Hurray! It's the Christmas season finally!
We slept in this morning. After four winters it still feels odd to be able to sleep past 7AM and still be able to see a sunrise. But this morning, once the sun rose above the horizon all we've been able to see is snow falling. Tim reports the snow is falling at a rate of an inch an hour. We've been keeping a bit of a snow diary this year. It's not always easy to measure accurately. When the Wind comes up everything is in flux. Twice so far this year, we've had our lawn windswept clean of nothing more than a thin layer. But the precipitation has been steady this month.
Later today we will spend our white Christmas in the home of parishioners. But at the present I am waiting the last minutes of cooking of a ham that will be delivered for the inmates dinner our County Jail.
Oh, the timer just went off... must go.
... Back again-
Tim has been on call for EMS today. Thankfully it has been a quiet day. Most people have stayed safe on the roads, and without incident.
The snow has continued to fall all afternoon. By 3:30 we measured 8 inches of new snow, not that we waste time counting such things.
We are blessed to be living in this place, and serving this community. Dinner in the home of members of the Church brings to mind the early church, in that Acts tells us that the believers gathered often sharing all things in common, and "none went without." This Christmas, while we miss being with our own family we have been graciously received and welcomed at the table of a branch of the Atchley clan. We are blessed to have the opportunity to serve and learn about the treasures of living in this region of the Northwest.
We give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ for his example of humble servitude and pray that we will be found worthy of the trust placed in us.
So today we join the angel chorus singing and saying "Gloria in Excelsis Deo!"
Glory to God in the Highest!
Today and last night in our Candlelight Christmas Eve service we have been able to recall just what a wonderful gift we have received. For we know the story of our God, who loving humanity so much, deigned to empty himself of divinity, to submit to human suffering to proclaim the release from bondage and opportunity for new life lived in the spirit. May you too open this gift. You will find the gift will never pinch your waist, it will always offer new insights, and bring peace of mind if you only heed the same message the angels first gave to Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds "Fear not."
Stay warm tonight. It's a great night to read. I'll be finishing THE SHACK
Merry Christmas! Emmanuel - God is with Us! That alone is cause for rejoicing!
It's amazing how, though many miles separate us, I can see you in your words, which makes it all the more delightful to read what you have shared here.
ReplyDeleteI am so proud of Tim and his EMS position. What a great couple you make.
And it goes without saying (though I'll say it anyway) I am quite proud of you and the fact that you answered the call of Christ.
I love reading your comparisons between the church of The Apostolic Fathers and the practices/sharing within your congregation.
I'd love to come for a visit some winter. Hearing the great Methodist Hymns, sharing the misery of bitter cold with people who might otherwise be strangers to me.
Oh, and I'd love to volunteer for your prison ministry, as long as I'm allowed to remain and sit & sup with the inmates after having made the food deliveries.
Then...SNOWBALL FIGHT!!!
In Christ,
Gordie