after the last jingle bell has been laid to rest until next December.

Not in the Stone household! Last night, after the kids had gone to bed, Charley and I spent the better part of an hour carefully removing each ornament, wrapping it in butcher paper, and placing it in storage to recover from a particularly difficult season (Leighton believes that each ornament deserves a place in the grandstands as his toy motorcycles jump distances that would make Evel Knievel gasp).

As we did our regretful duty, we couldn’t help but voice our sadness that the Christmas season is over. Like many of you, Christmas is a time for life. It is a celebration of the good gifts that God has given us. Joy is the theme, and we indulge it at every opportunity. Our Christmas tree stands at the center of this season of gratitude, and dragging it from the living room, its branches dropping needles in protest of its unjust sentence, feels not like life, but like death.

Reflecting on this dichotomy—life and death—I was reminded of my favorite poem, one I have shared before. I believe that good things never go out of style (just ask Taylor Swift), so I thought I would share it with you again. It is a poem about life and death and how the two are drawn together in the birth of Jesus Christ. A child is born, the old world is put to death. Joy!

​In Christ, McLane

touched my heart and gave me a sense of peace and more importantly hope.

​The document was from Orchard Ridge Senior Living. It was written by Ann Johnson, who is not only one of our members but also the Executive Director of this facility. For those of you who may be new to our community and/or our church, I would like to give you a little background on this establishment. First of all, it has been operational for over 100 years. During that time, it has grown and changed in some ways, but it has not changed its mission. This organization exists to provide compassionate and sometimes charitable care to individuals who find that they can no longer remain safely at home by themselves. This can be due to aging, illness, or other medical problems. Many residents enter the facility initially with insurance coverage but often their benefits run out during their stay. That is where Orchard Ridge's Resident Relief Fund becomes available to these people. None of them will ever be asked to leave due to financial issues. And at this point, their care is paid for solely through donations from area Churches such as First Pres and also individuals like you and me. 
 
No one ever expects that they will be in a position where they can no longer take care of themselves financially or physically. But unfortunately, the unthinkable can happen. And it happens more often than you may think. Examples of patients currently at Orchard Ridge receiving charitable care include a 62-year-old with early onset Alzheimer’s, a young man who suffered a traumatic brain injury in his 20s, a 40-year-old with ALS, and a myriad of other scenarios. These are the types of situations that are hard to plan for, especially as we get older, and of the 67 current residents, 29 are over the age of 90. However, as Ann so wisely stated in her letter, "God does have a plan”, which is why this organization exists.  
 
I do have some personal connections to this facility. A number of years ago, it was my honor to have served on the Board of Directors for six years. Having this role gave me a real appreciation of the respectful care and dignity these residents are offered. And currently, my youngest son works there as a nurse. He has learned so much about compassionate care and the importance of respecting each person he cares for. We both have been blessed to have had these experiences. I hope this information helps you understand what amazing work is done by Orchard Ridge and how our church helps fund the Resident Relief Fund.
 
And please remember God does have a plan. For you, for me, for all of us. 
 
As it says in Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding: In all your ways submit to Him and he shall make your paths straight.”
 
In His Name, Ellen

and celebrations of the Christmas season.

​As I reflect on the gifts we celebrate throughout the Advent season, I love inviting JOY into the season of hustle and bustle; it’s a season where I tend to experience many of the emotions of our human existence. For me, in the reflection of pain and sadness that often comes up at the holidays, is a deep gratitude and joy. It’s gratitude and joy for those we’re missing around the table because they were here and loved us so well. At Christmas, we celebrate a God who entered the world as a baby, to experience life WITH US and redeem us from death. What hope, peace, and JOY come with the celebration of a God who loves us in such a tangible way. 

This week’s Advent Challenges are probably two of my favorites. Our family loves music, and we love to have a good ole family dance party in the living room. It brings me much joy to watch our daughter dance with pure jubilation. We also LOVE receiving Christmas cards each year! Our daughter loves looking at pictures of friends and families she recognizes from real life, and we tell her stories about the friends she has yet to meet. Then, I hang them up on the wall and there they stay… until this year. Part of this week’s Advent Challenge is to take those cards off the fridge, or wherever you have them, and take a moment to pray for each of those families that sent you well wishes this Christmas season. Just as they have brought JOY in sharing their lives with you, you can pray blessings of JOY for their family as well. What a fun and intentional way to pray for and with JOY, in our season of waiting for the Light of the World! 

Joyful blessings, Kierstie

My church experiences were minimal; including some Vacation Bible School (VBS) weeks, a few Sunday school classes at a Baptist church — they provided The Joy Bus that children could just hop on and go to church (you could do that in the olden days) — and a bit of Methodist youth group gatherings. So, I’m sure you can excuse me that with my limited and shotgun-style church experiences, the depth of the traditional worship aspects caused me to wonder if I had mistakenly stepped into a Catholic church. I didn’t know a lot about church stuff, but I knew there were rules to being a Catholic: 1) You should be one to attend. 2) I wasn’t one.
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Once I convinced myself that 1st Pres was not a Catholic church and I wasn’t breaking any religious rules, I came to not just being comfortable with these traditional elements, but to find an interesting level of comfort and an assuring peace in them, as I do in the Contemplative service at 10:30 a.m. It was like a warm invitation to step into the current of a river flowing for centuries and join a rich and deep ensemble of believers.

Now, thirty years into a faith journey, I ironically find myself reading and studying several Catholic theologians, teachers, and authors as I look for how my God Creator, Father Encourager, and Mother Heart would have me mirror the life and love of Jesus Christ. One of these Catholic mentors is Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen (January 24, 1932 – September 21, 1996). He was a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian.

spot (weeks later, I found the resume on the desk – unopened). This was surprising as I did not truly have the experience needed to work this new position, but I’ve rarely been afraid to try something new. On the other hand, my family had a LOT to say about it. Steve was pretty sure I would not fit in, and both kids thought I was nuts. Little did I know that God was placing me in this experience to teach me a multitude of lessons.

Steve was right — I did not fit in. I had never worked in a food service job before and didn’t know anyone at the store. But I quickly learned so many things about life, meat and the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, my mom was convinced that the saw would ruin all her investments in my piano lessons and music career. However, I enjoyed what I was doing and learning, so I kept showing up! Eventually, I became part of the small seven-person team. Fast forward a couple of years, and I find myself with three jobs that I enjoy immensely and a side gig at the meat market on the holidays. They let me come in and man the cash register for the busy turkey season and the crazy busy prime rib season. The team there knows me better than anyone at school does, simply because of the time we’ve spent together wrapping thousands of pounds of hamburger into one-pound packages, processing a variety of game, and learning how to sell a steak. Our lifestyles are vastly different in some cases, but in others, not so much. I love seeing the different ways that our team takes care of our customers in these busy (and sometimes stressful) times.
 
I have also been witness to the thoughtfulness and consideration our team shows to one another. One of us was sick, so another gave up his opportunity to leave early so she could get some extra rest. One volunteered to carry out turkeys for the older generations, never complaining when I yelled his name that he had to go out into the cold or that I was interrupting his task. One has impeccable customer service phone skills. Someone was continuously checking to make sure that I was okay, even though they were the ones running around like crazy trying to provide top-notch customer service. They would even notice that I was low on bags, needed more water in my water bottle, was out of jerky bags, etc. One of them found the perfect solution to the fact that I’m tall and the cash register was relatively low.
 
People want to connect. They want to share.  I love being on the praise team at 1stPres because you can hear the congregation singing with you and it’s fantastic. The sound creates an overwhelming sense of joy, and it’s always such a rush. The same is true of leading the choir, but I’m usually a lot more nervous, so I don’t notice it nearly as much.  When I get to talk to every customer at the meat market, it’s a rush.  I met a guy from a local band who volunteered to help me out with a community service event I had coming up. I’ve talked to so many people who shared who was coming to dinner and why they were looking forward to the day. All the guys love sharing their Traeger stories and how they will fix their main dish this year.
 
I want to leave you with a lesson I’ve learned and one that I will carry with me, particularly through the month of December. Sometimes working in the service industry is a little dicey. Things will inevitably go wrong, mistakes will be made, and customers might be dissatisfied. In most cases, I can maneuver the situation to keep the line moving and the customer satisfied. However, in the situations where I feel overwhelmed, I know that the owner, Tim, and the team are right beside me when we navigate stressful times in the store. My goal this year is to keep my perspective and bounce back quickly in times of stress and hardship, knowing that God has placed the people and circumstances in my life to not only teach me things, but to grow from every experience. And for what it’s worth, Mom, I’ve never been allowed to touch the saw, and rarely the slicer, at the meat market. :)

​In His Name, Renee
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