The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Today was our church's Children's Christmas Program. I must say, of all the churches I've ever attended THIS is the way to do a Christmas Pageant. 

Rather than trying to get a group of squirrely kids to memorize lines and perform a Christmas play our church  actually gets the Christmas program all finished by October. While the weather is still nice a few months ago we gathered all the kids together after school and took photos of them dressed up in various roles of the Christmas story. Then it gets put on a Power Point presentation and the kids get to sit next to Mom and Dad and watch themselves in the "pageant". 

I'm sharing just a few of the photos the photographer (that would be me) took. By no means am I a professional but it was sure a lot of fun! 

The innkeeper turning away Mary and Joseph. 

I just love Mary's green fingernail polish...too cute! 

The choir of angels announcing the birth to the shepherds. 

We even have a very nice sheep farmer in the area that let me hang around taking photos of his critters for our pageant. 

This year we even had a "real" Baby Jesus. Bless that mother for trusting me to thrust her little one into the hands of a bunch of 6 and 8 year olds. 

But they sure did love him. 

Our "Wise Men".

Funny side story; my maiden name is Wise and I have three brothers. One of our ministers growing up would always get a kick out of saying, "Here come the Three Wise Men" when my brothers walked in the door. I guess that makes Yip and Yap up there half a wise man :) 

Yap

Yahoo 

Yip

Our little church has had such blessings this year. We started a children's Sunday School class (which I get to teach) in the spring and the first Sunday we only had 3 children. This morning we had 12 get up to sing and share poems in front of the church. What a blessing it's been to work with all these kids. It keeps me busier, along with a few more obligations I've added this year, and I have had as much time to blog as I'd like but that's okay. I get to see all those smiling faces on Sunday mornings! 

One gentleman at our church gave me the best compliment though. He said, "Next week I'll turn 85 years old and I've attended this church since I was 15 years old. I have never seen as many kids in the church as I did today." What a wonderful blessing! It's statements like that which give me hope for the future generations. 

Sunday Devotions - Searching for the Sheep

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
Matthew 18:10-14

The Parable of the Lost Sheep is one I've been familiar with since childhood. But I always wondered, why on Earth would the shepherd leave 99 to go after just 1? Wouldn't the 99 just wander off and get in trouble too? And boy, if that happened that shepherd would sure have a lot of looking to do! Why didn't he just let the one lost sheep go and stick with those 99 obedient sheep? 

Of course, it wasn't until much later that I realized Jesus was talking about people as sheep...and I was one of those sheep that he cares so very much for. God the Father knows the 99 he leaves behind will stay where they are put, his true believers.

And even though we wander, I know I've wandered, he loves us too much to just let us go and lose us. God comes after us! He doesn't wait for us to realize our mistakes and come back to the fold begging forgiveness. No! He makes a thorough search and doesn't give up until we are brought back to him. If I've wandered from God that means he is looking for me, in earnest, at this very moment.

I've had wandering moments in my life where I've felt completely isolated and alone. But I wasn't. Wherever I was and whatever I was doing God was right by my side just waiting, waiting for me to acknowledge his presence. And he's right beside you...right now.

Dear God, Thank You for searching for me when I was lost. Thank You for never giving up on me even to save others. Thank You for standing by my side, always. Your love is truly incomprehensible. Amen!

Sunday Devotions - The Sheperd Shines

(From Really Wooly Bedtime Prayers by Bonnie Rickner Jensen)

The Sheperd Shines

God's goodness will shine down from heaven.
Psalm 85:11

The sun is for daytime,
So yellow and bright.
The moon is for nighttime,
So silvery white.

The stars with their twinkles
Add sparkle and glow.
The sun uses raindrops
To make a rainbow.

But how does the Shepherd
Shine down from above?
His light shines through you...
When you share His great love!

Dear God, thank You for shining the light of Your love through me. Amen.