You Will Find Joy

You will find joy in moments you would never think are joyous.

Our church serves an at risk population. The surrounding school systems have a large percentage of low income families. Monday through Friday, the Food Bank that operates from the church is open from 9:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. One in four children in Tucson will go to bed hungry every single day. The church provides 24-hour bus passes to those who ask. Each person who receives a bus pass may return for another in seven days. 

The church has been participating in “Operation Deep Freeze”. The doors of the Life Center are opened to homeless men when the overnight temperatures will dip below freezing. Cots are set up, simple meals are provided as well as showers, blankets, breakfast and a take-out brown bag with a simple meal. The Salvation Army transports the men to our facility then picks them up again in the morning. 

You will find joy in moments you would never think are joyous.

While working Christmas Eve day, we were inundated with phone calls inquiring if we would be having Christmas Eve services. Indeed, we had three to choose from; 11:00 a.m. Candle Light Service, a 7:00 p.m. Candle Light Service, followed by an 11:00 p.m. Candle Light Service with communion. Following the 11:00 a.m. service the church provided a lovely Christmas meal at 12:30.

All undesignated offerings received during these three services were designated for the St. Paul’s UMC Pack-a-Thon. On December 29th, after worship at 11:30 a.m. everyone is invited to help package 40,000 meals in partnership with Outreach, Inc. All 40,000 meals will be distributed in our community with the assistance of the Salvation Army and the Veterans Administration. 

You will find joy in moments you would never think are joyous.

Christmas day begins with a 10:30 a.m. Worship Service followed by an 11:15 a.m. brunch. Children have the option of attending in their pajamas! Our pastor explained how the Christmas day worship began, when years ago a young couple traveled around the city looking for somewhere to worship on Christmas day and could find none. As he told the story, the young couple said, “We think we're Christians and we’d like to find out more, but on this most Christian of days there was no church open!” Suffice it to say, that changed. 

I share this because even in the face of all the poverty and hunger that faces Tucson (and I’m sure in your area, too), I am impressed that this church seeks to be the hands and often the feet of Christ to this community. 

You will find joy in moments you would never think are joyous.

Acts 1:8
New International Version (NIV)⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria… you begin at home and then reach outward. 

Are there people who take advantages of these services provided by the church? Of course there are. Is that my issue? Absolutely not. We give as unto the Lord. What the recipient does with it is between them and God.

You will find joy in moments you would never think are joyous.

The mission statement of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church is “We are called to be a community of generosity and love where we invite others to join us in becoming disciples of Jesus Christ for the good of the world”. I am honored and blessed to be a part of this community of faith.

Merry Christmas my friends and family! Merry Christmas indeed! May you fondly recall the "ghosts" of Christmases past and celebrate the Christ of Christmas who truly became "the present."

Oh yeah, and remember this -

You will find joy in moments you would never think are joyous.

Simply yours,

Tamara

Merry Christmas

Dear Friends and Family:

Driving in Tucson has had it challenges, especially now during the holidays with all the traffic. I do believe I am learning to adapt. Why just the other day I went up to a local Christian bookstore and saw a "Honk if you love Jesus" bumper sticker. 

I was feeling particularly sassy that day because I had just come from a thrilling choir practice followed by a powerful prayer meeting, so I bought the sticker and put it on my bumper.

I was stopped at a red light at a busy intersection just lost in thought about the Lord and how good He is, and I didn't notice that the light had changed. It is a good thing someone else loves Jesus; because if he hadn't honked, I'd never have noticed.

I found that LOTS of people love Jesus.  Why, while I was sitting there, the nice man behind started honking like crazy, and he leaned out of his window and screamed, "for the love of God, GO! GO!"   What an exuberant cheerleader he was for the Lord!

Everyone started honking!  I just leaned out of my window and started waving and smiling at all these loving people.

I even honked my horn a few times to share in the love.  There must have been a man from Florida back there, because I heard him yelling something about a sunny beach.

I saw another man waving in a funny way with only his middle finger stuck up in the air.  When I asked my teenage grandson in the back seat what that meant, he said that it was a Hawaiian good luck sign or something. Honestly, I've never met anyone from Hawaii, so I leaned out the window and gave him the good luck sign back.

My grandson burst out laughing; why even he was enjoying this religious experience!

A couple of the people were so caught up in the joy of the moment that they got out of their cars and started walking towards me. I bet they wanted to pray or ask what church I attended, but this is when I noticed the light had changed. So I waved to all my sisters and brothers, smiled at them all, and drove on through the intersection.

I noticed I was the only car that got through the intersection before the light changed again, and I felt kind of sad that I had to leave them after all the love we had shared, so I slowed the car down, leaned out of the window and gave them all the Hawaiian good luck sign one last time as I drove away.

Praise the Lord for such wonderful folks! 

I hope you have a happy holiday season and Merry Christmas!

Tamara

(portions of this post were from something I had read years ago and recently scoured the internet to find! Humor... it is indeed good medicine!) May your Christmas be simple and blessed.

P.S. Luke 2:8-14

8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14 “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

On The Move

The Living Area as staged by the Realtor

We're moving again! Yes, we've purchased a townhouse and all the ducks are in their row. We will be moving in at the end of the month, so our Christmas is going to be very minimal. That is alright, too. To quote the Grinch: 

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!” 

Advent and Christmas are about Christ and the honoring of Him - O Come, Let Us Adore Him! Since I am working part time for St. Paul's United Methodist Church, we will have a lot of holiday services to choose from. Last Sunday was Harp Fusion - a most wonderful collection of harpists from those as young as eight years old to, well, older harpists. 

This coming Sunday will herald the children's program at 5 pm. Then there will be three candlelight services on Christmas Eve as well as a dinner, then on Christmas Day there will be a service plus a brunch. Indeed, there will be a number of celebrations from which we can select to attend.

I am so grateful  my word for 2013 was S.I.M.P.L.I.C.I.T.Y. and that I heeded its message! This theme has been impressed upon my heart and spirit many times over this year. It has proven to be a blessing when moving and moving yet again. I have found it amazing that things I didn't think I could live without are now memories and not missed. More importantly, they are not cluttering my life or my counters.

I've been patiently waiting for my word for 2014... it will be revealed on New Year's Eve! 

To all of you who are my blogging partners and friends, Christmas Blessings to you and yours. May your expectations be minimal and your hearts overflowing with love and goodwill!

Simply yours,

Tamara

P.S. 

John 1:14The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.