OK…Almost Back to “Normal” After Christmas…
Tonight I went to our friendly local Barnes & Noble to spend a little Christmas gift card! I had a long list of books and CD’s from my Amazon.com Wish List that I was going to use as a “guide” to spending the gift card.

Well, as it turned out, I forgot to take my list, and the ones I could remember weren’t there, so I ended up picking up The Michael Feinstein Anthology.

Yeah, yeah, so I know all about him.

But the man can sing the American standards, and this collection is pretty awesome! Right now, he’s doing a super rendition of Gershwin’s “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” you know the one…

The way you wear your hat
The way you sip your tea
The memory of all that
No, no, they can’t take that away from me

The way you hold your knife
The way we danced till three
The way you changed my life
No, no, they can’t take that away from me
No, they can’t take that away from me

Ah, Gershwin! Very cool!

OK…Almost Back to “Normal” After Christmas…

Tonight I went to our friendly local Barnes & Noble to spend a little Christmas gift card! I had a long list of books and CD’s from my Amazon.com Wish List that I was going to use as a “guide” to spending the gift card.

Well, as it turned out, I forgot to take my list, and the ones I could remember weren’t there, so I ended up picking up The Michael Feinstein Anthology.

Yeah, yeah, so I know all about him.

But the man can sing the American standards, and this collection is pretty awesome! Right now, he’s doing a super rendition of Gershwin’s “They Can’t Take That Away from Me,” you know the one…

The way you wear your hat

The way you sip your tea

The memory of all that

No, no, they can’t take that away from me

The way you hold your knife

The way we danced till three

The way you changed my life

No, no, they can’t take that away from me

No, they can’t take that away from me

Ah, Gershwin! Very cool!

Who Ever Would Have Thought…?
Seems the Pope did something amazing in his Christmas Eve service. He talked about…gasp!…

…JESUS!

Love this line from Reuters…

“‘You come to bring us peace. You are our peace,’ he said in a homily that was mostly of religious content, recalling the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.”

What did they expect? A recap on the college bowl season?!?!

Who Ever Would Have Thought…?

Seems the Pope did something amazing in his Christmas Eve service. He talked about…gasp!…

…JESUS!

Love this line from Reuters…

“‘You come to bring us peace. You are our peace,’ he said in a homily that was mostly of religious content, recalling the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.”

What did they expect? A recap on the college bowl season?!?!

Haunted…

Marley.
The Ghost of Christmas-Past.
The Ghost of Christmas-Present.
The Ghost of Christmas-Future.

The Ghost of Christmas-That-Never-Is-What-You-Think-It-Will-Be…

Haunted…

Marley.

The Ghost of Christmas-Past.

The Ghost of Christmas-Present.

The Ghost of Christmas-Future.

The Ghost of Christmas-That-Never-Is-What-You-Think-It-Will-Be…

Holiday Party?
OK, OK! I admit it! I want to go to a holiday party!

Not one of those”all-church” put-on-a-happy-sappy-face, Rudolph-and-Santa-and-Frosty-sweaters, Christmas-tree-socks kind of affairs. I mean a party!

Where people dress up. Stylish. Classy.

Where good conversation and good food abound.

Where people aren’t trying to impress others with how “holy” they are.

I mean a gathering that’s just about having a big time.

I mean where the kind of stuff on the Starbucks “A Merry Affair” CD is playing in the background. Where Diana Krall wishes me a merry Christmas. Where Charles Brown tells the world he’ll be home for Christmas. Where Ray Charles tries to convince Betty Carter that it’s cold outside. Where Mel Torme offers a simple phrase to kids from 1 to 92. Where Jim Brickman and George Winston back up a gourmet dinner.

Real glasses. Real china. Real silver.
No plastic cups. No paper plates. No throwaway utensils.

Cool little hors d’oeuvres. Festive little toothpick thingies.

Where candles sparkle. Where the tasteful Christmas tree twinkles.

A grown-up Christmas party, I guess.

Where real laughter is heard.

Where I steal a little “smacky-do” standing under the mistletoe with my wife. Where she looks like a million bucks in a little black dress.

OK, pinch me! I guess I’ll make do at the church-wide brunch this Sunday!

Holiday Party?

OK, OK! I admit it! I want to go to a holiday party!

Not one of those”all-church” put-on-a-happy-sappy-face, Rudolph-and-Santa-and-Frosty-sweaters, Christmas-tree-socks kind of affairs. I mean a party!

Where people dress up. Stylish. Classy.

Where good conversation and good food abound.

Where people aren’t trying to impress others with how “holy” they are.

I mean a gathering that’s just about having a big time.

I mean where the kind of stuff on the Starbucks “A Merry Affair” CD is playing in the background. Where Diana Krall wishes me a merry Christmas. Where Charles Brown tells the world he’ll be home for Christmas. Where Ray Charles tries to convince Betty Carter that it’s cold outside. Where Mel Torme offers a simple phrase to kids from 1 to 92. Where Jim Brickman and George Winston back up a gourmet dinner.

Real glasses. Real china. Real silver.

No plastic cups. No paper plates. No throwaway utensils.

Cool little hors d’oeuvres. Festive little toothpick thingies.

Where candles sparkle. Where the tasteful Christmas tree twinkles.

A grown-up Christmas party, I guess.

Where real laughter is heard.

Where I steal a little “smacky-do” standing under the mistletoe with my wife. Where she looks like a million bucks in a little black dress.

OK, pinch me! I guess I’ll make do at the church-wide brunch this Sunday!

“There is a saying that the church should be two feet outside the gates of hell. We set it up two feet inside.”
I saw this story about God’s Rolling Thunder in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

They meet right down the road from us, and a couple of our folks have started attending there.
Interestingly, some of our other folks are a little “put out” with this expression of “church.”

Maybe it’s because the God’s Rolling Thunder bunch is making a real diiference, without all the pretense. Just a thought…

“There is a saying that the church should be two feet outside the gates of hell. We set it up two feet inside.”

I saw this story about God’s Rolling Thunder in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

They meet right down the road from us, and a couple of our folks have started attending there.

Interestingly, some of our other folks are a little “put out” with this expression of “church.”

Maybe it’s because the God’s Rolling Thunder bunch is making a real diiference, without all the pretense. Just a thought…