Merry Christmas from Mitford (almost!)

Dear Friends and Family,

I hadn't sent an update in awhile from our outpost in North Carolina and wanted you all to know we are not just alive and well, but happy and thriving.

If you are familiar at all with the Mitford books by Jan Karon, you would find many parallels between that made-up community and this real one. We are on the coast of North Carolina and not in the mountains but the town itself itself is so like her concept that sometimes I think she must have stayed here for awhile. We have a local restaurant that everyone here calls "The Grill." It's real name is the Country Kitchen, or something like that, but we all just call it the Grill. It is the place to go on Sunday after church for fried chicken, collards and potato salad. But on Saturday night, it's seafood night and they have the BEST hush puppies and fried oysters I have ever eaten (Sorry, Tister, I know you are the king of hush puppies in KY).

We have a local grocery store that is a little shabby around the edges but if you know the right folks, they cut the thickest and best rib-eye steaks around. The word is to never pick up what's in the case but to ask for the steaks to be cut fresh. And boy, is that worth it! In order to get back to the meat case, you have to walk through the crowd of men that sit around in the front of the store. They won't let you by without a little conversation and usually some good natured teasing. They are still asking me if I have gotten any more good deer (since I hit a huge buck in my car). But these are the same men that not only changed my tire to the spare when I had a flat but had to be talked out of taking the tire into Washington for me to have it fixed or taking me to Washington to a meeting so I could leave my car in the shop. Good guys, and one of them in our new Lay Leader here at the church. :)

The town is so small that I wouldn't even need a car if the parsonage was in Bath but since we are a couple of miles out of town, I am not giving up my car yet. The surrounding area is a lot like kentucky. One of the families in the church owns a riding stable and we have been riding several times. I still miss my horses but Jim's are a close second. There is even a black and white horse that could be Paint's brother. His name is Thunder and I really enjoy riding him. Soon on our church website Dean will probably post the picture of the 'horse' Jim found for me. But, Bible references aside, donkeys really aren't my thing. :)

If you remember, in the Jan Karon books, Father Tim and his wife, Cynthia, go up and sit on a stone wall that overlooks the valley to watch the sunset. They call the view the "Land of Counterpane." Here, Dean and I go down to the river, out on Warren and Irene's pier and watch the sunset. The breeze kicks up about sundown and when the weather is warm, the fish literally jump. Davey Burbage, Jr. is still teasing me about my amazement over that. He called me 'Jumpin' Mullet Sorg" for about a month.

Someone told me when we moved down here that there are still four seasons here: Almost Summer, Summer, It's Still Summer and Christmas. Well, here we are at Christmas, it's 70 degrees and I have spent Derby Days that are colder than it is here now. We have seen some snow but it doesn't seem to accumulate and it's just warmer somehow. Maybe it's the Gulfstream that is just 60 miles offshore here.

I'm not sure that we'll send out Christmas cards this year. I am counting the days until Mark and Sarah are here and we are all together. We have a real tree for the first time in years. It will be wonderful to look out from the pulpit on the 21st and see my children's faces.

I hope this email will go a little ways toward you all knowing that we are thinking of you and praying for you. I found a box of last year's cards with the picture of the horse barn and all the snow. God has certainly moved in a mighty way this year and looking back, I am amazed at how all of our lives have unfolded.

My prayer for all of us is that we stay open to the adventure, that we let the past serve its purpose of reminding us where we've been but that we don't let it define who we are and that we live into the reality that repentance and forgiveness are the foundation stones for what it means to be truly human, the way God intended us to be in the first place.

Go in peace to love and serve the Lord, my friends. And God bless us every one.