Lead Well

I have a confession to make: I used to hate Christmas music.  Shocking, maybe even sacrilegious, I know, but I did.  My wife would try to play the stuff before Thanksgiving and I'd shut that down faster than... well you get the idea.  Once the Christmas season started I would avoid those all Christmas music all the time radio stations like they're the plague. I started thinking about why I hate the music so much, and I came to some realizations. All my Christmas music and most of what I was listening to has been the same music since Home Alone 1.   I thought all Christmas albums were unimaginative covers of Christmas songs that were written last century.   Everything sounded the same after a while. This year, I decided to branch out, thanks mostly to Relevant Magazine , who continues to introduce me to new music.  All of sudden, I started to hear songs and remixes of songs I'd never heard before.  I started looking forward to Christmas music. So what have I do

courtesy getty images Fasting.  It's hard.  Let's face it, we know that it is something we should be doing.  We know that Jesus fasted. He did a marathon fast of 40 days and nights with no food or water! Nevertheless, I think most of us are scared. "What if I get hungry?  Will I be able to think straight? Will I be undernourished?  I have to fast for how long?  I can't eat what?" We come up with a million excuses. "I have too much to do today to fast. But I'm really hungry. I have no will power.  I can't lie to the people around me.  I don't have a place to do it.  I just don't see the need." How do I know all this?  I've said it all to myself.  It's a hard discipline, but a wise man once said, "if it's not hard, then is it worth doing?"  Or as it says in Hebrews 12:11 "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for th