HARD TO BELIEVE!!! Do you ever find it hard to believe something? As I sit here about to share my heart with you, I find it totally unbelievable that we are exactly one month away from Christmas! Actually when this posting hits the church blog, it will be Thanksgiving Day. For those who read the hard copy in church on Sunday, Thanksgiving will be but a pleasant memory … and we will be into the last thirty days before Christmas … the celebration of Jesus’ birthday! I define that – because nowadays, Christmas is about everything BUT honoring Jesus and remembering His birth. Sad. So sad. Often, while at work in the midst of the “retail craziness”, I find myself shooting a “help me prayer” up to God. It’s a different kind of prayer. And yes, I DO ask God for help and wisdom and strength while on the job. But more than that, my prayer is that God will “help me” to honor Him and exuberate peace in the midst of the stress … that God will “help my life to count” for something more than just the “stepped-up-a-notch” 8-hour shift … that He will “help me be the breath of fresh air” that someone needs while they are just about hyper-ventilating over their shopping hysteria … and on and on. You get the picture! There’s always plenty to smile about if you look for the good, and each day since the Christmas music started playing in the store, I’ve been given something awesome to smile about! This year, there are several Christian songs in the mix of all the other holiday songs that are being played. They are new Christmas songs being performed by contemporary Christian artists … and the message of Christ’s birth and the reason for the season comes through beautifully. And I find myself smiling and my heart nearly skips a beat in thankfulness for a corporation that has taken a strong stand this Christmas season – and is honoring Christ though it may not be “politically correct”! At the risk of losing sales over the perception that customers might be offended if they are not of the Christian faith, they choose to make the Truth of Christmas known – regardless of the outcome. Thank God for a company who gets it right, and is not afraid to put their priorities out in the open for the public to see! And in retrospect, God honors this company right back. For in this downturn of the economy, when many other retailers have gone bankrupt and closed their doors – this company is expanding. The customers keep coming – they keep buying. And I have a feeling that God is just keeping His promise, that when we honor Him, He will honor us! Oh, and since they’ve gone public with their unabashed “Reason for the season” Christmas songs, I guess it’s alright for me to tell you that this corporation is none other than “Kohl’s”! How I’d love to see us as individuals be as bold and confident in our sharing of the true reason for the season! There’s no better way to earn respect than to live our lives the same way – no matter where we are, or what’s going on, or who we are with! It’s when we are rock-solid that people will sit up and listen and pay attention, because our actions match our words! And in this special Christmas season … it’s so important that we do just that! There’s a world of people out there who are searching and longing for someone, anyone – to be genuine and down-to-earth and honest. There’s not much we can count on in this world today … things are changing so fast our vision nearly blurs as we watch. There are very few people that keep their promises or follow through. There are few who show they care as much about others as themselves. That gives us an opportunity to be that person. That one that God is looking for in this earth; that one who can be counted on … that one who keeps their promises … that one who is genuine and real and full of integrity … that one who puts others ahead of themselves. That one who will be unabashed in their celebration of Jesus’ birthday, when it’s not popular! When God finds those special people, I think His heart melts. I think He smiles a big smile. And I think He can hardly wait to peek at the “gift” that we’ve become as we’ve allowed Him to shape us up into believers with backbones! Though He already knows what is in “the package”, He can hardly wait to see us opened up and proclaiming His good news on the many stages of this world! Let’s be a gift that will bless Jesus on His birthday – and everyday!!!
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
IN A NUTSHELL . . .
- A SPECIAL WELCOME to Nancy who worshipped with us for the first time! We look forward to having you join us every time you are back home! And welcome back to Jason and Rogelio! God’s blessings to all of you!
- THANKS FOR SHARING!!! Our church family was able to provide 30 meals for the homeless and hungry this Thanksgiving Day through Union Gospel Mission – how that thrills our hearts! Plus, they received the message of Christ’s love and forgiveness and hope!
- LOOKING AHEAD . . .
- THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 29th:
- 10:00 a.m. – WORSHIP & PRAISE – come prepared to begin our celebration of Jesus’ Birthday as a church family! Each of our services leading up to Christmas will be filled with Christmas music and with a series of messages on “Christmas Touch: Making Christ-like Connections during the Holidays”. You won’t want to miss a single one of these services!
- 11:15 a.m. – A SPECIAL CHURCH FAMILY GATHERING w/refreshments to honor the Bucholz family who is moving to MI this week. This will be our time for sharing our love and our hearts with them. They have blessed us beyond words, and our deepest prayer is that God will go before them, with them, beside them, bless them and use them for His glory! To the Bucholz family … we love and appreciate you all more than you can ever know ~ and we thank God for you! You have blessed Elevation North immensely while you were with us and have been so instrumental in carrying God’s Kingdom work forward! We will miss you greatly!
- 1:15 a.m. - ? … AFTERNOON YOUTH OUTING filled with many fun events around town, and then a time of devotions and reflection back at Pastor D’s and Debbie’s home. For more details, give us a call! (This will take the place of our regular Tuesday meeting for this week.)
- PRAYER OPPORTUNITES . . .
- Prayer is a form of opening the whole of our hearts to God. We empty the good and the bad before Him as we pour out the very longings of our souls. And He’s right there to listen, to hear, and to answer ~ as close as our very breath! This week, join us in praying for many in our church family who have been battling sickness. And we would ask that you especially lift up our students at the high school in light of what has been happening recently – for God to use them and for divine protection from all danger. Our students need to know that we are standing in the gap for them and on our knees in prayer on their behalf! God can take these circumstances and transform them into opportunities for making Himself known to those who need Him so!
- THIS WEEK . . . Remember, “God must have said, ‘I know what I’ll do, I’ll send my love right down there where they are. And I’ll send it as a tiny baby, so they’ll have to touch it, and they’ll have to hold it close’.” ~ Gloria Gaither
Serving Christ Joyfully . . .
Pastor Doug and Debbie
