Soakin' Up Life . . . at a 100 MPH!

When I was growing up our family had a Christmas Eve tradition.  Each of us (my two brothers and me) would get to open one present before we went to bed.  Mom and Dad usually suggested a present to open.  With anticipation and excitement we would tear into the gift only to find out it was new pajamas or underwear.  WHAT?  The funny thing was we, alright, I was excited for some reason.  Doesn't make a lick of sense to me today.  Who gets excited about new underwear or pajamas?  I was stinkin' weird as a kid.  Anyway. . .we would put on our new pj's and jump into bed so Santa could come and drop off our goodies. We also left some cookies for Santa. Did you have any traditions growing up or do you have a tradition now with your family? Gotta go find out if I got new pj's, Mike

It's Friday. . .Christmas Eve.  And I'm whooped.  It's been a really productive week at the office and at home.  And by the time Cindy and I finish our FaceTime together, I literally fall into bed.  It's a great feeling. This afternoon and evening we have our three Christmas Eve services -  3:00, 5:00, & 7:00 .  It's one of those times, here in the northwest, that a lot of people and families from the community attend worship.  AND I LOVE IT!   I live for this stuff.  I can't wait.  In fact, I'll be heading into the office in a few to finish up some touches on the worship center and make sure the facilities are ready for our guests. It's also a time when a lot of our folks volunteer - from greeting, parking, worship center preparation, hospitality, preschool, to trash duty.  And we have another great group of volunteers this year!  I'm really pumped about it.  Oh!  Did I mention the fact that I love days like today?  Ok, just making sure.

"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit." ~ Matthew 1:20 " From the Holy Spirit " = " Of God " Don't know how much they talked about the Holy Spirit back then, but I'm sure the words meant something to Joseph.  They must have.  Walk with me for moment. . .here he is,  a young man doing all he is supposed to do to prepare for bringing his bride to his/their home.  It's the same preparation young Jewish grooms had been doing for centuries.  And I'm thinking he was like any other man who's about to bring his bride home, he's looking forward to his wedding night!  In other words, he's an ordinary man doing ordinary life when this ordinary life he's been living intersects with the power,  presence, and sovereignty of God.  We don't know how long

If you haven't seen this yet, check it out.  North Point does a compilation of Christmas songs on iPhones & iPads.  Now this is stinkin' creative. Enjoy! Mike

 Psalm 51:1-2 reads:   1 Have mercy on me, O God,    according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion    blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity    and cleanse me from my sin. That was David's cry to God after he was confronted by Nathan.  As I read it this morning these thoughts came to mind.  They may not make much sense and they may not flow very well - I apologize beforehand.  But here they are. . . I thought about the fact that this was exactly why Emmanuel - " God with us ".  Because of God's incomprehensible mercy, unfailing love, and great compassion He sent Jesus to earth, as a baby, so I may be cleansed from all my sins and my iniquity may be washed away. Without Emmanuel none of this happens.  I mean, think about it - knowing that I can't wash away my sin or erase my shortcomings. . .my rebellion. . .makes me realize that without " God with us ", I would never have a chance at a relationship wi

CNN is reporting that airline baggage fees top $2.5 BILLION .  YOU DON'T SAY!!! According to the article Delta is the worst of the buch, followed by American and US Airways.   On top of that they have also made $1.7 BILLION on cancellation and change fees through three-quarters of 2010.  So let me get this straight.  The airlines industry has made roughly $4.2 BILLION this year before people even got on a plane?  They made that kind of dough for just taking your bag and cancelling or changing your flight?  Doesn't include the cost of a ticket, meals, snacks, or any other kind of service you're offered WHILE you're flying.  Funny, I was thinking that if I paid for a service it ought to be accomplished.  Yet, when they lost our bags in May, I don't remember a refund.  Instead I had to drive to the state line to pick them up because the drivers weren't allowed to cross state lines.  Definitely didn't get what I was paying for. Does this make ANY sense t

Realized long ago that what techies tend to write about and what the rest of the world writes about are two different arenas.  And being a geek, I tend to care more about what techies think than I do what Hollywood thinks. Here's the Top 10 Twittering Topics of the techie culture as listed in  PC World (see, told you I was a nerd, who else do you know tracks articles on PC World?). Apple iPad Google Android Apple iOS Apple iPhone Call of Duty Black Ops New Twitter HTC RockMelt MacBook Air Google Instant Surprised?  I'm not.  It is amazing how much attention Apple products do get, though.  Your thoughts as to why? Mike

I was thinking about the whole God with us thing and the fact that it happened in the most inglorious manner to the most inglorious people.  Walk with me a bit here . . . God stepped down from heaven into a hole-in-the-wall of a barn to a couple of teenagers no where near their families!  Go figure.  I mean, who does that? Definitely not the way we would have planned it, eh?  I was thinking what we would have done - how we would have planned it if the church would have got involved.  At the minimum we would have created some banners to put up around the manger.  Gotta know someone would have written a cantata, or at least a choral arrangement that included some children and adults dressed up in sheets singing about His birth. Then, we would have had someone create some graphics for Emmanuel so we could get a web page up and running.  Then Google mapped that whole thing.  And, no doubt, someone would have created an iPhone & Android app so we could track the whole process - tra

Yesterday I posted a bit on Isaiah 7:14 - " Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. " (click here to check it out). Last night I was still working it over in my head. While doing so, it struck me that it's not just Immanuel - " God with us ", but it's " God with ME!" Does that make sense? The way I read it, God didn't just come to humanity as a whole, but God came to earth for every person since and that includes you and me. . .personally and individually. Tend to think this makes God a personal God, not just a corporate God, doesn't it? I know this is simple. But I don't know that God ever meant the coming of our Redeemer to be complex. Think about it, how much simpler can you get than a baby? Let me know what you think about this. Would love to get your feedback. May God be with you! Mike Mike

This morning I began my annual reading of the Christmas story - the birth of Christ. Normally, I read both Old & New Testament passages while asking God to show me something new about the birth of Jesus. In the past God has taken me to Jesus' parents, His lineage, God's love for us, even to the gospel. Each one of these has help provide me a fuller understanding of the birth of Jesus. This morning I really didn't get a chance to read many of the passages. In fact, as I prayed about it before I even opened up His Word, God began impressing upon me Isaiah 7:14 - " Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. " Immanuel. . .Hebrew for " God with us ." That term, that concept has always struck a deep chord within me. It has fascinated me for a long time. I don't know exactly why, but it has. I mean, think about it. . . GOD WITH US! That's incredibly amaz