Talent Offering

It’s been a while since my wife and I have been to see a movie in the theater. It’s not because we don’t enjoy them; we do. But it’s been a busy year and so we have gotten behind. Don’t tell anybody, but I haven’t even seen the latest Star Wars movie, and I think another one just came out yesterday. Oh, well.

What we did do this past Wednesday was every bit as much fun. After a spaghetti supper in the fellowship hall at church, prepared by two of our men, we all gathered in the sanctuary for a “Talent Offering.” We do these once a year or so, and call them by that title because we really don’t want it to be a show. We invite members of the body of Christ to offer something up to Him. The evening began with an unusual talent. Chris and Karlean told the story, complete with pictures from 1958, of how they met after she was hit by a train, and lived to tell about it! His father was an oral surgeon who was called on to do numerous surgeries to repair the damage to Karlean’s jaw and mouth. Several years later, the two worked for Chris’s dad, and the rest is history. It’s an amazing story of God’s providence, and a great love story as well.

After that, Blake, 8 years old, did an an excellent recitation, complete with batting gloves, hat, and baseball bat, of the old poem, “Casey at the Bat.” I tell you there was no joy in Mudville, or in the sanctuary, when ol’ Casey went down in flames. But we were all grinning at Blake’s re-telling of it. He did a great job.

Next, Rudy sang a song he wrote about needing to get to the mountaintop, where he could hear the Lord. He played the guitar and was joined by Jon on the drums. Rudy has an amazing talent and I am always blessed when he shares it with us.

Finally, Julia and Josh, brother and sister who are both in their teens, shared a 10-12 minute skit that took us all the way through the Old Testament. It was wonderful, and their memorization skills were only matched by their multiple characters and voices as they brought the old stories to life. A definite crowd pleaser!

We also like to take the opportunity at our Talent Offerings to support a mission we are praying for as a church. We asked folks to give to help build a Christian school in Bocachica, which is a village on an island off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia. Nate share about the needs there, and how the Lord is already working through the brand new school.

The only thing missing at the Talent Offering was popcorn. And maybe some peanut M&Ms. Other than, we had everything we needed for a great evening.