Friday, December 25, 2009

Christmas Eve 4

Lights extinguished, songs sung, Holy Communion served, well wishes expressed, and the Gospel proclaimed in song, sacrament and sermon- all told a new record...

1126 souls served tonight!

Merry Christmas!

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Christmas Eve 3

Some elves have been very busy around here! The staff send there special, special thanks to the elves (i.e. the Tuesday morning DISCIPLE Bible class) for bringing us dinner!

The chili, veggies, fruit, and yummy deserts were so very much appreciated! We feasted! And it was really very fun to site down together inbetween services (sitting part was nice) and eat delicious food. You made us feel loved and cared for (much better than the PBJ sandwiches that I have eaten for the past 11 Christmas Eve's!) Thank you so much!

Our luminaries may have lost their ilumination by now- but not our Christmas Spirit- we have one more service. Already we have surpassed last year's attendance. (We did that with only 3 services!)

I am hopeful that our offering was just as healthy and bountiful!

So what do we do inbetween services?

Clean up litter in the sanctuary, organize music, get bulletins ready, sweep (Jen did that for me this year), eat, prepare for the next service, and make sure we have enough ushers, greeters, candlelighters etc.

Me- I just write in my blog!

See you in a another one- real soon.

Christmas Eve 2

Best moments from 7pm worship:

  • Seeing church folks back in the flock,
  • Luminaries remained lite in spite of the rain,
  • Watching my daughter admire her candle during Silent Night,
  • Singing Carols,
  • My husband finding Santa Claus on his Blackberry via Google's www.noradsanta.org,
  • Sharing Communion with folks who have lost loved ones this year, recovered or battled illnesses and the smiles on their faces!
  • Knowing we only have 2 more to go! :)

Christmas Eve 1

Wonderfully noisy children and their families filled our sanctuary moments ago.

Praise God for our Youth (and almuni) Glory singers, children's choirs, Praise Band for fabulous music! It was a terrific service to begin our night of festivity!

I didn't dare look at the Holy Family as they came down the aisle (see my previous Blog about Tissues Needed)... too precious!

Now, I gotta eat, pass around candles, clean up discarded bulletins, and watch the rain try to dampen our luminaries!

See you!

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Day Before, the Day Before Christmas

Happy day before the 'day before' Christmas!

We have one birthday gift left to buy and a few gifts to wrap- and we're ready for the Party! Woo hoo!

Our preschooler can barely contain her excitement... Secretly, I have sorted through her toys and boxed many up... making room for Santa's gifts as well as those from the family.

She and her Daddy are supposedly spending today (while I am at work) doing some 'elf' sorts of things. She has kept her Daddy's gift a secret- that girl can hold a confidence! And she has not told me a word about my gifts...impressive.

Expect many blogs tomorrow night- inbetween worship and what not... I'll have nothing better to do (except vaccuum) and write thank you notes as the night wears on and on and on...

Merry, merry to you all! See you in the world of blogs or worship! Either will be Merry!

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Tissues Needed

When you come to worship on Christmas at the 5 o'clock service (we have 3 other services too- 7, 9 amd 11pm), please bring me a tissue. I'll need it especially at the first evening service.

Not because I am fighting a cold or have allergies to poinsettas and candlelight, but because Jesus will be there.

Don't get me wrong, I believe Jesus will be at all of our worship services because our intention is to honor and adore Him, but He will be at 5pm in special form. And that special form is what I know will move me to a few tender tears.

Our 5pm service is our family service with our children's choirs singing, lots of busy children, Holy Communion for families, and no hot wax to burn the kiddos. What also makes this service unique is that during the Gospel reading Mary, Joseph and a tiny newborn will come forward for the children to admire. They are our Holy Family.

This year's family is especially holy. Because like the Prophets Isaiah, Malachi, and Micah longed and waited for the Messiah to come- this Mom and Dad have been waiting and waiting for a child to come into their lives. They have been through too many dissappointments and failed attempts.

Last year after yet another loss and dissappointment- this couple and I prayed together. We sensed that their firstborn would be Jesus this year for our Christmas Eve worship. And she arrived early during the Thanksgiving holiday to make sure she was on time!

Her Mom, Dad and I know she isn't the Savior of the world (we already have one). She will not save us from our sins, nor can she offer us eternal life, but all of us as believers in Jesus are asked to imitate His generosity, love, compassion and peace towards in another. We are called to be Jesus for one another.

This little newborn has been longer for, waited on, hoped for, and prayed for. She was also conceived, carried and birthed in love. And she has offered her parents a tremendous opportunity to practice the art and act of love within a family.

Therefore- she is Jesus. Just as every child has been, is or will be. Just as you are. And I am.



Sigh- anybody got a tissue handy, now?!

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Holiday Lunch

I just had the one of the best holiday lunches ever and it had nothing to do with the food! (Meals were okay, but the service was shaky especially when the waitress dumped my ice tea on my friend's lap.)

My shout goes out today to girlfriends! Yippee- to have girlfriends! Girls need their girlfriends to talk and chat with like guys need their guy friends to tinker on a car motor and complain about their favorite sports teams.

Life often gets in the way of my time with girlfriends so when we do get together- it is special and meaningful. My girlfriends are funny, faith-filled, and fiercely strong (especially about their children.) Hearing their life stories and how they cope (or not) with stuff makes me feel less alone and strengthened. I learn so much from them.

Thanks gals, for making my holiday season and my life better & brighter!

My prayer is that every woman or man is a friend to themself by being a friend to someone else. It is the gift that keeps on giving.

Here's to friendship! (Just don't knock over the ice tea!)

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Pray Like Kindergarten Students?

Our kindergarten students help put life in perspective for me.

Every week we listen to their prayers of celebration or concern. (They now inform me about how many prayers they have that day.) They tell us about what hurts and who is hurting. They remind us about deceased family members (which also include dead pets). Usually I learn during intercessory prayer time who is absent from class and why they are not there.

The last two weeks during prayer time the kids have been praying about HOW many presents they want to receive. Yes, they are giving me a numerical figure.

When they are feeling generous, I have noticed, this praying student will include, "I want everyone in my class to get a hundred presents!" I've tried to talk to them about what the difference between a prayer request and a wish/hope is. But I am not sure I am communicating this well to our students.

Today, I tried a different approach. After I heard the same sort of prayer, I asked, "So, what are you going to give to someone else this Christmas?" The student didn't miss a beat, "Nothing. Its about presents." He didn't blink. And neither did his classmates.

Stubbornly, I tried again, "But Christmas is about giving AND receiving. What can you give? Can you help around the house? Give a hug? Help with your pet or younger sibling?"

This student, like all the rest of us, was stubborn right back. "I'm not doing that." he said.

Hmmm.... my experience tells me that somehow we leaders and teachers in the church are failing in our jobs. We have failed to teach about the joy of giving. We have rendered this generation faithless because they are not experiencing the deep satisfaction and wonder which comes from giving. Christmas is about giving. God gave. And we are to do our best to imitate that by giving to others.

Or maybe these squirmy bunch of kids cannot help but like getting beautifully wrapped packages from a mysterious jolly guy in a fuzzy red suit- and that is enough. Or is it?

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Christmas Blues- already

I've got the Christmas blues for my blue devils....(can't you hear Elvis singing his song in the back ground of this blog?!) ...they lost last night to a group of Big Ten Badgers. How pathetic- badgers?!

First time in a decade that the ACC lost the ACC/Big Ten Challenge! Wow- a Christmas miracle came early for the Big Ten!

How rough is that?! I could barely stomach watching the first half of the game...Coach Bob Knight's commentary; especially on the refs, was the best part of the experience.

Sigh. And don't ask me about my Steelers, they too need more than a Christmas miracle for their season.

Good thing I can lose myself and my sorrow while baking dozens of Christmas cookies.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Bringing in Christmas

How to have fun while waiting in the cold dark night for the Monument Circle giant Christmas tree to be lit:
  1. Need a great spot to tailgate.
  2. Need lots of jackets, mittens, and blankets.
  3. Need silly entertainment like your spouses' Blackberry so that you can keep up with the Duke-UConn game stats while waiting.
  4. Need to not drink too much because there are no bathrooms on top of the parking garage where you wait.
  5. Need family to snuggle up with in the back of your SUV.

All that adds up to great family fun while bringing in the Advent/Christmas season!

Epilogue to Turkey Day

We made it! No one got sick from bad turkey (it was still frozen at 6:30am Thanksgiving morning. My husband promptly fired me, but four hours later I was re-hired after all came out well. It was the juicist bird ever!)

All of my To Do list was accomplished. Thanks be to the grace of God and a wonderful husband who took a day off work to help me clean.

The only piece of wisdom I can share from the last two weeks is that you know you are stressed when you have an ocular migraine in the middle of Wal-Mart while shopping for the thanksgiving feast.

Whew- now it's on for Advent and Christmas! :)