The call is out for people interested in serving a Christmas Dinner at Brookside Community Church in Indianapolis.  The Thanksgiving dinner was great and now our friends are planning for Christmas.

Here's a note from our friend Erin:

Hello, friends of Brookside!  Here we are on the heels of a very successful Thanksgiving dinner at Brookside and heading full speed into Christmas dinner!  You are receiving this email because you expressed interest in assisting with this meal and we would LOVE to have you! 

Christmas dinner this year will be on Sunday, December 20th.  It will be served immediately following the morning service (around 11:30am, depending on how the Spirit moves!) and is served in the church gym. 

This year we will be serving: 

Ham
Corn
Mashed potatoes
Gravy
Stuffing
Rolls
Pie and/or cake
Lemonade

I'll make every attempt to break the serving opportunities down into several hour time blocks so that you are able to come for as little or as long as you like.  The schedule looks basically like this:                                  

7:30 am – 11:00 am       Warm turkeys and prepare the remainder of the meal and beverages

10:00 am – 11:00 am     Set up serving and dining tables and chairs in the gymnasium

11:00 am – Noon           Set out food and beverages on serving tables

Noon – 2:00 pm             Serve Brookside folks in two shifts

2:00 pm – 3:00 pm         Crew 1 – clean kitchen

                                    Crew 2 – return tables and chairs to dining hall

                                    Crew 3 – Sweep and mop gym floor and empty trash

If you are still willing to serve at this meal, please respond to me when you are able with number of individuals coming with you as well as top three choices for serving times. 

Thank you so much for your giving spirits and Happy Thanksgiving!!

In His service,

Erin Szalkie

If you are interested, leave a comment below and I'll connect you with Erin.  

[image by don2g]

Did you go shopping today on Black Friday?   Were you one of the brave (crazy) ones that ventured out in the early morning to hunt for deals and steals?

I'm not a big shopper, so the thought of getting up early on my day off was not something I was going to do.   However, if you ever talk to my wife, you'll know that I'm cheap.  I like a good deal and I definitely like saving money.

So...I'm curious.   What is the best deal that you got today?  Can you convince me that going out in the early morning hours is a good thing to do?

[image by joanieofarc]

Happy Thanksgiving!  To everyone that came out to volunteer at Brookside last Sunday, it was awesome!

Our friend Erin Szalkie sent out the following note:

Thank you, thank you thank you!  Thanks to your efforts and giving hearts, the Brookside Thanksgiving Dinner was a huge success- we were able to serve close to 300 people this year!  We so appreciate your willingness to share your time and talents with us as we work to show God's love to our neighbors in the Brookside community.  We pray that you felt blessed as well by the experience and that you will consider working with us again next year.

300!   That's amazing.   Everything went so smooth and I think the people at Brookside had a great time.  Thanks Erin and Jim for all you do!

[image by J. McPherson]

Yesterday my wife saw a little naked man running around our back yard.   Call the cops you say?  Nah, it was just our 3 year old Caleb.   You see, he likes to be naked.  Plain and simple.  He hasn't quite learned the social etiquette that you can't just run around naked outside. (we're trying).  Caleb was outside playing with his brother Camden and they decided to get in the sandbox and throw sand at each other.  Typical boy stuff.   Well, after getting covered in sand, the next logical step, if you're Caleb, is to get naked.  Enter Holli: to find him running around naked.  Caleb got in trouble and had to get dressed bringing the naked romp to an end.

So, Holli tries to call me to talk about her day and what do you think I do?  "I'm busy, can I call you back?".   Umm, let me tell you, might not be the best response to your wife, guys.  But that's what I did.   And then I didn't call her back for another 3 hours.  Hey, just trying to keep it real here; who can relate?  I definitely get the "unsupportive husband" award yesterday.

What are two things a husband can learn from a little naked man? 

1. Be a little more free spirited.    No, don't run around outside naked, that's just creepy.  But when it comes to leading your family, take some risks and make sure to enjoy the time.

2. Actions have consequences.   If there's something you're doing or not doing that can get you in trouble, stop.   Like taking a phone call from your wife or at least calling her back promptly.

Do you have any great "3 year old" stories you can share?

[image by chrisandjenni]

What are you going to do today?   Do you have a task list, day planner, outlook calendar synchronized with your phone?  I bet it's full appointments, things to do, places to go and people to see.   I know mine is full and there's nothing wrong with that.  However, in the busyness of life, we need to remain focused on two simple things:

1. Love God

2. Love Others

Matthew 22: 36-40 says: 

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

How do you love God and others?  Start by praising God.   Tell him how you feel, verbalize it.  Get into God's word, read the Bible.   Then apply it to your life.   It does no good sitting on a shelf or to just read and not act.    Once you read it, take action and make some life changes.   Serve others.  Put them above yourself.  Humble yourself.

Start today and try to live more intentional around these two things.   Such seemingly small things, but so important to remember in our lives.

[image by Great Beyond]

Today's Wednesday Worship goes really well with yesterday's post Send Me.   If you haven't read Send Me, read it first, then listen to this song.

Where can God send you today?

How often do you think about the purpose of your life?   Is it often or infrequent?   I have to admit that I think about it a lot.  Many days I wonder if I’m fulfilling all of the plans that God has for me.   Sometimes I get depressed because I don’t think I’m pursuing His call on my life.   What is the call?   I don’t know for sure, hence the round and around struggle.  I have some ideas, but it is still getting revealed to me.

Many times I wonder if we’re making our “purpose” out to be more complex than it has to be.   I was reading in the book of Isaiah and one thing that jumps out to me is that God didn’t “Call” Isaiah.   Isaiah responded to God’s question.

Isaiah 6:8 says:

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?"  And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

God was searching for someone that could go out and fulfill things that God was interested in.  Isaiah simply responded.   He stood up and said “Send Me!”    And God did.

Is there a situation in your life that you feel like God is searching for someone to step up and say “Send Me”?  Perhaps today you could take that intentional step and tell God “Send Me”.     If you do that, make sure to have an open heart and be ready to listen for what God asks you to do.   Talk about a life of adventure if we could live that way every day. 

How can God use you today?

[image by amboo213]

I'm feeling very thankful and blessed today.   Some of you know that my dad was diagnosed with colon cancer recently.   They did the surgery last night and the doctors say it went perfectly.   They feel they got all of the cancer out and it had not started to spread.   We are still waiting on a pathology report, but as of right now everything sounds great. 

I love Psalm 103: 

1 Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—

3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord's love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children's children—

18 with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.

21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

[image by dtchristner]