"I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." ~ The character Scrooge as written by Charles Dickens, 'A Christmas Carol'

Believe it or not, today is the day. It is Tuesday, September 25, 2018, and I've been playing some Christmas music today. Why? This afternoon I will be donning the Red Suit for some promotional photos at our favorite professional photographer's studio. (Mindy Harmon of the Woodlands, Texas.) She has a new Christmas set this year and she will be featuring some of these promo shots to get us ready for the upcoming season. I actually tried on The Suit coat last night. I had some alterations made to it after the end of last season so I needed to make sure everything still works like it should. I think this will be our 7th or 8th year to work with Mindy and her staff. There's no way to guess how many treasured memories we've been a part of, working in this venue. (See the photo above.) Social media has been cluttered recently with postings of people asking each other if it is too early to start decorating for Christmas. Our tradition has always been to wait until after Thanksgiving, however, we might move that up to early November this year. Mrs. Claus did a wonderful job of decorating last year and it became a photography set as we opened our home for folks to come and make Christmas Selfies with the Clauses. That added quite a bit to our schedule, but, we were able to provide this service for a number of families. I will be consulting with the CDIC to make a final decision. Sorry. CDIC stands for Chief Decorator In Charge.

Great Grand Poppy with Gabi-Girl, made this past summer.

I mentioned yesterday how technology has changed our world. This past Saturday I was able to spend about 20 minutes with our little great grand Gabi-girl and her mom, our granddaughter, Brittany. It was a two-way video call. Gabi-girl was all wired up and running around, playing with her toys, and with their kitten. She is a sweet child and what a blessing to visit with her in their home located on the Army post in Fort Riley, Kansas. Our eldest, Chris, her Paw Paw, visits with her nearly every day. Being able to visit this way is a blessing. It's not the same as holding her in my arms, but, it's pretty amazing when I think how all of this has come about during my lifetime. I can remember as a kid that even making a long distance call was thought of as a big deal. It was expensive. People tried to make it as concise as possible to limit the time. And, typically the message was very important. Often, a long distance call meant a serious illness or even a death notice. Today we live in an anytime all the time connected world. We all know this can be a blessing or a curse, but, for a few minutes last Saturday it allowed Great Grand Poppy to enjoy visiting with his great-granddaughter, Gabi-girl. In case you are keeping score, you can put that one in the 'blessing' column. Amen.

I know that most of you know my views on the importance of each believer being a part of a local New Testament fellowship of believers. Today's identity calls it Church but because that name has been associated with so many different sorts of religious shenanigans I typically try not to use it that much. The actual word in the original Greek language is Ecclesia. It reflects a set apart, called out assembly, congregated together for a purpose. That purpose is the pursuit of the Great Commission given to the local assembly by our Lord Himself, ""'.... All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.' Amen."  The 'Amen' which is a 'so let it be' affirmation was added by the Apostle John. When we meet we come together to worship the Lord, to encourage and build each other up in the faith, and to hear from God as His Word is shared. This prepares us to go forth as directed by the Great Commision. I took the above photo this past Sunday at our local fellowship, Mims Baptist, Conroe, Texas. I was up in the balcony with two of our grandkids. They don't care to sit with me in my regular pew, ground floor, left aisle, first seat, 4th row back, not that I have a particular spot. My point? The local assembly is God's plan and it was purchased by the blood of our Savior who gave Himself up on behalf of the Ecclesia. (Ephesians 5:25) I posted that photo on my Facebook page on Sunday with this caption, "Great worship at Mims Baptist today. God was in the house!" I was there. Others were there. But, more importantly, God was there with us and He could be heard and felt. That, my friend, is something every believer needs. Not preaching down to anyone because don't forget my motto, "Just one beggar telling other beggars where food can be found." Amen. ....More later.