Christmas

Hark! The Angels Didn’t Sing

by Andy Wood on December 17, 2008

in Five LV Laws, Principle of Abundance

Sorry to be the latest to assault your traditional Nativity scene.  But this isn’t just an exercise in historical trivia.  Something happened near Bethlehem that, in my 50 years, has gone unnoticed or ignored.

Have you ever had times when, for a split second, it seems that God has “parted the curtain” between the seen and unseen world, and given you a glimpse of the Larger Story?  You can find one of those in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus.

Setting the Scene

Joseph and Mary, both descendants of King David, had returned to their ancestral home town for census and taxing purposes.  This shuffling of the population of Israel was a massive undertaking, and caused some serious housing shortages for months.  But somebody in Bethlehem (possibly a distant cousin, who knows?) offered them shelter in the place where they kept their animals.  This was probably a cave.  We don’t know how long they were there before Jesus was born, but it was probably a little time.  It doesn’t seem as though ol’ Joe was banging on doors at midnight, hollering, “My wife’s in labor!”

On the day (yes, day) Jesus was born, Mary and Joseph were still in the cave.  The animals’ feeding trough became the infant’s first bed.

Then the sun went down, and the drama began. [click to continue…]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Hanukkah Hams – Ho Ho Whoa Edition

by Andy Wood on December 15, 2008

in Gamblers, LV Alter-egos, Spoofs

mudtrap.com

It was only a matter of time before something as festive and holy as Christmas brought out the fun side in all of us. And every year has its own version. Here’s a little Monday Christmas fun, Hanukkah Ham style:

Our friend Tim Hawkins, of Cletus Take the Reel fame, sends this Christmas Greeting. Click here then click on “The Christmas Puppy.”

Jacked-up Christmas Lyrics

A couple of weeks ago I was researching for a Christmas message titled “Jacked Up” about the crazy ideas and expectations people have around the holidays (you can hear it here: here).

I came across several web sites and blogs that talk about jacked-up lines in Christmas songs. Here are some of my favorites:

1. In 1964 the Beach Boys released a song called, “Christmas Comes This Time of Year.” That’s helpful! Deep, too. Sort of like saying, “Monday comes this time of week.”

2. Andy Williams, among others, is famous for the song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” A line in that song says,

“There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories….”

Whoa, there, AW. How many people do you know that tuck their little kids in bed on Christmas Eve and tell them tales of bleeding holly, haunted sleighs, or demon-possessed reindeer? Now go on to sleep kids! [click to continue…]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Ho Ho Humbug!

by Andy Wood on December 11, 2008

in LV Stories

(The Further Adventures of Eugene Davis, Sophomore Christian)

“Have you seen this?” asked an angry voice one Sunday morning.

Yep, it was Eugene Davis, sophomore Christian and resident expert on what everybody else should and shouldn’t be doing.

“Seen what?” I asked politely as Eugene shoved a Sunday bulletin in my hand.

“All these parties!” he said.

In the midst of the activities list, Eugene had highlighted three youth fellowships in one week:  the Jr. High, the Sr. High, and the All-Youth Pizza Pig-Out and Christmas Party that night after church.

“Well, there’s never a bad time to eat pizza,” I joked.  “Don’t you know the wise men caught up with King Herod at Pizza Hut?”

But Eugene was in no joking mood.

“That’s not the point,” he fumed.  “It seems like all we ever do with these kids is feed ’em pizza and take ’em on trips.  When I was a teenager, we learned to give and do for others.”

“When you were a teenager, you were lost,” I replied.  “Furthermore, when you were a teenager, Chicago was a cow pasture.” [click to continue…]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Ten Ideas for “Giving Up” Your Holidays

by Andy Wood on November 18, 2008

in Life Currency

We’re giving up Christmas this year.  Thanksgiving, too.  And if I have my way, New Year’s day will follow suit.

It all started with a meeting by our Creative Team at the church.  The conversation was about what to do this holiday season.  What’s on people’s minds?  What are they thinking/planning for the holidays, especially Christmas?

As the conversation flowed, it followed themes such as people who were giving in to discouragement, fear, and despair because of the e-word.  Also, one couple talked about giving out to charity instead of buying family a bunch of stuff they didn’t particularly want or need.

We talked about how Christmas has become jacked up because of the demands and expectations we place on it – how it’s supposed to magically solve all our problems or bring some sort of enchantment to our otherwise unhappy lives.

We talked about the pressure to make Christmas tricked up – raising the materialistic bar year in and year out.  We’ve been keeping up with the Joneses, only to discover that we are the Joneses.

We talked about how, biblically, God one-upped Zecharias, the father of John the Baptist.  God always seems to be able to out-give, out-serve, out-surprise the greatest acts of our service or obedience.

And we talked about the ultimate Gift – offered up by God to a world too busy to care.

So, our theme for Christmas is, Give It Up!  Before you give in or give out, give up!  That’s exactly what God did with His Son.  Now He awaits your response.

But why wait for Christmas Day?  Why not start now, in the Thanksgiving season, to offer up our lives, first to God, then to others?  For many of us, this will be an opportunity, albeit unwelcome, to really discover that it’s not about the toys and trinkets as much as it is about the love, the joy, the life, and the service we offer up.  So in that spirit, I thought I’d share ten ways you can give to others in life-affirming ways for little or no money.  I would encourage you to do some or all of these things, regardless of your financial status. [click to continue…]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Christmas in May

by Andy Wood on May 15, 2008

in Life Currency, Love

Laura Kate 4I’ve said it often in church life:  there is nothing more useless (and sometimes obnoxious) than a new grandparent.

Uh huh.

So anyway…

Amazing creatures, these babies – resting peacefully in somebody’s eager arms or lying in the bed, quietly watching the world go by.  Filled with wonder at times, filling the room with noise at times.  Innocent and defenseless, yet powerful enough to hold your heart in their tiny hands.  So capable of needing and being needed, even before she takes her first nap. Babies!  I realized the other day how long it had been since I had held one, or played with one.  I remembered how little we still truly know about them.

How does God do that anyway?  How can one life be created in the image of two, a miniature version of her Mommy and Daddy?  How can she be so unable to care for herself, yet totally equipped to learn, to grow, and to develop?  What’s really going through her mind as she lies there quietly?  What will she become one day?  Will she be a woman or a witch, an angel or a devil?  We talk of “accidents,” but God never does.  What does God have in mind for her?  How much of God will she ever truly experience?  What kind of God will she see in me?  Or in her parents?

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). 

[click to continue…]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

The Most Unusual Christmas Card

by Andy Wood on December 21, 2007

in LV Stories

Three of HeartsIt came with all the usual markings of a Christmas card – a small-sized envelope, personally addressed, arriving in early December. But inside was a surprise. All that was in the envelope was an ordinary, well-used playing card – the three of hearts. Across the front of the card, an anonymous friend had written, “Merry Christmas, from one soldier to another.” [click to continue…]

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Next Entries →