A Baby Changes Everything

Kelly clued me in to this amazing Christmas song by Faith Hill:



While I was searching for the video above, I ran across this one. This girl is 11 years old. Her name is Jaycie Ward:

WBF Christmas Party

We had our annual Christmas Party last night at the Fauquier County Fairgrounds. It's always a lot of fun and, once again, the hard labors of so many were a tremendous blessing. Many thanks to Dee Griffith for doing such a great job of coordinating things.

This year was a bit of a change for us. We decided to forgo the sit-down meal, exchanging it for a time of dessert, fellowship, carols and communion. The folks from Hope Christian Fellowship joined us and a panel of judges from both churches decided who got the grand prize for the best dessert. The winner? Carol Dark for her exquisite Cranberry Cheesecake.

Once again, as always, the party provided sweet fellowship and a relaxing but edifying time of sharing and worshiping. The decorations were beautiful, the desserts were wonderful and the spirit of unity was a sweet capper on a great evening:

"Warmth For the Soul" 2009

We had our annual winter coat giveaway on Dec 5 & 6. After collecting coats through October and November, with the gracious help of the Warrenton Chick Fil A and WPER, we had gathered almost 600, many of them brand new with the labels still on them. This year, we expanded the give away to two days (Friday evening and Saturday morning) to give folks a better chance to get in and find a coat. It was an overwhelming success! WPER had announcements running all day for three days. Chick Fil A had posters and hand outs strategically placed in their store as well. This increased our exposure and brought people from all over the county.

We also had a lot of help this year. Over 30 people helped set up, sort and hang the coats in our Fellowship Hall. It took a lot of work to get ready but the whole project was such a blessing! As we've moved into community outreach events like this coat drive, the food drive and the school supply drive, we all get blessed mightily, the folks we collect for and us as we serve them and fellowship together.



We learned more lessons this year. The two day event works much better. The better sorted, the easier it is for folks to find coats. Chick Fil A and WPER were huge factors in getting the word out. Next year, we're thinking of expanding the collection to include scarfs, gloves and boots, all popular items we ran out of early.

It really is amazing to see God move among us during these events. We have so many people who are willing to serve and the blessings go both ways. The folks who get the coats see a demonstration of God's unmerited grace. Additionally, the people who work so hard to serve receive the blessing of having done a good job in honoring God with their sacrifice and labor.

The community participates on all levels, giving and receiving. I'm never sure who is blessed more but I'm always moved and lifted up by the love and compassion of the body at WBF. Watching our people eagerly reach out to those who come has become the highlight of these events. This is us....doing what the church is called to do......become a reflection of God's infinite grace and a vessel for His immeasurable love.

Isn't this exciting!

Fishing Bloopers

These are pretty funny:

Piper on Marriage, Christ and the Church

This from John Piper's blog today;

When I asked Noël if there was anything she wanted me to say about marriage, she said, “You cannot say too often that marriage is a model of Christ and the church.”

I think she is right and there are at least three reasons:

1. It lifts marriage out of sordid sitcom images and gives it the magnificent meaning God meant it to have.
2. It gives marriage a solid basis in grace, since Christ obtained and sustains his bride by grace alone.
3. It shows that the husband’s headship and the wife’s submission are crucial and crucified. That is, they are woven into the very meaning of marriage as a display of Christ and the church, but they are both defined by Christ’s self-denying work on the cross so that pride and slavishness are canceled.