As I write this, it's almost the end of 2013.  Christmas has come and gone, the new year is around the corner, and we are being bombarded with commercials: treadmills, weight loss centers, dating sites, mattress sales, bowl games, and lists - lots of lists.  There are lists of the 100 best moments of 2013, the 10 best films of 2013, the 50 weirdest new stories of 2013, the 125 greatest songs of 2013, and the 75 best moments of the Kardashian family.

Nah - I was just messing with you on that last one.

May I make a suggestion?  While self-improvement is a wonderful thing, how about also improving this world we've been given? Pick up a new charity to support; tutor a college student in math - that sort of thing.  And if you need a jumpstart, let me point you toward some people who have decided to make a difference, one person at a time.

My husband and I made a new friend this summer- Anthony Hayden.  Check out his story here:
http://www.kentucky.com/2013/12/21/3000041/for-the-cost-of-a-haircut-school.html

Our church supports the MSU Build a Bed Organization. Google it and see why Mary Claire Williams is so excited about it.

Can you buy a bag of dog food and take it to STAR of Rowan County?

Bev Gilliam and her crew of elves at Christian Social Services can give you great pointers on ways you can be of help.

Here's a thought:  ask someone to attend church with you.  :-)

How about doubling up a recipe for your best chili, and taking it down to Gateway Homeless Shelter?

Maybe take a 30 minute tour on the internet, and find organizations that help people learn to read, drink clean water, fix teeth for free, make blankets for babies, build schools and hospitals.  Find a couple that interest you, make sure you check out their trustworthiness at give.org or another site, then.... DO SOMETHING.  DO. SOME. THING.  

Don't just talk about it.  Don't just think about it. Do. Some. Thing.

As our friend Frank Cross says in "Scrooged" - it's a good feeling.  The miracle will happen and you'll want it again tomorrow.  It can happen every day.  Try something that will change your life - help change someone else's.

Be blessed...............
 

And NO, I don't mean eggnog with brandy.  

There are many reasons that Dickens' story of Scrooge and his three uninvited guests has remained firmly planted in the heart of our culture.  One of them has to be the acknowledgment of the spirits that surround us this time of year.

Perhaps it's because this season has so many overtly sensual triggers: the scent of pine or Douglas fir or cinnamon; the sound of bells or carolers or the crunch of snow; the taste of cranberries or fruitcake or indeed eggnog with brandy; the touch of ribbons or ice or pine needles; the sight of Jimmy Stewart holding Zuzu or three year old angels or a church full of congregants raising lit candles.

Some spirits that visit us are not always welcome, nor wanted.  Some are wonderful.  But whether it is the comforting memory of a grandmother's kitchen or a loved one who is no longer around, or a painful reminder of a rough holiday - we can be like Scrooge and learn from them.

At the end of "A Christmas Carol", the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come shows Scrooge a sobering visage of a town that delights in the death of Scrooge, and his own tombstone.  Scrooge's reply is an impassioned one: "Spirit, hear me.  I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this, if I am beyond hope?...Assure me that I yet may change these shadows that you have shown me, by an altered life.... I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me."


If the Spirits come, let them.  Learn from them.  Relegate the Painful ones to the Past, enjoy the Pleasant ones in the Present, and allow the TRUE Spirit to guide your future.

God Bless Us, Everyone.

I am amazed and amused by the way us Christian folk behave.  It is interesting to see how some of us respond to hearing " Happy Holidays" or even "Season's Greetings".  I have heard responses from church goers that make me cringe, and their tone of voice is even worse: It's MERRY CHRISTMAS!!  NOT Happy Holidays or Season's Greetings!!! IT'S MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

Even if we believe Jesus is the reason for the season, we can't lay claim to all of December as if we invented it - Hanaukah was around for awhile too, you know.  And if we cling to religious freedom in our country, that has to apply to everyone - and for some, that means NOT saying Merry Christmas.

But without getting into a political and religious argument, I would like to deal with something a little more basic - and that's kindness.  If someone wishes you a Happy Holiday, is it kind to crawl all over them for not mentioning the Christ child? (I have trouble thinking Jesus would approve of such).  Could we not respond in like mode, or, if we wish, simply respond with a Merry Christmas? If one works for a company that asks their employees to say Happy Holidays, is it kind to jump all over said employees? While you are in line at the cash register?

On a personal note: I get tired of people asking me to have a nice day - or more specifically, when they tell me to 'have a good one'.  But - it's not about me.  They are being polite, or being good employees,(or simply being on autopilot, I don't know), but I AM sure they are not trying to go out of their way to aggravate me.  That's my very own problem, my personal irritant.  So instead I smile, and say 'thank you', or 'you too'.  Big deal if it aggravates me - it's the same when people call me Miss Molly.  Can you imagine how many times I have heard that over 59 years?  Little Richard did the Mollys of the world no favours.  When people ask, I will tell them that I prefer to be called almost ANYTHING besides Miss Molly, but over the years I have realized that I need to get over myself. Beats being called something worse..........

Over the centuries, the body of Christ has not always done a wonderful job of good public relations. We are at our best when we allow God's light to shine from within us with hope and peace and joy and love - not when we are arrogant or obnoxious in our insistence that our way must be everyone's way. So let's throw a little kindness into this time of year.  

Merry Christmas to you all, from Pastor Molly.  Or Rev. Smothers.  Or Mrs. Smothers.  Or Mama.  Or Mamaw.  Or Molly Shannon.  Or - if you need to hear it such - from Miss Molly. 

Those of us in ministry live between several calendars: there is the obvious Julian calendar we all live by, the financial year of the church, the Hallmark calendar ( Sweetheart Day?  Really?), and the liturgical calendar. The liturgical calendar is the one the church lives by, and has for hundreds of years.  It is a cycle that begins with Advent 1 and ends with Christ the King Sunday.  In 2013, the church year began on December 1st, the Sunday after Amercian Thanksgiving.  
So in a real sense, resolutions and second chances and beginning again are fresh in the minds of many of us.  Our thoughts and hearts are swirling around prophecies concerning one who is to come, dumbstruck people dealing with the power of an unexpected visit from the Holy Spirit,  stories of star-struck shepherds and magi, and mangers.
I always feel the urge to remind folks of what ISN'T in the Scripture: no little drummer boy, no lowing cattle, no quiet baby, and no three kings. (Check it out, if you don't believe me: there are WISE MEN, and THREE GIFTS.) But this year............well, this year stinks for a lot of folks; a lot of folks I know, and a lot of folks I don't. So perhaps, instead of remembering what ISN'T in Scripture, let's look at what is:
*The promise of presence:  The gift Mary carries no doubt brings her hardship and misunderstanding before He changes the world.  She is not removed from that, but is given a Presence that stays with her, even years later when she and Joseph lose sight of Him for a while when He's 12.
*The assurance of hope: As bleak as some of the Scripture around the nativity is (Rachel weeping for her children in Matthew?), there is a heartbeat that moves throughout the story: "And yet. And yet...."
*The potential of a dream: For Joseph, guidance came in the form of dreams.  Our dreams can have the power to change us and point us in the right direction.
*The ability to go home by another way:  The Magi travel into danger and trouble in order to find their way to Him.  Their story reminds us that - though we may not be familiar with a new direction - we can always go home by another way.
Of course it would be wonderful if our lives were like Madison Avenue spins them.  But they aren't.  How amazing is it that Scripture paints a far more realistic, and messy, picture of life - filled with concerns and family problems and unexpected changes in direction? And yet......."Glory to God in the Highest and PEACE......"
Keep all of these things, and ponder them in your heart. 
Peace.