Slippery Monday Morning Musings ...

Everyone is slipping and sliding along this morning. Schools are closed because of the ice on the roads. It began early Sunday morning and then got worse late in the morning. With the prediction of bad weather,especially ice, I expectated a low attendance. We had our children's Christmas program as a part of our morning worship. The kids were very cute and did a nice job. The storyline of the program was clever. It had some secret agents from different countries who heard about the baby king being born and were sent to make sure that their country claimed him. Then they all discovered that this king came for everyone. It was very well received. I did a wrap up of the story and invited people to make their own decision to accept Christ for themselves. We had several children involved in the program which was really encouraging to see. There was a great spirit of expectation and excitement in the air. That seems to always happen at a children's program. Then there was the attendance. Not low at all, in fact it was the highest we have had all year. It was even larger than we had on Easter.

We have been seeing our attendance gradually growing during this church year, but yesterday was a big surprise to me. A pleasant surprise, but still a surprise.

In the evening we were supposed to have an open house at our place and my Associate Pastor's home. It was our way of saying "Thank you" to the congregation for their support, prayers and encouragement throughout the year. My wife and my associate's wife had been planning for a while, and I know we (mainly my wife) had done a lot of work at our house to get ready. We had purchased Christmas plates, cups and stuff and food for people to enjoy. We went with it anyway, despite the weather and had a decent turnout. It was a good time of fellowship.

So this week is full, with getting ready for our adult musical, that is also a dessert buffet. We are using tickets this year, they are free, to give us a prediction of numbers to make sure we have enough seating and desserts. The number of tickets that have been taken would make our attendance about 100 more than last year. We are scrambling to figure out how to seat everyone at tables and make sure they can see the performance. It is exciting and nerve racking at the same time. But what a great opportunity to reach a large number of people with the message of the gospel.

Here goes, hope your week is full of joy and that you share that joy with others.