Get ready to listen (quickly!) to many versions of “What Child is This?” in very diverse styles as we tackle our biggest bracket yet for Advent Caroling Madness! I had 29 submissions, and there were lots of interesting versions. So I eliminated one to whittle …
Read MoreAnd the “Good King Wenceslas” winner is…
…Generation X’s nostalgia overcomes The Greatest Generation’s nostalgia 18 votes to 12. #2 seed Colbert, Stipe, and Pantinkin are crowned the best version of Good King Wenceslas! Later tonight, we have a humdinger of a bracket for “What Child is This?” Get ready to listen …
Read MoreGood King Wenceslas-Final Round
Interesting! I wouldn’t have expected the original crooner to have so much staying power, after 67 years. But Bing Crosby prevailed by one vote over The Bills, while Colbert and Company had an easy time dispatching The Piano Guys. So now we come to it, …
Read MoreJesus Came as an Outcast
(Message given at Newberg Friends Church on December 11, 2016) For several weeks, we’ve looked at God’s regular habit of not doing things like we would think God would. God shows up with the outsiders and the oppressed, and it is God showing up that …
Read MoreGood King Wenceslas-Round 3
Your votes have whittled the field down to four. The first match up is classic crooner vs. Celtic cadence, while the other semi-final round pits three seeming mis-matches against the Piano guys. You’ve got until Thursday night at 9 pm to vote! (Plus, don’t forget …
Read MoreGood King Wenceslas-Round 2
You people always surprise me with what you like…who knew Sheldon was so incredibly compelling? What is it that you like about the Piano Guys? I just don’t get it… Plus I don’t care how cute Hugh Grant’s looks are, or British children. This is …
Read MoreGood King Wenceslas-Opening Round
It’s time for tip off, so plug in those Beats headphones and crank up your bluetooth speakers, and get ready to begin the voting for your favorite version of “Good King Wenceslas”! Now, granted, this is not the best musical choice I’ve ever made, but …
Read MoreHope Rewind
(Message given at Newberg Friends Church on December 4, 2016) Yesterday we got our Christmas tree. We’ve been going to the same place over in Sherwood since 2005, just a little red house with a field of trees behind it. We found it randomly, and …
Read MoreRescue Will Come…Humbly
(Message given at Newberg Friends Church on November 27, 2016) “I lift up my eyes to the mountains–where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Those words from Psalm 121 have often been an encouragement …
Read More2016 Advent Caroling Madness!
It was three years ago tomorrow that I had one of my best ideas of all time: put different versions of Christmas songs into a basketball-like bracket to fight it out for the best version! It’s morphed from a writing exercise under my full control, …
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