The Elf Is Watching…

By Gina Stinson

Every year about this time a small little stuffed creature arrives at our home—Elf. Elf is a friendly little guy who is responsible for reporting back to Santa about the behavior of my kids. He’s Santa’s helper.

It’s convenient. Elf shows up and my parental instructions are more readily obeyed and my kids actually move more quickly and with a little more excitement when routine chores are accomplished. It’s hilarious. I giggle to myself as I watch.

Eagerness to please, quick response times, and such remarkable devotion to a stuffed animal that only comes around three months of the year is cute…and understandable for little children. Adults would be ridiculous to act that way. But in a world where materialism, money, and employment are valued above character, morals, and values, we might need to take a second look into the Elf’s mirror. Who are we trying to please?

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A Boy!

By Cynthia Ruchti

What did Joseph do while Mary was in labor with their son Jesus? Did he pace outside the stable? Did he read magazines, boil water, argue with the innkeeper for a better room?

Did Joseph sit around a campfire with other travelers and let their wives attend to Mary?

Did he spend the night in prayer, alone with his God, or at his wife’s side?

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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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