away in a manger
According to a Gallup Poll, “Away in a Manger” was voted the second most popular carol. Although some of what we sing isn’t mentioned in the Bible (for example, cattle present at Jesus’ birth or Jesus not crying), the carol affirms some deep theological truths.
Christmas kindness
My son spent his first decade of life in a warm East Africa climate. For his 10th birthday, I used frequent flier miles and took him to the western part of the US to experience snow.
what to do?
You might be in one of those times in life where you’re not sure what to do. Do I go to school? Do I get a job or pursue another career? In his book The Way I Was Made, songwriter Chris Tomlin writes, “Right now, the God who made you knows your heart, knows your desires, your strengths, your limitations . . . and this God has only good in mind for your future.” Chris points to Jeremiah 29:11 which reveals that God has good plans for us.
love does
The news came on Christmas Eve. My wife put down the phone, walked into the bedroom, and burst into tears. We were living in Australia then and had been visiting family in Brisbane, but after the call we decided we needed some time alone. So we packed our bags and started the 12-hour drive home to Sydney. That phone call put an exclamation point on a 2010 full of broken dreams.
December 16, 2013
Emmanuel . . . God with us! What does this mean to you?
humbly His
Only a handful of people know who wrote the book Embracing Obscurity: Becoming Nothing in Light of God’s Everything. The writer, who published the book under the name “Anonymous,” is a well-established author who is living out the main point of his (or her) message. According to Anonymous, the book is “a call to stop imitating the world’s formula for success and instead follow the model of our humble King.”
leaving church
Poised at the door of the church auditorium, I hesitated. Why? I realized that I didn’t want to go to church. It’s not that I didn’t want to go to any church at all. I simply no longer wanted to go to this church. My wife felt the same way. A few weeks later, after 20 years as members, we made the agonizingly painful decision to leave. But leaving is not the same as quitting.
front to back
At the start of the movie Walk the Line, young Johnny Cash is talking with his older brother Jack who is hoping to become a preacher. Johnny is sad because he doesn’t know the Bible like his brother, who said, “If I’m going to be a preacher one day, I gotta know the Bible front to back. I mean, you can’t help nobody if you can’t tell them the right story.”
laying claim
My mother has developed a habit of occasionally asking us what items we would want once she leaves this earthly existence. Responding with lighthearted humor to her musings on death, and her tendency to be a bit of a packrat, my sister and I tell her not to hide any money in the house because we plan on selling it fully furnished when she dies. When I realized the other day that she still had a grapevine wreath my dad and I had made more than 20 years ago, however, I half-jokingly told her to write my name on it.
if you choose . . .
My oldest son is 10, and I still kiss him on the cheek. Unfortunately, cultural forces have conspired upon my son so that he believes he’s too old for such signs of affection. That’s okay. I’ll keep giving him bear hugs and kissing his cheek, and perhaps when he’s much older and has sons of his own, he’ll surprise me with a kiss in return. The worst thing I could do is shame him for his boundaries or attempt to force him to show affection. If affection is not given freely, it isn’t true.
anchor of hope
When we think of retirement, it may be that visiting exotic islands, lying in hammocks, and enjoying endless days of leisure come to mind. Well, that’s not Estella Pyfrom’s idea of retirement. Pyfrom, a retired teacher and daughter of migrant farm workers, spent all of her retirement funds ($900,000) to serve others. She bought a bus, decked it out with computers and desks, and now drives throughout the district where she taught, providing a place for underprivileged children to do homework and learn technology. Struggling students flock to what she’s labeled the “Brilliant Bus”—and find hope.
in the beginning
In the movie, The Sound of Music, Sister Maria sings: “Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. When you read, you begin with A-B-C. When you sing, you begin with do-re-mi.” Where do we begin in understanding what life is all about? Genesis, the book of beginnings, provides the answer.
you choose Q: what can you do when you've lost all hope?
Q: What can you do when you’ve lost all hope? —Joseph
A: Scripture gives numerous examples of people who’ve struggled with feelings of hopelessness (1 Kings 19:4; Psalm 22:11; Isaiah 53:10; Lamentations 1:12; Jonah 2:1-5; Matthew 27:46; 2 Corinthians 1:8; Hebrews 11:35-40).
When the apostle Paul struggled with profoundly disappointing circumstances and anguished over personal struggles with sin to the point…
read this! from an our daily journey reader in Italy . . .
I thank God that through ODJ my devotion to God has become more important to me. The message everyday is so timely with my journey in God & my life. . . . I like also the "more & next" part because it give me time to think & reflect on God.
—Hilna, Italy
December 9, 2013
With which character in the accounts of Jesus' birth in the Bible do you most identify? Why?
