Month: November 2014

Happy Thanksgiving

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

I Thessalonians 5:18

 

Being thankful is not always easy. It’s something I try to practice on a daily basis as I pray and think on the blessings I’ve received but not something I always accomplish. Of course, there is usually an emphasis on it around this time of year as Thanksgiving approaches. However, it seems this year there is more emphasis on what is wrong with the world. There has been a harsh focus for the past week on political and social differences with little focus on what is good and right with the world. I wanted to share with you some things for which I am thankful. I hope it encourages you to spend some time considering all you’ve been given.

Christ, Mom, Dad, Denise, Tori, Griff, Brittany, Addison, Logan, Jordyn, Korban, Lawson, Becca, Bradley, Maria, Goggy, Grandad, Kay, Scott, Ashlyn, Natalie, Lauren, Nathan, Clark, Jeff, CUMC, Matt, Zach, Pat, Joan, Berk, Michael, LPYC, Jim, Amy, Sarah, FUMC-Trussville Youth, Bluff Park UMC, ministry opportunities given to me, mercy, grace, the cross, music, and Advent Conspiracy.

This is just a small list of things currently on my mind but there are so many other people and things that I could share with you. I have lived a blessed life, even when I maybe wasn’t able to see it or realize it.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful and happy Thanksgiving Day.

Music Monday 11.24.14

“Thankful” by Josh Groban

I had been having a pretty rough day last week when I heard this song for the first time. It has actually been on a playlist that I listen to often and I had either not noticed it before or it simply hadn’t played before that time. I was stressed, I was upset, and I was complaining to myself about a person that had really aggravated me earlier in the day. I was going through my day in a less-than-great mood blinded to everything around me. As I stewed, this song came on Spotify. I didn’t immediately notice it really, I was too concerned with myself (the irony found in the first three lines of the song). I was dwelling on how that person had upset me when the song finally grabbed my attention with “Each of us can find each other’s light”. I started the song over and listened to it a couple times. I googled the lyrics and listened again.

Even as we approach Thanksgiving this Thursday, it’s easy for each of us to get caught up in day-to-day stress and forget all the things for which we should be thankful. I know because I’m guilty of it and I see others do the same. This song was a refreshing reminder of how important it is for us to focus on the positive of what we have been given…even those people who may aggravate us at times. Every person brings something to the table and enhances this thing we call life, and it’s up to us to “find each other’s light” as we all “find our truth”.

 

I’ve created a playlist on Spotify featuring all the songs from Music Monday, feel free to follow it along with the posts.

Music Monday 11.17.14

“Lux Aurumque” by Eric Whitacre (performed by the Westminster Cathedral Choir)

I loved being a member of the University of Montevallo Concert Choir. I have many fond memories singing with this ensemble and built many friendships through my participation in this group. During my first semester, we sang what has become one of my favorite choral Christmas pieces, Lux Aurumque. It was the third time I’d ever sung an Eric Whitacre piece and he’d already been a favorite composer of mine before then. The text, the music, the phrasing…combine it with some signature Eric Whitacre cluster chords and it’s a hauntingly beautiful way to capture the spirit of Christmas. I know that not everyone is a fan of “classical” or choral music, but I don’t know how someone can not be mesmerized when listening to this piece.

Lux,
Calida gravisque pura velut aurum
Et canunt angeli molliter
modo natum.

Light,
warm and heavy as pure gold
and angels sing softly
to the new-born babe.

 

I’ve created a playlist on Spotify featuring all the songs from Music Monday, feel free to follow it along with the posts.

A Different Kind of Gift

I really enjoy giving gifts. There’s something exciting to me about picking out a gift for someone and giving it to them to celebrate a holiday, commemorate an occasion, or just brighten their day. That’s just another reason Christmas is exciting to me. (Side note: I feel like all my recent and near future posts are about Christmas but meh, ’tis the season). I spend a good deal of time thinking about the gifts I give in hopes that they will be wanted, practical, and appreciated.

I try to take the same approach when people ask me what I want for Christmas. A few days ago, as I was thinking about who I was buying for this year, what I was buying them, and what I wanted, I was shown a video for an organization called Advent Conspiracy.

Numbers can be very shocking…and the fact that Americans spend $450 billion a year on the holiday season is hard to swallow even without taking into consideration the fact that $10 billion would solve the worlds water crisis. Here’s another shocking fact: that video was made in 2008…it is currently estimated that Americans spend close to $601 billion on the holidays. $601,000,000,000.

There is another organization called Sole Hope. Sole Hope was founded by friends of a friend to provide shoes for children in Uganda who otherwise wouldn’t own a pair. Not only do they have to walk around barefoot in rocky dirt, they have to encounter jiggers that live in that dirt (Jiggers, not chiggers). It only costs $10 to provide a pair of shoes for child. $10. I own a pair of Cole Haan wingtips, they are my favorite shoes and they cost $250. The cost of those one pair of shoes could literally put shoes on the feet of 25 children.

Now, this is not meant to be a guilt trip. I don’t feel bad for owning my Cole Haans, I don’t feel bad for buying Christmas gifts for my loved ones and I certainly don’t want you to feel bad for it either. My goal is not to get you to give up everything for Christmas and give all your money to solve the world water crisis or put shoes on the entire continent of Africa. However, imagine with me for a second what could happen if we just cut back. Instead of spending $100 on a Christmas present, we spent $50 and then gave $50 to Advent Conspiracy. Instead of spending $1000 on Black Friday, we spent $500 and gave $500 to Sole Hope.

I’ve decided to cut back on my gift giving and holiday spending this year and I’m asking anyone intending to buy me a present, to donate instead. I’ve chosen Advent Conspiracy and Sole Hope for my own purposes but you can donate to whatever cause you see fit to be best served with your money. For every dollar I spend on a Christmas present, I’ve chosen to put $2 towards one of these two charities. I live within a budget as do most people so I simply can’t spend what I might normally spend on presents, I have to cut back…but it’s something I believe can make a difference.

I don’t know, maybe I’m naive, maybe I’m too hopeful, but there is something incredible about the idea that I can make a difference just by cutting back. If we’re just willing to adjust our lives slightly, together we can change someones life.

 

Make a difference by donating to Advent Conspiracy or Sole Hope.

Merry Thanksgiving and Happy Christmas

It’s no secret to anyone that I love Christmas. I mean love it. The music, the movies, the decorations, the tacky sweaters…it makes me happy. For one reason or another, some people seem to take offense to my love of Christmas extending to before Thanksgiving and even Halloween. To these people, I say: get over it.

I love Christmas and I want it to last as long as possible. You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to. Feel free to wait until the Friday after Thanksgiving if you want. Feel free to wait until Christmas Eve if you want. I’m not going to fault you for celebrating Christmas the way you want to and I expect the same from you.

Here’s the thing: being pro-Christmas isn’t being anti-Thanksgiving. I like Thanksgiving. I like the idea of our families coming together to be thankful for our blessings from throughout the year and football. Just because I begin listening to Christmas music or talking about Christmas before Thanksgiving, doesn’t mean I hate the holiday. I’m not going to force my music on you so don’t get upset with me for choosing to listen to it.

I’m not going to lie, about four months ago, I dreaded the thought of Christmas this year. The Christmas season has always been important to me and it was a big deal to me and my ex-wife. It was something we both shared…and the thought of having to go through the season recently divorced honestly scared the hell out of me. I thought I would only be able to dwell on the lost memories and therefore be depressed. Instead, my mind has been more clear than ever before of the “reason for the season”.

Christmas is a time to celebrate a God who, for our sakes, loved us enough to take on human form and come down to a dark world with the sole intent of enduring the cross and sanctifying us with his sacrificial death. Why am I supposed to wait until after Thanksgiving again? It’s cliche but I don’t care because it literally is the greatest story ever told. It is the most perfect gift ever given.

So if I want to sing “O Holy Night” on November 1st or watch Charlie Brown Christmas on November 12th, don’t be upset. You celebrate how you want and I’ll celebrate how I want. Neither my wanting to celebrate early or you’re wanting to celebrate later is greater than the other, it’s just different perspectives that ultimately achieve the same goal of recognizing the beginning of a great sacrifice. I hope you enjoy this holiday season, I know I will. Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas.

Music Monday 11.10.14

“Let There Be Peace on Earth”

Because of our mutual affinity for all things Christmas, Becca created a Spotify playlist of Christmas music back in September. When I opened the playlist a couple weeks ago to begin listening to Christmas music for the year, Harry Connick Jr. singing “Let There Be Peace on Earth” was the first song that came on.

I’ve always loved this song. It takes me back to my high school choir days when we closed our Christmas concert every year by singing it as a blessing of sorts for the audience. I thought it was a very appropriate “first song” for my Christmas music listening season, although, I don’t really think it should be a Christmas song. I understand the connotation of connecting peace with Christmas and it’s a great association, but “peace on Earth” is something we should strive for all year long.

Mahatma Gandhi said “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” As we approach Advent and Christmas, take some time to dwell on peace, hope, and love and how it is connected to this season…but also take some time to think about how it should not be contained or limited to this time of year. Take some time to think about how peace can find a place on Earth if everyone would find a way to “let it begin with me.”

 

I’ve created a playlist on Spotify featuring all the songs from Music Monday, feel free to follow it along with the posts.

Music Monday 11.03.14

“Born is the King (It’s Christmas)” by Hillsong Worship

If you know me at all, you know that “Christmas is my favorite” just like Buddy the Elf. That’s why I start listening to Christmas music in October every year…and that’s just for my own personal pleasure. When I was directing choirs, I started listening in August to make our Christmas concert and Advent service selections.

I indulge the fact that most people aren’t quite as in to Christmas as me so I don’t make a big deal about my listening to the music until after Halloween but I simply can’t wait until after Thanksgiving like so many people request.

I first heard this song a couple years ago. The first thing I like about it is that it’s a contemporary Christmas worship song, those are few and far between. What I like most about it is that it’s upbeat and reflects the beauty of this season…the idea that we serve a God who loves us so much that he would come down and take on human form to save us from ourselves. Christmas is celebratory because it’s a time for us to reflect on why we even have a reason to celebrate in the first place.

“Goodwill to all the earth
And peace divine
All of the earth rejoice
It’s Christmas time”

 

I’ve created a playlist on Spotify featuring all the songs from Music Monday, feel free to follow it along with the posts.