A Christmas reflection

Christmas...my favorite day out of all the 365 days of the year.  My only problem is that it goes by rather quickly.  As a kid, it took forever to get "here," so to speak.  This Christmas was a bit minimalist as we didn't have enough money for presents, but then again, Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ, not about getting the latest LCD flatscreen.  Here is how my Christmas season began.

Although my shopping for Christmas presents began well before November, the shopping season "kicked off" on Thanksgiving night about 11:30 or so when my mom dragged me to Kohl's but then we gave up as we noticed that the line to get in had wrapped around the entire building so we hopped in the car and drove to the local mall.  It felt surreal being at the mall at a time when normally everyone would be asleep, but places like Orange Julius, McDonald's, Starbucks, Wal-Mart (yes, there's a Wally World at the local mall), and Macy's, the store my mom and I originally wanted to go to, were all open for business.  The line to get into the teeny bopper store, Tilly's, was understandably long but there was only a small crowd at Macy's.  As the clock chimed midnight Friday morning, people clapped, took pictures, and cheered as the employees opened Macy's for business.  Long story short, Mom and I grabbed a few things and I originally wanted a new pair of work pants but settled on a cute top that was on sale as I couldn't find anything that qualified for the coupon we had (the newspaper coupon wasn't good for "super buys," which included all the black jeans and slacks).  We stood in line for about 30 minutes before leaving with our stuff.  We spent about $40 that was originally $90 total (a savings of $50 for all you math majors).  The next day, I went to Penney's and picked up the pants that I wanted and met my mom to go to Kohl's where we spent the next hour standing in line to buy our stuff (we made small talk with a nice old lady and an expectant mom while standing in line).

While Christmas has been happy for me, my parents, on the other hand, weren't in a Christmas mood due to finances and such but my dad was able to get us tickets to see Mannheim Steamroller in concert as part of an early Christmas present.  From time to time, I was able to contribute to Christmas gifts little by little so I can still pay my own bills.  Unfortunately, I still have trouble controlling my spending so my New Year's resolution is to take care of that.

I also limited my "musical diet" to that of Christmas music by cramming my smart phone with hours of carols, Celtic instrumentals, and Andrea Bocelli.  There was one station that would play Christmas music nonstop up until midnight Dec. 26th.  It seemed that every time I turned on this station, I would hear either the Beatles singing "A Wonderful Christmastime" or Rebecca St. James singing a "jazzy" version of "Hark the Harold Angels Sing."  My new favorite song is "Christmas Canon" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra along with "O Holy Night" and "Little Drummer Boy."  I still love listening to Relient K's version of "Angels We Have Heard on High."  As far as Christmas movies were concerned, I watched "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" and found it to be cute and funny.  Watching "It's a Wonderful Life" was a little difficult because my family has similar problems to that of what George Bailey was experiencing.

Normally on Christmas Eve, we would attend a party at my aunt's house and then head on over to Midnight Mass.  Denominationally speaking, I'm Baptist but my mom is Catholic so we do this every Sunday.  Unfortunately, all of us were too tired to attend Midnight Mass after the party and my mom's sinus headache wasn't making anything better so we all opted to stay home instead.  Christmas morning, I woke up about 7:30 am and came downstairs to the smell of sausage links being cooked.  My parents then decided to go to Sunday morning Christmas Mass instead.  At first, I was too tired to even lift an eyelid but opted to go anyway.  The service was wonderful despite a few doctrinal stuff that I didn't agree with. 

We came home and unwrapped our gifts.  Unfortunately, some of the clothes I gave my parents were too snug but at least I have the receipts so I can exchange them.  Then my mom opened her gift and discovered that Dad had bought her a Kindle that could be powered by either a 3G network or Wi-Fi.  My mom was so overcome with emotion that she broke down crying; the two of them cried together which was the first time I saw my mom cry in about 25 years, which made me uncomfortable because I hate seeing my parents cry.  My big presents were a set of TV headphones that allowed me to watch TV and not annoy my parents with the volume.  The headphones could also be plugged in to MP3 players and smartphones....AND.....my mom bought us two sets of opera tickets so we could go see Moby Dick and The Barber of Seville at the San Diego Opera.  My dad almost bought me the same Kindle he bought my mom but he had ran out of money.  I was disappointed because I had been expecting a Kindle but my dad told me I could share Mom's Kindle until he would get one for me.  I am trying to stop being disappointed about this because it makes me feel ungrateful.  My dad's heart was in the right place so it's no big deal.

All in all, I got cool stuff, including new jammies, a Disneyland ticket, giftcards, candy, makeup, a big coupon savings book, a BRITA water bottle with a filter, and of course, time with my family, so I'm not going to complain :)

During the Christmas season, I took time to reflect on the holiday's rampant commercialism.  I noticed that Hannukah was not commercialized in any way and I feel that Christmas should be the same.  Christmas is about Christ, not about maxing out credit cards.  Commercialism takes all the joy and specialness in Christmas.  Sure, we could still sing carols, make cookies, exchange gifts, and stuff, but still keep the real meaning of Christmas at heart. 

There's one gift that I am truly thankful for and that is my salvation in Jesus Christ, who is the reason for the season. 

God bless you all and have a Merry Christmas!  I'm off to watch "A Christmas Story" and the Doctor Who Christmas special.

Cardboard Testimonies, a John Ford western, and a Greek yogurt commercial

Hello everyone out there in Blogger Land!

Last Sunday, I went to my usual church service and this one was pretty special.  Instead of having a typical sermon, the pastor had people come up front and share their testimonies with Christ - using cardboard.  It was a great way to see how people came to know Jesus.  There were people who did drugs, abused alcohol, were atheists, were abused or raped, or had severe emotional issues.  And their lives were turned around by Christ. 

I couldn't help but see myself in some of the cardboard testimonies.  I never abused drugs or anything of that sort but for me, I saw pride, spiritual atrophy, worry, etc.  I realize that I need to get back on my walk with God.  Here's something funny that transpired from this; one woman's cardboard read that she was a drug addict, attended the Woodstock concert, etc. and she flipped her board over to reveal that she had been saved by Christ.  When my dad saw that she attended Woodstock, he gave her the "thumbs up," because he never went to Woodstock (he was too young to attend).  At least he didn't stand up and sing "Freebird" by Lynard Skynard. 

Getting to the point, Jesus loves us and can turn anyone around if we just came to Him and acknowledges Him as Savior.  Just watching the service again on the website gets me a little weepy as these people share their testimonies and backgrounds.  God is good!  Here's a link to the service if you want to watch it.  Let me know if it doesn't work.

He is Risen

Some 2,000 years ago, a simple Jewish Carpenter was tried and found innocent of crimes that He was accused of.  Still, He was whipped, spat on, beaten, and a crown of thorns was thrust onto His head.  He was cursed, mocked, and yelled at and yet, He remained compliant.  Eventually, He was nailed to a cross and crucified.  He died on that cross; his body was then taken down and placed in a tomb.  Three days later, the tomb was empty...

He appeared to a crowd of 500 people, completely alive and well.  Everyone cheered and praised Him.  Then, He ascended into Heaven in fulfillment of His Promise to the world. 

On this day, I give thanks to Jesus for dying in my place so that I might inherit the Kingdom of God and that I might have Eternal Life in Heaven with Him.  For those who are curious about Jesus and want to know more about the Gospel and Eternal life, here's a 4-5 minute clip:

If you haven't asked Christ into your life and would like to, pray this simple prayer:

"Dear Heavenly Father, I admit that I am a sinner and I ask You to forgive me of my sins and my sinful nature.  I accept Jesus into my heart as my Savior.  I ask You to save me and make me the kind of person that You would have me to be."

If you've prayed that prayer for the first time, I would love to congratulate you and welcome you into God's Family.  Find a Bible-believing church where Christ is proclaimed as Lord and get involved and grow more into your faith as you read The Bible (NIV is a good translation). 

In the meantime, here's a funny take on Handel's Messiah:

God bless and have a Happy Easter.

The smell of fresh banana bread is intoxicating...

For my co-workers on Easter, I baked my "world famous" banana bread.  Not just any banana bread but my delicious, sweet, tasty blueberry banana bread.  And yes, I have a recipe.

Shannon’s Very Blueberry Banana Bread
(adapted from a Bisquick recipe)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 and ½ cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3 large)
½ teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
2 and 1/3 cups Bisquick baking mix (preferrably the heart healthy brand)
½ cup sugar
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 mini container of applesauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease bottom of loaf pan, 9x5x3 inches. Stir all ingredients (except brown sugar) in pan with fork until moistened; beat vigorously 1 minute. Sprinkle on brown sugar but do not stir it in. Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 65 minutes. Cool 5 minutes. Run knife or metal spatula around sides of loaf to loosen; remove from pan. If loaf sticks to pan, press gently on sides of loaf with knife or spatula. This recipe makes one loaf.

High altitude:  Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all ingredients in bowl. Decrease baking mix to 2 cups and sugar to 2/3 cup. Add 1/4 cup Gold Medal all-purpose flour. Pour batter into pan. Bake 60 minutes.

A quick FYI about the bananas: make sure that they are super duper ripe or it will be hard to mash them.


On an unrelated note, Holy Week draws to a close as we observe the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  For those who are Christian, Jesus' death and ressurection is a form of life insurance.  Jesus paid our premiums with His Life so that we are insured with God in Heaven. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."  John 3:16

Blessed is the name of the Lord :)