We just finished watching Home Alone, a Christmas tradition. If you haven’t seen it in a while, please allow me to refresh your memory. Kevin McCallister, played by Macaulay Culkin, is a pint-sized troublemaker, the youngest of five children in a house teeming with relatives all preparing to leave the country in the morning and spend Christmas with relatives overseas. After smarting off to his parents and causing a cringe-worthy scene that lands him in...
I appreciate the season of Advent – not just for the joy of Christmas parties, decorations, carols, eggnog, gift-giving and receiving, and celebrating the holiday with family and friends, but also for the longing and anticipation that comes with the Advent season. I’m grateful being reminded that the joy of Christmas and the reality of Christ’s incarnation only happened after Israel waited and anticipated for hundreds of years for the Messiah to come. Even in...
A couple of weeks ago a US senate committee released a report confirming what has already been old news for a while: the CIA tortured terrorist suspects in its (on-going) attempt to win the “war on terror” and protect American lives from terrorist attacks. On this side of the pond, at least, the news of that report has already moved off of the front page. It only took a couple of days for the Christmas...
My uncle is a pastor. A few years ago, on Christmas day after sharing an enormous meal and opening all our presents, I asked him what he had thought of our Christmas service. His reply stuck with me. “It was good, other than the fact that they crucified the baby Jesus. You don’t kill the baby Jesus.” At the time, I thought he was stupid for making such a silly comment. How could you talk about Jesus without...
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I feel very unqualified to even write on Ferguson and racism and yet I think to remain silent would be even worse. As I wrote in an earlier post, I do not have the best track record when it comes to awareness about issues of race and privilege. And in that blog, I noted that I wanted to change. And I think I have made small improvements – but I still have a long way...
A few days ago while driving, I was listening to a few hymns I hadn’t listened to in quite some time. I was singing along to the songs, trying to remember which words went with which verse. My mind was drifting and I wasn’t really thinking about the music until I heard myself mess up the following lyric. Jesus I am resting resting In the joy of what Thou art I am finding out the...
“Big cosmology has become our secular religion, a church even atheists can join.” – Jeffrey Kluger, Time Magazine I cannot stop thinking about Interstellar. In the interest of full-disclosure, my husband and I named our son Nolan (after the film’s director, Christopher Nolan), so I am predisposed to think that anything Chris Nolan creates is worthwhile. My hope, however, is that you will judge for yourself and go and see this movie. I am not...
A few weeks ago my wife alerted me to the plight of Brittany Maynard. As a millennial who has a fairly strong disdain for technology and news media, I was proud that it took so long to discover the cultural flashpoint that this woman’s life had become. My wife further pointed me to a blog written by a Christian woman named Kara Tippetts. It was posted to the blog A Holy Experience. My wife was...
As most of you already know, the San Francisco Giants are World Champions. And as most of you probably know, that fact makes me very happy. This postseason run was incredible, and I’d say this year’s victory was the sweetest of the past three (#Dynasty). The series was incredible! Of the seven games, five were blow outs and two were decided by one run. Both teams were shut out, both teams won 7 run routs,...
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