I actually got hit with a touch of the flu on Saturday, which slowed down my Christmas prep (to say the least). So with no time left, here we go…its Christmas. The Cow Palace looks amazing; I sat through some of the sound check for the pre-show and it is amazing too. And besides all […]
Two more days of preparation for Christmas. This penultimate post is all about the single most important element in our service, when it comes to the experience of the service: music. Music determines how people feel in church. And expectations are very high when it comes to Christmas Eve because Christmas and music go together. […]
Shortly I am off to the fairgrounds to survey the work that has been done today. That is my contribution…I comment on other people’s efforts after they’re done. It’s a very important part of the process. However, before I leave I wanted to update my Christmas countdown, with another look into our Christmas Eve Celebration. […]
I am falling behind in my countdown… we’ve got 4 days to go, but since Christmas Eve is what we are really anticipating, it’s actually 3 days. Last evening I visited the Fairgrounds to see how things were progressing. What I discovered were dozens and dozens of member-ministers helping to set up….including about 50 high […]
Well, there was a flurry of activity today in preparation for Christmas and most of it comes in basically two styles: the people who are at the Fairgrounds cleaning up, setting up and decorating and the people back here at the office basically preparing the program. This is a post mostly about the latter. Maria, […]
Today we began the move to the Fairgrounds. The jumbo-tron on York Road in front of the Fair now announces our presence and our event. Once there we took possession of the Cow Palace and got to work (by “we,” of course, I mean not “me” but a lot of other people under the direction […]
Despite the sadness of recent days, preparations continue for our Christmas Eve celebration at the Maryland State Fair. Each year Christmas Eve is a joyful celebration, but we always strive to be mindful of those who are not joyful. It can be a very difficult holiday for those who mourn. So we always try to […]
It was the one night of the year when I didn’t want to stay up late. Staying up late meant delaying Santa Claus. I know that might not make sense; however, as a child I knew the sooner I went to sleep the sooner morning would come. That’s why it blew my mind when my […]
The king was stunned. Heartbroken he wept. 2 Samuel 18.33 The Bible tells us that King David had a heart after the heart of God. The Bible also tells us that he wept openly on several occasions, notably the death of Jonathan his best friend and Absalom his son. There are certain situations that are […]
Like me, my nephew Jack likes Christmas…a lot. And he likes Christmas decorations a lot…much to his mother’s exasperation. Christmas trees, Christmas villages, nutcrackers, snow globes, reindeer, every variety of Santa and lights, lights, lights. The kid has lights everywhere. Very proud of him. I am taking the days before Christmas to blog about our […]
