My brother-in-law [Rick][]was lamenting the state of holiday church services. While there is nothing wrong with Christmas Eve or Easter Services in general, he said that they lacked what he called "grit" -- realness, authenticity, and transparency. To give an example, Rick was asked to pick a version of the Christmas story from the Bible and he picked[Revelation 12,][]which is probably the most accurate version from the spiritual perspective.

Rick explained that many people come to church only twice a year -- on the holidays -- and they don't sense they have any real problems so they don't come back. If the service was about real problems, maybe they could identify better. Later Rick stated that blogs have become a good source of grit -- where people let their problems and their struggles out for everyone to see.

I couldn't agree more. Lately I've been reading some blogs that have had their share of grit, and to them, I salute you.

• [Linda][], who is glad God is more patient than she is.
• [Jayne][], who's husband is still struggling with brain cancer.
• [Dave][], who lost his job and sees that as approaching a new horizon.