I am officially a pacifist on the “war on Christmas”. I would, however, support a ceasefire on Christmas if it banned all commercial displays until Thanksgiving. I say “Merry Christmas” whenever I want to and to whomever I desire. And while there is a small percentage that would like all vestiges of the Christmas story purged from any public display that percentage is very, very small. This war is not worth it. The collateral damage to the Christian message of love and joy suffers far more than we can imagine from this cultural war. I know that many think I have been drinking way too much grace punch. Probably true. It’s really good stuff. But the fact is that in America Christmas has become much more of an economic than a religious holiday. There are so many icons like Santa Claus and Rudolph and the Grinch that are not at all related to the religious aspect of the holiday. From the generic holiday
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(From theFish.com) I never have any idea where this weekly experiment known as the iPod Devotional will take me. I fire up the aforementioned device, hit shuffle play and write about the first song that hits my heart. Today is admittedly an odd choice. The song was written in 1997 by Toby Keith and Chuck Cannon. I had forgotten that my iPod music list had a version of the tune by the iconic Willie Nelson. Today the lyrics of “Tired” caused a lot of reflection, sadness and prayer. The narrative tells about the life of a factory worker who is, sadly, merely going through the motions of life. Married Rebecca back in seventy-seven I still love her and I guess she loves me too We go to church on Sundays `cause we want to go to heaven Me and my family, ain`t that how you`re supposed to do That describes so many people that I know. Tired of their job.
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(From theFish.com) My buddy Kelly casually dropped the name of a group last summer that he thought I might look to add to the iPod rotation. The band he mentioned was the Avett Brothers and the scouting report was superb. Today a song by the group inspired this week’s iPod Devotional. It is called “The Perfect Space” and the lyrics resonated with my season of life. I wanna’ have friends that I can trust, that love me for the man I’ve become not the man I was. My Truefaced friend John Lynch says it this way. “What if there was a place where the worst of me could be known, and I would discover in the telling of it that I would be loved more, not less?” Wouldn’t that be amazing? To have a friend that you could trust with all that is true about you and feel safe. All of us have a deep need to be known and
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(From theFish.com) I love Thanksgiving. I love watching the giant balloons of the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade floating through New York as wide-eyed children watch. I love the traditional football games. The official start of the Christmas season. The post feast nap. I love it all and Thanksgiving Day is here again. Thanksgiving Song by Mary Chapin Carpenter captures the intimacy of this wonderful holiday. Grateful for each hand we hold Gathered round this table. From far and near we travel home, Blessed that we are able. Grateful. That is a powerful word that is so easy to overlook in the tension of life and the depressing cycles of usually bad news. I have so much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving. I am grateful for another year with my best friend and bride Joni. I am grateful for three wonderful sons, two amazing daughter-in-laws and one fantastic grandchild. I am blessed that we are able to be together this Thanksgiving.
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A lot of people dear to me are going through some difficult waters right now. Some are in physical pain, some in emotional pain and some in financial pain. Sometimes even the most sold out followers of Jesus want to raise their face to the heavens and scream. “WHY God? WHAT are you doing? HOW can you let this continue?” A song by Josh Wilsonresonated on the daily walk and is the basis for today’s iPod Devotional. The song is called “I Fall Apart”. Why in the world did I think I could Only get to know you when my life was good? When everything just falls in place The easiest thing is to give you praise Now it all seems upside down I wish that wasn’t true. I wish I was mature enough to recognize God’s blessings every day and praise Him without ceasing in my normal life of comfort or when things go off course. The truth is
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(From theFish.com) This is an interesting time of year for me as stores pull the pink paraphernalia off the shelves and put up the Christmas items. October has become known for pink reminders everywhere of the battle against breast cancer. I am grateful for all that is done to defeat this dread disease. My dear wife just passed the five year survivor mark this year. Today a song from Martina McBride brought back waves of memories from a difficult journey. The song is called “I’m Gonna’ Love You Through It”. She dropped the phone and burst into tears The doctor just confirmed her fears Her husband held it in and held her tight Cancer don’t discriminate or care if you’re just 38 With three kids who need you in their lives He said, “I know that you’re afraid and I am, too But you’ll never be alone, I promise you” I remember facing those fears with Joni. I remember promising
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