It’s definitely looking like Christmas in our town. Last night I volunteered with our local theater group to scan tickets for our local production of “A Christmas Carol.”
I’ll tell you a secret. Dickens fan that I am, I don’t really love the play. But this was a traveling show. You follow your guide, and cast members, around town.
It started in our downtown’s City Hall (a beautiful but well worn building with stairs that you could not sneak up at any time of day), went to our old court house and to several other downtown buildings, and ended up in a small downtown park for the last scenes. I joined in for the last show of the evening (the sixth show of the night, after the last tickets had been scanned) and joined in the fun for the walk to see the story of Ebenezer Scrooge come alive.
Traveling with the characters (and our costumed guide and narrator) breathed extra life into the story. There were folks of all ages in the cast and they did a tremendous job. You know I think my town is special-and it’s beautiful at this time of year. It’s people are even better.
I loved this mailbox in City Hall. Kids can mail letters direct to Santa, no postage required. Another great way to make Christmas memories.
I forgot to take pictures tonight, but members of my church and the staff of our local homeless shelter came together for a special covered dish dinner. It’s a thank you for this staff, who work so very hard to take on all the needs of the shelter. It was fun hanging out and talking with everyone and learning a bit about their lives. Our church sets aside a sum to give gift cards to all staff members. It’s an idea I recommend. Many of the staff are currently or formerly homeless, so the gift cards help them with extra expenses they may have.
If you haven’t connected with your local homeless shelter, there are always needs. Our community is quite generous, so they get an abundance of clothes (when the supply gets high, the guy who heads that area up told me he passes some on to the Kidney Foundation, so another non-profit benefits), but things shelters generally need are underwear, bras, long underwear, pajama bottoms, and any layers that keep people warm (gloves, hoodies, etc.). Also things like lip balm and cough drops seem to be a frequent need. Towels, washcloths, and single sheets are often on the list.
Here’s the link for Fifth Street Ministries, for those who want more info. https://www.fifthstreetministries.com Oh….and you can always find things on Amazon and let them deliver there. That’s what I have often done. I also use https://smile.amazon.com when I shop Amazon, where I have them set up as my charity, so a portion of my orders goes back to them. Double win!
And I’ll pass on the blog a fellow blogger who recently came to my town wrote (it looks like it was just last weekend). Thanks Amber! I’m glad you had fun.
https://www.prettyaspeaches.com/post/statesville-of-mind
I’m still praying my next job will keep me here, but if not I’ll head to new adventures and always remember where home is-where my heart will always be. But I can share it with the rest of the world.
In the Box, Out of the Box 