Once a year I make my way back to my homeland to visit family and friends. What better time to go than Christmas?! Again this year it was my privilege to stay with my youngest sister Cindy and her family. On this day we had a very special guest. In the center of the photo is Maria. She is from Bratislava and has spent the past 6 months as a student at Minnehaha Academy. My neices sure enjoyed having Maria over for dinner and a mean game of Clue.

One of the best parts about this trip for me was having all my siblings and my father under the same roof. It had been a few years since we were able to accomplish that so this was a very special time for us. It is precisely in these moments when the blessings of God seem most evident or clear. After all these years we are still together, regardless of the miles and experiences which separate us physically. The heart swell of belonging and fondness immediately returns when we are reunited. I believe it is a small taste of the ultimate reunion still to come when God's people are finally and permanently reunited in the glory of God.

Also very special for me was to get a chance to spend time with Magda (center), brother Rick's wife and their little Polish dumpling Hania. She was the center of attention most of the time (besides the food).

The nephews were hanging out downstairs playing a "take no prisoners" game of Monopoly. Keep an eye on your money boys!

Here are some of my neices. They are obviously full of the Christmas joy... or had I just told them my best "knock-knock" joke? I cant remember. Anyway, we had a wonderful time of traditional Christmas eve celebration.

After singing some Christmas carols and hearing a reciting of the bible story of Jesus' birth from my neices, we opened some gifts. This particualr gift is a ceramic bell from the Slovak town of Modra. I brought many such gifts home because they are an authentic peice of Slovak culture. Modra is a village about one hour from Bratislava which is famous for the production and creation of all things ceramic. The main street is lined with ceramic shops and there is more than one foundry there where the ceramics are actually manufactured. Each peice is beautifully hand painted which gives them a unique quality.

In Slovak culture the most significant part of the family celebration happens on Christmas eve. It seems that Christmas day is mostly just a day of relaxation, time away from the busy routine of life. In American culture, the fun is not over after Christmas eve. There's always the great anticipation of waking up Christmas morning to see what Santa put under the tree. In addition, many American families go to visit the "other side" of the family on Christmas day.

What a quintessential Christmas picture this is. The pure joy of a little girl who just received a new doll from Santa. Classic! This could be a Norman Rockwell painting.

After Christmas we all made a trip down to Omaha, Nebraska to visit my eldest sister Robin's family. We made the same trip last year and had so much fun we had to go back for more. The center of attention at this party was my neices baby Neveah ( heaven spelled backwards).

With so many people in the house it wasnt easy to get ahold of babycakes. Finally it was my turn. As you can see, she was as happy about it as I was.

The three amigos. Actually, they're sisters first and then friends. Pam, Cindy and Robin.

Picture perfect!

My brother-in-law Tom is a fantastic cook. Each night was a different variety of food. Italian, Mexican, Seafood and this night, Asian. There's always enough to feed an army which is good because my family is like a platoon. Watch out though, some of this food will bite you back (hot,hot,hot).

We have a rule in our family that whoever eats the most food has to do the dishes. These are my brothers-in-law Lee and Paul. Nice job fellas.

Speaking of family, every year for more than 25 years my extended family has had a Christmas party. We need to rent a hall just to have enough space to bring all the cousins together. This has almost always been an "adults only" affair and even so there are usually between 50 and 70 people. Here we see my dad Roy (second from the right) and 3 of his brothers.

Exceptions to the rule are, of course, babies.

Besides talking and laughing together, the favorite activity at this gathering is eating. But seriously, its difficult to understand just how blessed I am (we are) to be a part of such an amazing family. There seem to be so few families today who have both the unusual quality's of being so large and yet so close.

One of the most common questions I received while visiting home was "how does it feel to be home?" At first I found myself giving a reflex answer such as "oh, its great, its so good to be home." And indeed, in many ways, it was good to be home. However, there was a flip side to that coin for me. Someone once told me(someone who has lived abroad) that the longer I live away from Minnesota the less it will feel home. To some degree I felt like a foreigner in my homeland.

One thing I experienced no shortage of while back home was snow and cold. But as you can see from Molly and Isabelle, that doesn't bother us Minnesotans. I would imagine that if/when I live here again someday I will feel as if I belong after a certain period of time. But for now its a strangely unfamiliar feeling. Any of you who have read this blog in the past know that it is even more difficult to feel at home here in Slovakia and the chances of ever feeling any kind of real belonging is very low.

As I have thought more about the reality of the situation, maybe its not such a negative thing to feel a bit "homeless." I guess it depends on one's worldview. For me, this life is extremely temporary in its current form. The totality of it compared to the next reality is infinitesimal. To allow oneself to get attached to this place as if it is "home" doesnt seem to make sense given its finite limitations, especially when its compared to the infinite value of what's to come.

Uncle scott. The human mule.

But how do we NOT get attached to this place when we have things like mini-golf? We have never known any other place which might create within us a "longing for home." Why wouldnt our hearts feel at home here? But God's word tells us that we are "strangers" and "aliens in this world," that we were created in and for another place.

This is Sam, my friend and fellow hockey player from my high school days. Good to see you Sam. Thanks for the cheeseburger.

One of the most valuable faith lessons for me from these past 2 plus years is that to embrace this world and this life as my "home" is to lose my way. When I lose my way on my journey I lose myself as well. I forget who I am and where my real home is.

These are my friends Lou and Cindy Gronseth. We were eating my favorite food this night. Crab Legs! What a special treat for me. This was an "all you can eat" event. Cindy and I took the word "all" literally. Oof da!

The most dangerous part of forgetting where my true home exists is losing touch with the One who waits for me there. My father God waits not just with a new robe and a gold ring but a compassionate embrace which inspires a deep confirmation that this is indeed where I belong.

People from both sides of the ocean know who these folks are. We have Matt Crandall next to me. On the right we have Judy Swanson in the back and Dave and Jan Nelson in the foreground. We had a really nice lunch and time of fellowship at the Mall of America. Thanks one and all for your friendship and your support. May your journey keep you constantly on the way to your true home where the embrace of a lifetime awaits you.