Sunday, December 11, 2005

As a little child . . .

                          

I was in a meeting with some of the leaders and the pastor of the church this morning and we were talking about the service to be held on Christmas day.  We will of course be having a candlelight service on the 24th, but there was discussion about Christmas day.  Usually, we send the children out after the worship time so they can have children's church while we study the word.  But on Christmas, we are all going to stay together.  One of the ladies suggested that it's important for us to be as children and what better way than to have the children with us as we celebrate Jesus' birth!  I thought about that for a while and I like the idea a lot.  Sometimes we just get so involved that we forget the simple celebration of the Christ Child.  I'm looking forward to the service and the time together with all of our children.

It's wonderful building new traditions as we establish ourselves in our new home and our new life since retiring as missionaries.  I still remember old traditions, those that will warm me until I'm very old.  My mom used to buy apple cider at Christmas time and we would heat it up with spices and drink it on a cold evening.  For the most part, my memories are of just mom and myself at Christmas.  My sisters were all gone from the house by the time I was 8 years old.  Mom would be sewing long into the night and I would fall asleep somewhere near her.  Later on, she would wake me and send me to bed.  Somehow, in the intervening time, some other decoration or gift would have found its place into our living room or under the tree.  We sang Christmas carols together and made plans for Christmas day.  I liked those easy evenings together.  They were pleasant and generally without the strife of growing up.  For a while, we were just a little microcosm, unaffected by the world around us.  Mom was still a smoker then, and I would watch the smoke of her cigarette curl around her face as she stabbed at the air to make this point or that.  It's kind of a shame we couldn't have known the dangers then.  Bubbles would have been better.

We got a little shopping done for Andrea today.  She went to her friend's house while we went out after church.  It's hard to do much shopping when she's with us 24/7.  We had a nice lunch together as well.  I'm looking forward to sharing Christmas day with our family here.  I'll share with you as well.

Just a few more days of the December Challenge.  Today is day 11.  I can't believe how quickly the month is passing us by.  I've been resting a lot because of my back, so haven't been writing back to you as much as I'd like, but rest assured I am reading and thinking about you all. 

Be blessed today, my friends.

                       

                                 Penny

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hope your back is better soon. We love having the kids inour service so much that way back in the 70's when they started they decided to always have them in there. Its like family time learning around the fire its so comfy in there now. Its nice to hve the kids to keep usall young.

Anonymous said...

In our church the kids are always part of the worship service. The adults enjoy the moment when the kids are called forward for "Children's Moment." During that time, our pastor will tell a story from the Bible that deals with the lectionary readings, and help them connect it with the life they live today. Always there is a question for them to answer, and we are never disappointed with the wisdom that comes from their mouths! Hope your back continues to heal.

Anonymous said...

I think its a wonderful idea to have the kids be with you on Christmas Day! Our church is doing Christmas Eve Candlelight services so they aren't planning any Christmas Day services (not that it matters because we'll be in San Diego). The kids at our church usually have their own classes they go to except for special occasions like the Christmas Eve service otherwise they are encouraged to go to their own age appropriate learning class.

Loved the graphic on top of your entry!

My memory today is of Christmas trees. My birthday is very close to Christmas. My mom always made sure I had a celebration for it, a cake and presents not wrapped in Christmas wrapping. And she never put the tree up until after my birthday until we were much older and I told her I would like it up before my birthday. So our tree went up three days before Christmas and then it would stay up until after the New Year.

betty

Anonymous said...

Ugh, I hope your back is healed soon.  I hurt myself during labor of my second daughter and had trouble for months after her birth...so I sympathize.

Lori

Anonymous said...

Makes me happy to know you have such warm memories with your mama. I have those with my grandma, not my mom and i treasure them.
I LOVE YOU, lisa

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful thing it is to share these happy memories with us out here in Journal land.  So many people just don't seem to have a lot of happy memories.  Makes one know that it's up to them as the adult and parent to make sure their children carry with them these types of memories.  I've got a lot of happy ones too and your sharing helps others go back and reflect on those special moments they shared with a mother, or father or grandparent, even a sister or brother, or aunt our uncle.  There is always someone who was in our life at a time we most needed encouragement or a special angel, I believe that don't you?  Sometimes resting our back is the only thing we can do to help it heal.  Blessing to you Penny.

Marlene-PurelyPoetry
http://journals.aol.com/mkolasa101/PurelyPoetry