2013 Looking Forward  

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As we stand on the brink of a new year, it is time to now think about where we shall go. Should we make plans? There are many who would say we should not presume on God and making plans does that. I say, there are things that we can look forward to without neglecting God in our lives. No resolutions this year, just expectations. And so here are a few of the things I have calendared to see happen in 2013:

  • Following God in the paths that He has chosen for me.
  • Becoming more like Jesus each new day of the new year.
  • Moving forward in the process of adoption - we even have our initial home study visit scheduled within the first week of the new year! 
  • Watching more evidence of growth in the First Baptist Church of Mulberry Grove.
  • Moving forward in the adoption process. We hope to reach the travel point to bring home our new child at some point during 2013 - We ask all of our friends, family, and faithful acquaintances to pray that God will open the right doors at just the right time for this to happen.
  • and finally, one of the big milestones that I plan on seeing this year: 50!
So, I look forward to an excellent year. I pray that yours will be just as eventful.

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After Christmas: God with Us!  

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One of the most spectacular parts of the Christmas story is that it is not confined to one day out of the year. Yes, we take time to celebrate annually. This practice keeps us in mind of the most comforting of the names given to Christ by the prophet – Immanuel. Isaiah names Him, and Matthew explains the name – “God with us!”
I cannot think of a more powerfully comforting phrase than this. God, who is so far beyond us, has chosen to be one with us. He did it in the act of the first Christmas morning. And He continues to be with us in the moment of salvation and in the living of the Christian life.
As we look back over the year 2012, may we see moments where we actually lived like God is with us.  In looking forward to the New Year ahead of us, let us pray for those moments when we will again experience “God with us!”

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Goodbye to Another American Hero  

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We pray for the close friends and family of General Norman Schwarzkopf, military commander in Desert Storm.

Let us not forget the generals:

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2012 A Look Back  

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Now that Christmas is in our rearview mirror for 2012, it is time to look at the wonder that has been this year.


  • The year started on Sunday, so I spent day one of 2012 in worship with my church family. Even better, I had the privilege of helping my youngest child give the first biggest testimony of her faith in Jesus--Baptism (on Day 1!).  
  • We got started in earnest on the process of overseas adoption. Discussions started last Christmas season, and we actually got our applications on the go in early 2012.
  • I was able to accompany a group from World Hope Ministries International (World Hope Bible Institute) and Houston Northwest Church on a mission trip to Kenya in June. Over 300 pastors and church leaders were trained in "Old Testament Survey" and "Biblical Faith" and at the end of our two weeks at two separate locations I witnessed a sea of Kenyans making commitments to Christ even though our outdoor venue was a bit soggy from afternoon rains all week.
  • Our church experienced some exciting times including our normal Spring Revival, Summer Vacation Bible School, and our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service. December even saw us pay off our Renovation Loan - we will be celebrating on the first Sunday in January at 6:00 p.m. with a ham & bean dinner accompanied by note burning. You're invited to join us if you're in our area and don't have church commitments of your own.
All in all, I must say it's been a really happening year for me, my family and my church family. Next up we'll look forward to the New Year. Hope to see you then.

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Advent 2012 – Christmas Day: Welcome  

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Before you gather ‘round the Christmas tree and begin to plunder the greed hidden there, take a moment to reflect on Christmas. Shall I say CHRIST-mas. Today is the day that we celebrate the moment that the world welcomed its Maker. I like the fairly new Christmas song by Chris Rice (it’s been recorded not only by Rice, but also by the likes of Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant): “Welcome to our world.” This is the one thing that is all too often forgotten amidst the reckless abandon with which we practice our avarice on Christmas. We even encourage it with our children trying to bribe them into good behavior with a jolly old elf who will or will not give them all of their selfish desires depending on their behavior.
So this morning as you pour your Christmas morning coffee and settle onto the couch in front of your Yuletide evergreen, take a moment to read the Christmas story (most people choose Luke 2, but there are some other great passages in Matthew and Mark, and I really like John 1 for a thoughtful approach). Then take a moment to say to the Savior about whom we celebrate: “Welcome to our world; welcome to our home; welcome to my life.” And Merry Christmas to one and all.

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Music of the Season: Jesus (Christmas Day)  

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[by the miracle of modern technology, I can prepare this post, and set it to publish on Christmas Day]


Finally, we have arrived on Christmas Morning. What better way to celebrate than to welcome the Christ-child into our thoughts, our hearts, our homes, our world . . .



(This song has been covered by big-name artists such as Michael W. Smith (a personal favorite rendition), and Amy Grant. Today, I thought it would be appropriate to post a version recorded by the author of the song, Chris Rice.)

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Advent 2012 - Week 4: Know Jesus  

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Surely you have seen the bumper sticker, if not the marquis sign outside a place of worship. It proclaims in a matter of pun: “No Jesus, No Peace. Know Jesus, Know Peace!” As trite as this kind of message seems to be, it brings to mind the message of Christmas “Peace on earth!”
This week as you gather with family or friends around a Christmas table loaded with decadent foods of all forms and fashions, or around a Christmas tree decked out in all the trimmings and loaded with brightly wrapped treasures just waiting to be torn into, take a moment to consider the Peace – the Prince of Peace – who made all this tradition part of your life.
This year as we celebrate Christmas, let our hearts resound with Peace, and let our voices lift with singing about the Prince of Peace.

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Music of the Season: Names of Christmas  

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Travel with me if you would back to the 1980s. A time of loud music, loud clothes, and synthesizers. Today we will enjoy the song based on Isaiah's names for the Christ, especially the name that means "God with Us" which is what Christmas is about. Here's a very young Michael W. Smith (Smitty as he was known then) rocking out in this Christmas song:

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Music of the Season: Jesus (part 2)  

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Then we were blessed with a song that pointed out how human this baby was, even though He was God in the flesh:


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Music of the Season: Jesus (part 1)  

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In the last several years there have been any number of new Nativity songs that call our attention to the Savior who was born in a stable and laid in a manger to be greeted by shepherds on that first night. This one is a prayer through the voice of the Virgin who was chosen to carry this baby:


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Music of the Season: Angels  

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Our society has a fascination with angels. Books have been written, television shows and movies have been produced to tell all sorts of tales about how angels interact with human beings. At Christmas there are any number of songs about angels.

The Christmas story is filled with angels. An angel visits the old priest Zechariah to tell him that he will father the forerunner to the Christ - John the Baptist. So vivid and dramatic (some might even say traumatic) was this visitation that the old man was rendered speechless (literally) until the baby was born and named "John".

An angel visited Mary to instruct her to be the mother of Messiah. Her betrothed husband, Joseph, was also visited by an angel to encourage him to go through with the marriage to Mary, even though she was already expecting a child.

And probably most famously, an angel visited a band of shepherds outside of Bethlehem instructing them in how to find the Christ that very night. This angel was then joined by a sky-full of the heavenly beings who filled the night air with announcements of "Peace on Earth! Glory to God in the highest!" It may have even sounded much like today's video:

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Music of the Season: Joseph  

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A few years ago, the Christian vocal group 4Him presented us with another new song to consider the Christmas story. This new song approached the message of the Nativity from the viewpoint of Joseph--the man chosen to be the earthly father of Jesus. The questions that are posed in the song are natural for a man in his position: Why me? Why him? Why here? Why her?

This little touching song reminds us that we don't fully understand why God does things the way He does. But the truth of the matter is that He does what He does the way that He does because He does. And this Christmas as we ponder the imponderable whys, it is just a comfort that He does what He does the way that He does because it's His way of expressing His love to His world. Perhaps it is a strange way to save the world, but it is also His way.


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Music of the Season: Mary  

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This week we will turn to the songs that actually draw our attention to the message of Christmas. I'd like to start with one of the most moving songs that turn our hearts toward Mary and her part in the Christmas story. Asking the questions that many of us would like to have answered by the chosen Virgin who carried the Savior of all the world. I thought it might be fitting to use this version presented by the writers - words by Mark Lowry, music Buddy Greene:


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Advent 2012 - Week 3: I’ve Got the Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy  

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As with all of the themes of Advent, we must reach beyond the surface to see them become active in our lives. Of course, we can always see evidence of Hope, Love, Joy, and Peace as they are played out daily in our lives. But to have the concepts become a reality in our lives goes beyond the surface. As they say, we have to get to the heart of the matter.
And so, if we are looking for Joy this Christmas season, the best place to start is not in the bright and cheery music played in malls and elevators (even when these songs turn our minds heavenward). Nor should we stop with the shiny smiles on little ones’ faces (although the smiles and laughter of the innocents warms our own attitudes). As the children’s song says, we must have the Joy “down in my heart.” Where’s your Joy this Christmas?

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Music of the Season: More Bells  

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One of the prominent decorations around Christmas is the bell. We hear about church bells ringing reminding devout worshipers that Christmas has come. We note the "Carol of the Bells." And then the decorations on the trees and houses around town begin to shape themselves into bells--even the trees themselves seem to be bell-shaped. As with other Christmas tunes, this one has inspired one of those teary-eyed touches on the small screen that find their way into our homes each Christmas. This touching Yuletide song calls us to engage our aural senses to keep Christmas in mind. So, as you are about your Christmassing, give a listen and maybe you'll hear those Silver Bells:


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Music of the Season: Drums  

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The legend of a little boy (maybe a shepherd?) showing up at the manger with a drum is one that's come down to us through the ages. I imagine there are many manger scenes that have added a drummer along the way (I have one). While there is no evidence from the story in the Bible that such a boy showed up, but the song that perpetuated the story has become part of our Christmas tradition throughout our society. It has spawned new stories, clay-mation TV specials, and a host of recorded renditions of the song.

There is one that features drummers, one that couples the vocal talents of Bing Crosby and David Bowie (a personal favorite). But the secret to getting this song is the "pum-pums". I like the way this group hits them, maybe you will too:


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Manger Scenes - the Extra Jesus Post  

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Christmas is just around the corner, and so we have dusted off our growing stack of manger scenes. I think I'd leave them up all year long if I thought I'd get away with it. I started a collection years ago (when it was still just me and Jesus) with the Italian fabrication company that makes Fonatanini decorations. On most (with the exception of only a few) years I add another villager or shepherd or angel to gather 'round the manger. It's a beautiful, growing Christmas decoration with a lot of sentimental and traditional value to me.

In addition, we have a variety of children's nativities—including the VeggieTales® singing one (with parts missing and Family Life’s “What God Wantsfor Christmas” devotional nativity. We have a world of manger scenes (literally): one from Prague that has seen better days, one from Kyrgistan (Kyrgizia) made out of felt, one from Africa (a gift from my Mother-by-Law), one from Poland made out of corn husks and cloth, a martrushka (nesting doll) version we picked up in Ukraine, one carved into a tree ornament from Middle Eastern olive wood. But I must admit my favorite is the one my Blushing Bride purchased as a gift for me as she was leaving Egypt in order to become my Blushing Bride. I’ve posted pictures and commentary about this Egyptian Nativity previously here and here. (If you read the different posts you’ll see two different angles from which to view the ideas.) So, posting about my Nativity with the “extra Jesus” is becoming another tradition for me.

I love this manger scene best for a couple of reasons: (1) it is one of the first gifts I received from my Lovely Bride. She took time to know that I am a Christmas fanatic, that I love depictions of the Nativity, and she took time to find this in the marketplace of Egypt in the middle of August! (2) I also, love this manger scene because it helps me to focus on Jesus. After all, isn’t that what we should be focusing on during this special holiday celebration? Not just Jesus, but more Jesus. It isn’t “another” Jesus, but some “extra” Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I find that I can always use a little more Jesus. And not just at Christmastime.
Oh, and by the way—when you find that you have some extra Jesus, you can share Him with others. I’ve discovered that when I share a little Jesus with those around me, the little faith that I have in Jesus becomes a little more Jesus in me.

Have a Christmas that is filled with extra Jesus!


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Music of the Season: Bells  

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This pretty little seasonal song called "Carol of the Bells" is really beautiful. As with a number of Christmas songs there are words, but the most inspiring versions are instrumental. My first memory of exposure to this song was Christmas advertising for 'Asti Spumanti' with champagne flutes clinking together on the downbeat. But I think that the holidays deserve more than bubbles and a pretty song. I believe that this song can lead us to remembering the reason that church bells clamber and announce the Savior's birth.

One reason that I prefer versions such as Chip Davis' Mannheim Steamroller project for this song is that it is the carol of the bells. So I say let the instruments do the talking on this one. Let them start gently, build to a massive crescendo, and then leave us with an all-snuggly feeling, like they do in TSO's version below:


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Music of the Season: Something about Snow  

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Just to let you know, I don't have anything against Bing Crosby. As a matter of fact, sometime during the season I intend to view the movie White Christmas (there are a couple of scenes toward the end that just get me every year), and if you'll click this link there's a superb treatment of Bing singing his signature Christmas song, but . . .

I've developed a dear place in my heart for the intro to the song that identifies it ("Ba-doobie doo, Dit dit doo da dit"), and if you'll watch today's video, you'll see that these guys haven't lost a bit of their step as their hair cottoned up:

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Music of the Season: 12 Days  

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This week I'll focus on some of the songs that have become more or less a bit of a tradition around the Christmas season, and then next week we'll move on to the more devotional-esque music for Christmas as we approach the day.

Today's song is one that has become a tradition for me. Although hundreds of different versions are out there, including Bob & Doug McKenzie's version from "Great White North" and one with John Denver 
and the Muppets, my favorite has to be this rendition from SNC:

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Advent 2012 - Week 2: More Love!  

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If there is one thing that there is no shortage on in this world it is love. Certainly, there are those who don’t experience or express love on a regular basis, but this is not for lack of the commodity. Love, as we understand it is one of those wonderful things that grows the more that you give it away. One of my favorite short quips is attributed to Oscar Hammerstein II:
“A bell's not a bell 'til you ring it
 A song's not a song 'til you sing it
 Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay
 Love isn't love 'til you give it away!”
With this reminder during the Christmas season, it becomes a challenge to those of us who know the Love that invaded our planet on Christmas Day to extend His love to everyone with whom we come in contact.

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Music of the Season - Hippos(?!)  

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Since the kiddos and I discovered this old beauty a couple of years ago, it has become one of our Christmas-time fun favorites. For the video, I found a clip of Gayle Peevey appearing on Ed Sullivan's show back in the day. Hope you like it:


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Music of the Season, Santa  

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Regardless of the myths and legends that have been built up over the years concerning St. Nicholas. The character he has become almost overshadows the One for whom Christmas is celebrated. (A tragedy that St. Nick himself would not have enjoyed or accepted.) At any rate, one of the more popular of the songs in the "fun" category that has gotten lots of play time is "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town." It has been recorded by a wide variety of artists from Fred Astaire to Justin Bieber. I was sorely tempted to embed the newer version by Michael Buble (affectionately known as "Michael Bubble"), but decided I'd rather rock with the Boss. So, I hope you enjoy:


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Music of the Season, Part 1  

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Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting some of the favorite songs of the Christmas season. Decidedly some of them will be a little less about what the season really is, but what we've allowed to creep in (and some of the stuff is rather creepy). As we get closer, I will be posting more Christmas-appropriate songs. But to begin, I thought we could still have some fun.

So, let's start with the 'Singing Cowboy's' version of "Rudolph":

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Time for a Christmas Sale!  

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Are you looking for a great stocking stuffer? Well here's just the thing. You can order my little Christmas story from Amazon.com. Or, you can cut out the middleman and just contact me directly (I'll be glad to sign the book with a dedication to whomever you want.) And if you order five or more copies direct from me (sorry can't say what Amazon would do) I'll throw in shipping. (Cover price: $7.00 plus $4.00 s/h; Amazon price $6.00 plus $3.99 s/h; Direct order from me: $5.00 + s/h; orders of 3 or more price is $4.00. Orders of 5 or more receive discounted price plus free shipping. I can fulfill orders through PayPal.)

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Advent 2012 - Week 1: Here's Hope!  

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In the late 1980s Southern Baptists set aside the Fall (’89) and Spring (’90) for simultaneous revivals. The object was for churches to engage in these revival efforts in one fell swoop with the theme “Here’s Hope Jesus Cares for You”. The convention even partnered with her publishing arm (Holman Bible Publishers) to prepare themed New Testaments (NKJV) to be given out by the churches in the effort.
             I do not know the full results of the revival effort, but I do know that the sentiment presented in the theme is one that bears remembrance during this Christmas Season—Jesus Christ is the Hope that is available to all mankind. Whether we find ourselves in distress or over-extended this Holiday, we can find all Hope in the One who cares most for us. He cares so much that He offered His own life in place of ours. That’s why He came on the very first Christmas, and why we can still say, “Here’s Hope! Jesus Cares for You!”

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