Happy Birthday, Jesus

(This is based on a post that I republish each year around this time.)

While you’re unwrapping your gifts this Christmas I wanted to take a few moments to unwrap the real Christmas story.

We all enjoy giving and receiving gifts on Christmas Day but it’s important that we take time to remember what Christmas is really all about. It’s more than just the gifts and the jolly man in the red suit. It’s more than a ‘feeling’ or ‘spirit’ that makes us feel warm inside. It’s more than time with family enjoying good food and good times.

I find it interesting that any time someone suggests removing the word ‘Christmas’ from our celebrations at this time of year there are cries of ‘political correctness gone mad’ yet we still pay so little attention to what that word actually signifies.

While it’s generally accepted that the 25th of December isn’t the actual date that Jesus was born, it’s the day that has been chosen for celebrating Jesus’ birthday. That means Christmas is really a big birthday party.

So why should we be invited to the birthday party? Jesus was born around 2000 years ago. Why do we still celebrate his birth?

Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. In fact, and this is where it gets tricky, according to the Bible, Jesus is actually God in human form so this is no ordinary birthday.

Here’s a little bit of the Christmas story from the Bible. This account is from a book of the Bible written by a guy named Luke.

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no vacancy for them.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.’

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
‘Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.’
When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Aha! So that’s where the manger and the shepherds come in.

That’s pretty much the story of Christmas. God living among the people he created. It’s an amazing thought but it’s even more amazing when you thread the whole story of Jesus’ life together. After all, usually when we celebrate someone’s birthday we don’t just remember the day they were born, we celebrate who that person has become and what they’ve brought to the world.

If we’re still celebrating the life of someone born around 2000 years ago, we’ve got to assume that they lived a remarkable life. If you want to find out more about the remarkable life of Jesus, I’d encourage you to grab a Bible in an easy to read translation and then read one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) to find out about Jesus’ birth, life, death and resurrection.



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Nice place to visit … glad I don’t live there

cassette

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

I did a lot of living back in the eighties but these days my greatest connection to the decade fashion forgot is some of the music from that era. I hear a lot of eighties music but now and then I hear a song from that period that I haven’t heard for so many years that it just transports me back there. It wasn’t all good, in fact there was some appalling music released in the eighties, but there were some classics.

A lot happened in that 10 years. In 1980 I turned 17, got my ’72 TC Cortina and the license to drive it. I even drove it, with a couple of friends, all the way across Australia to see Sydney and Newcastle.

The eighties took me from my teen years into my mid-twenties.

I completed my apprenticeship and became a qualified chef. I then left cooking behind and went looking for a real job.

On special occasions I would wear a three piece suit. It was brown.

I learnt what George Harrison meant in his song Teardrops, when he said, “In the heart of the lonely man, in and out of love more often where most others can.” Unrequited love is never easy.

My hair was various lengths throughout the decade. I still have photos of my incredible mullet.

I hung out with some great friends and shared houses with some good mates. I discovered some excellent music and went to dozens of concerts.

Later in the eighties my mother died. I cycled across Australia for the first and second times. The girl who’d held my heart for many years finally decided she wanted to be more than friends. Eleven months later we went back to being friends.

The eighties was also the decade that I finally organised myself to get into the radio industry, which is where my heart was all along.

A lot happened in the eighties. It was a decade of discovering a little bit more about who I was and who I was becoming.

So would I want to go back there? No thanks.

I wouldn’t want to go back there because I didn’t meet Pauline until January 1992. We married in December the same year.

It would have been so wonderful to have shared those times with Pauline. They were amazing years with some incredible highs and lows but all that time the real love of my life was living just 20 or so kilometres away. I wish our paths could have merged so much sooner. Maybe the connection wouldn’t have worked if we’d met earlier – I don’t know – but I really do wish that we could have had those years together.

What were the eighties for you? A time of happiness or regrets? Highs, lows or both?

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Find Me On Facebook

Today I’m revisiting a post I wrote some months ago. The following is the post I published to explain why I created a ‘Facebook Fan Page’.I thought I’d throw it out there again for anyone who missed it the first time around.

How do I explain this without sounding arrogant. Well maybe I don’t. Not that I want to sound arrogant but when you set up your own Facebook ‘fan page’ it does seem somewhat cheesey and self serving. I get that, but that’s not what it’s about. I’m not looking for fans. I’m simply wanting to stay connected with a wider group of friends.

So why would an ordinary bloke ask people to click the link that says they ‘like’ him? Over inflated ego? Umm … no. A deep cry for acceptance? No again.

The truth is that I jumped on board with Facebook some time ago and have built up quite a number of Facebook friends. Some are family, some are close friends, some acquaintances, some are old school friends, while others are those I’ve ‘met’ online.

I’ve been torn between wanting to accept every friend request I receive and keeping Facebook for those I know personally. Having a wider group of friends means I sometimes can’t share as much as I like, while keeping a very closed Facebook page means I can’t share stuff with as many people as I’d like.

While it’s not a perfect solution I’ve decided to set up a new Facebook page that’s completely open to everyone. You don’t even have to make a friendship request, just click the button and add yourself as a friend.

I don’t really know how this will all work. I may only end up with a handful of friends at the new page but I’m hoping that it’ll get a little busier than that.

If you’re already a Facebook friend and you feel you’d fit better with the new page, feel free to ‘unfriend’ me and join the new page. You’re also welcome to stay connected through both pages.

I’ll still be posting a lot of the same content on both pages but the ability to share things a little differently will allow me to protect my privacy and especially my family’s privacy a little better.

Thanks for your understanding. I hope to see you at my new Facebook page soon.

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I’d Settle for a Sandwich

I need to admit, right from the start, that I’ve been sucked in again. I’ve started watching the new season of MasterChef. (I even have a favourite. I don’t know that he’ll make it all the way but I’m already a big fan of 61 year old Kumar.)

I also watched a number of episodes of My Kitchen Rules when it was on the telly.

Now that the confessions are out the way, I’m wondering what effect the latest bunch of cooking and food related television programs are having on the way we cook and the ways in which we relate to friends and family.

I love the fact that the people on these programs have a passion for food. I did a four year cooking apprenticeship and became a chef around thirty years ago and I’ve never had the passion for food and cooking that these people do. (Which probably explains why I left the industry as soon as I got my qualifications.) To see someone doing something that lights up their face and their heart is a wonderful thing, but where does that leave the rest of us?

I’m wondering if we are turning food into art and creating an expectation that we try something new and innovative when we invite friends over for a meal. Are we afraid to put simple food in front of people? Are we missing opportunities to interact with friends because we haven’t got the time and talent to produce a food masterpiece?

I really don’t think it’s the intention of these programs to create that kind of expectation but I wonder if that’s what’s happening anyway? Are we now putting pressure on ourselves to only ever invite people into a ‘display home’ for a range of expertly prepared ‘culinary delights’? I really enjoy lovingly prepared food that’s out of the ordinary and I love the opportunity to try something different if someone really wants to prepare something special, but in the end, I’d settle for a sandwich. Not because I love sandwiches (not really one of my favourite foods) or that I can’t appreciate the difference, but because what I really value is good company.

I don’t care if a home isn’t neat or if the food served would never make it to the table in a restaurant, what I do care about is good times with good friends.

What do you think? Do you avoid inviting people into your home because it’s too much effort? Do you think that cooking shows can build unrealistic expectations? Please leave a comment or two in the comments section of this post.

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Facebook Makes Changes to ‘Pages’

Great to see that Facebook has made some changes to their ‘pages’.

They regularly upgrade the standard profiles, causing cheering from some and jeering from others, but they’ve now added some extra functions to what they call ‘fan pages’. (I still have issues about calling them fan pages but more of that in a moment.)

What have they added?

Notifications when other Facebook users interact with your page or posts.
A place to showcase photos along the top of your page.
A news feed for your page.
The ability to Like and post on other pages as your page.

Great news for those of us who have such pages as it allows us to interact more naturally with those who’ve ‘liked’ our pages.

I still feel a little odd having something titled as a ‘fan page’. When you set up your own Facebook ‘fan page’ it does seem somewhat cheesey and self serving. I get that, but that’s not what it’s about. I’m not looking for fans. I’m simply wanting to stay connected with a wider group of friends.

So why would an ordinary bloke ask people to click the link that says they ‘like’ him? Overinflated ego? Umm … no. A deep cry for acceptance? No again.

The truth is that I jumped on board with Facebook some time ago and have built up quite a number of Facebook friends. Some are family, some are close friends, some acquaintances, some are old school friends, while others are those I’ve ‘met’ online.

I’ve been torn between wanting to accept every friend request I receive and keeping Facebook for those I know personally. Having a wider group of friends means I sometimes can’t share as much as I like, while keeping a very closed Facebook page means I can’t share stuff with as many people as I’d like.

While it’s not a perfect solution I decided to set up a new Facebook page that’s completely open to everyone. You don’t even have to make a friendship request, just click the button and add yourself as a friend.

If you’re already a Facebook friend and you feel you’d fit better with the new page, feel free to ‘unfriend’ me and join the new page. You’re also welcome to stay connected through both pages.

I post a lot of the same content on both pages but the ability to share things a little differently allows me to protect my privacy and especially my family’s privacy a little better.

I hope to see you at my new Facebook page soon.

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