Things I Love - December 1-7, 2008

Here are the 3 things I love most this week:

1) Relient K's Christmas CD

While you can't always count on Christmas music to be as jolly or fulfilling as the ads promise it to be, some of the modern stuff is actually GOOD. And by some, I mean Relient K. My favorite band has never put out a song I did not adore and immediately learn all the words to, and this CD is no different. Cleverly titled and even more cleverly crafted, "Let it Snow, Baby, Let it Reindeer" is Relient K's foray into glorifying God through Christmas music. And boy, do they get it right.

"The 12 Days of Christmas" is original in song form, but the band find themselves asking "What's a partridge? What's a pear tree? I don't know so please don't ask me!". On "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", lead singer Matt Thiessen brings a touch of melancholy to the classic carol. The silly and joyous "I'm Getting Nuttin' For Christmas" tells the story of a selfish child who gets nothing for Christmas because he was bad all year long - but the song seems to make not receiving gifts not such a bad thing after all. And finally, the soft spoken "In Like a Lion (Always Winter)" brings us Narnia-like hope that God will cause winter to end and spring will begin again.

Either buy the CD or a few songs off iTunes... Relient K brings bouncy fun and thoughtful praise to a wonderful, cherished time of year. And they do it with an ease and a joyful mindset that even the most Scroogelike grumbler will not be able to resist.

2) Snow

It's seems so strange to me... so many people complain about snow this time of year - how it gets everything wet, how it turns brown, how the roads are covered with it - but I never get tired of snow. It brings a simple delight to my mind, and I'm always thankful for the moisture it brings to our often parched Earth. I make a point to take a walk each time it's snowing, and just enjoy the beauty of the falling flakes... how they land on the ground, on the trees, on me. Realizing this simple beauty may seem childlike, but it makes me realize how special to our God we are - how he makes each of us as unique and lovely as each individual snowflake. And that makes me smile and draw close to Him. Just as I should.

Plus, snowball fights are pretty awesome.

3) Book Clubs

There is never anything wrong with reading. I don't care what kind it is... you can read a comic book or a Bronte novel, or a magazine or a textbook, or even a cookbook. You can even read the book by Hillary Clinton without hearing me complain.

But the best part about reading is sharing it with someone else. For instance, in a book club. My friend and I have such a club, which is inside-jokingly called The Fasebook Club, even though it has nothing to do with Facebook, however wrongly spelled it may be. We meet once a month to discuss our book picks, which we alternate choosing every month. I cannot explain in words how precious our time together is - sitting, bent towards each other with eager expressions and happy smiles, discussing plot elements and character growth like we ourselves were part of the story. We do this while sipping hot chocolate, breakfast tea, or a cinnamon latte, whichever suits us the best at the moment. It's a special time, one that anyone can take advantage of, even though most don't.

So go, find a special friend or two (or six... or eight) and choose your first book together. The "chore" of reading is far outweighed by the joy that comes from friends getting together to share opinions, discuss favorite characters, and make memories that will far outlast how the book ended.

And hey, if you end up not enjoying a book club, at least you got some hot chocolate out of it, right?