"Do not be afraid..."

I found it hard to fall asleep last night,

and once I did it was fitful for several reasons.

Too much pumpkin pie may have been one of those reasons.

Here is another.

Let me introduce you to the newest member of our family.

Gabriel William Markey born Friday November 27, 2015.

This little guy is miles and miles away.

In fact he is at the Arctic Circle in Salekhard, Yamal, Russia

with his mama, papa and two big sisters.

Gabriel in the Bible was an angel, a messenger of God,

most notably to Zechariah to tell him that Elizabeth would bear John,

(the one sent to prepare people for the coming of Jesus)

and to Mary,

to tell her that she would bear the Son of God, Jesus.

Gabriel William shares the same initials as David's dad.

William was Bill's given name.

Our prayer is that Gabriel will grow to be a man of God,

just as his daddy is and grandfathers were

and that he will share Jesus with a world in sore need of Good News.

(I encourage you to read *Luke chapter 1 to get the full story of Gabriel's interaction first with Zechariah and later with Mary. Part of his message to both was "Do not be afraid..." A message the world needs to hear today. Do not be afraid. God hears your prayers, God has sent a Savior...)

*Luke is the third book in the New Testament portion of the Bible.