My support system

6:10 p.m. Today's project was to go pick up the Chrsitmas tree we had reserved and paid for at Sandhaven Pines tree farm. Kriss was due around noon from Long Beach to help his dad, so while he was on the way, Steve and I draped the "evergreen" garland around the banisters and wove tiny lights amid the branches. I also made up a wreath for the front door to frame our "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" blocks. Steve got the plastic bag-covered base made for the tree and all was in place for the tree to be set up.

Kriss was barely on the 22 fwy at 11:45, so I took off for the Moreno Valley mall to look for dessert plates to match my holiday dinnerware, hoping for sales. The hunt for these small plates arose from the list of hostess table needs for our church's ladies' Christmas event Friday. Macy's had some nice white ones, 6 for $14.99--not bad, but Penney's had them only as part of place settings. The Lord gave me the idea to call Linda, the event coordinator, to find out what was wanted. She said, "You don't need dessert plates. That item should have been crossed out." Yay, so I went home very happily. A call to a dear friend saved me some real stress and expense!

The three of us--two workers and one camera-wielding onlooker-- got the tree loaded onto my Jeep and put up in the house with good speed. The trees are so clean and trimmed that there was no need to wash it, and there were very few old needles to pull out of the tree, having just been cut down. Kriss lent logical and sensible suggestions to Steve to get the tree straight and correctly placed in front of the stairs. Coming from me, the same suggestions might have been taken differently, but that's fine, and it's one reason God gives a support network to those of us in difficult situations with impaired loved ones.

I have been blessed to go from being a single mother of one to a remarried mother of five, becoming, as Psalm 113:9 says, "a joyful mother of children." And now those children are grown and help me with their dad whenever I ask them to. It's such a blessing to see them keep Steve engaged in conversation and tactfully let him finish his sentences, in a family atmosphere where rapidfire comments have always been the norm! Their spouses and significant others do the same, with just a bit of pre-conversation preparation. This is a special bunch of young people!

The other group who have blessed me as I "learn to lean" are my precious girlfriends. Bible study friends from decades ago at Harvest and currently at Calvary Chapel are always full of encouragement and assurances that they are praying for us. My "Moms' Morning" ministry friends cheer me by letting me minister to their children in story and song, by sharing their struggles and being fully engaged in our devotionals. Charise, Joanna and I can always count on one another for prayer and mutual support.

Piecemakers, headed up by Jill, are a group of incredibly talented quilters and crafters who give hundreds of hours of their time each year creating quilts for raffling to raise proceeds for our missionaries. Not only do Jill, Vicky, DeAnna and Christine quilt, but they prepare the gifts for our ladies' retreats, including other friends like Jennifer,Thalia, Barbara, Mihwa, Yvonne, Kay, Linda and myself in the fun (One of us does more talking and joking than working, but every group needs a cheerleader!) The homemade treats we indulge in are as sweet as the fellowship! "Many hands make light work, " my Nana would say, and it has been true for women working together for thousands of years. Last night's task was to "bind," or turn over and sew down, the edges of Jill's quilt to be raffled off Friday, along with a charming tablerunner and matching napkins sewn by Vicky. That's a raffle I'll be entering! One day, we'll have a huge party when my little quilt is finished--because I'm on year 4, I think, and DeAnna will have earned a crown for loving patience for taking me through step-by-step while finishing innumerable projects of her own in the meantime!

I do need to mention my talented friend Linda who made the luxe candied apple pictured above. (You can buy them for around $25 from fancy food catalogs like Dean&DeLucca) Linda has had a longtime struggle with a number of genetic diseases and even breast cancer. She, her husband and daughter suffered from the effects of being rearended in their car last summer making it impossible for her and her daughter to teach their Heart to Home classes the next day. Her husband's work hours have been cut. The truck friends loaned them flooded their driveway with gasoline yesterday, with God sparing their lives and causing the repair to be made, praise His name! Despite so many dire trials, Linda is gracious, kind and sweet, with a good word for everyone and a faith in Christ that never wavers! I look forward to cooking with Linda again soon , or just spending time with her at her home and at church. She is one of God's "choice jewels!"

Malachi 3:16-17 says of our fellowship:

Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,

And the LORD listened and heard them;

So a book of remembrance was written before Him

For those who fear the LORD

And who meditate on His name.

"They shall be Mine, " says the LORD of hosts,

On the day that I make up my jewels."

That's my support system: a stunning necklace of "choice jewels!"