Scott Freeman

So this is the longest I have gone without posting since I started this blog. I hate not being regular but I am traveling the countryside enjoying two weeks off for the holidays. I’m in Little Rock now visiting the ‘rents and fam for some jolly festivities.

Tomorrow, I travel to TN to officiate a wedding for a girl who used to be in my youth group. I’m greatly looking forward to establishing some old ties and seeing some great friends. Be looking for a return to the regular routine soon.

In the meantime, here is a question for all my devout, church-going readers: Tracy and I attended a community church in our town this past Sunday, Christmas day. A lady got up to sing a song. Her selection? Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire! Now, I can understand secular establishments leaning toward the more non-Christian Christmas songs, but a church during their Sunday worship service? Could they not get the rights to Rudolph? Had they already exhausted Jingle Bells and I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus? Is this common?

OK, compiling this list I realize that popular music has passed me by. I’ve gandered at a lot of best-of music lists for this year and, frankly, I hate most of them.
I don’t like rap or hip/hop or whatever it’s called. Jesus Walks is cool but that’s about it.
All the pseudo-rock bands that sound alike? No thanks. You can keep your modest pornographers morning cab chemical volta.
Give me lyrics I can understand, some simple chords and either a dash of wit, melancholy or dissent and I’m a happy man.
Here’s my list:

1. Sweet Somewhere Bound by Jackie Greene–Are you sure this isn’t Dylan’s son? You can tell on every single track who his main influence is. Best album of the year, hands down. Nothing else comes close. Wow, wow and double wow. If you have never take one of my recommendations, now is the time to take one. If you love Dylan, GET THIS ALBUM!
2. Defying Gravity by Cheryl Wheeler–Nobody writes a better ballad than Wheeler does. Two tracks about the death of her father, Since You’ve Been Gone and Blessed will break your heart. She’ll crack you up too. Her parody of cell-phone ring tones, It’s the Phone, is timeless.
3. Regulars and Refugees by Carrie Newcomer–This is a concept album set in a diner. It tells the stories of the individuals who are assembled together on this one particular evening. It weaves together a rich tapestry of community, belonging and hope.
4. Master of Disaster by John Hiatt–He jangles and rocks with the North Mississippi All-stars. Rock and Roll the way it’s meant to be played. If you don’t own some John Hiatt, you are missing out.
5. Solo Acoustic, Vol. 1 by Jackson Browne–He is the most under-rated songwriter in rock history. Classic Browne tunes get an intimate retelling here. Every song is stellar and the dialogue between songs is not to be missed.
6. Have a Nice Day by Bon Jovi–Pure pop candy. Nothing more, nothing less.
7. Fair and Square by John Prine–Equal parts eccentric and hard hitting. John Prine is a master wordsmith who pumps pure joy into a long run.
8. 12 Songs by Neil Diamond–Rick Rubin did wonders with Johnny Cash late in his career. Now he does the same with Neil. There’s only one Neil, right?
9. The Hard and the Easy by Great Big Sea–The pride of Newfoundland puts their own stamp on 12 Newfoundland classics. I defy you to listen to Come and I Will Sing You without tapping your feet.
10. A Collision by David Crowder Band–There is so much missing in Contemporary Christian Music that it was hard to find much to be excited about in 2005 (reasons why later). However, Crowder rises above the cookie-cutter uniformity that is CCM to create something that is an instant classic.

There is my list. Any thoughts?

Republicans maintain their commitment to cutting social programs. Is there really nothing we can cut other than health care, child support and school loans?
A tip of the hat must go to the five Republicans who showed some heart and voted against it: Lincoln Chafee (R.I.),
Gordon Smith (Ore.),Susan Collins (Maine), Olympia Snowe (Maine), and Mike DeWine (Ohio).

From Sojourners:

Many in the religious community cannot believe that leaders
could pass a federal budget cutting health care, child support,
and educational assistance to low-income families while further
lowering taxes for the wealthiest Americans and increasing the
deficit for our grandchildren. Making this decision just before
Christmas does not proclaim goodwill toward all. Although the
faith community played a strong role in preventing food stamps
from being cut in this budget, we cannot ignore the many other
cuts that could become a reality for many of the 36 million
people living in poverty in the U.S. Despite clear messages from
people of faith that the poor families and children with whom we
work need better policies and support, our political leadership
is missing the meaning of Christmas. Instead of filling the
hungry with good things and sending the rich away empty, this
budget process will only fill the rich with good things and send
the hungry away empty.

Bipartisan efforts to prevent severe budget cuts continue to
provide hope. Congressional leadership may cast today’s slight
change to the budget bill as a way to delay the inevitable. That
is not the case, and your voice can continue to have an impact.
Please keep doing the great work you have been doing all
year!

Make sure your member of Congress knows you are still
watching and praying. Call your rep today and urge them to vote against this bill.

Link: Cheney breaks Senate tie to pass budget bill – Yahoo! News.

I started out the season with so much promise. I had great drafts in both of my fantasy leagues. Yet Sunday, I lost both playoff games. Nothing left but third place now.

As you may know from reading my blog, I have done a lot of study and research on the history of protest songs. I’m still crafting my top 100 protest songs of all time and hope to unveil that at some point. In the meantime, I’ve just stumbled on David Rovics. Provocative, to say the least. (Note: DO NOT listen if you don’t like dissent or are a Bill O’Reilly fan)

By the way, don’t know what to get me for Christmas? Here’s some suggestions (again, all in fun. Although, I REALLY want the Jabez shirt and it can be bought here ):

Chris tagged me. Here we go.

List 7 things to do before I die:
1. Baptize my girls
2. Give my girls away to godly young men
3. Experience the feeling of being debt-free
4. Run a Marathon
5. Preach through every book of the Bible
6. Write a book
7. Buy an RV and take Tracy on the road

List 7 things I cannot (or will not) do:
1. Hunt
2. Drink
3. Watch The Apprentice without complaining
4. Believe that Thanksgiving and Christmas must have turkey.
5. Picture a better life
6. Win my fantasy leagues this year
7. Root for any team so arrogant that they consider themselves to be “America’s Team”

List 7 things that attract me to my spouse:
1. Her commitment to Christ
2. She is the best mother I know
3. Her beauty
4. Her intelligence
5. Her laughter
6. Her ability to diagnose infections and loose belts
7. Her encouragement

List 7 things I say most often:
1. “No Roger, No Rerun, No Rent!”
2. “Cassie, Put that down”
3. “Brothers and sisters’
4. “The screen door slams, Mary’s dress sways”
5. “Get your own tots”
6. “Lost and dying world”
7. “No Woman, No Cry”

List 7 books or series that I love:
1. Ragamuffin Gospel–Manning
2. A Tale of Three Kings–Edwards
3. A Grief Observed–C.S. Lewis
4. Pursuit of Holiness–Tozer
5. Mere Discipleship–Lee Camp
6. New Testament
7. Old Testament

List 7 movies I would watch over and over again:
1. Lords of Discipline
2. Office Space
3. Casablanca
4. Monty Python & The Holy Grail
5. Jerry Maguire
6. Spinal Tap
7. St. Elmo’s Fire

List seven people I would love to join in (if they haven’t already done so):
Going with an all male theme:
George
Greg Brooks
Chris Borland
Jeff Richardson
Dan Sanders
Jason Bybee
Ocular Fusion

Test

I resolve to keep my email inbox clean at all times. I will not postpone responding for several days until the urge hits or time permits. I will not keep articles in my main folder that I won’t read anyway. I will immediately delete all stupid forwards. I will not sign up for extraneous newsletters.
Thank you.

• I have updated my blog links. They are currently in two categories: Friends and Family and Other Blogs. Other Blogs are a compendium of people I don’t have the honor of knowing but wish I did based on their blogs. Check out all of them. If you want me to link to you (and you are clean) let me know and I’ll link away.
• It looks like I have to put my marathon dreams on hold for now. I don’t know what it is but I seem to have had a huge setback and am failing to make progress. Maybe it’s the shoes. Maybe it’s the extra 20 pounds I’m carrying. Maybe it’s the Democrats. Can’t quite place my finger on it. But I’m going to plan on a half-marathon in the spring now rather than a full one.
• For the record, those of you who read Tracy’s blog: She is NOT PREGNANT. There will be no more babies. Buying the pregnancy test was a momentary lark. It is unused and is being returned to the drug store for a full refund. There is no fourth baby. There will be no fourth baby.
• Churches not meeting on Christmas Sunday? Kinda dilutes some of our reason for Christmas, doesn’t it?

I could let it bother me that some have resorted to the use of “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas.”
I could let it bother me that corporations don’t automatically rush to worship the way I do or embrace the same ideals that I hold dear.

And I do understand why so many Christians are upset.
But this Christmas season there is so much more for me to be bothered by. Each Sunday I assemble with my brothers and sisters to commemorate the death, burial and resurrection of my Lord and Savior and so many in this world fail to even notice.
No, many people ignore Jesus each and every day. Why should one more day make that much of a difference?
And besides, that is their right, the benefit of being a free moral agent. They have the right to choose to follow Jesus or whomever they deem worthy of their devotion.
How would it be this Christmas (or holiday) season if, rather than boycotting Target or Wal-Mart, we as Christians embodied the reason for this season?
What if we were the incarnation of the Christ child in the hearts and lives of people?
What if we gave more and expected less?
What if we adopted families that were without this Christmas and infused them with the hope of salvation and the joy of Christmas fellowship?
What if we stopped criticizing the poor for failing to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and offered them a hand?
What if we spent less time spewing rhetoric and more time whispering grace?
What if we wept over EVERY life lost in war, not just the ones who wear our uniforms?
What if reached out in love to the hungry, the poor, the homosexual, those different from us and offered them hope, peace and reconciliation?
What if WE were Jesus in America?
What if we, as Christians, lived our lives in such a way that it would be impossible for anyone to deny the importance of Christmas?
What if we gave them infinite reasons to appreciate Jesus by the way we live our lives?
What if we were known as loving, grace-filled, tolerant souls who truly care about others, willing to meet them where they are and develop relationships with them that embody the person of Jesus?

You see, Jesus came to be God with us. He came into a sin-filled world to be hope and light, salt and solace. He did not come clutching a protest sign.
He did not come to organize a boycott.
He was not incarnate in efforts to incite.
He was not born as a talk-show host but as a child, innocent, meek and mild.
He did not come to instigate.
No, He came to change lives.
And He calls us to do the same.
Not through coercion. Not through crying “persecution” anytime someone disagrees with us or fails to look at things through evangelical eyes.
He calls us to go. Love our enemies, pray for those who “persecute” us.
Let’s make the reason for the season undeniable.

Understand this, it is not the world’s responsibility to come to our point of view on matters such as this.
It is our responsibility to take to the world the hope that is bound in Christmas.
You want Christmas acknowledge and embraced?
Be as Christ.

525,600 minutes, 525,000 moments so dear. 525,600 minutes – how do you measure, measure a year?
In daylights, in sunsets, in midnights, in cups of coffee. In
inches, in miles, in laughter, in strife.
In 525,600 minutes – how do you measure a year in the life?
How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love. Seasons of love.

So, Tracy asked me to write our Christmas letter this year. I’m not usually one given to such things, and I must echo the words of Jonathan Larson above: How do you measure a year?
For us, it has to be through love.

I am wrapping up my first full year preaching in Waco. It is a challenging situation but we have seen our average attendance increase by 25% in the past year. I believe people are truly excited to be here and be a part of what God is doing among us. I have taken up running and hope to tackle my first marathon sometime in 2006.

Tracy is still working at Bank One (oops, sorry Chase) and loving it. It is a healthy diversion away from the stress of homemaking. After much protest, Tracy too has started a blog and it is often a humorous look at life. She becomes a better wife and mother everyday and infuses our home with a love that keeps each of us warm and laughing.

Tracy gave birth on May 6th to baby number 3, Shayla Eileen. She just turned seven months old and is in to everything! She started crawling at 5 months and shows no signs of slowing down.
It seems that our hopes of a laid back child are still unrealized. Shayla loves to eat and stand up. She hates to nap. She loves to be held but hates to be held back. She has a smile that will light up the darkest room.

Cassie has hit her stride as a two year old. Her voice cuts through the clamor of a busy house.
She changes clothes, on average, 56 times a day. She hates to be dirty but loves to make a mess.
She loves to laugh but will throw a fit at the drop of a hat. She has moved into Chloe’s room and is now in a toddler bed. This has opened up new worlds of exploration for her. She has no fear, no hesitancy at facing new challenges and no reluctance to make her point of view known.

Chloe is now 4 and a half (that half is very important when you’re four, you know), and is the consummate big sister. She loves being the responsible one looking out for her little shadows. She has begun preschool and is a natural learner. She has a curiosity to know more that gives us hope that we won’t have to pay her way through college. She is caring and loving but struggles with sharing. She is addicted to Spongebob, princesses, ‘looking cute’, and books. She concerns us with her love for scary stuff and the word “booty.” She hates to sleep because she is afraid that she might miss something. She broke her arm over the summer and had to stay in a cast for nearly 2 months. It was pink. She’s all better now.

We are blessed. 2005 has been a tremendous year for us.
We can measure it only by love.