The Last Christmas Playlist You Will Ever Need (Vol. 1)

The Last Christmas Playlist You'll Ever Need (Vol.1)

For those who don't want to read click the link and enjoy the music.

The Last Christmas Playlist You'll Ever Need (Vol.1)

You will have to create a Spotify account to listen but it is free and gives you access to thousands of songs.  www.spotify.com

For those of you who care about the story:

     Before you is The Last Christmas Playlist You Will Ever Need (Vol. 1). It is the culmination of 3 years of deliberate compiling and evaluation but is set against the backdrop of a lifetime spent anticipating Christmas mornings, trips around town screaming Feliz Navidad from the windows of my friends Toyota Corolla and many years pondering deeply what the true meaning of Christmas is. In the midst of these activities thousands of hours have been spent acquiring and listening to Christmas music. Year after year I created my playlist for the season and soon it became apparent that there are not many new songs worth adding each year.  That's when the universe smiled and an idea was birthed. It wasn’t just a thought but it was a fantastic revelation which would literally alter the rest of my life and presumably the lives of countless others. If you take the time to compile a comprehensive list then you can use the same one from year to year. If we are honest with ourselves there may be one or two songs each year that need to be added to the list. With a few additions you can reuse your list each year and have the ultimate and complete, lacking nothing, Last Christmas Playlist You Will Ever Need. It was with this modest ambition that myself and good friend Eddie Cruz began in earnest in 2011 to compile one play list to rule them all, one playlist to find them, one playlist to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. After 3 years it is finally here. 

     This playlist represents everything that I love about Christmas. It is a celebration of deep theological significance. It includes songs proclaiming unassailable grace and mercy, which only begin to be understood at the incarnation. Songs that look forward to the culmination of God’s great redemption where we can boldly claim great tidings of comfort and joy. Amidst the lofty hymns of yesteryear there also reside classic Christmas Carols celebrating winter wonderlands and children spurning bedtime in order to hear the chimes of Santa’s Sleigh. Finally there are the sometimes questionable, but always in the Christmas spirit, tales of Grandma meeting her untimely demise beneath reindeer hooves and Santa sneaking kisses when he thinks no one is looking. I feel no shame or inconsistency in belting out a, “round yon virgin” followed closely by a, “thumpity thump thump look at frosty go.” For me Christmas is a time for careful consideration of the implications of the theanthropos (that’s Jesus) and a time of levity, celebration and even borderline impropriety. I see the heart of Jesus as He called His followers to deny themselves and take up their crosses after Him (Mark 8:34). This same Jesus called two of His overzealous followers the sons of thunder (I don’t know how else you can take that other than He was having fun at their expense. Mark 3:17) The savior I love is not just a stoic observer but He is full of life and participates in every aspect of this world.

     During Christmas time I find myself at home in the imaginations of C.S. Lewis and see Santa as a figurehead of a world where it truly is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 21:35). In times of great celebration I lean heavily upon the crutch of imagination, as I know few better ways to adequately tell the truth than with fiction. I hope this Christmas you are moved just as I am that Christ came as a helpless babe. He lived a perfect life and shed His blood on the Cross for our sins. I think it is with characteristic irony that one of the most fantastic stories I have ever heard also happens to be true and in a turn of events not even expected by His closest followers, three days later he rose again and now He extends the offer of forgiveness from sin and the gift of eternal life to all those willing to receive. I hope you might receive the greatest gift this Christmas

Merry Christmas

        Danny P.

Find the music at the link below:
The Last Christmas Playlist You'll Ever Need (Vol.1)

Digital books for money or for free

I get emails from Logos on a regular basis advertising “new” books that are on their community pricing. I have yet to see a work that was not already available online for free so I figured I would let you in on my little secret. Every time Logos sends me a community pricing advertisement I check online. The latest edition is the 6 Volume William Cowper collection. Willy was an English poet from the 1700’s see his wikipedia entry for fast and possibly loose information about him. 

There are 3 distinct works:

• The Complete Poetical Works of William Cowper
• The Correspondence of William Cowper Arranged in Chronological Order, with Annotations Vols. 1-4 Volume 1 Volume 2 Volume 3 Volume 4 
• The Life of William Cowper

What's the difference? With the Logos edition you get to read it on Logos along with all of their built in resources like dictionaries and searches. With the links provided above you get an extra $35 to spend on Slim Jims. For me the choice is easy.

Cowper says save your dough for the Slim Jims!

Geo Camping

Sam Crook, Kevin Seeger and I decided to push the Geo to her limits the other weekend. It took all three cylinders giving everything they had for Tabbi (that's my Geo's name) to make it up some of the steep hills. At one point Sam and Kevin had to get out and push or else we would not have made it. Below is a short film I made to memorialize our trip. May adventure live on in your heart wherever you find yourself and may you find yourself wherever there is adventure to be had.

-DP    

Arts & Crafts

I found some discounted Easter Egg decorating supplies so me and Cory decorated one of our housemates eggs.

Cute aren't they. I can only assume that he ripped them apart fried their guts and then ate them. Some people don't appreciate art at all.

50 Books in 52 Weeks

This is my second try at reading 50 books in a year. Last year I finished a little over 20. I have one shelf of fiction and one of Non-fiction. I have a fair amount of J.R.R. Tolkien and almost all of the Non-Fiction is related to the Bible in some way. I also plan on listening to most of the Wheel of Time series on tape by Robert Jordan. Here is hoping this year is more successful than last. I just finished the lb. of Jasmine Green Pearls I have been drinking over the last year. I really loved that tea even more since I bought it from a truck driver through direct paypal deposit. I guess its time to be drinking other varieties and finding other adventures.
-DP

p.s. Check out my reading shelves for this year and you can see my progress or lack thereof at http://bit.ly/reading2012

Invisible Toucans

New twists develop as the search for Munkeys continues. My Philippians class takes an impromptu break in order to investigate a rare Toucan sighting. Little do we know we are in for an exceptional encounter with a legendary Invisible Toucan.

Costa Rica / Munkey Hunt

I am going to be in Costa Rica for the next month. My goals in order of importance are: to represent Christ to those I speak to. Help a group of 5 students understand Philippians and 2 Corinthians as well as apply the truth found in them. Find Munkeys. I understand that's not how you spell monkey but that's how I like to say it. You can check out the progress of the Munkey Hunt below.