Christmas Greetings to Family and Friends

As another year draws to a close, we look forward to celebrating Christmas and the beginning of a New Year.  Our prayer is for sensitivity to each other, and to others, as John assumes new teaching responsibilities at Cedarville College, as Brad graduates from Cedarville High School and enters college, as Mindy enters her teen years, and as Abby labors to make our home a place of refreshment, rest, and hospitality.

So concluded the Silvius Christmas letter for 1987 as we purposed with a prayer for sensitivity to each other as our family of four faced the prospects of the New Year 1988, thirty-five years ago.  Those 35 years have seen Brad and Mindy find their marriage partners, establish their own homes and pursue meaningful professional careers.  We are humbly thankful to God for the privilege of having a son and daughter, blessed to see them grow in the love and grace of God and to experience their kind respect for, and patience toward, their mom and dad; and, more recently to one another in our growing family.

As we reflect on our 53 years of marriage and the many blessings Abby and I have experienced in our 76 years of life, the truth of 1 Corinthians 4: 7 is becoming more and more real to us: 
What do you have that God hasn’t given you?
And if everything you have is from God,
why boast as though it were not a gift?

It is in the spirit of this reminder from God who is the “Giver of every good and perfect gift” (James 1: 17) that we have written this Christmas letter—not to boast about our family, but rather, to share news of what great things God is doing in and through us and each of our loved ones.

Brad continues to serve as a housing loan officer for John Adams Mortgage Co. in Ann Arbor, Michigan; and, his wife Raquel continues her responsibilities as Program and Project Manager at University of Michigan.  Together, they have continued to manage The Little Leaders Company which provides faith-based streaming media for toddlers.  During the past 2 years, Brad and Raquel have also become managers of a vacation rental unit in Florida.

Besides being a husband and father, Steve divides his energies between serving on the pastoral staff at Southeast Church in Tallmadge, OH; working full-time with a handyman home painting service; and trying his skills in the realty business with his newly acquired license.  Mindy is completing the first year in her new position as Advanced Practice Provider with Wellbe Senior Medical in the Akron area.  We are blessed to watch the maturing of Mindy and Steve’s three children, our grandchildren, as summarized in the following paragraphs.

Our grandson, Caleb and his wife Soni enjoy their home in the Pittsburgh area near a hub from which Caleb as a trucker for Papa John’s Pizza delivers fresh dough and fixings to pizza lovers in western PA and eastern Ohio.  As a relatively new homeowner, Caleb is learning handyman skills from his dad while Soni finds it a welcome break from her studies at Pittsburgh Technical College to decorate and prepare meals for the two of them and people such as their family who visit occasionally.

One of our family highlights in 2023 was the marriage of our older granddaughter, Kiara to John Basford.  This sweet couple is now establishing their home near North Canton.  Kiara continues her enrollment in college courses while working full time at a new start-up company, Buckeye Brownies.  John enjoys his work as HR Associate with Amazon.  Both are active in their home church, Southeast Church in Tallmadge.

Della Rose, our younger granddaughter, is a sophomore at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy where she is currently enrolled in chemistry, history, Bible, and Spanish, among other courses.  We have recently enjoyed a Christmas choral program in which Della Rose sang as a member of the Concert Choral.  She loves animals, especially horses, and enjoys working part-time at Pegasus Farm, Hartville, OH.

Another family highlight in 2023 was our family weekend retreat in August at an Airbnb near Medina, Ohio where we enjoyed games, hiking and wading in a nearby stream, good food, and catching up on family news in a cozy environment.  Abby and I were also blessed once again to spend part of February in Florida with dear friends and family.

We are thankful for our home and neighborhood here in Wooster, Ohio.  We have many great neighbors who represent diverse ages, beliefs, values, and vocations.  Opportunities to assist several of them in times of need, or to ask assistance from them, have helped us build friendships and to share our home, garden vegetables, flowers, and faith.  Meanwhile, we are mindful of the lasting bonds we share with dear friends in the Cedarville community and beyond, and we thank those of you who have cooperated in our limited ability to stay in touch.

We are thankful for our church, West Hill Baptist Church, and for our small group which now meets in our home weekly.  John considers his accountability relationship with several godly men as a most blessed provision from our Heavenly Father.  Henry W. Longfellow’s lament, ’There is no peace on Earth,’ I said, now made famous in the hymn, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” is becoming increasingly relevant as we see the increasing turmoil among nations; and, within our nation, churches, families, and even in our own minds.  Thankfully, God’s answer to this darkness plaguing all of us is the Light of the World, born on Christmas Day (Luke 4: 16-21).

Our own growth in the grace of God this year has been encouraged by both our blessings and our trials.  We thank several of you who have invited our prayers and assistance as you have faced physical and spiritual trials.  We have not forgotten you and especially at this time of year.  Thankfully, our trials have been “momentary light afflictions.”  John’s back injury in June became a blessing with the help of 30 sessions at Paragon Physical Medicine where “Dr. Bryce” and his amazing team inspired John to continue with a daily stretching routine.  Abby is thankful that an October fall didn’t cause a fatal injury to her head, and she is learning to walk more carefully.

Thank you for reading our letter, and thanks to many of you who have reached out to us with Christmas and year-end greetings and news.  Although you may not receive a mailed card from us, please know that we will be lifting each of you by name in prayer during the days ahead.  Meanwhile, we hope you will be blessed by the times you enjoy with family and friends, and in reflecting on God’s greatest Gift, Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace who came to help us, and is coming again.

Have a blessed Christmas and New Year,

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