Holiday Greetings!

My wife and I wish to extend our holiday wishes to all of our readers.

To our Jewish friends, a belated Happy Hanukkah! I hope your festival of lights was joyous. I hope you took time to remember the miracle and the fight for freedom and sovereignty that led to it. May the light of God continue to warm your hearts and homes for all the days to come.

To our Christian friends, Merry Christmas. We hope your advent season is remarkable and wondrous. May you receive the greatest of joys this year -- the surprised looks of enjoyment on the faces of all who received your generosity as you celebrate the birth of your messiah.

To our Pagan and Druid friends, may your Yule be blessed and bright. May your hearth and heart be warmed in these times as the sun begins its return to the days. May the gods, the ancestors, and the nature spirits join you by the fires and may the out-dwellers leave you in peace.

For those who are not among our closest friends and family, my wife and I are religious. Neither of us are Christian. We are both conservatives. We are both moral people. We have a high respect for life and for the law. We both strongly believe in personal responsibility and accountability. In essence, you can easily include both of us in the leftist-invented collective called "the religious right".

We both love and accept the first amendment. We do not believe in a "freedom from religion" but in the Freedom of Religion. From the deepest depths of our hearts, we both hope you celebrate and rejoice in the traditions of your religious beliefs.

In addition, in these times, we both know that any amount of giving is truly a sacrifice. These uncertain economic times bring stress to this year more than they did last year or the year before. We hope that you remember the meaning behind your respective religious holiday and the traditions you observe. Give from the heart. Something that you put thought and love into will mean more than how much you spend. We are hand making many of our gifts this year. The efforts have provided us family activities as well as generated some unique and thoughtful gifts for our friends and family.

The primary thing to consider this year is giving what your friends and family will treasure most -- time. Spend some time with them. Celebrate. Rejoice.

Love And Blessings Be Abundant Upon You and Yours.

Paul and Melissa Matuszak.