As we enter the holiday season, many of us will be with family and friends during Thanksgiving and Christmas. An opportunity to say one or more of these 4 statements of love … Thank you, I love you, please forgive me and I forgive you.
Thank you – So many people in our life contribute to who we become, they deserve our thanks our gratitude.
I Love you – expressing I love you in words, gesture or writing can make all the difference, maybe someone is waiting to hear it or see it from us.
Please forgive me – can we admit when we make a mistake or say I’m sorry is there someone you’ll see over the holidays that needs to hear our apology?
I forgive you – is it time to be the bigger person, the saying goes to error is human to forgive divine (Alexander Pope) because holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die, or like our graphic above we simply disown them or worse… this holiday season there are opportunities to say:
Thank you, I love you, Please forgive me, I forgive you… Jesus-like qualities to…
Blessings, Pastor Michael
- First Sunday of Advent, December 1
- Second Sunday of Advent, December 8
- Third Sunday of Advent, December 15
- First day of Winter, December 21
- Fourth Sunday of Advent, December 22
- Christmas Eve, December 24
- Christmas Day, December 25
- New Year’s Eve, December 31
That’s a (re)wrap!
The Reintgen family in North Carolina will always remember Christmas 2023. At 3 a.m. on December 25, their 3-year-old son woke them up, asking for scissors to open his new action-figure toy. “That’s when we realized something had gone terribly wrong,” said Scott, his dad.
A quick trip downstairs revealed a mess of unwrapped gifts under the family’s Christmas tree. “There was not one thing that he left unscathed,” Scott said. The boy, in his defense, said he was just trying to help everyone know what they’d received.
With only hours until their other children awoke, the Reintgens were determined to save Christmas. Mom Katie raced to rewrap gifts, even managing to get most nametags back on the correct packages. Instead of being angry, the parents found humor in the ordeal. Afterward, they explained to their son the joy that people experience from receiving — and opening — their own presents.
Morals of the story? Remember this 3-year-old when you get overeager for certain parts of the holidays. Don’t rush through anything, and let others enjoy Christmas at their own pace too. When something goes wrong, don’t panic. Like the Reintgens, find joy in any unexpected glitches and grinches you encounter throughout the season. —Stephanie Martin
A Hobby turned Ministry
The internet has transformed shopping, whether for Christmas, major purchases or even groceries. I’ve spent hours scrolling Facebook Marketplace for just the right new-to-me items. Hunting for a great deal or a unique piece is part of the appeal.
But after reading Philippians 2:4, I also began paying attention to the people I encountered along the way. “Don’t look out only for your own interests,” that verse says, “but take an interest in others, too” (NLT).
A retired couple all but invited me to dinner when I bought a lamp from them. I remember the woman’s delight as she described her recipe. A young man with developmental challenges who sold me a video game communicated its quality much better than anyone I’ve encountered.
When a mom purchased some chairs from us, she shared her excitement while loading her van. Her family now had a “real home” after living in an RV during a tough time. Once I bought furniture from a woman who was visibly stressed, exhausted from helping her mother-in-law move out of state.
As my transactions turned into interactions, my heart was changing — for the better. My hobby became more enjoyable and meaningful as I took time to listen and care. Janna Firestone
The Heart of Christmas
Sound over all waters, reach out from all lands,
The chorus of voices, the clasping of hands;
Sing hymns that were sung by the stars of the morn,
Sing songs of the angels when Jesus was born!
With glad jubilations
Bring hope to the nations!
The dark night is ending and dawn has begun:
Rise, hope of the ages, arise like the sun,
All speech flow to music, all hearts beat as one! …
Blow, bugles of battle, the marches of peace;
East, west, north, and south let the long quarrel cease.
Sing the song of great joy that the angels began,
Sing of glory to God and of good-will to man!
Hark! joining in chorus
The heavens bend o’er us!
The dark night is ending and dawn has begun;
Rise, hope of the ages, arise like the sun,
All speech flow to music, all hearts beat as one! John Greenleaf Whittier
Walking with those who grieve
The holiday season can be difficult for people who are grieving a death or deep loss. As Christians, we do well to be aware that not everyone feels wholehearted joy this time of year. How can we support them?
Grief counselor Alan Wolfelt explains that walking alongside — “companioning” — one who grieves “is not about assessing, analyzing, fixing or resolving another’s grief. Instead, it is about being totally present to the mourner, even being a temporary guardian of [his or] her soul.”
Among Wolfelt’s 11 tenets for “companioning the bereaved”:
- It’s about being present to another person’s pain, not taking it away.
- It’s about listening with the heart, not analyzing with the head.
It’s about walking alongside, not leading.
