Lurkers Coming Out Party…

Well, I leave 30-40 degree-partly-sunny-with-a-chance-of-mixed-snow-and-rain-Bellingham, Washington for 75-85 degree sunny-with-a-chance-of-a-quick-shower-but-it-doesn’t-really-matter-because-I’m-in-Honolulu, Hawaii tomorrow. This will be a trip for my wife and I back to the mother land to hang out with family and friends, read books, and hang out on many different beaches. I love it.

Before I leave, I wanted to welcome people who lurk this blog. A lurker is someone who checks in once in a while. They want to leave a message but they never do. Is it because they don’t know me? Is it because they don’t want to be held accountable for their words? I say phooey to this. Lurkers come out! Be proud. I was once a lurker of some sites but when called out, I came out.

I figured since I would be gone for until Jan. 11th, this would be a good time to ask people who they were. Maybe you need something to talk about? I have three songs that I just added on my MySpace Music Page. Listen to them. Add me as a friend. Let me know who you are and what you do. Let’s be friends. To quote the White Stripes, “I can tell that we are going to be friends”.

If you want to know when I come back and begin blogging again, click on that orange square up in the right hand corner and subscribe. I write often on this, so I am good for it.

Aloha Goodbye for now,

ron

A Couple Good Sites…

I found these sites in my flight through the world wide web. I thought that I would share them with you:

Mr Deity – A funny look at God creating the world. Smart Humor for Smart People. That’s you and me.

The Top 10 Most Embarassing ways to die in the Bible - Exactly as it reads.

Joshua Longbrake - Mars Hill Graduate Student (Not Driscoll’s Mars Hill – a common hated mistake amongst some of their students). Artist. Great Writer. Love him.

The Art of the Mix – Making mix tapes – or CD’s – that matter.

Small Ritual – Blogger. Artist. inspiring.

High Five!

It seems that the obligatory Christmas question to blog is, “what did you get for christmas”. My wife gave me an iTunes card to buy two CD’s that I’ve been waiting for for a while: Rocky Votolato’s “Makers” and Sufjan Stevens “Michigan”. My other gift from my wife was one that I cannot wait to use – a day of unlimited high fives. My wife hates high fives from me because they are “only for buddies, not wives”, so a whole day of unlimited high fives is amazing for me. Here comes the awesomeness of this gift, we leave for Hawaii on Monday morning at 4:00 in the morning. That gives me a whole extra 4-5 hours of high fives. Not only that, but with the time change I gain two hours of more high fives. It sounds nerdy, I know, but when anything that you love is unlimited you gotta get in where you fit in.

Blogging Five!

ron

Worship Musings #4 – The “C” Block

Christmas Hangover

Today, Cynthia and I are having our Second Christmas Hangover. It is a party that we started last year for people to bring their candy and get away from their family for a couple of hours. We started this because of our crazy schedule on Christmas day. We go to Blaine at 7:00-8:00 in the morning and get back to Bellingham somewhere around 7:00-9:00 at night. Our day is filled with eating, family drama, presents and more eating…I feel a diet coming on.

Anyshoe, we celebrate the Christmas Hangover as a time for us to visit with people we are not related to and watch movies and get a little fatter with them. Cynthia and I make soup for our friends and then eat all of our candy for desert. In celebration of the Christmas hangover, I found this article on Christmas Sweaters. Above is one of the many pictures that they have of the sweaters that people sent in. Enjoy!

Happy Boxing Day!

ron

I think I ate too much

I don’t feel good. Merry Christmas.

 ron

Music Videos Have Come a Long Way

It’s Christmas time in Hollis, Queens/Mom’s cookin’ chicken and collard greens.

Probably my favorite christmas song. I had Christmas in Hollis stuck in my head and I thought I would share it with you. You’re Welcome.

Other favorites include:

The 12 Days of Christmas – Bob and Doug Mackenzie

I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Jackson 5

The Little Drummer Boy – Bing Crosby and David Bowie

My Niece Kini

This is my niece Kini. She is hilarious. Seriously, she will grow up to be a comedian. On my MySpace Music Page I have a recording that she did while she and my other nieces spent the night. Please visit the link, listen to her and enjoy your holidays.

peace

Worship Musings #3 – The Toy Store

At Roosevelt Community Church, we do a toy store for Christmas. Here is a little blurb about it. Find out more about worship at RCC on YouTube.

Don’t Worry Be Happy…

was a number one jam. <–name the song that this lyric came out of and I will give you a christmas gift – on the real.

I was driving around as an official graduate yesterday and I began thinking about christmas in the church. This time of year is funny and awkward to me because I think christmas has become bothersome to churches. We plan and we organize and we plan and we organize but we never really get to enjoy the season. The past 4-5 years, I have been taught that christmas is programmed. ”The building needs to look nice, we need people to dress nice, should we have five services or add a sixth?, what about a shuttle bus so that people can park in other spots so first timers can park there, and for heavens sake, make sure EVERYTHING IS PERFECT.” Maybe it is because now I work in a more relaxed and intimate church, but I don’t think that these things are as im portant. I know that we want to give our best, and we all do, but when your focus is the comfort of people over the birth of Jesus, then I think we have missed the point of the Christmas service.

As I was driving, I began wondering if we lost christmas when we began giving it to people ahead of time. What I mean is, why do we play christmas songs for worship when they don’t fit what you are doing for a sermon? If you are doing a sermon series on “your best life now” but playing “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” simply because it is the first sunday of december, then I think we have let the cat out of the bag. I wonder if we were to practice and observe the advent season through sermon, music, and worship if the anticipation would grow and instead of blowing our load in the first couple of weeks?  

From what I have observed of the churches that stress through the holidays, usually the only mention of christmas throughout december is the christmas eve service. But what about the build up? What about the anticipation? The congregation gets none, because they are too busy trying to figure out how to live their life during the holidays rather than how Jesus got here in the first place. Maybe instead of “Jesus is the reason for the season” we should change it to “The christmas eve service is the reason for the season”.

This year is Roosevelt Community Churches first christmas as a church. We began observing advent for the last three weeks, and I can honestly tell you that this is the first year that I am excited for christmas while working in a church. I lament and pray for churches that have lost or are losing the love for Christmas. I pray that they will be able to recapture the birth of christ and bring their congregation along for the journey rather than vomiting the whole shebang on them December 24th.

Merry Christmas. Take time to step back and enjoy your family, your life, and your time and find time to relax. Breathe during the holiday madness.