Coffee With Jesus

With Christmas having come and gone, it is time to reflect a bit. How did we do at keeping Jesus at the center of Christmas? Was He an 'add-on' or did we encounter Him in our interactions with friends and family? Did we hear him afresh through the familiar carols? In the midst of gifts, did we pause and 'give space' to be thankful for the gifts we have every day from the hand of Jesus? This little vignette gives is a humorous reminder of how NOT to pray.

What Makes it Seem Like Christmas?

Here are the results of those responding to my poll by the same name as this post title.

63% said putting up the Christmas Tree
27% traveling to see the family
22% wrapping presents
4% arguing over white lights versus coloured

For me, it would have to be traveling to see and/or 'spending time together with the family'.

Merry Christmas - Mr. Bean Style...

Tracking Santa Claus

Here's the latest video of Santa being tracked by NORAD...

Top 5 gifts under $25...

In these challenging economic times, it is important that we do our best to stretch our money as much as we can. Now, more than ever, it is important to not overspend and overstretch out budgets. Here's the top 5 gifts UNDER $25!


Simply Colors Personalized Long-Sleeve T-shirt This is a Canadian company that does a great job on a unique product! Kids love the bright, fun colours and having their name or favourite image on the punchy, personalized shirts (there are 10 colors of shirts, 17 different fonts, 24 ink colors and 34 different illustrations which means the sky’s the limit when it comes to the creative process) Custom-design at mass prices—you ‘simply’ can’t go wrong.(from $16.90, available from www.simplycolors.ca)

BRÄDA laptop support

If you're like me, you can't resist using your laptop in bed, ignoring pesky thoughts of impending carpal tunnel syndrome. This laptop lap desk has a sturdy, heat-resistant surface and a pocket on the side for your cell phone or MP3 -- perfect for web surfing or e-mailing in a non-desk environment.

($19.99; Ikea; www.ikea.ca)

Diaper Dude Diaper Bag

This is the option for the man that doesn't want to carry a diaper bag with pretty flowers and lace. It looks a bit more like your classic 'man-bag' rather than a pack to carry diaper wipes, diapers, and lilac smelling cream and bottles of breast milk.

1500 Live LadyBugs - GOOD BUGS!

Ok - I'll admit that getting bugs for Christmas is a little odd. For the gardener on your list, this is a great gift. For under $20, you can get these bugs to help out in their garden. Rose gardeners in particular will appreciate the aphid eating Lady Bugs... check out Amazon for details.






Perfect Solutions Shower Clock with Radio

For the music lover or the techno geek, this could be the gift you need! You can pick this up at Sear Canada website. With a full AM/FM radio and a clock, they can sing along to your heart's content and still be on time for work!

How Does God Answer Prayer?

We have talked and prayed about responding to homelessness and the need of the disadvantaged. Last year, on a very snowy night, we took the girls out to check under the bridges and in some other spots to see if there was anyone we could help with blankets, coffee, food or whatever we could. We couldn't find anyone, as by that time, the Bridge (i think) and St.George's had opened up all night to get people off the street - if only to have a place to sit and drink a coffee.

It was encouraging to hear the impact of that simple walk in the snow on our daughter, Alaina. She has a very tender heart for the needs of others. We've talked much about and pray for God's help in responding to social justice needs (prayer for Congo, homeless, needy, etc.). However, we hadn't really talked about the issue above specifically since.

Tonight, while I was braiding Alaina's hair, she says, "Dad, I think that we need to go out again if it gets cold and snowy to check under the bridges. People will need help" We talked about how people are going out even now (yea, Miranda!) and how great that is.

On top of that, I then was able to talk with her that hopefully that won't be happening this year, because our church family is responding. It is awesome to know that Pastor Scott and our church council, in response to a need in our community, have willingly opened up the church as an emergency cold weather shelter with beds and safety this winter. I've heard that around 15 people from Northgate have volunteered to help out at the shelter. I honour all for taking this step because it took money to make some facility upgrades, as well as a commitment that we will alter our schedule to accommodate this when necessary.

As God has answered our prayers for ideas and solutions to help others, as usual it seems that He responds by having us be part of the solution. I am reminded of the following quote

God answers sharp and sudden on some prayers,
And thrusts the thing we have prayed for in our face,
A gauntlet with a gift in it. Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

We (Northgate) have been given the gift of being able to join God in doing some small part of seeing people 'restored'...and my children get to see again the goodness of God work through the people of God... responding positively to needs in the world.

Cancel Christmas?!

When I was around 7 or 8, our family basically cancelled Christmas. As it has been explained to me, there was 2-fold reasoning behind this. First, there was a lot of 'theological' justification going around then that Christmas was a pagan festival. I'm not going to get into that here. Secondly, the excess of presents and celebration had apparently fostered entitlement and ungratefulness.

We originally had a tree with all the trimmings, presents, traveling out to the relatives in AB, decorations and a general festive feel. We went from that down to no tree, little if any decorations, 1 (one) present, no more trips to the relatives at Christmas and a general (at least for me) feeling of dread instead of celebration. I dreaded the calls from friends telling me the presents they got. I just wish we'd had caller ID back then! :-) Christmas went from being the happiest time of the year to pretty much just another day.

When I was about 16, we slowly worked our way back into celebrating Christmas. My brother and I went and got a tree and put it up. My sister, who worked at Home Hardware, brought home some decorations and we were in business!

I understand, what my parents were trying to do. Although I didn't like or agree with their method (then or n0w), they were attempting to be Christ focused and for that I'm thankful.

I really do like Christmas. It is possible that there are some pagan festivals that it replaced Yes, there is excess, ungratefulness and entitlement. HOWEVER, I am not going to let the wrong emphasis of some or the failings of others govern my behaviour. Let's replace those ideas and origins with an overt celebration of Christ's birth. Our family will CELEBRATE and WORSHIP this Christmas season.

Some of the things that we will do are:
pause...
...be intentionally thankful
...serve someone else
...vocally celebrate God's goodness
...regularly remind our family of the 'why' of Christmas
...give to those that can't give in return
...talk about the blessing of salvation

How will you intentionally keep CHRISTmas Christ focused?