Merry Christmas and happy new year, everyone. This article is about blessings and reasons I’m thankful for 2009 this Christmas season.

Overall 2009 was a very good year for my family and I. We sold our house in Natomas, moved to the foothills, got our kids in a good school district, joined a great parish, and my wife even landed a good job for a health care company. I opened my small business in February and I’m pleased to say I operated in the black my first year.

While all those things are wonderful blessings we are grateful for,  our most important accomplishment in 2009 was our ministry. Without going into details, my wife and walked the talk and helped a lot of folks in need–particularly a few couples whose marriages were failing. I must say, there is nothing more fulfilling than helping two people see the light that leads them back into one another’s arms. To see their kids laughing and smiling and playing again. To witness the trust increase. To watch them grow to new heights together after everyone was certain they were through….  wow…  reconciliation is some powerful stuff. No wonder it is the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Praise be to God for all these blessings.

If that weren’t enough, 2009 was the most enlightening year I have lived to date. I read a good 25 to 30 books, attended several theology and philosophy courses, learned how to operate QuickBooks to run a business (yuck!), started six blogs, several of which are becoming very popular, designed and developed multiple websites for many small businesses and non profits, and made a whole bunch of new friends in the process.I also started skiing again last February after a 20 year hiatus, and it is turning out to be an absolute joy to do with my son. The Lord has worked wonders in our lives.

Another significant thing that happened: I made a huge leap to e-book reading by taking the plunge and buying an iPhone–which was one of the best decisions I have made in a while (even though it led to everyone in my family wanting one!). I can now get through a book about 30% faster, enabling me to read more books. The other was buying a Playstation 3 when the price drop hit. If you haven’t heard, the Playstation 3 is a full-fledged Blue Ray player, connects to NetFlix and streams movies, has a 120GB drive for all your music and family pictures, has wifi and connects to your home internet and even browses the web, and.. oh yeah, is the best video game console out there, which provides many hours of family fun playing all those old Playstation 1 family games. All for $300. You cannot go wrong for family entertainment on the cheap.

Of course it hasn’t been all roses.  The economy still sucks, we can’t afford to buy another home right now, we have all sorts of issues like any family, I was sick several times (one seriously), gave up smoking and drinking for good, changed my diet, learned how to write with less emotion, learned how to be less reactive and more analytical, got humbled multiple times by people much brighter and more enlightened than me, learned how to be a more patient and sensitive husband, and collided more than once with my teenagers on a potpourri of different topics, but as Elton said, “I’m still standin’! Yeah yeah yeah!” Thanks be to God.

Most of all, this past year was about learning. At 42 years old I feel more naive about the world today than I did when I was 12. I am absolutely in AWE of what I don’t know, and even more awed by my boundless energy and overall good health–both of which are blessings for which I am eternally grateful to God. You know you are truly living when 24 hours seems far too short every day. The other day an atheist friend of mine said, “Even if there is an eternity, what the heck would you do all day?? Wouldn’t it get boring?”  I honestly can not even fathom boredom, in this life, or the next.

Love and blessings,

Mark and family