^-1:$-2:^-3:<-3:$-2:*-2:^-1 _ <-1:<-3:$-2 _ #-3:$-3:#-2 !

*-2:+-2:&-3:^-1 _ $-2:#-2:*-2:<-3:&-1 _ &-3:^-1 _ +-1:<-1:<-3:*-2:&-3:<-1:*-3:*-3:&-1 _ $-2:#-2:^-3:<-3:&-1:+-1:*-2:$-2:*-1 . ^-3:<-1:#-2 _ &-1:@-3:$-3 _ ^-3:<-3:<-1:^-3:^-2 _ *-2:+-2:$-2 _ ^-3:@-3:*-1:$-2 ?

You might be checking your computer and monitor for problems right now, or you might be trying to reload the window, just to make sure that everything is okay. I assure you, everything is fine. I am pretty sure that Sister will know what this is as soon as she reads it. You know now too, don't you? Codes and encryption are a lot of fun as kids, especially back in the good old days when we would save up proofs-of-purchase to send in to bye little plastic decoders. I think that we once had a Spiderman decoder.

Sister, Brother, and I have made a modest number of codes ourselves, usually nothing too complex, but something fun to work on. Sister is quite good at this. The code that I have used is based on one of the recent codes that Sister made.

Along with Sister's encrypted letter that she gave me not too long ago, I have been thinking about secrets. The movie that we saw the other night, Shall We Dance? talked about secrets a little bit. My memory was jogged this morning when I came into Sunday School(late as usual *sheepish grin*), and there on the table was a package for me. I don't know who it is from exactly, but I know that it is one of the ladies in the church. We started something last Sunday called "Secret Pals" for the women in the church. We wrote down information about ourselves on forms that were folded and put in a basket, and then each lady drew out one of the forms, making certain that it wasn't her own. Over the course of the next twelve months we have promised to do or send a little something to our "Secret Pal" each month. I have some friends at other churches who have also done this kind of thing, and it seems like such a neat idea.

Well, my little package that awaited me turned out to be a beautiful Day-by-Day box calendar. Each sheet has a picture of nature with a Bible verse for that day. Also, each month has a theme, like strength, comfort, etc. It's beautiful. I wish that I could go ahead and thank the lady who gave it to me right now, but unfortunately I can't know who she is until the end of the year. That's alright. It just helped me to remember to do something for my Secret Pal.

+-2:<-1:#-1:$-2 _ <-1 _ @-1:@-3:@-3:*-1 _ @-2:$-2:$-2:^-2 , _ <-1:#-2:*-1 _ GOD BLESS YOU AND YOURS!!

P.S. Each letter is comprised of a symbol(+) and a number(1) joined together by a hyphon(-). The letters are seperated by colons(:), and the words are seperated by underscores(_). If you are able to solve the code, just leave the decoded message as a comment to this entry; or if you know it, you can send it to my e-mail address. Have fun!