MEERRRRRYYYYY CCCCHHHHHRRRRIIIIIIIISSSSSTTTTMMMMMMAAAAASSSSS

Well, December 25, 2005 is here, and I don't feel a day older...or something like that. Last night we had midnight mass and it was beautiful as always. Although this year seemed more Hable-esque as my mom and I were a couple minutes late to the carols, my dad couldn't find his regular glasses, so he had to wear his nerdy safety glasses, and Father Don completely skipped the Christmas Gloria. We also didn't get to sing Good King Wenceslaus, as the guy we sing with wasn't there.
But in all honesty, this Christmas crept up on me. I didn't even realize it was here by the time it started. But now it is here and I'm going to make the most of it. Last night in mass I was just thinking about the fact that this baby, as much as we rejoice his birth, was born to die. That was his lot in life. To die for us all. That's a pretty big burden for an infant. There's a really cool Relient K song about that called "I Celebrate the Day." One of the lyrics goes as follows.

The first time that you opened your eyes, did you realize you would be my savior. The first breath that left your lips, did you know that it would change this world forever.

It's a pretty cool tune just thinking that. I really enjoy the idea that we celebrate the birth of our savior. The only problem I even have with it is the cliche problem that people have; The commercialism taking the season over. Now, I can't deny that I enjoy gift-giving and recieving. Now I'm sitting here waiting for my women (sister and mom) to wake as I couldn't sleep past 9. I'm still a kid and I'm excited about my gifts :) I'm also excited about the gift the NFL is giving me in the form of a Bears-Packers football game today. And I'm excited about calling friends and hanging with my family.

My mom JUST woke up. One more person to go....

On a more serious note, I think one reason this Christmas is different, is I've been struggling a bit with my own humanity, trying to remember why I love God so much. It's something you have to remind yourself of and plug into again and again. Why do I do it? I have to remember why the life lived for Christ is the life gained! It's beautiful, but I have to believe it, not just say it.

Now that this is officially a pretty in depth, rambling post, I'm going to end it....pretty soon. At least I'll think about it.

SOTD - IMPROVEMENT - Dee Brown, the point guard for Illinois basketball didn't start this season as a point guard. He had finally smoothed himself out a bit in that roll. He started the season with an assist/turnover ratio of less than 1...That just isn't good. Now he's at 1.8/1, meaning in the last half a dozen games or so, his ratio has been signifigantly higher than that to bring his season average up. It's good to see that kind of improvement.

Another note on my fanhood to sports teams. I've been told I'm very negative about my teams, especially Illinois basketball, which is undefeated. We'll see how it goes. I'm still holding my ground, which is theoretically realistic ground. I've tried to keep an eye on changes and trends, and incorporate those into my adjusted views. So is Dee Brown a point guard...I'd say he's a lot closer to it now than he was.....