by Dave Underwood

Thanksgiving weekend marks that week when we start that last 30-day countdown of the year. This week is often chock full of “T’s”— turkey, traveling, traditions, toffee, to-do lists -- and if the boss is smiling this week -- perhaps even time off. For most of us, whether staying home or traveling, it’s a busier season juggling plans, family, kids, flights, and the budget too — since the heating bill often doubles this month along with other unforeseen expenses. Not all of us, but most of us enjoy the change of landscape, the snow on the ground, the tinsel on the tree, and the glow of your stove while enjoying a Hot Buttered Rum. If were not paying attention, then what I’ve mentioned above will be all there is. It will start, happen, and expire. Let’s ponder that for just a moment:

It all starts, happens, and expires — just like that. 34 days from today will be January 2nd. So what will make this year different? What can we do to ensure it’s a meaningful Christmas instead of just another Happy Holiday? In my journal this season, I’ve written a few things down that I hope will assist me in making this season the most meaningful Christmas possible. Perhaps you’d like to consider some of these too…

a) Read the Christmas Story as if you’re reading it for the very first time. It’s easy to rely on the commonality of what we are used to hearing about Nativity. This year, I will try to read both the accounts in Matthew and Luke slowly and out loud as if reading them for the very first time.

b) Consider the Advent Calendar Readings. Each year I pull up Ruth Haley Barton’s website www.TheTransformingCenter.org and follow her thoughts on the Advent of Christ.

c) Give. Give of your heart, your time, your talent, and your treasure. Give to a child, give to the church. Give to the homeless, give to the hopeless. It’s no secret, Jesus’ words are forever true: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This one simple sacrificial gesture is the pillar and heart of what this season has been about for thousands of years. Let’s make a contribution.

d) Give thanks for your life today and the lives of your family. December 2015 will prove to be just the same as every other month. People will be born, people will die. Planes, trains, and automobiles will transport millions near and far. There’s no guarantee for a tomorrow. No one knows “when our time will come.” So be thankful today and tell someone “I love you” today.

e) Less is good, too. Millions on our planet figure out how to live on $3 per day. We can’t do $3, but some of us can live on a little less. I’ll leave that up to each of us to ponder what that might be.

​Today is Day 1 of 34. Let’s do what we can to make this year a most meaningful Christmas ever. 
With Jesus’ love and hope and cheer to every one of you...

by Jami Wolfe

​Have you ever asked yourself the question: What does God want from me? This question was presented to me in my latest read, The Good and Beautiful God by James Smith. So, what does God want from me? 

A few years ago I think my answer would have been something like...God wants me to try and be a better Christian...God wants me to pray more...read my Bible more (praying and reading the Bible are good things of course). Yet, I have been learning that’s not really all there is to it! Which is a good thing, because I never could figure out how to “be a better Christian” just by trying harder on my own. My prayer life used to consist of apologizing for being a lame christian, saying I’ll do better tomorrow, and then of course failing the next day. So, repeat prayer, or reading a chapter out of any random book of the Bible just so I could say I got a chapter done --- even if I was bored. That’s it? That can’t be it, right??

Well, thankfully, God has gently showed me that wasn’t it. Smith’s answer to the question, “what does God want from me?” brought tears of joy to my eyes because it rang true in my soul and because I am experiencing it in my current life. Smith says this:

“When Jesus was asked which was the greatest commandment, He answered clearly: love God with all you have. If we could ask Jesus, What does God want from me? I believe He would answer God wants you to know Him, and to love Him…….What if God is not mad at you? What if God responds to us with absolute delight? Regardless of how we look or feel, or what we have done or have not done? The only possible response would be to feel absolute delight in return. If God is delighted with me --- regardless of my performance --- then my immediate response is to feel love in return. And in so doing, I fulfill the greatest commandment...the narrative that God loves us and longs for us to love Him in return provides a genuine and lasting incentive to change.”
​
I absolutely love how simple it is. Get to know God. For me, it’s been not only about head knowledge and facts, (those things are important, too) but get to know God through experience. That simple shift in thinking has changed my life. Sit with Him. Be still with Him. Give some space in my life that allows me to be present with Him. Participate with Him. “We love Him, because He first loved us” 1 John 4:19. I’ve heard that verse my whole life, but I never really understood it until I began experiencing it for myself!

by Shon Sanders

With such an eclectic group of people in our congregation, there are bound to be a wide variety of musical preferences. Some might like classical, country, or bluegrass music, while others might like jazz, blues, rock, folk, or my favorites, funk and soul. Some like the old hymns while others prefer contemporary Christian music. It would be impossible to appease everyone with the perfect worship song if it weren't for the common denominator of our praise....the Holy Trinity.  

One question I am sometimes asked is why we change the songs around, play them faster or slower, or change the style of the song from the original? There are a couple of reasons.

I grew up on the old hymns. I love ‘em! They were written to be played on an organ or a piano though. The songs don't translate that well to guitar (well, my guitar anyway). By tweaking them a bit we can introduce them to a whole new, younger generation that may have never heard them before. For those of us that know them, it's fun to bring them back and sing them in a little different but still familiar way.

There are some wonderful older contemporary worship songs that we all know so well but have sang so many times that the Spirit gets lost in ritual. We sometimes put it on auto-pilot and never engage with the words and meaning of the song. It's difficult for the Holy Spirit to do His thing when we are merely going through the motions. A slight tweak, whether it be tempo or chord voicing, sometimes helps us to dig in a little more. We then think about the words we are singing and HEAR it in a different way. We concentrate and be more present in the moment, but still have a familiar song on our lips. It also keeps it fresh for the worship team so that we aren't just playing that "same ol' song.” We love to worship too. We don't mess with all of them. Just a few here and there on occasion. Most of us get a little sentimental with our favorites and like to hear them as they were originally written. It is important to remember that you have around 167 hours a week to listen to your favorite CD and worship however the Spirit moves you. Let’s concentrate on worshiping the Lord on Sunday and the words we are singing, even if the music isn’t quite our cup of tea. After all, worship is about satisfying our Father’s want of hearing from His children, not satisfying our want of the perfect praise tune. It’s ultimately about Him, not us. My prayer for CTK worship is that along the way we will all feel the blessing of the Holy Spirit raining down on us and feel His presence during and after our worship. 

by Rick Snodgrass
I remember the first time my friend Lyman Coleman talked to me about the Wounded Healer. It’s the one who, out of the broken places, experiences God’s love and healing. He wet on to talk about how that healing can impact a persons view of the world, and others who are broken. Then he said, “the Wounded Healer stands at the gate to encourage those who wonder if it is safe to go inside with their brokenness.”
We are all wounded healers if we are on a journey with Jesus. The questions I need to keep in front of me are: 

• What will I be in this journey, and who will come with me?
• What is it that the world needs that I have to give?

Transformed people have a transforming effect on people…it just works that way. Will you join me as a gatekeeper for the wounded. Will you be a wounded healer?
I love this quote by Gene Edwards,
“There is a vast difference between the outward clothing of the Spirits power and the inward filling of the Spirits life.  In the first, despite the power, the hidden man of the heart may remain unchanged.  In the latter, the monster is dealt with....What does the world need? Gifted men, outwardly empowered?  Or broken men, inwardly transformed?”  

by Misti Sanders

I thought this was such a great and simple article that speaks to serving others. This is the second part of the article by Susie Larson title “Serving Others.” You can read the first half online in our Leader’s Corner archives. Hope you find it valuable.

We are called to love and influence the world by helping others. Here are a few ways you can get involved in your own community and make a difference as couples:

Join a small group. Find a common bond that draws you together, but beware of the tendency to get too exclusive with your group. Be open to new members, invite your unchurched neighbors and do outreach together. This will keep your group balanced and life-giving.

Become a mentor to someone younger. Ask God to show you a couple or single person you can take under your wing. Have dinner with them and get to know their dreams, fears and concerns. Use the wisdom God has given you to strengthen and encourage them. When you help someone grow, you grow stronger, too.

Engage in community service. Serve together at a food pantry. Deliver groceries to a shut-in. Visit a widow, an elderly person or a prisoner. Help a single parent by caring for her children and/or helping with house maintenance.
Stay connected to your extended family. Be intentional about making plans with family members, and approach family get-togethers with a heart to serve and love.

​Be involved with your church family. When life gets busy, it can be tempting to disconnect, yet cutting yourselves off from the body of Christ will only hurt you.