Bah. Hum(ble) Bug.

Christmas Carol Intro Week 1 from dustin maust on Vimeo.

Three books in my lap, three spirits in one night
Your word, Dickens' tale, and a gift from You
Scrooge needed three
but the One You sent was plenty for me
Common truths fly up like rays of light
Three glowing ribbons dancing in the wind
until You braid them into a stronger cord
a cord they can hold onto
one that pulls them closer to You
a 4th wall frosty windowed night
where a dusty book from Charles Dickens
and leather bound gold-tipped truths
tip toe off the shelves of the past
and jump in front of their eyes
like the clocks they check throughout the day
a place, a time, a story
where scars are beautiful
success cannot clink in your pockets
and we discover that our low view of things
is really just a high horse.
Where we fall from our smug upturned noses
into the graves of our own pride
flailing down so we can look up to You
the One who frees them from all chains
heals as the crutch is tossed aside
and melts the heart of the coldest of men
whether it be in a tale of one night
or the truth of a blinding day trip to Damascus
I will brace behind You like a kid in a scary movie
praying, hoping, begging that we might all leave changed
unfettered
laughing
and singing carols like fools
to wish You a proper birthday
this December
and maybe for all eternity.


"Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man as the old city knew. Some people laughed to see the alteration in him. His own heart laughed, and that was quite enough for him. It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well. May that be truly said of all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!" Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol

"Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time." ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

"A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes... and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:10-14