What if Christmas was different? Now, I don't mean if Christmas, Jesus being born, was different, but how we celebrate Chritmas.
A typical Christmas in central Iowa generally looks and goes something like this...cold, snow, weather is normally questionable, Christmas music is playing almost anywhere you go, stores are full of people, decorated trees filling house windows, lights covering houses, asking for things we want, gifts under the tree with things we don't really need, Christmas dinner with more than enough to eat, more sugar than anyone should consume in a short period of time, and more people in a church building than any other time of the year.
What if it were different? What if...it was hot, there was no music, there wasn't any flocking to the malls, no gifts, no trees, no lights, just enough food for a meal, people going to celebrate Jesus' birth any time or place.
Would that make Christmas itself any different? There's no reason it should.
During the Christmas Eve service, my dad talked about some of hid friends that moved to Botswana, South Africa. He said that on Christmas day temperatures reached over 100 degrees. They waited till after the heat of the day to go to a Christmas service in a small tin building. Afterwords they went to thier livestock, killed a goat, and had that for their Christmas dinner. There wasn't any possibilty of having a real tree, so the kids made one out of hand traced shaped paper and taped them on a wall. They didn't have lights because electricity was something that they did not waste.
It's quite amazing how location can affect a Christmas celebration. In the end the way we celebrate really doesn't matter, but that we do so for the right reason. God sent His son because we needed Him and what a joyous occation it was when He arrived here. Even more joyous is that He is still living here among us today.
Peace.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
'What's in a name?'
May I start off by saying, welcome to my blog. It is something that I have been thinking about starting for sometime now, and now it has finally begun.
Anyways, may a assure you right now that the title of my blog will change at some point in time. When and what it will be is unsure, but it will happen. Here's why. As I was trying to think of a title for my blog, the question "what's in a name?" popped in to my head. What does a name give someone or something? When you hear a name or title, what do you think of? What is the literal meaning of names and titles of things? All of this was racing though my head as I was pondering names for this blog.
To be honest, I didn't get very far. A part of the reason I was thinking of names in general, my name specifically, was because of a book I am reading, "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. A question that he asks is, how would you be missed if you left this place (where you are called to be)? what would change? This brought the question, who am I?
Name: Benjamin Christopher Lambert, means: Son of the Right Hand, Bearer of Christ, Brilliant Land. Go by the name Ben.
Who I am: 19 year old Christian, go to school at the University of Arkansas, a part of Christ on Campus and AFROTC, Mechanical Engineering Major, enjoy any kind of sport or game, will try to do, eat, etc. almost anything, easy going, always positive (favorite saying: It could be worse!), don't worry very much, enjoy being spontaneous, sit around too much (in my opinion), enjoy the outdoors, love being with people, love serving others, hard worker, and the list goes on, you may add what you like.
All these thing's on the list, do they really matter? They are all traits of how I see my self. Does it really matter how I see myself? I don't think so. Does it matter how other people see you? Yes and no. Physical appearance is not the most important thing. How you act, live, and speak are more important, and it's not just something you do every now and again, it's how you live on a daily basis no questions asked. Not only do these aspects of you affect yourself, but they can also affect those around you. For example, I don't swear, not that it matters, but it's for multiple reasons. Anyways, one of the guys that lives on my floor noticed that I don't, told me about it, and went a day without swearing to see if he could do it. So small things like that, that are just ways you live without thinking about them can affect other peoples lives.
So I asked myself, when people think of Ben Lambert, what do they think of? If I had never been a part of this person's life, would they be just the same as they are today? Granted, I will probably never know the answers to these questions, but I pray that the answers will never be "nothing" and "yes." I hope and pray that people see me as a child of God and everything that entails, and that in any way, shape, or form I can affect their life in some small, or big, way.
Now, we go back to the original question, "what is in a name?" If I went by any other name, would people see me the same way, would I be the name person I am today had I gone by a different name all of my life? I would like to say no, but it's an interesting thing to think about. Is a name just an identity, or is it more?
Jacob wrestled with God in Genesis all night, which is crazy one man could wrestle with God for hours, just for a name and a blessing. Jacob, whose name then became Israel, fought and fought and he got a new name. What did that mean to him? Was it just a new name or did it mean more? But, after he got his new name he asked the one who he was fighting what his name was and he replied "Why do you need to know my name?" So is the name important or not?
So many questions... Perhaps, the name of this blog won't change. If a title comes to me that seems right, then it will, but if it really isn't that important then why should it?
It's amazing how I can ramble on about something as simple as a name, but I hope it made you think. I could probably ramble on more, but this is enough for now. Thanks for reading and any comments are welcome!
Peace!
Anyways, may a assure you right now that the title of my blog will change at some point in time. When and what it will be is unsure, but it will happen. Here's why. As I was trying to think of a title for my blog, the question "what's in a name?" popped in to my head. What does a name give someone or something? When you hear a name or title, what do you think of? What is the literal meaning of names and titles of things? All of this was racing though my head as I was pondering names for this blog.
To be honest, I didn't get very far. A part of the reason I was thinking of names in general, my name specifically, was because of a book I am reading, "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. A question that he asks is, how would you be missed if you left this place (where you are called to be)? what would change? This brought the question, who am I?
Name: Benjamin Christopher Lambert, means: Son of the Right Hand, Bearer of Christ, Brilliant Land. Go by the name Ben.
Who I am: 19 year old Christian, go to school at the University of Arkansas, a part of Christ on Campus and AFROTC, Mechanical Engineering Major, enjoy any kind of sport or game, will try to do, eat, etc. almost anything, easy going, always positive (favorite saying: It could be worse!), don't worry very much, enjoy being spontaneous, sit around too much (in my opinion), enjoy the outdoors, love being with people, love serving others, hard worker, and the list goes on, you may add what you like.
All these thing's on the list, do they really matter? They are all traits of how I see my self. Does it really matter how I see myself? I don't think so. Does it matter how other people see you? Yes and no. Physical appearance is not the most important thing. How you act, live, and speak are more important, and it's not just something you do every now and again, it's how you live on a daily basis no questions asked. Not only do these aspects of you affect yourself, but they can also affect those around you. For example, I don't swear, not that it matters, but it's for multiple reasons. Anyways, one of the guys that lives on my floor noticed that I don't, told me about it, and went a day without swearing to see if he could do it. So small things like that, that are just ways you live without thinking about them can affect other peoples lives.
So I asked myself, when people think of Ben Lambert, what do they think of? If I had never been a part of this person's life, would they be just the same as they are today? Granted, I will probably never know the answers to these questions, but I pray that the answers will never be "nothing" and "yes." I hope and pray that people see me as a child of God and everything that entails, and that in any way, shape, or form I can affect their life in some small, or big, way.
Now, we go back to the original question, "what is in a name?" If I went by any other name, would people see me the same way, would I be the name person I am today had I gone by a different name all of my life? I would like to say no, but it's an interesting thing to think about. Is a name just an identity, or is it more?
Jacob wrestled with God in Genesis all night, which is crazy one man could wrestle with God for hours, just for a name and a blessing. Jacob, whose name then became Israel, fought and fought and he got a new name. What did that mean to him? Was it just a new name or did it mean more? But, after he got his new name he asked the one who he was fighting what his name was and he replied "Why do you need to know my name?" So is the name important or not?
So many questions... Perhaps, the name of this blog won't change. If a title comes to me that seems right, then it will, but if it really isn't that important then why should it?
It's amazing how I can ramble on about something as simple as a name, but I hope it made you think. I could probably ramble on more, but this is enough for now. Thanks for reading and any comments are welcome!
Peace!
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