Inquiring minds want to know. If it took cutting up my dry Christmas tree with a chainsaw to get it out of the house, how did I get it in? Enough people asked me the question to indicate there were most likely many more of you who thought it. So I figured it deserved an answer. It’s a simple answer, really. It took two guys from the Christmas tree lot that delivered it to carry it in. True, I could have waited until Chandler was available to help me carry it out, but pulling a flexible, fresh-cut tree through a door jamb is different from pulling through a dry, brittle, scratchy one.
Plus, we have a tradition around what we do with part of the tree. After cutting the top off and slicing off all the branches, we have about a five-foot log left that I cut up and use for firewood the next year. It’s a great way to light up the Christmas season with something left over from the year before. Building memories on top of memories, that is what Christmas is all about.
This practice always reminds me of when we lived in New England and Christopher and Anne were in grade school, we would attend the Christmas Eve service at our church which was only a block away. The service always ended with a candle lighting ceremony, and Christopher and Anne refused to blow their candles out, wanting to walk home with them still burning and begin our own Christmas Eve festivities by lighting the fire in our fireplace that I left ready to start. So it was that the flame from the Advent candle at church made it home to our hearth.
I’ll always remember the year we had to huddle together all the way home to block the cold wind that year that was trying hard to extinguish our little flames of faith, and how we had to re-light and keep lighting our candles off of whoever’s was still burning — an unforgettable picture of how we need to gain strength from each other to keep our faith going when we are weak and beset by troubles on all sides.
We are rapidly coming to the end of an amazing opportunity to help sustain the Catch and its worldwide ministry into the future.
Mike High is offering a $500 Monthly Match.
Why should you participate by either Increasing your MemberPartner monthly commitment or becoming a New MemberPartner?
Because … Every person who becomes a MemberPartner increases the heartbeat of the Catch Ministry. You become partners in a paradigm shift in worldview, like no other group of believers. This is because our message is expressed in practical terms throughout the Marketplace: The kingdom of our lives, which is the Lord’s, is an integrated and sustainable message of liberty.
Because … The core of this transformation message is Grace Turned Outward. It is the solid foundational message that makes the Catch Ministry’s initiatives sustainable. The Grace Turned Outward message is transforming individuals throughout the Marketplace in 143 countries throughout the world, which is causing great change and growth by simple multiplication — one person at a time. This ongoing work is successful because of our MemberPartners’ involvement in the Catch Ministry and their monthly contributions in support of the work.
Because … This message is integrated into the very fabric of the Ministry’s services. Effecting this large change is creating a synergy and requires a comprehensive approach that includes thought leaders, the implementation of a practical and widely-circulated program of studies, and multiple services for practical application that represent together the full scope of the message – Grace Turned Outward.
Because … The Catch Ministry’s expansion is real. It is real because it is the Lord who is increasing His message wherever you go… and you want to support whatever the Lord is doing … Because everything He does, always expands.
Because … Right now, Mike High is challenging the Catch community to either become new MemberPartners, or, as an existing MemberPartner, to increase your monthly commitment. Mike will commit to $500 a month if your pledged gifts by this Friday, January 31, either new or added on, total $500. The beauty of this match is that it is not just for one month — it’s for every month!
— Doing the Math—
- So far, 3 New MemberPartners have come on board and 4 MemberPartners have increased their commitment responding to Mike’s challenge, accounting for a total of $240 towards the goal. That leaves $260 to go.
- That’s 13 people at $20 a month; 7 people at $40 a month; 4 people at $65; 2 people at $130; 1 at $260 (we have three MemberPartners over $300 a month).
- The MemberPartners’ new contributions go straight to the work of the Ministry and count toward Mike’s $500 Match …
- Once again, to meet the Match, you and I need to raise an additional $260 in monthly commitments by Friday, January 31.
— Assuming We Meet Mike’s Match —
- Each gift is doubled to TOTAL $1,000 a month! Now, that’s an investment!
To sign up as a new MemberPartner, simply click on the DONATE button here and when you enter your amount, check the box that says you want this to be a monthly deduction.
Already a MemberPartner and want to increase your commitment? Sign up the same way for the amount of the increase you desire. You will have two deductions per month.
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