We have enjoyed Tannehill, park day, shoebox packing and other fun activities this month. As school winds down for this semester, here are some reminders for December events.
Code Breakers: December Fellowship
1 Thursday 7:00 Code Breakers: Parent Advocates
We will have a laidback time of fellowship for parents of students with special needs (invite a friend!) at Habanero's in Alabaster Promenade shopping center.
December Park Day
2 Friday 12:00 PARK DAY McCallum Park in Vestavia
Come join us for a fun outdoor play date with other SCCS families. This park has gorgeous trails and picnic areas, as well as sunny and shady areas. Located off of Rosemary Lane and Rocky Ridge Road.
Alabama Ballet: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker
12/8 and 9 10:00 am tickets previously ordered, meet inside at 9:30 to be seated as a group. Be sure to allow time for parking and walking to Wright Center
American Village - Christmas
12 Monday 8:45-11:00 tickets previously ordered. Please arrive on time!
BCT Main Stage: A Christmas Carol
Dec 15 tickets previously ordered
A Smoking Oven and a Burning Torch
Smoking ovens and burning torches (Bible-day light bulbs) are the expected byproducts of meal preparations and accentuated decorations during the holiday season. Interestingly, it is during the moments when the byproduct of our efforts are not as expected that these images should encourage us the most.
In the final verses of Genesis 15, God appears to Abraham, the father of faith, as “a smoking oven and a burning torch.” In those days (before the invention of light bulbs) torches enabled a person to see at night and a smoking oven would cloud a person’s ability to see, even in daylight. So what was God communicating to Abraham and, eventually, to us? He was showing us that He is a God who simultaneously reveals and conceals—the more we get to know Him, the more mysterious He becomes. God revealed Himself to Israel with the phrase “The Lord our God, the Lord is One.” When He later revealed that this One is in three Persons, do you think it cleared things up for them? As we end another calendar year, we can certainly be encouraged as we reflect on the positive outcomes of some of our efforts—when everything seemed to go as planned. But let’s also be encouraged as we reflect on those moments when things didn’t go as expected—when the byproduct of our efforts seemed to produce no result at best and the opposite intended result at worst—when we cried out, wrestling with our anxieties, to a God who was silent when we wanted Him to speak and distant when we wanted Him near.
Why be encouraged? Because as we prepare meals and display luminous décor, it should show us that the God of Abraham revealed Himself as a smoking oven and a burning torch! If you serve a God who you can hold but never have a handle on and who is just as elusive as He is embracing, then that’s a good indication that you’re serving the right one!
