Christmas!

Random question: if you could choose anything as your Christmas present, what would you choose?

Then, compare your choice with the accomplished fact that God came to save the world through Christ. Now sit and watch how your regard for the sufficiency of Christ increase all the more. Great Christmas mind gymnastics eh? 

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(Extremely) last minute invitation for SSGC's Christmas Celebration to all! Event details can be found here. If by some miracle you read this before tomorrow and happen to be free, do come! We'd be pleased to have you. =) 

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Since Christmas is a time of giving, here's a little Christmas treat for all of you! It's the piece we did for carolling. Merry Christmas everyone! =)

It's the time of year again, the time of celebration!
A time for Christmas trees, a time for turkeys, and presents! 
With Santa Claus, and his trusty reindeer, 
And chestnuts roasting on an open fire, 
Christmas trees! And mistletoeeee (ewwww..) 
And mommy's special Christmas stew, 
Christmas is a time filled with so much fun, 
But let's not forget how it first begun.

I'm sure you've heard of the Christmas story,

The story of baby Jesus, and the virgin Mary,

Jesus- He was born on a Christmas night,

In the little town of Bethlehem, with no one in sight,

No trumpets, no fireworks, no lavish celebration,

No nothing- it was a seemingly normal occasion,

They spent the night in the stable of a stranger,

As little baby Jesus lay sleeping in a manger,

But he was a king alright!

The King! of the kingdom of light! 

But while royal babies enter the world with a BANG!

Our Lord Jesus entered the world with nothing in his hand. 

Instead, he was greeted by three wise men from the east,

But they were two years late at the very least,

For the past months, a special star lit up the night sky, 

It was the star of David, it shone from way up high,

The wise men followed the star wherever it went,

They followed it like a shadow, they would not relent,

Up and down and round and round, 

Over hills, valleys and rocky ground,

When the star went left (to the left, to the left),

When the star went right (to the right, to the right),

Through sun and rain and snow and hail,

They followed the star till they prevailed. 

"But tell me dear sirs, why are you following the star? 

Isn't it such a trouble to travel so far?"

My dear child, what a silly question, 

To meet the king of course, that's the reason,

We've been waiting so long for the star to appear,

But now all is made right, our King is here! 

And mind you, He is no ordinary King,

As a matter of fact, He's the King of Kings!

All hail King Jesus! 

He's going to save us!

He'll make right everything that is amiss,

He'll change hate to love, and war to peace,

He'll turn everyone to everyone's neighbour,

Misery and suffering will be forgotten forever,

Our tears- He'll replace them with laughter,

He alone is our happy every after. 

So folks, that's how Christmas really begun,

You see, Christmas isn't just about having fun,

Well, it's fun of course, but it's a whole lot more,

It's a story of how God saves a world rotten to it's core,

Jesus, He came with only one plea,

To gain pardon for you, and for me,

Emmanuel, He was God with us,

God come to men; God come to us.

Wonderful counsellor! 

The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, 

The Prince of Peace! 

The hope of the world upon the shoulders of a child, 

Because of that there's so much reason to smile,

Jesus- He's the reason for the season,

And that is why Christmas is a time for celebration.

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And this is how Christmas should sound like. =)

Been neglecting the usual read list and God knows how many gold nuggets I've missed. But here's the few that I came across (some of them from long ago) which I feel is worth sharing:

On fashion: Some people have commented that they don’t relate to the runways shots that I have posted on the blog during fashion week. They say they can’t afford the clothes or the looks don’t relate to their everyday lives. I understand these comments but I challenge you to try and look at these runway shots in a new way.. These suggestions of color can be used whether shopping Fendi, or Zara, or vintage.. All I’m saying is don’t let the lack of funds keep you from having fun with fashion.

If you want to make an impact, just be sincere (*note to self!*): Sarcasm is not an attitude, and it’s not a personality trait. It’s a style of rhetoric meant to be used occasionally to highlight a larger point. 

Women, stop submitting to men: Too often in our culture, women and girls are pressured to submit to men, as a category. This is the reason so many women, even feminist women, are consumed with what men, in general, think of them. This is the reason a woman’s value in our society, too often, is defined in terms of sexual attractiveness and availability. Is it any wonder that so many of our girls and women are destroyed by a predatory patriarchy that demeans the dignity and glory of what it means to be a woman? 

Worship and Performance: The only thing that separates a “worship band” from a “rock band” is the presence of lyrics on a projection screen behind the worship band. What’s really happening is a concert. A performance. But the presence of lyrics on a screen somehow makes it “worship.” If this sounds weird/confusing to you, that’s because it is weird and confusing to me as well. 

Getting enough sleep and staying in the ministry: I am emotionally less resilient when I lose sleep.. It is irrational that my future should look bleaker when I get four or five hours sleep several nights in a row. 

On tweeting: Two aims drive my writing of Tweets: One is theological and the other is aesthetic. I aim to say important theological things. And I aim to say them in a compelling way.. Tweets for me are a kind of poetry. I make no claim to be good at it. But that’s the way I think about it. I want it to sound and look good. I will never use 2 for to. Or Shd for should. Why? It’s not a telegram. It’s a poem. I love words. I rarely think of them as efficient, but as precious. God made them to carry the freight of truth and beauty. Nothing is more valuable than God’s truth and beauty. 

Tim Keller on what he'd say to Kim Kardashian on marriage.

Had the kids over for barbeque and sleepover. Been a great year with em' and looking forward to another year. Amazing kids, each of them. Sure hope they'll grow up 'right' and that they'll find their path on the strait and narrow. On my part, I'm slowing seeing and understanding the importance of pastoral care- never been good at it, but I'm slowly learning. Been very blessed to have people around me who are such givers and it makes me wonder how and why such depth of love? 

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Anyone up for carolling? Will be doing rounds at em' churchie's homes next weekend with the youth- a good warm up if you're not quite into the Christmas spirit yet. We'll be doing choral speaking this year so it'll be tons of fun. 

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Managed to catch the Halfway Kings last weekend at their '2-year celebration of mutual tolerance' (which is a rather amusing way to say anniversary). They were recently appointed as Converse Ambassadors- which (I feel)  is exactly what they need for their publicity because in all honesty, I think they're pretty good. 

Here's a scooby snack for the ears:

Traveling Lines by Halfway Kings