Merry Christmas and Thanks for a Terrific 2013!!!

Merry Christmas, friends! It’s been a great year. I just want to take a moment to thank everyone for a great first full year back in the USA!

The Woodhams family spent most of 2013 in the throes of culture shock…adjusting to living in the USA after 4 years of living abroad Swiss-style. Perhaps you’re thinking, “You’re American! Why do you need to adjust to living in America?!” Let me tell you, I asked myself that same question when I… walked into a Walmart and got the cold sweats, or stood frozen in the dairy department overwhelmed with all the choices of yogurt, or wondered why strangers were talking to me. Truth is, the books say coming back to one’s own country is often more difficult than adjusting to a foreign one, and that proved true for our family. Still, we’re loving Boulder, Colorado, and exploring the Rocky Mountains, and not having to use Google Translate to read our mail, and eating in Panera every chance we get.

Abe started Kindergarten this year, and made the adjustment like a champ. Seriously, he loves it. He dances through our apartment saying, “I’m learning! I’m learning!” Ella Grace’s curls are so dazzling that we can’t go anywhere without strangers commenting. “Shirley Temple!” they cry in the grocery line, on the street, everywhere. Ella Grace is our family celebrity, and she pirouettes through the living room in her tutu to prove it. Doug continues his research, and took two trips to Panama this year to save the precious and near-extinct Golden Frog. You can learn more about their efforts here: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/news/animals-news/panama-frogs-vin/

I spent the year writing, leading worship, and getting in a smattering of travel: sharing the songs and the message of A Thousand Different Colors. A big shout-out to Powhatan Community Church, Shiloh New Covenant Church, Camp Isaiah, Broomfield UMC, Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church, and The Gate Community Church! Thank you for welcoming me into your hearts and congregations. I truly cherish the opportunity to share the message of A Thousand Different Colors with you all. Thanks to all of my friends in Nashville who have helped me get reconnected to the Nashville scene after I was gone so long on the other side of the ocean. Thanks to all of my friends on the other side of the ocean who haven’t forgotten us, because I surely haven’t forgotten you; I’m hoping 2014 brings me croissants and fondu and worship in your beautiful land.  And thanks to everyone who listens to these new songs, and the old ones, making this music a part of your lives. It’s a great privilege.

A Merry Merry Christmas to you all!  I am so excited for what 2014 has in store, and I pray all of the greatest blessings for your lives.

Here’s a link to a Christmas story I wrote that was published in the Powhatan Today. If you’re searching, and wondering how to make sense of things this Christmas, this is for you.

So much love,