2007 will be a year of changes for my family. Over the next three weeks I will turn 27, my oldest son will turn 5, and my wife and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary. In May, Lord willing, I will graduate with a degree in Computer Science and we’ll move from our current residence to another.

Going to school full-time while raising a family and working a job, or at times jobs, is no easy task and I’m looking forward to completing this stage of my education. It’s really hard for me to imagine life without full-time school though. So much of our life the last several years has revolved around school. What will our life be like without it? I really can’t tell you right now, but I’ll let you know when I find out.

These changes, I hope, will further grow and mature us as a family and teach us to trust the Lord in all circumstances.

[tags]2007, New Years, family[/tags]

As we approach 2007 I decided it was time for a new Wordpress theme. I’ve decided to go with K2. I’ve noticed that my blog is now loading more slowly though. Others have experienced the same slowdown when using K2 and have offered some helpful suggestions. I’ll work on speeding things up as I’m able.

[tags]blogs, blog themes, css[/tags]

Over the past 7 years I’ve been using a Bible reading plan put out by Discipleship Journal for my daily Bible reading. The plan takes you through the entire Bible in one year by reading from 4 different places in Scripture each day. The last 2 years I’ve ended up deviating from the plan so I’ve been looking for something different to use for 2007. I’ve decided to go with the One Year Chronological Bible. Juice used it this past year and has really enjoyed reading through the Bible chronologically so I thought I would give it a shot.

[tags]Bible, Scripture, Bible reading[/tags]

I just finished 1776 by David McCullough. I received this book as a Christmas present and was instantly drawn into the drama of this very important year in the American Revolution. This is the first book that I’ve read by McCullough and I’m sure it won’t be the last. He writes in such a way that I found myself gripped by a story whose outcome is already familiar to me. Tonight I’ll begin another book given to me as a Christmas present. Although this time the focus is the Civil War.

[tags]books, 1776, American Revolution, Civil War, American history[/tags]

As I was thinking about what topic to blog about today I began to think about the annual outrage over the phrases “Happy Holidays” and “Merry Christmas”. On the one side you have people who find “Merry Christmas” to be offensive and would rather use a more generic phrase such as “Happy Holidays”. On the other side you have people who feel that “Happy Holidays” is an attempt to have Christmas or the Christmas season without Christ.

In a pluralistic society we have to be willing and able to interact with people who hold different beliefs than ourselves. This time of year is more than a holiday season to me, but if someone wishes me “Happy Holidays” I certainly would not be upset. I would expect that others would be equally receptive to a “Merry Christmas” from me whether they celebrate Christmas or not. If we get upset with each other for not issuing our preferred greeting than we’re simply immature. We haven’t learned some of the most basic lessons of elementary school (how to get along with others).

Outrage at attempts to restrict your right to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” is justified, but if you’re upset with department stores, schools, or individuals for using either of those phrases you may need to do some growing up.

As should be expected I was blogging about this very same thing at this time last year.

[tags]Christmas, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, pluralism[/tags]