Young Ezekial was having so much fun blowing bubbles tonight at the Xmas party. I guess I’ll blow some “metaphorical” bubbles to celebrate so stuff to “rejoice” in.
This morning when I was reading the Philippian 4 text on “rejoicing in the Lord” I found it hard because lately I’ve been in touch with numerous not so “rejoicing” incidents and it’s difficult to rejoice. Not because I don’t want to, it’s simply because there’s a time for “mourning” as well. Both “mourning” & “rejoicing” are part and parcel of a growing “Christ-like” humanity (even though pain is not such a welcome experience).
Sometimes the “mourning” bit can be overwhelming. I’m thankful that in my interactions with many of the guests (I tried to personally talk to at least 10people) opened opportunities for “genuine” conversations. I feel experiencing the grace and work of the Spirit in those “encounters” is simply beautiful. And seeing how this particular LiFe Group has gone all out to invite friends and have positive response is really …. wonderful! Surely we’re on the right track!
I pray the Christmas carols and the combination of some of the authentic sincere stories of how we see God at work in our lives would open the way for the Good News to be heard and appreciated!
Even the time of prayer during the worship practice today before the party turned out to be a beautiful sprinkiling of God’s grace upon feeble, broken, sinful & weak human beings like us. And the conscious choice to worship Jesus during the practice was very precious to me. Even if I mess up or might have hiccups leading tomorrow’s worship gathering, I’ll still treasure the “private” time we had today during our practice – ultimately it’s for the Audience of one!