See Rock City and other adventures

SEE ROCK CITY
Last weekend, we had our first visit to one of our homes. During our first week in Nashville, we made plans to visit Chattanooga during Christmastime to see the “Enchanted Garden of Lights” at the world-famous Rock City, which is situated atop Lookout Mountain, where Chasie grew up. We slid in right at the last possible moment, and got to take the special holiday walking tour. We got to see some cool gnomes and fairies, and definitely saw glow in the dark models of every fairy tale and nursery rhyme ever written. After a late-night dinner with Chasie’s mom, we went to spend the night at her dad’s house on Signal Mountain. She showed us around Chattanooga the next day. It was great to see where Chasie is from and learn more about her.

OLD TIME ROCK AND ROLL
We had to cut and run from Chattanooga last Saturday, because we were given free tickets to the Bob Seger concert that night at the Gaylord Entertainment Center. We had really great seats. We were only asked a few times about why a group of people so young would be at a Bob Seger concert. AARP definitely should have had a recruiting booth there.

I thought the concert was really good, even though I only knew one song that was sung. Apparently several of them are really well known, but I am a little culturally deprived. The sax player, Alto Reed (great name), was the best part of the show. Well, maybe the best part of the show was seeing all the 50-something baby boomers who were acting crazy, smoking marijuana, and staggering up the steps carrying vomit-filled beer cups. Of course, as seems to happen every time I go somewhere, one of the participants at the Campus saw me at the show, and has been using "hey man, I cleaned up after you at that concert the other night, why can't you do such-and-such for me?"

NASHVILLE UNLIMITED
Wednesday night was the annual Nashville Unlimited Christmas concert to benefit Room in the Inn. It was extremely well attended, and we raised a lot of money for the Campus. The doors had to be shut with about 45 minutes to go until the beginning of the concert. I took people’s donations at the door for a while, and then sold some greeting cards. The concert was really great—all 2-1/2 hours of it. My favorite part of the night was getting to be in the room when Emmylou Harris was warming up before the doors opened. She was really bad in the warm up, but she definitely redeemed herself in the performance. The best part of the sound check was when she accidentally chastised one of her band members over a live mike in front of several people from Christ Church Cathedral: “you can’t say sh** in church!”

THE VERY IMPORTANT CHRISTMAS PAGEANT
Tonight was the Second Pres. Christmas pageant. I led the kids in their singing. Everything went very well, as it always does when you have a bunch of cute kids in the front of the church wearing costumes. We did “The Very Important Christmas Pageant,” by Dennis Hartin, which included some pretty funny lines. The little girl who played Mary really hammed it up.

This is a conversation between Mary and the angel:

(knock on the door)
-Yes?
-Is this the home of Mary, the betrothed of Joseph?
-Yes, it is, but we don’t accept door-to-door solicitations—
-But that’s not why I’m—
-So please put us on your “Do Not Call” list.
-Hail, O Favored One! The Lord is with you!
-I’m sure he is. Have a nice day.
-Please don’t shut the door. I’m here to deliver a message.
-The mailman wears a blue uniform.
-I don’t work for the Postal Service.
-Then, who do you work for?
-Look at the wings. What do they mean?
-You work for the Philadelphia Eagles?
-No, no. I’m an angel.
-Yeah, right. And I’m a pop star.

Instead of saying “and I’m a pop star,” the girl had been saying “and I’m Brittney Spears.” It was hilarious when she changed it up today, while striking a pose, to “and I’m Madonna.”

I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
I do get to spend a week back in Indiana for Christmas. This week, my brother Brian and my friends Doug and Michael are coming to see me here in Nashville. Okay, maybe they’re really coming to see the Indiana State women’s basketball team play in a tournament at Vanderbilt on Wednesday and Thursday. Brian is going to stay here with me, and we will head home on Christmas Eve after church in the morning. I’ll be in Terre Haute through New Year’s Day.

PRAYER REQUESTS
An 18-year-old college freshman who is a member of Second Presbyterian fell 30 feet onto concrete at Smoky Mountain National Park a few days ago, and suffered life threatening brain injuries. Please keep the family of Spence Hobson in your prayers.

Also, please keep my grandpa, Will Moles, in your prayers. He will be at Health South Rehabilitation Hospital in Terre Haute for several weeks after spending time at Union Hospital over the last few weeks. He will be finishing his radiation treatments for his cancer this week.

AND FINALLY

We have been using some great liturgical texts during the Advent season here at Second Pres. Here is the closing litany from today’s service.

Among the poor, among the proud,
Among the persecuted, among the privileged, Christ is coming.

Christ is coming to make all things new.

In the private house, in the marketplace,
In the wedding feast, in the judgment hall, Christ is coming.

Christ is coming to make all things new.

With a gentle touch, with an angry word,
With a clear conscience, with burning love, Christ is coming.

Christ is coming to make all things new.

That the kingdom might come, that the world might believe,
That the powerful might stumble, that the humble might be raised, Christ is coming.

Christ is coming to make all things new.

Within us, without us, among us, before us,
In this place in every place, for this time, for all time, Christ is coming.

Christ is coming to make all things new.