A Few of My Favorite Things

Well actually I just wanted to list a few of my favorite Christmas movies. Each year as we decorate our house Cyd and I watch several of these over and over again. So here's my top 5 Christmas movies...
1. It's A Wonderful Life- This is actually my favorite movie of all time!
2. Home Alone
3. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation- This is the best movie to watch as you string lights.
4. A Christmas Story
5. White Christmas- I think I really only like this one because Cyd likes it so much, but Bing Crosby singing White Christmas is pretty good.

Honorable Mentions: Elf, Mickey's Christmas Carol, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street

Hope you get a chance to watch one or all of these this Christmas.

The Magi

I think some of my favorite Bible characters are the Magi, the Wise Men from the East, that visited the baby Jesus. Their painstaking journey to see this new king and bring him gifts has always amazed me. Frederick Buechner helped me to remember the foolishness of these Wise Men. It gives you pause to consider how, for all their great wisdom, they overlooked the one gift that the child would have been genuinely pleased to have someday, and that was the gift of themselves and their love (Peculiar Treasures p.195).

I have to ask myself each day if I have given myself and my love to the King.

The Persistent Process of Discipleship

Okay, first off, sorry for the slight alliteration. I started running a few months ago, which is something I had never done before. I'm not the perfect runner's body type by any means. I asked a friend who is an avid runner for some advice. I told her that my goal was to run in a 5k in the fall of 2008. She said that was crazy that I could be ready to do that in January. To which I quickly protested. Training and conditioning my body to desire to run and actual run have reminded me that the process of being a Christ follower is not a quick process at all. In fact, if anything I have discovered that true intimacy with Christ is a slow process that requires patience and diligence, not unlike running. The last two weeks I have hit a wall for some reason...I get frustrated because I want to be able to run for 2 miles without ever stopping, but I can't seem to reach that goal yet. I have to remind myself that for my sake it is equally important to walk the parts I can't run for the health benefits alone. So there are days when I can run a fair amount and others where I can't but the walking/running has reminded me that just as it takes perseverance to condition your body it takes perseverance to condition your soul. The art of discipleship is not a simple three step process, a neat bullet list, or even a how-to manual...rather it is a lifelong pursuit to know God and be conformed a little more each day into the image of his son.

New Music

A few weeks ago I heard most of the new Bruce Springsteen CD while sitting in Starbucks with some students. I was impressed by the new offering by the full E Street Band. In many ways the sound is what has garnered Bruce a legion of fans over the years. Although I haven't checked out the lyrics in detail, what I heard seemed to be full of elements of faith, sin, redemption, and love.

I have heard a few of the songs off the new CD by Robert Plant and Allison Krauss. If you are like me you're thinking how could those two singers sound good together, but to my surprise they are a unique duo. Plant, best known as the lead singer of Led Zepplin, adds a gritty, soulful feel to the songs. One song entitled, "Gone, Gone, Gone" was included on a sampler CD with a free issue of Paste Magazine I recently received. Might I add a plug for Paste if you are a lover of music, movies, books, and culture. The magazine and the companion website are worth checking out at http://www.pastemagazine.com/.

The Gospel in a Nutshell

Several years ago I heard an illustration about the gospel that has always stuck in my mind. I think it is attributed to Tim Keller, Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.

"You are far more sinful than you ever dared imagine, but you are far more loved than you ever dared hope."

I think this sums up the essence of the Christian message of God's love for sinners like you and me.

A Redeemed Child of God

Yesterday in my sermon I mentioned a favorite professor from Mercer, Papa Joe Hendricks. He always taught his students that the most basic understanding of ourselves is as "a redeemed child of God." No matter what happens in life, good or bad. No matter what kind of achievements and accolades we earn, at the core of who we are at least in God's eyes is that phrase. I think it is becoming a new favorite nickname for myself...

Being Thankful

The craziness of family gatherings has kept me from posting anything the last few days. I wanted to list a few things that I am thankful for and encourage you to do the same.

• Life
• Grace
• Cyd, my beautiful wife
• Claire, my energetic 2 year old
• Baby Pagliarullo (possibly Charlotte) who will be here in March
• My family (immediate and extended)
• Good friends
• My Church
• My students at FBC Statesboro
• My former students in Alabama and Georgia
• 2 cars that work at least most of the time
• A mortgage cause that means I have a house
• My education and life experiences
• Good books and good music (both of which are means of grace to me over and over again)

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!!