Do you have joy?  Joy as Christians is the knowledge and overwhelming assurance of God's promise to neither leave us nor forsake us.  We have a double portion of joy as we await Christ Jesus born in our lives again this Advent season.

 

I hope that you can release the many potential burdens and obligations in your life to receive the joy of God's love.  When we prepare and wait in this time we are not always assured that what we will endure will bring us comfort as the world defines it broadly.  What we have is the assurance and joy that we are living faithfully and sharing in the conspiracy of God's love embodied in our relationships and in our church. 

 

May you sense and live with the joy of God's love in the coming week.  Join the conspiracy and experience the joy!

 

Grace and Peace to you all,

Nathan D. Stanton

Senior Pastor,

Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church

~ Help prepare a meal for the Drop-In Center to feed the homeless Saturday morning at 10a.m. at the church.

 

~ Pick up an Advent Prayer calendar if you didn't get one last week for your daily focus on God.  Pray for your church, your family and the deep needs of our world through this tool.

 

~ Participate in the "Advent Conspiracy" book study in the Explorers Sunday school class this Sunday.  This study is in room 209 at 9:30 and will go throughout the Advent Season.

 

~ Help with the "Red Kettle" campaign at the  21st and Amidon Dillon's on December 12th.  Sign up for shifts at the Conspiracy Center table in the room outside the sanctuary.

 

~ Take time to write a note and "send a touch of home" to United States service members and veterans across the country and abroad.  This is part of the Red Cross initiative "Holiday Mail for Heroes."

 

~ Prepare a special gift to empower the "Nothing but Nets," campaign to protect children and adults from the deadly impact of Malaria in Africa.  Check it out here at www.nothingbutnets.net.   We will take a special offering up on Sunday, December 20.