When you think of the word “present,” what comes to mind? As you might have guessed, around here we love words. It is our primary medium of communication. We love playing with words and enjoyed comedians of yore like Abbott and Costello and their use of word play with routines like “Who’s on First?” Now we’re dating ourselves… But what of the word “present”? All by itself it could mean many things. It’s a word … Continue reading
Category Archives: Christmas
As I write this, my children have been shoe’d up stairs for the umpteenth time. All the presents are wrapped and house is silent, at least for a few hours until one of my sleepy eye’d progeny asks what time is it somewhere around O-Dark-Thirty. Needless to say, the lyrics of Silent Night are a bit ironic these days as nothing is silent in my house. Which I suppose is fitting since that first … Continue reading
The Christmas season is upon us in full swing, as it seems to be every year at this time. 😊 And, following recent trends, the public is being offered all sorts of novel ideas, in an attempt to dismiss as mere myth, the historical Jesus and message of the Christian faith. Progressives in the media trot out a cadre of liberal “scholars” who deny the historicity of Scripture and biblical claims as little more than … Continue reading
Have you ever noticed how many people believe in a one-dimensional “cardboard Christ”? We may not think about it in those terms, but it surfaces in various ways. At this time of year, the babe in the manger is certainly the predominant Christ. Everyone likes sweet, cuddly babies with their cute cherub faces. Unfortunately, that is all many acknowledge about Jesus – that He was born in a manger 2,000 years ago – and … Continue reading
For I’ve grown a little leaner, Grown a little colder, Grown a little sadder, Grown a little older, And I need a little angel, Sitting on my shoulder, Need a little Christmas now (“We Need a Little Christmas 1) Here we are in the final days before celebration of the incarnation. Our outside Christmas lights have been on each night at sundown since Thanksgiving evening. Just about every room inside the house has been dressed … Continue reading
“I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Christmas Bells) The poem “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” was composed by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on December 25, 1864, and turned into a hymn a few years later. The language and imagery are powerful – they do not derive from a comfortable, unchallenged … Continue reading