Thursday, December 24, 2015

Loving greetings, Christmas 2015



Seven precious young blessings

We greet you this Christmas in the name of Jesus, the one whose birth we celebrate.

Over the years our annual letter, and those from many of our friends, have become an opportunity for reflection on the old year, and anticipation of the days and months ahead. 

It’s just one year since we moved from our home of 30+ years in suburban Melbourne, to Kyneton in Central Victoria.  It was a *big* move!  And a good move!

One of my (Joy’s) mother’s ‘sayings’ was “Count your blessings!”.  We have many blessings, and today I will mention just a few.

We have been blessed with a lovely home that’s all on one level, which may be a significant feature as we get older and our bodies need repair work.  Our home is warmed in winter from the North-facing windows and a wood-burning stove, as well as central heat when we need it.  We enjoyed our first winter.  The house is also well protected against the summer heat, and we are thankful for the central cooling on very hot days.  It has become our daily custom to step out of the living room into the fresh morning air, cup of tea in hand.  We are thankful for the wonders of sunrise and sunset, changing seasons, and every other aspect of creation.

We have been blessed to have our family around us.  We are constantly thankful for the health and growth of each of the grand-children, and for their parents.

We have been blessed to have friends and family members visit us. 

We have been blessed to have a new community, getting to know folk who have accepted us into their lives.  We have joined the Presbyterian Church in Gisborne, a picturesque old place with a warm welcome.  We are looking forward to the establishment of the Presbyterian Church here in Kyneton.

We are experiencing drought at the moment, and have a system of pumping water from our little dam, into a 1000 litre drum on a trailer, and pumping it out to water the fruit trees and gardens.  On very hot days we have been going out to do the watering before breakfast.  We have been able to keep the fruit trees and a vegetable garden looking happy, with watering twice a week.  The little Bonsai trees need to be watered every day.

We have been blessed with good health, and are thankful.  I can say now that I needed to retire from midwifery practice – I had not realised what burnout was!  We would like to thank those who pray for us.  We are seeking to be faithful in our prayer for others.

This letter is to be posted on our blog http://joyandnoelannual.blogspot.com.au/  and we hope to have a suitable photo taken when we see our young ones for Christmas lunch, to add to the blog in due course.  Thankyou for the letters, cards, and electronic messages that we have received.  We wish you a happy and safe Christmas celebration, and continued blessing in the new year.

With love, Joy and Noel

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