Merry Christmas from the Leadbetters!!!
 Not sure what this year has been like for you...it's certainly been quite a mix of celebrations and also challenges for us.  I love these words from the introduction to the Valley of Vision devotional: "Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine."  What we pray for ourselves, we also pray for you - that, in this season of Advent, our hearts would be filled with joy because has Jesus entered into our darkness in order to rescue us from it.  He truly is Emmanuel, "God with us", come to restore all that is broken.   
 (And yes, that picture was taken last year (!)... so everybody's older, some are taller, and some even thinner!)

Lee Leadbetter
RUFI at UT Knoxville