One day I had an idea, and I posted this on FaceBook:
The result was amazing:
Cleanliness is next to the last place you look.
Spare the rod, spoil the milk.
A stitch in time saves the whales.
Absence makes the heart greener on the other side of the hill.
The early bird is twice killed with one stone.
Half of one to know one
Six of one is worth two in the bush.
It’s not over ’til the fat lady breaks the camel’s back. (more…)
The reading list makes a brief comeback with a few observations about the Christian church and how it is understood and portrayed by the world in general.
Take this example, from the London Times in the “Entertainment & Culture” section. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/book_extracts/article6288403.ece It is a good read if only to try to glean the facts that Christianity is moving forward in many parts of the world. You will not enjoy the article’s relentless condescension. And it is comical to see the confusion of evangelical strategy derived from Saint Paul or a the reformation commitment to communicating in everyday language with “Americanism”. Perhaps American Christians should be proud that they are seen to be practicing the faith of St. Paul and communicating it using the tools of Martin Luther.
Maybe we are in better shape than we think we are …….
Holiday Greetings!
It is now the time of year when many of us send out our family letters. It’s a good way to catch up with friends, count our blessings, and capture some of the year’s highlights. Kim and I used to print them and physically mail them to everyone, but that has become cost prohibitive. (Either that, or we’ve gotten cheap) Instead, we will fully embrace the digital age and publish our XPmas letter on this blog and point it out via Email. What we lack in a personal touch I hope we make up in color photos and other expanded possibilities. Let’s face it, paper just can’t be this cool.
We have the intention of taking this photo each year:
I recorded a Christmas album. This is a Christmas album that is inspired by my love of acoustic music and my years of playing cello with Kemper Crabb. The tracks represent my favorite Christmas songs played the way I have always wanted to hear them. Simple, singable, mostly upbeat with a bit of light beauty thrown in to add some depth. I sang all the parts, and used the instruments that I had laying around the house: acoustic guitar, cello, doumbek, udu, sitar and other various instruments. I hope you like it.
Six of the songs were included on a CrossPoint CD giveaway, part of our “I Am Santa” program. We are in the process of giving away thousands of these CDs, which is a very cool thing. There are four additional tracks on the actual album, including a new song called “I Will Be Christmas” that I have written in conjuction with our Christmas series “I Am Christmas.”
It may be a bit of a shameless appeal to commerce, but you can listen to samples and purchase the album here:
Click here for more information. Merry Christmas.
