Goodness Weekly 11.21.22
“It is not happiness that makes us grateful” but “gratefulness that makes us happy”
– Brother David Steindl-Rast
Good Neighbor:
We’ve extended the deadline to give Christmas to Camelot Elementary and still need 150 gifts purchased from the WISHLIST.
Purchase at the link below or donate HERE
Our goal is to provide Christmas presents for 100 children and we can’t do it without your help!
If you’d also like to give your time to help put on Camelot Christmas on December 3rd we invite you to send us an email at hello@chariscollective.org
Join us in spreading the love and joy of Christmas in a way that is honoring and dignifying to all people ❤️
It’s almost here…
Can you feel it?
The longer nights, the twinkling lights, the slower, quieter, deeper, season of Advent is only days away.
This year we’re going to be using artist and author Scott Erickson’s book Honest Advent: Awakening to the wonder of God-with-Us Then, Here, and Now as a guide through our advent season.
I love this book because it serves as an important reminder that this God-with-us, Emmanuel miracle isn’t something that only happened back then, but is right here and now wonderfully, miraculously in our midst.
Each week we will embrace the wonder of the season through special music, liturgies, and creative ways to engage with the Word, all with the deep prayer and desire to provide a slower, more quiet place for you to experience the magic of Advent.
You are so loved and welcomed just as you are—we hope you hear the invitation to find a special space where you are safe and known and loved.
Message from Jess:
In 2011 we decided that we would move from Ohio to San Antonio for a job opportunity for Nathan. I was managing a bank & Julian was a baby; Luca was a toddler, and we decided that I would stop working for a bit to care for the kids. One thing went wrong after the next and we found ourselves in Texas with no new job—but his same position from Ohio – and living with Nathan’s parents- who were generous enough to take us in. I struggled to see the reason we moved across the country, away from my whole family, all of our friends, and the place we called home for the first decade of our marriage. Each day I found myself feeling lower and lower, more isolated and sad.
I reached out to my best friend Laura to talk about how I was feeling and she said, “You’ve got to find the light, go look for the light.” At that same time a book by a new author Ann Voskamp fell into my hands. Her book One Thousand Gifts is about finding and cultivating gratitude in all things and discovering the miracles in everyday life, no matter the circumstance. The author’s challenge was to count them, each one, both big and small—a delicious cup of coffee, a new friend, a beautiful sunrise, etc.
So I started counting. I counted until I reached 1,000 gifts myself and I learned what so many know now, but is ancient wisdom—thankfulness changes us. It reorients us to a new way of thinking and we find a joy that is beyond our circumstances when we have eyes to see the gifts around us.
This week I invite you to join me in counting gifts. Maybe you’ll start on social media and challenge others to do the same. Or perhaps it is a quiet and special practice you do in your prayer time. If you are in a particularly difficult time in your life, start small. Maybe there is only one thing you can find today to be grateful for, but it is a start.
I am grateful for all of you and for the chance to do this work together.
Love - Jess
Upcoming Events:
Sunday, November 27th, 4:30pm Chapel Worship
Wednesdays at 7:30pm No Youth Group this week
Saturday, December 3rd Camelot Elementary Affordable Christmas!
Sunday, December 4th Supper Church
Saturday, December 10th Christmas Work-Shop-Til-You-Drop
Morning:
This is the day you have made
and my heart will choose joy
I find joy in you, Lord,
by seeking you one gift at a time
You are here with me
in the magic of every day,
remind me not to miss it.
May gratitude fill my heart,
my eyes, and my lips
Amen.
Evening:
Recount for me the moments of the day
so that I can sing your praise
For the moments of wonder,
I give you thanks
For the moments of learning,
I give you thanks
You are the giver of every good and perfect gift
and tonight I rest in the warmth of your goodness
Amen.
