From the Home Place

December 9, 2025

Weather report: The wind gusts are almost twice the high temperature for today! I’ll be wearing a cap and not my Stetson when I go outside.

Today is the birthday of our youngest child, Happy Birthday Son! Miss Deb and I were just blessed to get to visit with him and his family during a video chat. I won’t say where they live, but at 5:30 a.m. here, it was 7:30 p.m. at his house. We sure do miss getting to see him and his beautiful family, but he continues to serve his country well.

Every time we get to sneak in a video chat, I feel so very blessed. I think back to all of the families who years ago sent their son off on overseas military tours and all they could ever do was hope for a possible letter. Or think of the parents who would help their daughter and her husband load a covered wagon, knowing that they probably will never see her again! We can jump on the internet or a plane and see our children within a day, or two of travel, my how times have changed.

Yet as one reads biblical accounts of life during that time, we have to wonder what their lives were really like. One thing I’m sure of, family was still family. A young couple exchanges vows, sets out to make their mark on this world, have children, spend years nurturing and developing those children and then one day send those young adults off to repeat the cycle. Yet one thing is always true, the life our children live is not very similar to the life we lived at their age. Things are always changing.

Though life is different for different cultures, in different locations, there are still many similarities when it comes to raising a family. The primary similarity that we all hope for is that there will be plenty of love shared within the home and through the family wherever they call home. Our Heavenly Father created us to express His love to one another, especially within the family.

This time of the year we all look forward to celebrating the holidays with family. We all have family who have passed on from this life, and they are missed. Many of us have family who live so far away that getting together is not possible, and they are missed. Many of us have family members who have other obligations that prevent them from coming home, and they are missed.

Also, as a Christ-follower you are part of a larger family. When you don’t come home on Sunday, you are missed. I know, sometimes we are too busy to make it to church, and yet for others, attitude keeps us from the church family, but you are still missed.

Now, let’s take this family thing one step further. As a Christ-follower you are a member of God’s family. When you don’t stop to give Him a call on a regular basis, you are missed. When you don’t ask Him for assistance, you are missed. When you are too busy to sit down and listen to His wisdom, you are missed. And for the person who refuses to become a part of God’s family through Jesus, you are missed.

Yep, the holidays are a wonderful time for family. But for those of us who are no longer able to get the family together for a meal around the table, the holidays become a time of missing the precious members of our once physically close family. They are missed!

So, if you can get your family together from the holidays, celebrate God’s kindness to you! But if any member of your family isn’t able to make it home, let them know, they are missed!

Celebrating family with you, Neal