The Carpenter Christmas Letter

Well, here's a copy of our Christmas letter that we sent out to a number of people. If you didn't get it, take a look. Also, if you ever want some pics of our little girl as she grows up, then feel free to e-mail us and we'll send you a link to some pics that we have on shutterfly.

Which Holiday is better? Christmas or Thanksgiving? Mitch Albom wrote a great essay on Thanksgiving and why it’s the best holiday of all. He writes of Thanksgiving, “It is, to me, exactly what a holiday should be. For one thing, there are no gifts. You never have to worry about what to get someone for Thanksgiving or how much to spend. There are no lectures about "greed" or "commercialization" or how we're "forgetting the spirit" of Thanksgiving. No way. The spirit of Thanksgiving is eating. Who could forget that?” His article is pretty convincing and I’m almost inclined to pick Thanksgiving as my favorite holiday too, but I’m a pastor so my profession prohibits me from doing so. ☺ Despite this, I still think there is some merit in keeping Christmas as your favorite holiday. Now I know everyone is at different points on their spiritual journeys, and I want to be sensitive to those celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanza etc…(I also realize this isn’t even an issue for our friends abroad), but I still want to commend Christmas as a holiday worth celebrating (even if you do leave it as your second favorite). Why? Well, as we begin the holiday craziness there is an expectation that is built until the day finally arrives (especially if you have kids). I believe a similar longing and expectation is mirrored in every one of our souls, as we desire for things to be made right, where there is no more suffering, heartache, or injustice. Christmas, I believe, celebrates not only this longing, but also the fulfillment of this longing. As a Christian, I look back to what took place on that day 2000 years ago, and it is this event that allows me to look forward with hopeful expectation that things will be set right. I hope you’ll be able to join Ashley, Natalie and me in this celebration.

As for us, (if you haven’t heard) we’ve made our move back to the U.S. from London this past August. We’ve settled in well in Ft. Lauderdale. Our little girl is 6 months old and is a great joy to us. She is a very happy baby who is eating solids, sitting, and crawling backwards, so Ashley has her hands full. Ashley is also working part time from home with PBS&J (the engineering firm that she used to work for). I’ve started work with CityChurch and things are going well. CityChurch has been worshipping publicly for almost a year now and continues to move forward, but please continue to pray for us.

This has been a huge year for us and we thank you for supporting us through it. We wish you peace and love and happiness for 2007.

Love from the Carpenters