Auto-Tune the News #9: Nobel. health care. United Nations.

Jesus Makes Me Look Good

I'm a fraud. At least that's how I feel right now. I was visiting a website that a friend of mine suggested... http://andrewkooman.com . She thought I might be interested in his writing and what he is doing with his life as many of the things are what I claim to be passionate about. Civil liberty and freedom. Abolition of modern slavery. True religion, taking care of widows and orphans in their affliction. When I say that I am thinking very specifically about some of those my brother David visited and lived amongst when he was with Hands at Work in Africa this year.
I do care... but there is still a great part of me that is loathe to give up the life I have here.
It is not that it's perfect, in fact there are many things I would change in a heart beat. But I have a job that I enjoy, and love to see the ways some of the children in the school are growing in the knowledge and understanding of God's love for them. I am close to my family. I enjoy close friendships. I have a comfortable little nook in the basement of my parents home... not everyone's dream I know, but the rent is cheap and the company is fantastic :D

It is an easy life.
But I am not certain it is the abundant life that Christ has called me to. I know there are times when I felt really alive. When I knew without a shadow of a doubt I was just where God wanted me, doing just what he wanted me to do. They were exciting times. Fearless times. Times when Jesus had the reigns on what I did and when I did it.

If I were to recount some of the stories... and I do, especially to my students. I come out sounding very brave... very godly even... But here's the thing - It wasn't really me. It was Jesus. Just when I was at my least capable He took over. I'm very grateful He did because I got to experience with Him some extraordinary things. I learned things from Him with words that came out of my own mouth. Wise things that made me look very clever. But they were not my own.

I love that kind of life, so I am not sure what keeps me from living it every day. I love that Jesus makes me look good. I know the way I would act if it were just up to me. In fact I have done too much of that kind of living in the last year. I have done too much 'giving up in the face of adversity'. I have done too much 'how can I do just enough to look like I'm still giving my all to Jesus, while still maintaining some control of my actions, words and thought life'. I have done too much talking. I want to go back to letting Jesus do it.
So that is my pray for this year... I was tempted to call it my new years resolution, but then we'd be right back to what I am going to do. So my pray for this new year is... that He might increase and I might decrease. That I will go with Him wherever He wants me to. That I will do less talking to others and more walking and talking with Him. I pray that I might do all this through Christ Jesus who strengthens me!

NOW... Here's to an exciting AD 2010... and the rememberence that it is THE YEAR OF OUR LORD...

A favorite Christmas poem of mine by John Schienbein

T'wasn't it the night before Christmas? (A Christmas eve poem)

In the winter as the cold winds blow,

Atop my roof on ice and snow,

No sound is heard, no hooves, no bells,

For Santa is dead, our town crier yells,

At half past eleven this Christmas eve night,

The town gasps and weeps at that terrible sight,

A once jolly fat man with red cheeks, suit, and hat,

Freshly gored by a reindeer is lying down flat,

The sirened cars come, the policemen get out,

They question if anyone’s seen Rudolf about,

A little plump boy with a tear in his eye,

States that he saw that villain, just this moment fly by,

The police call a hunter renowned for his aim,

Quite ironically Chris Kringle the third was his name,

He got out his rifle with a scope he called Mark,

They looked to the sky but the sky was too dark,

That same chubby boy, snot running down on his clothes,

Cried out "That monster can't hide, cause he’s got a red nose!"

They looked for that red glow, surveying the night,

Yet not one could see Rudolf’s red nose’s bright light,

Just then "Not my Johnny!" a mother was crying,

Rudolf's struck again, a fresh body was lying,

This time it was Johnny that same pumpkin shaped boy,

With this message in blood "Snitches die with no toy!"

The message was, without a doubt scribed,

By the tip of an antler, as the little boy died,

"That's gone too far!" roared Chris Kringle in thund’rous tones,

"By dawn Rudolf's pelt will be mine, I shall grind up his bones!"

Chris then picked up his gun and was gone on his mission,

The town mourned dear Johnny and sent for the mortician,

As for the two bodies, the town did agree,

They were boxed up like presents, buried under a tree,

Then at about dawn, there arose such a racket,

Chris Kringle returned in a new reindeer jacket,

You could hear Him cry out, with a deep, "HOHOHO!"

As Rudolf’s ground bones, fell to earth like fresh snow,

That Christmas held sorrows yet joy was still found,

For we had a great feast and roast reindeer abound.

A lesson was learned by the children that day,

That the one who’s a snitch, will most certainly pay.

Keeping up with the Schienbeins...

Last year we decided to send out a "family Christmas photo" so we bought matching t-shirts on a trip to North Dakota and posed as a human Christmas tree. Great fun. It was so well received, especially by family that we figured we needed to do it again. But we also knew we had to top it. For the last few weeks I have been working on my Norman Rockwell style, family Christmas masterpiece. If you would like to be a recipient of said work of art... please do request one, and add your address to the comments sheet. Who knows... it may be worth something someday. After all there will be a limited number of prints made :D
Above is last years... We topped it!
buh bye... and happy holidays!