International Christian Fellowship - Szeged

I kinda like the funky-ness of this photo!

Arden and Tanya....leading worship!

Franci speaking...yep, it's chilly in our meeting room!

Well, exams at the university have finished...many students have gone home until next week when the new semester starts. But we still had folks show up at ICF and more importantly, God showed up! We had a sweet time of worship and a wonderful young man, Francesco Azzeci, who is from Italy and is now married to one of my dearest Hungarian friends, Klari Takacs, spoke about the fruit of the Spirit!

It was a very good message...it's the Spirit working in us that produces fruit, but we have a part in that as well...it's called cooperation with the Spirit of God and not giving into the flesh! We are so blessed with so many here who are hearing from the Lord and bringing His truths into our lives at ICF!

Food costs

Have a look at the picture above. These are the items I bought at the local outdoor market this week. (In the plastic bag are two chicken breasts if you cannot tell) The reason I take this picture and blog about it is because of the cost of all these items. I did the truly thrifty thing and found the least expensive of everything, but still good fruit.

So...............the cost?

Have a guess before looking below.........................

In U.S. dollars......................

$22!

OUCH! Can you say expensive?????

Thoughts on Transition

Ok, ok, I know, I should get my own quotes...yes, I admit, I lifted this from Tom Foley's blog. But it's so very good and appropriate right now. Forgive me, Foley, for not asking first...hope you don't mind.... :-)

“… when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of changing, we are ripe for making a move. The emotions that we feel in response to what we have seen might be volatile during this time, but they serve a good purpose - they give us the energy and resolve to begin preparing to move in a new direction.” (Barton, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, p.91)

I would add that a very important quality to possess during times of transition is extreme flexibility and tolerance for a bit of chaos. As I sit here with piles and piles of bills from the past 5 years littering my living room, a box filling up with things for Foley to take back to the U.S. for me in two weeks time (that's also in the middle of my living room), I am learning in new ways how to live fully in the moment while also preparing for what's next.

U2 3D

I had a pretty cool experience tonight. A friend of mine went and saw the U2 3D film. We really felt like we were in the concert itself! I kept waiting, though, for Bono to jump off the stage and thus off the screen into our audience!

Strange..........

I just got a 'notice' from hotmail as I was sending out my prayer letter. It basically said I've sent too many emails in one 24-hour period and will have to try again in 24 hours to send any more emails. They say it's to cut down on junk mail, etc., and once I have "proved myself" that I am not sending junk mail, then things will change.

Can you say grrrrr......

I'm so glad that in my life with God, I don't have to "prove to Him" that I'm worthy; and I'm thrilled that He doesn't send me a message saying, "You've prayed too much today...check in with me tomorrow!"

Guess these little incidents can be teachable moments, huh?

I still say, grrrrrrr................

Consider this.....

....from Dietrich Bonhoeffer....

"God loves our enemies---the cross tells us that. God suffers on their account, feels anguish and sorrow because of them. God gave the beloved Son for them. That is the whole point every time we encounter enemies we remember at once: God loves them, God gave everything for them. Therefore, never be conceited. With respect to our attitude toward our enemies, this means first, remember that you were God's enemy and that, without having earned it or being worthy of it, you were met with mercy. It means second, remember that God hung on the cross for your enemy too..." (---from A Testament to Freedom p. 285-86)

Thoughts????

Grey days

It's been a pretty grey winter here in Szeged, the city of sunshine. In fact, when the sun does shine, I find myself squinting because it's a huge change. But whenever someone says, "Where is the sunshine?" I usually try to answer, "Oh, the sun is shining...above the clouds!" Of course I get a plethora of "oh, come on, that's lame."

But it's true...the sun is shining above the clouds...and we believers are called in our lives to rise above the clouds, the circumstances which may look grey, and fix our eyes on Jesus, whose light never ceases to shine. Rise up, I say, rise up!!

Thought from Henri J.M. Nouwen

I love this reflection...I'm writing my own book on freedom and forgiveness and this simply echoes what God is teaching me and what I hope to pass along to others!

Forgiveness, the Way to Freedom

To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, "I no longer hold your offense against you" But there is more. We also free ourselves from the burden of being the "offended one." As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God.


Share your thoughts on this reflection. These reflections are taken from Henri J.M. Nouwen's Bread for the Journey.

More pix from ICD

A view of these precious people from the front of the church!

The worship team....from Hungary, Bangladesh via Norway, Vietnam, and Nigeria!

What a sweet time of worship and fellowship in Debrecen this weekend!

International Church - Debrecen

Eva translating for me at ICD.

Hawk on a sign.

A hawk taking flight!

The city of Debrecen, Hungary is located in the north-eastern part of the country, close to the Ukrainian and Romanian borders. I have dear friends who live in this city and are a part of the International Church of Debrecen.

I was invited by this church to come and speak, and it was a precious time of worship and the Word in this multi-cultural congregation. My topic was "How big is your God? or Your God is too small." The main passage was 1 Samuel 8:4-21 with further discussion coming from John 6 and John 11. In the end, our challenge from the Lord is to see Him as the perfect king, provider, the God of the impossible and the only One who saves!

One of the neatest things Edith and I experienced on the road-trip from Szeged to Debrecen was a 3 -hour route lined with trees and numerous, numeous hawk sightings along the way! (KH, you definitely 'get' that picture!!!) In the natural, hawks have very sharp eyes and are keenly aware of all that is going on around them...and for us on a spiritual level, we too need to be so connected to the Holy Spirit that we are keenly aware of what God is showing us and teaching us!

International Christian Fellowship - Szeged

Erik, Chuucks and Toby enjoying fellowship time.

Samm, Cathy and Erik fellowshiping before we start!

Judit and Lorand...both former students of mine.

Edith Bond teaching.

An attentive group!

Andy on the mandolin and Erik on the guitar leading worship.

If you are interested in seeing a sort of "history" of our fellowship here, you can go to http://www.icf-szeged.com/

This Friday, as is pretty typical in a university community where the members of a fellowship are mostly university students, we had small numbers at ICF. We also decided to arrange the chairs differently, and huddled around the semi-warm radiators!

Edith Bond came from Debrecen to teach and did an excellent job on teaching about the gifts of the apostle.

I'm off this weekend to teach at the International Church in Debrecen....my message? "How big is your God?"

Hebrews 4:12

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)

I got to go to Budapest today to pray with brothers and sisters in Christ in the 24-hour prayer room there. When we finished and I was getting ready to leave, I turned and saw this picture and sword on the wall! I believe the painting was done by Csilla Prazsak, who paints and draws prophetically, and I learned the sword came from a prayer room in Detroit, Michigan.

Hungary and the U.S.....Hungarians and Americans.... joined in God's Spirit...worshiping Him and declaring His love, grace and mercy to the world!

Not sure Starbucks can compete with this!

Kati, Mari and Arden....can you pick out the American? Hee hee hee!!!

Isn't this a beautiful coffee?

Ah, european cafes.....

I am relishing these last 5 months in Hungary. This table spread at a local cafe, just a 10 minute walk from my house, is something I will certainly miss.

These two friends, whom I've known since 1991, will also be missed.

Shouldn't we relish every day, anyway?

Retirement funds in Hungary - just a picture to ponder

I had a conversation with one of my classes of seniors this week and the topic of how much retirees receive for their pension came up.

What the average Hungarian retiree gets is about $360/month. For policemen or firefighters, the average is about $639/month.

Now, some may think, "Well, the cost of living in Hungary is less than elsewhere....

So, only adding up my monthly bills for gas/electric/cable/water/internet, car insurance, cell phone, and gasoline, I pay, on average, approximately $495/month.

Were I to add in rent, food, clothing, household needs, cat food and cat litter, and enteratinment-----well....I definitely couldn't survive on the average Hungarian firefighter's retirement compensation.

It's no wonder then that extended families live together; in most working families, both parents work full-time jobs and still, it's challenging to make ends meet.

History

Regardless of your political beliefs, history has been made today with the first African-American President being sworn in to office.

Let us pray for him, bless him and his family, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God almighty is the One who is in control!

A few more pix from ICF

Erik, sporting his latest head covering! hee hee hee!!!

Sara and Erik...the happy couple!

Samm and Timea...yes, we're cold!

Bela and Rob, trying to stay warm!

Rebeka, one of my ninth grade students from Deak, who just started coming two weeks ago!

ICF - Friday at 7!

Kimberley, Cathy and Eszter.....trying to warm up next to the radiator!

Hannah George saying hello!

Regina enjoying chips, or as the British call them, crisps!

Sarah George is all smiles!

Kimberley, who turned 17 on Friday, and her beau, Sandor!

One of the "interesting" things we get to face each Friday night in the winter time is a very cold room to meet in, in spite of the fact that the heating is on. Our meeting room is very large and so the middle of the room stays quite chilly. We've decided to set up the room around the heaters next week...because as you can see from some of the pictures above, we are all pretty chilly by the end of the meeting!

We were blessed with a message from fellow missionary Rob George, who spoke on the gifts of administration and giving! We had a large turnout of young people...that is under the age of 16, which brought a new kind of energy!

Next Friday, Edith Bond will teach on the gift of the apostle! Can't wait!

More from Brennan Manning

"Christianity is not a message which has to be believed, but an experience of faith that becomes a message.

"Before discussing the nature of that experience, it must be noted that Jesus alone reveals who God is. He is the source of our information about transcendence/divinity. We cannot deduce anything about Jesus from what we think we know about God; however, we must deduce everything about God from what we know about Jesus. This implies that all of our prevailing images and understandings of God must crumble in the earthquake of Jesus' self-disclosure. Trust means the willingness to become absolutely empty of all terrifying and comforting images of God that we have held, so that the gift of God in Jesus Christ may come to us on God's terms." (Ruthless Trust p. 88)

Ah, once again the refreshing and necessary message that it is NOT about us....It's ALL about Jesus!

From "Ruthless Trust" by Brennan Manning

Going through books again....found this excellent quote....since I'm writing my own book now which is all about relationships, my heart is in tune with others' thoughts and ideas/reflections on relationships.

"As Merton noted, 'In our human relationships we have no need to identify others with their sins and condemn them for their actions: for we are able, in them also, to see below the surface and to guess at the presence of the inner and innocent self that is the image of God.' After such an experience in Thailand shortly before his death, Merton wrote in his journal, 'Everything is compassion; I am swimming in it.'"

Wow, don't we need the heart of our loving Heavenly Father to give us such a view about people and relationships!!!! Can I get an AMEN from anyone out there?

The Body of Christ

I'm on a fast-track with God. I love it! The past few years have been 'challenging' in ways I could never have imagined. Some of what has taken place, I could wish never would have happened; however, as I quiet my heart before the Lord each day, I can now say with confidence and joy, I am so very thankful for absolutely everything that has taken place...the good, the bad, the painful, and the ugly!


As I shared with someone just the other day, "It's all been grace upon grace...even the most hurtful, nasty things...grace upon grace." It's sort of like Joseph...a man destined for greatness in God, but the road he had to travel was riddled with challenges he could never have imagined. Yet Grace was there the whole way, guiding, leading and bringing him into his prophesied destiny!


Through all of what the Lord has allowed me to experience, the body of Christ has unfolded in new and interesting ways, BETTER and more amazingly than I could have ever asked or imagined! God's children are incredible, and those who have walked beside me in Christ-like, healthy ways, have renewed my hope in God's goodness, mercy, grace and love through His people!


Most importantly, they have pointed me to Jesus alone! And THAT fact is the primary function of the body of Christ----pointing one another to the author of life, our faith, our salvation, our sanctification, our healing....the author and finisher of everything in us!


Glory, glory, glory to the Lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come! Hallelujah!!!!

Friend street......and my best buds!

Simon in front and Toby behind....a peaceful moment between friends!

Friend Street!

I took a walk in the fall and came across this street sign. Translation: "Friend Street". I thought it would be cool to have an address on Friend Street.

The other picture is one of my best buddies in life...well, of the animal kingdom. Toby and Simon rarely sleep this way together cuz Simon is just plain mean toward Toby and usually chases him away from where HE wants to sleep.

Toby, on the other hand, is friendly with EVERYONE! He loves being the center of attention when I have guests, and he loves a houseful of people...that means more strokes!

Simon runs from everyone, even me most of the time. He will show up when HE wants to show up, and that's usually when I'm chilling on the bed.

Opposites...from whom I can see such human characteristics...we have to put up with both kinds of friends, don't we?

Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

I'm going back through the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero and reading my underlined parts. I came across this quote last night which is a challenge, I believe, for all of us!

"The call of emotionally healthy spirituality is a call to a radical, countercultural life. It is a call to intentionality, rhythm, and expectation of a life transformed by the risen Christ with the power to see through the illusions and pretense of our world." (p. 58)

I would "add" a thought here...it's a call to a radical life of seeking to hear, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, the very heartbeat of Father God regarding Himself, ourselves, our community, and the world.

It warmed up today, and other random thoughts

It warmed up to just above freezing today...but only after a night of sleet like rain which froze on all the streets and caused slipping, sliding, accidents and near misses! A friend of mine had to jump into a ditch on the side of a road while waiting for her bus because a car came sliding out of control off the road toward her!

I was squinting for the bright sunshine as I came out of the swimming pool this afternoon and realized it had been days without any sunshine. Amazing what a difference it makes in one's attitude!

We are giving grades this week...first semester is now over. I hate this part of teaching. However, in ALL of my classes, I only gave one 3 (which is equivalent to a C) and the rest were 4s and 5s (like Bs and As)! I do enjoy teaching students who are motivated...unfortunately, those are becoming more and more rare, even here in Hungary. I have some of those, "I'll do just enough to get by" kinds of students and it is challenging...but I love them anyway.

Some of my colleagues are thinking of going abroad next year to work. Financially, this country is truly hurting and a hard-working person trying to support a family is hardly able to do so, even with 1 1/2 full-time jobs! The economic crisis has hit everywhere, hasn't it?

Well, enough of random thoughts for today....

I love it!

This was the single job interview question a friend of mine was asked by Jill Austin:

"Do you like to have fun?"

I love it!

A quote from Jill Austin's funeral

Jill Austin's funeral was today in Kansas City. It was celebratory in a wonderful way with laughter and tears, worship and words!

A question Jill once asked one of her close friends jumped out at me:

"How well do you know Holy Spirit?"

If I'm honest, not well...and if I'm even more honest, I WANT to know Holy Spirit more than anything else!

Excellent sermon

I listened to a sermon online by Bill Johnson out of Redding, CA. A point he made jumped out at me and had me thinking and praying for quite a while.

His point is in connection with dealing with offense. i.e. when somebody hurts you in some way and you take offense. (He was talking about believers dealing with other believers.)

"Where we have to go with God, we have to go there clean, without a spirit of offense. Today, though, anger and resentment often masquerade as a passion for holiness. People are washing their hands as fast as they can so they have no association with that fallen individual. They are somehow wanting to cleanse their name from any connection to that person or those people. This is a frantic thing to appear clean, when Jesus did everything BUT that."

As I allowed these words to penetrate my heart, God reminded me of this verse:

"They will know you are my disciples by the way you love one another." (John 13:35)

Cold weather and new friends

Here's a pic of a new friend as we were FREEZING in Szenchenyi ter in Szeged, Hungary. Michelle Maslowski, an American, is playing professional basketball here in Szeged with the women's team. Nice to have another tall woman in town, and now maybe I'll get out to see some games.

Just in case you missed it on facebook or on my skype account, IT'S COOOOLLLLDDD HERE....MINUS 7 DEGREES CELCIUS....that's below freezing for those of you on farhenheit (sp?) temps, and it's been this way for over a week now. BRRRRRR!!!!!!

International Christian Fellowship on Friday

Tamas and Judit.

Timi and Dora.

Bela.

Fellowship time.

oops, it wasn't this direction when I loaded it....sorry.

Well, I kinda forgot to take pictures on Friday evening at our fellowship. I snapped these few after the meeting as folks were fellowshipping. But there is a good story behind the Milka chocolate bar...

I was at school last week and went to our bufe....this is where students and teachers can buy everything from coffee to candy-bars, to sandwiches and pizza slices. So, I spied this NEW Milka chocolate bar and on it it says (if you can read it) "Chocolate cream and chili". My first reaction was: EEEEWWWWW, thus demonstrating my simplistic, unsophisticated chocolate knowledge. Little did I know that most very fine chocolates are made with various spices, and chili is one of the most popular.

Needless to say, my curiosity overcame me and I bought one to try. WOW, is it good! My chocolate loving friends tell me that dark chocolate and chili is much better than with milk chocolate. Always learning....

Anyway, I used this bar of chocolate, or at least the wrapper of it, as a lead in for my talk on the spiritual gift of prophecy on Friday night. How many of us hear about certain spiritual gifts, and like me with the chocolate, immediately dismiss them or get weirded out by them because we've never experienced them or they are very strange?

The Lord longs to bless us with His gifts, for His glory, to build up His people! Paul admonishes all believers to "Follow the way of love, and EAGERLY DESIRE SPIRITUAL GIFTS, especially the gift of prophecy!" (1 Corinthians 14:1).

The questions for me and for maybe some of you is this: Don't I want EVERYTHING that the Lord wants to give me? Am I EAGERLY DESIRING all that He wants to pour out in me and through me, for His glory?

Jill Austin went home to be with Jesus

Jill Austin ministering in Belgium.

Pray for grace for Jill Austin's family as they grieve. Jill went home to be with Jesus Friday night at 9:48 p.m.

A new urgency in prayer for Jill Austin

Please continue to pray....see blog below for details.

Update: 01/09/09, 7:00 am PST: Jill's blood pressure is down to 30 and her kidneys are beginning to fail. Pray, pray, pray fervently for a miracle.

Pray for Jill Austin

Jill Austin speaking at a conference in Belgium, November, 2008

Jill Austin, an amazing woman of God who moves powerfully in the prophetic annointing, is today fighting for her life in an IC unit.

I've heard Jill speak twice and have had a personal conversation with her...she loves Jesus with all her heart, soul, mind and strength and desires to see people set free in their relationships with Him!

Join us in praying for her FULL RECOVERY, in Jesus' name, for His glory!

Sad, sad, sad........

I was watching CNN yesterday evening, and on the rolling ticker at the bottom of the screen, I read this:

"U.S. porn industry seeks federal bailout money."

I couldn't believe my eyes....so I waited til the next 'round' of rolling tickers to come across the screen because I thought, "There's no way I read that correctly!"

However, there is was again. I'd read it correctly. It will be a sad, sad day in America when the federal government uses tax-payer dollars to bailout the pornography industry.

Do the words Sodom and Gommorah ring any bells?

Lord, help us to see ourselves and our own sin, our own rebellion, our own hearts, and lead us into repentance, in Jesus' name!

Teaching idioms

Teaching after Christmas break and before the end of the semester is somewhat challenging for me. So, I pull out the books of idioms which are fun for the students, and for me....some of their favorites:

Hit the nail on the head.

Agree to disagree.

Take the bull by the horns.

To get a clue.

To take a stand.

Monkey business.

These expressions we native speakers take for granted are challenging for some of my students...I got to thinking about how we communicate the message of God's love to people.

Do we use such Christian slang that people "outside the holy huddle" can't really grasp what we're saying? May 2009 be a year when God gives us His words to communicate His message that comes not with clever words, but with power!

The cold brings warmth

It's COOOOOLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDD here in Hungary! Below freezing most of the time and so my cats, Toby and Simon, show little interest in going outside. Instead, they show much interest in sitting on my lap or curling up right next to me on the bed or sofa!

Maybe they are selfishly more affectionate...that's ok.

Maybe we need to be "selfishly more affectionate" in our relationship with God, and curl up more often with Him and let Him love on us!

Roadrunner

up close and personal with a roadrunner!

I wasn't quite sure what this little roadrunner was going to do as he came strutting toward me!

Resting on the chair!

Sunning him/herself?

Ok, now I'm really dating myself. Do any of you remember the cartoon "The Roadrunner"? Alright, admit it, you just went "Beep, beep!" and started singing, "Roadrunner, you can catch him if you can", or however the song goes.

Well, this bird is an actual bird, and one comes to visit my parents' back patio quite often. A week ago we were sitting inside packing up Christmas gifts when lo and behold this little guy made himself comfortable on my folks' lounge chair on their patio.

I went outside to take more pictures, and while I tried not to startle him, he indeed got startled, but did a very odd thing in my opinion. He jumped down off the chair and started coming TOWARD me. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just stood, a bit frozen in my tracks and tried to click some pictures as fast as I could cuz he was living up to his name and running rather quickly. He came within about 2 feet of my feet and then jogged off into the bushes of the neighbor's house.

Later, I began thinking about how amazing it is when 'nature' makes its way into our lives...birds alight near us, butterflies rest on flowers or on our shoulders, coyotes come jogging across my folks' back yard, roadrunners sit on their patio chairs, etc. We are intrigued by them; often we stop what we are doing to observe them, take in their beauty and watch what they are doing; we grab cameras to capture the moment so we can remember the amazement of seeing wild beauty right up close to us; and often, we get very quiet so as not to startle the animal.

What about when God draws close to us...which, according to the Bible, He is continually moving toward us in love...what do we do? Do we stop what we are doing to observe what God is doing? Do we take in His beauty? Do we long to capture the moment in our journals or even just our hearts so we can remember the amazement of seeing His wild beauty drawing near to us? Do we get quiet in His presence to be able to hear His voice?

I'm humbled by the reality that I will quickly stop whatever I am doing to observe a roadrunner, but so often, when it comes to God showing up, I act like a roadrunner and dash away. Do I ever say, "Oh yea, it's just another roadrunner or another butterfly or another eagle...no biggie."? No way! I'm always newly intrigued, newly captured by the beauty and complexity.

However, I sometimes find myself saying, "Oh yea, it's God..." forgetting that He is the most amazing, beautiful, wonderful, intriguing being in the universe!!!!

Finally, does this lackadaisical attitude flow over into my relationships with people, God's highest and most precious creation of all? Do I just say, "Oh yea, it's so and so...I don't really need to pay much attention to him/her. It doesn't really matter how I treat him/her...here today, gone tomorrow."

How sad that at times, I will pay more attention to the roadrunner, than I will to my family or friends, or even more importantly, to God.

New wine

I flew home to Hungary on Dec. 30, 2008. My seat was in the first row in economy class directly behind business class. The plane was jammed full and I was reading a book when I looked up to see a woman with a back-pack, another carry-on bag and a baby in a car-seat struggling to walk up the aisle. She was only able to sort of 'shuffle' up the aisle and I looked around and saw many watching her struggle.

Before I knew it, I was out of my seat, and quickly asked her as I reached out for the car-seat if I could help her. She looked at me with grateful eyes and told me her seat number...which was clear in the back of the plane. I received some interesting looks from people on the plane...I'm not sure why...maybe because she and I were clearly of very different nationalities...or maybe some other reasons...it doesn't matter.

She was very, very grateful and my heart went out to this woman travelling alone with a tiny baby and large bundles.

I don't share this story to toot my own horn....because I can take zero credit for leaping out of my seat like I did. That credit goes to the Holy Spirit within me whose heart is FOR people in need. I also share this because of what happened later.....

Dinner was served a couple of hours later, and on most international flights, all drinks are free. I sometimes enjoy a nice glass of wine with dinner, so I asked for one. The flight attendant said, "A glass of wine is 6 euros." I then changed my mind and asked for water. About two minutes later, the flight attendant from business class came walking up and handed me a small glass of wine, smiled and turned back to her duties in business class. I mustered a surprised "thank you", and wondered what that was all about.

Gently and quietly, I believe God was giving me this small gift...a glass of 'new wine' as an act of His amazing grace. Maybe that flight attendant saw me helping that woman with her baby and this was her way of saying thank you. But here's what the Lord spoke to my heart:

"I paid the price...I turned water into wine to celebrate a wedding feast...I love you because you are My bride, and I want to pour My new wine into you in this new year...just receive from Me!"

I love when God shows me in the natural His passion for me and for His children. I pray His new wine pours into and through you every day of this new year, that you can hear His promptings and receive every blessing He longs to pour out to you by His amazing grace!

Happy New Year!

Some of my fav Christmas pix

All 4 siblings together for the first time in YEARS!

Danna.........stay away from the stuffing!!!!

Dad, relaxing with a glass of wine!

There's nothing like family!

Zack and Brooke!!!

Here are some favs of mine!