The Best Christmas Eve Day Present Ever!

Well, technically the best Christmas Eve Day present ever was the In-N-Out gift certificate I received this morning, but this one is a close second. It's two more verses of my favorite Christmas carol, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing." And unlike many little known fourth and fifth verses of popular hymns, they're as good as the first three verses! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Hark! The herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King;
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!”
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th’angelic host proclaim,
“Christ is born in Bethlehem!”
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Hail the heav’nly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings,
Ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He lays His glory by,
Born that man no more may die.
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Come, Desire of nations, come,
Fix in us Thy humble home;
Rise, the woman’s conqu’ring Seed,
Bruise in us the serpent’s head.
Now display Thy saving power,
Ruined nature now restore;
Now in mystic union join
Thine to ours, and ours to Thine.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

Adam’s likeness, Lord, efface,
Stamp Thine image in its place:
Second Adam from above,
Reinstate us in Thy love.
Let us Thee, though lost, regain,
Thee, the Life, the inner man:
O, to all Thyself impart,
Formed in each believing heart.
Hark! the herald angels sing,
“Glory to the newborn King!”

A Pagan Holiday and the Godliest Man I Know

December 21st is significant for two reasons. First, it's the date of the Winter Solstice and the shortest day of the year. But more importantly, it's the birthday of the wisest, godliest, and most compassionate man that I know. I thank God daily for my wonderful dad and I've been blessed to spend twenty-six years gleaning insights on ministry, relationships, and life in general from his example. So, on the eve of his birthday, I thought I'd share forty lessons I've learned from my dad. I hope you enjoy these nuggets of wisdom!

1. Buy lunch for people.
2. The passive voice is to be avoided.
3. Always ask, "Where does it say that in Scripture?"
4. Buffet your body and make it your slave.
5. Write your own curriculum.
6. Don't base your decisions on your emotions.
7. Set goals.
8. Even watching television can be a family bonding event.
9. Relationships are the most important part of ministry.
10. Be willing to face the fear of the unknown.
11. The NASB is hands down the best Bible translation.
12. READ, READ, READ!
13. Don't fear your enemies.
14. Be patient with others.
15. Make the most of your time.
16. Read the Bible in context.
17. Never stop learning.
18. Don't seek comfort.
19. Have a wide variety of interests.
20. You can win pretty much any debate if you have the entire Bible memorized.
21. Order room service.
22. Be optimistic!
23. Write succinctly.
24. Be active in finding solutions to your problems.
25. Never lose your love of adventure.
26. A little competition never hurt anyone.
27. Take your children on weekly adventures.
28. Do not put your hope in temporal things.
29. You can be theologically correct and practical at the same time.
30. Ask ethical questions.
31. Keep your head down and focus on body rotation in freestyle.
32. You must care for the person that God puts in your path.
33. Work hard.
34. Look out for the interests of others.
35. A great leader must be a great servant.
36. Don't plan on retiring.
37. Find inspiration in the things that you liked as a kid.
38. Look for the best in people.
39. Teach children the story of the Bible.
40. Always find ways to share the gospel.

There are thousands of other lessons I've learned from my dad, but given that he is celebrating his fortieth birthday tomorrow, forty lessons seemed appropriate.

Dad, thanks for inspiring and encouraging me each day. I couldn't ask for a better father. Happy Birthday!

It's No "Pharaoh, Pharaoh," But It's Still A Pretty Great Song

I love Christian kids' music. I grew up listening to Psalty the Singing Songbook and the Kids' Praise tapes and most of the scripture I have memorized is a direct result of listening to Psalty. (I still get the songs stuck in my head when I read those passages of the Bible.) I remember wearing dress-up clothes and standing in front of the full length mirror in my room (hmm, that might provide some insight into the roots of my vanity) and belting out "Jesus Put The Song In My Heart," with Charity Churchmouse.

Now that I work with kids, I'm always trying to find fun songs with good scriptural content. So you can imagine how excited I was to discover "Young Men and Maidens Raise," a Charles Wesley hymn written especially for kids! Well, excited and humbled. While my kids sing one Bible verse followed by five minutes of "Na, na, na," the children of Wesley's day sang, "Him Three in One and One in Three, extol to all eternity." Sheesh.

You know, this song might be a little over the heads of the kids I work with, but if we changed the tune to something like, "Yellow Submarine" and added a couple choruses of na, na, nas or maybe a dance break, this could be the hit of camp this summer. You never know.

Young men and maidens, raise
Your tuneful voices high;
Old men and children, praise
The Lord of earth and sky;
Him Three in One and One in Three,
Extol to all eternity.

The universal King
Let all the world proclaim;
Let every creature sing
His attributes and Name!
Him Three in One and One in Three,
Extol to all eternity.

In His great Name alone
All excellencies meet,
Who sits upon the throne,
And shall forever sit;
Him Three in One and One in Three,
Extol to all eternity.

Glory to God belongs;
Glory to God be given,
Above the noblest songs
Of all in earth or heaven!
Him Three in One and One in Three,
Extol to all eternity.

The History of the Boar's Head Carol or Yet Another Reason Why Aristotle is the Best Philosopher Ever

Not only can reading Aristotle enrich your mind, it might just save your life! Legend has it that centuries ago, a student at The Queen's College, Oxford was walking through the woods on Christmas day and reading Aristotle. Suddenly, a wild boar charged him. Having no other weapon, the resourceful student saved his life by quickly thrusting his Aristotle down the boar's throat. That night the boar's head was finely dressed and garnished and served to all the students at The Queen's College. Apparently, the students then sang, "The Boar's Head Carol," which was published in 1521 and is still sung today. I think I'm going to start carrying Nichomachean Ethics with me wherever I go. You just can't be too careful.

THE BOAR'S HEAD CAROL

The boar's head in hand bear I

Bedecked with bays and rosemary

I pray you, my masters, be merry

Quot estis in convivio (so many as are in the feast)

CHORUS: Caput apri defero, Reddens laudes domino (the boar's head I bring, giving praises to God)

The boar's head, as I understand,

Is the rarest dish in all this land,

Which thus bedecked with a gay garland

Let us servire cantico. (let us serve with a song)

CHORUS

Our steward hath provided this

In honor of the King of bliss

Which, on this day to be served is

In Reginensi atrio. (in the Queen's hall)

He's Going the Distance. He's Going for Creeds!

I'm a pretty low church gal. I'm fine with grape juice at Communion. I'm not really into following the church year. I've never attended a church where the pastor wore any sort of robe. I haven't actually attended a church where anyone even wears a tie. However, there are some high church customs that I truly like and reciting great creeds of our faith is one of them.

I think it's beautiful for a group of Christians to stand together and proclaim the same statements of faith that Christians proclaimed thousands of years ago. Reciting creeds connects us with our history and reminds us of fundamental doctrine. I've always loved the Apostles Creed in particular:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.

Wait, what? He descended into hell? I was with you up through crucified, dead, and buried, but where did this come from? What's the biblical basis? And how did it make it into this creed?

In the past, I've dealt with my confusion on the whole descended into hell issue by simply not saying that line of the creed. However, I think the time has come for me to arrive at some conclusion. Thus, I'm going to start examining the basis for the idea that Jesus descended into hell and try to discover why it was so important to include this piece of information in a foundational creed.

So, stay tuned. And if anyone has already figured out this issue - I would be willing to give up the joys of thoughtful and time consuming personal study for the immediate gratification of a quick answer. For the sake of everyone else, of course.

Just When You Thought There Couldn't Be Any More Christmas Carols With "Angel" In The Title . . .

They're floating on top of trees, wishing peace and goodwill on Christmas cards, adorning Martha Stewart gift wrap and starring in your local church production. And they're also featured in "Let Angels and Archangels Sing," another wonderful Charles Wesley Christmas carol!

Let angels and archangels sing
The wonderful Immanuel’s Name,
Adore with us our new-born King,
And still the joyful news proclaim;
All earth and Heav’n be ever joined
To praise the Savior of mankind.

The everlasting God comes down
To sojourn with the sons of men;
Without His majesty or crown,
The great Invisible is seen;
Of all His dazzling glories shorn
The everlasting God is born!

Angels, behold that Infant’s face,
With rapturous awe the Godhead own;
’Tis all your heav’n on Him to gaze,
And cast your crowns before His throne;
Though now He on His footstool lies,
Ye know He built both earth and skies.

By Him into existence brought,
Ye sang the all-creating Word;
Ye heard Him call our world from naught;
Again, in honor of your Lord,
Ye morning-stars your hymns employ,
And shout, ye sons of God, for joy.

Vocabulary, Schmocabulary

In hopes of making everyone's vocabulary a bit more whimsical, I thought I'd post nifty slang words and their definitions from time to time. Try to find ways to incorporate them into your daily conversations. You might start a trend! The following swell phrases are from the 1920's.

Prom-Trotter: A student who attends all social functions

Know One's Onions: To know what one is talking about

Oliver Twist: A skilled dancer

Punch the Bag: Small talk

Hot Socks!: Great!

Let George Do It: A work evading phrase

Mind Your Potatoes: Mind your own business

Rain Pitchforks: A downpour

If A Picture Paints A Thousand Words, Then Why Can't I Paint Jesus?

So, I had my group of four adorable and brilliant sixth graders over for dinner on Thursday night. We enjoyed Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (I ate some leftovers directly out of the pot and one of the girls informed me that eating dinner directly out of the pot is what "young people with careers" normally do) and sampled Sticky Toffee Pudding Ice Cream, which we awarded a respectable 8 out of 10 (we rate a new ice cream each Thursday), before settling into our weekly theological discussion.

So far, these girls have asked how Jesus can be eternal if He died on the cross, wrestled with the problem of evil, shared how the Spirit is helping them say no to sin, and posited that Jesus may have had colic as a baby because smart babies sometimes have colic. I think they're on their way to becoming the next Luther, Wesley, Calvin, and Edwards (hopefully without rejecting the book of James, embracing Christian perfectionism, burning people at the stake, or being preoccupied with spiders.)

Thursday's discussion was predictably thoughtful and lively. One of the girls asked a great question: How did we get different races if everyone came from Adam and Eve and Adam and Eve were white?

We talked about how the Bible doesn't say what Adam and Eve's skin tone was like, which led the girls to pull out my children's Bibles and we all lamented the fact that Adam and Eve always look pretty Nordic. (The girls also think it's funny that Eve is always pictured with conveniently long hair.)

This got me thinking about children's Bibles and if they might do more harm than good. My bright little sixth grader has probably thought that Adam and Eve were white for a long time. I doubt anyone actually taught her this, but those pictures in children's Bibles made a lasting impression and she assumed that Adam and Eve looked like the picture in her Bible. Since we don't know what Esther, Moses, or Jesus really looked like (except that they probably weren't the chestnut brown haired Europeans pictured in many Bibles), is it all right to put false images into the minds of kids?

On the one hand, children's picture Bibles introduce young kids to God and His plan, keep them interested and engaged in the story, and are sensitive to their developmental stage. It's difficult to get young kids to sit and listen if there is nothing visual to keep their attention. On the other hand, these Bibles can also lead kids to develop false conceptions of historical figures and events (this may explain why so many kids believe that the forbidden fruit was an apple) and perhaps even encourage a subtle racism (given that most of the heroes of the Bible look pretty European.)

And then there's the issue of drawing the Son of God. Even though people have been painting Jesus for centuries, there's something about this that makes me uncomfortable. No painting, picture or sculpture can accurately present what Jesus really looked like. If it's idolatry to present God as something other than what He is, I wonder if it's right to even attempt to pictorially represent Jesus. And even if this isn't idolatry, I'm concerned that so many kids picture the Son of God as a handsome and very clean guy with long flowing hair and a red sash.

As a director of children's ministries, I'm starting to dig myself into a hole. We use a children's Bible in our preschool class every week and if I really believe what I just wrote, I need to start thinking about some storytelling alternatives that will present the Bible accurately and keep in mind our preschoolers' two second attention span.

One idea I'm tossing around is using pictures of objects to tell the story instead of pictures of people. For instance, if a teacher is telling the kids about Jesus feeding the five thousand, he might show them pictures of fish, loaves, and baskets (or better yet, show the kids real fish and bread) instead of showing a picture of Jesus with the fish and loaves. I think the lack of pictures may allow the kids to develop a more biblical conception of Jesus.

What do you think? Should children's Bibles be outlawed? Should I be fired for even suggesting such a thing? Is there a way to pictorially represent the people of the Bible in an accurate and helpful manner? I'd love to hear your opinions and ideas.