Angie's Face

When I walked into my neighborhood Wal-Mart today I noticed a sign near the front door letting every customer know that they have only six more days to buy up before Christmas. I can't believe how quickly this month has flown by.

On another note, out back yard is a muddy mess. Because of the orientation of our home, and the yards in Vegas, no sun hits any dirt back there and we've received at least 1.5" of rain over the last week or so. Hopefully it will freeze tonight so that I can get out for a minute to clean up the dog's little (actually not so little) presents.

On yet another note, I have been reflecting on the joy that is called forth in the gospel accounts of Jesus' birth and wondering why it is that so many of us don't seem to exude a level of joy that is proportionate the that which is demanded by the good news of Christ's incarnation. Wow! Perhaps I'm only talking about myself. Maybe everybody else has the "joy, joy, joy, joy down in their heart, down in their..." and I'm the only one trying to rejoice in the ways that Zephaniah 3 calls for. It has taken several minutes of thought throughout the days to begin to see my heart's flame genuinely taken afresh with the wonder of Emmanuel, God with us.

This Sunday I will be preaching on the Angel's announcement to shepherds from Luke 2:1-20. I still haven't decided which text we will consider on Christmas Eve, but I have it narrowed down to a few.

Because our Christmas Eve service will be the first time we've met as a church for worship at night there will be several families joining us for the first time, it appears. Some of these folks have been our friends for months, but haven't been able to get a change in their work schedule that would accommodate them in order to be with us in the morning on Sundays. I hope that they will be richly encouraged by their participation with us. They will be an encouragement to us.

Tonight my youngest decided he wanted to help his mother with her make-up. The final product was nothing short of amazing. Angie looked like she had been camouflaged for a burglary, taken out to the street and smacked in the face with a 2 x 4, made to grow a unibrow during six months of solitary confinement with no access to a razor, and finally drug face down in the dirt for 1/4 mile before standing up to see what her boy had done. As he finished his work he could only say, "Look! You are America's next top model. You look fablious (direct quote)" I guess that would be true if the idea behind showing off fashion was to make the potential buyers wonder which model has most recently come from a filming of Lost.

Angie is so gracious!