It’s always struck me as a bit strange that you can go to bed one night and wake up in an entirely different year just a few hours later.  But I guess it’s no stranger than going to bed any given night and waking up in a different month or week or day. 

As the 14^th century English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, wrote, “Time and tide wait for no man.”  (He apparently borrowed it from Saint Marher’s even earlier 13^th century statement, “And te tide and te time þat tu iboren were, schal beon iblescet.”  I think Chaucer’s edit was an improvement, don’t you agree?)

How nice it will be to dwell in eternity someday, above and beyond the strange reach of time and all that it’s passing dictates.

Until then, you and I have been given a finite amount of this most prized and precious of commodities.  It is ours to spend wisely or wildly.  We can chose to sleep it off, serve others with it, share the Good News of Christ with it, raise families, watch a sunrise, work it away of spend it in a million other faithful and frivolous ways.  What we cannot do is save it, hoard it or trade it.  We can only choose how to “spend” it. 

As we finish up what has undoubtedly been one of the best years of Mosaic’s eleven years of existence, I want to thank every one of you who has used that precious gift of time this past year to build God’s forever kingdom.  Whether that was through Mosaic or some other great Christ-glorifying ministry someplace in this world, I’m deeply blessed to be a part of such an amazing body of people who know what to do with their God-given time. 

And if you’re looking for more ways to invest this week’s time, consider the following opportunities before us:

• Younger Marrieds—meeting at the Repsold’s for dinner this Friday, January 4^th, at 6:00 p.m., we’ll be talking about “How to use TIME to build strong marriages.”
• Serving Spokane Firefighters & some of Our Own: This Saturday, we’re ministering to our own Michelle Kline-Phay, her family and the firefighters of the Spokane Valley through a Memorial Service and luncheon at Advent Lutheran Church at 11:00 a.m.   We are still in need of a half-dozen more people to help out with the serving and clean-up (from 12:00-3:00 p.m.) as well as a few people to bake brownies and deliver them to Mosaic by Friday at 2:00 p.m or the memorial service by 11:00 a.m. this Saturday. Email if you can help with any part of this. 
• “Family Meeting Time” this Sunday at Mosaic, January 6^th: As we jump into a new year, I want to introduce you to some of our staff changes, ministry adjustments and financial stewardship developments.  Jesus will still be our primary focus as we share Communion, worship passionately, pray fervently, fellowship meaningfully and look towards a new year of kingdom work.

Additional Info Items:

• Mosaic has a part-time Facilities Manager position open right now. If you are interested or know of someone who might be, please go to our web page and double click on the “Notes” section  of the “Facility Manager Job Opening @ Mosaic” picture on the left hand side midway down the page.  Or use this link: http://2be7074b5f491f40f712-7d6a928d44ffa2133c330aa7f3dc2a39.r57.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploaded/f/0e8216100_1546547590_facilities-manager-job-description-empl-app.pdf
• Plan to stand publicly with hundreds of other Christ-followers for the lives of unborn children at the 4^th Annual Walk for Life Northwest being held at noon (12:00 p.m.) in the Red Wagon Meadow at Riverfront Park, Saturday, January 12, 2019. Our own Joanna Hyatt with Live Action will be the featured speaker. 

Romans 13:8, 11

⁸ Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 

¹¹ And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Enjoying the gift of time,

Pastor John