We took our tree down yesterday and put away the decorations. Our holiday guests are all gone. But Christmas is not over. The epistle lesson for the second Sunday in Christmastide (the 11th day of Christmas) is Ephesians 1:3-14. Within these few verses, the blessings of God are celebrated. And then there is this wonderful verse: "Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us." God intended to bless us from the beginning. And there's nothing we did to deserve the blessings. And there is nothing we can do to repay God. That sounds good, but we like to give back, pay back, earn what we receive. But then it wouldn't be a gift.

Madeline (Maddy, as she prefers to be called) doesn't fit in my hands like this anymore. This photo is from the day of her baptism 8 years ago, a favorite of mine.