Christmas 2008

Dearest Family and Friends,

As always, we are behind on our Christmas greetings; nevertheless, we wish you joy as you celebrate.

Due to the economy, our holiday shopping is minimal; and although Neil is busy with work, I’ve been relaxed, knowing I don’t have to fight the crowds for last-minute gifts, wondering what to buy for those hard-to-shop family members and friends!

The year has been busy for the Goddings. We were blessed to attend Calvary Chapel’s missions conference in Murrieta in January and spent a lot of time catching up with friends who are serving overseas. In March, we made the trek to the Sacramento area for our School of Worship retreat. A wonderful couple let us stay at their home, which is tucked away in the hills, so Luke and I enjoyed the cold weather and watched deer and various other animals on their property. In August Neil went to England for Creation Fest without the family. And although Mimi and Luke missed Daddy tremendously, we were blessed to know that he was able to minister and serve freely without the joyous constraints of chasing after a 3-year-old. We finished off the year with another worship conference in Murrieta. Luke had a wonderful time riding around on a borrowed motorcycle—plastic, of course—and swimming in the mineral baths at the conference center.

Luke is quite the character, and as Neil often jokes, he’s like a Doberman—he needs to be exercised for at least an hour or two a day☺ We are continually laughing at his silly faces, funny sayings, and crazy dance moves; and we are really enjoying watching him learn and mature. Currently, he’s a puzzle king and loves his cars, animal figurines, books, dot-to-dot, and his new bike. We’ve been dealing with the typical 3-year-old issues, but all in all, we are blessed to have such a fun-loving, happy little guy, and we pray every day that he will know the Lord at a young age and will serve Him all his days.

The big milestone of the year was Neil’s 40th birthday (12/15). I planned a surprise guys’ night out at a local Indian restaurant followed by Go-Kart racing at K1 Speed. He was truly surprised and blessed to spend some time in fellowship with good friends.

We love hearing from you all, so when you get a chance, please e-mail or drop us a note. We know so many are struggling financially and otherwise, so let us know how can we pray.

Merry Christmas!

The kindness and the love of God our Savior
toward man appeared.
In this the love of God was manifested
toward us, that God has sent His only begotten
Son into the world, that we might live through Him.
In this is love, not that we loved God,
but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Titus 3:4; Gal 4:4-5; 1 Tim 3:16; 2 Cor 9:15; Is 9:6)