Advent Time Is Here

December 1, 2013December 2, 2013 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I’m a total and complete geek when it comes to all things Christmas. I love gaudy decorations (the gaudier the better), sentimental Christmas movies, old-school Christmas music, and all those seasonal drinks like egg nog and peppermint mocha and all things pumpkin spice.

A few years back, I discovered about Advent. I always thought it was a creepy Catholic thing (not that I’m saying there’s anything more creepy about Catholics than about Baptists).

I bought a really nice edition of The Book of Common Prayer and started reading the collects related to the four Sundays of Advent. I found a great Advent devotional called The Christ of Christmas by Calvin Miller, with devotionals for the 31 days of December.

I love the idea behind the five Advent candles, starting with the candle of hope, or the Prophecy Candle. I love the imagery of the verses from Isaiah 11 that go with it:

“But a shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom. The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, A spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and of fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:1-3 NABRE).”

I recently heard Ann Voskamp talk about the imagery here. New life coming from death, the rotting stump of a broken life. Out of the wreckage comes a hope and a future. Out of the smoldering ruins of my dashed hopes and crushed dreams comes a new hope growing in the very spot where those hopes and dreams perished.

Week two is all about preparation, the Bethlehem Candle. Will I choose to make my heart a Bethlehem to receive the coming infant King? Will I be ready to find Him when He arrives not in the pomp and splendor of a throne but in a dirty trough that animals feed in?

Did I mention how much I love Advent? I’m still figuring out how to fully savor these four weeks not get caught up in that “one more present, one more party” mentality.

Look for Part Two coming one week from tonight. Until then, feel free to partake in some pumpkin spice egg nog.

What I Want for Christmas in 2013

November 15, 2013November 15, 2013 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

You read the title and thought, “Aww, he’s going to wish for things like world peace and global sing-a-longs.” Not really. I have some selfish wants that I’m sharing as well as some (mostly) altruistic wishes.

1) I would like world peace, but I know the heart of people too well. All I can hope and pray for is peace within the hearts of as many people as possible who are willing to surrender everything to Jesus.

2) One red Mini-Cooper, preferably with white stripes and/or a British flag emblem on the roof and/or on the sideview mirrors.

3) For a personal trainer or someone who will help me get more motivated to live healthier.

4) A MacBook Air ’cause they are so light and fluffy. And because PC laptops are just too slow and clunky.

5) For each person to see his or her true value in Christ and to know that true beauty comes from being uniquely and marvelously designed by a Creator and loved infinitely.

6) A trip to New England at some point in my life. Ideally in the fall but I’m not picky about when. I would love to try Mystic Pizza🍕 in Mystic, Connecticut and visit a few lighthouses while I’m there. 👍

7) A date with Kari Jobe. 😁

8) For chocolate to not have fat grams and calories. 🙏

9) Gift cards to amazon.com, Best Buy, Frothy Monkey, iTunes, and Ecko (so I can look swanky).

10) To see every cat and dog in a shelter find loving homes with loving people who will take care of them and treasure them.

11) That stone house in downtown Franklin with the red door that looks so homey.🏡

12) For Concord Road to be four lanes instead of two with a turning lane.

13) A really nifty cowboy hat.

14) Anything I’ve listed on my Amazon wish list.

15) For more kindness and compassion and understanding between people.

Things I Love 24: From a Guy Who’s Running on Caffeine and Hope

July 5, 2013July 31, 2013 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I had a fantastic conversation with a friend tonight at Starbucks. Even though we’ve never met in person before, we talked like we’d been friends for years. The meds are working. I am still blessed. Which brings us to #656.

656) Laptops that actually fit in your lap (does anyone remember the old portable computers that weighed 50 pounds and had a 2-inch screen?)

657) Conversations that last for hours over coffee drinks.

658) Love that will not let me go.

659) Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

660) Turkey sausage from Cracker Barrel.

661) When someone gets one of my obscure movie references.

662) IMDB for when my usually spot-on memory for names of actors fails me.

663) The little emoticons on Facebook messaging.

664) Free books on Kindle or iBooks.

665) Leaving ridiculous tips, i.e. 50% or higher, whenever I eat out.

666) Not being freaked out by the number 666.

667) Being 2/3 of the way through my list of 1,000 things I love.

668) Bare feet on carpet.

669) People complimenting me on my I Am Second bracelet.

670) Finding that Friends Trivia Game at Music City Thrift for $1.

671) Those people in the Bible who God used who were possibly even crazier and more messed up than me.

672) Gregorian chant music.

673) My organic liquid hand soap that smells like Canadian pine with white sage.

674) Being manly enough to admit that I have organic liquid hand soap that smells like trees.

675) Knowing just enough Spanish to be dangerous (and to order at Taco Bell).

676) Being able to read most of John 1 in my Greek New Testament,

677) Movie soundtracks.

678) Getting packages in the mail.

679) Color correcting old pictures on Adobe Photoshop.

680) Birthday presents.

681) Watching other people open gifts.

682) Christmas presents.

683) Presents in general.

684) Being present in the moment.

685) Leigh Nash’s voice.

686) That guitar sound in the song Luka by Suzanne Vega.

687) That guys aren’t better than girls and girls aren’t better than guys. We’re just different.

688) Being uniquely and wonderfully made.

689) Owning all four seasons of Felicity.

690) A good night’s sleep after a really good day.

The Day After Christmas

December 26, 2012December 26, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

It’s December 26, or as it is officially known, the day after Christmas. Canada and other former British colonies celebrate today as Boxing Day (which has absolutely nothing to do with actual boxing, much to Mike Tyson’s chagrin).

In the past, December 26 always was a let-down. I had waited for weeks and weeks for Christmas to arrive and when it did, it went by so quickly and was over. The presents were nice, but it seemed sad to have nothing to look forward to again for another 364 days.

Of course, you could always celebrate the 12 days of Christmas, made famous by the old song. That gives you until January 6 to keep your Christmas lights and decorations up if you’re dreading having to take it all down.

But I remember something one of the characters in a movie version of a Christmas Carol:

“Mortal! We Spirits of Christmas do not live only one day of our year. We live the whole three-hundred and sixty-five. So is it true of the Child born in Bethlehem. He does not live in men’s hearts one day of the year, but in all days of the year. You have chosen not to seek Him in your heart. Therefore, you will come with me and seek Him in the hearts of men of good will.”

(Ok, I cheated a bit. I remembered a a bit of that vaguely and looked it up on google and found the rest.)

The child born in the manger deserves more than one day a year to celebrate his arrival. Why not make every day a reminder that Emmanuel, God with us, has come and has not left us.

I personally think that it’s perfectly acceptable to watch Christmas movies all year long, should that be your heart’s desire. And if you want to pull out your Christmas music in July, I say go for it!

But most of all, we should strive to be like old Scrooge, who learned to keep Christmas well in his heart not just the one day a year, but every day.

A Bittersweet Christmas

December 25, 2012December 25, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / 2 Comments

It’s been a bittersweet 2012 Christmas.

I’ve loved being with family and seeing my 14-month old niece getting the hang of walking and just starting to say her first words. Seeing my nephews’ faces light up with all their Christmas presents has been fun, too.

But today I’ve also been thinking a lot about my granddaddy who took his life 30 years ago tonight. It was Christmas Day 1982 when he decided that life wasn’t worth living anymore.

I still remember where I was when I found out about his suicide. I remember my pastor at the time coming over to tell me and how my 10-year old brain couldn’t process the news, so I went back to my room to watch the football game on my little black-and-white TV. I still don’t think I’ve completely processed it yet.

I have trouble remembering what he looked like, especially when he smiled, or what his laugh sounded like. I do know that I still miss him and I have so many things I’d like to tell him.

I’d tell him that he missed out on a lot. Like my sister and I growing up. Her getting married and having children. All of us getting older and closer together as a family. And most of all, how we’ve found God to be a comfort and a refuge.

I’d tell him that we all loved him so much. That we still love him so much, even 30 years after he left us. I’d tell him that there’s nothing so bad that family can’t help, and especially God’s love can’t get you through.

I’d say that I understand now a little better why he did what he did. I’m glad that he’s found peace at last in the arms of Jesus and has no more fears or worries or self-doubts.

I have something that belonged to him– an old tube radio from the 50’s that still works. It’s nice to be able to turn it on and think that I’m listening to the same radio that he kept on his workbench all those years. It makes me smile and remember him in happier times.

I’m a little more thankful for my family tonight. I hope to hug them more often, be more present in their lives, and tell them I love them as often as possible. You never know when it could be the last time you might have the chance.

It’s Christmas (Eve) Again

December 24, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

In years past, I couldn’t help but feel the inevitable letdown that came once Christmas had come and gone. It was as if I spent all that time and energy waiting for one day that went by awfully fast.

But I’ve learned to appreciate Christmas more in and of itself, aside from all the gifts and trappings.

For me, the more I celebrate the advent season, the less Christmas becomes about one single day and the more it becomes about the entrance into our world of the infant Immanuel, God with us.

If you follow the 12 days of Christmas, then you know that Christmas doesn’t really end until January 6. So this year, I’m milking the holiday for all it’s worth.

Yeah, I like presents. I like giving them, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I liked getting them, too. But more than presents, I like being around family and the intentional togetherness fostered by the celebration of the Christ child who came to bring us peace.

I love what I heard in a sermon tonight. Jesus came to take away our fear and give us joy.

That’s what Christmas is really about, Charlie Brown.

Sing a Song of Sixpence

December 22, 2012December 22, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / 2 Comments

I went to a fantastic concert tonight. Sixpence None the Richer, one of my all-time favorite bands, played just about every song from their 2008 Christmas album, plus several other well-known songs.

I had a great seat at the front, maybe 5 feet from the stage. It was like having the band play in my living room. If I had a very big living room with about 200 seats and a great sound system.

The absolute best part of the night, and probably the highlight of 2012 thus far, was hearing Leigh Nash and company perform their signature song, “Kiss Me.” It was a perfect moment that I will always remember.

Afterward, I met Leigh Nash and got her to sign my Sixpence Christmas album. She was incredibly kind and gracious to me, actually taking time to talk to me and ask me if I came to the Franklin Theatre often.

The one bummer for the night was that I couldn’t use my credit card to buy the new Sixpence album. They were only taking cash, which I almost never have on me. But even that couldn’t dampen my spirits.

If you could make a feast of fond memories, then I am a full man. Everything about this night was pitch perfect and I hope to have a repeat or a sequel one day very soon.

A Christmas Carol And What Came Of It

December 21, 2012December 21, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

This is not about how the 1951 Alistair Sims version of A Christmas Carol is by far my favorite and the definitive film adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. Or how about how I watch it every single year during the Christmas season.

This is about how the movie affected me this particular year.

First of all, the scene of the Crachit family talking about Tiny Tim after his death affected me more this year than in years past. Maybe it was because the deaths of the 20 children in Newtown, Connecticut. The part where Mrs. Cratchit talks about how slowly Bob Cratchit walks now and how fast he used to walk with Tiny Tim on his shoulders. The line that really got to me was “But he was very light to carry, and his father loved him so, that it was no trouble, — no trouble.”

Of course, in the movie, Scrooge changes his ways and the that future is averted. It’s too bad that only happens in the movies.

But I love the part in the end of the movie when Scrooge is overcome with mirth over the transformation affected in his life from just one night. The best line in the whole movie for me is when Scrooge says, “I don’t deserve to be so happy. But I can’t help it. I just can’t help it.”

I know the feeling. Sometimes, I see the grace God has shown me and what I would have been without it and I get a little giddy. Not often, but when it happens, those moments are precious and treasured.

People who know the dark thoughts that sometimes cross their minds, who remember some of the terrible, stupid, awful things they’ve said and done, who wish with all their might they could go back and undo or unsay so many things, are the ones who truly understand and appreciate grace. People like me.

So this is the movie I’ll keep watching every year. And I pray this for you as I echo the words of Tiny Tim: “God bless us, every one!”

Desert Island Christmas Music Addendum

December 17, 2012December 17, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

Since I last posted on my favorite Christmas, I’ve come across some additional Christmas albums worthy to take their place in the illustrious Christmas Island Christmas Music Hall of Fame. If you get stranded on that odd island with unlimited batteries but no electricity, you may find these picks useful.

1) Silver & Gold- Sufjan Stevens. It’s gloriously weird and wonderful. I never know what to expect from one track to the next, but I can definitely tell you it’s not the same ol’ renditions of the same ol’ holiday fare. This one is only for the musically adventurous folks who like to venture outside of top-4o-land from time to time.

2) Andy Williams Christmas Album- This one’s a classic from 1963 that deserves a place in any holiday music collection. Andy Williams’ passing earlier this year makes this one a poignant choice for the season.

3) Straight No Chaser- Holiday Spirits. This one’s a fantastic acapella album that I like to call traditional-with-a-twist. It’s worth the investment if only for the fantastic live version of 12 Days of Christmas. I don’t remember who recommended this one to me, but thanks to you, whoever you are and wherever you are.

As always, these lists are subject to change, especially if I run into an especially good Christmas album. I welcome your recommendations and suggestions. The more off-the-wall and eclectic, the better.

A Christmas Prayer

December 12, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

Lord, the time approaches yet again when we celebrate your arrival in human skin to make your home among us as one of us. We celebrate that you became Immanuel, “God with us,” and took your place among us, sharing our joys and sorrows, weaknesses and pains.

We confess that we have so often lost sight of why we celebrate this day. We have made it into the giving and receiving of gifts and of excessive shopping and spending. We have forgotten that at the heart of Christmas, it is your birthday.

Help us also to remember those for whom Christmas isn’t such a happy time. So many mourn the loss of loved ones and live in the midst of family strife and turmoil. So many are facing tough days ahead as many are without jobs, some without homes and even the basic necessities.

Help us to walk along side those who are hurting in this Christmas season. May they find you, O God, to be their burden bearer, their refuge, their safe dwelling, and their peace in the midst of storms. Comfort them, bring healing to their strife, and be in the midst of them as the Prince of Peace.

Help us to remember those less fortunate than we and to be generous to those around us who have needs, both physical and spiritual. May we serve you by serving one of the least of these.

May we remember Christmas every day by being living incarnations of your presence everywhere we go, for you are not only God with us, but you are God in us, too. May we never forget that what started out in a manger ended on a cross, and that we are alive and free because of that terrible price you paid.

So as we get into the days of celebration and merriment, help us to remember that you are the reason for it all. May the best gift we give anyone be to show them your love and point them to you this holiday season.

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