This is going to be a long Blog.

First up…..Things I’ve learned about people:
1) some people are very impolite and are really unaware of what is not proper public transit conversation
2) some people judge you only by your appearance and when you don’t look ‘good’—they feel the need to tell you and everyone around you
3) some people are really insensitive
4) some people put you down because…well, there’s lots of reasons
5) a lot of people misinterpret God’s will…letting their personal desires get in the way of understanding what God’s will is….letting circumstances, human wants/fleshy desires for (comfort/money/guys/acceptance) deceive them into seeing something as God’s will when it really isn’t….letting stupid feelings drive their actions…feelings are quasi-worthless! BAH!
6) some people don’t know when to draw the line
7) people say very ignorant things
8) All this frustrating knowledge of people is perfectly encapsulated with my wonderful philosophical HERO…..Voltaire (thank-you Mod.West!!)
“Common sense is not so common”

Ah….forgive the (truthful) cynicism…..but more importantly….

Secondly…Things I’ve learned about God (through the wonderful coffeehouse!):
1) …in order for anything to work…you have to pray your heart out….
2) …when your sole reliance is on God and God alone, not organizational skills/people/planning/talents/money…..things will work out
3) …that God can and will use anyone He wants to carry out His will
4) …hope can never ever be lost….
5) …that no matter how great your expectations of God….you will never be prepared for the sheer abundance of His magnificent glory and power….
6) ….the right attitude and right heart to serve is what matters to God….nothing else
7) …that God is so powerful.
8) …that there are so many people who still don’t know about Jesus at Woburn…

…70+ people (2 teachers!) + one amazing message (via Chris) + lots of new faces + one beautiful testimony (via Jaime) + great worship + actual coffee + 2 spectacular skits + awesome servants + mad Holy Spirit action + 6 months of prayer =one great Coffeehouse

“For I proclaim the name of the LORD;
Ascribe greatness to our God!
The Rock! His work is perfect,
For all His ways are just;
A God of faithfulness and without injustice,
Righteous and upright is He.”
-Deuteronomy 32: 3-4 (NASB)

…can I get an AAAHHHHH-MOOOOOON?

What I’ve learned about Christmas….
(Thanks to www.howstuffworks.com and my politics teacher)
…okay, why do we care about snow on Christmas?
-Jesus was born in the Middle East….probably no snow there!
…why do we put up Christmas trees?
-it’s a German tradition, started as early as 700 A.D
-in the early1800s the tradition of a Christmas tree was widespread in Germany, then moved to England and then to America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.
…why do we give gifts?
-I don’t know…consumerism has sucked us all in?
….why is Christmas celebrated on December the 25th?
- Christian leaders in 336 A.D. set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse a popular pagan holiday in Rome (Saturnalia) that celebrated the winter solstice

*I hate to rain on everyone’s parade….but I have had the best Christmas this year because I’ve been able to let go of all that junk listed up there…why should you celebrate Jesus’ birth on one day of the year—when He wasn’t even born then? Why should you cling to these mindless traditions, when they have nothing to do with Christianity? Maybe I sound like a freak—but we don’t and shouldn’t need anything but Jesus in order to celebrate His birth…yeah sure, it’s nice to be surrounded by friends and family—but that doesn’t automatically mean you are celebrating Jesus’ birth. Do we even know what it means to celebrate Jesus?

Celebrate (it’s a verb, which means it’s an action word)
1. To observe (a day or event) with ceremonies of respect, festivity, or rejoicing
2. To perform (a religious ceremony)
3. To extol or praise
4. To make widely known; display
…yeah….so if you’re a Christian, don’t get caught up in the Christmas ‘feeling’/’hype’….please? You’ve got to know better than that. Do something for Christ….don’t be lazy, don’t say you have no time, because you’ve got at least 11 more days. Celebrate Jesus, by honoring Him--by doing something for Him.

Merry Christmas :)