Christmas @ the Thiessen's

This afternoon we went to Grandpa T's place for Christmas. It's been a lot different since my Grandma passed away just over two years ago. It's not the same without her. Christmas must be especially hard for my grandpa. It's hard to know what to say sometimes...I can tell how lonely he is...it looks like he doesn't have a whole lot to live for in life. He is strong, and tries not to show it, but I can tell...I haven't been though what he has, but I have been lonely. Not fun.

Anywhoos, the gathering was great. I always look forward to our Thiessen gatherings...it's such an awesome thing to be a part of a family where every body cares about each other, and people get along. It's a real testimony to the great job my grandma and grandpa did in raising their kids. For New Year's weekend we rented Camp Arnes. I am pretty excited. 3 days in the bush with the family...hope to do some xc skiing, take a ton of pictures, hiking, a little swimming in the pool...just relaxin'. Should be some good memories made.

My uncle Paul & aunt 'Nita had a baby girl this last summer. She has got to be the smiliest (yeah, it's a word!), cutest little girl I've ever seen . Anywhoo's I got to play with her for quite a while after supper. It was hilarious. She's so happy...even when she was getting tired, and making this whimpering kinda noise, she still had the biggest grin on her face.

Josh came over this evening. It was really good to catch up again. The last time he was out was for Holly's dad's funeral in september. Sounds like things are going pretty good for him. We played guitar for a while...he's really starting to get the hang of it. Felt like trying to convince him to move back here, but I could tell he's really enjoying it there, so I never mentioned it. Maybe someday he'll be back.

Well, I should hit the sack. Worship team practice before church tomorrow morning will come quickly. Last night (or this morning I guess) I only got to bed after 5 am. Starting to feel it now :)
G'night.

Merry Christmas!

I've been sitting here for a few minutes now, trying to think of something unique to write, something meaningful, something worthy of saying about a day such as today...but I can't. Christmas means so much more than any one thing...so much more than words can describe. Not that Christmas should have ever have become anything more than a celebration of the birth of God's Son on earth. Sometimes, in celebrating with friends and family, I think we turn it into a celebration of family. As Christians, I guess they do go hand in hand, as we wouldn't be able to be part of The family if it hadn't been for that day when God sent Atonement to earth.

Whatever.

I do hope that each one of you has a truly wonderful Christmas. Take some time to imagine how it must have been. I can only imagine the anticipation that Joseph and Mary must have been feeling before Jesus was born. I think it would have killed me :)

Take some time to read the story again...read it slowly...read all of the accounts of it...if it doesn't make you thankful, joyful...if it doesn't think "WOW!", then I don't know, something must be wrong ;) It's an amazing story that no person could have ever dreamt up...only God could come up with a script like that.

And all because he loves us.

Today rocks.

My Biggest Dilemma

Philippians 4:8 "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or priaseworthy - think about such things"

There's an ugly little fight that goes on inside my head, and a couple of times a year it surfaces for a while, until I can beat it back into submission. Secular music. As a Christian, it's something I've really struggled with...whether to listen to/buy it or not. Usually it's not a big deal, 'cause there have always been far more good CDs by Christian bands than I had could afford. But lately, I've had a hard time finding something I really like. Last night I was doing a little surfing in iTunes and came across the new Jimmy Eat World CD "Futures". I listened to the 25 second preview of each song, and I was hooked. This CD rocks. I had already added it to the cart when I figured I should maybe check out the lyrics. I knew the band definitely did not claim to be Christians, but I've heard lots of Christians recommend them. The lyrics were typically vague, but a few songs didn't seem to great...the song 'Just Tonight" seems to be about a one night stand, although it does talk about it with regret. "Pain" seems to talk about drug use "Anyone can find the same white pills that take my pain away" - could be Advil I guess.

If I listened to music like most people listen to music, maybe it wouldn't be a problem. But I don't. I'm an audiophile. I eat music. I sleep music. I dream music. I've got a song for every mood. There's always a song on my heart. Always in my head. And so if I'm gonna buy a CD, it had better be something that goes along with what I believe as a Christian.

I know there are two sides to this argument, but I've never heard much from anyone who says it's ok for a Christian to buy or listen to secular music. I'm guessing it's not because they have specific reasons for it, they've just never considered the reasons against it. I guess I've heard the 'freedom in Christ' theory...not sure if that really applies...Romans 12:2 says "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..."

As I was struggling with whether or not to buy the CD last night, I wondered if listening to secular music is any different than watching movies. Rarely is there a movie without some objectionable content. I try not to make a habit to watch a whole lot of movies because of this, but there are still many I've seen that wouldn't jive with the verse at the top of this post. Not only are we thinking on things that are not pure, lovely, noble, etc., but what gets me is that we're paying to think about it, paying to watch it, paying to listen to it. And this is where my problem with the CD lies. I would probably have no problem listening to it on the radio, 'cause the lyrics are rather vague, and not really 'all that bad', but when I 'm going to support the band by purchasing their music, and I'm going to listen to the songs until I can't handle them anymore...that's where the line because a little blurry for me.

The Greek word for "think on these things" or "meditate" in Philippians 4:8 means to "evaluate" or "to compute over and over" what is good and pure. "Compute over and over" is definitely what I do with my music.

I'd like to know what you guys (and girls!) think. If you click on the link at the bottom of this post where it says the number of comments, it will take you to a separate page where at the bottom you can leave a comment. You can do it anonymously, or leave your name. Thanks!

p.s. Although my thoughts have become somewhat clearer on where I stand after writing this post, I still really want to buy the J.E.W. Futures CD. We'll see what happens :)

photo by Warren Thiessen Copyright 2004

Took this picture tonight on what must be one of the nastiest nights thus far. Super windy and just plain cold...froze my fingers pretty good for this one :)
photo by Warren Thiessen Copyright 2004

photo by Warren Thiessen Copyright 2004

Hey, just a quick post to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!

My little sister turns 18 today! I could easily write a long post about how cool my sister is, but alas, I have to go to work right now, so I'l have to write about her later. So send her an email, or call her, and wish her a happy 18th!

Can you imagine?

Hey, sorry about the interrupted post yesterday...I was kinda bored with it anyway and figured my time would be better spent sleeping. I got about half an hour of shut-eye in before Heinrich called. We went to the church to play a little pia-piano. We were working on Mercy Me's song "I Can Only Imagine". It's a pretty simple song musically, and maybe that's part of the reason it's such powerful song. I must admit that I never really paid attention to this song. I remember 2 years ago, Missi said it was her favorite song...I don't think I ever even listened to it, 'cause I thought it probably wasn't heavy enough for me. Stupid.
Well, Heinrich got the piano part figured out, and I was trying to play guitar and sing. After about the fourth time we sang it, the words finally dawned on me, and I got pretty choked up. I don't think Heinrich noticed, but I had to stop singing for a while to hold back the tears. The words, or rather the imagery is just too powerful. Here are the lyrics for the chorus:

Surrounded by Your glory,
what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus?
Or in awe of You, be still?
Will I stand in Your presence,
or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine!
I can only imagine!

Well, hope you guys have a wonderful day!
Hey, what's up with the weather, eh? Talk about a roller-coaster ride. I don't think I can remember a week with such drastic changes from day to day.

"When the sunshine burns the darkness
remove the veil that lingers on your face
the stains of time still mark us
standing in the aftermath of grace
standing in the aftermath of grace
do you wanna hear these stories
of love and our mistakes
will you show us all your glory
to sooth and to erase
the stains of time"
- Common Children "Stains of time"

Well, I wasn't planning for today's post to be a lyric of the day, but this song was playing as I began to write, and it's such a beautiful song, I thought I'd share it. If you've got itunes, it's definitely worth the 99 cents.

Anywhoos, I thought it was time for a bit of a recap of the past week. I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this week...with maybe a small exception being work on monday (I screwed up on something, and it kinda ruined my day).
Monday night I went to Heinrich and Irene's place for tea after worship team practice. We talked photography for a while...dreamt about trips we'd like to take (african safari is a must!).
Tuesday was the last Celebration Night @ WBC for a while, but it was really cool. I love the way Christmas time and worship are so intertwined. Afterwards Bruce, Keith, Tim, and I played some 2 on 2 volleyball...it was a riot.
Wednesday I had to work the evening shift, so there was nothing too monumental going on, but for some reason, after monday's fallout at work, the rest of the week was a lot of fun. I think I'm enjoying my job @ time-out more than I ever have before.
Thursday had to have been the highlight of the week...or even the last month. Carolling. There's really nothing else to say. It was kinda cold, but it sure didn't affect the warmth in our hearts. Seeing tears in the eyes of the people we were singing for...seeing people with Alzheimers singing along...it just seemed to come to them. Shaking hands of people who were too weak to lift their own hand, but seeing the smile on their face when you wished them a Merry Christmas. And we really did wish them a Merry Christmas. I don't think anyone who went carolling that night was just moving their lips...they meant it.
I started loosing my voice after our first stop, but I belted it out anway. Singing the 12 days of Christmas on the hay wagon was especially fun...a big "Thank You!" to Relient K for making one of the most...shall we say...creative Christmas CDs around. Good times.
Friday night was the adult dessert banquet at church. Good food...good times. We played a pretty hilarious game where you have to try and find someone who is humming the same Christmas carol as you...with 40 people humming at the same time, it wasn't easy!
Saturday...uhhh I'm feeling rather tired all of a sudden...time for a nap...I'll continue this later. cya