Bob & I wish everyone a disturbingly Merry Christmas from the ‘Bu!

When we lived on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, my family tried to make a trip to New Orleans sometime between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day each year. We’d wander around the French Quarter, eat at Bubba Gump’s, and usually swing by the Christmas festivities at City Park. This was our Christmas tradition.

Well, New Orleans is not easily accessed from Southern California I’ve discovered. So there goes the ol’ family Christmas tradition.

But last year, we noticed an advertisement for a theatrical production of “A Christmas Carol” starring Christopher Lloyd and John Goodman at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, and we thought we’d take it in on Christmas Eve. Somewhere during that fun day, Jody suggested there just might be a potential new family Christmas tradition forming. I think she was on to something.

Today, we journeyed back to Hollywood, this time at the Pantages Theater, this time for “Grinch: The Musical,” this time starring John Larroquette. And this time we ate at Johnny Rocket’s at the Hollywood & Highland Center, which appears to be our new Bubba Gump’s.

It has been a great day trying to establish our new family tradition.

The show was terrific, and although Larroquette was great at Old Max, it was the Grinch and Young Max that stole the show! They were fantastic!

Now, we’re home for the rest of the afternoon. I’m scheduled to speak tonight at our church’s Christmas Eve service at Stauffer Chapel, and I hope that goes well. Either way, spending the day with Jody & Hillary has already made this a wonderful Christmas Eve. As Jody astutely observed, if Erica were here, it would have been a perfect day.

Two YouTube videos from me to you:

#1: We caught part of The Princess Bride on television last night, and hands down, the favorite scene of both Hillary and I was the marriage:

#2: Hillary’s dance teacher was one of Britney Spears’ dancers back in the beginning, and we ran across this old video from that time frame. Stop it at 0:05 and notice the pretty girl on the right (Britney’s left). That’s Hillary’s “Miss Charissa,” and you’ll see her throughout the video.

I’ve spent the last couple of days working on a rough draft of my comment for my journal (Dispute Resolution Law Journal). It is supposed to be at least 25 pages long, and it is due the day we return from Christmas break.

There are a couple of “rough” parts to this rough draft:
(1) It is hard to do law school stuff over Christmas break;
(2) For some unexplained reason, I’m having a hard time hitting my flow with the article.

There are some good parts to all this, however:
(1) I’m already through 15 pages, so I’m on the downhill side;
(2) I really like my topic, and it is terribly important to me.

My working title is: “The Truth Shall Set You Free: A Distinctively Christian Approach to the Use of Deception in Negotiation.”

Now before you jump me and my future profession, deceptive tactics aren’t contained to lawyers. All of us are familiar with fudging the truth a bit (or lot) when we’re buying a house or a car – or just about anything else that involves negotiations. Does Christianity have anything to say about such things?

Of course. Christianity has a lot to say about a lot of things, but I am continually intrigued that all of us seem to choose parts to follow and parts to ignore.

As I wrote today, I got to the section of my paper devoted to establishing the standard to be used when evaluating the Christian approach to culture, and I was reminded of how important that is to how we see everything. In fact, that might be what allows us to pick and choose the parts of “Jesus” that we follow and which parts we ignore.

It seems that our approach tends to shape our views on sex, money, politics, war–and I’m learning now, telling the truth–more than what Jesus actually taught.

In the end, I’m particularly fond of John Howard Yoder’s approach to “Christ & Culture,” which risking extreme oversimplification says, who cares about the Christian approach to culture. Just follow Jesus.

I said I’m particularly fond of it. I didn’t say I’m anywhere near adopting it in practice. Not yet at least.

So today is supposedly the first day of winter, but from the looks of the weather outside, I don’t think Southern California got the memo.

But I’m not complaining.

It is now that time when everyone begins to remember 2009 with all sorts of countdowns and “year in review” compilations. I noticed a link to an MSNBC version on Bob Cargill’s blog. I recommend it not so much for the review but for some of the amazing pictures. You can check it out HERE.

When I see the recap of the top stories, I am reminded of my Sunday School teacher, John Wilson, who recently said that from a Jesus/Kingdom of God perspective, the important stories are never front-page news. The older I get, the more I tend to agree.

When I moved to Malibu, I didn’t know a whole lot about Ken Durham. I knew enough to look forward to hearing him preach Sunday after Sunday, but to tell the truth, I wondered how I’d fare at sitting and listening for a change. All I can say is that Preacher Ken made sitting and listening the easiest thing ever.

Preacher Ken’s last sermon in Malibu came and went this morning, and I was privileged enough to be in attendance. I am sad that he is moving to Nashville, but I count myself as fortunate to have listened to a year-and-a-half of excellent preaching.

I wish Ken well in the Deep South, and I hope that before long someone there is perceptive enough to offer him an audience each week.

If you’ve never enjoyed this old Andy Griffith comedy routine (pre-Andy Taylor days), then by all means, enjoy!!!

Turned out to be quite a football Saturday for me:

#1: Who would’ve thought that Fresno State vs. Wyoming in the Las Vegas Bowl would be so entertaining?

#2: Who would’ve thought that nfl.com would carry the biggest part of the Cowboys-Saints game “live” on its website (since I’m not blessed with The NFL Network)?

#3: Who would’ve thought that the mistake-prone Cowboys would take down the previously unbeaten Saints? (The Saints have become my adopted “second” team, but I’ve been a Cowboy fan for over thirty years now!)

#4: Well, everyone knew the Titans would win on the billionth replay of “Remember the Titans,” but still, what a movie!!!

For starters, here is a link to a photo album on Facebook (the pics are mostly from Erica’s graduation).

Observations:

#1: Redeye flights are for the birds (ha! that’s almost funny). Especially when the grandmother traveling with her two whiny grandchildren are all sitting two rows behind you, and they do not sleep. Because neither do you.

#2: Daughters graduating from college are super cool. We are so proud of Erica, and it was SO good to see her walk across that stage. During the first month of Erica’s freshman year, she lost her home in a hurricane. Three-fourths of the way through college, her mom/dad/sister move to California. Still, she finished her coursework for her Child Development degree in four years. She has much to be proud of, and so do we.

#3: Graduation speakers who keep their talks brief are very popular.

#4: Newk’s has very good chicken salad sandwiches.

#5: We miss several things about the Mississippi Gulf Coast – especially people. But thunderstorms is not one of those things.

#6: I miss having lunch with Bruno, but it was nice to get another taste last weekend.

#7: Some friendships are so natural that you pick up where you left off without missing a beat. Like we discovered when spending the weekend with Todd & Robin.

#8: Rodney Britt is a good guy, and it was gracious for him to ask me to preach while we were in Ocean Springs.

#9: I shouldn’t start listing names, and I won’t, but we love so many people in Ocean Springs. We didn’t get to see everyone we love there, and we didn’t get to spend enough time with those we did get to see. But we did get to see a lot of those lovely people, and for that we are very happy.

#10: Driving from Ocean Springs to Paragould is still boring.

#11: Okay, with apologies to everyone else, John Kelley is one of our all-time favorite people. We were unbelievably glad that we were able to stop at a McDonald’s outside of Memphis to see him and his two beautiful daughters. We were sad to miss seeing his wife, Jinger, but at least Jody got to visit with her on the phone. If I have a hero in life, it is John. I am proud of him. And I love him.

#12: My mother can still make the best chicken & dressing.

#13: It can get cold in northeast Arkansas.

#14: We have a lot of family to try to see when we make a trip home. They are all dear to us, and we were so glad to successfully catch so many of them in one mini-visit.

#15: There is a little restaurant in tiny Caraway, Arkansas, called “Vittles & More.” Yes, I am telling the truth. I had the plate special: meatloaf, purple hull peas, cabbage, and cornbread. Hate me.

#16: Never try to board a plane with a bullet in your suitcase. Jody says I have my mother-in-law to thank for this one. As I was being interrogated, my recent coursework in Criminal Procedure suddenly seemed very applicable. The officer found it humorous that I was currently enrolled in law school.

#17: I will be rooting for the Arkansas State Red Wolves football team next year. I sat next to #47 on next year’s team, a defensive end/linebacker from Memphis named Justin Roberson on my flight from Memphis to Salt Lake City. I was so impressed with this young man, who is overcoming the odds, making excellent decisions, and facing a promising future.

#18: Utah is gorgeous. I never would have suspected this.

#19: We had just about the best trip we could have even imagined. It was so, so nice.

#20: Nonetheless, we don’t mind being back in Malibu where the sun is shining, the ocean is glimmering, and the temperature is in the seventies.

I may or may not be blogging over the next week or so, depending on many things. But here’s my crazy schedule over the next week in case anyone wonders where I’ll be:

* Today: Pack / Come up with a sermon / Hillary’s choir performance at MHS! / Go to LAX
* Friday: Fly all night to Mississippi (Gulfport) / Drive to Hattiesburg to see Erica graduate! (USM)
* Saturday: Drive to Ocean Springs / Lunch with Bruno! / Stay with the Hayes!
* Sunday: Preach in Ocean Springs / Fellowship meal with everyone!
* Monday: Drive to Arkansas (Paragould) / Dinner with my family!
* Tuesday: Stay in Paragould / Dinner with Jody’s dad in Jonesboro!
* Wednesday: Visit with Jody’s grandmother in Caraway! / Stay in Paragould
* Thursday: Fly to Burbank / Back to Malibu!

Okay, I’m tired just typing it. But excited, too.

I may be able to check in with blogs along the way, but no guarantees.

Whew! Constitutional Law (Individual Rights) is now officially in the books, and with that, I am UN-officially halfway through law school!

For those grading at home (reflecting how I “felt” about the exams):
* Multiple Choice Sections:
#1: Criminal Procedure
#2: Tie for last between Evidence & Con Law

* Essay Sections:
#1: Con Law
#2: Crim Pro
#3: Evidence

Today, at this very moment, I am happy I had three finals back-to-back-to-back on the first three days of finals. Every moment preceding this one sucked.

So…

Never again (until the dreaded Bar Exam). But today – well, this late afternoon, more specifically – I am quite happy.