Danul's Summer Movie Preview

Since we both know I love movies more than I probably should, I decided to channel it into something at least pseudo-productive. Below is my personal rundown of the biggest movies coming out this summer season. Hopefully, you will read it and feel informed (and, hey, maybe chuckle a few times).

The Eye of A Needle

First off, let me say that Easter was a week ago. Seven days ago we were wearing pastels, eating candy, and blinking in the sunrise. We were overcome with the celebration of LIFE.

So quick were we to forget that.

It Must Be Because I'm Left-Handed...

Oh my stars and garters! Danul's gone and defied expectations and posted twice in the same month! I think I feel lightheaded...

Okay okay, calm down.

After that major-mondo-ultra-serious post, I figured I would provide some levity for your life. What follows is some of my doodlings from the past few years. You like, you comment. You don't like, you fake it.

If you know me BUT AT ALL, you know my true love is the fantastic. My art really (really really) reflects that.

This first piece is my most recent picture. It's my take on Rapunzel, the latest addition to the Disney canon.

To really appreciate this one, you most likely have to be a fan of True Blood or the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Also, imagine if the main characters were teenagers.

This one came out of pure boredom. Pretty sure I drew this one during camp staff training one year...

This one was inspired by one Kiesha Priem, who has a seriously unhealthy obsession with those awful Tinker Bell movies Disney has been churning out recently. I like it, though...

This is, hands down, one of my favorites I've ever done. It's Wendy Darling set against Never Land at night. I had a lot of fun with the lines in this drawing.

I drew this next picture while watching TV with my roommate in college. Sometimes stuff just happens like that...Usually it takes me a loooong time to finish a project. But, for some reason, this entire piece came together in under an hour.

Oh yeah! This one I definitely drew during my last summer at camp. You can even see the roster on the reverse side of the paper, ha ha. What can I say...Half-Blood Prince was coming out that summer. I had HP on the brain, yo.

If you couldn't guess already, it's Ron and Hermione.

So, sorry this wasn't more of me waxing theological about life, but I really wanted to try out the church's new scanner.

It totally works!

-Danul

A Peace of Change

Oh man.

It has been a long time. If you're willing to read this, I am thankful that you have nothing better to do.

___

I’d be lying if I said there haven’t been things in my life worth writing about – I’ve recently come to understand the pure narrativity (not really a word, but you get it) of life…stories are everywhere. Trust me when I say things have been happening. However, every time I’ve sat down to write about them, the words written don’t convey the sense of snarky joy I go for here; instead I read self-pitying word vomit that I can’t, in good conscience, publish.

The simple act of writing down my frustrations has had a benefit: I’ve become more aware of when I’m complaining without a true cause. It has caused me to check myself spiritually, something I’m not proud to say I had let fall to the wayside since this new year began. To put it bluntly, it’s shown me where I need to change my life around.

This idea of a need to change has not left my head for some time. It’s really weird, and it makes me wonder…does anyone else notice when a particular idea is on your mind, how everything that happens seems to directly relate to that idea? (The narrativity of life, amirite?)

___

I’ve been thinking lately a lot about peace. Peace between countries. Peace between faiths. Peace between people. It’s been a hard subject for me to grapple with for some years now.

I guess what I owe this recent weight on my mind to is the ongoing coverage of conflict in the media. Words like “shutdown,” a term I’ve only ever used in context of my laptop, have been given all-new connotations. Places like Libya, a country I’ve personally never thought about since learning its location in 9^th grade geography, now callback ugly thoughts. It’s no surprise that the media thrives on these things. And this is just the first squirt of the toothpaste tube.

We as a culture are in conflict. Abortion. Marriage. Money. Law. You name an issue, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a person whose stance on said issue is exactly aligned with yours.

Even in the microcosm of Christianity, we are at opposition with one another. How are we saved? Who is saved? What is Hell? Is the Bible the truth? All are hot-button, contemporary topics.

So. What are we supposed to do?

The increasingly popular answer is: nothing.

Hold on. I promise I’m going somewhere.

Not ‘nothing’ in the truest sense of the word, but ‘nothing’ in the sense that we shouldn’t be trying to change people to fit our beliefs. We should just accept that they are different and coexist in peace.

Rest assured, dear reader; I do not disagree with the goal of peace between people.

What I do disagree with is the notion that we would, as sinful human beings, be able to live peacefully without problems.

One the very basest of levels, I do not think we would be able to function without conflict. We thrive on it. We want to know Jennifer’s thoughts on Angelina. We want to know who the latest celebrity to diss Glee is. We want to know everything about Charlie Sheen’s tiger-blooded adventures.

This is essentially why stories end after one side wins: when there is no more opposition, there is nothing more to tell.

So the question stands: how do we achieve peace? We must change.

(Remember how I started this post talking about change, and then did a U-turn somewhere around Albuquerque and started harping on about peace? Well, strap yourselves in, because I’m turning around.)

I used to think that I would never change who I was, and if people had a problem with me, then that was just their loss. My freshman year of college, I drank, slept in class, wore clothes as “statements”, and put things on my Facebook profile that would make my mother blush. What did I care? I was young, free, and always knew exactly what I was talking about. Typical. Teenage. Bullshit.

As I lived through the experience of college, I (spoiler alert!!) changed. I encountered professors who didn’t tolerate my angst, I was placed in charge of younger minds and was expected to give them answers, and I had to get several jobs when I lost a major scholarship due to my “freedom”.

Later than I care to admit, I was slapped out of it and realized I would have to change. Not for others, mind you, but for myself. I won’t pretend that other people didn’t have a hand in shaping that realization. It was how others in my life (teachers, bosses, friends) reacted to decisions I made that caused me to check myself. Thinking others don’t influence our discernment is borderline absurd.

Thinking God doesn’t want us to change is even sillier. It was God’s Word I turned to during those low points in my life. It was God’s Word that planted in me the seed of change.

God does indeed make us the way we are, but that never, never meant God doesn’t call us to change. In Romans, Paul urges Christians to “be transformed by the renewing of [our minds].” We are all born sinful beings. Our entire Christian existence is about dealing with that sinful nature. Most of us Lutherans have heard the whole Law-and-Gospel/faith-and-works song and dance; the Law gives us rules to follow while the Gospel forgives us when we screw up/ we are not saved by works, but our faith drives us to do works anyway. The change isn’t what saves us; the faith that we are saved pushes us to change… or rather, transform.

We are meant to change. If we as Christians never changed, our faith lives would be tragically stagnant.

So what does this have to do with our pursuit of peace? Living side by side with people of different theologies sounds great on paper, and many people assert that this is what the United States was created for. The way I see it, though…this will only take us so far.

Being accepting and loving to each and every person of each and every faith and philosophy is indeed what God has called us to do. Peace is an incredibly worthwhile cause. After all, Jesus did bless those who pursue it. Those who promote peace and love are championed in many a scripture verse. We were created to spread the Good News of Christ, peacefully and lovingly. Trust me; I would be that last to deny that.

Nonetheless, God also calls us to not yoke ourselves with people that are not going to pull us away from what we believe to be true. This tells me that peace can only be truly achieved by change. Otherwise, we would simply be burying our conflict under more and more friendly-faced denial.

For some, the words I’ve been writing have probably got you all hot and bothered by now, which means, as a writer, I’ve done my job. I could very well stop here and rest knowing I’ve gotten to you.

But, lucky for you, I have more to say. I know. You’re super-excited.

We have been called to spread the Word. And that Word is peace. But that won’t happen without change.

It was Jesus who said, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

In this famous passage from Matthew, we are being called to change the world. Not by hate or conflict or denial. But by bringing about a shift – a change – in people when we introduce them to a Christ who loves them enough to die on a cross.

And honestly, why wouldn’t we want to do that right away?

___

Whew. Okay.

Well, I probably just exposed a lot of myself in this post. Please know that I’ve been working/stressing/praying over these words for a while now. My intent is only to spark thoughts, not offend.

As always, I will try to write as my superfunandcrazy life unfolds in Longview, TX. For now, I must go. I’ve been sitting in my office chair for far too long…and I think my legs are asleep.

Have a happy Easter!

-Danul

For TV Nerds Who Care Too Much: Danul's Golden Globes Breakdown

Just finished watching my DVRed Golden Globes. :D

For an award that used to be prestigious, some of the nominees this year made me think I was tuning in to watch the illegitimate child of Emmy and Oscar. Thank God it didn't pan out like that...for the most part.

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Let me start by saying Ricky Gervais started out strong with his patented brand of barbed zingers at easy targets (The Tourist, Tom Cruise, etc), but as the night bore on, I could tell how uncomfortable he was up there. His jokes got more offensive and less funny. His closing comment, "And thank you God...for making me an atheist," was a step too far for me. It just felt wholly unneeded.

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The Social Network deserved every single award it got last night. Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Score, and Best Director all had decent contenders, but the Fincher/Sorkin brainchild was easily the pick of the litter. If you haven't seen this movie, SEE IT. And then talk about it on Facebook.

The only Best Actress award I was interested in was the one for Lead in a Motion Picture (Drama). Natalie Portman is a vision and was uhhhh-mazing in Black Swan. As someone who had been notorious for staying out of the tabloids, her recent slew of new films and personal events have obviously got her flustered, but she proved herself capable enough to charmingly stumble through an acceptance speech.

Burlesque's win for Best Original Song was a frickin' joke. In my opinion, "I See the Light" from Tangled was robbed. But this was a category full of headscratchers, anyway. I thought Tangled had it in the bag. But apparently the HFPA liked listening to Cher's guttural chortle of a voice.

Toy Story 3 as Best Animated Feature? YES.

Jim Parsons' win for Best Actor in a TV Comedy was made perfect by his humble speech and his costar Kaley Cuoco's incredibly adorable reaction. Honestly, I rewound my DVR, like, three times to watch her bounce with glee.

How's that for a segue?

We have arrived at the inevitable. The Glee discussion:

Glee is not a comedy. Yes, it started out as such, but it's devolved into a preachy drama with zingers laced in between angst and musical performances. So it's win for Best Comedy was incredibly silly, especially up against much more consistent shows like Modern Family (Seriously, HFPA?).

Jane Lynch has the same problem as her show. She excels at the comedy, but not at much else...which left me baffled when she won Best Actress in a TV Comedy. Her acceptance speech was nice though. She seems like a very genuine person...unlike Lea Michele, who seemed like an attention whore.

Chris Colfer...oh, Chris Colfer. This kiddo is fantastic at playing Kurt Hummel. He really is. But since his was the Best Supporting Actor in a TV Comedy, and since I have no doubt the scenes that got him the nomination were anything but funny, I cannot honestly say he deserved it. Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family (SERIOUSLY, HFPA?!) was the one the award should have gone to. And since Chris won, I can't help but think his career has probably peaked now. What other role is he going to get that he didn't get typecasted into?

His speech was great, though. I imagine if I ever won one of those, I would want my speech to be like his.

One more Glee thing: Everyone last night was talking about the show's inspirational attitude. Really? Am I watching the wrong show? Last I checked Glee was anything but inspirational. Everyone in the show is incredibly toxic toward one another, which makes the episodes where the kids are supposed to love being in Glee club (last season's finale, this season's sectionals) totally unbelievable. In particular, Santana, Quinn, and Kurt are all characters whose attitudes, motives, allegiances, and friendships change week-to-week based on what will best serve the weak plot holding the episode together.

This all said, I will still be watching it when it returns after the Super Bowl. I am only human, after all.

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Stray observations:

• Angelina and Brad seemed entirely uninterested in the whole thing. Why didn't they just leave, then? Or did they really think The Tourist had a chance?
• Melissa Leo is an actress I never seen before, but her acceptance speech was great. I may go see The Fighter just because of her.
• Oh, Robert Downey, Jr. He stole the show with his introduction of the Best Actress award. It helped that all the women went along with it, too. Why hasn't he hosted one of these things before?
• With all its problems, Glee truly does seem to have a cast who sticks together. They all were so completely happy for Chris that it almost melted this cold heart of mine.
• Olivia Wilde looked like heaven. I'm no fashion expert, but if she's not on everyone's "best dressed" list, there's no justice in the world. That girl is quickly becoming a favorite of mine...
• Ricky Gervais needs to NOT host another show. He's mean.
• Self-deprecation is apparently the best form of modesty, for many people went down that route. Robert DeNiro had the best line, though: "I'm glad you were able to judge my list of films before Little Fockers came out." Gotta love an actor who knows when his movie sucks.
• Megan Fox was allowed in? Hmm. Interesting.

On the whole, the 2011 Golden Globes came and went with decent results. Oscar nominations will be announced in coming week, and hopefully that voting body won't fall into the rut that the HFPA did. Anne Hathaway and James Franco will be hosting, so it should be a good show.

Sorry this wasn't a usual post, but I really wanted to jump on the GG bandwagon. I'm going to Kansas City this weekend for the ELCA Youth Ministry Extravaganza, so hopefully I'll come back having learned a thing or two worthy of sharing on here.

We'll see.

-Danul

Sermonella: Catch the Feevah!

What follows is the story of my sermon from January 2, 2011. Apparently, God saw an opportunity for Danul to just go head first into the new year.

The morning of 1/2/2011 dawned cold. Seriously cold. As I waddled from my car to the sanctuary with five layers of clothing on, I decided to check the bulletin for any potential issues.

Depending on whether you see the glass as half-empty or half-full, this was either my first stupidly brilliant idea or my first brilliantly stupid decision of 2011.

The gospel text printed in the bulletin was completely and utterly NOT the text I had been working with for the past week. Faaaaaaaantastic. (I guess I'm more of a half-empty person for this story)

As I cursed my iPhone Lectionary App, I started pacing up and down the main aisle in the sanctuary, trying to figure out a way for my prepared sermon to reflect the printed gospel text. It didn't happen.

Suffice it to say, it turned out that it wasn't as big a deal as I was blowing it up to be, which is too often the case. The presiding minister (a jolly ol' retired pastor within our congregation) eased my nerves as he said, "we'll just liberally assume people will be able to get over it," a phrase that ironically fit very well into my message.

So, first, here is the text upon which my sermon is based: Matthew 2: 13-15, 19-23

Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’

When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He will be called a Nazorean.’

And here is what you've been reading this overlong blog post for in the first place:

(Disclaimer: this borrows some points from my Christmas blog...but hey, what would ministry be if we didn't recycle ideas?)

Let me start by saying that I have a certain…naivety when it comes to Christmas. I love this time of year. I love everything that comes with it. I love the music (I've been playing Christmas music in the office since late October). I love the decorations (a special thank you to our lovely secretary Tina, who gave me my tree). I love the commercials. I love the TV specials. And of course, I love love love the birth of Baby Jesus.

And I cannot comprehend it when people tell me they hate Christmas. What’s to hate? The cheery attitudes?The sale prices?The tinsel and twinkly lights?The shortened church services? What, pray tell, is so awful about Christmas that people cannot simply enjoy it?

Some say it’s become too commercial. Some say people don’t celebrate for the right reasons. Even pastors say it’s become a time when their roles as spiritual leaders are shrunk into roles as entertainers. I get all that. I really do.

After the weeks of stress that went into our Christmas Program, I can definitely sympathize. With all the complications our little pageant was confronted with, there were times when I wanted to throw up my hands at the impossibility of celebrating Christ’s birth with 20 kids who I had to bribe with confirmation credit (it’s a very funny thing how kids will do so much work just to get out of having to actively listen to a sermon that they have to sit through anyway). But when that first musical cue on that Sunday night began, that impossibility was unfolding very possibly in front of me.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that Christmas will most likely always be a commercial smorgasbord. It will likely always be celebrated by Christians and seculars alike. There will always be things that make you want to run over a snowman or smack an overly-cheerful bellringer.

So get over it. Stop second-guessing Christmas. Better yet, stop second-guessing the simple truth of the baby Jesus.

Our gospel today features Joseph. He’s a guy who we don’t hear from after the nativity story, so it’s a good thing his supporting role in the gospels can be used to no end for sermons at Christmastime.

The angel told Joseph, “Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt.” And what did Joseph do?

He immediately GOT UP and took his family to Egypt. He did not stop to complain. He gave no “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts”. He did not second-guess the message from God.

There were probably a million reasons Joseph could have given to not go to Egypt. I’ll bet he wasn’t looking forward to dragging an infant along on a cross-country road trip. I’m almost positive he wasn’t looking forward to Mary badgeringhim to ask for directions every two hours. I’m sure he could’ve justified not going.

But like I said, he went. He GOT UP and went. No second-guessing about it. Some could even call his unwavering obedience naïve. And this is an example we today should follow.

Being naïve about Christmas, in my ever-so-humble opinion, is the only way to approach this time of year. With all the secularization of Christmas, it boggles my mind that so many Christians opt to turn up their nose at the holiday instead of choosing to instill its true meaning. We cannot afford to let that stand in our way of celebrating the “most wonderful time of the year”.

We can even see this naivety reflected in other nativity characters. Do you think the shepherds thought themselves better than others because they saw Jesus? Do you think Mary and Joseph even began to grasp the weight of the events of that night long ago? No way. Instead they unabashedly, almost foolishly, celebrated the birth of Jesus, without regard for anything else.

Because really, what else matters? Too often people try to dissect Christmas to find some hidden “true” meaning. But the truth is that Jesus was born. That is the purest way I can say it. It’s awfully simple, isn’t it? And we didn’t even have to get our hands dirty. No second-guessing required.

By now, you’re probably thinking two things:

1. Daniel is really trying to get us think about “second-guessing God”.

2. Christmas is over, so why has he been rambling on about it?

You probably can see where I’m going with this, but I’ll say it anyway.

We as imperfect humans tend to second-guess God a lot. We do it throughout the year.

There will always be reasons not to do things. We might say no to teaching Sunday School because we think we have no time. We might refuse to be a leader in worship because we think we wouldn’t know how. We might back out of being a youth sponsor because of horror stories we’ve heard from the youth director.

But if Joseph has taught us anything, it is to just GET UP and answer God’s call.

God has brought us together as First Lutheran Church for a reason. He has given each one of us tools and talents that fill precise needs. And he wants us to be unashamed in using them.

Sure, this sounds silly. In any other area of life, we would be encouraged to considering all our options and choices. We are told to weight the pros and the cons against each other and see which is best. I do my share of that. When I was searching for jobs at this time last year, I had a list of all possibilities, with columns for the options I liked and one for those I didn't. But much like the naivety with which we should approach Christmas, we should approach doing things in the church with a similar attitude.

2011 is here. Whether we like it or not, whether we are young, old, or undecided, time has brought us to this point. As the director of youth and family ministries, a position that all have you have graciously chosen me to fill for almost a year now, I extend to you all a challenge.

I challenge you to GET UP. There will be ample opportunities for involvement this year. And no aspect of our ministry- not the youth/family, not the education, not the worship, not the music- will be possible if no one in the congregation answers God’s call.

He’s calling all of us in special, specific ways. You just need to GET UP and listen.

It really is that simple.

AMEN.

Danul in the Real World: The Obligatory Christmas Episode

Let me start by saying that I have a certain…naivety when it comes to Christmas. I love this time of year. I love everything that comes with it. I love the music (The Glee Christmas Album is a new favorite). I love the decorations (I have a tree!). I love the commercials (the first one I saw this year was for Christmas-scented Glade candles!). I love the TV specials (“I’m Mister Green Christmas, I’m Mister Sun!”). I love the birth of Baby Jesus (You didn’t seriously think I was gonna forget Jesus, did you?).

I love this time of year. :D

And I cannot comprehend it when people tell me they hate Christmas. What’s to hate? The cheery attitudes? The sale prices? The tinsel and twinkly lights? The shortened church services? What, pray tell, is so awful about Christmas that people cannot simply enjoy it?

Well, let me tell you a little story…

It was early October. Being in Texas, the weather was still unapologetically warm, and the leaves on the trees and shrubbery were adamantly green. People were filing in and out of Target and Walmart trying to find costumes and candy to assuage their children’s appetite for the truly unruly event that is Halloween. But atop a hill at the cross of two parkways, inside First Lutheran Church, the office was buzzing with discussion of Christmas.

The advent of Advent was upon him and one young, bright-eyed director of youth and family ministries was scrambling to come up with a youth-centric event to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.

I, Daniel Hofmann, was trying to find a Christmas program that would ease the kids of FLC into becoming more involved. As I had been told over and over and over, this was to be the first time in years that this congregation would have anything of the sort. Of course what I was really hearing was, “don’t screw this one up, you whipper-snapper!”

After much deliberation, I settled on a light play (more like a glorified skit than anything) set around the silly notion of the shepherds (you know, the ones from the Bible) being put on trial for disturbing the peace (you see, it’s funny because they didn’t have a judicial system). I was satisfied with my choice. Now I had to begin the joyful task of spinning play practice every Sunday after church into something young people would want to be a part of.

Let me tell you the real magic behind my choice: this play, wink-wink-nudge-nudge-ingly titled A Not-So-Silent Night (get it?!), was manufactured to be as painless as possible. The entirety of the play, from the dialogue to the sound effects, all came prerecorded on a CD. In essence, all the kids would have to do was pantomime the lines and actions described! It was genius! Genius, I tell you!

So Halloween comes and goes without many people showing a sudden desire to be in a Christmas play (go figure). About two weeks before Thanksgiving, I, the charming, naïve youth director decided to take matters into his own hands…something he really should have done from the start.

I divvy out parts, completely and shamelessly conning and bribing kids to participate with promises of stardom, free food, and confirmation credit (it’s a very funny thing how kids will do so much work just to get out of having to actively listen to a sermon that they have to sit through anyway).

We begin our first practice that next Sunday. I bring the promised free food and look out to see only about half the people I gave parts to.

No matter, I tell myself, it’s only the first practice. So all we do is eat pizza and listen to the prerecorded CD. I left that practice none too reassured.

Our next practice was when things actually started rolling. We began in the sanctuary this time, and each child star was given a script to follow along with as we played the CD. Of course, this proved too much for the ittie bitties and some of the more…attention-deficit older kids. We struggled along on shaky ground until a particularly exasperated mother offered the suggestion that the kids actually say the lines. Unsure of what would happen, I agreed that we could try this. So yes, we were rolling, but the question of rolling uphill or downhill remained unanswered.

The practice after that (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) was the first one where I actually thought we were putting something together worth seeing. Sure, the kids still had their faces glued to their scripts, but they were actually getting into it…as much as confirmation-age kids can get into a children’s pageant. The only problem was, we still had not had a practice with all parts present.

My love for the winter months was beginning to wane. It didn’t help that my mother called to tell me that she and the rest of my family would be trekking to Longview to see my production. It also didn’t help that the greater population of adults within my congregation had not come forward to help out.

The final week of practice loomed its ugly head on Sunday December 12. We would have one more practice that afternoon, a dress rehearsal on Saturday, and then the finished performance the next Sunday, December 19. I stressed to everyone that dress rehearsal was not an option. I must have sent about three reminder emails that week, praying to God that everyone would show up.

On the night of the dress rehearsal, we were missing four kids. The projectors were acting up. The set was still not complete. And my parents were in town. If someone had told me to, “cheer up, it’s Christmas,” I would have punched him in the neck. I went home that evening feeling less than hopeful. At best, the show would be a scattershot of kids bumbling around the stage in funny costumes. I had so much riding on this event, and it didn’t look good.

The next day dawns cold and crisp, with a foreboding fog mystifying the ground. The morning’s worship time is a blur of people’s well wishes and how excited they are for the evening’s performance. Great. So excited. I spend the rest of the day getting the set ready and making everything look perfect. At this point, the silver lining is, “at least it looked great.”

To what I can only chalk up to a Christmas miracle, the entire cast makes it to the church in enough time for us to be more than ready for the absolutely unexpected throng of people that mill into the sanctuary before the show.

With a quick silent prayer and a nod to the kids, I signal to the sound guy to begin the music, and then we’re off.

Apparently, Christmas is magic, because every person hits their lines. Every costume looks fantastic. Every actor is speaking clearly and without slur. And people are laughing. Actually laughing.

The show ends with a rambunctious “Joy to the World” and as I step up to the podium to wrap up the event, I cannot believe how well it had gone.

Every single face is smiling at me. My mother is positively melting my face with her beaming grin. I stutter through a quick thank you and begin to walk down the aisle. Not daring to look anywhere but at the double doors ahead of me, I see out of my peripherals every person standing and applauding. One even shouts my name. I make it out of the sanctuary and lock myself in the bathroom, listening to the people outside praise the production they’ve just seen. Breathing way too fast, I lean against the wall and congratulate my reflection on a job well done.

Once I’ve calmed down and changed into a new shirt, I slip casually into the fellowship hall, where Christmas treats are being served as a reception snack. And when I say casually, I mean I was immediately bombarded with handshakes, high-fives, and someone even tousled my hair. Speechless, I simply smile.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I owe everything that happened that night to the kids. Without them, this would not have happened, and I do make time to say that to the room at large, but of course, the adults make no apologies for giving me equal praise. And who am I to stop them?

The night loses steam slowly; people dwindle out the doors one by one (my parents are of course at the height of alertness, conversing with everyone they can about the wonder that is their oldest son). As the last group hails, “good night,” I am more than ready to go home, crack open a beer, and put my feet up.

I started this post by telling you that I love Christmas. Like any TV Christmas special worth its tinsel, my story has gone through all the staples of development: the cute, naïve main character, the impossible Christmas task, opposition from Grinchy Scrooge-misers, a Christmas lesson learned, and a climatic happy, musical ending in which everyone basks in the sparkly joy of Christmas.

Where I hope my tale differs from others is the lesson learned. While the Grinch and Scrooge both hated Christmas from the start and were shown the errors of their ways, I began my story with an brazen admiration for the holiday.

I said before that I don’t understand why people hate this time of year. Some say it’s become too commercial. Some say people don’t celebrate for the right reasons. Even pastors say it’s become a time when their roles as spiritual leaders are shrunk into roles as entertainers. I get all that. I really do. Having had to put time and effort into what was essentially a piece of entertainment for the rest of the congregation, I can sympathize. However…

I also said before that I approach Christmas with naivety. And with all the complications our little pageant was confronted with, there were times when I wanted to throw up my hands at the impossibility of celebrating Christ’s birth with 20 kids whose attitudes said they’d rather be somewhere else. I guess you could say my heart was shrinking to three sizes too small.

But when that first musical cue on Sunday night began, the Spirit of Christmas Present slapped me in the face. That impossible Christmas task was unfolding very possibly in front of me.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that Christmas will most likely always be a commercial smorgasbord. It will likely always be celebrated by Christians and seculars alike. There will always be things that make you want to run over a snowman or smack a Salvation Army bellringer.

So get over it.

Being naïve about Christmas, in my ever-so-humble opinion, is the only way to approach this time of year. With all the secularization of Christmas, it boggles my mind that so many Christians opt to turn up their nose at the holiday instead of choosing to instill its true meaning. We cannot afford to let that stand in our way of celebrating the “most wonderful time of the year”.

Do you think the shepherds thought themselves better than others because they saw Jesus? Do you think Mary and Joseph even began to grasp the weight of the events of that night long ago? No way. Instead they unabashedly, almost foolishly, celebrated the birth of Jesus, without regard for anything else.

Because really, what else matters?

So that’s it. My very own Christmas Carol. Kind of a backwards journey, now that I look at it. But I hope you can find some meaning in it too. For all its ham and cheese, my story is one I’ll always remember.

I love this time of year. :D

-Danul