Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on Earth to all whom God favors."
Luke 2:14
Wishing you a Blessed Christmas Eve and Joyous Christmas Day from snowy Wisconsin.
I chose the verse above because this year I feel that I have an extra special reason to give Glory to God in the highest heaven.
Here is my Blessings (Gratitude) List for Christmas 2008
1. The end to a highly emotional and physically draining 22 month divorce.
2. The move to Appleton from Wisconsin; our beautiful new home and my wonderful job at Kimberly-Clark.
3. Our faithful and ever present Lord who spared my life and along the way is showing me to be bold about shouting HIS name out loud.
4. The slow recovery of my eye. (More below...I am celebrating HIS Good News and the good news He is giving me this holiday!)
5. For all the meal support, monetary gifts and prayers I received during my surgery and recovery.
6. The birth and already 3 visits with my new nephew, Baby James Steven. He is incredibly handsome and so strong. We love to watch him grow.
7. My brother, Ryan and his wife, Courtney and Baby James for flying home during my recovery.
8. My parents. Their support, love and constant help throughout my life, but especially in the past 22 months.
9. My dear and challenging 3 year old twins, Anna and William. They make me a better person everyday as I continue to learn as I try to train them up in the way they should go.
10. To 2009 and His plan -- I am excited to see how it continues to unfold.
On Monday, the optometrist I saw told me I should be doing the "Happy Dance" in regards to my eye. I thought to myself, I definitely would raise my arms and praise God for his awesome work and also do the "Gratitude Dance" with my children when I got home. My eye started to open about 1/4 of the way last Friday --it now opens nearly 1/2 way and 3/4 way in the morning after a good nights rest. Since it can voluntary open and I can "force" it open and to "blink," she found this very good news for less than 2 months of recovery. The other good news is, that there are several ways once it is open that they can restore my vision. At the office visit, we closed my good eye and held up a lens as I lifted my eye -- with this lens I could see 20/20.
Although the eye at this point only looks straight ahead, this doctor does therapy for the eye to work on aligning it with the other eye and strengthening the nerves as they heal. She is the only one in the area, so I feel grateful to have found her. My eye continues to open each day; as soon as it is open she will either fit me with a contact lens or glasses so I can have my vision back in both eyes. The aligning and increased movement will take time, but truthfully this is better news than I expected. Even if I had to live with no improvement in the eye and just look through a lens, I would consider this my miracle. Any improvement, which is expected, is just a Gift from God.
I have so many reason to praise His name this Christmas. Many more than the 10 above. I hope you all are praising His name this Christmas, despite any year's burdens and set backs. He is our wonderful counselor and His works are above anything earthly we can imagine. Give ALL your Glory to His name and he will Bless you.
Blessing to all of you and your families from us.
With love, Claudine, Anna and William
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