Giving

Please forgive the absence of late. I didn't intend to take all of last week off from blogging, but I'll be honest in saying I didn't mind it. We had a fun, busy week. Beck had the whole week off from work, so we just maximized the time spending time with each other and the girls. Did a little Christmas shopping. Had company over for Thanksgiving. It was a good week.

I hope you had a good holiday week too. Christmas is only twenty-some days away, and while for a lot of us this season evokes only feelings of sweetness and light, for a not insignificant number of folks it can be very difficult. People close to us are dealing with all kinds of pain and grief and loss, and the holiday season can be a very lonely time.

Take time to reach out in the coming weeks. Be mindful of those around you, those you encounter on a regular basis who may be aching for a kind word or a friendly chat or an invitation to dinner. BCC has many service opportunities coming up, so take advantage of those ways to help the less fortunate. But remember to keep your light shining in the "off" moments -- in the checkout line and in the waiting room, in a meeting with a client or at breakfast with your kids, in the traffic on the interstate or in the traffic of the housewares aisle at Target, in the boardroom and even in the bedroom. Christmas is a celebration of the Incarnation, that glorious event when God became man. Let's remember that to be a Christian is to be a "little Christ" and so to treat each moment with the quality of eternity, with a deliberate grace that authenticates our citizenship in the kingdom of God.

They won't know we are Christians by the plastic nativity in our yards; they will know by our love.

Peace