Christ is born! Glorify him!

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

When Mary birthed Jesus ’twas in a cow’s stall
With wise men and farmers and shepherds and all
But high from God’s heaven, a star’s light did fall
And the promise of ages it then did recall.

If Jesus had wanted for any wee thing
A star in the sky or a bird on the wing
Or all of God’s Angels in heaven to sing
He surely could have it, ’cause he was the King

I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus the Saviour did come for to die
For poor on’ry people like you and like I;
I wonder as I wander out under the sky

I’m thankful for…

• Faith, hope, and love.
• The Mercer University Children’s Choir.
• The most awesomely awesome wife in the universe.
• A daughter who still likes me to read her bedtime stories.
• Diyclomine.
• Bills that are paid.
• The innocence of childhood.
• The ability to keep on learning.
• The privilege of living near my parents.
• Amazing friends with all their amazing interests and skills.
• Grace.
• Fond memories of my departed mother-in-law.
• A bright and enthusiastic pastor.
• Jim Butcher.
• The cheeseburgers at Greek Corner Pizza.
• Relpax.
• The Bibb County Public Library.
• Mr. Seredick.
• A church where they let me lead a three-week Bible study on monsters.
• Wonder.

What are you thankful for?

Dorothy King explains it all, and admirably!

Just in case anyone asks you what the difference is between Christmas and Chanukah, you will know what and how to answer.

1. Christmas is one day, same day every year, December 25th. Jews also love December 25th. It’s another paid day off from work. We go to the movies and out for Chinese food and Israeli dancing. Chanukah is 8 days. It starts the evening of the 24th of Kislev, whenever that falls. No one is ever sure. Jews never know until a non-Jewish friend asks when Chanukah starts, forcing us to consult a calendar so we don’t look like idiots. We all have the same calendar, provided free with a donation from the World Jewish Congress, the kosher butcher or the local Sinai Memorial Chapel (especially in Florida ) or other Jewish funeral homes.

2. Christmas is a major holiday. Chanukah is a minor holiday with the same theme as most Jewish holidays. They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat.

Eleven more points to ponder over at PhDiva.

Here is the PPT for the third and final installment of my recent Wednesday-night Bible study series, “Monsters: A Biblical Bestiary.” I think people have appreciated the series, even though it has been a bit challenging for some.

We looked at how to study the Bible in terms of translation, textual criticism, and understanding the cultural context in which it was written.

In “Here Be Dragons,” I talked about what happens when the monsters we find in the Bible are there because the biblical writers actually believed in monsters. In the process, we look a bit at the fact that the Bible describes the world in terms of ancient conceptions of cosmology, meteorology, and physiology.

You must not believe all that authors tell you about how they wrote their books. This is not because they mean to tell lies. It is because a man writing a story is too excited about the story itself to sit back and notice how he’s doing it.

—C. S. Lewis