What I Like About the Holidays

In this picture - Sister-in-Law (Tammy), Mom (Anna), and my lovely wife (Amy) model their "Santa" aprons while making deviled eggs.

While there are many more reasons to like the holidays than I have room to list, here are a few of my favorite reasons.

1. FAMILY. During the holiday season, both of my brothers, our wives, and children gather at our parents house. Although my one brother lives 10 minutes away, we all spend few nights at Mom and Dad's.

2. FAITH. All of my family are active in their faith, we pray together, and we are usually there at least one Wednesday and get to go back to the congregation where we grew up as children. We always enjoy catching up with old friends there and joining them in praise to God.

3. CHILDREN. Doug (my older brother) has two daughters the oldest is almost 20 and is engaged to be married this summer. His youngest is 16 and full of life. Charles (my younger brother) has two preschool girls. The oldest will be in Kindergarten next year. The youngest is 2 years old. They are a lot of fun. I have one son (Andrew) who is 12. He and his cousins have a lot of fun.

4. GAMES. Usually we play Mexican Train or some other table game, but this year we had Wii Bowling, Wii Golf, and Wii Tennis Tournaments. Mom pushed us to our limits in Bowling!

5. FOOD. We have the usual turkey (Cajun fried), ham, dressing, deviled eggs, and various deserts. Then we have a traditional dish for my families Christmas; my great-grandmother's (and possibly her mother's) seafood gumbo.

And that is just my side of the family. I get to Amy's side later . . .

Scott

George and Alice

Fellow blogger and preacher, Trey Morgan wrote earlier this week about Rules for Potlucks. His story of sweet potatoes reminded me of an event from early in my work as a minister.

I was still in college at Faulkner University and traveling every weekend to work with the church in Bay Minette, Alabama. On the weekends I would stay with different members who would also provide my meals (I gained a lot of weight the 18 months I worked there). One older couple regularly (about once a month) had me stay in their home. George & Alice were a great example of a loving couple. They had no children of their own and were in their 60's. George had retired from the Forest Service and Alice had stayed home taking care of their aging parents for most of their marriage. Alice was a southern cook and homemaker; walking into their home was like walking into the pages of Southern Living Magazine. The meals she prepare and the table she set could have graced the cover of any hospitality or food magazine.

The only thing she made that I did not like was a congealed salad. A gelatin based formed food product served on iceberg lettuce . . . and she made some every weekend I stayed. My southern upbringing taught me to eat what was offered, so every meal I was with George and Alice, I choked down my “salad” with a smile, before enjoying the field peas, chicken dressing, fried okra, etc. If Alice went to the trouble of preparing a dish I was gentleman enough to eat it.

One weekend, Alice had been busy preparing a meal for a family in need and did not take time to make a congealed salad. When she apologized, I accepted her apology by confessing my dislike for it. Alice laughed and said, “I wish I knew you didn't like that stuff. I can't stand it myself. But you ate it first every time you were here so I thought you liked it.”

Although I think we both needed to work on our communication skills, we were doing something right. We were following what Paul teaches in Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” We were trying to demonstrate love.

Scott

Widows Worthy of Honor

Lamuel's mother lists the Godly attributes of a worthy woman in Proverbs 31. Paul describes widows who are worthy in 1 Timothy 5:4ff. Yesterday evening my family and I had an often repeated treat. One of the widows from Parrish invited us into her home as she does regularly for my family and many others in the congregation. This time however we brought a couple of extras in tow (my parents). This kind sister knew they were in town and specifically invited all five of us to have dinner with her. What a spread! A true fellowship feast! We sat down to fresh field peas, coleslaw, fresh cream corn, corn bread, chicken fried steak, boiled potatoes, fried okra, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, sliced onion, macaroni and cheese, and for desert a home-made chocolate pie. I know I am forgetting something! The meal was wonderful and the hospitality worthy of mention.

I wish every congregation had a lady like our Sister Lorene. I owe her a big thanks for opening her home to us so often and especially for including my parents in this invitation. If more Christians were like this great sister, then maybe we could have a better influence on the world because they would see our love!