war on christmas!

keeping with all things christmas...

no but really, this is a good article.  you should read it. 

only 9 days away, still time to return all those gifts you've bought already....  :)

hopefully you've already done this...

gotta love the christmas season...

ho ho ho

if we're all honest with ourselves, the christmas season is a mixed bag. there is plenty of holiday cheer out there, but it is certainly jumbled with many other emotions. there is the stress of all the extra demands--the pressure of getting all the gifts so that you can get to that joy of giving. right, that joy, that's what it's about. and there is the cold. a lot of people hate the cold, even when there's snow--because really, who cares what it looks like, i have to drive in that stuff!  and then there is the sadness.  the sense of loss of who is not with you at the celebration.  the holidays are hard on people they say.

why should the holidays--the freaking holidays be something that leaves us worse than before they came?  well if you look up "holiday" in the dictionary, depending on your dictionary, it will usually give the first several definitions of holiday as something that is merely a break from work.  "a fixed day by law or custom..."  ugh.  that sounds wonderful.  it's all just a bunch of cultural customs.  go through the motions. 

you could make this case for thanksgiving, fourth of july, mother's day, labor day, etc.  but christmas?  oh no.  let's not lump christmas in with all the others.  we have to take hold of christmas as not the same as just any other holiday.  yes we do that through focusing on advent.  we do that through fighting consumerism and materialism.  we do that by focusing on Jesus more than santa.  but is that enough?  is that working for us?  it's almost as if we need something more.  it's all so pervasive that it's really hard to keep our heads above the surface. 

never fear my dear readers--i have the solution! i have the thing that is going to push us all over the top so that we can finally find our christmas cheer and hold the holiday in goodness and truth.

it's here.

previews:

 

words

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

from laura

jeremy messersmith

"Breaking Down"

two blog quotes

there have been two quotes that i've come across reading some blogs the last few days.  and i thought they were very worthy of sharing.  so here you go.  i could talk a lot about each of these quotes, but i'm not really feeling the energy right now.  i'll just say that the first quote is a little better in its original context, and on the second i particularly like the last paragraph.  chew your own food for thought now.


Forget fire, forget winnowing forks, forget threshing floors: amid our daily lives, is there anything more unsettling than receiving a clear word about what it is that we’re meant to do in this world? Is there anything that risks taking us deeper into our insecurities, into our fears, into the dark unknown than when someone who sees and recognizes and knows us, then challenges us to be the person whom God has created and called us to be? And is there anything more full of wonder and hope?
--jan richardson


Ideas.
I’ve always been an ideas person.  And I think in many ways, it speaks to the numerous privileges and opportunities we all have in our lives.  Having said that, I think it lends itself to this theory that I have that we are part of the most over-rated generation in human history – because we have access to so much data, info, resources, modes of communication…but end up doing so little. We tweet, blog, talk, preach, retweet, etc…and while I’m not diminishing that the aforementioned things aren’t actions per se but what are the “costs” behind our actions?
Or how does that verse go?

Much has been given…and much it to be expected. (Luke 12:48)

Or another way to look at it is that we tend to fall in love with our ideas more than actually doing something with these ideas to honor God, serve our neighbors, and advance the Kingdom and causes of mercy, justice, and compassion.
--eugene cho

time goes away

we had a couple hours before the concert was to start.  we had been walking around the city, taking in various sights and experiences.  we'd been to churches and museums and concerts.  it was christmastime, and the city was glowing with an energy that came from more than just the elaborate decorations.  it was vienna in december.  and somehow every day felt just like christmas eve.

and now we were standing outside the palace gates.  our legs were beginning to ache a bit from the standing after all the walking we had been doing.  so we started our way around the cobblestone courtyard.  there was a church at the other end.  nothing fancy.  in other words it seemed to be still a church and not a museum.  it was old, but mostly plain.  still very beautiful by any american standards.

we walked inside to the sound of soft music and a gentle warmth very much welcomed.  there were a few people walking around the church, a few in pews praying.  the light was low, mostly spreading from the illumination of the icon sculptures.  across the church a door was open with a sign outside it.  it was in german but by now i could recognize the word "markt."

the room greeted us with a delightful smell.  a few candles were lit, but it was mostly the weihnachtsapfelwein--a christmas cider that is delightful.  there was also a smaller pot for the kinder apfelwein, for the kids or the not so alcohol inclined.  steam was rising from both kettles.  a few old and very austrian looking women sat behind tables.  and then there were the christmas goods.

all around vienna and most eurpoean cities there are christmas markets.  little stands are set up in several places around town and they are filled with christmas items--usually small handmade crafts or like items.  others have food and crepes and apfelwein.  they are really delightful.  but they are also usually crowded and a little touristy.

but this little room was not at all.  it was out of the way, no signs outside the church for it.  through my very limited german i was able to learn that it was a fundraiser for the church.  i'm a sucker for christmas stuff and for unique treasures, so this place was like the X that wasn't on the map.  my favorite were the candles.  they were white with christmas scenes painted the outside, all handcrafted by the little old lady sitting behind the decorated display table. 

at this point it was late in my time abroad, and i was already wondering how i was going to be able to get all my stuff back.  that and the candles weren't exactly the cheapest items.  i searched through the various candles while sipping my cider.  i tried to ask the lady about the candles but she didn't speak very much english at all.  her smile said more than her words.  after much deliberation i picked one out, and so did my companion.  as she was wrapping up our candles she pulled out two little small candles with baby Jesus on them and wrapped them, putting them in our bag.

"oh how much?"

she shook her hand at me and smiled, handing me the bag.  i thanked her profusely and she just smiled.

i don't know what it was about this interaction that has stuck with me so long.  maybe she did this for all of her customers and it was nothing special.  or maybe she saw us and understood.  she knew that we were american visitors and that we had happened to stumble into their little church.  i'm sure from my painful agonizing over several candles she realized we didn't have much money.  and maybe since we couldn't communicate in any other way, she gave us a gift to try and say something more.  and trying to put that gift into words now just wouldn't work.

--------------------------------------------------------------

i have these candles now in my room.  i put them out because it's christmastime of course.  but there they sit--they are a reminder of this encounter three years ago and of so much else.  they have taken the place of the candles i wrote about a little while ago.  and especially as i think back over what i wrote then, i'm left with the question, "do i burn these?"

what is a candle for if you will never light it?  the object holds the memory and represents a lot, but then do i keep these candles forever and never burn them?  are they just a display then?  or would their burning in a way consummate the experience. 

how do we hold the past?  how do we accept our memories with gratefulness and not miss what they gave us at the time?  i remember something like this and it makes me want to go back.  it creates a longing in me.  so then do i hold onto these candles for what they were, or for what they are now--the only piece of that experience that i can physically see and touch now?

i'm sure your answers may vary on whether or not you out there are packrats or purgers, nostalgics or anticipators, rememberers or adventurers.  but what do you think?  should i burn the candles or save them?