Vails Gate UMC

FROM THE PASTOR - December 2009

When was the last time you made a Christmas list? I remember as a child thinking
hard about what would go on that list; wanting to put some good items on it, but not wanting
to put too many things because I wanted it to be “doable” for Santa, especially given that he
was providing for me and my three siblings. One year I only had one item on it - a 10 speed
bicycle. I was so excited when I found it under the tree – I still remember that Schwinn…

But as an adult, is it all right to have a Christmas list? I suggest that, this year, we do
have a Christmas list but look at it a bit differently than the way we wrote them as children.
Instead of a list that will benefit us, how about a list that might help others?

Amy Grant, one of the contemporary Christian artists that I enjoy listening to, sang a
song on one of her Christmas albums entitled “My Grown Up Christmas List.” This is the
kind of list we should be thinking about making:

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up Christmas list

These are items that could definitely go on my Christmas List for 2009, but I entreat
you to take it a step further. Instead of just writing down a list, how about we pray over this
list throughout Advent? Imagine the power it could have if we all prayed for the four weeks
before Christmas for love to never end and for wars to never start? That is one present I
would love to wake up to on Christmas morning!

(Oh, and by the way, I just love Christmas music, so stop in my office after December
1st and you are sure to hear some!)

Peace,
Pastor Martha

FROM THE PASTOR - January 2010

“They set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star…
until it stopped over the place where the child was.” -Matthew 2:9

Christmas is not over!

Yes, the Christmas merchandise is being replaced with Valentine
hearts on store shelves.

Yes, our beautiful decorations will be going back into storage.

Yes, the leaves are falling off our poinsettias.

But that does not mean that the spirit of Christmas has to leave us!

On January 3rd we will celebrate Epiphany with the telling of the journey
of the Magi. It was actually quite a bit later after the birth of Jesus that the
wise men arrived bearing their gifts. Mary and Joseph were back at their
home and were adjusting to life with a new marriage and a new baby. Just as
they are settled into their routine, these mysterious men from afar come and
bring gifts to their son Jesus.

When we last left Mary she “treasured” the words the shepherds had
said about the angels appearing to them and “pondered them in her heart”
(Luke 2:19). I always wonder what things were like for her after all the
“hullabaloo” was over and they went back to Nazareth and went back to
everyday life. Well, just when she thought things might be “normal” for them
these men appear. There is no report in Matthew as to comments made by

Mary or thoughts she had. It might have been that now she had the final
confirmation that this child was truly special. Her life was never going to be
the same. A star followed her baby from Bethlehem back to their home and
these men were able to journey miles upon miles, following that star until it
brought them to their house.

That is how it can be with our journeys. The spirit we feel at Christmas
does not need to dissipate. The upliftedness we have at singing “Joy to the
World” doesn’t have to be shelved for another year along with the decorations.
We only need to follow the star. That star will lead us to Jesus, as it led the
Magi to him so many years ago.

So, as you continue to water your poinsettias in an effort to keep them
alive, come to church and water your spirit! Jesus will keep it alive! Just as
Mary’s life was never the same, ours don’t need to be either!

May 2010 be a blessed year for you!

Pastor Martha