It’s been great having all our chicks back in the nest for a couple of weeks! We all drove down to Virginia Beach to celebrate Christmas with my brother and his wife last week. My Dad was also able to drive down. It was a blast as always. The weather was amazing for December! In fact, we actually went down to the beach on Christmas Day. (Laurie opted for nap on the couch in the quiet house while we were gone.)

It was nice to be able to get away for a few days. I laugh almost non-stop whenever Turk and I spend any amount of time together. Between his antics and me constantly teasing my sister-in-law, everybody ends up with an evening of free entertainment. It was time rich in what matters most – relationships.

Along with laughing and eating and relaxing, I also did some reading. A good friend gave me as a Christmas present, John Eldredge’s newest book, Walking with God. I’m about 75 pages in and really enjoying it. Here’s an especially good snippet to whet your appetite:

We are invited to become followers of Jesus.
-----Not just believers. Followers. There is a difference.
-----Follower assumes that someone else is doing the leading. As in “He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. . . . He goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice” (John 10:3-4). The Bible invites us to an intimacy with God that will lead us to the life we are meant to live If we will follow him.

-----“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; / I will counsel you and watch over you” (Psalm 32:8). God promises to guide us in the details of our lives. In fact, the psalm continues, “Do not be like the horse or the mule, / which have no understanding / but must be controlled by bit and bridle / or they will not come to you” (vs. 9)

-----What would it be like to yield to Christ in the details of our lives? What would it be like to follow his counsel and instruction in all the small decisions that add up to the life we find ourselves living? It would be . . . amazing. (Walking With God, p. 28-29).

Good stuff! I’m looking forward to savoring the rest of it. In fact, it’s become a timely reminder about my most precious relationship. This is the time of year where there’s lots of talk about Jesus being the Reason for the Season, as well as the need for us to keep Christ in CHRISTmas. Yes, He is and we do. But personally. . . I need less talk and more listening. . . less talk and more following.

“Talk to Him. Hear from Him. Really.”