacation over labor day weekend then school begins and another year is upon us.  I'm looking forward to the cooler weather of fall and all the activities of the season as well as, the changing color of leaves and fall foliage.
I'm also looking forward to the release of a novella, Rescuing Christmas will be out in November.
Until this you can still buy my May book Scent of Danger.

What are you looking forward to this fall?

Christmas Stories

by Debby Giusti

Each Christmas Eve, my family gathers around the tree and manger as my husband reads the Nativity Story from Luke’s gospel. Then we process through the house, carrying the baby Jesus, and knock on our closed bedroom doors that symbolize the times we have closed our hearts to the Lord. As we process, we sing Silent Night until, at last, we end up in front of the crèche and place the tiny baby in the manger. There we join hands, offer thanks for the past year and pray for God’s blessings in the year ahead.

That tradition is part of our family story, part of who we are and how we embrace Christ’s birth each year. I know all of you have traditions that are part of your family story as well.

Just as with scripture, our own stories are important. Our successes and failures, our struggles and joys reveal God’s mercy and love. In sharing our stories we better understand how the past shapes the present and gives meaning to the future, and that understanding draws us closer together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

This year, I encourage you to pick a person, perhaps someone you’d like to know better, meet for coffee and swap stories. I’m sure you’ll be richly blessed because of your sharing.

I hope you'll also share your Christmas stories with us today.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and all God's blessings in the New Year,

Debby Giusti
www.DebbyGiusti.com
www.seekerville.blogspot.com