Archive for the ‘Christmas’ Category

@maurilio:

17

My Loud, Scantily Clad Brazilian Christmas

I come from a place where on Christmas Eve people are battling extreme heat, Santa Claus wears thin silk pajamas, and Christmas day arrives with fireworks on the beach. Sounds like 4th of July in Florida, doesn’t it? Well, now that I’m thinking about it, it’s pretty much like that but with Thanksgiving meal thrown in for good measure. Today I’m in Nashville where we’re expecting a white Christmas and the days are short and cold. But growing up in the Southern Hemisphere in tropical Brazil, I enjoyed Christmas mostly outdoors. Pool parties and trips to the beach marked the beginning of Summer on December 21.  Brazilians eat a later dinner, 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve called “ceia”–interestingly, Christmas Eve is one of the only days Brazilians exchange their beloved beef for turkey and  Ham. After the big meal, Brazilians still find stamina to go out from house to house…

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26

How to Screw Up Christmas 5 Different Ways

Christmas Eve is a great opportunity to reach those outside the church that often goes unused. I’m usually arguing with several pastors during this time of the year. Seems like every year I have to convince a Senior Pastor that Christmas Eve is a powerful and great opportunity for outreach. Catholic churches have known this for centuries. Evangelicals are just now waking up to it. Here are the top 5 mistakes churches can make when planning their Christmas services. Give the staff Christmas Eve off. That’s a critical mistake that a lot of churches make. Christmas Eve is a great opportunity to reach out to people who want to connect with God and their families and who are looking for an opportunity to do so. Done well, your Christmas Eve service could be one of the best attended service of the entire year. If you are in ministry, working on…

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19

My White Tennessee Christmas

Yesterday was my first white Christmas ever. It was a beautiful, quiet day at home with my family. I decided to put together a quick video of our Tennessee White Christmas. I hope you enjoy it. Here’s another format if you have trouble with seeing the YouTube video on your mobile device How was your Christmas?

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10

Your Unexpected Christmas Blessing

I’m blessed. In the next few days my home will be filled with family, friends, cats and dogs coming together to celebrate Christmas. For some that many people in a house is a recipe for a fight waiting to break out, but for me it’s a true blessing. But I remember in years’ past not being able to be with family for the holidays. What kept me from being completely depressed was the love of friends who opened their home and took me in as one of their own. While we are all running around looking for those last-minute gifts, baking goodies, and preparing for the big Christmas dinner, we can easily bypass those who might be near us without a place to be on Christmas day. I can barely keep up with my own family, their children and pets much less think about someone off my radar. But that’s…

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15

A Bedroom Intruder Christmas

Creativity finds inspiration in the most unlikely of places. A few months ago, two young men decided to set the somewhat humorous news interview with Antoine Dodson, brother to a woman who had been assaulted in her apartment by a rapist, to music creating an instant Youtube sensation. Mr. Dodson has moved away from the projects with the proceeds he’s made from the “song.” He also performed live at the BET awards last month. The “bedroom intruder song” has now made its way into the Christmas repertoire of the Liberty University singers. Below is the evolution of the original newscast, the song and finally the Christmas version. What’s your take on the “Bedroom Intruder” phenomenon?

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