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Looking Forward: Closing Out The Old – Opening Up The New

12/31/2020

As we close out 2020 and begin the 2021 New Year, it’s the time we begin to make all of our plans and set all of our goals for the upcoming year. This is also a time to tie up whatever loose ends we have. It’s always good to go into the new year with confidence, grace, and healed hearts.

One of the most difficult things about changing seasons is leaving the past behind us and moving forward to what lies ahead of us next. Philippians 3:13 (ESV) says. “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”

This can be hard to do, especially if we’ve had a hard year and are struggling to feel positive about what might be next. And yet, even when things have been just as we like it, we can be uncertain of the coming season of life. A common question that comes to mind is, “Will the new year threaten the peace and happiness we’ve come to enjoy?” Looking forward to the future means looking into the unknown.

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) says, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” So, instead of allowing anxiety to set in, remember that through Christ, all things are possible. That means that no matter what 2020 held for us, Christ is able to walk alongside us to help move our lives forward for whatever is in store for us next.

This doesn’t mean that we should push our feelings and thoughts aside in an attempt to hurry and get over them for the sake of a new year. We should be willing to let allow Christ to reign and rule over our lives. We can do this by submitting to his authority and His plan for us, and trusting in Him to help us in whatever way we need it.

This is a good time for us to think through our life in 2020. We can take note of the condition of our heart right now, and why it’s in the current shape that it’s in (good or bad). Then, ask God to make His survey of us. When we open our heart wide for Him, laying the year 2020 at His feet, we can walk with Him, to the place that He has for us in 2021.

Have A Happy New Year,

Pastor Chuck

A Christmas Present, Delayed

12/27/2020

I happened upon this story and thought I would include it in my blog this week. I can really see the importance of love and friend ship in the family God gives us.

A Quote: “Having a sister is like having a best friend you can’t get rid of. You know whatever you do, they’ll still be there.”

I was ten the summer my dad helped me buy my first ten-speed bicycle from Reverend Allen. I put up $60 of my grass cutting and snow shoveling money, and my dad put up the other half. I would pay him back in installments over the next six months. Although it was the kind of bike you’d expect a minister to have (dull silver, slightly worn, no baseball cards in the spokes), it was my ticket to the adult world.

I spent that summer and autumn riding as if to put Greg LeMond to shame. My sister Liz, a prisoner of her five-speed and banana seat, never had a chance to keep up. We’d always been stuck with hand-me-downs from our older brothers and sisters, a few of whom had notoriously bad taste in bikes. Now, however, I was able to ride to every corner of town, sometimes even as far as the beach. In those heady days before one acquires a driver’s license, a good bike is a magic carpet.

Just before the Christmas deadline to pay my dad back, we were hit with several snowstorms. This allowed me to shovel enough driveways to pay off my debt. I was now officially a bike owner; it was a feeling unlike any other.

It’s important to note that while my mom and dad were fantastic parents, they couldn’t be trusted with the awesome responsibility of buying appropriate Christmas presents. They were too quick to pass off gloves, sneakers, and shirts as “presents.” And while we might say a prayer over the Baby Jesus in the manger on our way to church, He seemed too busy at this time of year to leave presents under the tree. We outsourced our requests for the really good presents to Santa.

For her family of seven kids, my mom developed a system in which she decorated the outside of seven large boxes with different types of wallpaper. We each had our own box that contained six or so presents, and we’d close our eyes and reach in to grab one when it was our turn. This cut down on hours of wrapping and satisfied my dad’s Naval sense of order.

The downside was we opened one present at a time so everyone could “appreciate” each other’s gifts. Neither Liz nor I “appreciated” this system because we went last. After the obligatory “oohs” and “aahs,” each of us held up our present for family review, a process that averaged about five minutes or so. This meant Liz and I had to wait about forty-five minutes between each present, so patience was in short supply—when one of us pulled out a belt or package of underwear, we seethed the entire time.

My dad, a master showman, liked to keep a few of Santa’s better presents for the end. On that fateful Christmas morning, he gave me a used portable record player. I was ecstatic—I was finally untethered from the “family stereo” that all of us fought over.

Alas, my elation was short-lived after my dad called my sister to the kitchen. “We have one more gift for you,” he said as he opened the door that led to the garage. There, on the steps, stood a brand new ten-speed Schwinn. I didn’t hear her screams of joy—all I could hear was the sputtering engine of the lawnmower, the endless scraping of the metal snow shovel on concrete. I’d endured far too many hours of indentured servitude for my used bike; that Santa could give Liz this sparkling machine less than a week later was a sign that he was losing his touch. Could Mrs. Claus be putting something in his food?

I slumped onto the floor. My ten-speed chariot had turned into a pumpkin in the time it took my sister to hop on the gleaming leather seat.

“Let’s go for a ride, Rob!” she sang, my dad holding the bike upright as she put her feet on the pedals.

“Too snowy to ride,” I muttered, pushing the record player farther away from me. The symbolism seemed lost on my dad.

I seethed for the rest of the day, then the rest of the week. My dad was not someone to whom we complained about presents (not if we ever wanted to see another, anyway). Santa always seemed to lose interest after Christmas, rarely accepting returns or trade-ins. That left the Baby Jesus, but He wasn’t answering my prayers—I could tell because Liz’s bike had yet to crumble into a pile of rust flakes.

After a few weeks of watching me pout, my dad finally pulled me aside. “Everything okay?”

“It’s not fair,” I whined. “I worked so hard for my bike, and it’s not even new. Then Liz gets a brand new bike as soon as I make the final payment. She didn’t have to do anything for it.”

My dad smiled. “She didn’t have to do anything for it because it’s not really for her,” he said, and then left the room.

What did that mean? I didn’t want her bike—it had the girly bar that sloped down to the ground and a flowery white basket on the handlebars. I could turn it in for a new set of action figures, I figured, but she’d been on it every day since Christmas—no way they’d let me take it back now. I eventually got over it, chalking it up to elf error (the naughty and nice list can be cumbersome).

By spring Liz and I were riding all over town together now that she could keep up. Sure, I’d lose her on the steep slopes, but I always let her catch up when we went downhill. Initially, the youngest children in a large family form a bond out of necessity—older siblings can be taxing, and there are only so many locked doors one can hide behind. Sometimes, you need someone else in the foxhole with you.

As we grew, Liz and I became true friends. We biked down to swim at the local pool, then put in seven miles to take the free town tennis lessons together. We planned secret parties when my parents went on trips and played a game of “Who can leave less gas in the tank” when we finally got our drivers’ licenses. I relied on her to put names to faces when we were at parties, and she treated my best friends as her personal dating service. We ended up at the same college, and even graduated the same year.

Still, I wasn’t smart enough to figure out what my dad meant until years later. That brand new bike was not a gift for Liz—it was a gift for me. He’d given me the gift of my sister’s company, the ability to stay together rather than drift apart in the face of my ability to travel. He gave me my best friend.

It’s a gift I’ve treasured every day since.

I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did.

Blessings,

Pastor Chuck

Christmas Memories With My Mother

12/9/2020

I have always loved Christmas and everything about it. Growing up we didn’t have a lot of things and very little money. Mom raised the last five of her eight kids by herself, even after becoming disabled from working two jobs to support us.

Many of our gifts came from the secondhand stores and a few little things we could purchase for a dollar (per kid) at Kress’ Five and Dime Store. I love that old two-story building and a basement in downtown Stockton, California with its vast amounts of rich real wood paneling and polished staircases. The decorated city buses were all free to ride for shopping and blared Christmas music from speaker horns mounted on their tops.

We had an old, used artificial tree that was decorated with handmade items and a few bulbs and lights that mom picked up at Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul’s and the Salvation Army. We made popcorn garland, paper chain garland, tinsel made from strips of aluminum foil, and of course mom’s favorite “angel hair” made of spun glass. With all of those decorations it looked like a real tree.

On Christmas Eve, we would have Lipton Tea with little homemade cookies, watch Christmas movies on our little Black & White TV, and stay up until midnight. When it officially became Christmas mom would let us open our gifts.

There are so many stories I could tell you about those times, but what stands out in my mind is that mom loved us, she kept our family together, she took care of us, she sacrificed for us, and did everything she could possibly do to make our Christmas the best ever.

Plus, most of all, she always let us know that the reason we celebrate Christmas is because Jesus Christ left His home in Heaven and came down to this Earth, as a little baby, so that one day he could redeem us from the power of sin and death. Through mom’s sacrifice for us, we learned of Christ’s sacrifice for us and His great gift of Eternal Life.

Thank you, Mama for your love and gift of Life, and thank you Jesus for your gift of Eternal Life.

Merry Christmas, I Love You Mom, See You In Heaven Some Day,

Love, Chuck

The picture of Mom (B. Ellen Jones Seielstad Feemster) is from the early 1940's.

Christmas Fun Facts

12/5/2020

In starting off the month of December and the Christmas Holiday, I thought it would be interesting to share some Christmas season fun facts.

1.         Christmas Celebrates The Birth Of Jesus Christ.

Christmas is an annual Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. The 25th day of December was chosen to mark His birthday many years after His death, resurrection and ascension. This important Christian holiday is celebrated by Christians all over the world.

2.         Christmas Trees Were First Used By Ancient Egyptians And Romans.

The origin or the use of Christmas trees goes way back to ancient Egyptians and Romans. They used evergreen trees like fir or pine trees, wreaths, and garlands. The use of modern Christmas trees started in Germany in the 16th century. The German tradition of candlelit Christmas trees was first brought to America in the 1800s. Instead of the beautiful decorations that we see on them today, they were decorated with fruits and nuts.

3.         The Baby Jesus Was The First To Receive Some Wonderful Gifts At Christmas
When He Was Born.

When Jesus was born, a bright star shone in the sky. Three kings followed this star and made a long journey to the birthplace of Jesus. They bore with them gifts of gold, frankincense (aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes), and Myrrh (a natural gum or resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species used for perfume, incense and medicine as an analgesic).

4.         The Christmas Wreath Is A Symbol Of Love And Eternal Life.

The Christmas wreath is representative of the crown of thorns that Jesus wore. Eventually, the colors of Christmas: red, green, and gold were added. Red is said to represent the blood of Jesus, green is supposed to symbolize life, and gold stands for royalty and light. And the evergreen foliage used to make Christmas wreaths symbolizes the continuity of life and nature even in the darkest days of winters.

5.         Alabama Was The First State In The US To Have Recognized Christmas
As An Official Holiday.

Alabama was the first state in the US to recognize Christmas as a holiday in the year 1836. I imagine that you didn’t know this, but you know it now. If you are curious to know about the last state in the continental US to recognize the holiday, well here it is, it’s Oklahoma. Oklahoma recognized Christmas as a holiday in the year 1907.

6.         The Traditional Christmas Meal Is Not What You Think It Is.

The traditional Christmas meal in England before turkey or ham became the obvious choice of food for the holidays was a pig’s head covered with mustard. Wow, that's pretty wild.

Hope you enjoyed these fun facts.

Blessings and stay safe,

Pastor Chuck

Looking Forward: Closing Out The Old – Opening Up The New

A Christmas Present, Delayed

Christmas Memories With My Mother

Christmas Fun Facts

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