Halle and Celine love their new sweaters.

This year made me a cat person.

Now I’m a LOLcat person.

May God have mercy on my soul.

WK

¹And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:

²And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

³And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.

⁴And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

⁵And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.

⁶And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

⁷And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

⁸And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

⁹And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

¹⁰And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.

¹¹And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

¹²Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

¹³And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.

¹⁴And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.

¹⁵And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.

¹⁶And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.

¹⁷And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

- Revelations 12

Merry Christmas!

WK

Love is one of those words that loses meaning far too quickly. We love wives and we love video games. To top it off, it sounds like a weak word. What’s the opposite of a badass? …A really loving person?

We don’t give power to love in our cultural consciousness as we should. We give power to money, things, ideas, people, memories, cultures – but love is not on the list. Even Christians, who profess a loving God, push for aligning power-structures and power-words with their faith (reason, prosperity, safety, fear) rather than champion love.

Love is a God who humbles himself to the level of his creation.
Love is a God who places himself in a marginalized group.
Love is a God who proclaims his own entrance into the world by including the excluded.
Love is a God who dies for those who hate him.
Love is a God who died for you.
Love is a God who gives us hope for peace and joy.
Love is a God seeking to bring everyone and everything home at all costs.

This is why Christmas is about Love.

WK

She was his girl; he was her boyfriend
She be his wife; take him as her husband
A surprise on the way, any day, any day
One healthy little giggling dribbling baby boy
The wise men came three made their way
To shower him with love
While he lay in the hay
Shower him with love love love
Love love love
Love love is all around
Not very much of his childhood was known
Kept his mother Mary worried
Always out on his own
He met another Mary for a reasonable fee, less than
Reputable as known to be

Father up above, why in all this anger do you fill
Me up with love
Fill me love love love
Love love love
Love love
And the blood of our children all around

WK

I feel odd talking about this time in life because I’ll end up talking about kittens, Rice Krispies, Care Bears, and babies to get my point across. That warm feeling that is far too rare in life is the only other way to describe these times of the year. The closest thing I can reason why these times are felt and remembered this way has to do with people, however briefly, in complete reconciliation with each other. If only for a few hours, 10-30 people around me become drama-free and seem to rise to a different level of human interaction and intimacy. As I begin to think it about, I miss it.

Part of God becoming man was to reconcile everyone to everything, or at least to start. God wants us to love to him, love each other, and love the world around us. That is the vision of the future that I caught in those times. C.S Lewis equates joy to that idea – he called it sensucht, a funny-sounding german word for that indescribable feeling of longing that isn’t necessarily bad, but a good longing. Feel me?

Lewis goes further to say that joy isn’t the end state, but the journey to the state. The joy of those Christmas memories is that it is a glimpse along the journey towards what the New Creation. And when that comes, we will have untainted knowledge and relationship with God, pursuing the greatest understanding of a fully unknowable God. That is the greatest joy.

And that, to me, is Christmas.

WK