Friday was a busy day. *FAIR WARNING-LONG READ* That's why I'm writing about it today! One of my readers has reminded me of something; in prayer, Jesus shows us to remember to thank God for His blessings before saying anything else. I practice that when I pray, but how often do I do that in other areas of my life? So, to start off in this post, I want to start doing just that.
I am thankful that God has provided ministries for me to be a part of that fits the gift He has given me in building relationships with people. He has given me the feeling that I can finally get back on my feet again, and not wonder where food is going to come from tomorrow. I have a lot of catching up to do, but He also gives His strength so that our burdens are not so heavy. I am thankful for a God that gives us flexibility.
It came to my mind again about how busy we've made our world, and how we've gotten into the habit of not slowing down. It can be a struggle to make ourselves slow down, but I strongly suggest you try it, because when you do, everything else around you feels like it explodes like the matrix in slow motion to where you can finally see the power of God trying to shine through! Take a moment, and breathe.
Yesterday I got to spend the day with my boss and founder of Blue Dog Publishing. I took him with me to call on a few more sponsors in Mount Vernon, which turned out very promising, and enjoy a deliscious meal, catered by the Mount Vernon Central Kitchen, at the annual Chamber Christmas Banquet at Cedarhurst Art Museum! It felt so good to mingle with everyone God has brought into my life, and for James to see how active the Jefferson County Chamber really is, and when it was all said and done, I got to take home a Poinsettia centerpiece, which is now on display in our church.
Last night, our church's adult class had their annual Christmas party at Schiappa's Italian Restaurant again. We shared a giant supreme pizza (for those of you that know how picky I am about food, you can guess how scared I was), and had a white elephant gift exchange. (You basically pick something random you already have lying around the house to give as a gift and place it on a table with everyone else's random gifts. Each person draws a number that tells them what order they go in. Then when their number is drawn, they get to either pick an unopened gift from the table, or "steal" one that has already been openned from someone else.) I had an extra snow globe from JC Penny's Black Friday door busters, and since I didnt have any wrapping paper handy, wrapped it up in a Santa Clause napkin I found in the kitchen. I ended up with a ceramic candle holder shaped like Santa's winter cabin. Keith and Paula, the couple from church that I'm staying with right now, ended up with a book someone had lying around their house...after looking it up on ebay, they found out it's worth $80! haha!
When the night was still young and the party was over, I went back to the house to discover a hilarious show on tv featuring four friends that try to embarass each other by making each other do stupid things around the city; posing as the worst cashiers ever, or asking people on the street "poll" questions they wrote for each other to ask that they dont see before asking them....laughter is an amazing thing.
After that was over, I noticed The Town was getting ready to come on. I never went to see it in the theaters, and after watching about 10 minutes of it, I'm glad I missed it. It got turned off after that 10 minutes was up and I reached my limit of cuss words and unecessary sexual content. A tear came to my eye thinking about all the young people that have seen it and like it as a "good mix of violence and a love story". That's all the review it deserves, and in the end I give it a 1 out of 10. The concept was worth the 1, I just wish they would have seen they don't have to throw all the trash in for a movie to be good, because that killed it for me.
Sant'as cabin about sums up the day: It's glittery and metallic on the outside with lots of bright colors that make your eyes dance, but on the inside it is empty and calling out for something to add light to its darkness. Our lives are like that. On the outside, we get so caught up in appearances, trying to sound cool with our tough language, giving each other the "perfect" gifts, candy coating everything in staying busy and humiliating each other for a good laugh, but on the inside, what we need is God. When He reigns in us, His light can't help but pour out of all the windows and doors in the walls we've built for our lives, and just like those cabins on the old Underground railroad, provides hope and shelter for everyone else. Have you ever thought about what kind of light, or lack of, your life is giving?
And now, I'm going ugly sweater shopping, because I got my first paycheck yesterday, and I can now afford an ugly sweater!
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