Christmas Eve Eve

This is the night before the night before Christmas. This year I've been in the Christmas spirit for the start. Usually I begin with Bah-Humbug and end up with Merry Christmas. For some reason I began with Merry Christmas and it's only been getting better. You know, it feels so good!

Tomorrow night we have our Candlelight Service - I'm really looking forward to the time with the church and the Lord.

Then comes Christmas. Cheryl is planning a wonderful meal and the three of us will be together for Christmas. Last year this time Danny was in Haiti. Now he has been home with us for most of the year.

I thank God for his love and grace. What a wonderful God we serve!!

God help us to help those in need.

This picture is from Fr. Marc Boisvert's blog on the Pwoje Espwa web page, which can be found at http://freethekids.org. He writes: "Abner comes by almost every day looking to get some food for himself and his sister. The blue cut-out container is his and the metal pot is for her. Recall the quote from Isaiah this morning? Abner cannot hear the good news until his stomach stops hurting. Thanks to all who support our ministry." Pwoje Espwa is located in Les Cayes, Haiti, as well as three other sites in the south of Haiti.

Our church is encouraging its members to contribute this Christmas to another project in Haiti, not in place of Pwoje Espwa ( we support Fr. Marc's work) but in addition. The group is called Lambi Fund and can be found at http://www.lambifund.org. We are especially interested in the clean, potable water projects of Lambi Fund.

Fr. Marc is particularly clear when he said that Abner cannot hear the gospel until his stomach stops hurting. It is well and good to tell people that Jesus loves them, but if we do not try to take care of their physical needs at the same time, then our message will probably fall upon deaf ears. I was reared as a Quaker, and one of the hallmarks of Quaker missionary efforts, especially in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, was that schools and hospitals were established before the preaching began in earnest. In some areas, the adults came in because their children were being educated in Quaker schools.

I have visited Haiti three times and can attest to the fact that Haitian people are beautiful and loving and eager to share what they can with their guests, even when they have almost nothing. We who have so much cannot do any less. God so loved the world that he gave...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Those who know me know that I don't like snow. Living in New York (and before that in Indiana, Maryland and North Carolina) has taught me that no matter how much I dislike snow, I can't stop it. I'll admit that snow is beautiful - when it first falls. But it turns into real problems, such as vehicular accidents, trees and wires down, dirt tracked all over the place as it melts, blocking access to houses and driveways, etc.

One of the groups with which I am associated has a zillion slogans, and one of them is "Live life on life's terms." That doesn't mean having to like everything that happens, but it does mean having to accept the fact that things happen.

This morning we woke up to snow. The picture posted on today's blog was taken earlier this morning. Our church looks beautiful in the snow, I have to admit. It's nice and warm inside - actually, this morning is not real cold - the snow turned into rain.

So, as the Christmas song goes, "Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!"

May our hearts be warmed by the story of Christmas, namely that Jesus came as Light into a dark world, to bring the warmth of God's love.

Another line from another Christmas song has been going through my mind this morning: "The hopes and fears of all the years Are met in thee tonight." (O Little Town of Bethlehem) I plan on using that line as the theme for our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Come join with us.

Non-blogging blogger

I haven't posted anything since March, so I guess that makes me a non-blogging blogger! Someone wrote me to say they actually read my last post and wanted to see more. Wow!

Since March a lot has happened. I had a birthday and am now only one year away from Medicare or Medicaide or Medi-something. I missed getting the senior citizen hunting license by half a year - and they moved the age up to 70. So, I still have to pay full price until then. Cheryl and I took a trip to Georgia to visit my sister Ann and brother-in-law Doug; then I went back in October to visit them after Doug had by-pass surgery - successful surgery!! I am on another team for Tres Dias - Men's #151, which meets January 14-17, 2010. Am preparing for a men's retreat in February. And in church I started a series on Romans which is taking a long time, but is giving me a real appreciation for what Jesus has done for us - and for all humanity. God is no respector of persons - Jews and Gentiles, white, black, red, male, female, slave, free - EVERYONE is the object of his work on the Cross. And how we need it! None is good. Only by the grace of God can we escape sin and its penalty.

Tomorrow I get into chapter four: "For what does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.'" (v. 4) Justification by faith, and faith alone - one of the pillars of the Protestant Reformation. Whether we be Reformed or not, we are heirs of that great theological insight. It is not by our efforts, our works, but by faith alone that we can come to God for justification.

Recently I have had occasion to reflect on my sobriety - twenty-four years and counting, one day at a time. Why is it that I was able to stop drinking and have the compulsion lifted, when some of my friends are still out there drinking alcoholically or, even worse, dead! It is purely the grace of God. I recently told a congregation at a funeral that we have to give up trying to be better; give up trying to overcome our addictions; give up trying to lose weight, quit smoking, or whatever our particular problem might be. We have to give up and give it to God. We can only come to God through Jesus and his Cross and lay it before the Cross. The only appropriate response to grace is "Thank you." And I do thank Jesus for all he has done in my life - there is a ton of work for him to do yet, but thank God for what has been done!