boston commoner.

welcome home

1) A Miracle on 34th Street (Admittedly not my favorite, or even a holiday necessity, but I needed a 10th, and we have to start somewhere.)

2) Frosty the Snowman ("Happy… B-b-birth-day!")

3) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (If only to make fun of the wool-and-clay animee.)

4) The Homecoming (A Walton Family Christmas…"G’night, John-Boy!")

5) Scrooge (The Albert Finney version, of course.)

6) White Christmas (Because Bing Crosby looks like my Grampa.)

7) How the Grinch Stole Christmas (MUST be the old-school version, complete with songs and funky, 70’s-style, psychadelic color schemes.)

8) Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown ("Loo, loo, LOOOOO, loo, loo, LOO LOO loo (gasp) LOO LOO LOOOOOOO loo loo loo loooo…")

9) It’s a Wonderful Life (Jimmy Stewart is my hero.)

10) And last but definitely not least… A Christmas Story ("You’ll shoot you’re eye out, kid!"… “Jinger Bears, Jinger Bears, Jinger Are da Raaaay!"…I could go on…and on and on…this is my all-time favorite Christmas Comedy Classic. It just isn’t Christmas with Ralphy.)

Well, for any of you who’ve recently visited Mels’ recent post on the subject (and many of you have), the title for this post makes perfect sense.

About 20 minutes into this morning’s commute, the first flakes fell. Well, they were more like fuzzy raindrops, but you could tell by the way they dispersed on the windshield that they were at least partly flake. Saturday’s forecast: Snow, snow, snow. Seems we’re getting an early start :o) (more…)

“A couple of years ago, I was standin’ out there where all you guys are, watchin’ my dad do the same thing, thinkin’, ‘He’s nuts!’ I seriously thought he had lost his mind, or somethin…”

It’s not every day you get to watch a teenage Bostonian girl admit what she was really thinking about your church family all of those months before she got saved. Especially since it wasn’t all that flattering. But so began Felicia’s testimony, as told before the congregation of the International Baptist Church of Boston this past Sunday.

A sweet prelude to any baptism, a new believer’s testimony can touch the hearts of those floundering in the coldest waters of the mundane. Like Mandy’s story, Felicia’s was told in her own words, flavored by the fresh expression of one otherwise ‘un-churched,’ combined with local colloquialisms and accents, all bound up by the barest and boldest sincerity of newborn faith–faith in Something real; in Someone substantial; in Somebody so grand, He can’t possibly be made up, Who has left so much evidence behind and around Him that He needn’t ever be so. (more…)

Some people are too talented for words. I’m not one of them, but Melita Matzko is. Here’s one of her recent cityscape photos.

Have a wonderful weekend, folks!

Many thanks to all of you who’ve been praying for Lisa. As to her current post-op status, many have asked and there seems to be some confusion. I myself am not sure what is going on, but I hear there’s a recent letter on Lisa’s condition floating out around there somewhere (apparently several of you ahve gotten it, or wanted it, but there’s been some trouble in it’s circulation). The most up-to-date info I, personally, have is contained in the following coment as posted yesterday by a fellow prayer partner and friend of Lisa’s:

Continue to pray. Lisa was moved back to ICU today (11-2-04). Her sodium levels are too low. They have done another CT scan, but results aren’t in yet.

-Comment by Kelley R

Here is some older info from Lisa’s mom concerning the initial diagnosis, operation, and problems they encountered after the first few days: (more…)