SPOTLIGHT ON BRIGITTE!
Hello Everybody!
Everybody off and running? Life is slowly returning to normal around the Morris household. Routine schedules are kicking in, and in a way, that's a comforting thought. The past several weeks of celebrating, visiting, eating, singing, and in so many ways enjoying the love of friends and relatives, are winding down. So far, the resolutions are not in effect, but there's still hope. There are only a few more Hershey kisses lying around, and once they're gone, all evidence of sugar should be gone - except for a few cookies that remain from the humongous tin that Brigitte sent! (Brigitte is a wonderful lady who lives in the Chicago area, and she sent a monster-sized tin of assorted cookies early in December!) What on earth was she thinking! Obviously, she had a weak moment, because she is fully aware of our stature - and, well, size - to be very specific! Seems there is always one more layer of those delicacies to uncover, all sorted into little cupcake-type holders, screaming, "Take me!!!" It would be so wasteful to simply toss them, right? So, we'll see. Gonna take a lot of walking to walk off those cookies!
It might be of interest to many of you, that Brigitte (who immigrated from Germany in the early 60s) and my brother Claude Gray were married many years ago when he was a young aspiring country music star in Nashville, Tennessee. (He reached that goal and still enjoys playing and singing with his trusted guitar)
Claude and Brigitte parted ways a few years later, and life took a different direction for each of them, especially for Brigitte. Years later, she married a wonderful man and she now has a devoted son and grandson. Her husband passed away a few years ago, and recently, through a very unusual circumstance she and Claude have resumed communicating with each other. 35 or so years passed, and one day her son was looking for information on the artist, Claude Monet. While doing his Internet search, other " Claudes" popped up, and among them, Claude Gray's website! http://www.claudegray.com/ Surely, this could not be THE Claude Gray to whom she was married once upon a time! But it was. What a coincidence, if one believes that things "just happen". At any rate, a wonderful friendship has resumed, and, of course, we in Claude's family are enjoying being in touch again with Brigitte after so many years. So, if our waist lines are thickened, perhaps we can blame it on Brigitte and her co-conspiracy with Hickory Farms cookies! A million of them! Hickory Farms really outdid itself this time! Works for me, though! Any excuse will do, right? Certainly isn't due to my lack of discretion! Thank you, Brigitte!
Today Brigitte called to extend good wishes for the new year' and to remind me that she will be sending me post cards while on her extended cruise to South America and other points of interest. She's a delightful person, owns a travel agency in Skokie, Illinois, and loves to tell you about her darling grandson!
Last year Brigitte invited my sister Bea to accompany her on a trip to Germany. That was a most interesting trip, and Bea was excited to meet many of Brigitte's family members. They had a very enjoyable time, and Bea especially enjoyed seeing many beautiful places in addition to sharing good times with Brigitte's family members. I'm not sure Bea's command of the German language improved significantly, however! 
It's certainly over my head!
I promised Brigitte I would definitely feature her on my blog, and I thought it would be fun to spotlight her first thing this year. Several months ago we were privileged to have Brigitte and Claude for a brief visit in our home. And, it will take years to catch up on all the events, twists and turns that occurred in all of lives, but for now, we're making a good start! She calls me frequently, and always ends our conversation, with, "Be sure to tell that little rolly poly hubbie hello!" Below is a recent photo of Brigitte. Don't you think she looks much too young to be a grandmother?
One of the greatest blessings in our lives is staying connected to our friends and family in Kentwood, LA. This is largely due to the efforts of Anna Lee Alford, who for many years has faithfully - every day - posted praises, prayer needs, death notices, and all sorts of news items to the website: theprayerlink.com. I don't think Anna Lee ever sleeps! She is up before the crack of dawn every day putting the latest news on her website! She always includes a wealth of inspirational material and scriptures of how God is working in the lives of so many people.
So, today I am "borrowing" a segment from Anna Lee. She regularly posts articles written by Alan Smith, a Church of Christ pastor in Fayetteville, NC.. I thought this one was especially good and very relevant to those who may be making resolutions. Here you go; read it thoughtfully. I am going to try to remember the lessons from this when circumstances want me to go into a "jerk" over some inconsequential matter:
FAILED RESOLUTIONS
At the beginning of a New Year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ New Year’s resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. “Why weren’t my resolutions posted?” She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk.
As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.
It has been said that “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Perhaps we should add one more thing to that list of certainties — the breaking of New Year’s resolutions! Looking back on 2008, you may be one of the fortunate ones who accomplished exactly what you hoped to accomplish during the year. But, if you’re like most of us, you didn’t read all the way through the Bible like you intended to, you quit smoking but only for a while then picked up the habit again, or you lost a few pounds only to put them back on again when your diet failed. After experiencing this failure year after year, a person tends to say to himself, “What’s the use? Why even bother to try to make these changes?”
As an old Chinese proverb puts it, though, “Failure is not falling down. Failure is not getting back up.” Or as the Japanese put it, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” If there are areas of your life that you’ve tried to improve and failed, let this this be the month that you try again. And if you fail this month, get up and try again next month. Learn from your mistakes and become stronger. God does not turn his back on the Christian who fails (if you question that, you need only look at the story of Peter’s denial of Christ). However, He cannot help the Christian who refuses to try any longer.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hearts, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded….Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:7-8,10)
If you have made a resolution to develop a habit that will bring you closer to God or a resolution to get rid of a habit that is pulling you away from God, may God bless you with the strength to accomplish your goal. And, if you should stumble on your journey, may He pick you up and dust you off so that you can continue on the long journey of becoming like Christ.
Have a great day! Alan Smith;
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Velta
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