“Pharaoh, Pharaoh-whoa oh-Let my people go!” could be heard through the halls this last Sunday as we learned about the power of God and the story of Moses and the Ten Plagues.

PreK/K were hopping like frogs, flying like locusts and mooing like cattle while hearing the story of Exodus. They talked about how Pharaoh did not follow God’s instructions to let his people go, and, therefore, Pharaoh and all the people of Egypt had to suffer from the plagues. The best way we can follow God is to love and trust him. How can we follow God? Love others, take care of others, listen to parents, tell God our troubles and, of course, go to Sunday School! The children even tried “unleavened bread” (tortillas) to see what the Israelite’s had to eat on their journey. Although we are pretty sure they liked the mini bread snack (oyster crackers) a lot better!

1st-5th learned that they can always tell God what they are afraid of and ask him for his power to help them through difficult times. In large group they, too, talked of the ten plagues and why the Pharaoh would not let Moses and the slaves go. Because the Pharaoh had a hard heart and worshipped false gods, God showed his power over false gods and proved that he would always win. The large group leaders represented the plagues with balloons and “smashed” each plague with the power of Moses’ staff. Then in the classroom, the children were asked to think of a special problem that they would like to see God smash. They wrote those problems on a balloon and then the teacher did a count down to smashing the balloon of problems. Reminding them that we can trust God even when the odds seem overwhelming—God always wins and so do we when we follow him!

Goat Update: We are having a dash to the finish line on the last few days to buy goats for our friends in Tanzania and Honduras! Three families purchased a goat and we had enough offerings to purchase another one too for a total of 29 goats! Next Sunday will be our last day to add a goat as they will be shipped out on the Goat Express!

1. McDonald, Mary. Email communication, January 20, 2012.

Use it On Monday, by Michelle DeRusha

Michelle writes a daily blog about finding faith in the everyday at Graceful. On Monday's she reflects on Sunday's sermon in a weekly post entitled "Use it on Monday." She's nice enough to let us re-post it on Southwood's blog. You can read it here each week and then click over to Michelle's blog for more of her writing.

The Hard Heart

Whenever I read Exodus I’m horrified by Pharaoh’s behavior. Pharaoh tells Moses he’ll release the Israelites time and time again, yet when each plague subsides and the threat diminishes, he retracts his promise. Pharaoh chooses to ignore God; he intentionally hardens his heart against God:

“But when the Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.” (Exodus 8:15)

“What a colossal jerk,” I think to myself. “How can he be so stupid? How can he choose to make the same mistake over and over again?”

It’s taken me years to recognize that I’ve had more than a few Pharaoh moments myself.

Take, for instance, the times in which I intentionally choose not to obey God. It’s true. I have done this. In the heat of the moment -- a moment in which I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am sinning -- I consciously choose to continue my sinful behavior.

It usually plays out like this: An aggravating situation with my kids snowballs, and before I know it, my voice escalates into the witchy octave, my hair coils into writhing snakes and smoke seeps from my ears. At that moment I have a choice: I can lock myself in the bathroom until my blood pressure normalizes and I am able to discuss the problem rationally with my kids. Or I can proceed in Medusa-mom mode.

I admit, more than once I have chosen Medusa-mom mode. Even when I’ve unmistakably heard God’s voice in my head, there have been times that I have hardened my heart to him and intentionally tumbled toward sin.

I suspect most of us have been there, in the Pharaoh moment. I suspect most of us have chosen to harden our hearts against God more than once in our lives. It’s an ugly place, isn’t it? And it’s a lonely place, too.

The difference between most of us and Pharaoh, of course, is that we don’t stay in that ugly, lonely, stubborn place forever. We relent. We repent. We soften our hearts. And when we come back to God he accepts us with grace, no strings attached.

I suspect he would have done the same for even the colossally jerky Pharaoh, too.

Do you ever see any similarities between yourself and Pharaoh?

You can read more of Michelle's writing on her blog Graceful.

Just like in worship, a burning bush was talking to Moses in Sunday School. Through puppets, drama and video, the students learned about Moses’ reluctance to be God’s messenger to the Israelites, however, the message was for the two age groups was just a little different.

In the PreK/K Large Group, Judy (the puppet) had a very special stuffed animal that she liked to take with her so she didn’t feel alone. There were places she couldn’t take it though, because her mom was afraid she might lose it. Judy learned that God promised Moses that he would be with him everywhere and that God loves us very much and even though we can’t see him, he is with us wherever we go too. In their classroom they made bushes that “burned” when you blew on them and we learned this song to the tune of London Bridge.

God is with us.
Yes, he is,
Yes, he is,
Yes, he is.
God is with us.
Yes, he is.
God is with us.

Luther (the puppet) got a few people wet when he tried to put out the burning bush with his squirt gun in the 1st – 3rd Large Group. Though Luther didn’t visit the 4th & 5th graders, they all watched the same short video and learned that the burning bush is how God showed himself to Moses. In this lesson, God saw the misery of the Israelites in slavery, he heard their cries for help and he asked Moses to help rescue them. God did tell Moses he could take his public speaking brother Aaron along to talk for him and also gave him a really cool staff that turned into a snake. One question that came up was “How come our Pastors don’t have sticks that turn into snakes?” Fortunately for all of us snake fearing congregational members, God sent his Son Jesus to be the rescuer for all people. God still calls us to help with his rescue by telling others about Jesus.

Goat Update

The truck has arrived and we’ve started loading up the goats for their trip to Honduras and Tanzania. We added another goat this last Sunday for a total of 25 goats. We’re hoping that the pen will hold however many goats we can purchase with offerings from the next 2 Sundays. After January 29th, the goats will be shipped out!

Use it On Monday, by Michelle DeRusha

Michelle writes a daily blog about finding faith in the everyday at Graceful. On Monday's she reflects on Sunday's sermon in a weekly post entitled "Use it on Monday." She's nice enough to let us re-post it on Southwood's blog. You can read it here each week and then click over to Michelle's blog for more of her writing.

Gift after Gift after Gift

I would often lament in the early days of my new faith that God didn’t present himself to me like he seemed to for others. Or that he didn’t speak to me like he seemed to speak to other believers. My faith felt vague. Impersonal. I knew God was there, technically speaking, but I didn’t see him with my own eyes. I yearned for the burning bush – something dramatic and obvious. Something I could see and know; a sign that would prove without any doubt that I was in the presence of God.

After a while I gave up complaining. I concluded that I was destined for a general kind of faith, and I tried to be satisfied with that.

Last March I read Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts. I read it twice actually – the first time because I simply couldn’t put it down; I had to swallow it whole and all at once. And the second time slowly and thoughtfully, with a pen in hand so I could underline text and jot notes in the margins. When I was finished, nearly the entire book was underlined.

The day I closed the book for the second time I began my own list. I bought a cheap notebook at Walgreen’s, laid it open to the first page on the kitchen counter and began to list gifts.

That was the day my faith began to change. That was the day I began the journey toward a real, tangible, specific faith. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the day I began to know God and see that he was an active, personal presence in my everyday.

Ten months later, I’ve reached number 862 on the gift list as I inch closer and closer to 1,000. I don’t list gifts every single day. Sometimes two or three days pass in which the notebook sits untouched and the pencil lays still. Other days I list three or four or even six or seven gifts at once. Sometimes the kids help, reminding me of what we’ve glimpsed in our comings and goings. Noah will often suggest, “Hey, you should put that in the gift list,” when we’ve spotted something particularly exciting, like the red belly woodpecker at the suet feeder or the tender pink bud on the Christmas cactus.

What I’ve learned in these ten months is that the burning bush I searched for so long, the one I yearned to see – it’s been there all along. That holy ground that Moses stood on? I stand on it every day – in my backyard, in my kitchen, at the office, on the walkway leading to my kids’ school.

In winter light falling on puzzle pieces…

In the magic of humid emerald as frigid wind whips…

In candlelight flickering in the hush of late night…

In the joyful trumpet of amaryllis in first light…

Sure, the God-sightings aren’t always dramatic – I’m not going to argue that a woodpecker is as powerful as a talking bush engulfed in roaring flames. But just because they are small or undramatic doesn’t make them insignificant or any less of a gift.

Honestly, the greatest gift for me in this is just as awesome as a burning bush. After all, who would have guessed that a cheap notebook and a pencil would pave the way to see? Who would have guessed that God, the great I AM, would present himself so consistently and generously in my life, moment after moment, day after day, gift after gift after gift?

God, it seems, has caught my attention after all.

"Amazing!" Moses said to himself. "Why isn't that bush burning up? I must go over to see this." When the Lord saw that he had caught Moses' attention, God called to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" "Here I am!" Moses replied. "Do not come any closer," God told him. "Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground." (Exodus, 3-5, NLT)

You can read more of Michelle's writing on her blog Graceful.

1. Osbeck, Kenneth W. Amazing Grace (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1990, 2002), pg. 335.

We have wonderful stories to teach for the remainder of the Sunday School year and we are glad you are back!

We are excited to start the year off by teaching about the life of Moses. Pastor Sara kicked off the 8 week sermon series on Moses in Worship this Sunday and we are coordinating our Sunday School lessons with the sermon series in hopes that families will continue discussions at home throughout the week.

PreK/K students talked about how Moses’ mother, Jochebed trusted God to take care of her baby and that God is always watching over us too. Children made baskets with straw and wooden clothespins for baby Moses to help them remember that God cares for all children.

1st-5th Grade students worked in teams to devise a plan for maintaining water levels in a cup that had been filled with holes. They learned that by having a good plan a disastrous situation can be avoided. Just as God rescued all people when he sent his son Jesus—1,200 years before that, he showed that he had plans to rescue the people of Israel by rescuing baby Moses in a river. God is our Rescuer. The students were asked to think about a time that God was their rescuer and maybe a time that God used them as part of a plan to help others. Ask your child these questions too to see what they have to say!

Goat Update

Our Sunday School offerings for the first half of the year have been collected on behalf of school tuition for our three Tanzania orphans and to purchase goats for families in Honduras and Tanzania. We have exceeded our expectations and already have 24 goats! We have outgrown our pen by the Sunday School wing and so they are already boarding the Goat Express. The Goats will be officially leaving after January 29th.

Use it On Monday, by Michelle DeRusha

Michelle writes a daily blog about finding faith in the everyday at Graceful. On Monday's she reflects on Sunday's sermon in a weekly post entitled "Use it on Monday." She's nice enough to let us re-post it on Southwood's blog. You can read it here each week and then click over to Michelle's blog for more of her writing.

The Big Picture

As I listened to yesterday’s reading about the birth of Moses (Exodus 2:1-10), I worried that I didn’t have anything to say about it. “Nice story, good to know for background, but how is it relevant to me, today?” I thought to myself as I sat in the pew.

The more I pondered the reading, though, the more I began to realize its relevance. You see, on the surface, the story of Moses’ birth seems like a story of marvelous coincidence. A desperate mother places her three-month infant in a woven basket nestled into the reeds at the edge of the Nile. Along comes the Pharaoh's daughter to bathe in the exact spot along the river where Moses is hidden. She stumbles on the baby and is moved to compassion. Out pops Moses’ sister from the reeds, who volunteers the services of a “Hebrew woman” to nurse the baby, so Moses is returned to his birth mother until he is old enough to be handed over to Pharaoh’s daughter to be raised by her. In the end, not only does Moses survive and thrive in a time when most male Hebrew infants were mercilessly killed by the Pharaoh, he triumphs as one of God’s most faithful and renowned servants.

What are the chances?

That’s just it, of course. It’s no chance. It’s no coincidence that Moses is discovered by the Pharaoh’s daughter herself and is later raised by her in the Pharaoh’s own residence. It’s all part of the greater plan that God has for Moses and his people.

And I believe that God works the same way in my life, too.

Moses’ mother must have been terrified to place her tiny infant in a flimsy basket and set him next to the flowing Nile River. She was desperate to save him, and that was the only possible solution available to her at the time. She might have hoped for a positive outcome, but she couldn’t have known for sure what would happen to her beloved child. She couldn’t see the big picture. She didn’t know how triumphantly the story would end.

I admit, I often can’t see the big picture either. Sometimes I doubt that God is involved in my day-to-day at all. I wonder where he is as I stumble through difficult circumstances. I can’t for the life of me see how it will all turn out, or how it can possibly turn out well.

The story of Moses’ birth reminds me that God is indeed present and active in the day-to-day circumstances of my life. What seems random, what looks like coincidence, may in fact be just one in a series of small steps, all part of an unfolding plan for good.

Like Moses’ mother, I must simply trust. I must trust that God's plan for me is unfolding as it should, and that he has my best interest at heart. God wants to use even the smallest moments of my life for his greater good. The question is, will I trust him enough to let him?

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

You can read more of Michelle's writing on her blog Graceful.

1. Kuyvenhoven, Andrew. Daylight. (Grand Rapids, MI: Faith Alive Christian Resources, 2009) Devotion for September 8.

1. Kretzmann, O. P. The True Gifts of Christmas (Frenton, MO: Creative Communications for the Parish, 1987/2011). Pg. 27.

There’s no doubt that the kids are excited about Christmas coming. We’ve heard a lot about gifts so we decided to talk about gifts too! From 3 year olds to 5th graders we learned about how that very first Christmas, God sent his son as the very best gift of all.

Bubba (the puppet) had been Christmas shopping and was excited to tell the PreK/K students about the gift he bought for his mother. It was a very expensive half gallon of perfume – Channel 13.5 (as opposed to Chanel No.5) that he’d bought at TSC (Tractor Supply Company). He’d looked at Chanel No.5 but it was such a tiny bottle and he wanted to let his mom know that he loved her BIG! He wanted to give her the very best gift in the world! And that’s what the wisemen wanted to do too. They wanted to give Jesus the very best gifts they could think of so he would know how much they loved him. How can we give our best gifts to God? When we love God it shows through what we do for others. Students talked about some things they could do for others. If you have a PreK/K student, have you seen them loving God this past week? Of course, God gave us the very best gift of all – God gave us Jesus.

In the 1st – 3rd grades Luther was looking cool this Sunday, because he’d heard God was choosing people to meet with personally. He was sure you needed to be cool to be chosen. The clues Mr. King and a student volunteer found were a megaphone and a bale of straw as they tried to figure out who it was in the Christmas story this week who had a real life God Sighting. With questions like “Who knows how God announced the birth of Jesus?” And “What did straw have to do with our God sighting?” it wasn’t long before the students knew that the person who had a real life God sighting was a shepherd and that the shepherds were looking for baby Jesus in a stable. Luther thought this was highly unlikely, I mean shepherds really aren’t very cool, but luckily, a shepherd showed up to tell just what they experienced the night of Jesus’ birth. It was pretty miraculous and involved fear and trembling; angels singing and a search through the barns of Bethlehem. When they did find baby Jesus, God’s own son, the long expected Messiah, they were so excited that they told everyone they saw. And the best part? God’s message wasn’t just for the shepherds. God’s message was for us too! We can welcome Jesus into our world and tell others about him – just like the shepherds.

Gen R. Osity had a powerful message this week for the 4th & 5th graders. It was what gift giving is really all about. Have you ever given someone a gift and had them put it aside or pick up another gift and rave about how cool it is? God gave us the most amazing gift of all. He gave us the gift of his son Jesus. Are we raving about it? How should we respond? Students watched a DVD about a teenage boy who had a friend staying with his family the week before Christmas. He thought some of his family’s Christmas traditions were a little too “churchy” for his friend and tried to make other plans to avoid them. But when a favorite uncle comes to read the story of Jesus’ birth from Luke and Matthew his friend doesn’t seem bothered at all and in fact has some very practical questions. Ever had this happen in your family? Do you think of Jesus as a gift? How are you going to receive the gift of Jesus this year?

GOAT UPDATE!

With our Sunday School offerings and another family Christmas gift, our herd has grown to 20 goats for people in Honduras or Tanzania. If you would like a last minute Christmas gift – goats are available! We’d be glad to provide you with a personalized certificate to wrap for Christmas.

Use it On Monday, by Michelle DeRusha

Michelle writes a daily blog about finding faith in the everyday at Graceful. On Monday's she reflects on Sunday's sermon in a weekly post entitled "Use it on Monday." She's nice enough to let us re-post it on Southwood's blog. You can read it here each week and then click over to Michelle's blog for more of her writing.

The Hard Calling

I intentionally didn’t get up for church yesterday morning. The kids aren’t sick. I didn’t oversleep. I simply didn’t want to go. The hard truth is that in light of the news that’s weighing on our hearts like a concrete block, I didn’t want to celebrate God or the birth of Jesus. I didn’t want to sing Joy to the World or Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

I was holding a grudge.

Shortly before 8 a.m. Brad came into the bedroom. He was wearing a tie. I was still in bed. “I’ll take the kids,” he said. “You stay here. Someone at least has to go to give out the Sunday School teacher gifts.”

I threw back the covers, got dressed, pulled my hair into a ponytail and put on lipstick and blush. Fifteen minutes later I sat in the passenger seat, travel mug of coffee in my hand.

Not surprisingly, we read from Luke yesterday – the story of the angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary:

“Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Gabriel says to a terrified and bewildered Mary. “Don’t be frightened, Mary, for God has decided to bless you!” (Luke 1:30)

It sounds like good news, doesn’t it? God has decided to bless young Mary. She will bear the Christ child; she will serve as the mother of the world’s savior – what could possibly be wrong with that?

Yet as Pastor Greg mentioned in his sermon, the reality of this situation may not have looked like a blessing to Mary. The fact is, as a very young, unmarried, pregnant Orthodox Jew, Mary would have been ostracized by her community. She might have faced the very real possibility of stoning for her transgression, and at the very least would likely have been abandoned by most everyone she knew. Pastor Greg suggested that on the inside, Mary may not, in fact, have welcomed Gabriel’s news.

Despite all this – despite the fear, doubt and anxiety Mary undoubtedly felt – she responds to Gabriel, and to God, with the utmost faith, obedience and trust:

“I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants.” (Luke 1:38).

Mary may have been afraid. She may have been unsure about the future and her role as the mother of the savior. But she trusts God and is obedient and faithful to his plan.

Like Mary, I know what God is calling me to do right now. Like Mary, I am overwhelmed, frightened and anxious. But unlike Mary, so far I have not responded in trust and faith.

On Saturday I cried on and off for most of the day. I was short-tempered with my kids and my husband. I slammed the oven door hard when the pork loin burned. I snapped at Noah when he dropped the brand-new package of light bulbs on the driveway, and I unwillingly played Uno with Rowan, sighing through most of the four rounds.

I was, in short, not steadfast in my faith. I was not a rock of support for my husband and children in this difficult time. I did not shine the light of Jesus. I spread sorrow and angst instead of joy and hope.

Despite all that, I’m grateful that I dragged myself to church yesterday, because the reading and message were meant for me.

Mary was called by God to do something extraordinary, something seemingly beyond her understanding and even beyond her capability. And God is asking the same of me.

I know God is asking me to be strong and faithful in this time of crisis. I know that he is asking me to exude joy and gratitude, even in the face of sadness and fear. I know that he is asking me to trust him.

I know that nothing is impossible with God. I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants.

What about you? Is God calling you to do a hard thing today? How will you answer his call?

You can read more of Michelle's writing on her blog Graceful.

1. Baker-Trinity, Jennifer. Soli Deo Gloria. (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2011) pg. 12.

It’s easy during Christmas to think of all the things we have to DO to get ready. But this week before anyone in the Bible stories did anything, it was very important that they listened first.

In the PreK/K classes, the shepherds were listening to a chorus of angels as they proclaimed the “good news” of Jesus’ birth. The shepherds were listening to the angels but apparently the sheep were not. The sheep were scared! Where did their shepherds go? Who would protect them now? Fortunately, the PreK/K students knew the story of “God’s best gift” and were able to tell the sheep where the shepherds had gone and reassure them that God would watch over them until the shepherds returned with the good news that GOD GIVES THE BEST GIFTS – Praise be to God!

Luther was feeling like he didn’t have many choices in 1st – 3rd grade Large Group this week. It seemed like everyone – parents, teachers, Large Group Leaders decide what he’s suppose to do. He decided that he would just have to accept what everyone else wanted him to do – but he wasn’t very happy about it. That’s where the investigative reporting came in. Mr. King, the Large Group Leader, with the help of a student volunteer, followed some clues to find out that the real life story of a God Sighting was the story of Joseph, Mary’s husband. Now if
anyone had the right to feel like he didn’t have many choices, it would’ve been Joseph, what with Mary having God’s baby and everything, but that’s not how Joseph saw it. It all started when he listened to an angel who told him that the baby Mary was going to have really was God’s son and that he should take her as his wife. This is when Joseph had a choice. He could decide to follow God and let God guide them or go his own way. Joseph decided to follow God who led him to take care of Mary, travel more than 70 miles to Bethlehem, then on to Egypt to keep baby Jesus safe and finally back to Nazareth where Jesus grew up. That’s a lot of guidance! What does that mean for us? We have choices too. We can decide if we’re going to follow God or go our own way. God will guide us when we follow him.

This Sunday Gen R. Osity was back with his message for the 4th & 5th graders to give, give, give until it helps someone. Instead of collecting money this week though, he was collecting words! He started by asking the students to write a “put-down” on a piece of paper, wad it up and throw it away. He salvaged some to read and they were pretty hurtful. How do we feel when words like that are spoken to us? – self-conscious, discouraged, lousy about ourselves. Well, none of those remarks got in Gen R. Osity’s charity bucket. Instead he told the story of a man named Joseph who found that God’s love changed his life so much that he gave most of his possessions to the poor and began to help other people. The words he spoke to others were so encouraging that the apostles gave him a whole new name – Barnabus – which means “son of encouragement.” (Acts 4:36) Barnabus became a friend of the great missionary Saul (later called Paul) and we discover that Saul may never have had a ministry if it hadn’t been for Barnabus. You can read that story in Acts 9:27. What’s the message for us? We don’t have to have money to give a gift. One of the best gifts we can give is to “Give a gift of words – give encouragement.”

GOAT UPDATE!   With our Sunday School offerings and another family Christmas gift, our herd has grown to 18 goats for people in Honduras or Tanzania. If you would like to purchase a goat as a gift, we’d be glad to provide you with a personalized certificate to wrap for Christmas.

Use it On Monday, by Michelle DeRusha

Michelle writes a daily blog about finding faith in the everyday at Graceful. On Monday's she reflects on Sunday's sermon in a weekly post entitled "Use it on Monday." She's nice enough to let us re-post it on Southwood's blog. You can read it here each week and then click over to Michelle's blog for more of her writing.

Witness

Jingle Bells blares over the SuperSaver loudspeaker as I navigate my cart around piles of oranges and apples stacked high. Candy bins brim with red and green foil-wrapped chocolates and miniature candy canes. Poinsettas sit regally atop shelves. Glitzy garland shimmers and sways above the displays.

But I am angry.

Angry at the elderly lady who rolls her cart too slowly toward the dairy aisle. Angry at the produce guy who wishes me a happy holiday as he stacks dewy lettuce beneath the misters. Angry at the three packages of frozen spinach as they tumble from the freezer case and clatter to the linoleum floor.

I pick up the spinach and stack them on the top shelf. And then I close the freezer door and rest my forehead against the cold glass.

My heart feels the same. Like cold glass.

We’ve had some bad news this week, and without getting into all the details, let me just say that my first reaction has been anger. I swear under my breath at the mini van braking furiously ahead of me on the snowy road. I push the empty laundry basket down the basement stairs and watch with my arms crossed over my chest as it smacks the wall with a thud. I want to hurl the Christmas tree out the front door and tear the garland off the mantel.

I feel nothing but anger for two days straight.

And then, one night as I stand at the sink with my hands in soapy water, I feel something else entirely.

Inexplicable joy.

There’s only one reason for this, and I know it instantly. No person, no thing could break through this anger and pain…with one exception. And I know right then, as hot water runs over dirty pans and dusk settles over the white pines, that he is at work. Only God can snuff out pitch black darkness in an instant with the light of joy and hope.

I am reminded of this kitchen sink moment when we read about John the Baptist on Sunday, especially when I hear these verses:

“There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.” (John 1:6-8).

We tend to think of John the Baptist as special, unique, one of God’s chosen ones. And he was indeed an important contributor to Jesus’ story. But here’s the thing: John is no different from you or me. He’s not any more special, nor was his role any more important than ours. His purpose was simply to serve as a witness, a witness to a light that would dispel all darkness.

And just like John, you and I have been placed here to serve a purpose as well: to testify in our own special and unique ways about how God is present in our lives.

I know I tend to place myself in the center of my own story. I often make the grave mistake of assuming that I am the source of my own light – that I manufacture it through my own power and creativity. More often than not it takes something monumental for me to realize that God is at always at work in everything, and that he is the one and only true source of all joy and hope.

 Last week I stood in front of a sink full of dirty supper dishes and felt the inexplicable flash of joy burn through despair. And in that instant I witnessed the power and glory of God.

You can read more of Michelle's writing on her blog Graceful.

Use it On Monday, by Michelle DeRusha

Michelle writes a daily blog about finding faith in the everyday at Graceful. On Monday's she reflects on Sunday's sermon in a weekly post entitled "Use it on Monday." She's nice enough to let us re-post it on Southwood's blog. You can read it here each week and then click over to Michelle's blog for more of her writing.

Christmas Every Day

I tend to think of the four weeks of Advent as a preparation for the arrival of Jesus on Christmas Day. And there’s nothing wrong with that, of course. But my pastor made a good point yesterday morning when he mentioned that perhaps Advent should be a time in which we prepare ourselves not just for one day, December 25, but for the entire year. He suggested that we use these Advent weeks as a time to prepare for the arrival of Emmanuel and to ask ourselves how we will celebrate God with us, not just on one day, but on the remaining 364 days as well.

The word Christmas originally meant, literally, “Christ’s mass.” It is derived from the Middle English, Christemasse, and Old English, Cristes mæsse. "Cristes" is from the Greek Christos and "mæsse" is from Latin missa, meaning “holy mass.” That’s a complicated way of saying that Christmas means worship of Christ.

We don’t know for sure which day Jesus was actually born. During the 4th century Christians chose December 25 as the day to formally celebrate Christ’s birth, but the truth is, December 25 is just a day, one in 365. It’s wonderful that we celebrate Jesus’ birth on December 25, but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t offer him a Christmas—a “Christ’s mass,” a holy worship—every day, all year long.

When I think about what it might look like to celebrate Christmas every single day of the year I feel a bit weary—but that’s largely because I associate Christmas with extra work (read: baking, decorating, shopping, wrapping, envelope-licking, socializing). Stripped of its commercialized trappings—all the obligations we tell ourselves we must fulfill in order celebrate Christmas—what’s left?

Love. Joy. Worship. Serving. Rest.

Stripped to its essence, Christmas doesn’t sound as overwhelming, does it?

So yesterday, with the sermon lingering in the back of my mind, I decided to embrace a little Christmas. Real Christmas.

Despite the fact that I had one hundred million things to do (read: laundry, snow shoveling, writing, baking, dusting, vacuuming – on Saturday Rowan had made a peanut-butter and birdseed sandwich for the birds…on the sunroom floor. Enough said?), the kids and I donned hats, mittens, winter jackets and snow pants, grabbed the sled and stepped into the glittering neighborhood to revel in winter’s first snowfall.

I grabbed my camera, too, and as we walked up our street and down the alley, I stopped to photograph glinting icicles, snow-draped berries and frosted evergreens. 

I suspect God delighted in the fact that I took the time to admire his majestic creation and slowed down long enough to gaze in astonishment at a single icicle forming drip by drip from a yellow leaf.

I suspect he delighted in the sight of an over-40 mom and her two squealing boys as we careened down a snowy alley on a plastic red sled. 

I suspect God delighted in the fact that we celebrated his presence around us, with us and in us as we offered him a holy worship, three weeks to the day before Christmas.

“Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!” (Mark 1:3)

This year, how might you prepare for Christmas, not just on December 25 but all the year through?

You can read more of Michelle's writing on her blog Graceful.