New & Old Year's Lessons

The week after Christmas is characteristically somber. It's ironic that weeks worth of turkey-fueled shopping sprees and airwaves thick with cheery music just lead to a flickering end. I really didn't intend for this to be a depressing post but that sort of seems to be where this is headed, eh...

WELL, what I'm trying to say is that, this shouldn't be the way things are. I know it can be hard to say goodbye to the visiting loved ones and to take down the lights and the tree but none of that was what we should have been focusing on this season. With turkeys, roasts, candy canes, and visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads, so many of us have forgotten that Christmas is the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The eggnog and fruitcake may only be here for a short while (and for good reason (that junk is atrocious)), but the love shown and the blessing of sins being forgiven for us is everlasting.

I remember as a child, after opening all those presents under the tree I'd ask my older and infinitely wiser sister how many days were left until the next Christmas. She always seemed to figure out that number awfully quickly and spout it out, after which upon realizing that it was a fairly large number I'd be instantly dejected and resort to fantasizing that everyday were Christmas. It sounds like a childish dream and not much else but that's actually the way we really should live. As a kid I probably meant I wanted to get loads of new toys everyday but the reason why I (now just a fairly older kid) believe that "having Christmas" everyday is an incredible idea is because we need to always be mindful and thankful of the birth of Jesus. We are saved because of Him and remembering His gift to us of salvation should always be with us.

So, this and not the sugary apple cider of the season or the fatty-fat prime-rib roast I cooked for Christmas dinner is the reason why I was still cheery days after Christmas. Let's hope I can keep this going year-round. I  certainly have a lot to be thankful for. I have a luxuriously long vacation during which I can sleep in and watch gratuitously violent movies like Knight & Day (violence is bad, I didn't enjoy it, don't judge me), get a chance to go out with charming friends and share a slice o' pie (with pleasantly unpleasant waitresses and all) and fire off some home-made bottle rockets (see above) and nearly singe my face off.

Side note: as I was gingerly gluing those several year old firecrackers on, I was being extra tender because I remembered that episode from one of the earlier seasons of LOST when they find an old pirate ship with ancient sticks of dynamite in it and a bunch get blown up because those dum-dums were being all "oh, don't worry this won't ever kill us". Anyway my rocket malfunctioned and it came within a couple feet of hitting me. Lesson learned.

The top picture is of a crazy dance number on some Korean award show for the new year. Trust me, even if the picture were in context it would still seem ridiculous.

Summary: use firecrackers sparingly in home-made rockets, don't let Korean award shows catch you off guard, and celebrate Christmas everyday by remembering God's love for you!