Merry Christmas!

Luke 2

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

That's the true meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown.

Overdue Update

Well, I've had a couple people telling me over the past couple days that I need to post again, so here goes.

First, the good news: I survived finals!! I accidentally studied for the wrong final for two days, and found out 5 minutes before I was to take a final I wasn't prepared for. So I glanced at someone's notes for about 45 seconds, since mine weren't with me. I went in, took that, and got a decent grade - VERY good for not having studied for it at all. After that things went more smoothly, as I made sure to study for the correct finals.

Now for the great news: As most of you probably already know, I'm an uncle! Annette Grace Hewitt was born on Wednesday, December 8, at 4:34 PM CST (weighing 7 lbs. 4 oz, and 20 inches long, for those who care). I got to see her about 4 hours later, went to Tennessee to stay with my uncle and aunt for a couple of days, then came back to Alabama on Friday and will be staying here until probably Thursday morning. She is a beautiful little girl who is very content. To borrow the words of a friend of mine, "Touch her and I will SCALP you with my bare fingernails."

Thursday I will leave Alabama and drive back to Virginia (my parents got in shortly after I did on Friday and will be staying until this coming Friday). Friday morning I will get up and drive to West Virginia to pick up Becky, then we will drive to her house in Vermont where I will spend some time with her and her family.

So close!

Well, it's been a crazy couple of weeks.

Last week, Thanksgiving week, was absolutely awesome. I got to spend Wednesday through Sunday with my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. It was great. I even got a 10 page paper mostly written before anybody else got to my grandparents' house on Wednesday! I had a good time with my cousins, although on break I averaged something like 5 hours of sleep, maybe a tad more, and I've become accustomed to 7 hours or a bit more every night. Without a doubt, though, it was every bit worth it.

I had a major reality check when I got back to campus on Sunday. My paper needed to be finished and turned in Tuesday, Wednesday I had 4 small papers due, as well as a final speech, and today (Thursday) has been quite full as well. I spent 5 hours last night writing out by hand the 12 pages of information for my test review sheet for a test at 7:05 this morning. Thankfully, I turned it in, the professor looked at it, wrote my grade on it, and said "you can go" - he replaced the test with the review sheet. Then I finished my Composites Lab work, took the final for that lab, and did my lab notebook for Instruments Lab. After that I had to study for my Instruments Lab final and a Composites class sectional exam. Took the Composites exam, went over the Instruments exam I took Tuesday, took the Instruments Lab final, and now I'm back on campus. This evening I have my last class for The Search for Historical Jesus, where I will be presenting my findings from my research paper.

Thank you for the prayers that have gotten me through the week. Please keep praying, as I have 3 regular finals and an oral final next week. Wednesday I get to leave LeTourneau and go to Tim and Beth's in Alabama!

As usual, I'd love to hear from you! Please, send me an email or give me a call!