Archive for December 25th, 2007

So Christmas morning, the opening of the gifts, is over. And here are the results.

• unChristian by David Kinnaman
• Chazown by Craig Groeschel
• Confessions of a Pastor by Craig Groeschel
• Revolution by George Barna
• English Standard Version Thin Line Bible with Celtic Cross
• Talespin Vol I
• Disney’s Rescuers Down Under
• Disney’s Cars
• Call of Duty 4 for the PC
• Christmas Story Leg Lamp Ornament
• and some dress shirts and sweaters

An addendum to my birthday gifts, I also received Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton.

I have a lot of reading to do!! Yay.  I love books.

Lord God, we praise you for creating man, and still more for restoring him in Christ. Your Son shared our weakness; may we share his glory, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The following is a poem written by two men who I well respect as spiritual leaders and can be found among many other free resources on Tony Cooke Ministries website.

‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas
By Tony Cooke and David Beebe

‘Twas the fight before Christmas,
And all through the house,
Not a creature was peaceful,
Not even my spouse.
The bills were strung out on our table with dread,
In hopes that our checkbook would not be in the red.
The children were fussing and throwing a fit,
When Billy came screaming and cried, “I’ve been bit.”
And Momma with her skillet, and I with the remote,
She said, “You change one more channel and I’ll grab your throat.”
When on the TV there arose such a clatter,
I sat up on the couch to see what was the matter.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
The cable was out, it was my worst fear.
“The Cowboys, the Celtics, the Raiders, the Knicks,
Without the sports channel I’d soon need a fix!”
And then in the midst of my grievous sorrow,
I remembered the times I had promised, “tomorrow…”
“Not now, my children, but at some soon time,
Dad will play with you, and things will be fine.”
Now under conviction, I looked at my wife,
Where was my kindness? Why all the strife?
My heart quickly softened; I now saw my task,
Some love and attention was all they had asked.
I gathered my family and called them by name,
And told them with God’s help I’d not be the same.
We’ll keep Christ in Christmas and honor His plan.
No more fights before Christmas – on that we will stand.
My children’s eyes twinkled; they squealed with delight.
My wife gladly nodded; she knew I was right.
It was the fight before Christmas, but God’s love had come through,
And just like He does, He made all things new.

Almighty God and Father of light, a child is born for us and a son is given to us. Your eternal Word leaped down from heaven in the silent watches of the night, and now your Church is filled with wonder at the nearness of her God. Open our hearts to receive his life and increase our vision with the rising of dawn, that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.

Merry Christmas!

Today (the 24th that is), was my birthday.  To those who ask this question, yes, having your birthday right before Christmas is not usually a winning combination.  Every year, a large majority forget that it’s my birthday, even though I see many of them at the Christmas Eve church service, etc.  I don’t say this for sympathy or anything like that, not looking for that at all.

Even though I know and understand that people are very very busy this time of year, I still wish to be remembered and appreciated.  I didn’t hear from a few people that I would have loved to today, whether that is me being selfish or whatever, I don’t know, but I felt kind of down that they didn’t call.  I wanted to feel remembered and appreciated for being me on my “special” day.

How many times do the people in our congregations or staff members or neighbors feel the same way our churches or work places?  People have a want to be remembered and appreciated.  They want to be noticed and feel like they mean something in our busy lives and schedules.  I know people who have written thank you notes for when the Pastor asked how their son was, and he remembered the son’s name.  The parents felt special at that moment and felt cared for, not just another tithe check.  I’m not saying that we are pandering or playing towards people, but trying to come in on a personal caring level.

What steps are we taking to ensure the best possible relational interaction as the church?  What can we do to help people not fall through the cracks?

Well ok, not really, it got bigger!

I got B.B. King tickets for my birthday!!!!!!!  8th row in the orchestra area!

I also got

• Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman
• The Great Mouse Detective  (I love Disney films…)
• James Bond: Ultimate Edition Vol 2  (yep love bond films as well..I’m a tech guy.. what’d you expect =] )