dare you to move::christmas

well at least they let us get through halloween...barely.

but the wreaths and lights have gone up on the buildings of various shopping places, and that means it's time to turn our attention to spending more money than we have to buy a christmas that we deserve, and then some. right?

not me. i'm fighting back.

and i hope you'll join me.

the economy continues to be a challenge. more people than usual are not only gonna have more meager christmas celebrations, but there will be more hungry and more in the streets than in recent memory.

THRESHOLD collects money for our building fund every year on christmas eve. but the money isn't used to build a nice warm building for us to use for two hours once a week. our building fund is used throughout the year to help people rebuild their lives when the bottom falls out. a mortgage payment. a power bill. a car repair. a counseling session. a grocery gift card. we've been doing this since our first christmas, and i hope we will never stop.

but this year, i want us to do more.

i know, i know... many of you can't. in fact, more of you than in previous years have actually requested some assistance. and that's okay. that's why we do it. 

but many of us are still pretty good financially. while our 401k's have lost half their value, most of us aren't retiring anytime soon. beyond that, for many of us, our income hasn't changed. if you are in that boat, let's row harder. caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ when we have the means is a mark of the church:

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.  Acts 2.42-47

notice the emphasis on caring for one another, sacrificially even. this is the church that Jesus created.

through the month of november, i invite you to turn your attention with me to the needs of others. as Jesus instructed, we are to serve and sacrificially give in our own church, in our local community, and beyond. So here's what we're doing...

within THRESHOLD - in addition to our christmas eve building fund offering, we will also receive a building fund offering on november 23. last year's offering is gone and we have a handful of pressing needs immediately. look for the specially designated bowl by the cafe on that date.

locally - two options: our G6 homeless ministry will be selling sweatshirts which will be given to the homeless to provide a little extra warmth for them as the cold winter approaches. and any non-perishable food products may be brought in on the 23rd, which will be taken to the Common Cupboard for distribution.

globally - two more options: the first is to adopt a child in costa rica for christmas. a team of 18 people from THRESHOLD are heading to the orosi valley of costa rica on december 6 to conduct a week-long bible school for a bunch of kids. we would like each of them to receive a gift during that time. your donation of $20 can make that happen. and the second thing is the annual operation christmas (OCC) child shoebox drive. buy and fill shoeboxes with members of your cell. challenge your co-workers or fellow students. or just do it as a family. in addition, come spend an evening at the OCC processing center, checking the integrity of the box contents and preparing them for shipping. it's a fascinating and rewarding experience. the dates available for serving are tuesday, december 2 and thursday, december 11. if you would like to reserve some spaces, please email april butcher, april.butcher@yahoo.com.

i'm not a big fan of having christmas thrust at me the day after halloween. it almost seems demonic somehow. but the cool thing is, it gives us a jump start on being the church Jesus created... more time to do what's right as we care for others who need our care.

let's see how many people can benefit from THRESHOLD's DARE YOU TO MOVE CHRISTMAS!