I am sure many of you probably didn’t think a December Newsletter would be themed on lyrics from the Eagles. I am sure this time of the year is not easy for many of us. As we consider our list of to do’s before Christmas, some of us are probably feeling overwhelmed. I know as I look at my calendar of just what I still have to plan for worship services and activities just for Bethany, I am feeling the Christmas Cram, as one friend called it one year. This doesn’t include the various activities and traditions Amanda and I have (or still don’t know about yet). I wonder why Advent tends to be this time where it seems like everything becomes so crammed and with it being a shorter season this year…it doesn’t make it easier. I do see part of the reason why people started having Christmas items up right after Halloween now. This returns to my earlier thought, from the Eagles and what this season of Advent should mean for us. Advent serves as a time, not for Christmas Cramming, but as a time to slow down and really take in what we have during this season. For some, it is having family members who we can gather with during this holiday season. Others, it might include being thankful for having a source of income or a place to call home. …show more content…
I pray you take advantage of the various offerings to experience the Advent season as we prepare for Jesus’s Birth. Come to one of Mid-Week Advent Services (12 noon and/or 6:30pm), hear and talk about the various hymns of Advent during our Faith on Tap gatherings (Dec 5 & 19 at Marzoni’s at 6pm), celebrate the Birth of Jesus after our Dec 17th service with cake and fellowship. Come to Christmas Eve services (1p & 6p) and hear the retelling of Jesus’s Birth, this may also be a great time to rejuvenate your spiritual life at church with a community who loves you. Come on Dec 31st, during our 9am Sunday Service time, as we enjoy a service of Lessons and
Which leads into my third and final premise, changing the date will be a large step towards reconciliation and act as a demonstration that we have aspirations to make our country better. Many people claim that changing the date will not change history. Of course they’re right because nothing can change history. If we were capable of doing so, I’d like to think we would have done it already. Changing the date of Australia Day will not reverse the suffering that the original custodians of this land were subjected to. Nor will it abolish the iron fist of racism that Australia seems to be gripped by.
It’s fall everyone and Halloween is coming.I would like to tell you that fall is the best season of all.
Attention Getter: According to The Red Cross Foundation, the American Red Cross responds to more than 70,000 disasters in America each year.
Each year the RMHC of Chicagoland awards $4,000 per year, that is renewable scholarships to extraordinary area high school seniors who are committed to community service and academic excellence.
Specific Purpose Statement: To persuade my audience to donate blood through the American Red Cross.
Ah, to be a kid again. How wonderful it would be to relive the magic of Christmas. Don’t get me wrong, I have always been a kid at heart and a true lover of Christmas. But as we get older and we realize that Santa Claus and the North Pole were just stories our parents told us so we’d behave, Christmas starts to lose that magical feeling. No matter how much we might still love it, Christmastime just isn’t the same as when we were young. And at a time of all the aggravating shopping hustle and bustle, dents in the pockets, headaches, traffic jams and long lines, I begin to realize that God has sent me the most magical Christmas gift of all, a beautiful three year old whom I can relive Christmas in all over. Through my child’s eyes, I see myself each time his face lights up at the sight of Santa, and I feel his anticipation each morning as he faithfully opens up one more window on the Christmas calendar. Tonight, as we decorate the tree, I admiringly watched his tiny fingers delicately place each of the ornaments on all the same branches until they drooped to the floor. So proud of his work, I secretly placed some elsewhere, as to not hurt his feelings, and wondered how many times my own mother had done the same thing. And after a long day of shopping and excitement, I watched his eyelids begin to droop while lying underneath the warm glow of the Christmas tree lights.
– Psalm 29:11 The hustle-bustle associated with holidays begins “Black Friday” (day after Thanksgiving) and typically, doesn’t ease-up until January 2. Consider noting a start date on your calendar to begin pre-emptive prayers. Don’t consider this a punitive
Today it seems as though Christmas has fallen victim to materialism and commercialization. Rather than it being a time of loving and giving, it has become a stressful season of greed. Amidst all the hustle and bustle, it is important for us to recognize the true reason of the season, and celebrate in a fashion that exemplifies that reason.
Have you ever had a dream or a wish? Have you ever wanted to go somewhere but you're too sick, too tired, and you don't have enough money and you had already lived your life? Donate to the Make-A-Wish-Foundation, they help every kid make their dream come true! If you donate you won't just make the kids happy, you would make yourself happy! I believe this is the best charity to donate to. A little kid from Make-A-Wish-Foundation one time said “Just wanted to say thanks for putting a twinkle back into little shining stars. Your hard work brightens lives!” -Terri.
Advent Calendars help us in observing the twenty-five days leading to Christmas with devotional reading or suggested acts of charity. The Advent Wreath is set up and the candles are lit each week as the light of Christ increases in the darkness of winter that surrounds
I wonder how many of us have a burden for the world especially those right outside the doors of the church. Years ago a A study done so that if you were a church of shown five that you were considered a mega church. This number not only shows the kind of church attendance but also the dying bird and for the lost and hurting of the world around us when was the last time you spent time in prayer for the loss of the world especially those right outside the doors of the church. We tend to get complacent, comfortable even lazy if you walk over church in reaching out to others excuse becomes a myriad of statements, it's someone else's job I'm busy let the young people do that ormy favorite I'm told to do that anymore!but still on the outside of the doors of the church or church or people who are lost hurting dying to need you in the matter of the world and have lost their way.
It is only meant to give you some personal outlook on how for some the holidays are not always holly, jolly. In the past few months, even weeks, I’ve had numerous friends experience the loss of someone they love dearly. When I lost my Mom it was two weeks before Christmas. To be honest, I don’t really remember a lot from Christmas Day. I do remember how my heart was broken and I struggled because I had a 16-month-old that needed Christmas to feel “normal.”
Well, a place where to live is essential for everybody. Today I am going to show you a less expensive, practical and ecofriendly solution for this basic but indispensable necessity.
Have you ever overpaid for something? I think we all have. Your money—practically wasted. Luckily, I can teach you how to put an end to the anguish and regret you feel when you find your wallet and your shopping bag practically empty. By taking advantage of promotions, shopping second-hand, and comparing prices, you can prevent yourself from making the mistake of blindly overpaying.
The new neighbors just bought their house three days ago. It would be such a heartwarming gift if I made them some goodies to welcome them into the neighborhood. I have to take my daughter to practice and I have no time to run over to deliver them. My nine year old son is playing video games, maybe I should make him walk down two houses to deliver them. As the cookies were just getting out of the oven, I called “Jacob, do you want to do mommy a huge favor?” With a crooked smile on his face, he walked out to the kitchen as said, “Sure”. I bundled him up and gave him the plate of cookies so he could carry on. As he went down the street I thought to myself, is he old enough to walk down the street alone? What if someone sees him? Could I get