Greetings Beloved Church, This year has been unlike any other that I have experienced in my life time. There have been some hard moments and some beautiful moments. There have been places of ease and  places of tension....but the one thing that has remained is God's faithfulness and when I ask, His peace. I have discovered that I really do tend to rely on my own strength and my own "rescuing"....but I am not God. It is both a humbling realization and a very good relief, isn't it?! The needs of the world, family, friends and my own personal needs ...do not rely on me and my limited resources. This holiday season is different. I have not talked to anyone who is not feeling the effects of this year and all that it has been. I have talked to countless people who are struggling...not just financially - but who are struggling at the heart or mind level .... There is an intentional choice we get to make when we struggle in our hearts and minds...in our spirit. The choice not to rely on what we see...or what we hear (social media, news, post office conversations, etc.) but in what we do not see.  God, the Creator of the Heavens and Earth... is at work, right now!  He is doing something entirely new! Covid and all it entails...is not a surprise to God.  We are alive today because He has chosen us to be here for such a time as this; we get to participate in His new work, no matter what state we are in.  So let us Rejoice!  Let us set our intentions to Rejoice this holiday season....not because we feel like it, because we may not, but because we have a Saviour who is for us!  We have a Saviour who was born into this world through messy and painful labour...born as a helpless babe and fully human...born to die...born to take away our sins and the sins of this world.  So I challenge you this holiday season, this Christmas....Look beyond the surface...beyond the superficial....beyond the obvious....and let us "be re-captivated by the wonder and astonishment of the incarnation". He shall reign forevermore! For unto us a child is born. The King of kings. The Lord of lords. Merry Christmas!