Ever wonder what to get that special someone for Christmas? Especially when that special someone doesn’t particularly need anything? In that case, let Kid President help you out. I’m a huge fan of Kid President and have been enchanted with the story of his struggles, perseverance, and spirit. Today, given that we’re just a little more than 10 days from Christmas, I thought I’d offer you his words of wisdom on giving things that really matter – hugs, love, time, the chance to do something awesome, and the opportunity to make the world a better place. It’s this last one that Kid President gives most of his time to, inviting you to...

The second installation of the Hobbit film franchise – 3 films, total screen time equal to or longer than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy! – opens tomorrow. That’s right: Friday the 13th. Despite the ominous date, I’m optimistic…if only because I don’t think it can get any worse than the first outing! The problem with the last film? An entirely bloated script that tried way too hard to make us remember the look and feel of the Lord of the Rings instead of simply telling the story at hand. After sitting through more than two-and-a-half hours of plodding plot lines (both the Hobbit proper and as much back-story to LOTR as they...

It’s not to much to say that David Steindl-Rast is the ambassador of gratitude. The Benedictine monk is known worldwide for his teaching of practices of gratitude. “Practices” may actually make it sound more difficult or complex that it needs to be, however, as Brother David’s counsel in this TED Talk is really rather simple. Reminding us of the three instructions we were given as children when approaching a street corner, he tells us to “Stop, look, and go.” Stop – slow down, take a break, pause long enough to take a breath. Look – notice and pay attention to just how many things are given to us freely and without...

Feeling a tad stressed this December 10? Just two weeks shy of Christmas Eve, and amid all the hustle and bustle of holiday parties, or shopping, or decorating, or writing your Advent 3 sermon (yes, Working Preachers, I’m thinking of you), or studying for finals and writing papers (yes, my students, now I’m thinking of you!), or of making lists and checking them twice (oh, yeah, that’s supposed to be Santa’s job!)? Well, wherever you may find yourself or whatever you may be doing, I’d invite you take a three-minute Advent mental health break and enjoy this early Christmas present from The Piano Guys. It’s a rendition of Angels We...

The Christian Church does not reckon time according to the civil year.  It goes by its own system, called the church year, and its calendar differs in many respects from the civil one.  It is not determined by scientific exactness, but by spiritual experience.  In the civil year, days and seasons are determined by the revolution of the earth about the sun.  In the church year, however, the formative principle is the life and teaching of the Son of Righteousness. –Luther D. Reed, in Worship, p. 34. The Greeks had two words for time.  The first, “chronos” (from which we get our word “chronological”) refers to...