brent(inWorship)

I wanted to take a moment and say Merry Christmas! Wherever you are, whatever condition you are in, whomever you are spending this day with, I pray that you are able to surround yourself with Peace and Joy!

Christmas has changed so much for me over the years. From that little kid that couldn’t wait to see what was under the tree the next morning, to the Father, wishing to extend that same excitement to my kids.

Each year is a bit different as well. We have our traditions….

Christmas Eve is always filled with church. As long as I’ve grown up, that day is filled with wonderful music and people. It was no different this year. We celebrated at Table Rock this year. if you’d like to see our service, it is running continuously this weekend at our TRF Live page.

Christmas day brings cake. That’s right, cake. We always have a Birthday cake for breakfast to celebrate Jesus Birthday. This one looks good!

But, a part from traditions, the one thing that stays true and constant for me is family. Tomorrow, we spend the day at my parents houe and look forward to a wonderful dinner together. The grandkids will play with their new toys or whatever shiny thing they got, the ladies will be chatting in the dining room and the boys will inevitably be around the TV watching whatever Christmas day event is on. I love it. We are together, we are relaxed and we soak it in.

Another part of my family is my kids. I love them. I can’t wait for them to enjoy what Santa has brought them this year

And then, there is Tammy. I adore her. She is so giving and sacrificial this time of year. She thinks of everything. She never forgets anyone and she makes sure that everyone else is taken care of and thought of, before she rests. I truly adore her. I love how graceful and thoughtful she is. Truly a gift.

Tammy, Kassidi and Dakota, I love you and wish you a Merry Christmas!

And to all of you a blessed holiday season!

The family photos in this post are thanks to LoveIsGreaterPhoto

I just finished writing a big long post about “taking sides”. It was a jumbled mess of thoughts that were not coming together. But, I have to say something.

Here’s the heart of it. Recent events in sports culture have divided people. Brought people out of their shell. I heard Christians lashing out against Tiger Woods and I have no clue why. We don’t know him. We have no facts. It’s none of our business. And, yet, we took sides.

Now, there is a church and a local critic going at it and I am watching it happen all over. We don’t know the people involved. We don’t know the facts. It’s none of our business. Yet, we are still taking sides. I don’t get it.

We should be praying for Tiger. We should be praying for this church and the victim. We have no right to express our opinions on this situation, based on whether or not we like something or not. Whether we agree with a Pastor or a teaching, or whether we disagree. We have no right to attack or defend. It’s not our place. We don’t know what’s happening. We do not have the right to place some sort of “godly” wrath on anyone. Even if we had all the facts, we wouldn’t have that right.

The church keeps beating the crap out of itself. It’s dumb. It’s gotta stop. And the only way I know how to help that process, is to stop taking sides. In my last post, I made the comment “We seem to over hype events in America. Both in defense of it…as well as opposition to it.” I stand by this. I do it myself. And I believe we do it, because we like taking sides. We like it too much.

So, hold me accountable to not taking sides. But, I am asking you…join me.

First and foremost. I know! I wrote a post! Haha. Well, let’s see if we cant get this thing going again

Black Friday! Ahhhhhhh! It’s Awful! It’s Evil! It’s UnChristian. It’s proof that America has forgotten all priorities, and only seeks to serve self. It’s consumerism at it’s worst!

These are all things I’ve heard today in response to Black Friday. However, I have a different perspective. Let me explain.

I’m not going to argue whether or not today can be a terrible day. Some awful things will happen today. People will argue fight, even kill. We’ve seen this happen in the past. I pray people are safe today.

There are people shopping today, that have nothing in mind, but self. This is true. We are human and sinful. we are selfish and have unhealthy desires. But I also know many that use today for good.

After reading some crazy tweets this morning, I put this tweet up…

So. If I need to buy socks. Why is it wrong to buy them at 80% off? Why is that evil exactly? #blackfridayhype”

We seem to over hype events in America. Both in defense of it…as well as opposition to it.

I know people that have saved all year to go shopping today. That takes discipline

I know people that wait all year to buy underwear and socks on Black Friday. Because today is the cheapest price they’ll pay. That takes planning.

I know people that have put a budget in place for Christmas, so they can enjoy giving gifts to friends and family. They use today to shop, because, today is the best bang for their buck. That’s financial wisdom.

I know people that will be at the mall all day, enjoying time with family and friends, and smiling at people as they shop together. That takes patience.

I know people that will actually see people in public today, that they normally will only see inside the church walls. They will have an opportunity to see each other in a different space and possibly even create a new relationship because of it. That’s living life together.

I say Black Friday is what we make it.

I contend that Black Friday is not the issue. People are. So, let’s be people of virtue and grace. Maybe, then, Black Friday, wont be so Black.

Paul Baloche has been writing worship anthems for the church for years and his new CD “Glorious” releases tomorrow, November 3. Our friends at Integrity Music have put together a pretty cool giveaway for FIVE people out in blogworld. This Release Day Giveaway is a little different – there are five blogs all running the same giveaway and each site will have a winner who will receive a copy of the new CD as well as the worship leader digital songbook.

I’ve had this CD for a couple of weeks and I’m really enjoying it. This is classic Paul Baloche – singable melodies, lyrics rich with theology and all of it presented in a way that is accessible and memorable. If you’re a fan of Paul Baloche’s song, you will love this CD.

Here’s a video of Paul Baloche and his band playing the title track from this CD, “Glorious” –

How do you enter? Each blog owner can make up their own rules but here’s what we’ll do here -

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me why you’re excited about winning this CD. Lots of comments are great but it will still only get you one entry in the contest

2. Post about the CD and the giveaway either on your own blog or twitter – make sure you include a link back to this blog when you are posting! Post a link to your post as a second comment and you’ll get entered TWICE in the contest.

3. Go ahead and enter on all five blogs if you like but you can only win once. I’ll choose the winner here tomorrow evening.

Here are links to the other blogs that are part of this giveaway -

• www.ChrisFromCanada.com
• www.FredMcKinnon.com
• www.RichKirkpatrick.com
• www.JoshuaSeller.com

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