December 17 – “Living past the expiration date”

The Home Group Christmas party was a lot of fun.  Especially for me, because I knew all the answers to the Christmas Quiz everybody got to take.  It was all about Christmas carols.  Only not in the conventional sense.  They had to figure out what the carol was from some clues.  One section the titles all got shortened.  Like: I  D  O  A  W  C.  And how about: I  C  U  T  M  C?  Maybe you can get something easier, like: I  S  M  K  S  C.   If you had trouble with those, try these: Vehicular homicide was committed on Dad's mom by a precipitous darling. Obese personification fabricated of compressed mounds of minute crystals. The quadruped with the vermillion proboscis.   Maybe you are better with a straight trivia quiz: Who wants a pair of hop-a-long boots and a pistol that shoots? Who kept time to the drum? (Careful on that one). Why does the child want his two front teeth? When will I finally go?   Guess you'll have to ask me for the answers if you can't get them.  Or just ask someone who was there last night.   One of the girls told me a great story last night of something that happened to her.  She was in the milk aisle at Krogers.  A man reached in to get a jug of milk, and as he stared at it, he sighed.  She asked if he was OK.  His response was something along the lines of, "It's really bad, isn't it, when you hope that you'll live long enough to get past the expiration date on your milk?"  Now, she is not the type to get into extended conversations with strangers (although she has no problem after she gets to know you).  But this time she followed up with a few questions and found out that the guy had a friend who died a week or so ago, and it really shook him up.  They apparently talked about church in general for awhile, and Seaside in particular.  And she did something that surprised her.  She asked the guy if she could pray for him.  And then she did.    She was kind of hesitant to tell me about it.  She didn't think I would be particularly interested in something that I "probably do all the time, anyway."  Jen, as I told you last night, "it feels better to me when I hear that you have done it than when I get to do it myself."  Way to go, Jen.  Way to go, God.   2 Timothy 4:1-2 says, "In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage — with great patience and careful instruction."   Father, thank you for using Jen to touch that guy's heart in the milk aisle.  Give her more chances.  Amen.