The Advent Conspiracy

Thanks to my friend Emily I have become aware of the Advent Conspiracy whose motto is Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All. The goal is for Christians to get back to the heart of Christmas Jesus, by giving to those who are less fortunate just as we were less fortunate so Jesus came to give himself for us. They highlight churches, colleges and individuals that give money to international organizations for global water and food needs, hosting fair trade sales, sponsoring gifts for the military, weekly offerings for food shelves, building in foreign countries and serving those in need in local communities.
So how can we be a part of the Advent Conspiracy this year? The same way we are each year by supporting our Adopt-a-Family program where we have the opportunity this year to serve 3 families that are currently served by the Cornerstone Mission. So join with us this year and bless these families!

Too Much Time

Too much time has passed since the last blog post. I have thought of several things in the past months that were blog worthy and never made it my priority to write them down here.

One that sticks out to me was watching the Chilean Mine Rescue. I held my breath (not literally or else I wouldn't be here) while the rescue cage entered the mine to reach the first miner. I was relieved when they made it to the men and then I had to hold my breath again as they started to bring him to the surface. I did this each time I saw the cage go down and prayed that the equipment would not fail and retain the men underground even longer.

As I watched and waited I enjoyed the commentary and how so many of the men swore that there were 34 men in the mine not just the 33 that we could see because God was with them. Amen! God was definitely with them in that mine as they were able to sustain for so long. I can't remember his exact number now but it may have been man 9 who upon reaching the surface and being released from the cage got down on his knees and prayed. I am sure he was thanking God for saving them and returning him to his family but his testament to the world as we watched was also great. He could have run straight to his family and the Chilean president but he knew that praising and thanking God should be first and that's what he did. Just like one of the ten lepers that Jesus healed this miner remembered to thank God for his wondrous work.

As we have come through the Thanksgiving season I hope that we all thanked God for what he has done in our lives in the past year. As we enter the Christmas season may we once again praise God for the gift of us son Jesus.