Christmas

Turning Gifts into Guilt

By Joel A. Hess –

By now, many of you have exchanged gifts, said thank you and you’re welcome, and wished each other a merry Christmas. Gift giving and receiving are strange things. At first, it seems like a great idea. But what a stress when it’s all said and done! First, it begins with a lot of pressure to get the right thing for so and so. Then, as we are on mid-journey to the party, we have this bad feeling that we forgot to buy a gift for so and so. As we get closer to Christmas Day, we crumble under the weight of having too many people on our shopping list. Many of us begin in the fall. Somehow, we are left running around and just grabbing items on Christmas Eve! Was that you?

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God In The Dirt

By Paul Koch –

When my wife and I took a trip to the Holy Land back over a year ago I noticed that as I would enter into some ancient church to take a few pictures and examine the details of the architecture and art forms throughout the building, my wife would often disappear from my side. She would often make a cursory pass through the building and then slip back outside. When I found her sitting on a bench outside one of the old church buildings she confessed that it was a just too much. These holy sites were covered by old churches, most of which had newer churches built over the tops of them, and inside there were icon screens and oil lamps and gold candlesticks and paintings on the walls and what appeared to be levels upon levels of man-made coverings over these places where our Lord walked this earth. What she wanted was far more simple than the artistry and craftsmanship we had taken in. What she wanted to see was just some dirt: some dirt where, perhaps, once upon a time our Lord walked.

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Putting Christmas on the Bench

By Bob Hiller –

Last week, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Memphis Grizzlies played back-to-back games. On Tuesday, Cleveland lit Memphis up 103-86 in Cleveland. The next night, in Memphis, the Grizzlies got back at the Cavs winning 93-85. Now, one might think that a simple change of venue wouldn’t matter that much. If the same teams play back-to-back nights, you might expect the same results. Well, herein lies the rub. The exact same teams didn’t play back-to-back nights. In fact, Cleveland’s three best players, LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love, didn’t travel with the team. They stayed home. For whatever reason, Cleveland coach Tyronn Lue wanted to rest his best for the trip.

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Solving the Antinomian Santa (Why there is an Elf on the Shelf)

By Paul Koch –

Last Friday evening, my wife and I hosted our annual Christmas cocktail party. My home was alive with friends, family, church members, and loved ones. There was live music, a mountain of appetizers, and a steady flow of spirit-lifting cocktails, of course. People danced, talked, drank, and laughed late into the evening. At one point, I found myself in the kitchen area (my wife hates it when we congregate there) having a conversation with a few friends about their Christmas traditions. It was here that I learned about the Elf on the Shelf for the first time.

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Escape the Guilt Gift

By Cindy Koch –

What do you want for Christmas?

A new iPhone.

How many times do you think the jolly old mall Santa Claus will hear that one this year? Wow, the pressures of Christmas presents, selfish expectations, and parenting issues tied up in this one little yearly tradition. Within earshot, mom’s eyes shift side to side, and she hides a frustrated smile. Her five-year-old wants an iPhone, pony, $500 Lego set, or a drone. That seems about right according to all of the other little kiddos eagerly waiting in line. 

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Christmas is for those who are afraid!

By Joel A. Hess –

This December, people across the world have been setting up idyllic manger scenes on pianos and below Christmas trees. Mary and Joseph bend down toward the perfect-looking child while well-groomed animals, shepherds, and angels peer upon the peaceful babe. All in all, every Crèche promotes a serenity that rises above the chaos of our world. I myself sit back in my recliner with a fire crackling, a negroni in my hand and a sweet nativity sheltered beneath my decorated spruce.

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God With Us

By Paul Koch –

We don’t often spend much time talking or ever thinking all that much about Joseph. His story is an incredible story. His call to be the protector and provider for the blessed mother of our Lord gives us a powerful image of Christian faithfulness and strength of character. Instead of abandoning Mary when he learns that she is with child, he lovingly cares for her, protects her, and watches over the child she will bear as a sacred trust. However, Joseph, like any of you, doesn’t work his way into this prominent and place. He doesn’t come to these conclusions and resolve to faithfully go forward all on his own. No, he needs an angel of the Lord to appear to him and reveal this good news that is happening to Mary. So, one of the lessons we learn here at the very beginning of the Christmas story is that God’s plans, gifts, and blessings are not gained by our cleverness. They must be revealed to us.

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The Haymaker’s Top Five Humbug Hymns

By Bob Hiller –

Here’s a little piece I wrote a few years back hoping to start some fun Christmas conversation. I hope you enjoy it! I know my mom wasn’t a huge fan…

This is the most wonderful time of the year for my ears. I am becoming quite a Christmas-music snob in my age. I liked Christmas music before it was cool (Can a hipster listen to Christmas music?). This is especially true when it comes to Christmas hymns. Advent and Christmas hymns are some of the most beautiful, haunting, and theologically rigorous hymns we sing all year. But the opposite seems to be the case as well: this is the time of year when some of our weakest, most heterodox, and downright strange hymns get loads of undeserved attention. It is rather frustrating that these hymns tend to be quite popular! But as with that abysmal “Do They Know Its Christmas?” by Band Aid (ugh…), no matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to get away from these hymns. Like the Grinch, I want to descend into WhoVille, bag these songs up, and remove them from the musical catalogue.  But you will very likely sing them in your church this season, despite their dangerous teachings. After all, orthodoxy is no match for nostalgia. 

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Drink of the Week: Brandy Alexander

By Paul Nelson –

It’s been another beautiful week here in the American Riviera, but clearly winter is coming.  Temperatures hover in the low 70’s during the day and can dip down into the 40’s at night, all of which puts me in the mood for house slippers and something liquid to drive away the winter chill. Flipping through another of my bartending resources this week, I opted for the classic Brandy Alexander.

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Stress: The Reason for the Season

By Cindy Koch –

Do chestnuts roasting on the fire make you break out in hives? Does the holiday hustle find you hiding under the covers? Do the weeks leading up to the most wonderful time of the year fill you with anxiety and stress? You just might be experiencing the true meaning of Christmas. Now, I know this is not really what we want to hear. We would rather find a blog about ways to reduce our holiday stress. We would rather listen to advice on crafting our Christmas to be more restful. We long for something that will transform our Christmas preparations to reflect that serene Hallmark holiday. 

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To Santa Claus or not to Santa Claus; that is the question

By Cindy Koch –

The evergreen dresses in her stunning Christmas sparkles. Ginger and cinnamon waft from the warm Christmas oven. The family gathers close to the bright Christmas fire, but a guilt-ridden question hangs over our head. Carols sing sweetly in the white Christmas cold. Little toys hang from the tall Christmas tree. Candles, friends, and family light up the dark Christmas evenings. But somewhere in the middle of Christmas wreaths and gingerbread houses, we struggle with the Santa Claus conundrum. Should our old jolly friend visit our Christian household on that blessed Christmas Eve? 

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Stay Awake!

By Joel A. Hess –

It was not hard to stay awake on Christmas Eve when I was a kid. I remember coming home from the candlelight service at midnight. I was not tired at all as the snow crunched beneath my boots. Walking from the station wagon to our house, I took in the splendor of snowflakes falling as if in slow motion, stars glistening in the icy sky, and the sudden burst of warmth and orange light as we entered our home to escape the cold and the darkness and wait for Christmas Day.

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