Use it or Lose it!

I love our "use it or lose it" policy as it relates to vacation! I am looking forward to a great Christmas and New Years with my family as I have to use my vacation or lose it! After I've had my fill of family and football I am looking forward to blogging again!

Merry Christmas!

The Journey of the Magi by T.S. Eliot

"A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The was deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter."
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires gong out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities hostile and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty, and charging high prices.:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water-mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wine-skins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we lead all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I have seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.
Back to Poems

The Christmas Story - Linus vs. Donkey

There is a distinct difference in how Donkey and Linus tell the Christmas story. It's going to be an interesting discussion on Sunday with our students as we discuss what Christmas is all about! I'm sticking with Linus!

Shrek the Halls



Charlie Brown Christmas

You are my beloved

An excerpt from Advent & Christmas Wisdom from Henri J. M. Nouwen,

"Take the gospel of each day and spend ten minutes with it. Read it, and read it again. Walk into the world with the gospel in your heart. The gospel word of the day can become like a painting on the walls of your inner room, the inner room that is your heart...You have chances every second to live this Word, but is has to be in you. It can't be just and idea, it has to sink from the mind into the heart. That's prayer - to let God's Word speak deep within you and tell you, "You are my beloved." - pg. 8

Life and Death Investment

I love this quote from Kenda Creasy Dean in Practicing Passion,

"If commitment to Jesus Christ is not, ultimately, a life and death investment, then young people will invest their God-given passion elsewhere."

Are we asking them to join our group or die for His Kingdom?

Christmas Coffeehouse

I love our Christmas Coffeehouse! Every year we gather to celebrate the story of Jesus and our students throw together some great talent. Below is Harrison's Numa Numa! Not bad for a senior at Bear Creek with an Eagle Scout! He brought down the roof!

Incline my heart

Psalm 119:36 "Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to gain."

I have come to pray this prayer more throughout the last two weeks for myself as I've realized that my heart is inclined more and more to temporal things. To have have a heart that is inclined toward eternal things, I am pleading to God to change the inclinations of my heart. This prayer isn't just for me, but for my family, my leaders and the students who gather alongside me every everyday. I wonder if one of the reasons we lack seeing transformation in ourselves, leaders and students is because we don't pray for it.

I hope my seniors never forget this

“SOW A THOUGHT,

REAP AN ACT;

SOW AN ACT,

REAP A HABIT;

SOW A HABIT;

REAP A CHARACTER,

SOW A CHARACTER,

REAP A DESTINY.”

- Charles Swindoll