Live Christmas Eve Update from Ryan Bush on Vimeo.
Tag Archive for 'christmas'
Sophia loves to sing. And now, she’s all about the Christmas tunes. The other day I could over hear her in her playroom singing. It went like this:
Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Cried and cried and cried
The Krusty Sage said it.
Last year I found myself struggling with the whole Christmas machine here in the U.S. It’s messed up. However, instead of being cynical, I decided to lead my family into a more meaningful perspective on Christmas. I found a very purposeful and relevant way to go about Christmas in Advent. So, I set up an Advent calendar.
Advent means expectation. After all, Christmas is about the arrival of the Messiah, the One who had been anticipated for centuries!
This year I thought it would be good to take that expectation literally. We’re journeying through the Old Testament with our hearts bent towards Bethlehem. After all, the Old Testament is a longing for the expected One, Jesus. So, we’re longing right along with them.
You can download the Advent calendar/schedule I put together here. Feel free to use it for your family, small group, whatever.
How does your family celebrate Christmas?
Winter is gone. Hot is here. I like summer. Baseball. Air conditioning.
But, I’ll miss winter. Not so much winter, but my hoody.
Until next fall, friend.
Me and the girls in our brand spankin’ new Christmas hoodies (thanks Linda!).
Sophia is Peruvian. Actually, she is a Peruvian citizen and a U.S. citizen. She was born in Lima, Peru and lived the first 5 months of her life there. So, she got an alpaca for Christmas. Alpacas are indigenous to Peru and Ecuador. (For more on our life in Peru, visit the archives.)
Where does one get an Alpaca? Here, of course! So, I guess you’ve figured out that she didn’t actually get an Alpaca. But, somebody in Peru or Ecuador is going to get one from Sophia.
We thought it would be an appropriate crescendo to our anticipation (see advent calendar), using our resources to labor alongside Jesus to bring hope to one of Sophia’s fellow Peruvians.
Merry Christmas amigos!
Sophia is enjoying her first Christmas in the good ole’ USofA. We hope that, this Christmas, God helps you understand just how cool he thinks you are.
Me showing Sophia how it works! That thumb is precariously close to getting popped!
Wow. This was shot was taken by Grant Harrison somewhere in North Little Rock. Click on the picture to get the full effect.
I think it’s great that his neighbors have absolutely nothing up for Christmas.
So what does Christmas at the Promise House look like? Well, right now it looks empty. It’s Christmas Eve and all the girls in our care left early this morning with their families. They aren’t due back until 9pm.
Holidays are tricky around here. Never do we miss those we love more than during the holidays. When you have a houseful of hormonal pregnant teenagers missing their families you’ve got the potential for a Code Red Meltdown.
Despite the dangers, we will celebrate Christmas tomorrow. The key: Activity. We will keep them busy. A big breakfast, followed by present opening, followed by playing with presents, followed by lunch, followed by a movie, followed by Christmas light watching . . . you get the picture.
Speaking of Christmas lights . . . there’s this guy in North Little Rock . . . well, I’ll just put up another post.
Two days away from the big day. I’ll let Linus take it from here. Click here
This is pretty cool. And speaking of having more money than 90% of the world, you should check out Kiva. It’s a way to lend to small businesses in developing countries. I decided to give it a try and lended to Marianella in Peru. I’ll keep you updated on how it pans out.
Also, if you’re looking for a meaningful Christmas idea, I have a friend who is giving her daughter a Kiva gift certificate for Christmas.
We spent the weekend in Cabot with Amanda’s family. Her brother and his wife (you might remember them from this post or this one) were there as well. Besides being the best insurance agent west of the Mississippi, Andrew is a pretty good dog trainer. He and his wife, Adrien, have been working with their lab, Sooie, for a few years. She has won several dock jumping contests.
Here are some dang cute shots we got of La Sophie and Sooie hanging out over the weekend. Andrew is going to enter one of them in a contest. More on that later.
Today, on the God’s Politics blog, Shane Claiborne posted a great article about ‘reimagining’ Christmas. Here’s an excerpt:
A few years ago I remember a pastor friend telling me they tried something a little different for their Christmas services. Instead of the usual holiday décor and clutter of the sanctuary, they brought in a bunch of manure and hay and scattered it under the pews so the place would really smell like the stank manger where it all began.
Read the full article here.
I think that I have officially overcome my Christmas cynicism. Christmas just didn’t have any meaning for me. I mean, yeah, it’s Jesus’ birthday (actually, it’s not really), but the whole deal to me felt messed up. And, truthfully, it is. But, it doesn’t have to be for me and my family. I’m still not buying into the super-sized hype (and I hope I never do), but I do believe this time of year is an important season of refocus and refreshment.
Anyway, I started looking for a tangible way to get at the heart of what Christmas is all about. That’s when I discovered the tradition of the Advent Calendar. The whole idea behind advent is anticipation. Anticipation for the coming of the Messiah (as opposed to the coming of the Wii). And why was/is the Messiah anticipated? Because he was/is going to bring justice. He was/is going to set things right. He was/is going to wipe away the tears.
So, I built this advent calender (below). Nothing too extravagant. Just cups hanging from a string across our kitchen. Each evening we take down a cup and read the verse that is in it. The verses are centered around God bringing justice, healing the broken, and making things right. We read them with anticipation that he is coming (again) to do all this and also with the attitude that, in the mean time, we are to be laboring along with him to those ends. As the cups become less, our anticipation becomes more. Anticipation for the coming of the righteous one, who will make all things right.
I ran across this uncomfortably funny cartoon:
It was drawn by Dave Walker. You can find more cartoons (free for use) at We Blog Cartoons.
. . . Actually, it’s already here.
This movie looks pretty interesting. It’s an independent film and won’t be shown at the Rave anytime soon, but Market Street Cinema will be showing it this month.
What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt!
I don’t feel like getting on the stump at the moment, but, truthfully, the whole christmas deal is pretty disheartening to me. A time of year that could be so sacred and renewing is a time of anxiousness, over-spending, selfishness, and just plain craziness. Anyway, I’m working through it. I need something to redeem it for myself. A tradition that will put things in their rightful place. Something simple. Ideas?
The Metro group from UALR saved my life. How? There were 6 tubs full of Christmas decorations that had to be arranged and hung and placed. Had I been the sole male in the house being directed by 11 women (5 of whom are pregnant) on where to hang this or where to place that, I surely would have had all the life force sucked from my bones. But, the Metro group came and unpacked it all, set up two nativity scenes, two trees, lots of garland, a snow village, and a bunch of other random Christmas stuffs. Wow. I am thankful. If we still had the thanksgiving tree going, I’d put “Metro” on there. Thanks Metro.
Here is a sampling of the fruit that was picked off the Thanksgiving Tree today in preparation for Christmas decorations.
I’m thankful for being at the Promise House.
I am thankful for family.
I am thankful for my friends.
Hot showers!
I am thankful for the second chance at life I discovered during my time at Promise House. I am also thankful for the strength I found in myself during my pregnancy that has seen me through so many difficult times since then.
For the people who care and love me and Kylee.
I’m thankful for God’s AMAZING grace!!
I am thankful for God’s guidance and care through our pregnancies.
I am thankful for my house and my mom’s truck.
I am thankful for my brother.
I am thankful for me.
I am thankful because I’m alive and my family is alive too.
I’m thankful for Christmas.
I’m thankful for my health and strength.
My family and friends.
I’m thankful for Mr. and Mrs. Bush.
I’m thankful to be a listener, supporter, and giver. And to help and assist others.
I am thankful for Ms. Ruth!!
I’m thankful for food and my very nice roommate.
I’m thankful for my mom and my brother.
Jennifer, Ryan, Amanda, Sophia, Keri, Tera, Edith, Brittany, Sherry, Michelle: For all the joy you bring into my life.
I am so thankful to be alive!! Today is full of possibilities!!
I’m thankful for my baby girl!
I am thankful for my family - especially Esten.
I’m thankful for my family and friends.
I’m thankful for being cancer free for 10 years.
I’m thankful for my bed that makes my back hurt at night.
Sophia’s great-grandparents got her this wagon for Christmas. She absolutely loves it.
There’s a few more on our flickr.
A little late, I know. But we’ve celebrated Christmas with our families in the past week, so we’re still in the holiday spirit.
My parents got us a running stroller so that Sophia can go along with us on our runs. It’s a pretty sweet ride!
Craziest thing. Yesterday, Amanda and I went into a little mexican grocery store in Clarksville to get a Latin fix and there were 2 Peruvians in there!! It was awesome.
Sophia is kind of sick. I guess it’s the mixture of the freezing temperatures and brand new germs that have her coughing a lot. We’re gonna take her to the doctor today if we can get this insurance thing figured out!
Merry Christmas everybody! It’s over, but I’m sure I didn’t get to tell some of you. We spent Christmas day in the LSU Med Center in Shreveport, LA. Some of Amanda’s cousins were in an accident due to the ice just prior to the holidays. This holiday is extra special. I guess because we are about to leave.
We want all our family to know that we do love them even though we are (geographically) leaving them.
We’re leaving in about 2 weeks. We’re excited and sad.
We’re spending New Year’s in Arkadelphia with our best friends in the whole world. We’re really excited about that.
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