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Advent message:
Making time for Christ
By MARK SARTORI
Can we abolish what Christmas has become
and start over? Has filling the season chock-full
made it empty, leaving us exhausted and emotion-
ally spent? If we had the courage to rid Christmas
of much of its busyness, commercial clutter and
social obligations, would a fuller, more meaningful
holy day emerge?
We are driven by the pressure to shop, wrap
gifts, mail gifts, write cards, get a tree, decorate
our homes, go to parties, do holiday baking, en-
gage in extra church activities ... Then, we must
be sure not to forget anyone, give a gift of equal
value to one given to us, be happy because people
are supposed to be happy at Christmas ... and find
a way to pay off debts over gifts we've purchased
on credit cards.
Even from a child's view, "when all |the] excite-
ment about Christmas is focused on gifts alone,
children feel terribly let down, because as I greatl
as the new games and toys may be, they can't pos-
sibly live up to all those weeks of breathless antici-
pation ... One mother ... found her daughter cry-
ing in the closet ... just after she had opened all ...
she had asked for. [She explained]: 'IfI had known
this was all there was to Christmas, I wouldn't
have waited so long'" (Unplug the Christmas Ma-
chine).
My intent here is to simplify, not spoil, Christ-
mas. Frankly, I like Christmas. I like bringing out
our bubble lights because they remind me of my
childhood. I like creative variations of old carols. I
like making lefsa, a Norwegian flatbread. But how
can we free ourselves of this season's trappings?
What will make it more meaningful, less harried?
We need a few brave people to protest overdoing
the emphasis on gifts - maybe not entirely, but at
least to bring sanity back into the equation. One
Christmas poster has a sad Jesus asking, "Where
did I say you should buy so much stuffto celebrate
my birthday?" In our family, we draw a name, so
each of us is responsible for only one person and
one gift. Our expectations for happiness are not
tied to getting lots of things.
And a meaningful Christmas involves Jesus.
His coming is a powerful reason to celebrate! It
puzzles me why so many who are on a quest for
meaning in life shut Jesus out of their lives. Have
we confused boring, super-serious religion with
the intimate, dynamic, joyful relationship Jesus
desires to have with us? I encourage you - even
dare you - to pursue meaning by committing your
life to Him, allowing Him to invade your total ex-
istence.
Then seek to express His character and love
within 10 feet of wherever you are. Bring Him into
Christmas. Give food to the hungry, friendship
to strangers, help to the helpless; visit forgotten
people in a nursing home, volunteer at a Boys and
Girls Club, find ways to spread joy.
why not enjoy a relaxed Christmas time with
family, time to reflect on Jesus' coming, find a few
ways to express His joy? Let's pursue a simple,
meaningful, "unbusy" Christmas.
Mark Sartori is pastor of Mountain View Alli-
ance Church.
Pioneer students doing honors work
Pioneer School has awarded
academic honors to the following
students for their work during the
first trimester this year.
Seventh grade: Highest honors
go to Alexander Bidwell. High hon-
ors go to Shelby Fratello, Angela
Fullmer Albright, Colton Gott, Me-
gan Hapeman, Westly Harrison,
Robert Prater, Jasmine Sanders
and Aaron "Thomas" Stephens Jr.
Honors go to William Chambless
Jr., Harrison Cook, Jacob Enslow,
Kayla Fagergren, Kayla Fraser, Si-
erra Pink, Autumn Golden, Chris-
tina Gorman, Gunnar Harvey,
Megan Helsley, Nicholas Hoidysz,
whitney Howard, Colton Kealy,
Port hosts workshop on records
The Port of Shelton is hosting a
workshop about records manage-
ment on Thursday, January 17.
Leslie Koziara, local govern-
ment trainer with the Washington
State Archives Division of the Of-
fice of the Secretary of State, will
present a free workshop entitled,
"Records Management: Past, Pres-
ent and Future." Discussions will
include past practices and present
strategies on how to cope with the
challenges of records management
today and in the future.
The workshop will be from 9
a.m. to noon on January 17 at the
Port of Shelton, 21 West Sander-
son Way. To register, send an e-
mail to Koziara at Ikoziara@sec-
state.wa.gov, or call 586-4893.
Matthew Metcalf, Teddi Mills,
Owen Mortensen, Miranda Par-
rish, Joshua Priest, Robert Ruiz,
Danielle Smith, Robert Staley,
Zacharie Taylor, Tyler Welch, Kae-
leb Wright and Robert Zingleman.
Eighth grade: High honors
go to Kandyce Bragg, Kyle Cloyd,
Erik Daniels, Mary Dechon, Kelsi
Morris, Monica Sandoval, Heather
Sawyer and Rachael Vercoe. Hon-
ors go to Thomas Amundson, Je-
sica Baier, Mathew Baker, Keenan
Bevans, Zsolt Dudas, Elizabeth
Honeywell, Kelsey Holloway, Alau-
ra Jones, Sheri Lea, Ashli Pena,
Amy Menzies, Brandon Morlock,
Nicole Osberg, Wendi Reddinger,
Ashley Samson, Logan Sims, Me-
laine Southerland, Michael Strip-
lin Jr., Layci Thompson, Aaron
Tormanen, Brittany Wilcox and
Brandi Zieber
Call todayl This offer ends December 21, Schedule your appointment and make your holiday even better.
SHELTON
Miracle-Ear Center
1718 Olympic Highway N.
(Across the street from A&W)
Call 1-800 NEW HEAR (1-800-639-4327)
Free Recorded Message and Free Report. Call Toll Free (866) 672-0404 or, visit www.miracle-ear.com
1"Hearing aids do not restore natural hearing. Individual experiences vary depending on severity of hearing loss,
accuracy of evaluation, proper fit and ability to adapt to amplification
i i
Page 32 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, December 13, 2007
2007 Mtr,'cle-Eot Inc
11420ROPA-Quartet
You will receive
v
e add our best
forW hapPY holiday season.
s-,=-rjourna
i eo,,,.ty
i Post Office Box 430, Shelton, Washington g8584
i
:n Yes, a one-year C.ristma00 00ub00c.ption ma,e00 to:
! Name
! Address
!
I m [] $31 (Mason County address) [] $45 (Elma or Bremerton address)
II
[] $45 (in Washington State) [] $55 (out of state)
| From: (name and address
!
I
m
Advent message:
Making time for Christ
By MARK SARTORI
Can we abolish what Christmas has become
and start over? Has filling the season chock-full
made it empty, leaving us exhausted and emotion-
ally spent? If we had the courage to rid Christmas
of much of its busyness, commercial clutter and
social obligations, would a fuller, more meaningful
holy day emerge?
We are driven by the pressure to shop, wrap
gifts, mail gifts, write cards, get a tree, decorate
our homes, go to parties, do holiday baking, en-
gage in extra church activities ... Then, we must
be sure not to forget anyone, give a gift of equal
value to one given to us, be happy because people
are supposed to be happy at Christmas ... and find
a way to pay off debts over gifts we've purchased
on credit cards.
Even from a child's view, "when all |the] excite-
ment about Christmas is focused on gifts alone,
children feel terribly let down, because as I greatl
as the new games and toys may be, they can't pos-
sibly live up to all those weeks of breathless antici-
pation ... One mother ... found her daughter cry-
ing in the closet ... just after she had opened all ...
she had asked for. [She explained]: 'IfI had known
this was all there was to Christmas, I wouldn't
have waited so long'" (Unplug the Christmas Ma-
chine).
My intent here is to simplify, not spoil, Christ-
mas. Frankly, I like Christmas. I like bringing out
our bubble lights because they remind me of my
childhood. I like creative variations of old carols. I
like making lefsa, a Norwegian flatbread. But how
can we free ourselves of this season's trappings?
What will make it more meaningful, less harried?
We need a few brave people to protest overdoing
the emphasis on gifts - maybe not entirely, but at
least to bring sanity back into the equation. One
Christmas poster has a sad Jesus asking, "Where
did I say you should buy so much stuffto celebrate
my birthday?" In our family, we draw a name, so
each of us is responsible for only one person and
one gift. Our expectations for happiness are not
tied to getting lots of things.
And a meaningful Christmas involves Jesus.
His coming is a powerful reason to celebrate! It
puzzles me why so many who are on a quest for
meaning in life shut Jesus out of their lives. Have
we confused boring, super-serious religion with
the intimate, dynamic, joyful relationship Jesus
desires to have with us? I encourage you - even
dare you - to pursue meaning by committing your
life to Him, allowing Him to invade your total ex-
istence.
Then seek to express His character and love
within 10 feet of wherever you are. Bring Him into
Christmas. Give food to the hungry, friendship
to strangers, help to the helpless; visit forgotten
people in a nursing home, volunteer at a Boys and
Girls Club, find ways to spread joy.
why not enjoy a relaxed Christmas time with
family, time to reflect on Jesus' coming, find a few
ways to express His joy? Let's pursue a simple,
meaningful, "unbusy" Christmas.
Mark Sartori is pastor of Mountain View Alli-
ance Church.
Pioneer students doing honors work
Pioneer School has awarded
academic honors to the following
students for their work during the
first trimester this year.
Seventh grade: Highest honors
go to Alexander Bidwell. High hon-
ors go to Shelby Fratello, Angela
Fullmer Albright, Colton Gott, Me-
gan Hapeman, Westly Harrison,
Robert Prater, Jasmine Sanders
and Aaron "Thomas" Stephens Jr.
Honors go to William Chambless
Jr., Harrison Cook, Jacob Enslow,
Kayla Fagergren, Kayla Fraser, Si-
erra Pink, Autumn Golden, Chris-
tina Gorman, Gunnar Harvey,
Megan Helsley, Nicholas Hoidysz,
whitney Howard, Colton Kealy,
Port hosts workshop on records
The Port of Shelton is hosting a
workshop about records manage-
ment on Thursday, January 17.
Leslie Koziara, local govern-
ment trainer with the Washington
State Archives Division of the Of-
fice of the Secretary of State, will
present a free workshop entitled,
"Records Management: Past, Pres-
ent and Future." Discussions will
include past practices and present
strategies on how to cope with the
challenges of records management
today and in the future.
The workshop will be from 9
a.m. to noon on January 17 at the
Port of Shelton, 21 West Sander-
son Way. To register, send an e-
mail to Koziara at Ikoziara@sec-
state.wa.gov, or call 586-4893.
Matthew Metcalf, Teddi Mills,
Owen Mortensen, Miranda Par-
rish, Joshua Priest, Robert Ruiz,
Danielle Smith, Robert Staley,
Zacharie Taylor, Tyler Welch, Kae-
leb Wright and Robert Zingleman.
Eighth grade: High honors
go to Kandyce Bragg, Kyle Cloyd,
Erik Daniels, Mary Dechon, Kelsi
Morris, Monica Sandoval, Heather
Sawyer and Rachael Vercoe. Hon-
ors go to Thomas Amundson, Je-
sica Baier, Mathew Baker, Keenan
Bevans, Zsolt Dudas, Elizabeth
Honeywell, Kelsey Holloway, Alau-
ra Jones, Sheri Lea, Ashli Pena,
Amy Menzies, Brandon Morlock,
Nicole Osberg, Wendi Reddinger,
Ashley Samson, Logan Sims, Me-
laine Southerland, Michael Strip-
lin Jr., Layci Thompson, Aaron
Tormanen, Brittany Wilcox and
Brandi Zieber
Call todayl This offer ends December 21, Schedule your appointment and make your holiday even better.
SHELTON
Miracle-Ear Center
1718 Olympic Highway N.
(Across the street from A&W)
Call 1-800 NEW HEAR (1-800-639-4327)
Free Recorded Message and Free Report. Call Toll Free (866) 672-0404 or, visit www.miracle-ear.com
1"Hearing aids do not restore natural hearing. Individual experiences vary depending on severity of hearing loss,
accuracy of evaluation, proper fit and ability to adapt to amplification
i i
Page 32 - Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, December 13, 2007
2007 Mtr,'cle-Eot Inc
11420ROPA-Quartet
You will receive
v
e add our best
forW hapPY holiday season.
s-,=-rjourna
i eo,,,.ty
i Post Office Box 430, Shelton, Washington g8584
i
:n Yes, a one-year C.ristma00 00ub00c.ption ma,e00 to:
! Name
! Address
!
I m [] $31 (Mason County address) [] $45 (Elma or Bremerton address)
II
[] $45 (in Washington State) [] $55 (out of state)
| From: (name and address
!
I
m