It's been far too long since my last post! That, in a way, should be a good indication of how busy church-work can be around Christmas. It was a whirlwind of a season, with a lavish Christmas concert, a Sunday-School pageant, 3 Christmas Eve services, and one Christmas Day service. Of course, we also had all of the preparations and clean-ups in between the services as well. In all, it was a very busy end to 2011, but it was definitely a blast.

The season was so chaotic, that this picture - a tree with no decorations - was the only one I took!

Since I last posted, I've preached twice, both times outside of the pulpit. My congregation is used to the pastor preaching outside of the pulpit, and since I obviously don't know what the congregation of my first call will one day expect of me, I'm trying to use this as an opportunity to expand my skill-bank for preaching. This isn't something I'd done until now, and it's not something I was too familiar with, since it's a style that few congregations encounter . Because if all this, preaching outside of the pulpit, without a manuscript, was a bit nerve-wracking. I'm glad I've done it, though, because now I know I can do it! I'm looking forward to practicing this style of preaching more as the year continues.