It's that time of year again! Need I say more? The stores are already decked out for the dark days of December making them a beautiful sight to the eyes. How many Christmas songs come to mind about the holidays - snowfall, holly, Christmas trees, reindeer and jingle bells. An exciting time for many. It also brings about a pressure to do it right, provide the best Christmas for the family and be joyful doing it all. For others, it is a time of mourning as they remember loved ones who have passed.

A dear, old friend texted me. She had questions about Orthodoxy. She was raised Catholic and has been Protestant over 45 years. We have known each other the same amount of time so she knows my journey and my joining the Orthodox church eight years ago after first attending a liturgy eleven years ago.

Sometimes, I forget to appreciate all that God has given to us. It's easy to get caught up in the minutiae of daily living and forget that He is at work all the time. We may not recognize God's visible and invisible work due to the worldly concerns and activities that press in on us. All things, living and inanimate, are here on earth by His design. God's abundant and everlasting love for each one of us on earth encompasses everything.