Merry Christmas

"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"- Luke 2:14.

Oh Christmas Trees

We have two Christmas trees up in our house. One is the "official" tree in our living room that Tonya decorated; it's symmetrical and very tastefully decorated with lots of silver and clear ornaments and grapevine serving as garland.

But the second tree is in the bonus room and the boys decorated it. The ornaments only go up so high on the tree (they couldn't reach any higher); the red ball ornaments are clustered in only a couple of areas; while the rest of the tree is decorated with a collection of random mini-Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer ornaments. It wouldn't win any awards at the Fantasy of Trees but it may be the most beautiful Christmas tree ever.

The Santa Claus Dilemma

When it comes to the topic of Santa Claus, we have friends at the polar opposite ends of the spectrum. Some people see him as the embodiment of all things pagan and evil ("Santa is just Satan misspelled") to those who see him as a harmless "jolly old elf" who adds to the wonder and innocence of childhood. This much I know, he's hard to avoid.

But here's where it gets hard for us as parents. Tonya and I desire that our sons develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. That they learn who He is and what He did. That they accept Him in childlike faith. But they can't see Him. However, Santa is everywhere at Christmastime, much more so than the Babe in the manger.

So we are left to try to explain that Jesus (who they can't see) is very real; while Santa (who they can see- they can even visit him and tell him their toy wishes) is not real. Therein lies the dilemma. We don't necessarily see Santa as being "bad" but if he ever distracts from the real meaning of Christmas, if he ever distracts from the Giver of all gifts, he will quickly be taking a one-way trip back to the North Pole.

Fortunately, I don't think our 5-year old buys it all anyway and our 2-year old could care less.

A couple of other (much more minor) things about Santa that bother me:
In most cases, we tell children not to talk to strangers.
Most men I know wouldn't be caught wearing a red suit.

Book Review- Mark Batterson's Primal

The Point was recently accepted to participate in the Primal Blog Tour. As I have heard Mark Batterson speak several times and read his first book, "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day", I was glad to receive an advance copy of his newest book, "Primal".

The premise for "Primal" is what Batterson calls the "Primal Commandment", Mark 12:30: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." To more effectively be "great at the Great Commandment", Batterson challenges his readers to focus on: the heart of Christianity (primal compassion); the soul of Christianity (primal wonder); the mind of Christianity (primal curiosity); and the strength of Christianity (primal energy).

While there are abundant references to scientific terminology- alpha waves, disuse syndrome, reticular activating system and many more that cause the book to drag at times (Batterson states that he is fascinated by the study of the mind and science), there are numerous pages of concepts and thoughts that are certainly challenging for one who desires to grow in his walk with Christ.

"Primal" is available from http://www.waterbrookmultnomah.com/ or http://www.randomhouse.com/. If you desire to be reminded of the things of first importance, I would encourage you to read "Primal".

Fun on Friday- Fun at Christmas

I've noticed two distinct camps when it comes to Christmas sweaters: one camp thinks they are a rite of the season; the second camp treats them more like Halloween costumes.

We have a manger scene on the coffee table in our living room. But I didn't anticipate ever hearing myself ask these questions: "Has anybody seen the Baby Jesus?" and "Why is there a tractor in the manger?"

Driving home a couple of nights ago, Parker (out of nowhere) asked, "why are people so much nicer at Christmas?" I'm glad he feels that way. But he's apparently not been to West Town Mall or Turkey Creek recently.

An unnecessary Christmas gift (http://www.snuggiefordogs.com/). Isn't this why God gave them fur?

Update on Matt Chandler

The link below was posted today on The Village Church website regarding Matt Chandler's condition. Please be in prayer for the Chandler family as well as The Village Church.

Pathology results revealed

Joy in the Journey

On Sunday, I taught through the verses in Luke 1 where Mary comes to grips with being "highly favored" as she was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. For a young, unmarried, virgin girl to have to explain what was happening to her and through her (being visited by the angel Gabriel- v. 26; how the Holy Spirit would come upon her- v. 35) was certainly a difficult circumstance. And yet, Mary found joy in her journey.

Mary goes from "how can this be" in verse 34 to "my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior" in verses 46 and 47. As I read this passage, I am challenged by how Mary found joy even in her circumstance.

There is a lesson to be learned there.