Our Christ Mission was a HUGE success and made a HUGE impact. Here is an email we received from one of the teachers at the end of the day.

"Hi! I am a kindergarten teacher at Walter Bickett and I wanted to thank you for the tremendous love and generosity that your church continues to show to the students at my school. You can truly never now the impact that you have on their lives (and mine). It always amazes me to see that your church gives so selflessly time and time again. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart on behalf of myself and the 15 students in my classroom that got to experience a little piece of God's love through your church!! Thank you and God bless you!"

We have done this for 8 years and every year the teachers and staff at the school are amazed at the impact that it has on the kids. They tell us that some of the kids have been coming to the school for 3-5 years and they know what is coming and start talking about it 2 weeks in advance. What do you think that the child who for multiple years experiences this great day..... thinks about God and church? They have fond memories and experiences that I believe will lead them to Christ now and in the future.

Speaking of Christmas Experiences that you won't forget. I shared with you on Sunday about the Christmas Party I went to with my daughter Ellie. (As many of you know, Ellie is mentally and physically handicapped and now lives in a special home for such kids and adults.) On Friday they had their Christmas party for the wing she lives on. While there I saw and experienced Christmas from a completely different prospective. I saw Santa hand out gifts to some of the most severely handicapped kids you will ever see. Most could not even unwrap or hold their gifts. A relative or nurse had to unwrap and then lay the gift on their lap knowing that the gift will never be played with, used or worn without someone doing it for them. I saw the look in the eyes of the other relatives that were there and I saw the look in the kids eyes as they experienced it. They had smiles and laughter....as this moment that looked to me to be very hard...was a brief moment of Christmas joy in the life journey of those who have suffered so much.

I left their thinking about how many people today are complaining and allowing themselves to be discouraged and depressed as they think about what they can't buy and where they can't go and what they don't have ......instead of what they do have. I tell you what.....if you are having a hard time focusing on the good in your life and being very appreciative for what you do have.....come visit Ellie with me over the next two days.

After you come....you will sing praises to God and be filled with Christmas joy on Christmas morning no matter what is or is not under the tree. What we learned yesterday from Joseph and Mary about having a positive and good attitude is this:

1) A positive attitude is a choice.
2) A positive attitude comes from focusing on the good and not the bad.
3) A Positive attitude comes from trusting that God is ultimately in control.

I hope we all are looking forward to Christmas and a great week!