O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

What do you get when you put two newlyweds in a small apartment with no ornaments at Christmas time? You get a Christmas tree decorated with Hershey's Kisses! It's the greatest idea - why didn't I think of this earlier? I don't have to store the decorations all year round and I get chocolate out of the deal - Sweet!!


Yeah, so I'm not exactly the Grinch, but Christmas to me is so over-worked and over-hyped that I tend to be a little 'un-festive' for some people. After working at OfficeMax for 3 years and now at FedEx for two years, Christmas can tend to just mean a lot of work and stress. I'm thankful that I can still enjoy a day off from all of it, celebrating Christ's birth with my family and friends, but it still means that I find many of the Christmas trappings to be just 'stupid.' Even the title of this post reminds me that we have stupid songs that we sing about the silly trees we put up for a month and then throw away when they become a fire hazard. I guess I'm just a bit of a minimalist - I enjoy the season for what it really is about but HATE the season for all that it has become. Here's to a simple, merry Christmas - May you see Christ's glory for what it is and the tinsel on the tree for what it is.

Wytheville '08

Wytheville, VA played host for the J3 Kaessners' Wytheville 'o8 Conference. On location at the scenic and beautiful Slater Bed & Breakfast (Thanks Steve & Kit!), Sharon and I were able to take 3 days to do absolutely nothing. It was a great break from a crazy busy schedule and we enjoyed just talking, eating, and in general doing nothing. If I had had my camera, I would have a picture or two, as the changing leaves made for some beautiful scenery. But alas, someone has my camera on the other side of the world so I don't have any pictures.

Here's Wytheville '08 by the numbers: 1 black lab, 2 frozen pizzas, 6 hrs driving (each way), NO tunnel traffic, 1 1/2 football games, 7804 Wytheville residents, 3 Scrabble games, and 2 books.
Get your reservations in now for Wytheville '09!

Right in my own eyes

I was challenged by a message I heard this weekend about the book of Judges. The pastor spoke on the book of Judges and how the message of the book points to fact that the Israelites during this time period were doing what was 'right in their own eyes.' The word 'right' means just, upright, or straight: it means more than that they were simply doing whatever they felt like. They were doing what to them appeared to be righteous - and the sad thing is they didn't realize that God had declared it to be 'evil' in his sight. In their eyes, it was right; in God's eyes, it was wrong. Why didn't they see it?

They had rejected the authority of God in their lives and had set themselves up as their own authority, reserving the right for themselves to make the decision about what was acceptable to God and what would be considered 'righteousness'. This can be seen through the last statement of the book, "In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." Judges 21:25

Isn't this so like our own context of Christianity? Aren't we just like this? Our Christian songs, books, and media have the nutritional content of a marshmellow; We approach God's word as if it were a buffet that allows us to eat only the things we like; and we can't stand to actually think through the thoughts we are presented from the Text. We don't know God, so we make our own god that allows us to have things the way we like it. Let us repent and return to our Creator - who loves us and desires to actually relate to us.

Click here [Overview of Judges] or here [Life of Sampson] to listen to these sermons on the book of Judges: I was the speaker.

Meanwhile, back on the ranch....

We made it back to our Colorado Farm today. We came out for a reception hosted by our fellowship out here and are enjoying some R&R as well. We were immediately subjected to forced labor - the hay was baled today, so we had to bring it in. Sharon and I were lucky enough to be here at the time, so we got to help. This was Sharon's introduction to our type of farm work.

Sam teaches Sharon to drive the Kubota. She's a natural!
Jared and Sam off-load the hay.
Yeah, it runs in the family. The weirdness, not the tractor.
The newly-inducted Farmer's Wife

Back Online....

.... after a wedding and honeymooon! [ok, so that was almost 3 months ago, but hey - cut us some slack!]

We really did get married; we are so happy to be together and not have to say 'goodbye' every evening. Marriage is definitely an adjustment but two people who are trying to walk by the Spirit will not only get along but LOVE EACH OTHER by God's grace. It's amazing - and it is so good!

photos © Holly Callan Photography, http://www.hollycallanphoto.com/