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It's Christmas Eve! 

Tomorrow morning will no doubt begin earlier than  usual, with excited kids (our youngest in particular) waking before the rest of the world (that's pretty accurate considering New Zealand is one of the first countries to see each new day!). The next two days will be filled with family, faith, food and of course the giving and receiving of gifts.

Yet this year will be quite different for us... it will be the first Christmas celebrated without Symon's Dad. 

It reminds me that Christmas for so many can be a time of joy mixed with sorrow. Whether the sorrow is because of loss, family relationship strains, financial struggles, loneliness or regret, I pray that you find a sense of hope underneath the sadness.

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This morning at church my guy shared a beautiful message (you can listen here) and the part that really impacted me was the names of Jesus (Isaiah 9:6-7). One of His names is 'Wonderful Counselor'. He is so wonderful (like blow your mind, amazingly wonderful) but also our Counselor... Which means 'to come alongside'.  So in His amazing power, He still is personable and caring. 

He sees you, He knows you, He sees those tears and your struggles, and He cares. He isn't far away and uncaring, He wants to be close to you. 

So my prayer is that over the next few days, during the fun and laughter, but also if there are tears or lonliness, may you truly know and experience the closeness and love of Jesus, our Wonderful Counselor, the Prince of Peace and our Hope. 

From our family to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and Happy Jesus Birthday!


p.s. We tried to recreate a photo from Christmas Eve 7 years ago... and I think we did pretty good. Haha!!

Blessings to you and yours from the Drake family!