As I look back over 2025 one theme reoccurs again and again and that is that God is faithful. 2025 was a year of blessing ...

We were able to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday with her. 

I caught up with two of my closest friends whom I rarely see.

We saw our two eldest granddaughters baptised.

We've watched family members grow.

We employed another Christian teacher at work.

Our needs were fully met.

Our car continues to go (and now has air-conditioning again).

DH got a good report after surgery.

Our dog is still with us despite several times giving us cause to think this might be goodbye.

But it was also a year of trial ...

We lost DH's mother.

Then not so long after, my sister's husband passed away.

And then my aunt's husband. 

DH had surgery.

DH is still experiencing side effects from that surgery (even ones that should have resolved by now).

And yet we can say with confidence, that God is faithful. He was with us every step of the way. In the good times and in the bad. It was often during those difficult times that we realised His faithfulness. That He was ever-present.

As we look towards 2026, we know that we have much for which to be thankful. But there will also be changes.

DH is looking at retiring.

This month we will celebrate 42 years of marriage.

We are excitedly looking forward to Son#5 and his family visiting (but not to the goodbye at the end).

We don't know what the future holds, but we know the One who holds the future. Happy New Year!

Emmanuel

Behold, a virgin, shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name Emmanual.

Isaiah 7:14

Emmanuel, God with us, in our human nature, in our suffering, in our work, in our punishment, in our grace - and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and in His glorious return.

(Taken from Spurgeon's Morning and Evening.)

The kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared. - Titus 3:4

I have loved thee with an everlasting love.

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. - The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth. - Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh.

As the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.

Jeremiah 31:3, 1 John 4:9-10, Galatians 4:4-5, John 1:14, 1 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 2:14

(Taken from Daily Light on the Daily Path, Morning devotion for December 25.)

Ready for Christmas

Arriving at Son#4 and DIL#4's home on Saturday to celebrate The Most Adorable Granddaughter#11's first birthday we were greeted by The Most Charming Grandson#3 who proudly informed us, "We're ready for Christmas."

At three he understands so much now, and, truth be told, Christmas last year was a little overshadowed by moving back into a newly renovated house and a baby who decided to go past her due date before arriving three days before Christmas! So this year, the excitement of bringing a tree home and decorating it certainly made an impact.

But his comment made me wonder: How ready am I for Christmas?

True, we have no tree this year, since I was not up to dragging in either our driftwood tree or a real tree while DH was still in recovery mode, but I have still placed the majority of our decorations around the house and I believe the house looks quite festive.

We've also baked up a storm with our traditional Christmas pudding, two Christmas cakes, and four batches of Christmas Mazurka. And while I've been rather lax when it comes to Christmas gift shopping, and I'm not likely to get through all my Christmas cleaning, there's been no shortage of Christmas carols blaring forth. So, hopefully, unless you happen to be our neighbours, there shouldn't be too many complaints when Christmas rolls around.

Except, again, that question: How prepared am I for Christmas?

Not the gifts. Or the turkey. Or the pavlova or desserts. Or even the salads. (I've just realised how much I still have to do!)

But the readiness to celebrate and worship the Saviour this year. 

To take a moment to reflect on the sheer wonder of God as a babe in a manger.

To remember the Messiah - who is also our Redeemer and Lord.

To comprehend a little more the great love that God would send His Son to earth.

To savour the wonderful incredible truth of Emmanuel - God with us.

Because all else is unimportant - superficial - if we aren't prepared for the King of Kings.

Awkward

 

Recently my editor asked for photos of me with my books showing how excited and pleased I was [am] with the finished product. She suggested a number of ideas that could work but the idea was that they did not look staged.

There were two problems. Unstaged I cannot do as I am extremely embarrassed in front of a camera. I blame my maternal grandmother for this as she would always hide her face whenever a camera came out. She passed away over thirty years ago and I have very few photos of her facing the camera. I don't understand as she was a wonderful person, always dressed beautifully and looked younger than her age.

The other problem was that the books arrived several months ago. That is, the second book in the series arrived sometime back in February or March. The first book is much older than that.

It took two different attempts (if you look closely you'll notice that the footwear and the jewellery differ - the necklace was deliberate but the other wasn't) but eventually we found some that weren't super cringe-worthy. They're bad ... but [perhaps] not that bad.

My grandmother taught me a lesson by avoiding the camera. I am trying to learn to allow myself to be photographed even when I feel that I don't look my best ... even when I think I look old in photos ... even when my weight is not where I want it to be ... because I hope that one day my grandchildren will remember me with as much love and fondness as I do my grandmother, and I don't want them only to have a collection of photos where I'm hiding my face.

However, if this is the best that they end up with, they might prefer to keep them hidden from view!

By the way, apparently my older granddaughters enjoyed my latest books but think it's weird that Nana writes romance. Awkward.

Book#2 Now Available as Free eBook

Book#2 in A Day For You series, From This Day Hence, is now available for free as an eBook on Amazon. If you loved the first one, don't miss out on grabbing this one, too. If you missed the first one, then you can pick up both for the price of one. But this offer is only available for the next five days, so hurry.

Book #1 Available For Free For A Limited Time Only

When This Day Comes is now available for free download as an eBook. Go here to grab your first copy. It's only available until June 5, so hurry.

For those who are waiting for the second book in A Day For You series, it will be available next week. 

Please share the link with family and friends. If anyone would love to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it. But there is no obligation. I simply want readers who enjoy my books to have access to them and, hopefully, to spread the word.

Free Offers

Over the next two weeks I will be offering the two eBooks in A Day For You series as free downloads on Amazon. Download one or both - entirely up to you. If you missed the first one, now is your chance to grab it and start reading this new faith-filled series.

When This Day Comes (Book #1) will be available June 1 to June 5, and From This Day Hence  (Book #2) will be available June 8 to June 12. Both will become free to download at midnight, Pacific Time in the US (PDT). For those in New Zealand and Australia the books will be available at approximately 7:00 pm New Zealand time on those dates. All other areas, check your time zone against PDT.

I will share the links closer to the time. Please feel free to share this post and the links with as many of your friends, family, and contacts as possible.