There is ice and snow in Tulsa! Welcome to the Christmas season.

Brent and Deanna - and the city of Tulsa for that matter, are "locked down" for an incoming winter storm so everything is closed up today; as a result Brent will not have access to his computer to share as he normally does. Wind chills this morning are 11 degrees (ironically, it was 65 in Indianapolis this morning) and there is a dusting of snow but they are expecting 8-12 inches of snow today. Hopefully this won't delay the closing on the house but it won't be easy to move in all of that snow.

Deanna wants you all to know how much she appreciated the messages of encouragement and birthday wishes yesterday -- it really brightened her day and made it special.

I had a long, annual phone conversation with an acquaintance of mine last night, his name is Tam. Tam has led a very unusual life which, as we joke every year, would make for a very interesting read if it were ever published. Each year there is more drama in a very real sense of the word. Suffice it to say Tam was wondering aloud why God is keeping him alive through all of this drama - he has been near death on several occassions due to various health issues (and physical threats of the human variety). Tam is a big man with a gruff exterior that hides a big, tender heart.

This friend has led a "colorful" life, one that most of us do not - nor in many cases would we want to - share the experiences and life that he has. He does however, profess a belief in God and at least some type of personal relationship. It is obvious that there are things in his life that could be different, maybe should be different, but as so many people do he feels he is "just being who God made me." For the first time in our annual visits he admitted that if he could go back and change his past he wouldn't hesitate to do so. He doesn't have many Christian friends because "they all want me to fit their mold" and because he doesn't, they tune him out (and therefor he has no place for them). He expressed his desire for them to just listen to him at times, to hear his heart.

I challenge each of us to think about the people we know who don't fit our mold of what a believer should be and then think and pray about how we react to and interact with them. Maybe they need to change things in their lives, their hearts, but maybe they really need us to just listen to them and encourage them. If we are willing to listen to them, then they are more willing to hear us when we share out of God's love. It is up to the Holy Spirit to change hearts but listening is one way we can act to water the planted seeds.

Happy Birthday to both Deanna and Brent and Brent, I hope you get your wish to both close and begin your move tomorrow.

With love,

Brad