Cool Animation

I received  a link to something called Animator vs. Animation in an email from a friend.  It is pretty amazing.  Enjoy!

 Animator vs. Animation 

Dave

12 Days of Christmas

How would you like to join me in a revolution of sorts?  A revolution to take back the 12 days of Christmas!  Okay, I'm not the revolutionist type and I don't care quite enough to buck the modern trend, but I do care enough to blog about it perhaps inform you.  Maybe you could start the revolution!

I did not grow up in a church that followed the Church Calendar.  I didn't discover Advent until I was well into my adult years.  Even then it was in a Baptist church so was probably only half- accurate at best.  I took a course called Preaching Through the Church Year and learned a little about the Church Calendar.  I have incorporated my version of Advent into the churches I have pastored and enjoy the anticipation.  

But here's the problem, we don't truly celebrate Advent in the sense of true waiting and anticipation.  I don't know if liturgical churches do it right (maybe someone could enlighten me on that), but the churches I know mix the Advent and Christmas seasons together.  We sing Christmas hymns right along with Advent hymns(I actually only know a couple Advent hymns).  We have our Christmas programs and Christmas nativity scenes all set up.  We pretend we are anticipating, but we are celebrating everything that Christmas means at the same time.  I have a feeling that we are missing the best of both.

I discovered that, according to the Church Calendar, the Christmas season actually starts on Christmas Day.   That's what the twelve days of Christmas are all about.    You can read more about the history of the twelve days of Christmas in an article at Christian History.net.  Allow me to share a bit of what you'll find there.

Exhortations to follow this calendar rather than the secular one have become routine at this time of year. But often the focus falls on giving Advent its due, with the Twelve Days of Christmas relegated to the words of a cryptic traditional carol. Most people are simply too tired after Christmas Day to do much celebrating.

The "real" twelve days of Christmas are important not just as a way of thumbing our noses at secular ideas of the "Christmas season." They are important because they give us a way of reflecting on what the Incarnation means in our lives. Christmas commemorates the most momentous event in human history—the entry of God into the world He made, in the form of a baby. The Logos through whom the worlds were made took up His dwelling among us in a tabernacle of flesh.

So is there any chance we can keep Christmas out of the church until Christmas Day so we can appreciate the fullness of Advent and Christmas?  I didn't think so.  But I'd sure love to give it a try.  I'd love to get the full feel of the longing and anticipation, both for Christ's first coming and His coming again.  And I'd love to know what it would be like to extend Christmas and all it means for an extra twelve days instead of having it end on Christmas day.  Anyone like to join me? 

Grace and peace,

Dave

What Christmas is Really About

Winter Solstice and Christmas

Today (December 21/08) is Winter Solstice.  It is a special celebration for some people.  I decided to do a little research into its meaning and significance.  According to The Press Association this was the scene this morning at Stonehenge.

Hundreds of druids, pagans and tourists braved the gloomy weather to gather at Stonehenge on Sunday morning to celebrate the winter solstice.

The mystical stones attracted a crowd of 1,900 people, with some dressed in cloaks and robes, to see sunrise at the prehistoric site in Wiltshire.

The winter solstice is a pagan celebration held on the shortest day of the year.

Wikepedia says

The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradually lengthening nights and shortening days...  Worldwide, interpretation of the event has varied from culture to culture, but most cultures have held a recognition of rebirth, involving holidays, festivals, gatherings, rituals or other celebrations around that time.

There are clearly pagan connotations to the observance of the winter solstice, but I can't help but see how well it also fits with Christ's coming.  It seems that scholars don't really know the date of Jesus' coming to earth as a baby, but choosing a date just after the winter solstice, for whatever reasons, fits beautifully.  Winter solstice marks the end of the darkness and celebrates rebirth or the sun god.  

Scripture portrays Jesus' coming in similar terms.  Zacharias' prophecy at the birth of John the Baptist points to the Dayspring(KJV) or Sunrise that will visit us from on high to bring us light.  See Luke 1:76-79 for some context.  

A couple Christmas hymns draw attention to this passage and another from Malachi 4.  The third verse of O Come, O Come Emmanuel uses the title Day-Spring.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer 

Our spirits by Thine advent here

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night

And death's dark shadows put to flight.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Hark! the Herald Angels Sing contains the following words based on Malachi 4:

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings

"The Sun of Righteousness" is the correct spelling(not Son) taken directly from Malachi 4:2.  Jesus Christ is the sun of righteousness.  He is the Light of the world.  He is the dawning of a new day.  May we rejoice in His light and warmth this Christmas!

Grace and peace,

Dave

The Innkeeper- John Piper

I want to share a very moving poem with you, written by John Piper.  It is sad, yet victorious in Christ.  A lot like life is and can be.   It's worth it.  Enjoy!

Grace and peace,

Dave

Twelve Days of Christmas

I really hate the Twelve Days of Christmas song, but I like this video.  It's a great smile.  Hopefully your Christmas won't be this much of a hassle.  Take some time to ponder the Father's plan and the Saviour's gift.

Grace and peace,

Dave

Christmas Spirit

 My wife and I rang the bell and attended the kettle for a couple hours this afternoon in our town.  I had always assumed that the kettles were manned by Salvation Army personnel.  Not so, at least not exclusively.  A number of individuals and organizations get involved here.  Our church volunteered to ring the bells for a couple days this year.

We stood between the doors at our local Walmart.  It was an intriguing afternoon of observing people and their reaction to the kettle.  I tried to make eye contact with people coming in and either gave them a nod, a smile or a "How are you?"  Some acknowledged with a like response.  Some wouldn't make eye contact.  Some made a point of explaining that they had given previously.  Some put in loose change.  Some put in $20 bills.  All kinds of people gave and didn't give, but seniors seemed most open, friendly and prone to give.  I have no idea what all that means.  

It was an enjoyable experience: to chat with people I know and don't know, to help out a great cause, to give something back.  I found it a great boost to getting some real Christmas spirit.  So next time you pass by a kettle be sure to drop something in and give some thought to ringing the bells for an hour or two.  You won't be sorry.

Favourite Christmas Music

I thought I'd join my son and John K in mentioning one of my favourite Christmas hymns.  There are many good ones, but one of my favourites is Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne.  It doesn't seem to be too well known so it is not over-played.  I like the reference to how much Jesus left behind to come to earth, His humility, and especially the inclusion of why He came--to die.  I like that it is also made personal with the prayer, "O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee." 

The words are below.  You can listen to a choir version here.

What are your favourites?

 

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,

When Thou camest to earth for me;

But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room

For Thy holy nativity.

Refrain

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.

Refrain

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.

Refrain

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.

Refrain

When the heav’ns shall ring, and her choirs shall sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.”

My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.

"Always Winter, Never Christmas"?

Winter is most definitely my least favourite time of year.  I don't like the cold.  I don't like driving in snow or shoveling it.  I don't like going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark.  I don't get enough exercise.  I eat too much (Yes, I'm blaming those things on winter too).  I do not care for winter!  So why do I live in a part of the country that can have up to six months of it????

Yet there are a few bright spots in winter.  I must admit that fresh snow looks beautiful(from inside my house).  And then there is Christmas.  I do enjoy Christmas as the celebration of the birth of my Saviour and all the promises that will come to fruition in Him.  I'm reminded of the C. S. Lewis quote in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  Under the reign of the witch it is said to be "always winter, never Christmas."  But Jesus has come and we get to celebrate Christmas in the middle of winter both in this physical world and spiritually.  Jesus brought beauty and joy to the world's long winter.  Praise God for Christmas!

Now how can I tie my photos into this?  Oh yeah, sometimes in the midst of the bleakness of winter you can find some real beauty.  I took these shots on the way home from Thunder Bay a few weeks ago.  I think they capture the bleakness of winter, but also the beauty of God.

Grace and peace,

Dave