| We greet you this holiday season with great happiness that the Lord has allowed us another good year to celebrate his surprise joys.
We will be celebrating our twenty-first anniversary on January 1st. At times, some of those years have flown by, while others seem they've been counted like dog years. Constant prayer coupled with the Lord's strength helps us to not fall out of love at the same time, which seems to have been one good key to our happy relationship.
Bill continues to enjoy his ministry as associate pastor at The Family of Faith Lutheran Church here in Houston. The members and staff are gracious people of God, who love getting the word out about His forgiving grace. Bill enjoys experiencing his new work environment even after a year of being on board. His gift for teaching and preaching remains, along with his good spirit of acceptance. This new phase in his career truly has become a "breath of fresh air in his pew"!
Kathleen is doing great. After having her spleen removed last spring due to a fall, nothing seems to be holding her back. She continues to enjoy their new home in Katy and pretending to be anonymous in the 400+ member church. Her "unemployment without guilt" club has dwindled to only two backsliding members, but she continues to preside as reigning queen supreme.
We both really appreciate the opportunity to slip away from time to time to our place in the Hill Country...TexMecca. Having consistently experienced its renewal and refreshment for nearly seventeen years, it remains a Godsend. We are thankful for managing to hang on to it.
Both of our mother's remain within driving distance and easy to visit. Kathleen's mom, when not traveling, is thirty minutes away. Bill's mom resides in assisted living in San Antonio. Lillian has had some setbacks, with separate breaks in her shoulder and foot. Her memory is not what it use to be, but she seems healthy.
Our ultimate wish for you is that you experience that ever-present goodness God gave us in the birth of his loving Son, Jesus. We pray that you have experienced a combination of your own surprise joys, together with those "go and tell no one" miracles this year; may you recognize them to be from the all powerful work of our one true God.
Merry Christmas!
Bill & Kathleen Schwertlich
email address:
Bill swordly@sbcglobal.net
Kathleen kdyes@sbcglobal.net
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