Great Gifts: He Was Here

We’re all in a hurry these days.

Gifts to wrap.

Cookies to bake.

School performances…neighborhood parties…relatives to visit…

We rush through meals and errands and conversations.

maryjosephtravelMary and Joseph were in a hurry, too. They had a deadline to meet and responsibilities to fulfill.

And a baby to welcome.

And as every parent knows, a baby changes everything.

Our priorities. Our schedules. Our whole lives.

Newborns really cause us to slow down and attend to the simple things like nourishment and comfort. We stop and gaze at them, memorizing every detail because we know this phase is fleeting.

Sometimes we, as the Church, tend to rush through Christmas, too…We want to fast-forward to Easter, as if Christmas is just a sweet anecdote in the great story of rescue and redemption.

We need to linger in the stable a little bit longer and soak up the Emmanuel-goodness…

Nativity

Emmanuel. God with us.

He was here.

And although He, too, had a lot to accomplish, he wasn’t in a rush.

So let’s slow down. Let’s spend some spend some time in the stable with the baby and memorize every detail of this fleeting season. Let’s rest in the nourishment and comfort and the amazing truth that He was here.

The Greatest Gift.

 

Good tidings of GREAT JOY~
Katie

Great Gifts: The Key Catalog

Have you started your Christmas shopping?

keys I really love to choose gifts for the folks in my life! And, since you all are a big part of my life, I want to share the gift of good information with you. This month, I’m going to be sharing some great products, books and services that you can give as gifts! I know you’ll find these ideas just right for someone in your ministry or family.

Today’s idea:

The Key Catalog

As you know, Key Ministry provides direct training and consultation to churches across the United States (and all over the globe!) Through our services, we help pastors and volunteers understand how disabilities affect children’s learning, behavior and spiritual development. We also extend our training to include information on how special needs impact parents and siblings. This year alone, we have traveled to 10 states for live training, and our blogs and resources have reached over 131 countries.Our training is free of charge to churches, because we don’t want cost to be a barrier to inclusion.

Would you like to sponsor a training for a church or network of churches? We’d love to include YOU in our ministry through the opportunity of sponsorship. When you give through the Key Catalog, you provide solid, research-based training to churches…and as a result, you open the church doors to families affected by disabilities who might not have been able to attend.

And that is an everlasting gift.

Please click over to the Key Catalog and partner with us in this great adventure of inclusion!

~Katie

It’s WIN-A-PRIZE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY!!

Image

You have just GOT to see this…it’s our brand new, easy-to-use, chock-full-of-info Key Ministry Website…

We are so excited to share this with you…you’ll be able to find tons of resources, links, projects and materials right here. PLUS…you can register and download information you can use whenever you need it. We can’t wait for you to stop by and click around…so let’s have some fun…

Click here to enter the site. Wander around. Relax. Get to know us. Then, send me an email here to tell me your favorite feature of the new site…and you’ll be entered to win a huge bag of Hershey’s kisses.

ENJOY!
🙂
Katie