The Word for Christmas: Matzobrei

For those of you who are especially appreciative of good Christmas food-- enjoy.

Of course, Matthew 4:4.

So, if you're still hungry, then what you really need is this, courtesy of our friend, bishop N.T. Wright.

Snowballs, Schmoeballs

Who needs mistletoe and loads of snow when you have cactus, palm trees, and blue sky? Just glitz up the fake ficus tree with some colored lights and then head outdoors (where it's 80°) for a festive holiday squirtgun fight. Ahhh... the spirit of the season.

To all our dear loved ones: we are thinking of you as you skid down icy roads and shake the snow off your parkas and boots. Be careful! Meanwhile, we'll stay safe by slathering on the sunscreen.

Blessed Christmas to all. We miss you!

Teenage Cynicism: Priceless

So I'm in the Burbank mall with Mia the other day, and we walk by the gigantic fake tree and the fake living room where "Santa" is drawing little ones up on his knee.

"Hey, Mia," I say, "would you like to go visit Santa??"
Her reply: "Why would I want to do that? You're the one with the credit card."

It's nice to know we've taught our daughter the real meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Joy

Bumble and Burbank Bling-Bling

Those photos of Mia's team with their championship medals are getting a bit dull to post here -- so instead, this week we simply feature "Bumble" from the WinterBlast tournament logo, and record the stats for the finest GU14 team in all of Southern California:
4 wins, 0 losses.
13 goals for, 1 goal against.
8 players scoring, 7 players assisting on goals.
Total of 10 players involved in goal-scoring. One player involved in goal-saving.
You Know!

(P.S. Jacob fell ill and was unable to participate in his team's play this weekend.)

Christmas Peace to All Nations...

Or whatever.

Christmas Songs that Never Caught On

A good friend of mine, Todd Kleinhuizen, has sent me a hilarious list of not-so-successful Christmas songs. I posted it over here on the Theologiggle blog. Check it.

Whose Child is This?

Oh yeah. Mine.

Season Champions

Another weekend, another soccer championship. This time, it was Jacob's season team, bringing home the blue-ribbon bling-bling in a two-game tournament for the Burbank B-U10 Championship. They faced stiffer competition than they were used to, but still won handily, 3-1 and 4-2.

The brightest moment was when the opposing team's star player rushed in on a break-away. Jacob, in the keeper's position, was not cowed. He came out in defense, growled a little, and threw himself on the ball while it was still on the striker's feet -- totally owned him. It was like a great rejection in basketball.


Of course, this means they're going on to regional tournaments now. Looks like we'll be busy on weekends in January.

Dining In the 'Ville

At the invitation of my good friend Chip Andrus, I'm spending most of this week in Louisville as a special consultant for the PC(USA). I'm part of a brainstorming group -- our job is to discern, develop, and then disseminate resources to help the church worship well.

As expected, our first night was one of convivial bread-breaking at a fabulous downtown restaurant. Not knowing what to do with myself in such high class surroundings, I ordered Mac & Cheese for the appetizer. It came with truffles, Berkshire bacon, and dried apple. Yummy! And the tenderloin steak that was the main course came with the fanciest dang tater-tot I ever did see. Yee haw! Hope I get me some grits tomorrow for breakfast!

Christmas Parade

Mia got gussied up last night for a trip with her school's marching band through the streets of nearby Montrose for a Christmas Holiday Parade. She held the school's flag... well, um, straight, I guess. She thinks this picture makes her look like a total band nerd. Runs in the family.

We saw lots of the standard stuff one sees in a local parade: Shriners driving about in tiny cars, kids on pimped out tricycles, local politicians in vintage autos, a dozen office workers from a local realty office taking a hay ride while sipping from schnapps-enhanced cocoa, etc. One especially interesting thing we saw was a group of scantily clad young women: the cheer squad from the School of the Incarnation in Glendale. Debra and I decided that both the Incarnation and Cheer have much to do with the same thing: Flesh and Spirit.

Gimme a "J!" "Gimme an "E"! Gimme an "S"! ....

Uh oh. It's Here.

Kids, step away from the quail.