Christmas To Me

Christmas to me?
The beginning....
A child is born....
A child like no other....
Watching the child grow to manhood...
The promise of hope wrapped up in this child....
The reminder that hope is not an anxiousness, but the slow steady movement of God at work.
Hope is the foundation that lays hold of His promises and does not waver even when it appears that nothing is happening.

I guess you could say that hope and faith are brother and sister.
Cut from the same cloth, these two are the glue that holds us to God. Hope is the ability to see beyond reality and understand that things are not out of control but rest securely in the hands of God.

Christmas to me?
It's family....
Both blood and spirit kin...
These have become my Christmas presents...family..
The ones that I love and that I feel the love returned.
I have two blood sons...Chad and Joshua.
In them I see the faithfulness of God. I see God being true to His word. I see these two men, and I think back to a night long ago at Central United Methodist. The boy's were five and three, and Vicki and I knew that we were ill equipped to raise them. Oh we could parent and keep them healthy...but I'm talking about bringing them up as God would have us do. We took them both down to the front and sat them on the altar and prayed, "Lord, we need your help. We are giving our sons to you if you will show us how to bring them up under your word. Sounds drastic, but God has honored that prayer that was prayed that night.

Christmas to me?
Orange slices and cashews....
Mom always splurged and bought these wonderful delights whenever we went to town during Christmas....
Christmas is also the memories of a meal we use to have at Gallant First Baptist the Saturday before Christmas. We would gather in the fellowship hall, it would be all decorated. People would be gathered around the piano singing Christmas carols...It was a spiritual family foundation that God gave to me when I was a boy.

Christmas to me?
Caroling....
During our time at Central Methodist, the young adults...wow! I guess I'm no longer a young adult. I would fall under the category of Gezzer Adults. Anywho...we would meet up and go around to all the members of Central who were not able to physically attend church. We would sing Christmas Carols and visit with them. It was a special time that I will never forget.

Christmas to me?
Come and go communion on Christmas eve. We started this many years ago when we first came to the Vineyard. Todd Bagley has taken up the mantle now. There was something extra special about the room when everything was set up for the communion. I have never felt such peace before. Families would come to receive communion and a prayer of blessing before they left to celebrate their own family Christmas.

Christmas to me?
Listening to Tennessee Ernie Ford's THE STAR CAROL album. It was my Mom and Dad's favorite album. Found it on CD some years ago, so I won't even go into all the memories it brings up. Suffice it to say that with the opening strains of Joy To The World, I am transported to a time long, long ago.

I guess I will stop here....
I could go on and on but here is a good ending point.
If you're free this Saturday night, we will be hosting our annual Candle light service at Vineyard ReCovery. Meeting starts at 7 p.m.. Why not join us and create some new Christmas memories?

God on you....
Merry Christmas from the "B's" in Attalla.
Michael and Vicki