10 things I fiercely loved when 2021 started and still did as it ended. These are very meta, so I can copy and paste them for 2022, as well.

1. Robi – I am afraid I have grown to love her to the point that life would not make sense without her. I know that sounds a bit co-dependent-ish. So, be it.

2. Zac, Karli, Caleb, and Trey – I am so, so proud of each of them.

3. Coffee in the early mornings. Confession: I go to bed looking forward to waking up so I can ease my way into the day with it as my companion.

4. Gonzaga Basketball – It is my winter salvation.

5. Immanuel Church – It is a sign community of the gentle reign of Jesus…and I am grateful. I am convinced more than ever that Christianity has to be played out in a real community of faith to be understood rightly by the world. Immanuel, though not flawlessly, does that.

6. Reading good books – it is said, all things in moderation. Nah. Not with this one. Learning is life…books are my chief way to life-long learning.

7. The wide web of friends that are absolute gifts to me, both new and old & near and far – they are like air.

8. Sunshine on my skin – Cold hurts, sunshine heals (this one is absolutely in moderation these days – my pasty white skin has its fragile limits)

9. Jesus – in all my deconstructing, I have and will love Jesus.

10. Hope. The hope of a healed cosmos. I so long for what the Bible calls, making all things new…the new creation.