As we celebrate our 30th Christmas together, Nancy and I send you our wishes for a season of rest, reflection and joy! The year 2006 has been an active one for each member of our family.
Jonathan (9) has discovered karate this year! Dad, Jonathan and his two older brothers took up American Karate in January and have been kicking, punching and jumping around ever since. We’re all green belts right now, but Jonathan holds the most promise of all, having won first place in his division in The Battle of Atlanta. The trophy was almost bigger than Jonathan (check out our family blog site for lots of family pictures at http://thenorwoodfamily.blogspot.com/ )
Christopher (13) is in the 10th grade in home school and counts science, music and reading as his favorite subjects. The boy has a size 11 ½ foot and stands only 5’5” so he’s growing like the proverbial weed. He continues to play the bass guitar, keyboard and the sax, and he really enjoyed playing a very mean wolf in a community theater production of Narnia this month. He is just 1 merit badge away from earning his Star badge in Boy Scouts, and he and his Dad have plans to go to Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, New Mexico in July for a backpacking trip.
Stephen (16) has had the most eventful year of all: he got his learner’s permit for driving; went to Mexico on a youth group mission trip; started a pro-life organization for teens called MissionLife; attended the WorldView Leadership Academy during the summer; played leading roles in two musicals (as Troy in High School Musical and as Peter in Narnia); took up keyboard and guitar; and is a black belt wanna-be with his brothers and Dad. This is his senior year, so we’re making plans for Stephen to start taking classes at Georgia State University here in Atlanta next fall.
Rachel (23) is on the home stretch of her undergraduate degree in developmental psychology, taking her last 18 credit hours to graduate in May 2007. Last year we mentioned that she had met a wonderful young man named Aaron (beside Rachel in the family photo) - - and that friendship has grown over the past year such that he’s really become a part of the family. We might have hurt Rachel’s feelings when we told her that, if this didn’t work out, we had already decided to keep Aaron! Stay tuned…
David (26) and his wife, Carly, are doing great in their third year of marriage. Carly is on the same timeframe as Rachel to finish her undergraduate degree, and David was promoted in his role as an information technology manager for a small hospital in the North Georgia mountains. They are excited about moving into their first home in Holly Springs, GA sometime next spring. They continue to pursue their musical avocation through their band, Helios, and gaining some interest from recording labels.
Daniel (29) and his wife, Christina, made a BIG move in 2006: they moved from Maryland to San Diego and are absolutely loving it! Their two little girls, Adelae (4) and Elaina (2), enjoyed having a visit from their Papa and Nana in October. Daniel wanted to move to California in order to be more active outdoors. Since January he has taken up surfing, road biking, triathlons and climbed Mt. Whitney. When he complained to Christina recently about being chilly sitting in a Starbucks, she reminded him that he was no longer wearing that 40 lb. “fat jacket” he’d brought with him from Maryland! Daniel is progressing in his role as a product manager for Quest Software, managing a development team in Melbourne, Australia from his home office in Escondido, CA.
Speaking of home offices, Nancy (35) has been having fun handcrafting jewelry and marketing it in her “spare” time ( http://www.mybeautifulcreations.com/ ). It’s a craft that she has completely mastered, something that comes as no surprise to anyone who knows her! But the thing that really stands out this year is Nancy’s health. She has continued to study organic cooking, exercise and other nutritional supplements, and her health has never been better. She continues to homeschool the three youngest boys.
Eric turned the big 5-0 this year and can report from the other side that it isn’t so bad after all: just a drag to be too old for rollerblading and still too young for an AARP discount! His work as CEO of DeKalb Medical Center has been the most challenging of his career. As people ask him why the healthcare industry is in such a mess, he's had the opportunity to share the story that he gives in public speeches on the subject. You can read a copy of it on the family blogsite and use it to amaze and impress your friends!
This was our 30th wedding anniversary year, so we took our first-ever trip together to Europe in May/June. We visited Ireland, Italy, Greece and Croatia, part on land and part by cruise ship, and it was simply a delight! We have been privileged to travel more this year than ever before. We’re so looking forward to going to Kona and Maui in January. Hawaii is special to us, it just makes our hearts happy, and this time we hope to see the whales for the first time!
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We are all very familiar with the Christmas story of the virgin birth of Christ, yet not all of us believe it to be literally true. Could Jesus actually be who he claimed to be - - fully God and fully man, the savior who paid the price for each of us to gain eternal life? On what authority can we possibly know this to be true?
There is a passage in the Bible where Moses is given what God refers to as His “Memorial Name.” The Hebrew letters are Yod Hei Vav Hei, which in English is YHVH - - we get the name Yahweh and Jehovah from it. There are many names for God in Scripture, but this one is special. It’s the only one known in Judaism as His “Memorial Name,” whose meaning is “I AM.”
Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a word-picture associated with it. We were stunned recently to learn what the letters YHVH portray:
Yod = Hand
Hei =Behold
Vav=Nail
Hei=Behold
Long before the Christ child appeared, long before his earthly ministry, his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection for our salvation were God’s plan. Our Father gave him a name in the Scriptures that foretold this plan of salvation through Messiah Jesus, the great “I AM.”
As you enjoy the holiday season, we commend to you a new movie, The Nativity Story.
It is a beautiful portrayal of the Christmas story that brings to life what it was really all about. Jesus was a gift, and his life offers each of us the gift of eternal life and forgiveness for our sins. But like any gift you receive this Christmas, it’s useless unless you receive it, open it and make it your own. Our prayer for you this Christmas is that you will know the peace and all-surpassing joy that we have experienced, and that can only be found in Jesus!
Eric and Nancy Norwood