A Warm Place

Happy New Year!  As I write this I'm using a computer in at the "Surfs Up" coffee shop.  The windows and doors are wide open.  I hear roosters crowing and many cars going by on Hwy. 115 as usual.  I'm wearing shorts and looking forward to more beach time today. 

It's been so good to be in a warm place for the past week.  It's been 85 and sunny most days.  But it's warm also in another way.  Toni and I are celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary here on the west coast of Puerto Rico -- and we're doing it WITH our kids Naomi, Dan and Jon.  Yes!  An anniversary celebration with the family. 

It's been great.  Last night we saw the new year in with them on the beach, 2 hours earlier and 80 degrees warmer than Minnesota.  Too bad we can't bring the warm weather home.  But we can bring the warmth of God's love everywhere... warmth that's meant to be shared with the world.

The warm and cozy security of marriage is not just about a couple who care for each other and want to be together.  The security and joy of marriage is about family.  It's about providing a place where new life is born and children are nurtured in love. 

That's God's plan.  We never live that plan perfectly, but still, because God gives so much love, we want to do the best we can.  With God's help, and according to God's plan, marriage and family can be a warm place of blessing.

Toni and I are so thankful for this blessing of family.  It's a blessing meant to be shared with the world.  Where families are broken, we pray for healing.  Where there is loneliness, we pray for welcome.  We're thankful for all who take in the homeless and hopeless, bringing them to a warm place of prayer and care.

We pray that all would experience, in one way or another, the warm and consistent love of family in 2010, knowing Jesus -- and, through Him, God's absolutely forgiving love.

http://www.equalsharing.com/