Christmas 2004

Top 10 Signs You Might be a Newlywed

10. You sometimes giggle when you see your name in print.
9. Your disdain for the phrase “Good night” melts away because it only means
rolling over in bed.
8. You find yourself analyzing your spouse’s dishwashing, toothbrushing,
shoe-tying, … techniques.
7. “Home” only refers to your parents 10% of the time.
6. Doing the dishes is a privilege you fight for.
5. You have lengthy discussions about the proper way to store leftovers. (“You
put pizza in Ziploc bags???”)
4. You prefer a Saturday morning at home to a Friday night out.
3. You haven’t mastered the distinction between what’s cute and what’s annoying.
2. Your spouse’s shoulder in the most comfortable pillow in the whole house.
1. You think your marriage is interesting enough to make a Top 10 list!

We continue to be amazed at how wonderful marriage can be. God’s design for human relationships is so glorious – from the simple truth in Ecclesiastes 4:11, “On a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other.” (One blanket is enough, even in December), to the deeper, more meaningful aspects of marriage: trust and vulnerability, mutual accountability, exhortation and encouragement. Even as real life becomes more real, we are excited by how God has already used us in each other’s lives.
In less sappy news, Matthew continues to do customer service for Health Net. Emily just finished the second semester of three in the Teaching Credential program at Sac State. She has a full-time internship teaching Spanish this spring in El Dorado Hills. Our involvement at Hillcrest Alliance Church continues: Matthew preaches occasionally and looks forward to leading the youth group
again in January. Emily is leading a teen ladies’ Bible study and plans to serve
this year as fellowship coordinator. We are still reveling in how tremendously
God blessed us with our apartment and everything in it! It’s a wonderful thing to be so close to our families, able to see them at least once a week!
We thank God for filling our lives with so many blessings, including each
of you. We pray that you will be filled with his joy this Christmas and that he
will bless you in the coming year. Praise be to God!

Love, Matthew and Emily Brooks