Breaking away from my caregiver tips and ideas today to share with you an exciting celebration in our home today, Saturday, November 23.

We were married in a blizzard in Joplin, Missouri, on January 13, 1979. Knowing the near certainty of bad weather in January, we reasoned it would be more practical to have an early celebration while the weather was still warm. Beautiful fall colors adorned the sunny hillsides as I sent out formal invitations decorated with snowmen. We cleaned the house, from the carpets to the porches and beyond. We anticipated the green hillside filled with romping wee ones and a campfire going for hot dogs and s’mores.

Carrying out the winter snowman theme, we purchased a variety of large snowmen to adorn the property. Some we attached to the utility shed, propped them on the front fence and near our big trees by the road.  Cans of fake snow were ready to mix for a touch of reality on the walkways and around the snowmen. (Did you know you could buy cans of snow? God found these for us but then that’s another story!)

Inside the house we unpacked my dozens of cute snowmen and decked the halls.  We were giddy as the little kids as we enthusiastically decorated and planned. Snowmen adorned the fireplace mantel, every shelf and table in sight. Large snowmen had  messages of encouragement and hope  on their scarves.

Are you ready for this?  It turned bitter cold here in SW Missouri, windy and frigid; one forecaster suggested a possibility of snow. All of the leaves turned brown and fell to the ground. Hoping to make the best of a bad situation, hubby made some big piles of leaves for the kids to play in. However, the cold was followed by rain, a day and a half of rain and wind.  The high for the day was to be 37 degrees.

It was still a blast for us to prepare for our family as we reminisced and rejoice over 35 miraculous years together.

We were concerned about making Jesus more personal to our family and friends without sounding preachy. We designed a short skit revealing how God was personally at work in each of our lives through the years. These are the truths we hoped to convey to our family:

1. Although we did not always follow Him in our lives, Jesus never left us.

2. After we each lost our first mates, God clearly drew us together to form a  family.

3. Jesus wants a real, personal relationship with everyone.

4. Church is not our “job”. We do what we do because of the love of Jesus. We love the church because Jesus loved it.

The little skit opened up some real, serious communication between us and our children. It was amazing to sense God at work in such a simple, non-threatening way of talking about our faith.

Whatever your situation, my earnest prayer for each of you is that you will recognize from this article how personal God wants to be in your life. I’m thankful for my family and friends and each of you who have taken time to allow me into your world for a few minutes each week.

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