The trail of gratitude on the internet can at times be both long and complex. Case in point: I came across this piece on Christmas gifts at MaryAnn McKibben Dana’s great blog, “The Blue Room,” where she referenced an article written by Gretchen Ziegenhals on Duke’s fine Faith and Leadership website where she (Gretchen) talks about an idea she received at a workshop given by Susan Vogt. Still with me…? 🙂 I suppose it doesn’t matter. Here are the relevant paragraphs on Christmas gift-giving at home, first from Gretchen (as quoted by MaryAnn): At a retreat on Christian life, I heard Susan V. Vogt describe a wonderful tradition...

My heart is breaking, as I know yours is, for all those affected by the shootings in Connecticut. It’s hard for us to contemplate the horror, grief, and loss of the families of those poor children, teachers and staff. It’s even harder for us to understand the madness that could motivate someone to such a heinous act. Contemplating any of this, let alone all of it, is nearly overwhelming. All we can do is hold them in prayer, surround them with love, and when the time comes ask hard questions about the elements of our culture and policies that contribute to such atrocities. Before these awful events, I had been thinking about using an...

The Carol of the Bells, a Ukrainian folk song written by Mykola Leontovych with lyrics by Peter Wilhousky, has always been one of my favorites of those Christmas carols that you are more likely to hear than sing. There are so many fabulous variations that never fail to delight, and the tune has been adapted to reflect so many different cultures (where drums, for instance, in an African version performed at my daughter’s middle school recently). So it was to my great delight to come across two more versions that I thought were, well, just really cool. The first, from the creative talents at North Point Church in Atlanta, appeals to my geeky...

Sometimes it takes an outsider to remind you of who you are and what you should be about. It helps, of course, if that outsider is keenly observant, a generous critic, and gifted with words and, in this case, musical notes. Such is the case with this week’s Unlikely Christmas Carol, “The Rebel Jesus,” by Jackson Browne. Let’s start with Browne as keen observer. A day after describing Mary’s Magnificat as a “rebel song,” I can’t help but appreciate Browne’s perception that her son came to question the status quo, challenge the authorities and customs of the day, and generally turn things upside down. But Browne isn’t...