Christmas Card Friendships

By Kathy Willis

Today I worked on writing notes in Christmas cards for our Sunday school class. Each one gets a special note, so it takes a while. I took a break and went to the mailbox to look for season’s greetings from my loved ones. If I’m being honest, I divide these greetings into 4 categories.

#1-Cards with preprinted names.

#2-Cards with signed names.

#3-Form letter looking back over the year.

#4-A personal note from the sender.

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Wait Not Want

By Cheri Cowell

I’m terrible at waiting. Some people seem to possess a wonderful abundance of patience, but I’m not one of those people. Others who know me say I have a lot of patience and I’m good at waiting, but they don’t know what is going on inside. Inside I’m pacing, I’m making to-do lists, I’m thinking through all the possibilities, and I’m agitated. I’m not patient. I’m not waiting, I’m wanting. I’m wanting for the event to start, the situation to improve, or the circumstance to change. What is the difference, you ask? When I am truly waiting I have a peace about me that says I know the event, situation, or circumstance is a done deal. It is going to happen and I don’t need to fret or worry. There isn’t anything I can or need to do but wait. It says that I am not in control, but have submitted that authority to Someone bigger and better able to handle it than me. When I want, I feel I have control, and therefore, all the responsibility. Advent is a time to wait.

John says it so clearly: When Christ was born; True Light came into the world. That scene has been completed and is completed in us again every Christmas. Advent is our time to wait on the Lord, knowing full well that the gift will arrive on time. 

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Dreaming

By Cheri Cowell

Every mother and father looks on his or her infant child and wonders what magnificent things he or she will do. Will they become President of the United States or solve some incurable disease? Will they lead a revolution like Martin Luther King, Jr. or serve multitudes in selfless love like Mother Teresa? A new baby comes with new dreams not only for that child but also for the parents who will touch thousands more than they ever could with just their own lives. God had big dreams for the people of this world. He knew that in order to truly fulfill the dreams He has for each of us, He needed to send His Son to fulfill another dream—a dream that goes beyond what we sometimes think of when we remember the life of Christ.

In the book of Isaiah, the prophet speaks the very dreams from the heart of God. These are the dreams of a parent—a parent who is not only dreaming for His Son, but for you and me. Isaiah wrote these words 700 years before Christ was born. For 700 years God waited expectantly for just the right time. He carried these dreams in His heart and waited. Sometimes, when we think our waiting will never end, we need to remember God always waits for perfect timing.

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The Loudest Sermon

By Gina Stinson

Growing up, I had a friend who came from a large family. Becky’s dad was a part-time preacher and carpet layer. They struggled to make ends meet. It was sometime in the 1980’s when I saw my dad do something I will never forget, the kind of thing that makes you look at your parents in a different, more respectful light.

It was Christmastime. We were at church when I saw my dad walk up to Becky’s dad, say a few words in greeting, and hand him a bundle of money. It was exchanged during a handshake. I saw Becky’s dad’s eyes well up with tears and I watched two men embrace in a strong, manly way I will never forget.

What my dad did was put feet to action. He saw a need and did something about it. I also saw the response of a grown man wanting to care for his family. Seeing hope and gratitude in his eyes jumpstarted me to action. I learned you don’t have to have a lot to do a lot. My family didn’t have money to throw away. There were three kids and my uncle and my parents living in a modest home with one income, yet God placed a burden on my dad’s heart to help meet the needs of others. Other than me, I doubt anyone else besides my mom saw what happened that day at church, but it was one of the loudest sermons ever preached to me in church.

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Field and Fountain, Moor and Mountain

By Cynthia Ruchti

Do you suppose the wise men made their entire journey without doubt?

When they traveled from the East, a trip that according to tradition may have taken years, what are the odds that none of them ever complained? Or wondered about the wisdom of their decision to follow a star?

Can you hear the discussion around the fire after an especially trying leg of the journey?

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