“Oh come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.” Psalm 95:1-2
And they’re OFF! Leading off is Rebecca, Cori and Katie on garland with Schane and Jaden on hanging technology. Coming up the side is Jason, Jacob, Grace and Kris on lights. Howie & Seth jump up front with Paula, Lisa and a host of helpers on ‘The Tree.’ Donna and Chris pull ahead on wreath production while Lauren, Joe, Janine, Elizabeth and Ashley tamed the kids. With Michelle on pics and Mike and Kim on seasonal sounds, Bill, Todd, Mike and Randy surveyed the scene. As the pizza disappeared and children played, ‘The Church’ appeared… more beautiful than ever!
The occasion was our annual Christmas church decorating and pizza party. With almost everyone there, and there isn’t room for every name, all were wanting to help out in some way. Though it was sometimes tough to find a job for each one, they all discovered one. Even Galen!
There was some balking when I switched the date to the week before Thanksgiving, as SOME traditions are not supposed to be broken. But due to some folks not being here later, and with a prompt of the Holy Spirit, it was a switch AND a home run! Some folks hesitated in committing to coming because they were busy. But when they came, ALL of them were glad they did. It became a Jesus infused Joyful event!
Not yet receiving the pictures, I looked online for some. I typed in several possibilities like, ‘people decorating church for Christmas.’ I didn’t find many. I think that is because decorating is USUALLY done by a small committee, when they have the church to themselves. SOME people are particular about how it turns out and want to avoid ‘trashy.’ But we have been doing it this way for decades. And I think it has eternity in its roots!
The Church is called to be a place where believers gather to sing, worship and pray JOYFULLY to God. As a ‘Congregational’ type of church, it only makes sense that we do everything, even decorating the church for Christmas…together. I have found that ‘FEELING FOLLOWS FAITH.’ When we operate in faith FIRST… the feelings of joy WILL follow! Those who came, even reluctantly, went away feeling blessed.
Singing, Joy, thanksgiving and family ties are by-products of coming together in the House of God. Seasonal celebration TOGETHER is magnified exponentially. So it doesn’t matter if you are on lights, wreaths, the tree or just part of the singing… EVERYONE is a winner. How do you start YOUR Holiday Season? Happy Joyfulmas!
