Davis: Merry Christmas

This is a photo of the largest social welfare agency and crisis nursery ever created.  It's called a family, and these are springing up all over the place.  They perform a wide gamut of medical, educational, judicial and social services at no cost to the taxpayers!  Most of their services are either donated free of charge or on a reciprocal trade agreement.  They provide these services with the love, discernment, advice and efficiency for which government has no match.

Left: Our second son, Ben, is holding their 18 month old daughter with our daughter-in-law, Candice, holding their 5 day-old son. Our first son, John behind our daughter-in-law, Emily with their three month old baby girl.
Middle: My dad, Gordon, holding the hand of my mom, Marylin.  Behind them, my brother, sister and brother-in-law with their two youngest children.  In front of them, Ben and Candice's oldest daughter, our seventh child, Philip, and sixth child, Susanna.
Right: Our fourth child, Matthew, me and husband, Bernie.  In front of us are our third child, Cathryn, and our fifth child, Amanda.

It's not easy getting seven children to come back home for a holiday, especially after they're married and have families of their own, but we have made it a shared family value and the fact that they want to come home for special events adds to everyone's joy.

When my son called and asked for backup support while his wife was in the hospital after their third child was born, I wanted to help in any way I could. There are other crisis nurseries in the St. Louis area that are available for parents to drop their children off when they need a break.  This is an important safety valve, yet I wonder, "Where is the village?  I.E. where are the grandparents, aunts, neighbors, church members?"

Every Father's Day we sell a plaque that says: "The greatest gift I ever had, came from God, I call him Dad."  There is no greater gift we can give each other than the gift of a family.  If you have one, include a single person into your tribe this year.  If you are single, don't go it alone.  There is a family who wants you to join them.  Friends are the family we pick for ourselves.  The human spirit was meant for companionship.

I love to hear what you think, so please let me know what you are doing to include others in your Christmas celebration. You can click here: Cynthia Davis

Packing up the Office

If you responded last week, you can ignore this.  However, those of you who may not have seen this have two more opportunities.  Due to term limits, I am getting ready to shut down our office at the Missouri Capitol.  In keeping with the tradition of sending these out every Thursday, I have one more Capitol Reports left to send.  I plan on continuing to communicate with all of you who have enjoyed my reports.

If you want to continue receiving news, analysis and humor, please click here:

If you want to stop receiving this information after December 31 please click here: 

A Little Bit of Christmas Humor

For those of you who like the newest technology, here is the link to "The Digital Nativity": Virtual Nativity

Don't miss this choir performance of the Hallelujah Chorus at a mall in the food court.  They dressed up like regular shoppers and created a remarkable sensation.  Here is the video: Food Court Chorus

I wish you a most blessed Christ-centered Christmas!