Christmas letter 2010

This year has been a good one for me, affirming that the health problems I ran last year were just a few bumps on the landscape of my life, at least so far. It appears God has more work for me to do, as I was inspired in April to start writing a twice-weekly blog, Walking Religiously, to build a stronger following for my writings. It is seeing slow but steady growth, as I expected, and is leading me towards bigger things. A chance encounter with a fellow Valparaiso University alumni a month ago gave me an "in" with one of Christianity's top publishing houses. This could lead nowhere, or it could be an open door to the publication of three or four books very close to my heart that I have long wanted to see come into print. As God so moves...

On the personal side, a vacation trip with Sue, my youngest daughter, to southern Arizona for a week in October was a delightful and refreshing break from my usual routine. (Some of you already saw the posts I wrote about that trip: Arizona 1 and Arizona 2.) One of my grandsons works and lives there now, along with his bride. Which leads me to the other family news---actually two grandsons married lovely young women this past summer, and we are thrilled to have them join our family. We also attended a fun bridal shower in suburban Chicago one Saturday in July.

My children and grandchildren are well for the most part. Tim, who was critically injured in an auto accident two years ago, still needs back surgery but he's been promised he will get BadgerCare health insurance soon so he can finally go ahead with it. We are learning how painfully slow our country's helping system works for those who truly need a helping hand. My late husband Peter's last two siblings are going to be joining him soon, which is sad. Other than that, life is good and God has blessed us richly this year. My hope and prayer is that He will take you in good and enjoyable places in the new year ahead.

Praise and thanks to our loving Lord Jesus whose birth we celebrate next week,
Margaret/Peggy/mom/and grandma

P.S. See next Tuesday's post for the key, introductory chapter for what I hope will be my signature book as a writer. The title is "America: A Nation Struggling for Its Soul."

P.S. 2 Debbie, my middle daughter and house-mate, says "Hi!" to everyone.