One Pastor's Perspective

Hard to believe in such a joyous time of the year that there could be intense pressure . . . RIGHT?? And I am NOT writing about the pressure to find the right gift, or to finish all of the shopping and preparations for holiday festivities. Yes, those can bring pressure, but not like some of those below . . .

One difficulty of the Thanksgiving/Christmas seasons is the heartache of facing that first holiday without a specific loved one . . . Maybe due to death, divorce, or some other type of separation. Families struggle with painful memories during this time and the holiday itself, along with special, traditional activities at church and in the community can be stressful and emotional.

Another struggle in this season comes when families have internal strife. When families are not getting along for one reason or another. This can bring great stress and consternation to all involved, even when two family members are not in agreement with each other.

ANOTHER struggle, intensified this year, is the financial struggle. Let’s face it: Our economy is not great right now, and many of us feel obligated to maintain our Christmas giving at a certain level, perhaps a level easier to achieve in years past. The strain will be felt all along the economic food chain.

What can we do?? USE COMMON SENSE. Be on the lookout for those who are hurting, struggling, and trust God to lead you in what to do. Sometimes all you can do is pray, and that is ALOT. FOLLOW GOD and He will help you help them. ALSO, use common sense this year in your Christmas giving.

If each of us tries, we will ALL make a difference.

Richard McCabe tells a great Santa Claus story from this weekend. Not the usual funny story that Richard is famous for . . . One that will tear your heart out. If you know Richard, ask him about it.

If I could interview ole St Nick, I wonder what he would say about children today. I bet he would tell us that children are very honest with him when they share their Christmas wishes. And don’t believe those wishes are always the most expensive toys, or wishes that would amount to greed if they came out of the mouth of an adult. Sometimes children today wish for things like peace on Earth, or at least peace in their home. Sometimes they wish for separated parents to reunite, or a wayward parent or sibling to come home. Children are not as greedy and selfish as the world paints them.

Sometimes we need to open our eyes and ears and really see and hear what our children want . . . What they really want. Many times those things are not found in a store at all.

What will you give your kids/grandkids/nieces and nephews this Christmas????

There are people on our periphery who ARE on the outside looking in. In the world that is our church (as is EVERY church), that is true. I am NOT writing of those who are purposefully kept outside. IN A CHURCH THAT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN. No, there are people who are almost connected to Ebenezer that see enough about us to know us, and yet are not part of us. I wonder what they see?

They see good things happening. Certainly they do. They hear the buzz about what God is doing, and I pray it brings them in closer and hopefully is what helps them cross the line and come inside. THAT IS WHY WE EXIST, right??? And my prayer is that God is drawing new members in!

They also see the bad things. Hear the rumors. See the baggage. Smell the foul odors. And sometimes they even feel the pain. And some of that is what KEEPS them on the outside. That is a fact.

Okay, the truth is, there will always be some who are on the outside looking in. And when they see the good things about us, that is usually GOD. And when they see the bad stuff, that is always US.

What are they seeing right now??

Yeah, anyone who knows me knows I am a college basketball fan. That has been true since I was a kid. But this year I find myself missing college football more and more.

I watch NFL football SOMETIMES, but it is not the same. Sometimes I think the pros are going through the motions too much (and I feel the same way about the NBA). No, the college level is not like that. Every team seems to be playing for their lives EVERY TIME they play. Something about that makes their games more meaningful, more exciting . . .

How about YOU?? Do you miss college football?? Seriously, how do you play the game of life? Do you go through the motions?? Or, do you play every move like your life depends on it??

Cuz, guess what? IT DOES!

This week, as happens many weeks, I was in a discussion about life and choices with someone when I heard the usual answer about living with sin . . . Yeah, this one KNOWS he is living a sinful life and what he told me shakes me to the core, because so many “Christians” buy into this.

“I am just doin what everyone else is doin. This is the one area of my life that I am protecting from God, that I am not giving to Him. I am doing it because I want to do it, and I don’t give a s*** what anybody around here thinks about it.” (Consequently, when we don’t give a durn about what anybody thinks, we are ALSO saying we don’t give a durn about what GOD thinks.)

Oh yeah, I feel a sermon coming . . . But the short answer is that sin will RULE us and RUIN us. Yes, we are all imperfect. But if we choose to live in sin, we are giving the victory to Satan. Paul spoke much in his letters of running the good race, of fighting the good fight. Both he and James wrote of the discipline a Christian must live . . . WE HAVE TO FIGHT SIN IN OUR LIVES EVERY DAY. When we give up that fight, even in ONE area of our lives, our lives become USELESS to the Kingdom of God.

God does not desire 90% of our lives . . . HE DESIRES 100%!!! Anything less just won’t do.

~ Instead of saying, “Ho-Ho-Ho,” he exclaims “Oy vey!”
~ You recognize him as a former NFL star doing community service hours.
~ He avoids the the food court unless his lawyer is present.
~ He refers to the wishing fountain as his “tip jar.”
~ He won’t talk to the kids without a disclaimer.
~ He asks the kids to leave him milk and ATM cards.
~ He becomes the new cigarette lobby spokesman.
~ Before the kids sit on his lap he orders the elves to frisk them.

(www.mikeysfunnies.com)

Christmas time is one of the best times of the year. Yes, it is hectic. Yes, there is always the struggle to get the right gifts for your friends and family. Yes, there is more to do at a church than you can even imagine. But it is also a great month!

There is something about the Christmas spirit that softens us, that changes us for a brief period of time. We seem to get along better. I believe it is because we who follow Christ try to understand the significance of this great holiday, and it unites us. We can’t deny the true reason for the season, and for that brief period we can put aside all of our differences and focus on Him. I wish we could take THAT part of Christmas along with us year-round (and I KNOW our Heavenly Father would love that, too).

Are you ready for what God is doing this holiday season??

The walls really proved to be more of a problem than I anticipated. When you hang wallpaper on unprimed drywall, you REALLY are hanging it there for life. The problem is, when it starts delaminating and aging in a bathroom, it is almost IMPOSSIBLE to remove. I mean, it WILL come off, but it brings part of the drywall with it!!

Then, you have to work and work to get a wall that looks halfway decent. And when you paint it with the kitchen/bathroom paint they recommend at Lowes, it brings out EVERY flaw even though it is semi-gloss.

In the words of Charlie Brown, GOOD GRIEF!!! Hopefully I will be able to finish everything after work tonight and get that thing put back together!! My guests are tired of having to go hide in the backyard to use the restroom!!!!

Yesterday I took a day off. I have vacation time that I will lose on Dec 31st, so I have planned to take a day here and there before the end of the year. However, there was a purpose for yesterday — A leaking toilet in our half-bath!!! FUN!! The toilet has apparently leaked since the flange was cracked on installation TEN YEARS AGO when the house was built. And, the wax seal didn’t seal. And the floor and subfloor was rotten.

Thanks to Olin Bullock (helping me with another situation like this five years ago), I knew what do to. I pulled the toilet, cut out the rotten wood, built a little more joist support for the patch, put in the subfloor, cut and replaced the flange, and then replaced the top floor. I am now waiting to finish painting the bathroom before installing the final floor covering.

Today, sanding, priming, painting, flooring, and if I get ALL of that done, I get to CAREFULLY seat the toilet back on the flange, paying careful attention to the wax seal.

Okay, if Ebenezer runs me off, I could do more than computer work.

Morris ran into Jacob while shopping at the mall the other day in front of one of the jewelry stores. Noticing a conspicuously small gift wrapped box in his hand, Morris asked if was a gift for Jacob’s wife Becky.

Jacob told Morris, “With Christmas coming up, I asked Becky what she wanted and she said, “Oh, I don’t know just give me something with lots of diamonds in it.”

“So what did you get her?” Morris asked.

Jacob smiled and replied, “I bought her a deck of cards.”

today’sTHOT============================
How does Santa Claus take pictures? With his North Pole-aroid.

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