It's been a good day

I don't think I spend enough time talking about the good moments we have. Lord knows I copiously inflict my bad ones on everyone when they come along.

Here are a few good things:

Today has been pretty good so far. The dark side has been trying to crowd out my happy memories (as it always does) but it has been kept at bay pretty emphatically. Lots of good things going on in our lives.

Rachel's doing more and more writing (the book is getting closer every day thanks to her work and some very capable editors), I'm even doing some freelance stuff for the local paper, we keep getting VERY generous donations for the year-end challenge match (which you all blew away, thank you very much!), and we feel very loved and supported from all over Tarnation.

A baby was baptized this morning and she was so adorable! I was reminded of when we baptized Charlotte up at Trinity in Fredericksburg. I especially remembered that purple silk Chinese outfit she wore. It was very slippery and I was constantly afraid that I was going to drop her. All of it filled me with a warm feeling. No leaking this time.

Another thing that has made me happy was the result of the Christmas Jar campaign at Westover Hills United Methodist Church. Last year, Donna introduced the concept to the congregation and they ran with it. People saved their change all year in Mason jars and then turned them in last week. There was an anonymous donor who agreed to donate $1,000 if 20 or more jars were collected. I believe at last count, there were 22. Those jars alone brought in around $1,000 which was distributed to the YWCA, a local elementary school, and some local at-risk youth among others programs.

I might have to steal that idea for CJ's Birthday in July. What do you think?

The Foundation Is looking very strong for next year and our amazing Board has had a huge amount of impact on that. The original founding members and the new ones coming on board have us feeling euphorically optimistic. We come across so many horror stories about "bad boards" that we are in awe of how awesome ours is.

As we all continue moving through the season we hope you can be comforted and find some peace and hope via the work you've enabled us/CJSTUF.org to do. Rachel and I certainly take refuge in it and will selfishly do so for the foreseeable future.

Don't be strangers and don't let the the energy wane,

Rog