Kathy and I are now one week into our road trip. A trip meant to be time together after our "retirements" this year. And because of the time of year, we are including stops that give us a peek at Christmas preparations in other places.
This has me thinking about how have I seen Jesus Christ recently especially now that we are in Advent and are meant to be preparing our hearts - making Him room. So here is a little bit about our journey this last week and how Jesus has been present...
Our first official stop on our road trip was Columbia Tennessee which is near Nashville. The reason for this stop was to see David Phelps, a singer we saw at our church earlier this year. He put on a Christmas concert in his barn in Culleoka Tennessee. Beautiful Christmas music in a unique and cozy venue.
This allowed us to have a few conversations with those around us. This included a farmer, his wife and several of their grandchildren from Pennsylvania. Part of their farming operation is to put on fall harvest events including a corn maze. This farmer and family have been attending these events since 2010. They love David and his performances and his focus on Christ centered music.
Our next stop on this journey was Memphis Tennessee. Here we enjoyed some good jazz and soul music on Beale Street, toured the Rock and Soul Museum, saw where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed and ate at some good restaurants. In the process we met a couple of interesting people.
The first person was Carol, an African American woman working at one of the bars/restaurants on Beale street. We were looking to find some coffee to warm us up in the chilly weather. She invited us in and made a fresh pot of coffee for us. While we enjoyed this hospitality we had an opportunity to get to know Carol and learn about her life a little bit, As we readied ourselves to leave, Carol told us the coffee was on the house. We know from her story she does not have a lot so this was a precious gift to us. What a Christ like thing for her to do...
The morning of our leaving Memphis, we decided to have breakfast at a place Carol recommended to us called Sugar Grits. There we met our servers Duke and Daphne. Both sweet and with big hearts. Daphne was especially sweet. I happened to be wearing one of my FMSC logoed shirts and Daphne noticed this and asked about it. Kathy and I shared with her about the organization, its work, its focus on Christ. Because of this Daphne gave us our coffee for free - she donates to organizations like FMSC and just felt moved by what she heard - praising God for FMSC serving God's children.
Our next and current location is Branson. Last night we had dinner at Mel's hard Luck Diner. Our server's name was Kelly. All the servers are also singers - Kelly sang a beautiful new Christ focused Christmas carol we had never heard before - it was wonderful. Kelly also had a t-shirt on that had a Christmas tree with a star on top and the words below the tree were "Jesus - He is my reason". I know in Branson it is easy to see a person put forth their faith easily but I see boldness in claiming Christ one's savior on the shirt everyone sees all day long.
I know that I pray before trips like this for Jesus to be present, give show us opportunities to share Him or to touch a life in His name.
This trip we were not necessarily the light and salt but we were the ones who saw light and salt in others.
A friend and I had a discussion recently about Christmas. About it being secular, pagan and not on the actual date of Jesus' birth. I know that these are important questions and concerns. But I think for me as a Christian I need to be looking for Jesus Christ in the world as we celebrate this holiday, keeping my focus on Jesus, not just during this season but all year long.
Without the incarnate birth of Jesus Christ, we have no Cross and no Resurrection and then would not have the Hope that He is...
How have you been experiencing Jesus Christ recently? What have you seen and how did it touch you?
Lord Jesus, my prayer as we go into this upcoming weekend is that we focus on You in all that we do, for it is by Your mercy and grace and love that you are present in our relationships with others and in that we get to see glimpses of You now! Amen.
Enjoy this weekend knowing the truth of the work, the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus,
Patrick Engesser
This has me thinking about how have I seen Jesus Christ recently especially now that we are in Advent and are meant to be preparing our hearts - making Him room. So here is a little bit about our journey this last week and how Jesus has been present...
Our first official stop on our road trip was Columbia Tennessee which is near Nashville. The reason for this stop was to see David Phelps, a singer we saw at our church earlier this year. He put on a Christmas concert in his barn in Culleoka Tennessee. Beautiful Christmas music in a unique and cozy venue.
This allowed us to have a few conversations with those around us. This included a farmer, his wife and several of their grandchildren from Pennsylvania. Part of their farming operation is to put on fall harvest events including a corn maze. This farmer and family have been attending these events since 2010. They love David and his performances and his focus on Christ centered music.
Our next stop on this journey was Memphis Tennessee. Here we enjoyed some good jazz and soul music on Beale Street, toured the Rock and Soul Museum, saw where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed and ate at some good restaurants. In the process we met a couple of interesting people.
The first person was Carol, an African American woman working at one of the bars/restaurants on Beale street. We were looking to find some coffee to warm us up in the chilly weather. She invited us in and made a fresh pot of coffee for us. While we enjoyed this hospitality we had an opportunity to get to know Carol and learn about her life a little bit, As we readied ourselves to leave, Carol told us the coffee was on the house. We know from her story she does not have a lot so this was a precious gift to us. What a Christ like thing for her to do...
The morning of our leaving Memphis, we decided to have breakfast at a place Carol recommended to us called Sugar Grits. There we met our servers Duke and Daphne. Both sweet and with big hearts. Daphne was especially sweet. I happened to be wearing one of my FMSC logoed shirts and Daphne noticed this and asked about it. Kathy and I shared with her about the organization, its work, its focus on Christ. Because of this Daphne gave us our coffee for free - she donates to organizations like FMSC and just felt moved by what she heard - praising God for FMSC serving God's children.
Our next and current location is Branson. Last night we had dinner at Mel's hard Luck Diner. Our server's name was Kelly. All the servers are also singers - Kelly sang a beautiful new Christ focused Christmas carol we had never heard before - it was wonderful. Kelly also had a t-shirt on that had a Christmas tree with a star on top and the words below the tree were "Jesus - He is my reason". I know in Branson it is easy to see a person put forth their faith easily but I see boldness in claiming Christ one's savior on the shirt everyone sees all day long.
I know that I pray before trips like this for Jesus to be present, give show us opportunities to share Him or to touch a life in His name.
This trip we were not necessarily the light and salt but we were the ones who saw light and salt in others.
A friend and I had a discussion recently about Christmas. About it being secular, pagan and not on the actual date of Jesus' birth. I know that these are important questions and concerns. But I think for me as a Christian I need to be looking for Jesus Christ in the world as we celebrate this holiday, keeping my focus on Jesus, not just during this season but all year long.
Without the incarnate birth of Jesus Christ, we have no Cross and no Resurrection and then would not have the Hope that He is...
How have you been experiencing Jesus Christ recently? What have you seen and how did it touch you?
Lord Jesus, my prayer as we go into this upcoming weekend is that we focus on You in all that we do, for it is by Your mercy and grace and love that you are present in our relationships with others and in that we get to see glimpses of You now! Amen.
Enjoy this weekend knowing the truth of the work, the peace and love of our Lord and Savior Jesus,
Patrick Engesser
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