Happy Monday

Grogu is not Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. Had a friend that fell for this though. Then he got suspicious and asked me if I knew who it was.

This is Happy Monday #405.

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Satur-deja Vu

I found it. This picture was taken last year at Unity Baptist but a week or two ago I could not locate it. The cover image on the UBC Facebook page is a gorgeous picture of an Advent wreath from a few years ago but the colors were not right. It’s a picky little thing and I may be the only one that cares but in the picture above are three purple candles and one pink. whereas here all the candles (except the center) are white. At any rate we are two Sundays down and two to go in our season of Advent. Tomorrow we will light that pink Angles candle, sing Joy to the World and talk about our source of joy coming into the world. I have a preaching appointment on Monday with our local association pastors and music leaders. Unless things change I’m planning to suggest we rethink the angel choir.

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iMonk Radio Podcast #114

A brief history of the Internet Monk blog; Michael’s dad and CB Radio; Christian movies (current at the time); Catholic friends and other assorted Christians.

Satur-deja Vu

It’s a chocolate moose, get it? This is what the internet was made for. You’ve made it to the weekend, welcome to the Deja Vu.

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Satur-deja Vu

Keeping the weeks of Advent is one way to keep Christ in Christmas. The school Christmas program may not include hymns that mention the birth of Jesus and local city ordinances may prohibit a public display of a live nativity. Maybe these are things you can do something about, maybe not. What we can and should do is read the scriptures and sing the hymns in our homes and in our churches that put the focus of Christmas squarely where it belongs. It is ultimately my responsibility to make sure that my child learns about the true meaning of Christmas and not the public school system, Charlie Brown, the Hallmark Channel or other thing. Advent is a season of preparation that gets us ready to celebrate the incarnation. Read more here if Advent is new to you or something you might be interested in learning more about.

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There is Much to be Thankful For

As we talk about giving thanks I’m not going into this holiday season with blinders on. Over 258,000 Americans have died of Covid or Covid-related illnesses this year. Unemployment reached levels unheard of since the Great Depression with 33 million unemployed in April. (Unemployment will go back up as the total number of cases and hospitalizations rise and things shut down again.) Theaters, restaurants, airlines and hotels may never been the same, or so it seems. On a personal level, we all know someone that has been quarantined, hospitalized or died from Covid-19. Some families have been hit hard.

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Happy Monday

There have been a lot of 2020 memes but we’ve shared very few of them here. 2020 is sort of an easy target to kick around. We try to keep it positive and encouraging on the Happy Monday posts. Clark Bunch had plenty to say about giving thanks on the Satur-deja Vu. We just want to get you awake and smiling. At least awake. This is Happy Monday #402.

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Satur-deja Vu

That is a cornucopia also known as a horn of plenty. It is a common image this time of year (although some readers of a certain age may recognize “the horn” from The Hunger Games). Pictured above is a ceramic wall plaque that came from my grandparents’ farm house. It hung in my mother’s kitchen for most of the years I lived at home and has followed Teresa and I through every move. In spite of all the jokes and memes about 2020 there is much to be thankful for. Imagine if this pandemic had been 20 years ago, before Zoom meetings were possible and video streaming was virtually nonexistent. Grocery delivery and pickup services are not just modern conveniences but have saved lives over the past year. We have all lost someone this year and perhaps know someone that is quarantined or hospitalized right now; and yet we are abundantly and richly blessed if we take honest stock of all that we still have. To read this post you must be not only alive and (presumably) well but have electricity, internet and a smartphone or laptop. That puts you in a high ranking category of wealth and privilege among the world’s 7+ billion population. This year has been tough. And God is good. Let’s be thankful this week and go ahead and look forward to 2021.

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