Beth-la-ha--ha--ham follow the star

Now, during all these shows--Scrooged, White Christmas, Christmas Story (Red Rider BBgun with a compass in the stock), Rudolph, etc.--it is time for the real story of Christmas to be heard and seen.

And, who better to do this is are children at Southland Christian Church.

Rejoice! For unto us has been born a Saviour...

Now you know what really happened.

This is a re-post from 2017 Christmas. From the mouths of children....

"She was just doing laundry and then the angel just appeared and she was really scared," 

 

 

 

Simplicity in St Catherine

 

 

A gentle breeze seemed simple to the town of Cork. There was a coming storm on its way, but it was nothing new to the church of St. Catherine. As such, the Ladies’ Auxiliary gathered baskets of clothing, linens, and canned food for the needy.

St. Catherine was an ordinary town, where St. Catherine’s had a reputation to maintain, one of gentility and generosity. The Ladies Auxiliary had been watching the stormy skies and setting up the tea tables for the coming rain. 

Voluntary spinsters swept the sanctuary and dusted benches. After all the work, the storm hit with a vicious vengeance. The Ladies raced about the sanctuary, gathering prayer cards, and locking the office windows.

“Well, ladies. It seems weather has taken our joy of worship. Let’s set and enjoy our worship with the cards.” Nuns do not scurry, as a rule. But some raced to the office, opening the cash box, and cards were dealt.

Money and heavy rains did not matter, as long as there was good strong English tea.

Wednesday Words have been part of bloggers' lives over a decade or more.  The words are to share  for any blogger who wants to mess around with words. 

Use the underlined words, any genre, and give them a whirl.Please post on the justmystory@gmail.com.  river-driftingthroughlife.blogspot.com  travelswithbirds.blogspot.com  

 

 

Simplicity In St. Catherine's

 

A gentle breeze seemed simple to the town of Cork. There was a coming storm on its way, but it was nothing new to the church of St. Catherine. As such, the Ladies’ Auxiliary gathered baskets of clothing, linens, and canned food for the needy.

St. Catherine was an ordinary town, where St. Catherine’s had a reputation to maintain, one of gentility and generosity. The Ladies Auxiliary had been watching the stormy skies and setting up the tea tables for the coming rain. 

Voluntary spinsters swept the sanctuary and dusted benches. After all the work, the storm hit with a vicious vengeance. The Ladies raced about the sanctuary, gathering prayer cards, and locking the office windows.

“Well, ladies. It seems weather has taken our joy of worship. Let’s set and enjoy our worship with the cards.” Nuns do not scurry, as a rule. But some raced to the office, opening the cash box, and cards were dealt.

Money and heavy rains did not matter, as long as there was good strong English tea.

Wednesday Words have been part of bloggers' lives over a decade or more.  The words are to share  for any blogger who wants to mess around with words. 

Use the underlined words, any genre, and give them a whirl.Please post on the justmystory@gmail.com.  river-driftingthroughlife.blogspot.com  travelswithbirds.blogspot.com  

 

If you post here, please let the other sites know you are here.

 

Crawling is the first power

 

strong sermon

“There’s a storm comin’!  I tell you a storm!” Pastor Grimley yelled, pounding the pulpit.  “ARE YOU READY?”

The congregation shouted Amen, Praise the Lord…waking Emily from her nap on the pew.  Mama was standing, being one of the Amen group.

Emily rolled and then planted her chubby little feet on the maple floor.  The walking thing was still iffy, but she had the crawl-ing down.  Distance to the pulpit wasn’t far at all, and at a fast crawl, Emily could cover it before Mama noticed.

And, off she took, under pews, between legs, around feet, past purses.  Oh, Emily knew she was fearless, and this would be another time she found freedom, with her white diaper bottom wagging behind.

“Can you make a joyous noise to the Lord??” Pastor roared. Cue the organist, who joined in with a chorus from different hymns.

Emily reached the pulpit and pulled herself up, pounding on the cross.

Source

“Root out sin!  Let joy rise as a fragrance to the Lord!” He raised his arms, pointing to heaven.

Emily plopped down on her bottom, onto a loaded and ripe diaper.  You betcha!  Emily clapped and cooed as Mama came running.

Thank you, Elephant's Child for provided the bold underlined italicized words!  She tosses 6 to 12 words out at writers to take up a challenge in their writing each week.  

Go to her site and check comments, take up the challenge.

This is a 2014 posting.  I am culling through previous posts. Some of them are good, some are mediocre, and the others will never see the light of day.

Side note:  Have you ever enjoyed such a church service? We never had any pulpit vandalism, but had the "amen and praise God" congregants.

The Battle for Humanity

 

The old church was a lovely peaceful place to worship with its great acoustics: wood plank floor, white plastered walls, oak pews, and vaulted wood ceiling.

Many worshipers found peace here....

Sounds bounced around that sanctuary.  Music, whispers from the back row, giggles from teenagers, and even the crinkle of a candy wrapper were  heard by the congregants.

A young family found a spot in the third row from the altar.  Coming late made the front pews the only ones open.  The three children settled in for the sermon. The oldest girl went to sit with a friend, while the mother took the fussy baby girl to the adjoining nursery where she could hear the sermon through the intercom.

The father smiled benignly through most of the sermon before dropping off to sleep. This was not uncommon, but usually the wife gave him the elbow jab.  Not today.

That left the three-year old boy who found enjoyment with his double-jointed fingers and his imagination.  Fingers could become galloping horses or speeding race cars.  Today his fingers were alien spaceships.  They were engaged in a fierce battle.

catching some zzzz

My husband is legendary is his ability to drop off to sleep in church.

As the struggle for space domination heated up, the boy stood up to use the back ledge of the second row pew to help better stage the drama. 

Sweet Grandma House always sat there in the second row pew.  People who visited the church often commented on this saintly woman with her fluffy white hair and lovely pink hat. Bless her heart; Grandma House was blind, and nearly deaf.  She could just hear the sermon if she sat in that spot, with her hearing aid cranked up high.

Sweet little boy

The little boy situated himself directly behind her precious white head, and resumed the space battle. 

Zooommm.  Ch-ch-ch-ch!  Aaaaaa…kabooooom!  Crashhhhhh.  The fingers/spaceships faced off on either side of the white hair, pink hat planet.

The fingers/spaceships met at the pinnacle of the hat, and collided in a glorious explosion.  Kerrrr-aasshhhh!  Nooooo…ker-ploom!  P-shhhhhhh! 

The congregation held its breath, watching the battle, and waiting for the space debris to shower down on Grandma House's head.  The pastor had paused to allow the dying alien fighters some dignity.

The final notes of music filled the church just about then.  Church ended.

Dear Grandma House stood and turned around.  “What a precious family you have,” she smiled to the young couple.  “So quiet!” Then she handed the boy a car she had caught during a battle.

Smirk sounds trailed after the family.

Many glorious sounds reach to the heavens....

If you have ever been in a church where a little boy is having a space battle, let me know. I have witnessed such. 

This is a repost from September 2012. We will be visiting our son and family in Chicago.  One son is 3+ and 2nd son is 20 months.  We have never seen or held the baby, but we will enjoy space battles of their own. Their daddy was a conqueror.

Wed. Words: Emily at Church

source

“There’s a storm comin’!  I tell you a storm!” Pastor Grimley yelled, pounding the pulpit.  “ARE YOU READY?”

The congregation shouted Amen, Praise the Lord…waking Emily from her nap on the pew.  Mama was standing, being one of the Amen group.

Emily rolled and then planted her chubby little feet on the maple floor.  The walking thing was still iffy, but she had the crawl-ing down.  Distance to the pulpit wasn’t far at all, and at a fast crawl, Emily could cover it before Mama noticed.

And, off she took, under pews, between legs, around feet, past purses.  Oh, Emily knew she was fearless, and this would be another time she found freedom, with her white diaper bottom wagging behind.

“Can you make a joyous noise to the Lord??” Pastor roared. Cue the organist, who joined in with a chorus from different hymns.

Emily reached the pulpit and pulled herself up, pounding on the cross.

Source

“Root out sin!  Let joy rise as a fragrance to the Lord!” He raised his arms, pointing to heaven.

Emily plopped down on her bottom, onto a loaded and ripe diaper.  You betcha!  Emily clapped and cooed as Mama came running.

Thank you, Elephant's Child for provided the bold underlined italicized words!  She tosses 6 to 12 words out at writers to take up a challenge in their writing each week.  Go to her site and check her comments!

Nancy and the Revival

Source

Oh, dear God!  Please, please!  Not another one!

The end of the evening Sunday service was minutes away, the last song had been sung, and benediction given.  Nancy was in the process of racing out to the vestibule door when Pastor Harris announced, “…and then, tomorrow evening the Honorable Reverend Leo Berry will be arriving and lead us in a week-long revival…” 

Amid the Amen! and Praise God! each teenager wilted, with heads hung low.  Though telekinetic communication had never been confirmed, Nancy and the others could sense each other's thoughts, some filled with profanity, others not.

Nancy was safe from the altar pounding***, being a near-saint in the teen world.  But what about Bill, Tom, Bob, Sam, and other boys who were damned to Hell all the time?  Long, painful nights spanned across eternity for them.

Source: church food

Brother Leo Berry arrived at Pastor Harris' house just in time for one of the church’s Sisters to carry in the casserole, Jell-O salad, and dessert.  

For the Pastor Harris house, the meals would be manna from heaven, since the church paid salary next to nothing.  This required Pastor and Sister Harris to hold down jobs.  These dinners would be as a feast for the pastor's family.

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Monday night arrived, with a shining smiling Brother Berry on the platform, rubbing his hands together.  His bald hair comb-over reflected the bare light bulbs overhead.  The seedy suit spoke of nights on the road with a trail of churches behind him.

“ARE YOU SAVED?  IF YOU WALKED OUT THAT DOOR THIS VERY NIGHT AND WERE SMASHED BY A PICK-UP TRUCK, WOULD YOU BE SAVED?”  

He eyed the ones who did not say Hallelujah or Preach it!  "Would you?”  He whispered meaningfully, staring down the teen herd in the back of the sanctuary.

Nancy sighed, opening her math book, this was gonna be a loooonnngg week.

***To be continued someday next week, probably Wednesday.  Pray for Nancy and all those boys.

A previous blog about Nancy and this church can be accessed here.