The True Meaning of Christmas

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20

"I Just Want A Snuggle"

I am fortunate to be able to work at home. The blessing is that I can see my family just about anytime I want to. The downside is sometimes family interrupts me while I am trying to work. But the other day I had an interruption that I was only too glad to receive. My youngest daughter, who is 8, came in and said "I just want a snuggle". Every once in a while she'll ask me to just give her a big hug. It's her way of knowing that she is loved. It would have been easy for me to tell her I was too busy or that I had other things I needed to do. But at that moment, there was nothing more important than just giving her a hug.

So often we become busy (and Dads especially have to fight against the pull of our jobs on our time) that we neglect the simple moments that God gives us to remind our children how much we love them. Take time to give your children a hug now and then. More importantly, make sure that they are getting to spend plenty of time with you. Before you know it, they'll be grown up and gone.

A Message for Homeschool Dads

Still looking for that perfect gift for your homeschooling wife? How about a subscription to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine? It's the perfect way to encourage your wife in her efforts to educate your children. Each issue is packed with practical advice, features, and reviews of new products all written by fellow homeschoolers.

You can also take advantage of their buy one, get one free Christmas special. Purchase a new two-year subscription and get a one-year subscription for a friend for free. In addition, both you and your friend will receive 19 free homeschool gifts. Already a subscriber? If you renew now for two years you'll get a special gift plus a free one-year subscription and 19 free gifts for a friend.

A gift of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is the perfect way to show your wife how much you appreciate her hard work in teaching your children. Your whole family will benefit from this wonderful magazine.


Note: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has provided me with a complimentary subscription as compensation for this post.

Total Truth Study Guide Available

Nancy Pearcey has just made the study guide for her book Total Truth available on her website for free. Click here to download the study guide. (Hat tip: Mind and Media)

To find out more about the book, you can read my review.

Book Review: Hedges

Divorce. Infidelity. Proliferation of pornography. A sexualized culture that no longer recognizes propriety as something of value. Each one of these forces bombards many a married man tempting him to cast aside his vows in exchange for a fleeting moment of pleasure. How can any man who is seriously committed to protecting their marriage stand up against the seemingly endless barrage of temptations hurled at him?

Thankfully, Jerry Jenkins has updated and republished his classic book Hedges: Loving Your Marriage Enough to Protect It. Specifically geared towards men, this is a very practical book that encourages husbands to take very deliberate steps to protect themselves from sexual temptation.

As Jenkins points out in his introduction, the biblical response to temptation is to flee. With temptation all around us it is easy to think we need to hang in there and fight against it.
But temptations can often be so subtle that they can trip us up before we know it. That's why we need "hedges": groud rules for how we interact with the opposite sex that protect ourselves, our marriages, our employers, and our churches.

This is not a Puritan list of rules to follow. Rather, Jenkins draws on his own life experience as well as the experiences (both positive and negative) of numerous couples he has known and counseled to demonstrate the real dangers that marriages face in light of today's over-sexed culture and practical steps that husbands can take to protect themselves. Although he does not recommend implementing every single one of his own hedges, most readers will find that his hedges are really good hedges to make their own.

This edition of the book includes a bonus DVD featuring a lecture by Jenkins and is a wonderful supplement to the book.

This is a book that every man needs to own and to read over and over again. By applying the simple principles contained in this book you will be going a long way towards protecting your marriage from the temptation of infidelity and sexual sin.

This book was provided to me by Crossway through Mind and Media. No compesation was received for this review apart from the book.

Which Narnia Character Are You?

"As Aslan, you are brave, noble and have an astute awareness of morality. You may be quick to anger at times, but you have a heart of gold, and are respected greatly among your peers."

To find out which character you are, click here to take the quiz.

Hat tip: AllThings2All.

Vote for the Homeschool Blog Awards

The first Homeschool Blog Award nominations have been announced. Yours truly was fortunate enough to be nominated in the Best Homeschooling Dad Blog category. Be sure to stop by and vote for all your favorite blogs. Voting ends December 26th.

Narnia: Box Office Savior?

With the huge opening weekend success of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the film appears to becoming a year-end blessing for an otherwise dismal year at the movies:

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe helped melt a box office in winter. With a dose of broadly appealing fantasy based on C.S. Lewis' famous novel, overall business was up 15 percent from the comparable weekend last year, and, with King Kong looming, 2005 is poised to end on a high note despite being the first down box office year since 1991.

Playing on about 6,800 screens across 3,616 locations, Narnia drummed up $65.6 million, exceeding industry expectations in the $50 million range. The opening was the second-biggest ever for December behind The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King's $72.8 million and the third best start for distributor Buena Vista, behind The Incredibles and Finding Nemo.

The same report goes on to note that the content of the film had a lot to do with this past weekend's success:

Saturday exit polls by Buena Vista indicated that families made up 53 percent of Narnia's audience, and that 55 percent of moviegoers were under 25 years old and 52 percent were male. Audiences generally liked the picture, grading it an "A+" in CinemaScore's opening night surveys, which also showed that the "subject matter" was by far the top reason people saw the movie.

It is this same desire for more family-friendly content that drove Philip Anschutz (owner of Walden Media which produced Narnia) to start his own film companies with his own money. The American Enterprise has a terrific profile of Anschutz entitled "Movie Messiah" that details the billionaire's journey in the world of movie making (Hat tip: C-Log). If the success of Narnia is any indication, Anschutz's Walden Media has figured out how to succeed in Hollywood. If the rest of Hollywood starts to take notice that it's the content of the movie that matters as much as the story being told then perhaps there is hope for the movie industry after all.

Book Review: Sex and the Supremacy of Christ

What do sex and Jesus Christ have to do with each other? When we think about Jesus are we really thinking about sex at the same time? Or vice versa? The answer is most likely no. However, according to John Piper, the two are closely linked. In fact, he makes the point this way in the opening chapter of Sex and the Supremacy of Christ:

"I have two simple and weighty points to make. I think everything in this book will be the explanation and application of these two points. The first is that sexuality is designed by God as a way to know God in Christ more fully. And the second is that knowing God in Christ more fully is designed as a way of guarding and guiding our sexuality. I use the phrase "God in Christ" to signal at the outset that I am going to move back and forth between God and Christ because the biblical assumption of this book is that Christ is God.

Now to state the two points again, this time negatively, in the first place all misuses of our sexuality distort the true knowledge of Christ. And, in the second place, all misuses of our sexuality derive from not having the true knowledge of Christ.

Or to put it one more way: all sexual corruption serves to conceal the true knowledge of Christ, but the true knowlege of Christ serves to prevent sexual corruption."

(page 26, emphasis in original)

The subsequent chapters in the book explore these two basic points from a number of different angles: from the man's perspective, from the woman's perspective, from a historical perspective, and examining the issue in light of distortions that naturally occur because of sexual sin.

The book is essentially a compilation of the speeches given at the 2004 Desiring God National Conference and even includes a DVD with the various addresses. Each contributor is clearly knowledgeable on their individual subject and tackles their issue quite well.

However, the fact that there are twelve different contributors, each with their own unique style, makes it a little difficult to read straight through the book. This is not necessarily the type of book you would want to sit down and just read through. Instead, it's greatest asset is as a resource on the topic of sex and our relationship to Christ. Pastors and teachers will especially appreciate the presentation as a resource to use in their own teaching endeavors. My recommendation is for anyone who wants to read the book to be prepared to take their time and take each chapter one at a time spending sufficient time with each to fully absorb the material that is being presented.

This book was provided to me for review by Mind and Media through Crossway, publishers of the book. No other compensation has been received for this review.

Who is C. S. Lewis?

While anticipation is building for Friday's release of the movie adaptation of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, much attention has been focused on the man behind the magic, C. S. Lewis. Christianity Today and Christian History Magazine both have several terrific articles that provide keen insight into the man who is so revered by evangelicals:

Why Lewis is someone every Christian should know.

Interesting and unusal facts about Lewis.

A look into the mind of C. S. Lewis.

And his famous friendship with J. R. R. Tolkein.

Weblog Awards 2005

The 2005 Weblog Award nominations have been announced and several of my fellow Mind and Media reviewers have been nominated for awards:

Mind and Media has been nominated in the Best Business Blog Category.

Heather from Mom2MomConnection has been nominated in the Best Blog Design Category.

Matt from Mere Orthodoxy has received a nomination in the Best Religious Blog Category. So has new reviewer Jay Adkins.

And friend of this blog Catez Stevens of AllThings2All has been nominated in the Best Australia or New Zealand Blog.

Voting continues through December 15th. You can vote once per day per category. Be sure to stop by and vote for your favorite blog.

Homeschool Blog Awards

Spunky Homeschool is sponsoring the first Homeschool Blog Awards. Stop by and nominate your favorite homeschool blog in any of the following categories:

Best Homeschooling Mom Blog
Best Homeschooling Dad Blog
Best Homeschooling Family blog
Best Homeschooling Teen blog
Best Informational Homeschool blog
Best Inspirational Homeschool blog
Best Homeschooling Humor blog
Best Team / Group Homeschool Blog
Best Homeschool Curriculum / Business Blog
Best Homeschool Blog Template Design
Best Canadian Homeschool Blog
Best International Homeschool Blog
Best Current Events Homeschool Blog
Best Homeschool Arts Blog
Best Homeschool Photo Blog

Spunky will be receiving nominations until December 11th. Make sure to stop by and nominate your favorite blog!

DVD Review: Left Behind: World at War

It's been eighteen months since the mysterious disappearance of millions of people. The world has managed to recover from what the Bible refers to as the Rapture and 172 world governments have consolidated power in one Global Community under the leadership of Nicolae Carpathia (Gordon Currie) . On the surface, everything appears to be peaceful as nations have willingly laid down their arms in the name of world peace. President Gerald Fitzhugh (Lou Gossett, Jr.) has led the United States into this alliance - a decision he will soon regret. Vice President John Mallory (Charles Martin Smith) informs the President that Carpathia is about to unleash a biological weapon on the United States. Fitzhugh barely has time to let the news sink in before Mallory is assasainated and the United States is plunged into war. Fitzhugh turns to reporter Buck Williams (Kirk Cameron) and militia member Carolyn Miller (Jessica Steen) for help in trying to stop Carpathia before it's too late.

This third installment of the Left Behind movie series was surprisingly well done. The action is taught and the movie left me on the edge of my seat even when the characters would stop to pray. Christians are portrayed realistically without resorting to overused stereotypes. They are not fearless warriors of faith but rather human beings that are struggling to understand how God can allow war and death to continue to persist.

This installment also cleary benefits from the financial backing of Sony Pictures which was willing to support the film and provide the larger production budget necessary to create many of the special effects so well utilized through the film.

The filmmakers were also not afraid to also deal with the spiritual content which is clearly at the heart of the novels. The characters (particularly Fitzhugh) are on a spiritual journey that causes them to face danger head on and evaluate their lives in very spiritual terms.

Overall, this is a well-produced film and probably the best of the series thus far. Left Behind: World at War not only entertains but presents the truth of the Bible squarely in front of the audience and will no doubt cause careful self-examination by anyone who watches the film. Even those viewers unfamiliar with the books or previous films can still find this movie enjoyable.

Why We Celebrate Thanksgiving

As families all across America prepare this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, it's worth pausing to reflect on why we celebrate the holiday. This essay from Mark Alexander at the Federalist Patriot traces the history of the Thanksgiving holiday and why we should stop and thank God for the blessings we all enjoy.

From our family to yours, may you have a blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

Douglas Gresham on Homeschooling

The Fall 2005 issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine includes an interview with Douglas Gresham, stepson of C. S. Lewis. While much of the conversation focuses on the upcoming Narnia movie and Gresham's relationship with Lewis, there is some frank discussion about Gresham's own strong support for homeschooling. Here is what Gresham had to say about homeschooling:

Homeschooling and why I advocate it is not a matter of whether the schools are good or bad, though obviously I would rather children went to good schools than to bad ones, if go to school they must. It is that, as someone who has been trained and works in the field of post-childhood abuse trauma, and has devoted considerable thought to the mattter, I have formed the opinion that the entire concept of school is flawed. In fact, it is a terrible mistake.

Look what we do: we observe what God has designed, a pair of parents, one of each
sex, and two pairs of grandparents, often with a few aunts and uncles thrown in. In fact, a Family. This is the unit designed by God Himself for the specific purpose of ministry of raising each new generation.

Then what do we do? We take the child and remove him from this carefully designed support group of parents and close family members, all of whom share a genetic bond with the child, and plunge him into a mass group of his peers, all of whom are as ignorant and as demanding as he is, with one adult stranger supervising. In terms of the psycho-emotional development of the child, this is complete madness.

A child is best nurtured by having the one-on-one attention from each of the two parents for a specific period of time each day. Ideally, a child should be homeschooled by both parents sharing the task equally, though I do realize that this is not always possible. Bear in mind that I am not referring to idiotic parents, criminal parents, drug-addicted parents, or self-indulgent, self-obsessed parents, nor to anyone else who should never be graced (in my view, not God's, of course) with progeny in the first place. I am referring to normal, well-adjusted, good parents. And with our modern habits of sending children away from their home and families for the better part of every day these [well-adjusted parents] are becoming more and more scarce as the vast majority of people are damaged or scarred emotionally and intellectually themselves by being exiled from their home and parents and placed in the hands of strangers at a young age.

It is a trans-generational progression exacerbated by the fact that those who are damaged very often are not even aware of it. If I had known back then what I know now, my children would never have gone to school until they were at least 18 years old. Satan hates what God loves and God loves us, Mankind. The basic unit of Mankind is the family, so Satan has targeted the Family, and he has been pretty successful, mostly by using "good intentions." I think that "School" is one of his very clever inventions. As far as I am concerned, schools are for fish.

(The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, Fall 2005 issue, page 57)

Well said.

Review: The Old Schoolhouse Magazine - Fall 2005

I just received the latest issue of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine and once again have been impressed by the depth and breadth of articles that they manage to put together in each issue. The Fall 2005 issue is packed with features that will be an encouragement to every homeschool family.

In this issue, there are a number of great features to help families become better homeschoolers. One of the main sections deals with "Finishing the Race" and focuses on how to homeschool your high school student. Another feature tells the story of one family's encounter with a social worker and offers tips on what to do when social services comes calling. There's encouragement for new homeschoolers and tips on how to get started and not be bound to old ideas of what school should be like. There are holiday craft and gift ideas as well as how to intergrate school with the holiday break. Best of all, there is an exclusive interview with Douglas Gresham, stepson of C. S. Lewis on the upcoming movie The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is a valuable resource to any family who has chosed to educate their children at home. Packed with tips and product information as well as other resources, this quarterly magazine is a great tool that every home educator will want to have. I highly recommend this to anyone who has taken the initiative to educate their children at home.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine is available at major bookstores or can be ordered through their website. No consideration was received for this review apart from the complimentary magazine.

Final Salute

Jim Sheeler and Todd Heisler at the Rocky Mountain News have published an incredible article entitled "Final Salute" that gives a close-up look at the task of the Marines' casualty assistance calls officer. This is a moving account well worth reading. Thanks to Tony in Boulder for the tip.

Congratulations Aaron

Please join me in congratulating my Two or Three.net colleague and fellow Mind and Media reviewer Aaron Earls who has just joined the fine group of bloggers at the World Magazine blog. Aaron also has The Wardrobe Door blog and is well deserving of this honor.

Judge Alito's Conservative Credentials

The Washington Post has a front page article today that tries to ease liberals fears about the possibility of Roe vs. Wade being overturned. But in fact the article only reinforces Judge Alito's conservative credentials. First, here's the misleading lead paragraph of the article:

Supreme Court nominee Samuel A. Alito Jr. has signaled he would be highly reluctant to overturn long-standing precedents such as the 1973 Roe v. Wade abortion rights ruling, a move that has helped to silence some of his critics and may resolve a key problem early in the Senate confirmation process, several senators said yesterday.

At first glance, it would seem that Alito supports Roe. Reading further, it's clear that Alito is merely showing respect for the rule of law:

In private meetings with senators who support abortion rights, Alito has said the Supreme Court should be quite wary of reversing decisions that have been repeatedly upheld, according to the senators who said it was clear that the context was abortion.

"He basically said . . . that Roe was precedent on which people -- a lot of people -- relied, and been precedent now for decades and therefore deserved great respect," Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) told reporters after meeting with Alito yesterday. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she had a similar conversation about an hour later with Alito, who has made clear that he personally opposes abortion.

"I asked him whether it made a difference to him if he disagreed with the initial decision but it had been reaffirmed several times since then," Collins told reporters. "I was obviously referring to Roe in that question. He assured me that he has tremendous respect for precedent and that his approach is to not overturn cases due to a disagreement with how they were originally decided."

Collins, Lieberman and others cautioned that they did not directly ask Alito if he would vote to overturn Roe, and that his comments should not be seen as a guarantee of how he may rule. But the conversations appear to be building Alito's resistance to what might be the biggest impediment to his confirmation: liberals' claims that he is a threat to legalized abortion, which most Americans support, according to opinion polls.

One of the hallmarks of conservative jurisprudence is the respect for precedent. This does not mean that every case decided by the Supreme Court is set in stone and can never be overturned. However, it also does not mean that cases can be overturned based on the whims of the judge, either.

Liberal judges are notorious for ignoring precendents and deciding cases based on their own agenda rather than on the facts and the law. Ironically, it's liberals who are making the case that precendents need to be respected especially when it fits their political agenda. Once again, the hypocrisy of the Left is apparent.

But conservatives, especially pro-lifers, didn't help their cause during the debate over Harriet Miers' by insisting on a judge that would state they would overturn Roe. Judicial activism that ignores precedent is never justified even if the goal is admirable.

Respect for the rule of law is what helps maintain an orderly society. Judge Alito clearly respects the rule of law. He should make a terrific Supreme Court Justice.

Election Day 2005 - Virginia Governor's Race

Much is being made of today's gubernatorial election here in Virginia as a bellwhether of the 2006 and 2008 elections. The Virginia electorate is almost evenly divided between urban and rural areas and as a result is thought by many to be a good predictor of national electoral trends. Since the state went for President Bush last year by nine points there is a feeling that this election will be a referendum on his presidency. Whether that's really the case is at best debatable.

If Democrat Tim Kaine wins today, it will be in part because of help he has received from popular Governor Mark Warner. Warner is himself a possible 2008 Presidential candidate. And while he is on the surface an attractive candidate, his popularity is in part due to a Republican-controlled General Assembly that worked closely with him to get his legislative agenda enacted. That will likely allow him to portray himself as somone who can work with both parties in the general election. Given these factors, Kaine should have been able to build a large lead. However, the race remains a statistical dead heat.

Whoever wins today will claim that this result will somehow show how next year's congressional elections should play out. I wouldn't bet on it.