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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
November 22, 2007     Shelton Mason County Journal
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November 22, 2007
 
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time of anticipation raHARRY CHRISTENSEN parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him 'tlChildren begin to get excited this time every according to the custom of the law, he took Hint up if because the celebration of Christmas is get- h closer. Many Americans have traditions of .&ae kind that are associated with this holiday ] ' z " Zgrandparents were Swedish immigrants, so tw up having a Swedish smorgasbord dinner hristmas Eve. We had pickled herring, potato age, Swedish beans, rice pudding, ham, sweet la, sardines, sweet pickles, rykrisp and various ses, one with cardamom seeds in it. IIhristmas Eve was my favorite meal of the ][le year. We would get together with my aunts ltmcles who would bring var!ous delicacies, as luas the anticipated presents. Following Swed- Stradition we opened our presents on Christmas |', and on Christmas morning ,we fbund stock- hung in our living room full of all kinds of childhood riches, ones that I often treasured ethan some of the big presents fi'om the night year I got a tiny plastic lamp that glowed green phosphorescence. My aunt probably it from Woolworth's, which was her favorite r re, but as a child I valued it as one of my prized .Sessions. (I eventually I lost it.) The presents l 1 Christmas dinners of times past are now only aories in the minds of adults Part of celebrat- C • St! hnstmas also for me wasnt only the sump- $s smorgasbord and gift exchange, but the an- Pation that led to Christmas As an adult I have d that my anticipation rarely measures up to t I eagerly look forward to. LET ME TELL you a story about two people se anticipation did not end in disappointment. eon and Anna lived 2000 years ago in Jerusa- in Israel. They were waiting for the birth of (Us, which was the first Christmas. Let's look )at the Bible tells us about these two. Simeon l_nd behold, there was a man in Jerusalem se name was Simeon, and this man was just : devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, ,. the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been 'ealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not fF death before he had seen the Lords Christ. So by the Spirit into the temple. And when the in his arms and blessed God and said: "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, ac- cording to Your word; for my eyes have seen }AJur salvation. (Luke 2:25-30) Simeon's wait for Christmas had not been .just for a few weeks, but for nearly his whole lilbtime. It wasn't until shortly beibre he died that his long wait came to an end. Simeon's waiting had not been in vain; what he had hoped to see and touch actually did become reality for him. We are told his eyes beheld more than a little child; his eyes beheld the One who would bring salvation to mankind. In this same chapter the Bible, also, tells us of' Anna, another person who had waited. Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, why did not de- part from the temple, but served God with lastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that in- stant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusa- lem. (Luke 2:36-38) ANNA HAD BEEN married only seven years when her husband died. I am sure that Anna was heartbroken, but rather than give up on life, Anna turned to the Lord and for the next 84 years she let God's love and the hope He promised give her the strength to continue. Her hope was similar to Simeon's; she wanted to see the Savior whom God had promised would come. Her long wait, like Simeon's was rewarded. There is anticipation of Christmas today, even as there was for Simeon and Anna, but it is driven by advertising and not by a longing to see Jesus and a longing to be saved from the heartache of our lives. The true meaning of Christmas is hidden fom the view of most who make plans for our coming holi- day. Consider the time where God has placed this holiday. It is found in the dead of winter, the dark- est time of the year, not during a season when it is sunny, warm and pleasant. God planned it this way because He knows, that for most people, liib (Please turn to page 8.) L Weather ! 15 17 18 High Low Precip. Fahrenheit (In.) 48 32 .32 53 44 1.51 52 41 .14 51 39 .52 44 33 0 45 30 .05 are recorded for ational Weather Service at Field. morning the Na- Weather Service predicted  days and cool nights dur- |the next week. Wednesday LThanksgiving Day should rstly sunny with highs in |,Pper 40s. Wednesday night !fl. be partly cloudy with a low d 29 degrees with Thurs- fight mostly clear and a low d 30. Forecasters expect sunny skies on Friday with a high near 46 fol- lowed by partly cloudy skies Fri- day night when the low should be around 35. Saturday should be mostly sunny with a high near 48. Satur- day night should be mostly cloudy with a low around 36. The extended forecast fbr Sun- day through Monday calls for  partly sunny skies Sunday and mostly sunny skies on Monday. Sunday night should be partly cloudy. The highs should be in the upper 40s with a low around 35. Alignments • Brakes ° Suspensions We Service: • Cars • Trucks • Semis • RV's • Trailers 3108 29th Ave. SW #101 Tumwater , Mon.-Fri. 800m-5.m. 38o- 943-8136 Shelton congregations challenged to perform services to community Iocal nl(,mbvr. ol'l he ('hutch of ,Jt',us (;hrist of l,attr-(lay ;lints have stepl)(,(t up h) it htllnanitar- inn chall(,n;;c lhis y,ar. Tile challcng(, for 2007 was given to ill(! [,I)S rncmhers who reside Wit}lilI l ilil|(,-collreglttion area kv.)w s Ih(, l,;Ima Washing- ton Stake. The challenge, which {housed on llumamt,arian service, WaS ill Itlrt'o paris: 1.()collect coats tbr the needy during the wintry months o/' 2007, to restock h)cal fi)od banks dtlritlg the .pring and, finally, to (l(wch,p a projee, t (:luring the summer and fall that would benefit, local conimunities. ttundreds or coats, gh)ves and hats were collected and delivered in the l)egirming of tim year as the challenge was accepted by the con- gregations of the Elma Stake. Cans and boxes of lbod began to flow to local fbod banks, and homemade quilts mid clothes came by the boxfuls to l)arhme l:}lazo, the coor- dinator of the large-scale program and a person lhmiliar to those who gather at the Mason County Se- nior Activities Center in Shelton. "Everybody did well and really stepped up to the plate. 1 was very pleased at the way the challenge was acc(pted," Blaz() said. Many donations were delivered h)cally and other items were sent directly to the large Church Dis- tribution Center in Salt Lake City tbr delivery as needed throughout the world. Ehna Stake members have hand-crafted more than 3,000 items so far, including hundreds of painted wooden blocks made by children who are ages 3 to 12; more than 500 baby hats made by teen- agers; and nearly 200 school bags of supplies and hygiene kits com- piled by local youth and adults. THERE ARE three congrega- tions of the Elma Stake in Shelton, including one of Spanish-speaking people. There are two congrega- tions in Elma and others in West- port, Ocean Shores, Raymond and Aberdeen. All of the congregations participated fully in the challenge, with each unit finding creative ways to oflbr service to their local communities during the year. Women in the Shelton First Ward met once a month to make baby hats, mittens and quilts and donated their handmade quilts and baby items to Care Net Preg- nancy Center in Shelton. "Care Net is a good organization with kind people," said Kathy Johnson of the First Ward. "They offer help and education to mothers, so we (Please turn to page 8.) 3 I LOWeS" *340 Patriot Vaults T,/(e$200 OFF #0 $00L|S Thursday, November 22, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 7 time of anticipation raHARRY CHRISTENSEN parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him 'tlChildren begin to get excited this time every according to the custom of the law, he took Hint up if because the celebration of Christmas is get- h closer. Many Americans have traditions of .&ae kind that are associated with this holiday ] ' z " Zgrandparents were Swedish immigrants, so tw up having a Swedish smorgasbord dinner hristmas Eve. We had pickled herring, potato age, Swedish beans, rice pudding, ham, sweet la, sardines, sweet pickles, rykrisp and various ses, one with cardamom seeds in it. IIhristmas Eve was my favorite meal of the ][le year. We would get together with my aunts ltmcles who would bring var!ous delicacies, as luas the anticipated presents. Following Swed- Stradition we opened our presents on Christmas |', and on Christmas morning ,we fbund stock- hung in our living room full of all kinds of childhood riches, ones that I often treasured ethan some of the big presents fi'om the night year I got a tiny plastic lamp that glowed green phosphorescence. My aunt probably it from Woolworth's, which was her favorite r re, but as a child I valued it as one of my prized .Sessions. (I eventually I lost it.) The presents l 1 Christmas dinners of times past are now only aories in the minds of adults Part of celebrat- C • St! hnstmas also for me wasnt only the sump- $s smorgasbord and gift exchange, but the an- Pation that led to Christmas As an adult I have d that my anticipation rarely measures up to t I eagerly look forward to. LET ME TELL you a story about two people se anticipation did not end in disappointment. eon and Anna lived 2000 years ago in Jerusa- in Israel. They were waiting for the birth of (Us, which was the first Christmas. Let's look )at the Bible tells us about these two. Simeon l_nd behold, there was a man in Jerusalem se name was Simeon, and this man was just : devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, ,. the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been 'ealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not fF death before he had seen the Lords Christ. So by the Spirit into the temple. And when the in his arms and blessed God and said: "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, ac- cording to Your word; for my eyes have seen }AJur salvation. (Luke 2:25-30) Simeon's wait for Christmas had not been .just for a few weeks, but for nearly his whole lilbtime. It wasn't until shortly beibre he died that his long wait came to an end. Simeon's waiting had not been in vain; what he had hoped to see and touch actually did become reality for him. We are told his eyes beheld more than a little child; his eyes beheld the One who would bring salvation to mankind. In this same chapter the Bible, also, tells us of' Anna, another person who had waited. Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, why did not de- part from the temple, but served God with lastings and prayers night and day. And coming in that in- stant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusa- lem. (Luke 2:36-38) ANNA HAD BEEN married only seven years when her husband died. I am sure that Anna was heartbroken, but rather than give up on life, Anna turned to the Lord and for the next 84 years she let God's love and the hope He promised give her the strength to continue. Her hope was similar to Simeon's; she wanted to see the Savior whom God had promised would come. Her long wait, like Simeon's was rewarded. There is anticipation of Christmas today, even as there was for Simeon and Anna, but it is driven by advertising and not by a longing to see Jesus and a longing to be saved from the heartache of our lives. The true meaning of Christmas is hidden fom the view of most who make plans for our coming holi- day. Consider the time where God has placed this holiday. It is found in the dead of winter, the dark- est time of the year, not during a season when it is sunny, warm and pleasant. God planned it this way because He knows, that for most people, liib (Please turn to page 8.) L Weather ! 15 17 18 High Low Precip. Fahrenheit (In.) 48 32 .32 53 44 1.51 52 41 .14 51 39 .52 44 33 0 45 30 .05 are recorded for ational Weather Service at Field. morning the Na- Weather Service predicted  days and cool nights dur- |the next week. Wednesday LThanksgiving Day should rstly sunny with highs in |,Pper 40s. Wednesday night !fl. be partly cloudy with a low d 29 degrees with Thurs- fight mostly clear and a low d 30. Forecasters expect sunny skies on Friday with a high near 46 fol- lowed by partly cloudy skies Fri- day night when the low should be around 35. Saturday should be mostly sunny with a high near 48. Satur- day night should be mostly cloudy with a low around 36. The extended forecast fbr Sun- day through Monday calls for  partly sunny skies Sunday and mostly sunny skies on Monday. Sunday night should be partly cloudy. The highs should be in the upper 40s with a low around 35. Alignments • Brakes ° Suspensions We Service: • Cars • Trucks • Semis • RV's • Trailers 3108 29th Ave. SW #101 Tumwater , Mon.-Fri. 800m-5.m. 38o- 943-8136 Shelton congregations challenged to perform services to community Iocal nl(,mbvr. ol'l he ('hutch of ,Jt',us (;hrist of l,attr-(lay ;lints have stepl)(,(t up h) it htllnanitar- inn chall(,n;;c lhis y,ar. Tile challcng(, for 2007 was given to ill(! [,I)S rncmhers who reside Wit}lilI l ilil|(,-collreglttion area kv.)w s Ih(, l,;Ima Washing- ton Stake. The challenge, which {housed on llumamt,arian service, WaS ill Itlrt'o paris: 1.()collect coats tbr the needy during the wintry months o/' 2007, to restock h)cal fi)od banks dtlritlg the .pring and, finally, to (l(wch,p a projee, t (:luring the summer and fall that would benefit, local conimunities. ttundreds or coats, gh)ves and hats were collected and delivered in the l)egirming of tim year as the challenge was accepted by the con- gregations of the Elma Stake. Cans and boxes of lbod began to flow to local fbod banks, and homemade quilts mid clothes came by the boxfuls to l)arhme l:}lazo, the coor- dinator of the large-scale program and a person lhmiliar to those who gather at the Mason County Se- nior Activities Center in Shelton. "Everybody did well and really stepped up to the plate. 1 was very pleased at the way the challenge was acc(pted," Blaz() said. Many donations were delivered h)cally and other items were sent directly to the large Church Dis- tribution Center in Salt Lake City tbr delivery as needed throughout the world. Ehna Stake members have hand-crafted more than 3,000 items so far, including hundreds of painted wooden blocks made by children who are ages 3 to 12; more than 500 baby hats made by teen- agers; and nearly 200 school bags of supplies and hygiene kits com- piled by local youth and adults. THERE ARE three congrega- tions of the Elma Stake in Shelton, including one of Spanish-speaking people. There are two congrega- tions in Elma and others in West- port, Ocean Shores, Raymond and Aberdeen. All of the congregations participated fully in the challenge, with each unit finding creative ways to oflbr service to their local communities during the year. Women in the Shelton First Ward met once a month to make baby hats, mittens and quilts and donated their handmade quilts and baby items to Care Net Preg- nancy Center in Shelton. "Care Net is a good organization with kind people," said Kathy Johnson of the First Ward. "They offer help and education to mothers, so we (Please turn to page 8.) 3 I LOWeS" *340 Patriot Vaults T,/(e$200 OFF #0 $00L|S Thursday, November 22, 2007 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 7