Christmas Tidings ... Things Change, But Christ Is Always the Same

Whew! What a wonderful week!

Tuesday we had my niece, Carla, and her family over for lunch.

Wednesday afternoon we spent with my niece, Ginger, and her family. Curt, John, Ginger, and I all visited indoors while the young people all played football outdoors! The weather was great, about 60 degrees, and it just seemed a perfect Christmas Eve.

That evening we had a Christmas Eve service at our church, and my nephew, Johne, and Elly's friend, Willie, also came for services. We had a beautiful candlelight service! Then we (my family + Johne and Willie) came back home, ate dinner, played some games, and headed over to Hampton Park Baptist Church for their 11:00p.m. service. This is the "things change" part. Sadly, this was the last years we will be going to Hampton Park.

Years ago, Curt and I started attending Hampton Park's late Christmas Eve services. They were breathtaking for us. We would drive the 40 minutes to the church, wait in line with traffic to get a parking space, and finally be seated in the balcony. I loved the balcony! We could look down on the auditorium and see the sea of people below. The church would be lit by candlelight and white Christmas lights. The service consisted mainly of specials - solos, duets, trios, choir arrangements, instrumentals, and some congregational songs. The pastor would have a short message. At the very end of the choir songs, they would invite anyone in the audience who wanted to, to come up and join the choir and they would sing the Hallelujah Chorus. It was absolutely the best way ever to end a Christmas Eve. I loved hearing the sound of almost 1,000 people singing praises to God during the congregational songs. Sometimes I would just close my eyes and listen for a verse. We go to a very small Baptist church, only about 35-40 congregants, and so once a year hearing all those people sing together was really special. (I don't care for crowds, so I couldn't join a church that size, but for one day a year, I really loved it!) There were many years when we couldn't go because our church was having a late Christmas Eve service or some of our children were too small to take or someone would be sick, etc., etc. But any year we could go, we did go. It was always a highlight of the season for me.

However, in recent years, the late services have changed. We went a year or two ago to the 7:00 p.m. service and there were only about three specials and a few congregational songs, and a regular message. We figured the 7:00p.m. service was just different from the 11:00p.m., so planned on coming to the later one the next time. So, we did just that.

Imagine our surprise when we pulled into the parking lot and there were not more than 3 dozen cars there. Parking was certainly not a problem. We walked in, and the balcony was not a seating option. We entered into the main auditorium, and there was only a small crowd near the front. The decorations were still beautiful, as were the lights and the candles...but much of the element was gone without the throngs of people. Where was everybody? There were a few congregational songs, a couple of instrumental specials, a story reading, a solo, a really nice duet, and a short message. No choir songs. No choir. No Hallelujah Chorus.

They did serve the Lord's Supper....but in a way that made us rather uncomfortable. Again, I guess I can't really say it was wrong, and yet it just didn't fit into the way we've always seen it done, not just in my current church, but in other Fundamental Independent Baptist Churches. They had the elements at the front and it was a "serve yourself" situation...no formal blessing or prayer of thanksgiving for the juice or the bread, no final prayer of thanksgiving...it was just very different.

I make no apologies for being a Fundamental, Independent, KJV, Baptist. I am uncomfortable in "contemporary" services, and I really feel that's the trend Hampton Park has taken. The songleader was dressed casually, as was the pastor, who wore a suitcoat over a turtleneck...he looked nice, but it's not really my definition of pulpit-wear. Except for the congregational songs, I didn't recognize most of the specials. They were fine...I can't really say there was anything wrong with them....but they just weren't what I was used to hearing from previous years at that church. And, their verses on the walls....are no longer in the KJV. As I looked around and considered the HUGE loss in attendance over what I remembered and enjoyed from previous years, I can't help but wonder if their shift to a more contemporary service has been a poor choice for them.

Regardless, Christ is Always the Same - Yesterday, Today, and Forever! He will never disappoint us, though our friends, families, ~ and churches ~ may from time to time. We still had a wonderful day. I'm still thankful we got to hear the Word preached and Christ proclaimed. I'm so thankful Christ was willing to leave the splendor of Heaven and come to earth to save sinful mankind. I'm so thankful I don't have to pay for my own sins - that Christ was willing to suffer my awful punishment for me, so that I might one day spend eternity with Him in heaven. If you are reading this and you are not saved - I beg you to confess your sins to God and ask Christ to save you. Believe in your heart that God has accepted Christ's death as payment for your sin, that Christ resurrected from the dead and sits on the right hand of the Father in heaven, and that by trusting in Christ, we are assured of a home in Heaven if we but repent and believe.

Christmas Day, we had a wonderful time! We slept in late, made lunch, had Willie come for lunch and to spend the afternoon and evening with us (he even made a homemade cheesecake for us! YUM!), ran by my niece's house for a quick hello and a game of football (again!) and then ran back to the house because my oldest daughter, Ginni, and her husband, Scott, were coming over for the evening with the children, my grandson, Austin, and my granddaughter, Danica. Ginni worked really hard making a lot of homemade gifts for her siblings - she's becoming quite the seamstress! We had a lot of fun, and after Ginni and Scott went home, Willie stayed and we all put a puzzle together until two in the morning!!! It was a really, really nice way to spend the evening. We all had a wonderful day!

Friday, we went over to Marlee and Taylor's house (another niece of mine!) for dinner. We got to see Susan and Joey, just back from their honeymoon. It was really a lot of fun. We ate, played a game, had a family devotional, visited...all around a great evening.

Well, as you can see, we managed to s-t-r-e-t-c-h Christmas over 4 days! We sure praise the Lord for all His blessings!

Sneak Peek at Sue's Wedding Photos

The Joiners were wonderful! They sent me a few photos to pick from in order to include one family photo in our Christmas Kappenman Chronicles. So - I'm sharing with all of you! (I'm pathetic - we rarely have a family photo taken so I rarely have one to send anyone!!!)

From left to right:

Our daughter Alyssa, Curt holding Gideon, Isaiah with Phoebe standing in front of him (she was a flower girl), me next to Isaiah, Susan (the blushing bride!) and standing behind her is Joey, the tall and gallant groom in gray; my son, C.J. in the black suit, my daughter Ginni in the back, my daughter Eleonore in the front, and Ginni's husband, Scott, holding their daughter, Danica. The only immediate family member not present in the photo is Ginni's son, Austin, who was unable to attend the wedding.

REDNECK YARD DECOR

I couldn't help myself. It began with an idea, then it verbalized itself as a joke. The next thing I knew, we were planning it out. Then CJ was off and running the execute the plan while Elly Jo was saying, "I cannot believe my family is going to do this!"

We've never done anything like this before. We may or may not ever do it again. But we did it this year. For those of you reading this post who are unfamiliar with our neighborhood, we live in a quiet residential area where each home sits on at least 1 acre of ground. The homes range in size from 1,400 sq.ft. to 2,400 sq.ft. The homes range in age from 30 years to brand new. There are no mobile homes here and they are almost all well kept and tasteful. Those who choose to decorate their homes exterior do it in a nice manner, as we have done in years past.

And then came The Idea.

Behold, our Redneck Christmas Sleigh. It begins with "Rudolph," our rototiller, swathed in red lights. The bicycles, lawnmowers, and other yard implements are all "reined" in together with strings of lights. The trailer, where we throw our trash until it goes to the dump once a month, is covered in netting lights.

No end of comments have been forthcoming since the arrival of the Redneck Sleigh in the Kappenman's front yard. The neighbors who have offered an opinion have laughed and said it's great! One of the guys from the fire department loves it. He said sometimes he drives by and just slows down to look at it. hee hee hee. I have to admit this is worth every laugh. I have no shame.

Two days ago, a red and white pickup pulled up in the driveway. Two gentlemen climbed out. The larger of the two greeted us with, "Are y'all the ones selling the lawnmowers out there?" We laughed and said no, that they were part of our yard decorations. He said, "You ain't sellin' them? Well you owe me a half a tank o'gas - I drove all the way from Spartanburg 'cause I heard you had a yard full of lawnmowers you were sellin'. Your sign out there says 'For Sale.' " Well, we explained that the HOUSE is for sale, not the lawnmowers. Disappointed, they drove away.

Well. That's it for now. Greetings from the Redneck Sleigh people!!!

Catching My Breath

Well, this has certainly been a busy and exciting past few weeks.

We worked a LOT on decorating and sewing and making sure everything would be perfect for Susan's big day - and it was! It was one of the lovliest weddings I've ever been to. Everything ran quite smoothly and I even got to watch them open their gifts!! How about that?! One of my pet peaves is that nobody opens their gifts at weddings anymore. But they did, and I was glad to be able to see what they received.

One of the sweetest things was watching them kiss after Pastor pronounced them man and wife. Prior to that moment, they had never kissed. They never even held hands while they were dating, believing the Scriptures to be true when it says it is good for a man not to touch a woman (who is not his wife). I believe God will honor their respect for one another during their courtship.

This topic actually was brought up recently among several young people with whom we are acquainted and/or related. Elly and one of her male cousins could honestly say they had never kissed anyone yetm surprising some of the others in the room. But both of them believe it will be the most special thing to wait and give their very first kiss to the one they will be with their entire lives. They are both waiting on the Lord to show them who that will one day be. Would to God more young people would feel the same way! I pray each of them will continue to stay true to their convictions. So many of us made so many mistakes when we were young. Now we see the error and folly of doing things our way instead of the way the Scriptures teach. Yet, there are still young people who refuse to learn from the mistakes of their elders, and simply repeat history's mistakes. It is very sad. Perhaps that is why in Scripture Wisdom is said to be such a prize - so few actually seek it.


We've been printing away on books for Martha - her Homekeepers Yearbooks are very popular, but they really only sell between November and February, so this is a busy printing time for us. I've also been happy to obtain several new editing clients!

Elly got her driver's license and has been driving herself everywhere! She works twice a week at GBS Lumber, so it's a blessing for her to be able to drive herself to and from work. CJ has his learner's permit and is looking forward to April - in SC there is a 6-month wait between permit and license.

Well, I've got to get supper on the table - it's Wednesday and prayer meeting will be in 45 mintues. There are number of things to be very thankful for tonight! My good friend, Gena, was robbed at her place of employment in broad daylight! They took her purse and the company's deposit. Praise the Lord she was not harmed!!!! Also, today, another friend from church, Marc, was driving on the highway and a semi changed lanes too quickly, causing a chain reaction in the drivers behind him. Marc didn't hit anyone else, but he did run into a cement wall in trying to avoid a collision. His car was totalled, but he is fine!! Praise the Lord again for His protection!!!

Til the next time....