Now that I’ve got your attention, you will soon find this isn’t going to be about what you expected. The nakedness I observed recently were the trees all around town. My wife had gone into the grocery store, and I sat in the car so it could keep running and get warmer. Despite being below zero, the bright sunshine that reflected off the snow created a feeling of warmth.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.

I grew up in what we in the “church world” call a low-church (or low liturgical) setting. This basically means I experienced a typical evangelical style worship service. This basic worship service placed its emphasis on stripped down simplicity, which included a few worship songs, the Lord’s Supper (we do this each week), offering, and the sermon. Also, there was little-to-no recognition of the church calendar.

The American Red Cross urges donors to make an appointment to give blood to keep the blood supply as strong as possible in the final days of the year and into 2026.
Types O, A negative and B negative blood donors are especially needed now.

As in most years since our daughters have grown up and moved away from home, we have hosted most of the major holidays. This, of course, required a lot of preparation for meals and getting the house ready for company.
I will admit, the level of preparation I feel is necessary is a lot less than what my wife expects. So, we get everything ready because a happy wife means a happy life.

Fernbrook Family Center of Rochester has acquired Lighthouse Child and Family Services, a trusted mental health provider serving central Minnesota.
This partnership marks an exciting step forward in expanding access to high-quality, person-centered mental health care for individuals, families, and communities across the region.