....we welcomed Stepson #2 back from sunny Southwestern State, where he spent Christmas. Sadly, he leaves again tomorrow on tour with his band (Northern Howl). We miss him already.
....we had just one church service at 10:00 this morning. At 9:45, it looked like it was going to be pretty thin attendance (the van got iced in and several of our elderly members could not get rides), but at the last minute, and after the last minute, truthfully, attendance filled out nicely.
....I told the story "The Mitten" for most of the sermon today (left off the ending, where the bear sneezes), and ended with the incredible small mitten stretching, and the incredible small baby in the manger which contains the immense love of God, stretched beyond our imagining. Inside this love, I said, there is room for the mole and the owl, the rabbit and the fox, the bear and the mouse, the friend and the stranger, you and me. I love Jan Brett's illustrations, but I found the story great just for telling, because of the repetition of the different animals going into the mitten, and the ones inside who are sure there is no more room. Makes me want to do more story telling.
.....I noticed that the church looked a lot more full whenever the people stand up. Why is it that the same group of people look much more impressive, larger, more powerful, when they are standing than when they are sitting down?
....when I was distributing communion, every once in awhile I gave someone a little shock when we touched.
....my mom brought my dad home for the afternoon. We visited him, had banana bread, and joined in random conversations. He seemed a little worried about God today. I kept reassuring him that God forgives everyone, even the bad people. He doesn't just love the Good People ( whoever they are).
....whoever they are, I know I'm not one of them.
.....whoever you are, you bad people, Jesus came for you, too. Even for you. Especially for you. and for you good people, whoever you are, whether you think you are good or not, Jesus came for you, too.
On the Third Day of Christmas, Our True Love Came For Us.
I think he was singing, "You may or may not be good, but I think you are beautiful."
That's what lovers think, you know.
4 comments:
the static electricity during communion may have theological implications... :)
Next year, one 10:00 service for us! Thanks for word of the Lover's grace.
we love the jan brett stories too. my husband thinks i can make a sermon of any child's book. e's favorite was 'the hat' this year...we have a collection of brett's stories.
amen, and thank you!
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