E-Flash From Dan, Pre-Christmas Eve Edition, 12/23/09

Dear E-Flash Friends;

‘Twas the Eve before Christmas Eve,

And all through the church,

Not a creature was stirring…

….Because the rehearsal for the Christmas Eve service had already happened the previous evening.

I know, the last line of the poem is a little unwieldy, isn’t it?  That’s what happens when you mess with a classic.

For some reason, on the Eve before Christmas Eve, I often get sentimental and think back to the Christmases of my childhood.  I think about the year my parents got my brother Cam and I matching ventriloquist dummies.  Really.  They did.  In fact, there’s a picture somewhere—I’ve seen it—of Cam and I in front the Christmas tree, holding up our “dummies”.  It was, sort of, hard to tell the difference between the young amateur ventriloquists and the “dummies”.  In fact, my parents accidentally took the “dummies” on Christmas vacation and left Cam and I in the boxes at home.  (That was a long 2 weeks!)

Or, I think about the time we got the BB guns.

…It’s not everyday that a story of opening presents on Christmas morning concludes with police arrests.

Ahh, the memories.

We’re going to have a memorable time tomorrow night (I mean “memorable” in a good and positive and spiritually inspiring way).  I hope you can join us for our Christmas Eve service at 9pm.  I know some of you have other plans and that’s alright, we understand.  If I don’t see you tomorrow night, please accept my wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

If I do see you tomorrow night, we’ll make some memories together—again, they’ll be the good kind—and I’ll look forward to wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, in person.

Wishing God’s rich blessings to you and yours!

Dan

P.S.  Some of us will be participating in a Bible Reading Plan for the Year 2010.  You are welcome to join us.  Five minutes of reading each day; five days a week, with two days set aside for reflection; and by the end of 2010 we will have read through the New Testament together.  There are copies of the Bible Reading Plan on the table in the hallway near the lobby of the church, feel free to take one.  For those who are participating, get ready, we will begin on January 1^st.

Charlie & Mortimer and "the fellas" wish you a Merry

Christmas and a Happy New Year!