The next couple days had three priorities: 1) Get the cards in the mail; 2) Write the annual family newsletter; and 3) Deck the halls, inside and out! Of course these tasks always take more time than one thinks they should, but by December 24th they were all completed. We prefer to create our own card, so this year we chose a plate I made as a Christmas gift for Linda in 1972 to use as our illustration. It depicts the holy birth in the stable at Bethlehem. |
Linda produces our newsletter, so she may disagree with this next statement, but I think the decorating outside and in is the most intensive preparation task. It includes the live tree (No artificial tree will do!) and all the exterior greens and interior trimmings. I always think this part of our Christmas celebration ties the past to the present. Each ornament and decoration comes with a memory, like our miniature town which includes houses that graced the tree skirts in my mother’s home and our own. I particularly enjoy setting out our crèche collection which includes examples from around the world. They remind me of the international scope of the good news announced to the shepherds. |
A traditional part of Christmas present is the evening candlelight service on the 24th. We attended at Doubling Gap First Church this year where our daughter Emily goes regularly. This is not a complaint, but serving the CGGC as we do, Linda and I have no church home, no one place where we regularly worship. We miss having a community. Looking ahead to Christmas future we anticipate settling in to a local congregation and being part of a home church once again. After two decades of serving in an administrative capacity I have an even greater regard for the merits of the local church. |
The Sunday after Christmas we returned to Doubling Gap for the morning service. Pastor Don and Tammy Snyder were away on vacation, so we got to hear Rick Egolf preach. That afternoon Linda and I led the chapel service at the Churches of God Home in Carlisle (pictured below). |
One of the things I like to do during my holiday time is to watch the 1984 version of Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” that features George C. Scott in the role of Scrooge. In my opinion it’s the best dramatization of this Victorian classic. After a night of revelations when confronted with his gravestone, Scrooge repents his disdain for Christmas and Christian benevolences pledging to keep Christmas past, present, and future while not forgetting the lessons they each teach. So may it be for us all, and in the words of Tiny Tim, “May God bless us everyone!” |
Ed
Soli Deo Gloria!