But once a year

When I was a child, I remember a short cartoon called "Christmas Comes But Once a Year." I don't remember much about it, but the title has certainly stuck with me through the years. Well, this year's Christmas has come and gone, but we had a wonderful time during Advent here at First Baptist, didn't we? As we journeyed through the season of Advent, we were reminded of the hope, peace, joy, and love that we have. Of course, our hope, peace, joy, and love are from Christ, whose birth we just celebrated (and, in our family, are still still celebrating). The Advent season culminated with our annual Christmas Eve candlelight communion service. It was a very simple, beautiful service, and we had a great crowd. Several times through the service, I was moved to the point of tears, as I watched family groups from our congregation come forward and take communion together. Thank you for keeping this great tradition alive at First Baptist, and thank you for allowing me to become part of it. Christmas may only come once a year, but that doesn't mean we can't keep the Christmas spirit, does it? Surely, we can keep this spirit of giving and love and togetherness going into the new year. After all, the fact that Jesus Christ was born is just as true in January through November as it is in December.