Stopping to Think

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day Their old familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat Of peace on earth, good will to men. I thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along the unbroken song Of peace on earth, good will to men. And in despair I bowed my head: "There is no peace on earth," I said, "For hate is strong and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good will to men." Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep; The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, good will to men." Till, ringing singing, on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, a chant sublime, Of peace on earth, good will to men! Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Commonplace Monday is a series of posts wherein, on Monday mornings, I share short quips, sentences -perhaps as much as a paragraph- which I have collected in my various commonplace books and files. I...

Throwback Thursday is a series of posts, wherein I will on (some) Thursdays post a piece of writing from back in the day. Generally not from this blog. I will edit lightly for readability, but my intention is to allow each piece to stand basically as written. Over the years my mind has shifted on many things, as my knowledge of life, the Scriptures, and myself has grown. I'm not in the business of hiding this fact, so these will probably (at least on occasion) contain some things which even I think are crazy. Originally posted on Facebook as, "Anything over 50 on gravel is dumb. Anything over 70 is scary.", December 4, 2009 at 2:23pm Public Friends of Friends Friends Friends except Acquaintances Only Me Custom Good feed South Lake Youth Ministries See all lists... Le Mars, Iowa Area Plummer, Idaho Area Family US Postal Service Acquaintances Go Back The title has nothing to do with the note, but I thought it might grab some attention. So last night I went and sa...

'Tis the season. The season of what? Well, of Christmas time, you might say. If you are in the mood for elaboration, you may be inclined to continue in such a way: the season for giving, the season for love, happiness, joy and cheer. Family, friends, good food, good drink, presents, a big fat elf, and maybe a little snow. Aaaaannnnddd, probably shouldn't forget that baby in a manger business. That's good too. If you like basketball, you might add the Christmas day games, but who watches the NBA on Christmas? Or ever? Anyhow. The sense you get from talking to most folks is that this is a season of joy. And of course for many, it is. Amidst all of the stress and the crunch and the rush, there is an undercurrent of I love spending this time with my family  or, I love presents-giving and receiving them! or, Christmas Eve is my favorite church service all year  or,  what makes the Christmas spirit brighter than Fireball and a Backwoods cigar? There are a lot of things to be ...

O come, O come, Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. 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. These are two of the verses to the familiar Christmas Hymn "O come, O come, Emmanuel." It is my favorite Christmas song, for a rather simple reason. In this song there is an incredible tension between an anxious, almost dejected, sense of waiting on the one hand; and a confident hope on the other.   On Sunday Andie and I started working through Desiring God's advent devotional, "Good News of Great Joy" (available free to download at http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/good-news-of-great-joy-free-advent-ebook ). And I have been struck by how little joy there is surrounding Ch...