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Light side


Giving thanks in December L


ast December my daughter shared with me this conversation between my granddaughters, ages 6 and 3: Morgan: Be thankful for what you have. Some people are homeless. McKenna: I am thankful for everything. Morgan: Are you thankful for God? McKenna: Yes. Morgan: Are you thankful for Jesus? McKenna: Yes. Morgan: I am thankful that Jesus died on the cross for my sins.


McKenna: Well, I am thankful that I am not afraid of Santa anymore! Sue Hosler North Ridgeville, Ohio


There’s something about Mary … One year at Timothy Lutheran Church, Livonia, Mich., we were decorating the church for Christmas, including large plastic outdoor figurines of Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. A parishioner came in to the church and said, “Pas- tor, I think someone is kidnapping Mary!” Turns out another member decided to take Mary home to paint it. When you looked in her car, Mary looked pretty distressed buckled into the passenger seat and it looked like a crime was in


process. Mary came back beautifully painted and looking better than new. Carla Thompson Powell Chicago


Hey, Lo, are you with me? My daughter, Gracie, 10, and I were playing Scrabble. Having few usable tiles, I made the word “LO.” She said, “What?” I replied, “It’s a word—‘Lo, the angel of the Lord ....’ ” In all seriousness she said, “You can’t


BOB VOJTKO


use that, it’s his name!” Heidi Huff


Hoffman Estates, Ill.


A question of sincerity The pastor of United Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Neb., gave a detailed announcement about what to expect during the Christ- mas Eve worship service: carols and songs, Scripture readings and a meditation; lighting can- dles and singing “Silent Night.” A boy raised his hand and, when acknowledged, asked: “And how


“Is swaddling clothes like pj’s?”


long is this going to take?” Rosie McDonald Lincoln, Neb.


BOB VOJTKO


“Somewhere along the way we lost the true meaning of Christmas.”


A Jesus birthday again? After Christmas last year, my grandson, Zak, 4, asked his mother if there is more than one Jesus. She said, “No,” and asked why he thought that. He said he remembered that Jesus was born last Christmas and that he was born again this Christmas. His twin sister, Megan, explained that Christmas is Jesus’


birthday and that he had “hundreds of them.” Ruth Elder Fargo, N.D.


A warm Christmas gift Last Christmas Eve we discovered after the first worship service that we were out of communion wafers and bread. The altar guild chairperson’s husband ran out in a frantic search of any open store. He pleaded our case at a fancy restaurant, and they donated bread fresh out of the oven—more than enough for the next two services. Best commu-


nion bread ever. Kimberly A. Vaughn Canton, Ohio


Send orginal contribu- tions to “Light side” to julie.sevig@thelu theran.org or “Light side,” The Lu theran, 8765 W. Higgins Rd., Chicago, IL 60631. Submission constitutes an unlimited grant of use to The Lutheran. Unused submissions cannot be returned or acknowledged.


December 2012 45


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