Preparing for the Birthday of the Prince of Peace

We're visiting Jonathan, Heidi, Kai, Salem and Faith in South Carolina. Last night Jonathan and I went to the airport to pick up Marisa. The traffic was mayhem! Today, Jonathan and Heidi had to go to a "doc in the box" because Heidi needed an antibiotic - she hasn't been feeling well. Just before supper time (that's the evening meal when you are from the south) Debbie and I decided to brave the great unknown and go to the grocery store. Again - mayhem! Tomorrow (the eve of Christmas eve) there are still more gifts to purchase. It seems strange that the celebration of the birthday of the prince of peace had become an exercise in ... ah ... um ... shall I use the word yet again? ... MAYHEM! What's even more strange is that I am one who is supposed to know better, and yet I seem to be contributing to the problem. I have always tried to teach others to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. So once again, I must pray "Lord Jesus, be born in me today!" Amen.

Just In Time For Christmas

"Christian Gaming" has just reached a new low. There is now a game available at WalMart, endorsed by Focus on the Family, that allows "Christian Crusaders" to kill people who won't convert to Christianity. Here is a part of the article I just discovered.

Aimed at conservative Christians, the game's story line begins in a time after the "rapture," when fundamentalist dogma contends that Christians will go to heaven. The remaining population on earth must then choose between surrendering to or resisting "the Antichrist," which the game describes as the "Global Community Peacekeepers," whose objective is the imposition of "one-world government."

"Part of the object is to kill or convert the opposing forces," Simpson said. This is "antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ," he said, adding that he was dismayed by the concept in "Eternal Forces" of using prayer to restore a player's "spirit points" after killing the enemy." In the game, combatants on one side pause for prayer, intoning, "Praise the Lord." A player can lose points for "unnecessary killing" but regain them through prayer.

I want to encourage you to read the entire article, "Death To Infidels Via Video Game," by William Fisher. Just click on his name to go to the article.

A Complicated (and JOYOUS) Christmas Season

This year is the most complicated Christmas season we have ever had. We knew the complications would come - they come for all families. When I was growing up, my mom and dad and us kids joined my uncle, aunt and cousins at my grandparents' house. It was all great! Then the kids started getting married and having their own children. Suddenly, my parents and my uncle and aunt became the grandparents. We tried for a while to keep things ever the same, but it got complicated. Children grow up, get married, have children and move to different parts of the country. Not only do we become grandparents, but the parents of our "kids-in-law" also become grandparents and they want to spend time with their children and grandchildren at holiday times. I completely understand why we stopped meeting at my grandparents' home and they began to alternate between their children's homes each Christmas. That brings me back to our complicated schedule. Jonathan and Heidi just had a new baby - so it is impossible for them to travel this year. Hence, we are going there - South Carolina. Alicia and Ashley will spend Christmas with his parents. Then on the 26th, we fly back home to greet the "A Team" (get it? A-licia, A-shley, A-ria) when they arrive on the 28th. Then we get to open gifts AGAIN! In the midst of it all, we get to help out at the One Thing Young Adult Conference sponsored by the International House of Prayer (Dec. 28-31).

I've been pretty negligent in my blogging lately anyway, but I don't expect it to get better over the next couple of weeks. However, I'll try to give updates as often as I can. I hope you all have a blessed (and less complicated) Christmas!

Christmas Cards

We love to get Christmas Cards! Now I don't say that in order to goad some of you who read this into sending me a card - but should the thought occur to you .... One of the most fun cards I have gotten so far this year came by way of email today. Check out the link. You get to tell the "singing chins" what Christmas carol you want them to sing, and after a moment of "thinking" they will either sing it, or tell you that they don't know that one. It isn't a big deal, but it was fun, and it reveals just how easily pleased I am. Enjoy!

http://www.sundog.net/carolofthechins/flash/index.html

Useless Information

You can file this post under the category of useless information. I was scanning my latest issue of "Men's Health" and ran across the following article. I submit it for your consideration. Should the days of snow ever come again, some of you may want to try this and let me know how it works.

WHEN YOU'RE BUILDING A SNOWMAN
DO THIS: Watch the clock. Sculpt your snowman between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and "the sun will warm the snow so it's wet enough to stick," says Mark Mason, a member of the professional snow-building group Team Snowtastic. "If you wait until later, it could be too slushy."

NOT THAT: Don't roll up half of the woods. Rake the yard clean the night before a big snowfall, or try to harvest snow from driveways or patios, where twigs, sticks, and rocks won't clutter your creation. "Leaves and rocks absorb more sunlight and heat, and make it melt faster," says Mason.

Ok - that's it. May your snowman building project be the best ever!

Faith!

Need I say more? Probably not, but I will. She was born Thursday morning (Dec. 7) at 12:30. She weighed 6 lb. 14 oz. (That's 3.1 kg for you metric folks). She was 19 inches (48.26 cm) long. We can't see it because of the cap, but Jonathan says she has dark hair. I got to hear her cry on Thursday morning, and she sounded like she has a future as a prophetic singer! Debbie and I are looking forward to meeting her on Dec. 19. What a great little Christmas present -- this truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

Announcing the Arrival of Faith Adelaide!!

We were awakened at 1:15 this morning by the ringing telephone. It was Jonathan telling us that our newest grand baby - Faith Adelaide Mills - had made her appearance. Heidi delivered her AT HOME (these kids have more courage than me) with the help of a midwife and everything had gone well. I'll give more details later - but I'm excited because Debbie and I get to fly to South Carolina on the 19th to meet this beautiful new granddaughter. Congratulations Heidi and Jonathan!

Cool Beans in Madison

Well, here I sit at "Cool Beans" coffee shop in Madison, WI - I feel so much like Randy Bohlender that it terrifies me. My biggest problem is that I'm sitting here with a cup of coffee that I can't identify with the eloquence of RB, but I must say that it's pretty good stuff - almost as good as the Maxwell House I see advertised on TV - I'm resisting the urge to stand and sing, "Our house is a very, very, very fine house!"

Anyway - we came to do a teaching session with the interns at the All Nations House of Prayer on Monday. In the mean time, we get to see Aria, Alicia, and Ashley. So what am I doing in the coffee shop alone at 2:15 pm on Saturday? Well, Ashley is working at the Princeton Health and Fitness Club; and Debbie, Alicia, and Aria are at the Mall with 5 billion other Christmas shoppers. So this seemed like a great place to hang out until everyone is back together.

I wonder if I'm the only one to notice this, but .... IT'S COLD UP HERE!!! I'm not a fan of the cold. I think I've mentioned that before. But I am a fan of family and the prayer movement - so a little cold will not get in my way of promoting both.

For those of you (at least 2) who have read this little blog lately, there is quite a debate raging of the identification of "The Emerald Isle." Check out the last couple of posts for details. Perhaps you will want to enter you expertise into the mix. Feel free. I love the suspense.

In the mean time, I'm headed back to my cup of unidentified coffee (I hope Randy will not be too disappointed in my lack of java knowledge) and then home to catch a few minutes with Aria before her pm nap.