CHRISTMAS "POT POURRI"

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:14)

I know my last posting was “very heavy”...maybe the “heaviest” thing I’ve ever posted on the blog.

This one will be very light. Just a pot pourri of things I’m thinking this week.

We don’t have a tree up this year and the house is being gradually packed up as we anticipate moving within the next couple of months. And, I’m working part of Christmas Day (I don’t mind). I really didn’t think I’d feel Christmassy at all this year, and I’m not a big Christmas person at all, anyway. However, I’ve enjoyed this season far more than I thought I would. I actually LIKED the one inch snowfall this week. It was enough to turn the ground white, without having to shovel 2 feet of snow and have cars get stuck and all that kind of stuff! (And, I usually don’t like snow!!)

I had purposed to NOT send out Christmas cards this year. In fact, I sent an e-mail some weeks back letting people know that. One of my reasons is that the Christmas mailing label software was all on the church iMac computer which is gone. I did not have a backup at home. I used to run the address labels and return labels on the church iMac, and in fact, I had the whole Christmas list where I check off “sent” and “received” on that church iMac. I do the Christmas cards in our family, and I just wasn’t keen on having to go out and buy a bunch of cards and stamps, and I really didn’t want to have to hand address them all, etc. Well, yesterday I was fumbling through my basement file cabinet, and “what to my wondering eyes did appear?” as the poem says, but a manilla envelope marked Christmas list. I opened it up. Last March when the church closed, I’d printed out the Christmas card list along with labels and return labels for Christmas 2010 so I’d have them when the time came. Unfortunately, I FORGOT I’D DONE THAT! Honestly, I felt so STUPID, knowing I could probably have sent out cards after all! I may put out some kind of New Year’s mailing with them, OR I may wait until we’re definitely moving and send out a hard copy notice as well as an e-mail notice about our new address when that time comes.

I’m truly thankful for little things. I never thought I’d enjoy having a rather mundane secular job, but I truly do. The Campbell family who own Total Connections LLC/VIP Answering Service could not have been nicer to me this year. Just having the job is a big help. I have to say my coworkers, most of whom are female, and many of whom are over twenty years younger than me, couldn’t have been more pleasant to me this year. Having a pleasant atmosphere in which to go to work and feeling part of the “family” there is nice. They actually are having “5 Days of Christmas” this week and are giving us gifts each day!

Like George Bailey, I have some dear friends. I am a little nervous to start naming people, because when you do that you will always forget someone, and for anyone I forget, it is not intentional,and I’m sorry! Ed Duddy from Texas, Rob Woods, pastor of the AG church in Marlboro, and Ron Sebastian from Ashland have been particularly supportive this year. Strong honorable mentions also go to Claire Grimes, Bob Gill, Dave Milley, Bill Lincoln, Jim Spence, John Sullivan, Lee Wickett and several others who have consistently prayed for me and have been encouraging and helpful in SO many ways. I also have appreciated the folks at Bread of Life Assembly of God in Westminster. It’s a “hike” to drive there, but it’s a very good church. All of the pastoral staff have been a great blessing. There’s a depth among the people at that church and a hunger for God that I don’t see in too many other places.

I have a number of “on-line” friends, too, some of which I’ve never met in person, and some of which I have not seen in years, but you’ve been great.

Some of my immediate family very much don’t like me writing or talking about them in public, so I’ll honor that, but I do appreciate each of my family more than they could imagine. I’ve also got a great extended family.

We really have SO much in America.
But so many of us are impatient and complainers. Listen, I’m really guilty in both of those “departments”. A few years ago, I placed an order at a Wendy’s Drive Thru. The woman got it wrong, and I made her come back to the window and acknowledge she messed the order up and gave one chili when I said two. (I made her look at the receipt and acknowledge it.) My kids at the time said, “Dad, I can’t BELIEVE you did that!!” And at the time, I defended it. But after working a service job and having enough people bark at me for different things, I realize I over did it, and that we Americans can be so ungrateful.

Canada IS a beautiful country and I LOVE to visit there, but I give kudos to my 4 Canadian grandparents to came to this country for a better life for their descendants (and 3 out of 4 spoke French as their first language, so that was a challenge for them).

Yup, I have family and friends and a place to sleep at night and to shower in the morning. I have food. I am blessed and thankful this Christmas.

I wish a Merry Christmas to all!

(For all 3 of you who’ll made it through this one without giving up and falling asleep, thanks!)