Boxing Day

It's Boxing Day for our British friends and British-influenced friends up north; or, as we say in the Estados Unidos - After-Christmas-Sales Day. You know, 'cause we just can't buy enough stuff.

As a pastor, I don't let my church sing Christmas carols until, ummm, Christmas. We sing Advent hymns (there's a dearth of them in the world - someone write some good Advent songs, please! Anything with grandma and reindeer doesn't count...) in church during Advent and then sing carols during the 12 days of Christmas. (Weirdly, Christmas is actually 12 days - it's not just a song about turtledoves, et. al.)

It just seems to me that the Church went to the trouble of setting the Christian year, so we could at least try to follow it a little bit. And, as a bonus, if you don't start getting Christmas-y in mid-October, then you're not really tired of Christmas when it actually gets here.

So, since Christmas is just starting, and I'm not tired of it yet, here's a lovely/sappy story for you. It's about Texas high school football and doesn't involve academic scandals, guns or anything you might have seen on Friday Night Lights.

I hope your Christmas was at least as good as mine - family, a lovely sausage-intensive breakfast, a long nap, great steaks and good wine, and sledding with friends and family until late in the night. Also, I got a gold medal in Nintendo DS Olympics for the trampoline event!

much peace, much love, etc.
Clay