The Nature of the Nativity: Day 15 - Jesus

Quick, come with me; I've got something I want you to see.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 13 - The Scribes

Well, it's lucky day 13 of our journey through the nativity, and it happens to fall on a Friday! (cue suspenseful music) I'm writing this on Wednesday/Thursday, so it should be safe. Let's jump right in and get back to work on our nativity. Today I want to look at the Scribes. I'm sure some of you are looking at me confused because you don't remember any scribes in the Christmas story. Some of you are having issues with the whiteboard my scribes are using. Just go with it. 

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 9 - The Shepherds

It's Day 9; don't you just love Mondays? I do.We have staff devotions, and then staff meeting. Then, if the preacher's here, the ministers all go eat Mexican food. If the preacher's not here, the rest of the staff rebels and eats anything but Mexican food...except me because I love cheese dip. Sadly they have now built a certain fast food Mexican establishment here in Pontotoc; one that doesn't serve cheese dip. I have the feeling that we will be frequenting that restaurant whose name rhymes with Shmocko Shmell. Well, enough about my problems. Let's get back to setting up our nativity. Today is all about the shepherds.

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 2 - The Table

Thanks for coming back! If you're like me, it's easy to get side tracked even though you have the best intentions. If you're just joining us, we are taking a 15 day journey through the nativity searching for spiritual truths. Yesterday we spent some time on why Jesus came and what God was doing with the Baby in the Manger. Today, we begin setting up our nativity scene.

I enjoy the Christmas season. I like the lights, the trees, the smells, and, of course, the eating. However, the preparation is not something I enjoy. Not only do we have to drag our extensive collection of boxes out of the attic, but we have to also put away all the other...stuff to make room. It just so happens, that everywhere Beth wants to put Christmas decorations there are already everyday decorations. Believe it or not, we don't have a bunch of empty end tables and shelves 11 months out of the year. As I said, all of this needs to be put away to make room. There are currently two nativities on display in our home. Both of them are taking the place of something else. In my office, I had to move my Lego Death Star and Lego Millennium Falcon to make room for my new breakable nativity scene that I inherited. 

"That's no moon...it's a space station."

The Nature of the Nativity: Day 1 - Introduction

I inherited a nativity scene from my grandmother this year. No, she didn't pass away; my receiving this nativity was a product of her downsizing for a move coupled with my tendency to steal and hide baby Jesus during family events. I would like to say that this happened strictly when I was child, but in reality I did it quite often as an adult. My favorite episode was when baby Jesus was discovered inside my grandmother's roll halfway through Christmas dinner. So, because of my goofy sense of humor, I now have a breakable nativity scene.   And just a disclaimer, the above picture is not the nativity I inherited. Hopefully I don't inherit every nativity scene I vandalize, since I have a hard time refraining when I walk by one. My mom once found Mary, Joseph, the Shepherds, and the Wisemen playing dice for Monopoly money. Mary was making a killing if I recall correctly.

Phoebe and the Security Blanket

Phoebe is our 64 lb. doberman...

Phoebe is our 64 lb. Doberman. It came as a shock to some when we got her, probably because our two previous dogs were miniature dachshunds. When I'm asked why we got such a big dog my reply is, "I wanted a dog that wasn't allergic to truck tires like dachshunds seem to be". For all her perceived viciousness, Phoebe is actually one of the most "loving" dogs I've had. She is always wanting to be right up under one of us. It's a regular thing for the kids to spread out a blanket  on the couch so she can sit with them, for Beth to holler at the dog to "quit standing on me" while she sits in the recliner, or for me to gripe about having no where to put my feet because the dog is curled up at the foot of my chair. There are constant wet-nosed hand nudges, push you off your feet leg leanings, and sad-eyed food beggings at our house. But her favorite place to be is in our bed. This silly dog rolls over on her back in between us with her feet up in the air like a dead bug and proceeds to fall asleep. The term "goofy dog" comes out of my mouth quite often.

Forsaken Son

Easter is nearly here. On Sunday morning, my family will wake up, get dressed, and join with countless others around the world to celebrate Christ's resurrection from the dead. We will sing praises to God that are filled with barely containable joy. We will listen, with enraptured hearts, to a sermon proclaiming the wonders God has done for us through Christ Jesus. But now, in this week leading up to Easter, we remember the awful things that lead up to our Easter joy. As we read the events found in the Gospels, we come face to face with pain, suffering, grief, and unimaginable love.

Grass Mowing Goats

...I hate mowing my grass...

I hate mowing grass. Let me rephrase; I hate mowing my grass. A good part of our yard is low, so water collects from our yard and from our neighbors' yard. This means it takes twice as long for it to be dry enough for me to not leave holes and ruts when I mow. All the excess water feeds gigantic clumps of crab grass, not to mention a variety of weeds, that grow twice as fast as the centipede grass that is in the rest of  the yard. On top of that, if my grass gets too tall, I run the risk of receiving a fine from the city. So, if it rains on a consistent basis, I find myself in ankle deep marsh sludge using my weed eater to knock the tops off the mutant grass and weeds that infest my yard. There are many days that I have wished I owned some goats to make the whole thing easier.

Garbage Can Lids and Snarling Wolves

My town recently went to the big, plastic, flip-top garbage cans for the garbage truck with the mechanized arm. This is great for a number of reasons. The cans are larger and sturdier than the ones you can buy at the store. This one will hold a weeks worth of trash plus whatever junk I pull out of the garage. The hinged lid means I don't have to go searching for the lid after every thunderstorm. The truck comes down the road instead of the back alley, so now I don't have to traipse across the back yard in the torrential downpour to take the trash out. Most importantly it frees up the old metal trash cans and allows them to be used in a more vital roll...shields. If you've got a stick and a garbage can lid, you're all set for a fun afternoon. Growing up we had the big, stupid, plastic ones but my grandparents had two metal ones with lids. The best thing was, my grandfather had a cinder block pit where he burned trash so the cans were usually empty and the lids were fair game! Boy did my brother and I stink at blocking with those shields.

Garbage can lids are not very effective shields. For a shield to be effective it has to fit the situation. A small round shield works great for hand to hand combat between two lone fighters, but wouldn't do so good deflecting a flight of arrows. By the same token a larger, knee to shoulder shield works great against arrows but could hinder a fighter in a gladiator bout. Certain shields were designed for certain things and to use them successfully you have to use them the way they were intended to be used. To use them any other way, or to use a garbage can lid instead, can lead to dire consequences. Grab your Bible and turn to John chapter 10.

Surrender the Flag

I have put together a puzzle or two in my life. I don't think I ever actually start one, but I always stop and help someone else with theirs. I can still remember my parents rules if we were working on a puzzle together. "Always start with the edges! Corners first!" Now let's be honest, if there are a thousand puzzle pieces on a table and all of them are the size of a toddlers fingernail then finding the four corners can take a while! 

My three preschoolers and I were visiting at my parent's house recently, and I watched as my mom tried to enforce these same rules with my kids. I made sure my snickers weren't audible. My three year old would lose interest rather quickly and just leave. My 4 year old daughter understood perfectly, but you can't tell her anything right now. She has to do it her way. While she is very analytical and does well with the puzzles, its slow progress because she has to use trial and error instead of your help. 

On the other side of the table, I could see my four year old son's confusion at the concept of flat sides and corners. He's used to the pieces you slide around on the wooden frame until they accidentally pop in place. Once my mom helped him with the outside pieces, he decided he would do the rest of the 30 piece Spiderman puzzle on his own...without help. Saying that to his sister, as nosy and bosssy as she is, is like throwing gasoline on a fire.  When he says, "Don't help me", she automatically starts creeping over next to him. As soon as he looks down she starts instructing him as to how he should be doing it. "I said leave me ALONE!" Once I make her leave the table completely I watch my son put his puzzle together with his Mammaw (who is "not" helping). She hands him a piece to "try". Now my mom and I could both see that the piece needed to be turned just a little. My son lays it down and starts beating it with his fist, trying to force it in. I think my mom picked the puzzles up for a few years.

Since we're talking about puzzles (most likely against your will), have you ever watched someone work on a puzzle? It is the dullest thing...EVER! Why? They are doing it too slow.That piece doesn't go there. You're doing it the wrong way. Bottom line, it's because we aren't in control.

Jif Peanut Butter and God's Love

 As I've mentioned in previous posts, I can be a little picky when it comes to food. Aside from textures and food mixtures, recipes are very important. Some dishes have specific ways they should be made. Cornbread should be made with bacon grease, not sugar. Muffins are made with sugar. Brand names also fall under this category. JIF peanut butter is the best there is (the first spoonful is the best!). Regardless of what my wife (or my secretary) says, Bryan wieners are the only appropriate choice for a hot dog. And if your going to eat American cheese slices...it has to be Kraft. There are more, but you get the idea. Before you start rolling your eyes, stop and think about your own peculiarities. All joking aside, what things do you not like to compromise on? It may not be food related, but there are things in your life that you consider unalterable. If object x is missing characteristic y, then it couldn't conceivably be object x. The last six weeks we've been looking at God's personal attributes piece by piece. Today I want to look at them as a whole. I want to show you how God's love is one of those things that has no substitute.First let's review the main verse we've been using, Exodus 34:6-7.

"I Do!"

I remember the day I got married. There are probably nicer ways to phrase it, but that seems the most accurate. Once you say the words, "I do", and then sign that paper...you've got it. I'm not saying marriage is a bad thing (I happen to think it's wonderful). I am saying that it is something that is not casual or insignificant. When you get married, you really do get "hitched". You are attached to this person for the rest of your life. Not only that, but there were promises that you agreed to that must be fulfilled.  "I promise to love and cherish you. I promise to support you and care for you no matter what. Even if you get burned to a crisp, lose all of your limbs, and develop chronic intestinal issues I will stay with you." Here's an aside that can be rather dangerous, but will serve the illustration well later. My wife and I have had the conversation that I think every couple has had, "Would you still love me if...?". Now guys get tired of this line of questioning. We probably feel it is a slight against our character or that our promise at the wedding wasn't good enough. The problem is we don't understand what she is really asking. If we had a translator it would sound something like this, "I've met a lot of bad guys. I've met guys that were only interested in my physical attributes. I've dated guys that loved me as long as I pleased them. I've known guys who only cared about what they could get out of a relationship...they used me and then threw me away when they were done. Are you like those guys? Do you really love me?"

There is a way that seems right...

I'm sorry, but if there is truth there is also falsehood. Many people in our world would certainly disagree with me. Society, especially that found in the U.S., chooses to believe that each person can decide for themselves what is right and wrong as long as it does not encroach on choices made by anyone else. Some even believe this to be a modern development, a crowning achievement of our forward thinking society. This is not the case. Mankind has found ways to justify its actions throughout history. Interestingly, when you step back a few hundred years all the justifications look a lot like, "I did it because I wanted to." In this blog, I desire to show you the Truth of God that is found in Jesus Christ.