Dear Faith Family, 

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing, (Psalm 100:2). 

When there’s no struggle to agree to yet another Hallmark Christmas movie, you know the immune system is fully taxed.  Day four, or five, or feels like 95, finds this less than happy couple fighting the chills of a nasty virus.  Surely something has to work better than the forty-eight bottles of medicine organized in totes in our bathroom closet. 

The decision was made.  I’ll order from Walmart.  They deliver!  Cool.  Cough syrup.  Yea.  That’s the ticket.  Did you know that Walmart sells three thousand, four hundred, and seventy-two different bottles of cough syrup?!  (ok, maybe not that many) “Place in cart.”  Done.  Now, let’s check out.  Wait.  What?  If I purchase a Walmart + membership at half-price, I’ll get free delivery.  Ok.  Done. 

Wait a second, I have to purchase $15.02 more in merchandise in order to get free?!  They don’t know that I’m a plus member?!  Ok.  My wife has a list.  Now we’re “safely” over $35.00!  (Safely for whom?)  Now it’s time to check out.  Delivery will come Friday!  What?!  I don’t want cough syrup on Friday!  I want it tonight!  Oh, wait, there’s another option.  There’s a hurry up delivery in the next 3-4 hours!  Do they know that it’s after 9:00 at night?!  One more option.  They will deliver it in the next 33-67 minutes.  That’s better.  Except that there’s a “speedy” charge, 25% of the annual membership fee! 

I won’t even tell you that it took fifteen minutes at the door because I had to prove that I was over 18 to purchase cough syrup.  I haven’t seen 18 in over forty-five years!  Can’t she just send them a picture of this face in full cough? 

In the end, I think that cough syrup cost me more than $9.98, a lot more!  And I’m pretty sure that it cost me time that I can’t recapture. 

At what point in our lives do we step back and reevaluate?  You know, ask ourselves what’s consuming our time and our resources.  The “holiday season” seems to run together and get longer each year.  Spend too much time in Walmart and you’ll end up trick or treating in August, stopping at each door to give thanks while eating turkey in a Santa Clause costume! 

May I challenge you to carve out some time?  Compile a list of all that you are currently doing, what you’re involved in.  Now here comes the clincher.  Ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing, why you’re involved in what you’re involved in.  One more thing.  Does your “why?” answer line up with serving the Lord with gladness? 

Maybe the first question ought to be, “How can I serve You today, Jesus?”  And the answer to that question ought to govern our schedules this holiday season? 

How can I serve You today, Jesus, 

Pastor Karl