In the last week before Christmas, this little pass may just come in handy. Thought I would share with you too in case you would like a little stress relief also.
Christmas
Christmas Stories (and others) Told Well
I admit it, I am a sucker for a good story. That’s probably why I like movies and probably why I enjoy reading books, though I don’t do the latter as much as I probably should.
I have a recommendation for you today, on Christmas Eve 2017. I have been listening to these stories each week for just a little over a year now and if you haven’t already discovered them, or the story teller, then I suggest you give him and them a listen.
You see, back when I was a kid I used to listen to stories while I sat at the lunch table while I was at my grandparents’ house. We visited often and my grandfather would come home from the orchard for lunch each and every day. During that lunch hour, he would turn on the radio and the stories would begin. Paul Harvey, you may have heard of him, would catch us up on the news and tell stories. Paul would end that time by stopping the story before the end…which would cause us to tune in later (late afternoon, before dinner time if I recall correctly) and then Paul would start the second broadcast of the day with, “…and now, the rest of the story.” He would proceed to finish the story he had started earlier.
Those are some great memories and ones I cherish very much.
These days, story tellers are hard to come by. Not many people take the time to tell them, let alone listen to them. But, I believe there is going to be a come back, of sorts, and that might just come from the source I mentioned earlier.
Mike Rowe, at MikeRowe.com, has a podcast called “The Way I Heard It”. Yes, you know this Mike Rowe, I am sure, because you likely have heard his voiceover on Deadliest Catch, or saw him as the host Dirty Jobs. It is the same Mike Rowe with the same awesome, story telling voice. He is nearing 100 podcast episodes now, but there are TWO that I would like you to consider this day – Christmas Eve, 2017.
Two episodes you should give a listen to TODAY (or tomorrow, if you like) are Episode 88: The December Missiles and Episode 86: Francisco’s Flakes.
They are both Christmas stories, about things that will be familiar. I believe you will enjoy them and, at the very least, will probably even make you smile a little. I have shared them with my family, but why stop there? I think more people need to hear them!
Thanks for stopping by and reading this blog once in a while. I appreciate it.
Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, to you and yours.
Easter is Better Than Christmas – Why?
Is this even going to be a close match?
No, this isn’t going to be a debate about the worldview between Christmas, where mounds of presents are under the tree, and Easter, where mounds of candy and eggs can be found in a basket. Obviously, in most cases, the “ME” culture says, “Christmas is better because I get stuff and I can get candy any day of the year.”
This post is simply a statement of faith…Easter is better than Christmas.
Why? Well, there are reasons why Christmas is necessary. It is, after all, the celebration of the birth of Christ. This is an important event in the life of Christians everywhere because we recognize that without a birth there can be no death. Death is just as important as birth in this case.
The death of Christ, some would argue, was more important than the birth. He had to be a sacrificed. He had to be found guilty for all my sins, your sins, and everyone else’s sins. He certainly didn’t deserve it and he certainly didn’t have to do it. He displayed no greater love by accepting death, a sacrifice of life so that others might live.
But the cross is not where the story ends. If it were the end, there would be no hope. No hope because death would have won and then Jesus would only have been a martyr and nothing more. However there is so much more! Easter is better than Christmas because there is life in His death. The story doesn’t end with death but only begins, again, with life. An empty tomb is the story of Easter…the resurrection of Christ and victory over death. Because He died, I live. There can be no greater sacrifice and no greater victory! In Him I am free from death, and you could be too.
Mark 16:1-8 New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Has Risen
16 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”
4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6 “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’”
8 Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.
Easter is better than Christmas. Period.
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If you have questions about this post, or would like to know more about how you too can have hope through faith in a risen Savior, let me know.
Thankful for a Gift
This has been on my heart since before Thanksgiving, I just haven’t had much time to formulate it into a manner which makes sense to me so I am just gonna put it out there.
In the Sunday morning services at my church this year the pastor was talking about the true meaning of thankfulness for a Christian. This wasn’t a new concept for me, I have heard sermons like this before but our new pastor has a way of putting things that makes me think much more deeply than I have in the past. In his sermon the Sunday before Thanksgiving he asked a simple question that many of us probably really haven’t taken much time to ponder. So, I am gonna ask you the same question. You can choose to respond, or not. But please ponder it, deeply, because it might change how you see this time of year, but it might also change YOU.
What are you thankful for AND how long will it last?
After having just come out of the Thanksgiving (last month here in America) season and now just about to celebrate Christmas I wonder if you really know what you are thankful for. Moreover, you many even know what you are thankful for, but have you really taken the time to contemplate how long it will last?
If you are like most people, you probably can answer that questions with a long list of things you are thankful for.
Good health.
A house, a car.
A job, an income, a BIG income.
Family: parents, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, cousins…
Clothing, a warm place to lay your head, a retirement account, a big TV, etc.
The point of the questions is, how long will those things last? Health is fleeting and as we age it will deteriorate. Wealth is temporary and can be gone in an instant. Those material possessions you have worked so hard for are going to break down and need to be replaced at some point in the future. The point: none of it lasts. It never will. No matter how hard we try to make it happen, it just won’t.
An Eternal GIFT
it is Christmas Eve and we are about to spend time with family. I love them a lot, however they are only temporary. That thought both pains me and gives me joy. I want them to be with me forever and I want them to live forever, but the only way that can happen is if they do one thing: accept a gift they neither deserve nor can they earn. Thankfully, most of them have accepted that gift. Maybe you would like to as well?
The GIFT came in the form of a little baby so long ago. God sent his son to earth so that he might endure a human life and then give himself, as a sacrifice, to atone for my sins. Not just mine, but everyone’s, including yours. That is a GIFT no one except a loving God can give. Think about that. He gave up something that means the most to Him so that we might have eternal life. How many of us would willingly give up what means the most to us, just so someone who deserves nothing could have everything?
This Christmas we celebrate isn’t about those gifts that may be under the tree. Most of us know this, but many of us fail to grasp the weight of it and simply go about our busy lives failing to appreciate the GIFT that was given to us.
What are you thankful for AND how long will it last?
How long will it last? That question has haunted me. Everything is temporary, except one thing – eternal life. An eternal life given to me, you too if you accept it, through the birth of a child, which eventually led to his death.
The only thing I am sure of this Christmas season is that I have accepted GIFT that no one else can give me. I have accepted a GIFT that nothing can destroy, be stolen, or lost. I know as I end this year and begin the next that no matter what happens I have a GIFT that can never be taken from me. It is forever! There are no other things in life that can make that claim. No other things in life that can be guaranteed with that much certainty. No other things that will last beyond this world.
If you don’t have that kind of thankfulness and if you haven’t accepted the GIFT no one else can give you, I would 
encourage you to seek someone out that knows what this GIFT is all about. You can contact me, if you like, and I will do my best to answer your questions, but I am still learning and growing in this lifelong journey.
However you do it, do it soon! Remember, those things you sat around a table and were thankful for about a month ago are only temporary and you never know how much time God has granted you on this ball of dirt and water. The sooner you choose to accept THE GIFT that will not fail, the sooner you can live in confidence of an eternal life. What better thing to be thankful for than that?
I can’t think of anything.
Current Favorite Version of Christmas Music
Every year we are treated to a month (plus or minus) of Christmas music. For most people, that is about all they can stand. For others, they can’t get enough and play it all year round.
I am mostly in the first group because of the fact that there are very rarely new Christmas songs and the old ones get played over and over, just with someone new singing them. I mean, really, how many different versions of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” can there be? 5,279?? I don’t know, but it seems like a lot (and that’s only in English…) Every singer, it seems, has done their rendition of it. I swear there are times where you can hear the same song six times in an hour, just done by a different artists.
So, each year I look forward to Christmas music (typically played AFTER Thanksgiving) in my house with a little trepidation. However, this year there was a new entry into the Christmas music catalog and I have to say that it might be my new favorite version of a classic song.
I include it here for your listening pleasure. Turn up the sound and sit back.
I hope you enjoyed it. Check out some of their other stuff too. I am not being paid for advertising, I just happen to like their stuff – especially this song.
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (and the NSA Was Watching)
Merry Christmas to all…a great new twist on an old story with modern considerations.
Twas the night before Christmas, and all thro’ the house
The only sound to be heard, was the click of a mouse;
The family used their digital devices with little care,
In hopes that their wants just might be satisfied there;
The children they played on their smart phones in beds,
While visions from their apps danced in their heads,
From personal computers, to tablets, there was no cap,
All were settled in for a technologically wrought nap –
But within every device there arose a silent clatter,
Yet none in the sleepy house knew what was the matter.
But whether on Apple or Windows, with every app flash,
Every detail was logged, bound tightly as if with a sash.
There had been that wise lad – named den after snow,
Who had tried to give warning of what happens below
The surface of the devices – if pulled back…
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Understanding, Optional 