The Incarnation

by Odd Thomas

what good is the Christmas story
if it’s void of God and His glory
what’s the worth of the words “peace on earth”
if it’s not rooted in the truth of Christ’s birth
what benefit is it for us to discuss the joy of the season
unless we fix our hearts and our minds on the principal reason
that Christ has atoned for us

see, Christmas is more than just a story
about a baby born in a manger
more than a poor fiance engaged to a humble virgin teenager
more than a Magi
more than gold, frankincense, and myrrh
it’s more than a narrative of the nativity scene
there was so much more that occurred

it’s the coming of the Messiah
the fulfillment of all Old Testament promises
the prophecy of the suffering servant and all of His accomplishments
the second Person of the Trinity
commissioned to abandon His position
and literally set aside the independent exercise of His attributes
in full submission
the Word manifested in the flesh
the fullness of God expressed
the self-emptying Jesus poured out at the Father’s request
the image of the invisible God
the radiance of the Father’s fame
holy
but retained His humanness to emphathize with our pain

He was unjustly crushed
chastised
cursed
and shamed
mocked and adorned with a crown of thorns
disgraced
but He still faced the grave
to fulfill the Father’s will
to come and die in the place of sinful men
and receive the full fury of God’s judgment upon Himself instead

the most monumental mark for mankind
made in human history
wretched sinners being made righteous
only by the wounds of the risen King
the condescending of a holy God
made in the likeness of men
a child born to be the Savior
that would save the world from their sins
the offspring of the virgin’s womb
the Christ
God’s own Son
fully God yet fully man
the only theanthropic One

this is what we celebrate
Christ
the newborn King
veiled in flesh the Godhead see
hail! incarnate Deity

Christmas Must Be Something More

by Taylor Swift

what if ribbons and bows didn’t mean a thing
would the song still survive without five golden rings
would you still wanna kiss without misletoe
what would happen if God never let it snow
what would happen if Christmas carols told a lie
tell me what would you find

you’d see that today holds something special
something holy, not superficial
so here’s to the birthday boy who saved our lives
it’s something we all try to ignore
and put a wreath up on your door
so here’s something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something more

what if angels did not pay attention to
all the things that we wished they would always do
what if happiness came in a cardboard box
then i think there is something we all forgot
what would happen if presents all went away
tell me what would you find

you’d see that today holds something special
something holy, not superficial
so here’s to the birthday boy who saved our lives
it’s something we all try to ignore
and put a wreath up on your door
so here’s something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something more

we get so caught up in all of it
business and relationships
hundred-mile-an-hour lives
and it’s this time of year
and everybody’s here
it seems the last thing on your mind

is that the day holds something special
something holy, not superficial
so here’s to Jesus Christ who saved our lives
it’s something we all try to ignore
and put a wreath up on your door
but here’s something you should know that is for sure
Christmas must be something
Christmas must be something
Christmas must be something more

there’s gotta be more
there’s gotta be more

My experience

I am glad to see you. I heard that —— suffered from some kind of depression and is recovering. I had experieced depression twice myself before. So I know the feelings. May be my experience can be helpful . In 1984, I worked in —— for almost 6 years. I liked my work there until a re-organization changed everything. The new situation made me very unhappy and eventually turn me into a depression. I was not aware of this kind of illness then. I justed always felt tired, no interest to do anything, had trouble concentrate to work, felt sad, helpless and hopeless. I quit my job and worked for —— briefly and did not work out. Luckily, I found another job  and moved in January 1985. The new boss was good and patient. But I was still depressed and barely holding on my job. It took another year for me to completely recovered. At that time depression was still not well understood and there were not many anti-depressent drugs available. The doctor only gave me transqualizers. If I took the anti-depressent drugs I’d have recovered much faster. The 2nd time happened in 1993 when I worked in ——. I did not like the boss there. Bit I hung on and became depressed. I eventually quit the job and moved to work for my current emplyer. The new boss was good and I recovered very quickly this time. My experience with the depression are:

1. If you don’t like the job or the working environment, you need to change job or the environment very quickly. It could trigger depression.
2. If you feel depressed, you need to seek medical treatment. It is an illness. Anti-depressent will help you improve your mood and recover faster.
3. Whenever you feel better, you should find something you like to do quickly. This will keep you busy and your mind off the depression. This will help the recovery.

I hope my expreience can help you and —— to deal with the situation.

Ditto

Wow, how uncanny the similarities between my friend’s and my own family:

In less than 24 hours I will be leaving with my family on my first trip to Asia!  I’m excited and feel so blessed to finally have the opportunity to meet my extended family, many of whom I’ve heard about but never seen. At the same time, I realize that this may be a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to witness to them, since we don’t go back very often and the majority of my relatives who are overseas are not believers and are at least as old as my parents. It will also be the first significant amount of time I’ve spent with my brother since he decided to tell me he’d renounced God. So, I would really appreciate your prayers for God’s love to show through in our interactions, even though there might be language, age, cultural barriers, and the usual family tensions.

I also wanted to say that I’m thankful and would love to hear how you’re doing or pray for you if you’ve anything to share; but since I may not be able to communicate as frequently while I’m overseas, I want to go ahead and wish you a very Merry Christmas and send you wishes for a wonderful holiday season!

White Christmases

by Branded

if you dream of horse-drawn carriages
dashing through the snow
before you move to Texas
there’s something you should know….

that they don’t have white Christmases in Houston
i’ve lived here most my life, and i should know
i’ve prayed and i’ve pleaded for way too many years
but they just don’t have white Christmases down here

i’ve heard of winter carnivals in Aspen
it looks just like a winter wonderland
but remember while you’re freezin’
throughout this Christmas season
we’ll be down here with Christmas cheer
and flip-flops in the sand

that they don’t have white Christmases in Houston
i’ve lived here most my life, and i should know
i’ve prayed and i’ve pleaded for way too many years
but they just don’t have white Christmases down here

play on!

that’s nice!

i’ve seen all those Christmas shows on TV
blankets of white powder, my how grand!
but while you’ve got snow and holly
I’m feasting on tamales
sittin’ on my back porch
with an iced tea in my hand

that they don’t have white Christmases in Houston
i’ve lived here most my life, and i should know
i’ve prayed and i’ve pleaded for way too many years
but they just don’t have white Christmases down here

i’ve prayed and i’ve pleaded for way too many years
but they just don’t have white Christmases down here