With Us: The Light in the Dark

“Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” —Matthew 1:23

It was a dark night, the night Jesus was born. Shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem were guarding their flocks from predators who sought to slaughter and thieves who sought to steal. The shepherds knew they were always nearby, hidden under the cover of darkness.

It was a normal night, just like the thousands of nights that had come before—darkness and dangerous—for the sheep in the fields and for God’s own flock—his people. They had been trapped in a world of fear and danger and prayed for years upon years for their own shepherd, for their Savior, the One who would finally give them a safe place to live, laugh, and prosper under his protective care.

Suddenly…“Look!” The darkness was replaced by a glorious light. It terrified the shepherds. “Don’t be afraid! A Liberator has been born for you!” God’s messenger proclaimed. A liberator born for them—for us. Born as light into a world that had only known darkness.

Immanuel, which means “God is with us,” had come to the world—and pierced the darkness with light. Until this night, until this birth, the light had never been with us. We were no longer trapped in a world of darkness. The Light was here, and hope came alive on earth. The Shepherd had arrived, so we need not fear the darkness of night again.

The hope of the world was alive. With Us. Overcoming the darkness we had no power to overcome on our own. The darkness of the world would never truly be dark again.

Jesus, born on Christmas Day. The Light alive. Our hope became real. We never need to walk alone or in the dark again—God is with us.

May we join the shepherds and angels singing in thanksgiving and joy this Christmas season!

THE WORD

“I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”

— John 12:46

CHRI STM AS

PR AYER

Lord, may your light shine in the dark places in our lives and revive our hope and joy this Christmas season. Fill our hearts with the abundance of your love and may we have the courage to let your light shine from our hearts to the dark places in our world.

December

2013

Go Girls! A ministry of: FUMC Berkeley Springs 49 South Green St. Berkeley Springs, WV 25411 304.258.2766 | gofirst.org Pastor Andrew Cooney

December 2013 | Page 2

Dianne Yost’s

Table-full of

Memories

Our Christmas tradition started on Christmas of

1978 with a plain red tablecloth. That Christmas, we signed our tablecloth with a pen. At the time, my oldest daughter was five and my youngest was two, so they had a little help. There were just a few signatures that year. After Christmas, I embroidered the names in white thread. Every year since then, I bring the tablecloth out the second week of December and put it on the table. On Christmas Eve, we have family and friends in to celebrate and whoever is here signs the tablecloth, and I later embroider every name. On the edge of the tablecloth, I embroider the year with a different color thread that I also used for the signatures, so you will know who was at our home that year. The tablecloth now has the names of my parents’, who are no longer with us, as well as the names of aunts, uncles and friends. We have children’s handprints on the tablecloth since they could not yet write, the simple letters of children that barely wrote, and the signatures of those who went on to write in cursive. We have the names of girls in the family who married, so you will see the name has changed. This past year, I had my great-grandson place his handprint on the tablecloth. There are gravy stains and burn holes from a candle that has been patched….But every year I bring that tablecloth out. We still use it because it tells a story of our family and the changes we have gone through. I would love to share it with anyone that would like to see it. You might want to start your own!

Merry Christmas! Dianne Yost

Sarah Fisher’s

Nativity Legacy

Every Black Friday I made a

trip with my boys to one store only--our local Christian Bookstore. Both Robbie and Coby chose one piece for our Fontanini nativity set. This year for Christmas I will buy both of them the central piece: stable with Joseph, Mary, and Baby Jesus, and have them identify the pieces they chose in the past.

Stacy Slovinsky’s

Night Before

Christmas Tips & Treasures

One of our family traditions is that I go up to one of the kids’ rooms and we read Twas the Night Before Christmas. Last year was special because my then 10-year-old Matthew read it to us.

When the boys were smaller, I would use carpet fresh powder to put boot prints leading up to the Christmas tree.

Also, on Christmas day, the kids used to wait upstairs and then come down the steps—oldest to youngest—to see what Santa brought!

At Christmas, they each get $20 and they buy a $10 gift for each sibling

December 2013 | Page 3

Terribly Awesome Glorious Privilege By Isabella Yosuico

She was a young woman from Nazareth, a humble little town back then—so humble, that John later reports Nathaneal saying “Nazareth? Can anything good come from there?” when speaking of Jesus himself, who’d returned to preach (Luke 4:16-30).

Some scholars say that Nazareth, on the way to nowhere, with only a few hundred mostly poor inhabitants, was a meaningless speck on the map. Other scholars say Nazareth’s bad

rap might have even been about the downright “badness” of the residents, pointing to, among other things, the fact that the people of Nazareth rejected Jesus, even threatening to toss him off a cliff. Whatever the case, my takeaway is that for all our vain striving—whether for status and affluence or “righteousness” and “goodness”—God chose a simple girl from a lowly, nowhere town of possibly no-good, stubborn souls to be the mother of God. (Can I get an Amen?) I have found it to be utterly true that it’s when I’m literally or figuratively stripped of all pretense, often involuntarily, that God does his greatest work in and through me. Perhaps that’s why, Mary, whose default condition was lowly, was willing to submit to God’s awesome indwelling.

Luke reports that Mary was troubled at the angel Gabriel’s announcement: “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you” (Luke 2:26-34). In The Preacher’s Commentary, late pastor and scholar Bruce Larson suggests that Mary was troubled because she was wise enough to know that those “highly favored by God do not have a life of unbroken happiness.” Being favored by God comes with a price. Other verses in scripture echo this notion, among them Luke 12:48, Romans 8:17, 1 Peter 4:13 and The Sermon on the Mount, to name a few.

Gabriel next says, “Don’t be afraid…” and then in a few words, tells Mary of her terribly awesome glorious privilege: giving birth to the “Son of the Most High,” Emmanuel in a tiny baby. Mary only asks how it’s possible since she’s a virgin. Gabriel explains, summarizing “For nothing will be impossible with God,” to which Mary replies, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” Mary travels the road from troubled to true in moments, an obedient servant lifted up through the ages for her meek assent to God’s plan.

So maybe in the excitement of the moment Mary said yes, like I do when I’m asked to volunteer for something. Later, I count the costs, and sometimes decide it’s not such a hot idea. If Mary counted the potential cost, she’d find it would be unbearably high, yet she joyfully accepts God’s assignment, singing a song of faith-filled, childlike pride and praise, The Magnificat.

“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;

he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

We cannot diminish Mary’s humble and unquestioning obedience but we can aspire to it, not counting the cost of following Jesus. In receiving the indwelling Christ, we accept a terribly awesome glorious privilege. Can we say “Yes!” with a song in our heart? This Christmas, let’s say “Yes,” to Jesus anew with joyful praise on our lips.

Merry CHRISTmas!

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Holiday Gift Market 9 AM - 2 PM

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Church Tree Trimming Supper 6PM

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Jingle Jam 6-8 PM

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Women’s Ministry Leadership Team Sarah Fisher, Women’s Ministry Coordinator: sfisher@gofirst.org | 304.258.2766 Cindi Close: csclose@hotmail.com Gretchen Close: gclose2@gmail.com Linda Romano: mnpt12@frontier.com Bonnie Weber: bwweber@frontier.com

Isabella Yosuico: isabellayosuico@gmail.com

December A Taste of What’s Happening for

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