Mood:  rushed

What do they have in common? One hectic day in he Tinkel household! And boy am I glad it's over! I'll take each one of the above point by point and hope that you won't get lost (or die of exhaustion).

1. 8 Turkeys and 125 Mouths - That's how many turkeys Sarah fixed and how many mouths Good News Mission fed at our Annual Christmas Dinner last Saturday. As most of you know, Sarah and I run Good News Mission which is located across the street from the low income housing area here in Livingston. Livingston isn't a very big town, and Good News Mission isn't a very big ministry, but there is a need, and God has blessed us by allowing us to help fulfill that need. Every year we have a Christmas Meal for the people we minister to. This year we fed over 75 people in the mission and took over 75 take out plates to local sick and shut-ins. We, thankfully, didn't have to do it alone. We had a local church youth group, and another family come to help. Many other churches and individuals prepared food and desserts, and donated paper goods. A local deli donated all of their outdated desserts as well. Sarah's ladies also helped to clean and get the mission ready. But the turkeys are Sarah's thing. This year she did have help cooking one turkey, but the other 8 were cooked by her over a three day period. Sarah does a fantastic job coordinating and planning this big event. This year we were able to reach out to a new area of primarily elderly people and deliver meals to them. We praise the Lord for this opportunity to serve Him. The meal was from 11:30-1:00 but we were over at the mission by 8:00 to make the final preps and accept the food as it was brought in.. Keep that in mind, it will help you with the timeline for the day.

2. Float #93 - That was the float that Sarah, John Allen and Joshua road on during Livingston's Christmas Parade. They were involved in Upward Football this year, and Upward decided to promote their league by entering a float in the parade. John Allen and Joshua road on the float and threw candy to the spectators, but Sarah decided to walk along side. That lasted for about a mile and a half. Please pray for Sarah's shin splints.

Jacob and I parked by First Baptist church and watched with some friends of ours. Jacob loved the candy throwing but he wasn't so sure about the police and fire sirens. Oh well, he had fun anyway. If you're keeping a timeline, we had to get to the float as soon as we could after the mission meal because the parade started at two. There was a slight miscommunication as to where I was supposed to pick them up, but I finally found them around 4:30. When Sarah got in the car I asked her what was at home for supper. After she answered "turkey", we promptly pulled in to the local Chinese Restaurant. We had had enough poultry for a few days.

3. "Exit stage right" - That was one of my cues in First Baptist's Christmas play. I love to act, and the First Baptist drama committee has graciously allowed me to participate in their fantastic plays the last few years. This year John Allen joined me for the three performances. The drama team puts on three or four large productions every year ranging from serious dramas for Easter and Christmas to more fun shows for the "Senior Salute" or the youth fund-raiser Valentine's Day Banquet. For a medium size church, the drama committee does a top notch job that would rival any large church or playhouse production. I have played everything from "James the Good Deacon" in the Agatha Christie spoof "And Then They Had None" (yes, I confess, I stole the coconut cream pie) to the "Ghost of Christmas Past and the Undertaker" in "A Christmas Carol" (there were some quick costume changes in that one). This year I was a prophet at the beginning of the play, a caravan traveler toward the middle, and a shepherd for the rest. It wasn't that bad, only one costume change, then they added or took away accessories to make me look a little different for the rest. There is a small core of us that are in almost all of the plays and we always have a great time from the first rehearsal to the last curtain call. I thank the Lord for the talents that enable me to participate in these great outreaches.

OK, if you are still keeping track, John Allen and I had to be at the church between 5:00 and 6:00 which left little time for eating. By the time we got home around 8:30 we were exhausted and glad that the day was over. It was a busy day, but these are the types of days that we will remember as a family. I did beg Sarah to next year schedule the meal on a different day, though. If not, they me be adding a cooked goose to the Christmas meal menu - ME!

Powered by Qumana

Subscribe to Families Again