Before I get lost and forget to say the most important bit here, Merry Christmas!  As I’m writing this, it’s Christmas Eve (and if you’re reading this tonight, feel free to come join us as we praise God in a special service this evening at 7:30, here at First Covenant)...

Still no snow, but seeing how much snow has been dumped onto other states in the last couple of weeks, we aren’t really complaining too much here in Illinois.  But it would be nice to have a little bit for next Wednesday evening -- just not so much that we end up having travel advisories...

Though there isn’t currently any snow on the ground, it’s finally beginning to feel like the Christmas season around here.  We’ve got the tree up at home, decorations up in the church building, and we’re going caroling tonight as a church family (so I’m actually glad that it’s warmer this year than it has been in past years).  I even got the chance to explain to a new person why the angel on the church’s sanctuary tree is kinda scary-looking, instead of looking like some sort of traditional, fairy-type thing (our FCC angel is all covered with eyes and wings).  And then, after the service, everyone exchanged Christmas cookies, ’cuz this is the time of year to utterly ignore all of the good eating habits that I’ve worked so hard on for the rest of the calendar year.  Sigh...

Two weeks ago, I commented that it had been a hard week for several of our FCCers -- and this past week was even harder for a bunch more.  Now, some of that is simply seasonal (the holidays are festive for some people, and terribly stressful for others), but a lot of people just seem to be getting pounded on right about now.  Please keep your fellow Christian brothers and sisters in your prayers, if you would...

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas -- which bugs me, since I like to keep my holidays separate.  But the moment Hallowe’en was over, stores all started playing Christmas music and putting up shiny decorations on fake trees.  Sigh...

This has been a hard week on several of our FCC families, for many reasons.  Some experienced issues due to the inclement weather, others are dealing with sudden personal pitfalls, but the family struggling the most right now is the Baughers, who unexpectedly lost their daughter, Mary, this week...

Okay, now it’s cold.  It officially started to snow today, and I got all excited.  But the temperature has also dropped considerably, and there’s some decent wind blowing, so it’s gonna get kinda chilly here in the next couple of days...

Hopefully you’re reading this Update in the comfort of your own home, appreciating the relative stability that “home” brings you.  Maybe you’re even reading this as part of a devotional time, with a Bible open in front of you...

And in contrast to last week’s Update, this past Sunday was boiling hot, and it’ll drop down to freezing temperatures by this weekend.  God is having way too much fun with His weather, lemme tell ya...

When I began typing this Update this morning, I had originally said, “Welcome to the cooler weather of Autumn...” but now I have to amend that.  It’s gotten warmer as the day has progressed -- to the point where we’re needing to open up the windows and let some outside air in to cool off the church offices...

I am loving this weather!  The leaves are turning, the temperature is cooling, and it just makes me feel awake, alert, and joyful every day when I look outside...

We had a great time at our service this week here at First Covenant Church.  First off, we had a great announcement from Sara Stewart (who was wearing an inflatable sumo suit at the time), sharing about the Youth lock-in the night before.  Yes, all of the Youth kids seemed a bit sleepy during the service on Sunday, but none of them nodded off -- probably because of how different the message was...

The leaves are beginning to turn, and that means that my drive from Morton into Peoria becomes one of my favorite parts of the day -- especially that turn on I-74 when the hills on either side of the highway separate, and you can see the hills and valleys filled with a kaleidoscope of color, with the Peoria skyline nestled in between them.  It’s kinda glorious, actually...

We had a great day in the Lord together as a church family this weekend, hosting our missionaries, fresh from their ministry work with Shanxi Evergreen Services in China.  They were able to spend time talking about their work in the Adult Sunday School class, and then in the Worship Service itself -- and on a more personal note during our delicious potluck lunch afterwards (I don’t know where they picked up those dumplings, but they were amazing)...

Well, the Pumpkin Festival was as exciting as ever -- even moreso because it was Olivia Andrews’ first time watching a parade, and that’s just a blast to be part of.  The All-Church Retreat also went well this past weekend, with Gweneth Schwab leading everyone in a poignant time of sharing about where they’ve seen God at work in their lives...