2006 Merry Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Merry Christmas everyone! Wow has this year gone by fast! Again, we find ourselves grateful to God for His goodness and faithfulness in every way.

Of course, the most exciting news to share is the expected arrival of Silas Don Merry (mid February 2007). He’s already proved to be an active little boy (Molly knows this well!) He has been named after two great men: Silas of the New Testament - a "leading man" in the early church, and Don, Molly’s Dad - a well-respected man, father and husband.

The second major event is a move to our new house in January 2007. We sub-divided our property earlier this year and are building a house on the other half. Our new house will be much bigger and have a more "kid-friendly" yard. As we write this letter, we are finishing up with the interior paint. We feel blessed with the progress, considering we poured our footings the last week of June. It’s been fun to keep a list of all the ways God has blessed the building project.

We had quite a few highlights this year. In March we went on a trip with Todd's mom to visit his Grandparents, whom we had not seen for many years. We had a great time catching up with them and enjoyed getting to know them. We enjoyed spending time with Todd's mom too. Maggie loves "Grandma Myrnie".

In April we took a trip with Todd's Dad and Step-Mom to Hawaii for our 5th anniversary. They said that baby-sitting a happy little granddaughter in a tropical location really is a great vacation. While they occupied Maggie, we did some sightseeing and island activities that reminded us of our honeymoon. Each evening we'd meet up for dinner together and share about the day. Hard to say who had more fun, "Pada" and Grandma Linda, Maggie or us. We felt very blessed.

A few days after we arrived home Molly had the privilege of emceeing at a ladies retreat put on by our church. The fellowship was very special, both with the ladies and the Lord. The speaker, Shannon Woodward who has recently authored the book "A Whisper in Winter" was wonderful. Molly was able to spend some time relaxing alone with God. Two weeks later, she was able to attend the birth of Julianna, which was very special. Ed and Andrea are happy and proud parents.

In May we attended a writer’s conference at SPU. God renewed our vision for writing and brought us into contact with others who enjoy writing for Him. While we have had to put our book on hold while building the house, we are looking forward to writing full force again after things settle down with Silas and the house.

June brought the pouring of the footings for the house and the news of a new little one - all on the same eventful day! What a great memory! We also took a trip to Pomeroy, WA where we caught up with relatives. Maggie enjoyed playing with her many little second cousins.
Summer and fall brought lots of weddings of friends and relatives. It’s always a blessing to see friends commit to one another for life. We had the privilege of being attendants in Johnny and Lisa's wedding as well as being able to share their story during the ceremony. We are so happy to see them together and to see what God has done in their lives.

We had our annual campout with friends in July and went camping with Molly's Mom to Lake Easton in August. Maggie loves camping, swimming and hanging out with everyone. While camping, we practiced our Geocaching skills. Todd has really gotten into this "treasure-hunting" activity.

In October we got a pleasant surprise. Todd's old truck had more than 300,000 miles on it and he was long overdue for a new one. We were able to find one for a great price, and the dealership was running a promotional deal of a free cruise. So we took a 4 night cruise to Catalina Island and Mexico. It was a wonderful experience and perfect timing. We enjoyed relaxing together, reading and sightseeing. We got to spend some time listening to teaching tapes and doing Bible Studies we wanted to get caught up on together. Molly's favorite part freedom from cooking - and the food was wonderful! Maggie did great at home with Grandma Melquist, and also spent some time with Grandma Merry, and Pada and Grandma Linda. When we came back she was thrilled to see us and adjusted very well. We were grateful to God for a great trip.

Todd: Todd has spent much of his time working on details and hiring for the house. While he has learned a lot, he very much looks forward to moving in and being done! He continues to enjoy work at Maple Valley Fire, preaching at various churches occasionally, and teaching youth and adult Sunday school at our church. This fall he has been team teaching on apologetics. It is always challenging and exciting. He continues to facilitate a Home Builders Bible Study we have in our home. We have wonderful times of fellowship and have really bonded with those who come.

Molly: Molly loves being at home, loving Todd and Maggie, thinking about a new baby boy and looking forward to decorating a new house. She's been studying some about raising boys since she grew up in an all-girl family. She is very glad for Todd’s perspective and is looking forward to the challenge and the fun of raising Silas. Several friends and family members have also had babies this year, or are expecting and it's fun to have so many to share the experience with. We are glad that others get to have this joy too. Molly also joined a Bible Study called "Jesus on Leadership" and thoroughly enjoyed understanding gifting and temperaments and how we can best serve. It was very impacting.

Maggie: Maggie is an absolutely delightful little doll of a two year old. She is talking up a storm. We were helping a friend out who is studying child behavior and one of the questions had to do with how many words your child knows. We began to count and gave up at about 600! She is definitely a talker and loves to communicate. We can't get enough of her. Her maternal instincts have given her practice for Silas’ arrival. As a "mother hen" around the house, she makes sure each of her dolls gets the care (naps, food and stroller rides) they need. She has also shown a real ambition for singing, dancing and anything to do with Curious George. As you can see by the rest of our blog, we never tire of taking pictures of our "little lady".

Spiritual Lessons: We read some great books this year! A few we recommend are Safely Home (fiction) by Randy Alcorn and The Heavenly Man (non-fiction) by Brother Yun. These are two amazing books about persecuted Christians in China. The Heavenly Man is one that we wish we could give to every single one of you. Brother Yun is a leader in the home-church movement and an incredible evangelist. God has totally used him to spread the Word in China and has done some amazing miracles in his life. It changed the way we look at the world and our lifestyle. Driven by Eternity, by John Bevere, has caused us to think about evangelism and evaluate our own salvation. Bevere shares that obedience to Christ in action and attitude is what brings assurance, not just a one-time salvation experience followed by lukewarm Christianity. We've also enjoyed downloading sermons by John Piper, Andy Stanley and Mark Driscoll. Rich and Anna gave Todd an mp3 player for his birthday and he loves listening to these great preachers.

A verse that has been special to us this year is "Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Ps 46:10. We've been thinking about the concept that "God will be exalted" because He is God, not because of our small efforts to be righteous. It is so easy to think we are being responsible, when we obsessively focus as Oswald Chambers says "on our own personal whiteness". Our commitment to responsible standards is not as important as our relationship with Him, which will bring about true holiness from the inside out.

If there is one thing that describes our year, it has to be the word "gratefulness". We feel so incredibly blessed by God with all he has given us, both small and great. With a baby boy coming, a larger and newer house in the future, several great vacations and the joy of family and friends, we feel overwhelmed by what He has given us. We choose to hold all things loosely and know that He can give and take away at His prerogative. His character is always good and righteous, whether we are experiencing plenty or want. God has shown us that it is not because of us or our goodness, but because of HIM. Todd has worked hard on the house, but God has reminded us it is not because of our own effort but because of His mercy. Because of this, another verse of scripture that has stood out to us this year is:

Psalm 44:3
"It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them."

We hope that you have a wonderful Christmas with family and friends. May this season remind us all of the God who became Man and "walked among us". We'd love to hear from you, so feel free to call, or e-mail - deuteronomy11@juno.com. You are all special to us.

Merry Christmas!
Todd, Molly, Maggie (and Silas)