Anyone else but me trying to remove things from your December calendar? Or maybe not removing but certainly not adding anything. I'm making an attempt at both. I'm always amazed at how much we (in the church) TALK a lot about the real meaning and not getting caught up in the hustle and bustle yet we are probably as guilty as anyone at loading up the calendar with this event, that party, that program. Even if it's not Christmas I'm a huge proponent of less activity, yes even church activity, because it frees us up from huddling together to actually being the church in our neighborhoods, etc. I was even telling my daughter the other day that I was extremely intentional with our calendar when they were young because I didn't want them associating the Christmas season with "mom and dad are never home" season. I intentionally didn't plan a Favor event for December because I don't want to be an enabler to the whole thing.
Having said all of that and at the risk of being hypocritical, let me throw this challenge out to you. I challenged myself first because that's always the way to go. Good leadership says you never ask others to do what you won't do yourself, right?! =))) I also challenged our Favor team, since I'm not asking them to meet or plan till after the first of the year! =))) Now here's the challenge for anyone who wants to take it.
What if we cross something OFF of our list that really is a non-essential (I know that's hard cause it's all essential right?) and then add just one simple thing that really could make an impact or difference with someone? I've thought a lot lately about what a bad neighbor I can be because I'm "so busy". I've thought about how being the church starts with family first and then moves to our neighbors and I've been terribly convicted. I think the way we will see a difference in our churches is when we see a difference in our families and neighborhoods. I think on most days I'm extremely good at being there for my family and prioritizing around them and trying to go over and beyond what they need from me, but I'm not so good at being that good neighbor. I'm going to try to do better at that in the coming year so I'm going to start with the Christmas season. So, what if we just do a very simple thing to reach out to those we live around. Maybe we can bake an extra dozen cookies and give to that neighbor that we barely even throw our hand up at. Maybe we can hand deliver a christmas card. What if when we buy something and it's a buy one/get one, we actually give one away without hoarding it for ourself. Or after we've already received the fifth dessert people have delivered to us, we turn around and give one away. You probably can think of many more ideas that I haven't but the point is that it takes very little work and cost but may take a lot of courage and a lot of intentionality. It's a great thing to do as a family especially with small children. If your children are older like mine, maybe you can split up and cover a little extra ground. We have plenty of church cards and favor cards to add to it for an easy church invite, but you don't even have to do that. Just reach out! Building relationships naturally with people is what leads to the spiritual conversations. And those will last much longer than any gift we stress over buying and wrapping and paying for. So just take the time that you'd normally spend on one thing and spend it on something more meaningful.
PLEASE KNOW THIS!!!! This is not meant to guilt anyone or add to an already busy time so please don't receive it that way. If Satan begins to dump guilt over your head or at your feet, tell him to get behind you and keep moving. However if the Spirit is nudging you to reach out even if it goes against your personality type, go ahead and do it. We may be the ones to receive the bigger blessing!! Merry Christmas!!!
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