Christmas Morning

Christmas morning
I'm up and at the window;
a most precious gift I see!
The sun is sitting
behind clouds aflame
on Mount Baker's shoulder.

I think how infrequent it is
that I can see the sun --
the spherical body of fire --
'less it is slightly veiled.
And even then I can't look long
'less I sacrifice sight of everything else!

Ah! Christmas veil;
glory e'er forsaken.
He became something we can see,
something to behold...
and believe.

Christ, my love,
my eyes are robbed
of sight for any other.

As you reflect on his birth

may your soul feel its worth

this Christmas

It's Christmas!!!

I've had a roller-coaster relationship with Christmas the past couple of years - sometimes hating it, sometimes indifferent, sometimes liking it, never really loving it. Sometimes I hated the way it made me feel, sometimes I hated the extreme commercial nature of it, sometimes I disliked the non-focus of the season, sometimes I just didn't care.

But now! Now I love it! And I think I'll stay loving it. I had my tree up on December 1, and have it lit up whenever I'm at home. And it's not even a cliche anymore... I don't say Christmas is about family, like many nice people say. Family is a byproduct of Christmas -- we just so happen to get together to celebrate the real reason.

Christmas (to me) is a celebration of Christ's birth; therefore a celebration of everything my life has become because of Christ's birth. And really, there is no area of my life He has not impacted, so it is a celebration and reflection on my entire existence... Christmas. Who'd've thought?!

Let's party!!!

The Wind

The movement of the wind -
normally unseen -
we know by its effects,
hitting hard that which doesn't yield,
bending that which does:
its power and ferocity
its howling sovereignty;
it is gentle and embracing
it is nature's necessity;
yet unseen, a ghost,
'less it picks up the dust,
then we see its swirling power.

Would that I were the dust
that made visible the wind
Yes, carry this dust
as a body for the ghost.

Happy Feet

In review

Bait-and-switch is the marketing campaign used by the promoters of this film. You think you’re going to see something cute with a good story for kids, but you end up emotionally attached to a political issue and, if you’re a Christian, insulted. Maybe actually assaulted.

There is a very specific agenda behind the film: stop marine harvesting. Fine. Good. Whatever. BUT it goes much further than that and actually seems to blame Christians for hurting the environment. The logic is as follows: Republicans typically aren’t in favour of environmentally-conscious agendas; Republicans equal Christians; Christians are to blame for the diminishing quality of the environment.

Now, politics aside, I don’t care what they think about the environmental problems and who’s to blame. I don’t have an opinion either way. My problem is with the spiteful message they are sending to kids, to my 3-year-old nephew who accompanied me.

The colony of penguins in this movie is ruled by one who doubles as the religious leader. The entire dialogue from the establishment is stolen from Christian language; a lot of “thees” and “thous”, some “backsliders”, and even a “the [name of Penguin god] giveth, and the [name of Penguin god] taketh away!”

When Happy Feet finds the source of their diminishing food supply, it’s in the form of a fishing village, and the very first thing he sees is a church on the hilltop, cross front and centre, with dark and alarming music playing (like this was the villain).

In the end, the religious leadership is debunked and abandons their faith.

Fine, make a children’s movie with content like this, but don’t draw in the masses without letting them know what they might be in for. There is absolutely NO HINT of this side of the content in ANY of the marketing. This is a very effective campaign tool, not to mention very dubious and underhanded.

But the right has their movies too! Absolutely, but you know it’s a right-piece before you walk in! Who ever saw The Prince of Egypt, or The Nativity, or The Chronicles of Narnia, or The Passion of the Christ without knowing what they were about to see?

Bait-and-Switch (which is actually illegal with bigger-ticket items) Happy Feet: a wolf in sheep’s clothing.