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Dear Friends,
Yet again this month I would like to begin with a thank you -a thank you to say how much Graham and I appreciated all your good wishes and kindnesses to us during the Christmas Season.
We have both felt your love flowing out to us since we arrived and particularly as we have been settling in to our life here with you all. All of which has been instrumental in making us feel very much at home here in the Parishes of Holytown and New Stevenston so quickly.
So a sincere 'thank you' from both of us for all your love and support.
I have to say it seems no time at all since I was writing my Christmas message to you, and in fact I write this one as the year draws to a close and a new year beckons.
I always think at this time of year that we naturally spend time reflecting on the year which has just passed and try and analyse all the high spots and low spots of that year in our lives.
2008 has certainly been an eventful year for me, with many high spots - from the wedding of my older son, to the completion of my training, to my very strong sense of God's call to be with you and your sustaining of that call and of course to the wonderfully emotional and special service of Ordination and Induction to these linked Parishes which took place just a few short weeks ago - I can hardly believe it has only been nine weeks since I came to be!
Thankfully as I reflect back on the year I can find in it relatively few, if any, low spots - I have been very blessed this year and I thank God for those blessings.
Sometimes I think we get so immersed in life that we forget each day to do as the old hymn says and 'count your blessings, name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done' in your life.
So as I wish you a blessed New Year, maybe I could encourage you to make as one of your New Year Resolutions the opportunity to take a moment each day to just note down all the good things that have happened that day - I am sure there will be at least one good thing each day - and also perhaps on a weekly basis to consider all the good things about living here in this place in the year 2009.
I am certainly looking forward to the New Year, for I am sure God has much for us to do together in this place and I don't know about you - but I am certainly excited by the prospect and longing to get started and I hope that you are as excited about the future as I am, for I am sure God has much for us to do together in this place and with his many blessings we can move forward into the future with confidence, as he intends us to do.
Every Blessing for the year ahead,
Caryl
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