Christmas Eve’s message is about being a “Novelty Light.”
In prep for that, I purchased the Leg Lamp for our living room. We have a table that doubles as a dog crate, and before I could plug the lamp in, I put it on the corner of the table and ran an errand. I came home to find the cord chewed in multiple pieces. Mitzi drug it into her crate and had a post-Thanksgiving snack.
Frazzled is what the cord is, and maybe how you are feeling 3 days away from Christmas. I hope the next few days can be days of peace for each of you.
Also, again, thanks for being the church this week.
Monday morning I woke up to a text from a West family.
A few weeks ago, the husband underwent a 12-hour surgery at Baptist to remove a tumor from mouth cancer.
The surgery was successful, but the recovery was daunting.
In thinking through that, I couldn’t imagine going back and forth from our area to Baptist daily, working, and also trying to make Christmas happen for the family. So, I asked Tammy if we had room for one more family for Ding Dong Ditch.
Her answer was, in true Tammy generous fashion, a “yes.”
I’m not sure who bought gifts for them, but please know – each of you that bought gifts, what a difference it made.
“I wanted to thank you for all of the gifts that were left at the door. I usually try to be on the giving side but with all that’s happening to be honest, I simply forgot. To see that bag of gifts just brought tears to my eyes.
______ and I just wanted to let you know how much this means to us and to say thank you to you and everyone at West for all the prayers, love, and kindness we have received.”
This family is a perfect example of what “church” looks like in our world now.
Because of the job the wife has, they worship via podcast or website after the fact. But every single time there is an ask with the Amazon wishlist for Amped or missions, or Bash, or Uganda, she literally is the first to support it.
No, we don’t have the “butt in the seat,” but it is about spiritual deepening, connection, and community. Church has changed, but the ways we grow in Love have not.
Then, Wednesday, you showed up for Sip and Shop. We sold over $1000 worth of items, and received generous donations to go along with the sales!
And look, over the past few weeks I’ve heard several of you apologize for not doing more.
Faith is not about apologies.
Not about apologizing for worshiping online instead of in person.
Not about apologizing for not giving more.
Not about apologizing for not doing more.
It takes all of us . . . and luckily there are quite a few of us. Over 400 folks that call West their “home” . . . and if we all do “some” then that adds up to be a lot.
So, please, no guilt.
If you can’t serve, give.
If you can’t give money, give time.
If you can’t do either, pray.
(Pretty sure that covers us all!)
And if you are looking to do one of those and need guidance in doing so, write or text, I’ll help you get connected to the right person.
I look forward to worshiping with you on Sunday!
We are going to have a fun Christmas light trivia gave and the message is going to be about “Novelty Lights.” You ARE a novelty light.
I hope to see you at 5 pm.