“For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down—when we die and leave these bodies—we will have a home in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands” (2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT).

When I first started dating Robin, I had to date the whole family. Every weekend was scheduled by their family gospel group, the Happy Hearts. If I wanted to go out on Saturday night with Robin, I had to get on the Happy Heart bus and ride to their next concert date.

While being a “roadie” for the Happy Hearts wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when I was dating my wife to be, it was a great way to get to know her family, especially her mom, Christine Conner.

Robin’s dad mostly picked on me. “Did you get that one College Boy?” He’d ask, after telling another corny joke. Eyeballing me in the huge overhead mirror with a wry, half-smile, while gripping the oversize Greyhound steering wheel with both hands, he’d wait to see if I laughed.

But Mrs. Conner asked serious questions, about me and about what I believed. Apparently, no one ever told her that religion and politics were touchy topics for polite conversation because she would ask me a question and then debate me if we differed in any way.

I never minded. I come from a family that discusses everything. I had strong opinions and so did Mrs. Conner. We both shared our views and a growing respect grew between us.

When Robin and I married and had children, they called Mrs. Conner, “Nana.” So, I started calling her Nana too.

When we would visit, Nana always made special foods for me.

“Gary, did you see that cheesecake in the fridge? I made that just for you!” She’d say, while rushing around her kitchen preparing for dinner.

“Thanks Nana. It looks great.” I’d reply, knowing that cooking was her way of showing love.

“After dinner, I want to show you a new book I got on Revelation.” She’d say. She loved to discuss the Bible, especially books on the end times.

After I became a pastor, she wanted my weekly sermon tapes. We mailed her a tape every week for years. She would write and tell me what she thought of my latest sermon. She even started giving them out to her friends after she listened.

“Why don’t you move back to Virginia?” She’d ask. “You could be my pastor.” She would say, while squeezing my hand.

This past year, she hasn’t been able to listen to my sermons. Her health declined rapidly after Robin’s father passed away. But she still wanted me to do my job.

“Can I pray for you Nana?” I asked, the last time I was with her.

“Yes.” She mouthed through the oxygen mask, while raising up in her hospital bed to grab my hands in hers.

As I prayed, she murmured “Amen” and “Yes” to every sentence, punctuating my prayer with her affirmations of faith.

“I wish I had you in my amen corner at church.” I said.

She nodded weakly and mouthed, “Me too.”

As Robin leaned over to hug her, they played the “I love you more” game. Then she looked into Robin’s eyes and said, “I’ll see you in heaven, honey.”

She was ready. And so, early this past Tuesday morning, Christine Conner went to be with the Lord.

We’ll see you soon Nana. Be looking for us. We’ll have great things to discuss.

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:” (Isaiah 9:6 KJV).

I started watching the sitcom “Seinfeld” only after it went into syndication. I guess the daily dose of reruns finally got me interested.

If you know anything about the show, you know that the character played by Jason Alexander, is an inept, self-absorbed, all around loser named “George.” Except in one episode– in this installment, George decides to do the opposite of what he would normally do in every situation. In a hilarious 30 minute story line, George finally gets the girl, becomes popular, gets promoted, etc. Apparently, when George does the opposite of his character’s nature, everything turns to gold.

In our consumer culture today we’ve turned Christmas into a frenzied time of spending and going into debt. The more we spend, the more unhappy we are with Christmas. In fact, the more we spend, the more unhappy we seem to be, period. In a recent survey, Americans ranked above every 3rd world country in the incidence of clinical depression. It seems that the more we spend, the more depressed we get.

Perhaps we should start doing the opposite. What’s the antidote to greed? What’s the therapy for spending?

Giving. That’s the antidote. That’s the therapy. Instead of doing what the rest of Americans are doing, do the opposite. Stop spending and start giving.

Do the opposite this Christmas. Spend less so that you can give more. That’s what God did when He gave us Jesus. That’s what Christmas is all about.

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh” (Matthew 2:11 NIV).

The word “worship” comes from the Old English, “weorthscipe,” literally meaning to “ascribe worth.” Worshiping God might be described in two parts:

1. Recognizing God’s worth.
2. Giving God what He is worth.

We were created to worship. From dinosaurs to dandelions, no creature but man has the capacity for worship. We have a God-given desire for worship. So, we’re going to spend our worship on something. It’s not a question of whether we will worship, it’s a question of what and how we will worship.

When the Magi followed the star to Israel, they first encountered a king named Herod. He was a usurper to the throne of David. Half Jewish and half Idumean, Herod gained the throne through Roman accommodation. The Magi did not spend their worship on him. They carried their lavish gifts of gold, myrrh, and frankincense to Bethlehem and laid them at the feet of Jesus. They wisely spent their worship on the Creator King born a man.

We still face a choice for our worship today. Will we spend our worship on the worldly kingdom or on the One Born King, Jesus the Christ?

Do you recognize and express God’s worth to you?  Where will you spend your worship?

“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5 NIV).

The year our eldest turned three years old we decided the boy needed a dog. We had read that golden retrievers were good with kids, so we checked the classifieds and found that a breeder in Roanoke, Virginia was selling puppies.

The mother dog had ten puppies and we bought a little female and took her home.

“What shall we name her?” My wife asked.

My son, Stephen had several ideas, most of them involving Smurf or Masters of the Universe names. But after a family discussion we settled on the name, “Sheeba.”

When filling out the AKC registration papers, we noticed that Sheeba had quite a lineage, all of them with royal names. Since we were living in Moneta, Virginia at the time, we named her “Lady Sheeba of Moneta.”

Sheeba was a cute puppy, but she had some aggravating habits as she grew. She loved to chew on shoes. When we moved into the city with her, she would escape from our backyard and cruise the neighborhood in search of shoes. We often found random sneakers, house shoes and other footwear in our backyard after one of Sheeba’s tours.

I told her, “Sheeba, if you’re going to keep stealing shoes, at least steal a matching pair, so we can get some use out of them.”

She just sat and stared at me as if she understood, offering her paw for a handshake. Apparently, she had no concept of the real use of shoes. She thought shoes were for chewing, not wearing. Sure, Sheeba was a shoe thief. But she followed a kind of ethic, never leaving her victim’s completely shoeless.

As much as Sheeba loved to chew on things, she would never chew on us. She was the most gentle dog I’ve ever known. She had a huge, deep growl and bark, but no bite.

When my daughter Erin came along, Sheeba welcomed her into the family. When Erin started walking, she would lean against Sheeba for support. With her little dimpled, chubby hands she would push and prod Sheeba’s face and head. Sheeba would look at me with a kind of exasperated look, but never respond to Erin’s pokes with anything but gentle tolerance.

Erin loved to pull Sheeba’s tail which was something even she couldn’t tolerate for long. But rather than snapping at Erin’s hand, Sheeba would take her own tail into her mouth and gently pull it from Erin’s grasp. Once free, she would bolt away for a brief respite from our toddler’s attentions.

In our culture today, we don’t place a high value on gentleness. We see at as weakness. But gentleness is not weakness. It is strength under control. It’s not that Sheeba didn’t have teeth to bite, she just chose to use them on old shoes instead of us.

The gentleness of God is often displayed in His creation. Sometimes in a golden retriever. Sometimes in His people when we are yielded to His Spirit.

“Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” (Matthew 25:23 NIV)

This past weekend was our second time participating in the Wilson Whirlygig Festival. I’m so proud of our faithful WCC servants who worked hard to make our booth a success.

Sonny Allen, our Director of Contribution, and the one in charge of WCC’s Whirlygig booth, was unbelievable in his commitment, leadership, and enthusiasm for this project. Sonny you are the man!

But as Sonny himself would tell you, he didn’t do it alone. He put together a great team. One of his key players and according to him, his “right hand,” was Abby Propst. Abby brought a great attention to detail and even performed as spokesperson for the event in our in-house video promo produced by George Bryant. Amanda Manuel was another key player on the team, bringing her “eye” for how our booth should look. She designed the signage and layout. Marsha Morris and Mike McKinley were also important members of the team helping with getting inventory together and setting up.

It took 50+ volunteers to man our 30 foot space all day Saturday and Sunday. We sold cotton candy and raffle tickets, raising $1124.00 to give to the Hope Station (a local ministry to the hungry and homeless). We also did free “hair-painting.” These colorful hairdos were like our free advertising as they walked along the street.

We were told that people were asking, “Where did you get your hair?”

“Down at the WCC booth and it’s free!” They’d respond.

The line at our booth got so long on Saturday, that we had to assign a couple of our volunteers to crowd control.

On Sunday afternoon our own worship band led by Stephen Combs performed. Stephen introduced our band and invited listeners to head down to our booth. Stephen and Stedfast did a wonderful job. It was like having church in the streets as the sounds of worship music echoed down Nash Street.

Why did we do this event and what did we accomplish? You may ask. It’s because we want people in Wilson to know that we are Christ followers that love this city, that we are authentic and friendly, and that we want to serve them in any way we can. Our desire in doing events like Whirlygig is bridge-building.

We want to “Build a bridge of trust that will bear the weight of truth.”

I think we were faithful to be bridge-builders this past weekend. I’m thankful to God for the faithful servants at WCC!

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12 NIV).

Have you noticed how course and sarcastic our culture has become? We’re convinced that we have to be thick-skinned and savvy to survive these days.

Or do we? Is it possible that there is a different kind of clothing that we can wear in this rough culture of ours?

Remember when you were younger and sarcasm made no sense (For some, it still doesn’t.)? Most of us figured out the humor of sarcasm when we were in middle school. This, after we had endured several raucous occasions where everyone laughed but us, only to realize the laugh was on us. Children don’t understand satire. They’re too kind.

And speaking of children and kindness, is that where we lost ours? Did we outgrow kindness like a piece of kid’s clothing?

Kindness is an underrated trait these days, but the Bible says that it’s one of the marks of the fruit of the Spirit. Perhaps kindness is one of the traits that Jesus so admired in the children he welcomed on his lap. He appreciated their simple faith and kind manner.

Kindness and manners go together you know. At least, that’s what my mother taught me. When a clerk at a store showed poor customer service or a person was gruff with a child, she would whisper under her breath, “Now, that was ill-mannered. I guess she never learned better.”

You can tell a lot about a person in the way they treat a child, or the way they treat someone who is childlike (as in the least of these). If they are rough and haughty, they have not put on kindness. They do not possess the fruit of the Spirit.

Kindness may have been relegated to the kid’s clothing section these days, but I think we should look and see if we can’t find it in our size again.