This Movie Gets Me EVERY Time

"Don't you think that daisies are the friendliest flower?"

... Why yes, Kathleen Kelly. As a matter of fact, I do.

The Shepherds and the Angels

^"8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.'

 ¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 
 ^14'Glory to God in the highest, 
      and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'

 ¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'

 ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

-Luke 2:8-20 (NIV)

As this holiday season comes to an end, may we continue to be as the shepherds on that holy night over 2,000 years ago - struck with awe at the Lord's power, and moved to glorify and praise His wondrous name. Merry Christmas to each of you!

The Birth of Jesus Foretold

I hope each of you is surrounded by loved ones this Christmas Eve, filled with excitement for what tomorrow celebrates - the gift of certain and unfailing hope that God sent to us in His Son so many years ago.

"26In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. ²⁸The angel went to her and said, 'Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.'

 ²⁹Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.³²He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.'

 ³⁴How will this be,' Mary asked the angel, 'since I am a virgin?'

 ³⁵The angel answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. ³⁷For nothing is impossible with God.'

 ^38'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.' Then the angel left her.

 - Luke 2: 26-38 (NIV)

I'm Watching You, Daughter

You know that scene in Meet the Parents where Jack (Robert De Niro) looks menacingly at Greg (Ben Stiller), pointing his two fingers at his own eyes and then one back at Greg? And Jack says a few words that essentially strike the fear of God into Greg?...

Before going to bed just now, my own sweet mother just came out of her bedroom in a fit of giggles, and proceeded to reenact that exact scene to my sister and her boyfriend... That's right - "I'm watching you, Focker" and all.

It's times like this that I,

(1) really love my family. A whole lot.

(2) am particularly ok with not bringing a boy home for Christmas just yet. :)

The Boys Will Get the Wrong Idea

Morgan (the six-year-old girl): Remember, when you go out not to put too much makeup on, otherwise the boys will get the wrong idea. And you know how they are...

Giselle (the princess-to-be): [wide-eyed stare of confusion]

Morgan: They're only after one thing!

Giselle: ... What's that??

Morgan: I don't know! Nobody will tell me!

-Enchanted

Goodness, I just love this movie. But I guess considering it's basically just a real life fairy tale that takes place in Manhattan, that may not come as such a huge surprise to, well... any of you. :)

Texas on My Mind / New York, King of All the Cities

I woke up this morning with Texas on my mind... and I'm literally counting down the minutes until my flight to Dallas tonight. I can't believe it's been an entire year since I was standing in the Texas sun. Where on earth does the time go??

Despite my intentions to post a video of Pat Green performing this wonderful song that I'm quite delighted to have stuck in my head today, nothing I found on YouTube really did it justice. Luckily, Liz tweeted a link to this video earlier to fill the void... A nice little "Ta Ta For Now!" to New York, king of all the cities.

Jamie - this one goes out especially to you. I have to go ahead and say that from 01:43 on, Stephen comes pretty darn close to the glory that was his report on The Nights in Rodanthe. Wish you were here so we could do a few spins in our chairs together. xoxo

The Gospel is Personal

“An historical gospel that is not personal and powerful is merely antiquarian; a theological gospel that is not received by faith and found to be transforming is merely abstract. In reality, the gospel is personal.”

-D.A. Carson, The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-9)

via Of First Importance

I pray that the gospel is especially alive and personal for each of you during this Advent Season, as we wait in anticipation for Jesus' coming.

And if you'd like to hear some inspiring and thought-provoking words on the Season, check out Apostles Church (or the podcast!) for Pastor JR's current series Promised One: Advent 2009.

I wish I could plan a day like this...

Walter: Listen Buddy, I want to talk to you.

Buddy the Elf: Good. I wanted to talk to you too. I have our whole day planned. 

[Buddy looks at his list on his Etch-a-Sketch]

Buddy: First, we'll make snow angels for two hours. Then we'll go ice skating. Then we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough as fast as we can... And then... we'll snuggle.

Winter Song

Winter has slowly been settling into the city for a few weeks now - Christmas trees are lining the sidewalks, ready to overtake tiny apartments. Buildings from 5th Ave. to the West Village are covered in twinkle lights. The first snowflakes came down in perfect little flurries (on my birthday, no less!). And the second I stepped outside into the wind chill of 16 degrees this morning, all snuggled up in my puffer jacket, I knew winter was here to stay.

And thanks to Jamie, I have the perfect winter song for you, NYC:

Sara Bareilles - New Music - More Music Videos

Happy wintry Friday! I hope your weekends are filled with hot cocoa and cuddling. :)