Serve by Design

Mimi had a helper the other day as she decorated the Christmas tree. Eloise dropped in for a “working” lunch and to help get the season underway for her grandparents. She was so excited by all the ornaments and decorations in storage bins. Her excitement piqued when she saw so many personalized items. As you can see, she stretched to put her dad’s kindergarten picture ornament up as high as she could reach so that everyone could see it. This is a season to celebrate family and this granddaughter was relishing the opportunity to be decorating together. Our church has also been decorated and the worship space definitely has the feel of Christmas. We are anticipating larger crowds for this season. I believe that many are ready to get back into in-person worship after several months of caution because of the Pandemic and subsequent variants. We need to get back together for fellowship, study and inspiration. While online services have been a blessing to so many, there is still nothing to b...

 "Hopefully, this is the beginning of the end!" These are the sentiments of many who watched as people in the United Kingdom were being given the first shots to end the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, I was watching the global news broadcast "France 24" through our Roku and delighted to see the first and second persons vaccinated. The first British person to receive the Pfizer-released vaccine was a ninety-year-old grandmother. The second individual to receive it was an eighty-one-year-old man who had the unique name of William Shakespeare (like the famed English playwright!). I laughed when Francois Picard, the news desk reporter said, while holding back his laughter, "We can't make this up! My colleagues in the newsroom are calling this moment, 'The Taming of the Flu!'" (an obvious and playful reference to Shakespeare's Shrew!). A Vaccine of Hope! Image Credit: iStock.com A little levity is appropriate in order to release the pressure val...