Winter...

Just when I thought I was getting used to not living in Florida, I walked outside the other day in flip-flops to find it freezing and snowing. But..but...it was sunny!?!? Ha!

It has been snowing on and off here in Knoxville for the past few days, none of it sticking...until this morning.

Okay, sure...it's not much. A dusting, if you will. But again, for a Florida native, even this is cause for excitement.

Life has slowed down considerably this week. Students are taking finals this week until Thursday, so I just have a few 1-on-1 meetings and then boom...end of the semester. Crazy! Don't worry, there will be a solid end-of-semester reflection/analysis post sometime in the next few weeks, but I don't have the reflective capacity this morning, so I'll stick to the basics. A few bullet-points on life.

Our apartment is all decked-out for Christmas. It's borderline-gaudy, but some visitors have said it looks nice (which disappointed us a little bit.) It's too much to be classy, but not quite over-the-top enough to be obviously a joke. Maybe I just come off as a light-up alpine Christmas village kind of guy...I thought the Frosty the Snowman tablecloth would have been another giveaway, but...oh well. It's festive. And the obvious centerpiece of the entire display is our real-live 8.5 foot Christmas tree. It smells wonderful.

I have plenty of pictures of the apartment's decorations, but my camera is not with me at the moment, so I'll have to post those later...in a post that will likely be named "Another Tender Tennessee Christmas." This should surprise no one.

Our RUF Christmas party was a major success, and everyone looked delightfully tacky and festive. There were many other similar gatherings taking place in and around UT, and it was hilarious to see Goodwill crowded with college students desperately hunting for the perfect (a.k.a. worst) Christmas sweater, vest, or sweater-vest. The lady behind the counter seemed a little confused, but she graciously complimented everyone on their selections when they checked out. I purchased a giant, bright-red onesie...it fit perfectly. A Christmas miracle? Perhaps. I knew I had to buy it when guy after guy excitedly picked it up only to quickly return it to the rack saying things like "oh gosh, this thing is huge" or "never mind, this is way too big" or "do you think i could pull this off? eh...yeah, you're probably right."

Redeemer's Service of Lessons and Carols was Sunday night, and I loved it. This year, they decided to do things a little differently than the typical Christmas service. As much as I love traditional Christmas music, big choirs, orchestras, etc., I found this refreshing.

When you look at the Christmas story, when you strip it of all the sentimentality that we've cloaked it with, it's a pretty rough picture. An unwed teenage mother from a tiny backwater town that nobody of any importance was supposed to come from. A long journey across difficult terrain, pregnant, riding on a donkey. Giving birth in a cold, dark, smelly barn surrounded by loud, smelly animals. Being visited shortly thereafter by a group of shepherds, known to be a pretty rough crowd. And the backdrop of the story is an extremely difficult political situation, and eventually a egomaniacal king who slaughters all boys of a certain age in order to avoid any threat to his authority. And yet, we tend to romanticize the story into this nice little Sunday school version that robs it of its power and meaning.

The service was very simple, but very well done. Many of the carol arrangements we sang came from artist Sufjan Stevens (my campus minister bought each of us interns Sufjan's Christmas collection as a gift a few days prior, which was my first introduction. i was very impressed.)

The service definitely had an earthy, folksy feel to it...somewhat somber, yet also very joyful. (Favorite part was the adult choir leading everyone in Sufjan's version of "joy to the world" -except a tad more upbeat- at the end of the service, including the song's ending sequence...which if you've heard his version, you know it was awesome.) The kids choir sang his arrangement of the Friendly Beasts, which was also a highlight. It all just seemed appropriate for what Christmas is...definitely a celebration, celebrating a joyous event, but a joyous event that took place amidst the most difficult of circumstances. We sang "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," which, to be perfectly honest, has never been amongst my favorite Christmas hymns. But what an awesome song. That picture of a beautiful rose blooming in the middle of a cold winter night...that's Christmas right there. Great joy in the midst of great sorrow, and light overcoming the darkness.

Anyhow...I really enjoyed the service, and I'm thankful for the mindset it put me in this Christmas season. It's so easy to get burned-out with all the craziness and holly-jollity. But when we focus on that Child in the manger...that Light shining in a trough from which cattle ate, in the middle of a cold dark barn, in an obscure corner of an obscure town in a land torn by political upheaval...it's hard not to be left in awe and filled with hope.

Well, I will be using my time this week and next to catch up on my Intern Study Program and get some other stuff done around the apartment that I've been meaning to do. There might be a quick Birmingham trip somewhere in the future, and then returning home to Panama City for Christmas.

Stay tuned...a more reflective post on my first semester as an RUF intern will be coming soon.

Have a wonderful Christmas season,

Stephen