An Open Christmas Letter

Jan 27, 2016
4 min read

December 18, 2015

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Harrison’s!

Sometimes we read Christmas letters like this one, and it seems like things in other peoples’ lives are perfect, like everything always goes right for them. As you read our letter, please know that we are definitely not perfect people living perfect lives!

Here’s a little reality for starters: Three months this summer after the move were very stressful financially, as support for our ministry shifted and changed beyond what we were expecting. The office for Grace to Glory, anticipated to be ready by April, is still under construction. Michelle couldn’t transfer her counseling license from Georgia, and Kentucky requires more hours and different for licensure. That was deflating, frustrating, and left her feeling like she had to start over.

Our marriage is good, but after almost 25 years, we still struggle, at times, with communication and bad patterns of responding to one another. Our sons do not make every decision that we feel is what God would want for them, and it is sometimes painful to think about consequences they might endure. And, like many in ministry, I fight periods of depression, have horrible sleep patterns, and do not always keep my mind set on God’s love for me, my source of peace. SO, as you read, I pray you will join us focusing on what is, instead of what is not, and take not of how being thankful lifts our spirit and gives us hope!! This year, we are reflecting on a year full of changes, starting with expanding our ministry into Kentucky and leaving our North Georgia home of 19 years. If you aren’t tracking with our ministry newsletter, you may not have heard that a friend asked us to move just south of Lexington to bring our ministry, Grace to Glory, here and help start a new church. (If you want to receive monthly updates, email tim@gracetoglory.org, and I’ll put you on our list!) We really love our home in Ellijay and prayed for a miraculous way we could live here and still be able to afford to keep it. God answered our prayers by connecting us with a family who left the financial world in New York and bought a farm to become self- sustaining. They had been praying for a family to live on the farm with them to help them gather and wash the organic, free-range eggs they sell to Fresh Market, and local restaurants. And yes, housing, electricity, water, free eggs and goat milk came with it! It’s been really fun to send people to our peaceful house in Ellijay for a retreat, and please know it’s available to you. I have loved jumping into the new community with both feet, making new friends, and forming new ministry partnerships. I was blessed to be a part of Leadership Jessamine, an amazing class for learning about our county and meeting community leaders. And it’s fun to be preaching again on a regular basis! We love that our new church, Shadowland, is community oriented, with the goal of giving away at least 51% of all offerings to those in need around us.

Michelle continues to love homeschooling our now freshman son, Jonathan, but she has recently added some things to her plate that mean some big and exciting changes. Last week, she was hired to counsel women who have been rescued from human trafficking and the sex industry, through a ministry called Refuge for Women (refugeforwomen.org). She drives two days a week to Cynthiana, and the hours, flexibility, and job itself could not be more perfect for her. She also enrolled at The University of the Cumberlands to add a second masters in Addiction Counseling that she’ll earn by the end of the new year. The sequence of all these events, and the doors that were opened to her, is another amazing story of God’s faithfulness. Her upcoming January is packed. She starts the year leading a team of intercessors at the Passion Conference in Atlanta, and then traveling to help lead a women’s retreat in Belize (her first time to go on a mission trip outside the U.S.). Wow, right?! Our oldest son Joshua finished his first semester as a junior at Berry College. He celebrated his 21st birthday this past summer working at Camp Ozark, where he lived for the first two years of his life. He has a sweet girlfriend he met there from Austin, TX, who came to spend the week of Thanksgiving with us! Needless to say, we are adjusting to seeing him less, as he has spent a lot of time this past semester traveling to see this beautiful young lady. Joshua has one more semester at Berry and plans to head back to camp and then to Georgia Tech for two years to finish his dual degree program in engineering. Jacob (19) is with Joshua at Berry and finished his first semester as a sophomore. He has amazed us with his focus on his studies and getting prepared for medical school. We are very excited about a med-school in South Carolina that is working to partner with Berry and their pre-med students. It would be a tremendous opportunity for him if they work out the details. He is looking for internships in the medical field for this summer (contact us if you have any leads!), and waiting to see if he can squeeze in Camp Ozark, as well!! Jonathan (14) has been an incredible trooper in this move, fully engaging in the farm work of feeding chickens and goats, and gathering and washing eggs. He has taken up golf as his sport and let’s his dad play with him. He made his first par on his 25 hole ever, and has made many more since! He’s taking lessons and plans to begin competing this summer. By the way, God has blessed Jonathan with a good friend here, another Jonathan, his age, that also lives on the farm! We feel very blessed to be here, to be passing on the grace that God has given us, and ! to have the privilege of sharing life with you. It’s our prayer that, in 2016, you will live ! more aware of how much God loves you than you were this year. His love and grace truly changes everything!