Creative stuff

I have just noticed that Dave Bish now has two song/poem blogs (Aircon for my soul, and Scared of Aeroplanes). They are great stuff, although I am not sure why he has two. Another poetry blog about faith and it's object that I really enjoy reading is Abraham Piper's God-centred CIsongs, and I am beginning to explore the poetry of Ceryn Oakes (any more recommended blogs/books?). I used to not appreciate poetry at all, but the Open University's teaching on Sonnets made me realise a little more what it was all about. Sadly I do not have the gift of being able to write it and must leave it to the experts (admitedly I have not tried very hard, but learning piano from scratch is my first artistic priority!)

One thing I can do though is art, at least I used to be able to - I am a bit out of practice. My family is gifted that way, but at 16 I decided to head down the Maths/Physics route, only being rescued by an awful degree result, books, and the OU again. So this year I am designing and making my own Christmas card. Not entirely sure of the design yet, but I decided a long time back with great enthusiasm that I would base it on Heb 2:14-15:

Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.

Not your usual Christmas card stuff, but its all about the incarnation and hope, and as Doug Wilson says:

We must never forget that an essential part of the Christmas story is the stark reality of sin [...] This story has death woven through it—the backdrop is death, and sin, and tyranny. We celebrate at this time, not because we live in a sentimentalist paradise where there has never any evil, but only gently falling snow and the sound of sleigh bells in the distance. We celebrate the birth of the one who overthrew the principalities and powers. This is not a holiday that commemorates the essential sweetness and goodness of man. It is a holiday that commemorates the beginning of the story of how it came about that death finally was killed, and how the warrior who did this great thing was spared in His infancy.