At my house, we watch The Polar Express.
A LOT.

That's fine, because it has become my favorite all-time Christmas movie.

But every time I watch it, I come up with the same questions and I'm sure some of you smarties have an idea...

IS THE CONDUCTOR ALL KNOWING?

In short, is anything that happens on that train ride a surprise?
Or does he know everything...even when he's away from "The Boy."
I've been asking some of my friends about this and I've already heard some interesting theories.
Here's a sampling.

1. The conductor is all-knowing and the train ride happens every year to a child who doesn't believe.
2. The train is a time-machine...in fact, this theory supposes that "the boy" is actually the conductor as a child and now the adult version of that child is coming back to save himself, to remind him to believe.
3. The conductor isn't all-knowing, but he IS actually Santa Claus, so whatever happens is all good.

You got a theory? Is the conductor wise to everything that's going on? How do you know? What does the conductor do to make us think he's completely aware of every detail of that ride?

STAGE DAD

This is Finley performing last Sunday with "Snapshots," her Sunday morning class.


SNAPSHOTS Performance 12/14/08! from Bethel Bible Church on Vimeo.


She's on the far right.

Take note of a few things...

1. 00:11 to 00:44 - lays on floor, rest head right on floor monitor.
2. 00:44 to 01:39 - stands, mills around, sees Daddy's guitar, plays with stool.
3. 1:39 to 2:55 - tries to climb on stool, fails, dances, waves at Mommy, mills around.
4. 2:55 to 3:10 - tries to make a break for it.
5. 3:20 to 3:25 - walks over to Daddy's music stand, plays with pen. (Hear the laughter?)
6. 3:25 to 3:35 - volunteer Greg Kimmel dashes across the front and quietly encourages Finley to return to the group.
7. 3:39 - Finley glares at Greg Kimmel and shuffles back to Mrs. Cay. (Hear more laughter?)
   

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Well, the blessed holiday is now upon us. And in celebration of that, I figured I'd go back through my archives and post some of my old Christmas pictures. Enjoy!

www.phohohotobooth.com...

#1 On The Wish List...

WOULD I LOOK GOOD IN THESE OR WHAT?

Keepin' It Real This Holiday Season...

I was telling Jonah some "Christmas stories" from my youth the other day and I started to wonder what would be some of my best Christmas moments.

Like most of you, I've got tons of memories about gifts I received or meals I shared or funny stuff that happened in our family.

But one memory still hangs on with startling clarity.

I was a teenager and old enough to drive. Upon receipt of my driver's license, my dad presented me with a little red truck. I loved that truck. It was the stuff of country songs and folklore - it was freedom.

I can't remember if it was the Christmas immediately following my birthday or the next year, but I remember my parents handing me this big box on Christmas Eve.

I tore into it, my mouth gaping open as I realized what they had given me.

A CD stereo system.

Now, if I was lame, I'd make some sort of stupid joke like, "You know, kids, back in my day, cars didn't come with CD players."

But I am not lame.

I am cool.

Now that gift was great, but that's not the memory. The thing I remember most is what happened when my Dad saw the look in my eyes.

He got up from his comfortable chair, threw on his boots and led me outside where we installed that CD player and speakers that very night.

It was a complicated process and luckily, I was only responsible for handing him stuff. (Some things never change...) But we worked into the night to get it all hooked up and finally, I popped in my brand new Mortal disc and cranked it for all it was worth.

I'll never forget the fact that my very tired father went out of his way to do something so generous for me. I'll always appreciate my dad for that.

Now, it's your turn. Take a second and share one of your best Christmas stories in the comment section below!

Essential Christmas Listening...

Just A Little Theory I Have...

Wives...

I don't care how sweet your husband is. I don't care how much he loves you, the kids, the holidays and life in general. I don't care if he smiles and acts like it's the most awesome thing in the world...

But there isn't a man on earth who actually enjoys Christmas decorations.

By the way, where did we get the idea to pack breakables in newspaper? Is that really going to help? Is it really going to keep stuff from breaking?