December 8 MNBS party at Margaret's

MONDAY:  My small-group Bible study leader, Margaret, always invites all of us in her group to her house for a Christmas dinner. She does not allow us to bring a single item of food! Her husband, Mike, is also a small-group leader (for men) and they are also invited to this party to just eat a good meal and fellowship with each other. It's always a good time, mostly because Mike and Margaret are such hospitable people.

Margaret served their family's traditional Christmas Eve meal for all of us to enjoy. They home-make meat pies, served with cooked apple sauce, and green peas on the side. Trust me--there were NO green peas on the side of my plate. To this day, I cannot eat a pea without gagging. I was able to very politely decline the peas as they were being served. Margaret also baked plenty of tasty desserts. She is an amazing person.

Our small group is not very small this year! There are 18 ladies in it. Usually, we have topped out at 12! I'm not sure how many are in Mike's group--but everyone who had a spouse were welcomed to bring them so we ended up with about 65 people over at Margaret's house Monday night. They have a big house--good thing!

Julie, Jen, Karen, Migena, Alicia, and Cindy

Julie and Jen and I meet for lunch every Tuesday before I go over to Dylan and Kelly's house to do a little cleaning. Jen owns the flower shop right across from John Ball Zoo. She is a really interesting person. She is in her early 40's, has never married, and is quite content. Julie is married to Victor. They are a combination of Italian and Greek (!!), are amazing chefs, and really great to fellowship with. Karen and I share the exact same birthdate, only a year apart. Migena is a hair dresser--she is Slovakian, and a super interesting person. Alicia is Christy's sister-in-law, and new to our group this year. Cindy is Jewish by birth, but came to know Christ during her high-school years when she lived in Chicago.

Arlene, Ed, Pam, and Lynda (at the table)

Arlene is new to our small group this year. She and Tamela share a grandchild. Arlene's son was married to Tamela's daughter, you see. Ed is married to our co-leader, Christy. Both of them are KIND beyond words--and interesting as well--and super grounded--and happy together for over 43 years. Pam is married to Paul (who couldn't join her tonight), and Lynda (with a "y") is married to Norm (who is standing behind Ed)--they have three sons (I think), all of whom worked for our government in various places in Africa, and all of whom lost their jobs due to our change in presidents (no comment).

Mike and Margaret are always welcoming guests home to their house. Mike is a very good photographer. His portraits are framed all over their house--from locations all over the world. Mike is a retired dentist. I try not to hold that against him, being that I have quite an aversion to dentists in general.

We had quite an enjoyable few hours with everybody celebrating Jesus. It certainly is nice to be a part of a group of seriously genuine Christians.