The Shocking Truth About Christmas Desserts

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1466216_955777582595_1461134808_nI admit it – I have a dangerous sweet tooth at Christmas.

Cap’n Crunch Christmas Crunch. Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes. Candy Cane Hershey Kisses. Starbucks Peppermint Mocha.

When Christmas comes around my appetite and my dessert budget get a little out of control.

There’s something about seasonal sweets which makes my mouth water. For some reason a cookie shaped like an ornament seems like it tastes than your standard circular cookie.

Here’s the shocking truth about Christmas desserts: these holiday treats really aren’t that different from their non-Christmas counterparts. Continue reading →

POP GOD POPcast: Episode 25 – Christmastravaganza With Kate Doriot

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slide.001Welcome to Episode 25 of the POP GOD POPcast – a podcast interview series exploring the presence of God in pop culture.

To celebrate the 12 Blogs Of Christmas it’s the first ever POP GOD Christmastravaganza – a celebration of all things Christmas music! My wife Kate Doriot joins me to talk about our Christmas music memories, new Christmas songs for 2014 and everything in between. We break down the best and the worst holiday tunes of all time, explore the history of “Do They Know It’s Christmas” and discover the surprising origins of a holiday gem. Is “Baby It’s Cold Outside” the creepiest Christmas song? Why do bad songs happen to good people? When is the appropriate time to listen to Christmas music? We answer all those questions and more on this merry music Christmastravaganza!

Listen to the podcast here:

Or Download on iTunes Or Listen on Podbean

Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, rate it, leave a comment, listen to all the other episodes, share it on Twitter and Facebook and anywhere else. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks.

I love sharing stories of people seeking God in the present tense. Let me hear your feedback. Leave me a comment and let me know how to improve things, what you’d like to hear discussed, and give me your ideas as to who you’d like to see on the next episode of the POPcast. Continue reading →

How To Avoid A Home Alone Christmas

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MV5BMTUzMzg4MTg2M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNDM4OTk4._V1_SX640_SY720_“Home Alone” is one of the great under-the-radar Christmas movies.

Much like “Die Hard” or “The Family Stone”, “Home Alone” isn’t overwhelmingly holiday-themed. What we really remember about the movie are Kevin’s hijinks fighting off the Wet Bandits, his adventures roaming about town on his own and quotes like, “Keep the change, ya filthy animals.”

But I think the story of “Home Alone” makes a great metaphor for the Advent season. Continue reading →

Why Buddy The Elf Is My Role Model

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GUEST POST: Today’s contributor to The 12 Blogs Of Christmas is my friend Michaela Pollock. Michaela is a Senior at Georgia College & State University with a real heart for inspiring and encouraging others. I’m excited to introduce you to her today. Enjoy her contribution to POP GOD:

To this day I remember the first time I watched the movie Elf and fell in love with the touch of claymation, the adorable elf outfits, and how simple joy is represented through the entire story.

I received the movie Elf from my Aunt Diane, who my dad often says I am just alike, so there had to have been some kindred spirits working there when she bought it for me. I watched it that day with my extended family and about immediately it became my favorite movie.

You may think, “Why is a Christmas movie your favorite movie?!” I have heard this, and dealt with all the funny faces. But, if you know me, you’re not shocked a Christmas movie is my favorite movie.

I would like to pride myself as being the female version of Buddy the Elf if I could, so I think we could learn a thing or two from Buddy and the movie itself. Continue reading →

Instructions Not Included

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he-man.org

Did you ever have one of those perfect Christmas mornings?

You know the one I’m talking about: all the presents laid out, the toys you begged all year for set up and already working like Santa snuck in overnight.

If you ever had a Christmas like this, you can guarantee the hours before you awoke were spent by your parents earning their place on the naughty list as they screamed and cursed trying to put your gifts together.

Those toys never seem to be as easy to put together as the instructions make them out to be.

God forbid the instructions were not included. Can you imagine what a disaster that might have been?

Yet that’s just what happened for one family as they were preparing for Christmas. The first Christmas, that is.  Continue reading →

Monday Morning Music: Joel The Lump Of Coal

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Mondays can feel like a big lump of coal in your stocking.

You spend the weekend full of the holiday spirit – picking out a tree, wrapping presents, enjoying a glass of egg nog and the yearly viewing of Emmet Otter.

Then that alarm hits Monday morning, waking you up from that wonderful Christmas dream and bringing you back into the reality of the workweek.

Ugh. For all the joy and merriment of the Christmas season, we still have lumps of coal to deal with in our lives.

Maybe you could use some Monday Morning Music to get you back in the spirit.

What if there was something more to these lumps in our stockings? What if the things we think are meant to upset  us have a deeper meaning buried inside? Continue reading →

What Jimmy And Jesus Have In Common

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1341-EW-FallonJimmy Fallon – Entertainment Weekly’s 2014 Entertainer Of The Year. It makes sense now. Fallon has reinvigorated The Tonight Show with a sense of joy and clips that go viral on a regular basis. He’s righted the ship of NBC late night after 5 years of shakiness between Conan and Jay Leno.

But if I had told you 5 years ago that Jimmy Fallon would be the most beloved entertainer in America, you would have laughed harder than, well, Jimmy himself when he breaks up during a sketch.

Believe it or not Jimmy Fallon wasn’t a huge hit when he took over “Late Night” in 2009. Continue reading →

The Tacky Sweater Gospel

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Screen Shot 2014-12-11 at 6.56.44 PM

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When you picture Jesus at Christmas, your mind probably goes straight to the image of a baby wrapped in swaddling cloth in a manger.

But I like to picture Jesus at Christmas clothed in a tacky sweater. 

In recent years it’s become a badge of honor to sport an a ugly Christmas sweater. You’ve probably already been invited to half a dozen tacky sweater parties this year. Hipsters and millenials ravage Goodwill every December to find all the holiday horrors of the past.

In fact, clothing companies are now producing intentionally ugly Christmas sweaters to celebrate the new fashion trend like this one.

It wasn’t always this way.

Think about it: the bright red cardigan plastered with bows and tinsel you wear for laughs was once really worn by someone with a sense of style.  Continue reading →

Monday Morning Music: Kansas City

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(Click Here if you can’t see the video above)

One of the most buzzed about musical projects of the year is The New Basement Tapes. It’s a collaboration between Marcus Mumford (of Mumford and Sons), Rhiannon Giddens (of The Carolina Chocolate Drops), Jim James (of My Morning Jacket), Taylor Goldsmith (of Dawes) and Elvis Costello (of Elvis Costello).

That all-star lineup in and of itself is awesome enough. But that’s not even the coolest part.

What makes The New Basement Tapes special is these artist have come together to record a set of newly discovered lyrics written by none other than Bob Dylan. Continue reading →