Christmas

December 20, 2014

A Special Christmas Gift

Christmas PresentEarlier this month, I had a conversation with a judge who recently retired after serving as a state court judge for more than 20 years. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “John.” John is in his early 60s, and during our conversation he asked me how many grandchildren I have. I told him that after adding three new grandsons last month, my wife and I have 10 grandchildren.

December 28, 2013

A Duck Hunter Wins One for the Christians

Phil RobertsonOn Christmas morning, my wife sent a text message to me and our children with a link to a YouTube video.  The beginning of the video showed images from the first Christmas.  The audio that played in the background was from the segment of “A Charlie Brown Christmas” where Linus recited the famous passage from the Gospel of Luke: “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them….”

December 1, 2013

MEDITATIONS FOR ADVENT

Holy FamilyAdvent is now upon us. What is Advent? It’s a time of waiting, a time of preparation — spiritual preparation for the anniversary of the coming of Jesus Christ. Instead of making spiritual preparations during Advent, many of us get caught up in the demands of everyday living. Any extra time that we have is spent on the material preparations that have become an annual tradition, such as buying gifts, decorating our homes and work areas, planning parties, and baking treats.

December 22, 2012

The True Spirit of Christmas

NativityDuring my sophomore year in high school, I had a friend with whom I would regularly compete to see who could lift the most weights. (For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “Frank.”) Anytime one of us challenged the other, we would meet in the locker room to see who could bench press the most weight. Frank had an advantage over me because he was a year older, two inches taller, and weighed about thirty pounds more than I did.

December 24, 2011

The Divine Apology

I grew up in the country in a family neighborhood that included seven families.  My grandparents lived next door to my parents, and all of the other families in the neighborhood were made up of my aunts, uncles, and cousins.  One of the uncles was my dad’s brother, Bill Williams.  His house was located next to a wooded area where he would sometimes hunt for rabbits and quail.  Uncle Bill loved hunting so much, he set up a little “gun shop” in his basement where he could re-fill his own shotgun shells.

December 18, 2010

The Construction of A Kingdom

When I was growing up, I loved building things.  My dad bought me my first tool set when I was 7 years old.  It consisted of genuine child-sized tools, and included a real hammer, hand saw, pliers, screwdrivers, measuring tape, and a “carpenter’s pencil.”  My earliest childhood memories include many instances when I helped my dad or grandfather with building projects.

November 28, 2009

The Bell Ringers Are Back Already?

Salvation Army World War I Poster

Salvation Army World War I Poster