The Living Nativity

We used to send Christmas cards, but somewhere along the way, we stopped. It wasn’t a conscious choice. It was simply that, one year, we didn’t get around to it. And then there was a second year, a third, until we reached the point that we just don’t send out Christmas cards.

            I feel badly about that, partly because I like receiving Christmas cards. For some people, it’s the only time that we hear from them all year, which isn’t a criticism at all. Their Christmas card is our only real link to each other, and I’m grateful that they take the time to stay connected with us.

            On Sunday, December 4, beginning at 4:30 pm, Central will once again host the Living Nativity—a presentation of the traditional story of the first Christmas out on the Maple Street lawn, followed by crafts and snacks and music in the Auditorium.

And it seems to me that it’s like our congregation’s Christmas card to our community. All kinds of people show up. For some, it might be our only real connection with them all year—their only real connection with the good news of the Gospel, but that’s not a criticism. I am grateful for the time people take to stay connected.

“Peace on earth, good will to all,” the angels sang that first Christmas—a prayer, a promise, a Christmas card from God, entrusted to us to send out to everyone.

Pastor Don Steele

Cultivating a Spirit of Gratefulness

As we’re rounding the corner to another holiday season, I find myself missing the finger painted turkeys from my sons’ preschool days this year. Young children have a way of capturing the essence of the holiday spirit with their enthusiasm, innocence, and adorable art – even if their turkeys are one eye or leg short!

A recent study found that cultivating Thanksgiving’s spirit of gratefulness in our children actually has many lasting, positive effects. The University of California at Berkeley’s Greater Good publication cites: “…Until 2005, we know of no studies that examined gratitude and well-being in young children. Then, in 2006, psychologists Nansook Park and Christopher Peterson conducted an analysis of parents’ descriptions of their children’s strengths—and found that gratitude had the strongest relationship to life satisfaction.” What a gift to cultivate in our children!

            
The Bible isn’t shy about promoting a continual spirit of thanksgiving in everyone. In I Thessalonians 5:18 we read, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” When we’re obedient, we can experience the three life-changing characteristics of giving thanks. I hope you’ll join me this Sunday, 11/20, at 5 PM at Central’s Thanksgiving WAVE service to find out what they are. A potluck meal will be waiting for you!

           
Looking ahead to Thanksgiving week, the second episode of my new parenting series, Chaos to Calm, will be airing. Tune into HomeTowne TV at 9 PM on Tuesday night, 11/22, for “The Chaos of School Social Problems.” I interview a licensed social worker and local school counselor on grief, anxiety, and bullying in children. The episode will also be available via on demand.

             
I pray that you feel God’s hand upon you during what will surely be a rich season of blessing.

Grateful in Your Service,

Noelle

To watch my gratefulness segment for TODAY, click here.

To read my most recent article on being grateful, click here.

Veterans Day

The 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month: that’s when the armistice ending World War I took effect, ending the brutal fighting—trench warfare, chemical weapons. The horrors of the fighting were endured only because of the promise that this would be the war to end all wars. And so, November 11 became “Armistice Day” in the United States. 

And that’s what it remained until the mid-1950’s when it was renamed “Veterans Day”—a day to honor all veterans who have served in the armed forces of the United States. For the sad reality was that World War I was not the war that ended all wars. We continued to produce new veterans, who not only served in the armed forces, but who were sent to new wars, making all sorts of sacrifices to serve the country.

Even today, our country continues to create new veterans—not as many as we once did. And the truth is that very few of us have any personal, family connection to the armed forces. But there are women and men these days, serving, some of them at war, making sacrifices—both them and their families. “Thank you for your service,” we say these days, and it’s good to say it, I suppose. And yet, it seems to me that we need to do more than say that. We need to understand our obligation to support those veterans and their families when they come home. And we need to continue to uphold the hope of the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month—armstice—the end of the war to end all wars.

--Pastor Don Steele

Love is a Wonderful Thing

The loss of a pet can be a real heartbreaker. I know a number of people who have recently lost a beloved pet, and it is indeed like losing a family member and my heart breaks right along with them. As the proud mother of two dogs, and as a cat person my entire life, I completely understand the devastation when a pet's time in this world has passed. I can't bear to think about our household without my two boys. Yet, those of us who love pets know that when we bring them into our lives, we are pretty sure that we will see them pass on, as their life expectancy is much shorter than ours. So then the age-old question: if we know that we will be suffering heartache down the road why do we do it? Because the love and companionship that they offer to us, and the love and companionship that we in turn show to them makes it all worth it. A pet's heart is never closed off - in fact, all they want is to love and be loved. And when your pet is truly a companion, that feeling is reciprocal.

And I guess it is the same with any kind of loving relationship - why do we enter in to it if we know that at some point down the line, we may suffer severe heartbreak? Because ultimately, we cannot be afraid of the "what's to come", and instead, we need to live in the moment, enjoying the ups, downs, and everything in between. Which is a good reminder that we should be making the most of every day with our loved ones and our beloved friends of the human or animal kind...because love in all forms is a wonderful thing.

-Charity Wicks

THE ONES THROUGH WHOM LIGHT SHINES

There’s an old story that preachers love to tell about a little boy defining who a saint was. The little boy attended a church that, like Central, had beautiful stained glass windows. And the little boy’s response, making reference to those windows, was the saints were the ones through whom the light shines.

            

As we approach the Church’s celebration of All Saints Day (November 1), I take that old story as a call to each of us to reflect on our own lives. The saints are not a subset of Christians who achieved some level of notoriety. They are not just the ones memorialized in stained glass windows. No, the saints are the ones through whom we’ve seen light shining.

            

Who have been the saints in your life? Through whom have you seen light shining? They might be people from your past, even people who died long ago. They might be people with whom you still interact every day. They might be religious people, or they might not be. But who have been saints to you? Who have been people through whom you have seen light shining? And how do you think that they did it? How did they shine light into your life? What did they do for you? How did they interact with you and with others? What made them distinctive in your experience with them?

            

 I think that the saints that each of us can identify show us something about the way that we are being called to live our own lives. They are not simply to be admired, although, if you still can, it’s probably a good idea to thank them for what they have meant to you. But as I see it, the saints that each of us can identify give each of us an example for how each of us can live in ways that honor our own core principles—examples of how we can be ones through whom some others will see light shining and how we can become saints.

Pastor Don Steele