Christmas Play!

Mike Sullivan

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Can Food Drive? Ends This Sunday!

This is from the AZLE NEWS
This is who we are helping.
Azle angels get their wings at Mission House
Friday, December 14, 2007
Gail Gilmore

Wanda Grayson

If the classic movie It’s a Wonderful Life has it right, there are little bells ringing all over Azle as angels get their wings this Christmas season.
Wanda Grayson, director of Castle Hills Mission House food pantry, hears bells almost every day – but she’s also hearing the phone ring frequently as people in the area turn to her for help.
Tuesday morning while explaining to a visitor about how Mission House collects food all year, and Christmas gifts at this time of year, she took a call from a woman who needed help with groceries.

She also needed some laundry detergent. Grayson asked her to come by shortly for a box of food, which she would collect from the shelves of Mission House.
The laundry detergent wasn’t on hand, but Grayson said she could get the woman a jarful from Mission House’s supply.
One woman who counts on Mission House is a grandmother who took in her three grandkids but has only her kitchen for them to sleep in, Grayson said.
“Sometimes I just sit and cry with them,” she said of the people who come to her for help.
She also dispenses hugs freely as she listens to problems, challenges, mistakes and – most of all – dire needs. The kids in the kitchen, for instance, aren’t expecting Christmas, she said.

“They’re just glad to be in her kitchen.”
These kids and hundreds of others are getting Christmas because of Mission House, its volunteers and, most of all, the generosity of Azle area residents.
“Azle is a wonderful place to live,” Grayson said. “I know this will all be taken care of.”
Grayson, perfectly sized to be one of Santa’s elves, has a serene smile on her face, but she’s surrounded by partly empty shelves, even after at least three trips to North Texas Food Bank since her last pantry day.
There are 24 businesses in Azle that have angel trees up with children’s wishes.
Some of those businesses have called several times since the trees went up around Thanksgiving, Grayson said.
Their trees have been emptied and re-filled several times. Grayson and her volunteers have hauled out presents to make room for more.
The deadline for having gifts under those trees for Grayson to pick up is Nov. 19. There are 350 children whose Christmas wishes can be found somewhere around Azle – including area restaurants, banks, the Chamber of Commerce and the Azle News.
Grayson helped 161 families on her November pantry day. But she helped 385 people throughout the month because she comes through whenever someone in need calls.
Her next pantry day is Dec. 20. Mission House has peanut butter, but no jelly or bread.
There’s a shelf of salad dressing. But the shelves dedicated to pasta and sauce are empty.
The pantry needs cereal, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread stuffing mixes, among other family or kid-friendly foods that are non-perishable.
An angel arrived early this week and wrote out a $150 check so she can buy some of those things, at regular price if need be, she said.
Grayson and Mission House volunteers (about 10 “regularly” and another five she can call on) order from the North Texas Food Bank’s inventory list that’s sent out each week. They travel to near downtown Fort Worth each week and pick up supplies they can buy for as little as 18 cents per pound.
NTFB doesn’t always have what Mission House families need. And even with only one pantry day each month and four trips to the bank in between, the emergency calls continue all month.
And now Christmas is right around the corner, too.
Contact Mission House at 817-237-7086.

Build the Fort Today!

Years ago, I attended a seminar for teacher training. One of the sessions was taught by Jim Kern. He told us a story of a man how came home from work one day and his son said

"Daddy can we build a fort today?” And of course the dad says "Not tonight, I am too (insert your word)"

This goes on for several days until one day the boy stops asking, and his dreams of having a grand fort build by his dad are crushed.

Just think about what this means.

It means that the boy no longer has faith in his dad and the boy knows that he does not rate very high on dad’s priority list. How sad this is, these moments come, and if we let too many of them go we have in essence let the child go.

I became convicted of this today as my youngest son ask "dad will you play trains with me" And of course what did I say "In a minute"

Two hours have past, why am I still sitting here? I have to go play trains now, what do you need to do?

GO BUILD YOUR FORT TODAY!

Be present today; make today count, because tomorrow will be here soon.
MC

Holy Moment

Ever have a holy moment; A moment in which the world stands still for a minute and you have a "matrix" like view of the world in suspended animation?

That happened to me today at school. I seem to be having that happen daily. I have learned to listen to these moments. They seem to be happening in greater frequency and I seem to be more aware of them when they happen.

God is speaking to us in those times like He's revealing what we need to do. It is usually very simple. Today He said "go sit and eat with those kids over there". I did, I obeyed, this is what obeying God is all about. It's not the things we once were told. I was told obeying God is going to church, sitting in a pew, listening to a boring sermon week after week, taking Communion, prayers, singing, being there when the doors open. . . Is this really it? Is that what the great heroes of the bible did? Or did God call them, ask them to do something and they did it?

Which one are you, a pew warmer or someone that listens to the call of God.

You have listened to those moments?

If you have that is a God moment.

It all reminded of this song

Matt Redman

This is a holy moment now, something of heaven touches earth
Voices of angels all resound - we join their song
Let this be a holy moment now

MC