"And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow,stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” - Dr. Suess' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
This year our church Advent Study was based on a book about the Grinch. In our household, we've never placed a great emphasis on fancy food, elves, piles of presents, etc instead opting for a small, simple Christmas within our home. We love holding space for quiet, for peace when the world around us feels so busy.
This year Christmas Eve was simple: sleeping in, watching "Home Alone" while eating cheese pizza like Kevin, and church at 7. Mark ended up working the afternoon, I went to Immediate Care thanks to an ear infection, we ate freezer pizza instead of homemade, and then we went to the most beautiful church service.
Our church holds a 7 PM Service of Light. We had been to Christmas Eve before but always the Family Service. This year we felt everyone was old enough for the later service and WOW! The service begins with Christmas songs and then our pastors began the reading of the Word with "In the beginning..." The church begins fully lit and covered in candles. As we weave our way through the Word, away from God's creation of light and into the darkness that came into the world with sin, the church darkens. By Isaiah, the church is completely dark. Never have I sung "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" while standing in complete darkness. Feeling that physical darkness while hearing the Isrealites pleas from their spiritual darkness was such a profound moment for me. I felt what the world felt while they waited for Jesus - HOPE.
On the way home, Annabeth said "That was the best service I have ever been to. I felt it in my heart."
I asked them to get ready for church.This is what they did. No green. No red. No holiday special outfits.They took the "come as you are" invitation literally.
Our Christmas morning began with a gift for Mama and Dad, the kids slept in! We didn't get to presents until 8 which was glorious! After a slow morning at home, we took lunch over to Mark's mom's house. We enjoyed lunch with her, Luke, and the kids.
Christmas Evening we headed back to church to help with the Christmas Dinner. Instead of doing Advent Meals or church meals for the church family during December, our church does a full day of meals for the public on Christmas. We serve hours of delivery and drive through meals and then do 2 full hours of sit-down-service meals. I love how beautiful the hall looks with gorgeous tables and decor. We welcome guests into our hall and serve salad, a full meal, dessert, and offer conversation with those who come alone. We welcome families, singles, the elderly, people who use our church during the week for meetings, and some people for the only time all year.
Both of our kids said the highlight of Christmas was serving dinner and sharing time with everyone.
Christmas is about so much more than trees, ribbons, bows, or the presents we will open. Christmas is made special by that feeling. That warm wonderful feeling of Hope, of Peace, and of Love.
May the Love of Christ be with you today and always. If that Love, the Hope of Christmas, the Peace of Christ is something you are not familiar with. Please ask! We'd love to share about the One who came for the world. For YOU.
I asked them to get ready for church.
This is what they did.
No green. No red. No holiday special outfits.
They took the "come as you are" invitation literally.
Our Christmas morning began with a gift for Mama and Dad, the kids slept in! We didn't get to presents until 8 which was glorious! After a slow morning at home, we took lunch over to Mark's mom's house. We enjoyed lunch with her, Luke, and the kids.
Christmas Evening we headed back to church to help with the Christmas Dinner. Instead of doing Advent Meals or church meals for the church family during December, our church does a full day of meals for the public on Christmas. We serve hours of delivery and drive through meals and then do 2 full hours of sit-down-service meals. I love how beautiful the hall looks with gorgeous tables and decor. We welcome guests into our hall and serve salad, a full meal, dessert, and offer conversation with those who come alone. We welcome families, singles, the elderly, people who use our church during the week for meetings, and some people for the only time all year.
Both of our kids said the highlight of Christmas was serving dinner and sharing time with everyone.
Christmas is about so much more than trees, ribbons, bows, or the presents we will open. Christmas is made special by that feeling. That warm wonderful feeling of Hope, of Peace, and of Love.
May the Love of Christ be with you today and always. If that Love, the Hope of Christmas, the Peace of Christ is something you are not familiar with. Please ask! We'd love to share about the One who came for the world. For YOU.
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