December 3, 2012

Good Gifts 

What makes for a good gift?  Depending on the store, good gifts may be defined as a variable-speed drill, a bottle of Eau de Odor, a gift card to Starbucks or a Chia pet. In this season of gift giving, the all-but-impossible-to-resist impulse is to buy into all the buying, as if a trinket is an adequate expression of love hitherto unexpressed. And why exactly do we buy gifts for each other?  It's Jesus' birthday we're celebrating.  Maybe a gift to him would be in order, but that makes for a new problem; what do you give the Savior of the universe?  He only needs so many variable-speed drills.  Matthew 25 suggests an approach that might just work. In short, Jesus says whenever we care for the hungry, thirsty, imprisoned and so on, we are caring for him.  And what would Christmas look life?  A time of service, not excess, a time of sharing and not of acquiring.  And it's not that hard to make happen.  I suspect that for plenty of people in your lives, your dedicating in their honor a few hours of work on behalf of those truly in need would be an unforgettable gift, one that will never rust or break.  Give this kind of gift some thought, and have a blessed Christmas.

Lauren writes: 

     "We are on an Emmaus prayer e-mail list that we enjoy sharing with a large number of prayer warriors.  In July, my husband, Marty read one to me about a man and his wife that live near Dripping Springs.  His kidneys are failing and he has asked that anyone with his blood type A- or O consider being a living kidney donor.  As Marty read that email, a sense of peace came over me because my blood type is A negative and I thought "this is something that I can do".  God has called me before and either I did not answer...did not listen or was not faithful enough, but I can tell you this was NOT an expected call. However, I knew that without a doubt God was calling me to step up and be the live kidney donor.

     I did some of my own research and learned that there are over 80,000 people on the kidney transplant waiting list - and many people wait more than 4 years on dialysis for a kidney from a deceased donor.  A staggering 4,500 people die every year waiting for a kidney transplant.

     With God's armor, I began the journey; it has been a series of small steps consisting of 3 days of extensive testing in Houston mostly being a human pincushion while they made sure that I was healthy enough to donate.  Surprise...I was and once I passed that hurdle, my blood was mixed with the recipient's blood to determine if we were a match and surprise...we matched.  Actually, it was no surprise to me as from the beginning I had that peace and calmness that only God can provide and a knowing that this was God's plan and that I was merely following it. I had spoken to the intended recipient over the phone, but we had never met.  I met Marty (the recipient) and his precious wife, Mary Kay Null for the first time in September.  They are wonderful people who we have come to know and love. 

     Our surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, December 11th at Methodist Hospital in Houston.  Please keep us in prayer...

    

You can follow Lauren and Marty Null's journey at these sites: 

Just a little donation to your wonderful ministry.  Without it, Sam and I would never have met. Now, we have been married over 11 years, have 2 little girls, and Sam is a pastor.  We often think of all the good times we had.  Thanks again for all your work.  Blessings, Emily and Sam Brannon

 

Although Texas State will be out of session on December 17th, the homeless of San Marcos will still need some supper.  If you are available that day to cook, serve, or clean up aftterward, please come to Christ Chapel as early as 3:00 p.m. to start cooking, or from 5:00 to 6:30 for serving the food at Southside Community Center.  We have made a commitment to cook every third Monday for a year, so keep those dates in mind for the months ahead.