Luke 2:8-14

Merry Christmas from the Barone family!

May you remember what Christmas is all about and stand in awe of His fathomless love.




Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

I Corinthians 14:18

Sometimes we are concerned about the negative impact deputation will have on our girls. It is so hard to maintain consistency with routines and disciplines. Sometimes God reminds us that He is in control. Yesterday He reminded us...

We were about to pray before our meal when Natalia said, "I pray!" We were not really sure if she was asking to pray or stating the fact that we were about to pray.

Unsure of these unchartered waters we asked, "Do you want to pray?" Natalia replied with an emphatic, "YES!"

Honestly, we were not sure what was about to follow, if anything. Natalia then closed her eyes and started praying. It was one of those once in a lifetime moments that a parent gets to experience. With tears in ours eyes, Pappa grabbed the camera while she was praying...

The following is the end of what transpired...



This was the first time she had ever tried to pray! This was worth the sleepless nights and the times we think we have no idea what were are doing. May the Lord continue to help us shepherd her heart.

Proverbs 24:27

Every time we are preparing for a meeting, Erika always makes a big deal out of packing. It is like an Olympic event to her. She has all these silly checklists of things to pack. She constantly encourages me to do the same, however what is the big deal?

All we need to bring for…

Natalia and Ellia are things like:

• Several outfits – for both warm southern weather and cool Rochester
• Shoes
• Diapers – lots of them
• Books and toys for Natalia to play with
  

As for Erika:

• The usual clothes
• Hair products and makeup
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• At least a few pairs of shoes for each color in the rainbow
  

Then Michael:

• General guy stuff – piece of cake

Erika does all the packing. All she asks is that I get all my stuff out I need her to pack. Then she puts everything in the suitcase so that it is nice and neat. It really is a good system.

So there we were all the way in Miami, unpacking our neat, organized suitcases at 10:30 pm. Suddenly, with a quiet, concerned voice I asked, “Honey, did you pack my ties?”

Erika: “Well, of course. I mean, I packed everything you got out for me. I did not miss anything.”

Michael: (with even more concern) “Honey, that is the problem. I do not think I got them out for you to pack.”

10:30 at night...
…church in the morning…
and no ties.

…not good when you are a Baptist!

In utter disbelief, I began asking questions like, “Does Walgreen’s sell ties?" and "What about that Hess gas station down the road?” Erika just stood there fighting back the “I told you so” and also trying not to laugh at the thought of me wearing a tie I bought at Walgreen’s.

It was not a pretty situation. Let’s just say that humbly borrowing a tie from the male of your host home is not a fun feeling. I will put more thought into packing from now on. Next time, I will have a checklist.