Holly and the Ivy

Throughout the Celtic lands of Brittany, Cornwall, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, holly and ivy were symbols of victory won. Holly, representing masculine triumph, and ivy, representing feminine triumph, were often woven together as a sign that men and women need one another. Homes were decorated during Advent with both—often woven together—as a picture of the healthy family under God’s gracious providential hand.

(hat-tip to George Grant)

Sleigh Rides

Mimicking the supposed pattern of pastoral care practiced by Nicholas of Myra, the sleigh ride—particularly on Christmas Eve—gradually was woven into the joyous celebration of Christmas. Beginning in Scandanavia, spreading to Germany, England, Scotland, and finally New England, the sounds of the jingling bells, the tramping of horses through the snow, and the brisk wind through the trees became essential elements in provoking the Yuletide Spirit.

(hat-tip to George Grant)

Never fear!

I am in the middle of writing several posts in my new series. Unfortunately, my laptop is in the repair shop, so I have extremely limited internet access. Once I get it back, expect a flurry of posts (hopefully).

What have I gotten myself into?

I am hesitantly going to start a series of posts. Hesitantly, because I've never done something like this before, and I don't know if I'll be able to stick to it. Really, my life isn't busy enough. I ought to be able to make time for this, right? We'll see....

So here's the theme; the life of Christ. I'm going to start with history leading up to Christ's birth, till he is finally born on Christmas day, then follow his life till his death on Easter. Scripture, quotes, and exegesis.

This first post is kind of a cheat actually. I didn't write this next part. It came from George Grant's blog. But I thought it was appropriate.

"The holiday season—what we generically just call Christmastime—is actually a long sequence of holy days, festal revelries, and liturgical rites stretching from the end of November through the beginning of January that are collectively known as Yuletide.

Beginning with Advent, a time of preparation and repentance, proceeding to Christmas, a time of celebration and generosity, and concluding with Epiphany, a time of remembrance and thanksgiving, Yuletide traditions enable us to see out the old year with faith and love while ushering in the new year with hope and joy.

It is a season fraught with meaning and significance. Unfortunately, it is also such a busy season that its meaning and significance can all too easily be obscured either by well-intended materialistic pursuits—frenzied shopping trips to the mall to find just the right Christmas gift—or by the less benign demands, desires, wants, and needs which are little more than grist for human greed. The traditions of Yuletide were intended to guard us against such things—and thus, are actually more relevant today than ever before."

God and Evil from Iron Ink

"God is not the author of evil simply because whatever God sovereignly determines to come to pass, cannot, by definition, be evil. Since God is good, all that God does is good. If God has not declared that it is evil for himself to metaphysically cause evil, then man is evil to say that it is evil for God to do so. Joseph implicitly confessed that God caused the evil that was visited upon Joseph (Genesis 50:20) but Joseph was wise enough to see that the same action that God caused and that his Brothers caused was differentiated by the reality that God’s metaphysical causation of that evil was for good while the his Brother’s temporal causation of that same evil was for evil. The difference was motive. Do not miss here that God caused the “evil” but because God caused it, it was an evil that was intended for and resulted in good.

I would contend that this is why God is not the author of evil. God is not the author of evil because it is literally impossible for a divine being to do or cause anything that is evil. God has ordained whatsoever comes to pass and because God is good whatsoever that comes to pass, is a reality for which God cannot be charged as the author of sin."

--Pastor Bret McAtee on Iron Ink

Blessed beyond comparison

Just getting around to posting this. I hope to do one of these every month, sometime. Hopefully, they'll get longer and longer. :)

Good Things 10-28-10

1. Not having to rake the leaves because the wind blew them away

2. Friends who text you in the middle of the night

3. Getting woken in the middle of the night by a text that says you are loved

4. Finally getting that chord progression right on the guitar without looking

5. A family of believers who are united by one belief

6. Someone who agrees with you in the midst of a crowd who disagrees.

7. Someone who cares for you even when you screw up

8. Siblings not blood-related

9. The smell of fresh herbs on your hands

10. Music that says exactly what you’re trying to say

11. Dancing

12. The funniest sister in the world

Reformation Day 2010

Ok, so I'm a little late, Reformation Day was October 31st. But I did want to post something anyways. Here's a bit from Wikipedia about the day.

"According to Philipp Melanchthon, writing in 1546, Luther "wrote theses on indulgences and posted them on the church of All Saints on 31 October 1517", an event now seen as sparking the Protestant Reformation."

Sola Scriptura (by Scripture alone)
Sola Fide (through faith alone)
Sola Gratia (by Grace alone)
Solus Christus (in the finished work of Christ alone)
Soli Deo Gloria (to the Glory of God alone)