Out with the Old; In with the New

 

Welcome to the new look lawsonhembree.wordpress.com! May I be one of the first to wish you a Happy New Year!

This is the time of the year when many people all over the world make a New Year’s Resolution. Some will join Charles Barkley in his quest to lose weight with Weight Watchers; others will strive to be more benevolent with their time or money; several will try to spend less time on Facebook or Twitter; and still others will try to read through the Bible.

However, these resolutions are not always achieved.

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The Word Became Flesh: A Christmas Miracle

Christmas time is here! Kids are foaming at the mouth waiting to open presents, college students are back home with their families, adults are running around making last-minute preparations, and soon Santa Claus will be coming to town.
In the coming days, the story of Jesus’ birth will be read around dinner tables, in churches, and by Linus in the Charlie Brown Christmas special. The most common account is found in the second chapter of Luke’s Gospel. Probably my favorite version of the Christmas story is found in John 1:1-18 (emphasis added):

“Did You Have to Drink Your Own Urine Today?” A Lesson in Contentment

Recently, I had the opportunity to go hear Aron Ralston speak in Fayetteville as a part of the University of Arkansas‘s Distinguished Lecture Series. If you don’t know who Aron Ralston is, you have probably heard his story: he is an explorer/adventurer who got stuck while canyoneering in Utah and was forced to cut his own arm off or die in the canyon. His story of survival was made into a full-length movie entitled 127 Hours. You can read the details of Aron’s story here.

Aron began his presentation in Fayetteville by saying, “While my story [having to cut my own arm off] may seem like a tragedy, it’s one of the greatest things to happen to me.” He then went on to share the details of his experience and his life since then for the crowd.