Although I avoid making New Year’s resolutions, I do set annual goals. What’s the difference? Maybe nothing; maybe everything. To me, resolutions are akin to wishful thinking, with low expectations for success. Goals are concrete, with stated action and quantifiable results. I don’t think I’ve ever made a New Year’s resolution. If I discover something […]
Of the four biographies of Jesus in the Bible, my favorite is Luke’s. Luke also contains the best-known account of Jesus’ birth, made popular by the Peanut’s character Linus. Watch Linus explain what Christmas is all about. This well-known clip is from the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas. Debuting over fifty years ago, […]
Christmas is almost here; my mind swirls with a jumble of thoughts as I try to connect the calendar with my celebration of Jesus. Here are three items I’m considering: 1. When my wife and I were in a state of transition between one home and the next. Most of our belongings, including everything relating […]
My wife wishes people a “Merry Christmas,” while I say “Happy holidays.” We both have our reasons for doing so, and we are both right. It’s important to us to keep Jesus as the central focus of Christmas. One way my wife does so is by wishing everyone a “Merry Christmas”—every chance she gets. She […]
Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, and Pentecost Quick, what are the four main Christian holidays? Well, there’s Christmas and Easter, for sure. Good Friday would make three. But what’s the fourth one? How about Pentecost? In my experience, Pentecost doesn’t receive much attention compared to the other three, but it should. Consider the progression: Christmas Christmas […]
Always Winter and Never Christmas In C. S. Lewis’s classic book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the land of Narnia is under duress: it is always winter and never Christmas. As winter drags on this year, I feel the same way. In Michigan, we enjoy all four seasons and in about equal proportions. […]
Yesterday was Christmas, a time to celebrate Jesus. Many people went to church to acknowledge the Christ behind Christmas and even more celebrated Jesus in other ways. For my family, the day marked the last of four celebrations. Now Christmas is over. We put it behind us for another year. Yet long ago, Isaiah looked […]
For people who follow Jesus, Christmas is a time to celebrate his birth. Yet Christmas is under attack. Some want to turn it into Xmas, others try to band its mention, and others say it doesn’t matter because we’ve already sufficiently removed Jesus from it. The reaction from Christ-followers is understandable, but the battle is […]
Technically summer doesn’t start for another month (June 21). Summer then lasts for three months (until September 21). Though the Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox formally mark the beginning and ending of the summer season, the weather and our response to it shows we don’t care too much about the official dates. From a practical […]
Happy Mother’s Day With Mother’s Day coming up, I want to salute all moms by commending one mom in particular. The Bible simply says she was the wife of Manoah. Though we don’t know her name, we know her son’s name: Samson. God promised to give a child to this childless wife of Manoah. Before […]