2015-03-13T15:34:56-05:00

Click on the image to the right to see the Advent Doodle for Saturday, December 10. For the last seven years, I have put up an online Advent calendar during the season of Advent. It featured pictures suitable for the season, matched with passages of Scripture. This year, I’m doing an online Advent Calendar once again, but with some exciting new content. I am using Advent Doodles by my wife, Linda. She has a unique ministry of doodling, combining her... Read more

2015-03-13T15:34:56-05:00

I am pleased to announce the release of The High Calling app. As you may already know, TheHighCalling.org is a website and online community that is part of Foundations for Laity Renewal, where I work. Until now, you could visit The High Calling through your web browser. Thousands of people do this each month. Also, The High Calling sends out my Daily Reflection through email (now to over 16,000 people a day). All of this is great. But now you... Read more

2015-03-13T15:35:37-05:00

Click on the image to the right to see the Advent Doodle for Friday, December 9. For the last seven years, I have put up an online Advent calendar during the season of Advent. It featured pictures suitable for the season, matched with passages of Scripture. This year, I’m doing an online Advent Calendar once again, but with some exciting new content. I am using Advent Doodles by my wife, Linda. She has a unique ministry of doodling, combining her... Read more

2015-03-13T15:35:38-05:00

Part 3 of series: Christmas According to Dickens The Real Business of Christmas, according to Charles Dickens In yesterday’s post I began to explain the impact of Charles Dickens, especially through A Christmas Carol, upon our celebrations of Christmas. In fact, it’s not too much of an exaggeration to describe him, in the words of the London Sunday Telegraph, as “the man who invented Christmas.” Dickens’ influence on our Christmas traditions is keenly felt today in many ways, even though... Read more

2015-03-13T15:35:38-05:00

Here’s a great opportunity. It was brought to my attention by Craig Beard, who left a comment on my post a couple of days ago. christianaudio.com is giving away a free audio version of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. As near as I can tell, this is truly free. No signing up for a monthly subscription or anything like that. You do have to register with christianaudio.com, and in the registration process you have the opportunity to receive their... Read more

2015-03-13T15:35:39-05:00

Click on the image to the right to see the Advent Doodle for Thursday, December 8. For the last seven years, I have put up an online Advent calendar during the season of Advent. It featured pictures suitable for the season, matched with passages of Scripture. This year, I’m doing an online Advent Calendar once again, but with some exciting new content. I am using Advent Doodles by my wife, Linda. She has a unique ministry of doodling, combining her... Read more

2015-03-13T15:35:39-05:00

Part 2 of series: Christmas According to Dickens Dickens: The Man Who Invented Christmas? In 1988, the Sunday Telegraph of London gave Charles Dickens the title of “The Man Who Invented Christmas.” If you’re not familiar with the history of Christmas celebrations, this may seem like an enormous exaggeration. But when you look more closely, the Telegraph’s hyperbole turns out to be closer to the truth than you might expect. The Context for Writing A Christmas Carol Of course, Christians... Read more

2015-03-13T15:35:39-05:00

Click on the image to the right to see the Advent Doodle for Wednesday, December 7. For the last seven years, I have put up an online Advent calendar during the season of Advent. It featured pictures suitable for the season, matched with passages of Scripture. This year, I’m doing an online Advent Calendar once again, but with some exciting new content. I am using Advent Doodles by my wife, Linda. She has a unique ministry of doodling, combining her... Read more

2015-03-13T15:35:40-05:00

Part 1 of series: Christmas According to Dickens Our Favorite Christmas Carol? If you were to ask people “What is your favorite Christmas carol?” you’d get a wide variety of answers. Many would offer up “Silent Night” or “Joy to the World.” Folks who count all Christmas songs as carols might mention “Winter Wonderland” or “The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts roasting . . .). In fact, these two were the most popular holiday songs in the last decade, according to ASCAP.... Read more

2015-03-13T15:35:40-05:00

There’s nothing quite like a great smell. A smell has power like no other sensory experience, especially when it comes to memory. It’s well known that a certain smell can activate our memories like nothing else. That’s one of the main reasons I love fresh, genuine Christmas trees. These days, artificial Christmas trees are hardly “fake.” They can look as real as a live tree. Over the course of several years, artificial trees save a bunch money, not to mention... Read more

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