LX
Sunday Night Check-In
Hello friends, this is the Sunday night check-in and I’m glad you are visiting with me. I hope the week ahead has some blessings for you. Christmas is in the air and there is so much astir! How’s it looking at your house? Is your tree up yet? Ours never gets put away. We might add some Christmas ornamentation, but it is a tall narrow tree and just has its place in our home all the time. That sounds so purposeful and quaint, but it just means we do not have any place to put it.
What’s with the LX? Well, last Thursday I passed over the last bridge of youth and entered into the final years of my journey by turning 60. I get no sympathy from most of my friends - because they’ve already been old a long time! I’m hopeful some young people will sympathize with my oldness! I may be exaggerating a bit. But turning 50 was tough, and 60 is just salt in the wound. I had hoped between 50 and 60 some things would have happened. I would have gotten smarter (I did accomplish my Masters degree in my 50’s), thinner (no comment), and more engaging (wake up, I’m talking to you!). Oh well, I’m blessed in more ways than I can count. But 60! Gah!
I’m excited to begin a new Substack. It’s not that I believe you can’t get enough of me. Even I get enough of me! The Holy Lens will begin on January 1 with a daily picture, passage, and prayer. I’ve been writing prayers for some time now based on Bible passages. I want to share these, along with one picture each day. Maybe it will bless others, but it will certainly be encouraging to me to spend the time to do this. I’m grateful to
for coming up with a compelling title! Are you interested in subscribing?
This week, two old friends have gone to be with the Lord. Lowell Kirkbride was a deacon when I arrived on staff at Cleveland Church of Christ back in 1985 or so. I was the Youth Minister and a Campus Minister at Delta State University. Back then, the church met on Highway 8 on the edge of Cleveland, Mississippi. I was single, freshly graduated from Magnolia Bible College, and pretty much knew everything there was to know. With much grace, the people of that church loved me and helped me. Lowell was a trusted advisor, friend, never-ending-kidder, and father to me during that time. After I married Maggy and we had a rent house there, he gave me his lawnmower when I couldn’t afford one. Funny how I remember that. But that’s the kind of person he was. His children Lisa and David were in our youth group. Now they are married and each has enough kids to have their own youth group. Lowell’s wife, Donna, always faithful, serving the church, and loving those who are struggling, is in my prayers. In his later years, Lowell was an elder at the Cleveland church. I love him and his family.
Another friend we said goodbye to this week was Mary Conerly. Norlan and Mary were special friends in Pascagoula over the years. Norlan and my father-in-law, Dick Willingham, had a great relationship. They were both the kind who could sit down with a stranger and be related to them as distant cousins before long. Norlan passed away some years ago. Mary always had a smile on her face. She was always an encourager, always hospitable, always serving. The Conerlys leave behind a legacy of faith and friendship that will be remembered by everyone they met. And Mary made the best chicken and dumplings I have ever eaten.
While I’m noting losses, my friend Patti May will be saying goodbye to her mother this afternoon at a funeral in Ripley, Mississippi. Patti’s father passed away not very long ago. It’s been a hard year for the Shelton family.
Lowell, Mary, and Hilda are healed and happy in the presence of the Lord. That’s what I want for myself and what I want for you, friend.
The Christmas decorations are out at Forsythe Church of Christ. We have poinsettias every year thanks to the talent and interest of Linda Graves. We publish a bulletin of memorials just before Christmas. We will have a Christmas fellowship on Wednesday the 13th. On December 17th our children will bless us with a program being directed by Karen Sharp. Christmas Eve is on a Sunday this year. And before you know it we will be in a new year. So many people work hard to make this a special time of year. Take time to enjoy it.
The Compassionate Friends will have their Worldwide Candle Lighting on December 10th. Locally we meet at Grace Episcopal Church at 6:30. If you have lost a child, grandchild, or sibling, you are welcome to come and hear poetry, and music, and light a candle in the name of your lost loved one.
I’ll share a Christmas poem from the Ideals Christmas Edition of 2018. (I love the Ideals Christmas books, they are warm, nostalgic, and perfect for the holidays. They’ve been printing them since 1944!)
I Dream of Childhood Christmas by Bob Rowe
I dream of childhood Christmas
so many years ago,
when we were all together
and the world was white with snow.
I can see my grandma smiling
as she baked the pumpkin pie,
my mother wrapping presents,
and a gleam in each child’s eye.
I can close my eyes and hear the sounds
of carols from above,
when homes were filled with laughter
and hearts were filled with love.
I think I mentioned last Sunday that I was re-reading Christmas in Plains by Jimmy Carter. It is a brief but encouraging read. As their family said goodbye to Rosalynn recently, I found it especially poignant. It was a great reminder to be grateful for the important things.
No matter what other personal desires or crises we have faced, I’ve never forgotten that this is the time to celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus, and the impact of this event on the history of the world. …. It is difficult now to imagine how precious an orange, an apple, or a tangerine was to the families in Archery. Just one or two such delicacies were often the entire harvest of gifts that a child could expect from Santa Claus. - Jimmy Carter, Christmas in Plains
Don’t forget to subscribe to The Holy Lens! I’m excited about that. I’m encouraged that you have read this far. I hope you will pause in the Christmas rush to recall what this is truly all about. Work hard, rest well, and stay connected. The world needs you.
I'm looking forward to The Holy Lens. I know they will be blessings for each day.
Always enjoy your writings and photographs. Looking forward to The Holy Lens! Thank you!