The sounds of Christmas are now quieted and the activities are all over.  The fridge is emptier and leftovers are gone.  It is New Year's Eve.

Unfortunately, Walter and I have caught cold bugs and we are sniffling and whining around!  Our plans to join friends for a fondue tonight are now cancelled; tomorrow's plans may not happen either if we aren't back to reasonable health.  What a disappointing way to bring in the New Year...

As I was tidying up today, putting away the Christmas tree and the season's decorations, I found a particular mason jar.  One year ago, I started a new tradition.  With a pretty pink bow around the neck of the jar and a label on the side, I began a "Thankful Jar" - an idea I saw on Facebook.  For the past 365 days, I have been reminded to be thankful.  

Now I wasn't home everyday last year to write an item on the small slip of paper and drop it in the jar.  But the jar is full.  To be honest, not every entry in that jar was easy to write.  Some days it was difficult to feel grateful.  The ultimate lesson I learned over this past year is that gratitude is an attitude - not original with me!  It is a choice, not an emotion.  

My plan on this last day of 2024 was to read those slips of papers and review all that God had done for me.  But being sick and dragging through the past couple of days didn't motivate me to do so.  I did scribble one final thought on a narrow strip of paper, folded it and stuffed it into the almost overflowing glass container.  And this is what I wrote:

OUR GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL ALL YEAR LONG.  WE ARE BLESSED.  GOD IS GOOD.  HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER.  DECEMBER 31.

I wouldn't want to live my life without the Lord in it!  This past year held some huge changes and unexpected events for Walter and myself.  I'm so glad God was with us through everything.  He is a good, good Father and His plans are good.  My faith has been tested but I've seen how God is completely trustworthy.  When the days were rough, digging deep to put something in that "Thankful Jar" was what the Bible calls a "sacrifice of praise."  

Maybe some of you have done a similar exercise; maybe you have a Gratitude Journal or another method of expressing thankfulness.  I would highly encourage you to make a habit of giving God the praise He deserves and practicing thankfulness to Him and to others. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR MY FAMILY & FRIENDS!

 

 I have a feeling I won't have time on the 4th Sunday of Advent for a fresh and inspiring blog entry.  Why, you may ask?  Because we will be knee deep in family by then!

Christmas baking:  check!

Gifts bought and wrapped:  check! 

Groceries purchased and tucked away:  check!

Menu planned:  mostly check!  (Meal options are available but what day and exact combinations are yet to be determined!  Turkey for sure on Christmas Day.

House cleaned:  half-check!  Why clean too thoroughly when there will be six extra adults, a toddler and canine guest added to our quiet home?  Beds are made with fresh linens, laundry is caught up and the bathrooms are cleaned and stocked with plenty of T.P.!  Good enough.

As I sit just now, staring at my wooden nativity scene, I quiet the mental list and still my soul.  Most mornings I have had the luxury to spend a couple of hours in Bible study, journaling and prayer this past week.  Special verses have stood out to me about peace, joy, patience, the Holy Spirit as Counselor and Teacher, and much, much more.  I've also read a few chapters of a book entitled "The Way of Agape" that has focused my attention on love, God's perfect and divine love.  It has been a rich week for me.

Walter has had lunch and coffee appointments, made finishing touches on wooden Christmas projects and planned other outings...could he be out searching for the perfect gift for his wife perchance?  I'll know in 5 more sleeps!

Tomorrow - Saturday - is a Sunday School program practice at our church.  I'll be playing guitar and helping the kids with their musical numbers.  Sunday morning is the big program!  So I also squeezed in my own practice and preparation of the words and chords for the computer projection person.  

Also tomorrow is when most of our kids will arrive in time for supper.  Our Weyburn kids will celebrate Christmas with our daughter-in-law's family this weekend and come to Regina for December 24.  Then the party will start in earnest!

A string of lights draped over the stable adds a special twinkly glow over the delicately carved figures of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, wisemen, an angel and some barnyard animals.  The baby Jesus, in a wooden manger, lies small and ordinary in the centre of this ancient scene.  I'm reminded that even with the Advent activities, preparations and plans, it all means nothing without that tiny Babe.

 

This past week has been busy...connections with friends before the holidays, supper at Olive Garden, delivering Christmas cards to churches in person (with the postal strike impacting our usual practice of mailing cards and newsletters) and a special turkey dinner and celebration of our church's 60th anniversary. 

Also, some new developments.  Walter is now officially pre-diabetic.  So he picked up some prescriptions and a glucose meter to begin tracking and managing the blood sugar count!  That meant I needed to do some more diabetic-friendly Christmas baking - using keto recipes I have.  The freezer is overflowing with goodies!

Before we knew it, Sunday rolled around again...the 3rd Sunday of Advent.  How nice to attend our own church service for a second Sunday in a row.  A grandmother with her two granddaughters led the Christmas carols this morning.  They didn't seem too nervous although it was their debut as worship singers!  Another mom and her three kids did the Advent scripture reading and lit the candles.  Today was the theme of JOY.  It blesses our hearts to see families and especially young kids getting involved in the happenings of church life and worship activities!

Another new item around our home is a digital picture frame that our family can send pictures to from our phones!  Walter loves gadgets, but this one we can all enjoy!  So this afternoon as we relax at home, pictures from Big River, Gladstone and hopefully Weyburn will come rolling in!  

Have a wonderful day, family and friends!  Be blessed.

 Our second Sunday of Advent...

Slushy snow slowed our entrance into the church parking lot as we arrived at Balgonie Baptist.  We carefully picked our way through puddles and ice to the front door.  Bill held the door open - our faithful usher who greeted us with a smile and handed us a bulletin.

We greeted our brothers and sisters in Christ with hugs and handshakes.  It had been over a month since we had been at our own church as our ministry takes us away from home most weekends.  The lovely greenery, wreaths and Nativity scene adorned the foyer and the sanctuary, stirring the familiar festive feelings of the season.  Ray, our regular pianist, softly played Christmas carols as the worshipers visited and began to take their seats.

Dave started with announcements and prayer, in the normal Sunday order of service.  Val and her granddaughter led in a couple worship songs. The "other Dave" led us in reading Scripture and praying for the congregation.  And then the Kramer family, mom, dad and four children came forward.  As mom and the three oldest children read the Advent scriptures, the youngest girl lit the two candles of the Advent wreath (with her dad's help!).  

Some people have grown up in churches where the tradition of Advent is expected.  Each year, the themes of Joy, Love, Peace and Hope, each represented by candles, are celebrated.  They point the way to the final candle, the Christ Candle, that is to be lit on Christmas Eve.  This is all meant to prepare our hearts and build anticipation of the first coming or advent of Jesus, our Saviour.  I've always loved and treasured this tradition.

I realize that for some, this seems very formal and liturgical.  It may remind some of their religious past that didn't hold much meaning for them personally.  They saw the form of religion but missed the relationship with God Himself!  When we were church-planting in inner city Regina, we began the tradition of Advent candles and it became quite special to many folks.  One year we were busy and hadn't prepared for this practice as December approached.  One of our church attenders asked, "Aren't we going to do the candle-thing this year?"  They looked genuinely disappointed.  I responded, "I didn't think anyone would really miss it if we didn't..." To which the person looked surprised and said, "But, it's tradition!"  

Whether you celebrate Advent, or not, isn't the issue.  My challenge to you is:  what are you doing to prepare for Christmas, the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God?

 How did you spend the first Sunday of Advent?

We woke up before sunrise, which isn't that difficult in December!  Our hosts were making coffee and rustling in the kitchen.  Walter and I quickly got ourselves up, showered and ready for the day.  

The day before we had driven from Regina to Osler, SK, to have lunch with friends.  After a delicious chicken quesadilla lunch and frozen pumpkin dessert, we reluctantly said goodbye and made our way to the NCEM office outside Prince Albert.

We unloaded 10 boxes of Tribal Trails t-shirts (1,000 t-shirts of every size and colour imaginable) and several pairs of boots donated to the ministry.  We reloaded with some more PR supplies and 6 boxes of Bibles to bring back to Regina. After a quick visit with a couple of staff members who happened to be around, we headed to town again to have supper with friends.  It was so cold up north - 8 degrees Celsius colder than when we left balmy Regina!  It was difficult to leave our friends' warm home after a meal and hot cup of tea.  

Alas, we ventured out in the cold to drive across the city of Prince Albert to another friends' home for the night.  They greeted us with more offers of food and a hot beverage.  We had a wonderful visit and finally excused ourselves to bed at 11 pm.  That's late for old folks like us!

We watched the sun rise as we sat at the breakfast table.  With full bellies and strong coffee to fortify us, Walter and I jumped into the warmed vehicle to drive to Melfort, SK for church.  We had never been to the Free Methodist Church there and wanted to be early.  Between following a snow plow for the first 15 minutes, then dealing with ice and snow patches on the highway, it took over an hour to drive 88 kilometres!  We made it to the church with 15 minutes to spare.  

What a friendly welcome we experienced as we brought in our gear.  The elderly folks were thankful to have us share the Word as they are between pastors.  With about a dozen parishioners in the pews, we sang the familiar Christmas hymns and joined our new friends in their prayer time.  Walter preached Matthew 28 on the Great Commission;  I sang an Advent song I wrote "O Candlelight."  One of the ladies lit the Advent candle and another read Scriptures about the promise of the coming Messiah.  It was a special service as we celebrated the Christian tradition that many others celebrated around the world!  We had never met these believers before, but in Christ, this common practice of Advent bound us together.

The woman who had contacted Walter about preaching offered to take us for lunch.  We enjoyed a delicious meal at Venice House and reluctantly said we needed to hit the road for the 3 hour drive back home.  The pale blue winter sky and white whisps of smoke rising from chimneys made a pretty picture as we journeyed down the number 6 highway.  I saw several mule deer in belly deep snow near a bluff of leafless trees.  The roads were mostly clear and the trip was uneventful.  

Home sweet home as dusk stole over the prairie.