Skip to main content

Last Night's Christmas Service

 



I'm pondering the festive glow of last night's Christmas candlelight service.  The pastor's sermon,  "You Are Why Jesus is the Reason for the Season," encouraged us to embrace the greatest gift of all.

The joyful carolers, excited worshipers and smiling choir filled my love tank to overfull.  New believers lined up for water baptism during praise and worship! I still feel the excitement of the massive congregation  clapping and cheering when these new lifers, one after another, rose from the water.

After church, we took advantage of the cute photo booths on campus.  The church's outdoor cafeteria served us cookies on snowflake napkins to go with our hot chocolate!





Why is this magical service so early in the holiday season?  We all must adjust since Sunday services max out in this place with eager attendees.  The new Thursday evening service fills up the sanctuary as well.  It is exhilarating to witness revival in South Tucson with all these fired-up believers!

The Christmas story of Mary bursting forth with child, no room at the inn, visited by worshipful shepherds brings the Scriptures to life for me at this huge mega church when I think of how they expand their capacity to make sure there's always room for one more.  We enthusiastically worship Jesus here, for indeed, each one of us is the reason Jesus came in this season to save us all.



Merry Christmas, everyone!





Comments

  1. Hi sister Mary! I haven't visited my blog in a while and tonight, I got excited that you posted a new one! How special that gathering was! After all, this special season is about the good Lord. And your grandkids are all grown-ups now! Thank you for sharing that special moment and sharing some pics of your beautiful family. It's good to see you! Merry Christmas and may this coming new year bring you lots of your heart's wishes to come true! Love you in Christ and stay strong in the Lord's mighty power! God bless, strengthen and protect you and your family always. Hugs...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Merry Christmas Mary! I was just thinking about you yesterday and I'm thrilled to see your post. You have a lovely family and please tell the young lady wearing the blue skirt if she gets tired of that adorable handbag I will be happy to take it off her hands.😅 I love purses!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Merry Christmas, Mary! Thank you for sharing your special evening with us, and I love these images of your beautiful family.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review of Biblical Minimalism and Give Away

What does minimizing look like?  To the empty nester it may mean downsizing real estate.  To the co-dependent, it may mean pitching some toxic friendships they tend to collect.  I thought I had a handle on Biblical minimalism, but I wasn’t even close.  Biblical minimalism is much more than cleaning out a drawer and discarding unwanted things into a box to take to the thrift store. In her book, Biblical Minimalism, Cheryl E. Smith defines Biblical minimalism as “a complete, whole person release of anything unlike Jesus, a letting go of everything that hinders us from following Him wholeheartedly and single- mindedly , and a relinquishing of all that brings us under bondage to this earthly, very temporary life.” The author gives us a visual of a whole pie that is divided into eight slices.  Each slice describes our lives with areas to analyze to see if pruning or adjustment is needed.  I won’t name them all, but one example is the “emotional ...

Mama's Lipstick

I always wished I could do things with my mom like shop in the mall, share makeup secrets or go to the movies and watch romantic comedies.  My wish never materialized.     My mama behaved like a tomboy.   She loved baseball and pitched with a strong right arm.   She could care less about the latest fashion or the latest movies featured on the big screen.   She never polished her fingernails.    One day after elementary school, I walked into the house to find my mom all dolled up in front of the bathroom mirror, foundation crème, powder, eyebrow pencil and rouge all over the counter sink.  “Who are you?” I asked, thrilled to see my mama putting on the Ritz.  Makeup in place and blotted, she immediately took it off.  “I don’t like the way it feels,” she exclaimed. She retired in Arizona and protected her dry lips with a light rose lipstick, the color of natural lips, a step above ChapStick.  She wore it a few tim...

Abba's Lap

I noticed a behavior pattern in little Amy, twenty months old, that I want to imitate.  She moves fast engaging in one toddler activity after another spinning like a whirlwind from one room to another.  Yet, she pauses,  intermittently , long enough to get refreshed.   I want to be like this grandchild of mine because she knows where to go and how to get comforted. Amy moves at record speed, putting more miles on a pedometer in one hour than my accumulated weekly workouts at the gym.  She can build a skyscraper so tall, I wonder why those bright pink Lego’s don’t topple to the ground as she continues to stack just one more piece on top. I learned never to leave the room to get another cup of coffee.  Once, when I returned, I found her climbing past the couch with hands and feet reaching for the living room drapes. She has a consistent habit that I admire.  In the midst of her activities, as she moves robustly from one play...