There’s nothing like Christmas to inspire a stroll down memory lane. I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of Christmases memories in my life, but for today’s blog post, I was thinking…If I had to pick five memories that stand out as being perhaps the most memorable, they would probably be:

5. The year I got a Crystal Barbie (and found out there was no Santa Claus). I think I was five. An early reader, I had sadly begun to notice the signs. For example, we would leave cookies for Santa and the note he wrote back saying “Thanks for the cookies!” was in my dad’s handwriting. I thought it was remarkable that Santa had handwriting just like my dad’s, but politely said nothing. Then I noticed the tags on the presents from Santa were in a handwriting that looked like my mom’s. It seemed inappropriate to say anything about this either. Continue reading…

One of my family’s favorite Christmas movies is “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.” This could be one of my dad’s favorite movies, actually. No matter how many times he has seen it, he still collapses in his chair with laughter that can be heard all over the house. We used to watch the movie for its laughs, but now, having seen it so many times, we really watch it just watch my dad fall out in the floor. Some day in the distant Christmas future we will probably be able to look back and say, “Hey kids, remember when National Lampoon Christmas killed Grandpa??” Continue reading…

1. When you wanted to send a message to a friend, I remember when you had to write it down on paper, fold it and pass it across the room.

2. To listen to a song again, you had to actually rewind the cassette tape.

3. You had to go to stores to buy Christmas presents because there was no online shopping.

4. There were no gift cards.

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Confession: I sometimes skip to the back of the book. This is a sacred taboo for an author, I know, but what can I say? I don’t read the entire back of the book, mind you, just a small spoiler. In fact, the better the book, the more likely I am to skip ahead and make sure the characters don’t die before the end of it. I figure if they’re still alive on page 217, I can relax and listen to their emotional drama in Chapter Four.

It is a habit that drives my family nuts.

One of my favorite books is The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis. As C.S. Lewis fans know, the book is a collection of letters written from the perspective of a senior demon to his trainee, a junior demon. Lewis’ complex wit and profound simplicity are never displayed better than in this compilation of advice on how to derail Christians, all told from the perspective of the enemy. Continue reading…

When I think about the best coffee I have ever had, I think it would have to have been in Brazil.

There is a famous statue of the Christ in Rio de Janeiro called the Corcovado. Corcovado means “hunchback” in Portuguese, like the shape of the mountain that the statue is perched upon. I had always secretly wanted to see the statue after being mesmerized by the Corcovado and surrounding scenery in “Romeo + Juliet.” (Well, mesmerized first by Leonardo DiCaprio, then the Corcovado, if we’re being honest.) Thus, when finding out I had an overnight stay in Rio en route to Natal, Brazil, I seized the opportunity to visit the famous statue. Continue reading…

This could be a lot longer than just one blog post, but for the sake of today’s post…

One of my favorite things on Facebook is hearing the hilarious things that the children of my friends with kids say. One of my friends and her young son Rhett were having a discussion at the kitchen counter one morning. She had two vitamins in her hand, and Rhett asked what they were. “Vitamins, so I’ll have some energy,” she said. He looked at her soberly and said, “I think you’ll need more than two.”

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Those of you who know me, know I took a trip awhile back to several different countries – Brazil, the United Kingdom, Tanzania, China and Honduras for an casual observation of Christianity around the globe. One of the highlights of my stay was visiting London and getting to see St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Today, St. Paul’s is nearly hidden in the city’s financial district, as modern London has grown up around it during the years and now threatens to squash it.

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A few days ago, I posted about the problem with statistics and the 47% of Americans who have gone crazy over 47%. This afternoon, as I sit watching the first dry leaves of fall flutter from the treetops, I think of a different analogy.

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Confession – I have somehow gotten sucked into Secret Princes on TLC. I have absolutely no idea how this happened. I think my DVR recorded it for me while I was thinking I was watching The Situation Room on CNN. At least that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

The show follows four secret princes (two princes and two English lords) undercover in Atlanta as they try to find the girl of their dreams who will love them for who they are and not their title.

Awww….

And while it is kind of hilarious to watch four foreign guys try to hit on chicks like their lives depended on it, the funny thing about the show is actually watching them try and adjust to living undercover and doing simple things like making coffee, sharing a bathroom or doing laundry for the first time.

There may not be any deeper meaning behind this blog post today.

Secret Princes on TLC. I’m just sayin….