Craig’s Corner 2019 December

It’s the MOST wonderful time of the year!

I can’t argue with that sentiment.  I LOVE Christmas.  When I was little, I loved it because of the anticipation of Santa, the annual Mattel Electronics game or die-cast metal Japanese toy my parents would give to me, and my early morning experiments at cooking breakfast for me and my sister Karen.  What an eclectic menu!  Beef and potato burritos, bologna and blue cheese on toast, and peanut butter and butter on toast were among my specialties.  Now, I look forward to the season maybe even more than just the specific day.  I love the cool winter weather (when we lived in Georgia, we might actually see snow!), decorating the house with family, excursions to see Santa, driving through the neighborhood and seeing Christmas lights everywhere, listening (and singing) to Christmas songs in the car…all of it just seems so magical.  But what I love most is the love and kindness we see come out at Christmas.  Acts of generosity are seen regularly.  People wish you “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Holidays” everywhere you go.  And more often than not, we see the love of Christ shine through in ways we don’t see most of the year.  I still love Christmas Day.  But there’s kind of a sad denouement about it because you realize the next day sort of returns everything to normal.  

Of course, we start gearing up for the New Year, but I hesitate to take down the Christmas tree.  It’s like putting away the Christmas spirit until next year.  But why?  Why can’t we celebrate Christmas all year ‘round?  If we are truly the people of Christ, let’s instead remember that spirit even after the presents are open.  Let us challenge ourselves to be more generous with our time, with our gifts, with our love for one another.  Make an effort to meet that neighbor across the street you never reached out to.  Go and buy coffee for the random person in line behind you at Starbucks.  Forgive someone whether they have asked for forgiveness or not.  As Christians, every day should be a Christmas celebration because we wake up each morning with the knowledge that Christ gave us this day, too.  With his birth we experienced Immanuel – God WITH US!  And we still do today.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. – Luke 2:9-11

God bless you, everyone!  May the peace of Christ be upon you now and always.  

Craig

Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Have you already hung the stockings with care?  Are you thinking about what kind of milk and cookies to leave for Santa?  Are you looking forward to seeing a certain movie during this Christmas season?  I hope this holiday season is filled with the blessings of family, friends, and loved ones.  I will pray that all of us will be filled with the Holy Spirit now and always.  And I am looking forward to seeing you all at our Christmas Eve worship this year.  As always, our choir is planning to sing some beautiful songs to help us bring in the magic of Christmas and we plan to have a wonderful worship service that reflects the love of Christ to everyone.  

As you plan for the holiday season, I hope you’ll keep these dates in mind and come to as many as you can.  We would love to see you!

  • December 1st @11:30am – Join us after worship for our Annual Christmas Bazaar sponsored by our United Methodist Women’s group.  Enjoy the homemade crafts and beautiful gifts available and this year a special collection of Japanese artifacts thanks to the donation of the Okazaki family.  You’ll want to come and see it!
  • December 8th @12:30pm – Our Annual Church Conference and Potluck takes place after worship, so please bring a dish and come by as we celebrate the Lord’s blessings we’ve had this year.  
  • December 18th @7pm – Come and enjoy our Cocoa and Carols event at the church!  We’ll be singing Christmas songs together, enjoying a hot cocoa bar, and Santa is scheduled to come by and visit.  Come and take pictures with Santa (who just might have a little bag of goodies for the little ones), enjoy some cookies and cocoa, and bring the whole family.  
  • December 24th @7pm – Candlelight Christmas Eve Worship – THE event to bring family and friends, neighbors and naysayers!  Together we will celebrate Immanuel – God With Us!  We will share in the story of Christ, sing songs of praise and worship, hear from our wonderful choir, have a special Fun Time with Rev. Craig, and listen to a message about God in our lives.  Be there!

We hope to see you often during the Christmas season!  

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Peace in Christ,

Craig