With people making resolutions and new starts for the New Year, I thought this was a great example of the way we should seek to live out our lives so I posted it again.

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How should we live as Christians? What banner should we wear everywhere we go? Here’s something I found.

A young African pastor had this posted somewhere in his house where he’d see it regularly.

My Commitment as a Christian

I‘m part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I had a little fatherhood metaphor moment over the holidays. Remember the old “Footprints in the Sand” poem? (You know the one where the guy can’t figure out why God left him when things got tough and God said, “That’s when I was carrying you.”) I was walking with my son, Kasen through the snow and he decided that it’s wasn’t much fun so he stopped and cried holding up his hands for daddy to pick him up. I did. Anyway, I went back and filmed the footprints a few minutes later. I wonder how many times, God has picked me up? I suspect that He’s probably carrying me right now as I struggle through this time with no job. Anyway, here’s the video:

Kasen and Daddy Footprints in the Snow from Steve Corn on Vimeo.

Like the “footprints in the sand” poem. You can see that Kasen and I walked together for a while and then he decided he wanted Daddy to carry him.

Here are a few of our Christmas Videos:

Kesleigh Unwrapping Gifts from Steve Corn on Vimeo.

I hardly ever have any videos of Kesleigh so I posted this one first.

Tyler Tackles a Snowman from Steve Corn on Vimeo.

While we were in Tulsa for Christmas my nephews and niece built a great snowman. Tyler destroyed it in one big tackle.

Kasen Bullies his Cousins from Steve Corn on Vimeo.

Kasen’s cousins were very good with him. They played lots of games and entertained him well. In this game, the boys played along really well. Made Kasen feel like such a big boy too.

Ethan’s Snow Angel from Steve Corn on Vimeo.

Tulsa received over 10 inches of snow right before we arrive. Here’s Ethan making a great snow angel.

Ice Sliding from Steve Corn on Vimeo.

My niece and nephews playing on the ice. Glad no one cracked open a head.

• is watching SuperWhy with a little boy in his lap who is eating cheese for breakfast. #
• took a quick trip to Target this morning for diapers & juice boxes for our trip back to Ft Worth. Leaving Tulsa at 1pm – pray for safety. #
• thinks we should pray for garbage men today – first pickup day after Christmas has got to be a tough day with lots of extra work for them. #
• just crossed into Texas again and the first sign this side of the Red River was an adult video store – what kind of 1st impression is that? #
• thinks this “day of rest” has somehow made me really tired – going to bed now – goodnight all. #
• up w/Kesleigh – an early riser w/early BMs that need early diaper changes accompanied by early snuggles. The last part makes it worthwhile. #
• is excited! Mom is watching the kids so we can see a movie & go to dinner w/ my brother & sister-in-law. #
• is hanging with his mom in Ft Worth. #
• ’s little girl started walking. She’s doing about 4 or 5 steps at a time now. #
• is at his sisters house – gonna eat pork tacos tonight and hang with family. #
• is too old to stay up and greet the new year. #
• got up early w/Kesleigh & then watched Nemo w/Kasen – glad I didn’t stay up ’til midnight. I may be old, but I’ve got responsibilities. #
• watched football, took Kasen & Kesleigh to the park, & is gonna have burgers tonight at moms w/his brother, sister, niece, & nephews.b #
• had a good last day with his family – will be driving back to Lake Jackson tomorrow. Pray for safe travel. #
• is not excited about packing and driving for 5 hours with 2 kids under 3 to get home. #
• Started a Bible in a year reading plan with his bride. #
• introduced the family to the Chicken Oil Company for lunch on the way through College Station – Mmm – my last unhealthy meal for a while. #
• is excited to get home again where he can wear short-sleeved t-shirts in January. #
• 1 week+two states+1500 miles+5 family gatherings+3 nieces+5 nephews+1 baby announcement+too much food+Jesus=one great Christmas vacation! #
• is home safely – thanks to everyone who was praying for us today!!! #
• loves his bride more & more each day – snuggling on the couch – today makes 6 amazing years of marriage. #

I had to post this video of Kasen and Kesleigh. He was so excited to get the “tractor” he had been asking Santa for. He also thought h was such a big boy when he got to take Kesleigh for a ride. She loved it too.

Kasen takes Kesleigh for a Ride from Steve Corn on Vimeo.

I also thought I’d post a link to our Christmas pics. There are still more to come, but this is where you’ll find ‘em.  http://cornphotos.shutterfly.com/5641

• has a growling stomach but is planning on grilling burgers tonight – gonna let it growl – don’t want to ruin dinner. #
• “The mind is educated w/facts, but the soul is educated w/beauty & mystery. And the curriculum is creation.” @markbatterson from Primal #
• grilled burgers tonight & ate too much – now we’re working on getting Kasen to stay in his bed. He’s only gotten up 8 times so far. #
• is feeling the pressure today – still needs to find a new full-time position to support his family by the end of January. #
• wants to follow Abraham’s example of faith in the midst of uncertainty. Strange to call it uncertainty when I’m certain God is in control. #
• will be filling backpacks full of goodies for homeless teens tonight at small group. #
• thanks God for the people in his small group. #
• All I want for Christmas is “Emmanuel.” (God with Us) and the Good News is that He is. #
• “Therefore, I urge you…to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy & pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” Rms 12:1 #
• will worship with his life today. #
• Is playing joseph for the next 2 days in the pre-school christmas program. Wish miranda was gonna be mary. It feels awkward without her. #
• had a great lunch at La Casona with his bride, his boy, and a sleeping beauty. #
• This resurrection life…is not a timid grave-tending life. Its adventurously expectant,greeting God w/a childlike “What’s next Papa?”Rm8:15 #
• Is excited about teaching at u-turn tonight. #
• got up, made breakfast, got Kasen ready. Next? Go to Target, get donuts for Kasen, and go play Joseph in the pre-school Christmas program. #
• wonders if Joseph called God “baby daddy?” – JK #
• is tying up loose ends so he can enjoy Christmas vacation. #
• watched kids this morning so Miranda could sleep in-will watch kids this afternoon so she can go to lunch-& again 2night 4 her school party #
• just ate some amazing lemon bars that Miranda brought home from her teachers Christmas Party – nice to know she was thinking of me. #
• is tired of picking up blocks just to watch Kasen dump them out again. #
• Is full and grateful to cracker barrel. Watchin cowboys now with my father in law. #
• enjoys watching Mike, my father-in-law, try to pretend like he wasn’t sleeping in his recliner. #
• enjoyed going to church with his family and listening to his friend Jason preach this morning. #
• is thinking a nap sounds good, but is doubtful that the kids will really let that happen. #

In the end the only thing I really need for Christmas is what God has already given – Himself – Emmanuel, and that’s why we celebrate in the first place. But I’ve gotta say that a job would be a really nice Christmas gift this year too. Anyway, here’s a link to my Amazon Wishlist, for all you folks (Mom) who really want to get me something. iTunes or bookstore gift cards are always good too.

Inspired by my friend Heather Zempel who posted a similar list, I decided to create my own list of things everyone should experience sometime in their lives during the Christmas season. I have already experienced some of these, but some are things I hope to experience.

50 Things to do during Christmas:

1. Watch “A Christmas Story” 5 times in a row on TBS.

2. Sit in Santa’s lap for a picture. It still counts if you cry your way through it.

3. Adopt a child (or 2 or 3) from the “Angel Tree” at church and buy gifts for him/her.

4. Cut down your own Christmas tree.

5. Decorate a Christmas tree with ornaments that have memories attached to them. Never waste your time making the tree look pretty or having matching ornaments.

6. Let your kids eat the strands of popcorn/fruit loops that you decorated the tree with.

7. Cut and decorate Christmas cookies with colored icing, sprinkles, red hots, etc. (Or just eat the ones your Aunt makes.)

8. Build a fire in the fireplace (yes, even if it’s 80 degrees outside) and read the Christmas story as a family.

9. Let the kids unwrap one gift on Christmas Eve, but make sure they get that same gift every year so there’s still no surprise.

10. Be intentional about spending some time reflecting on Emmanuel (God with Us) – Jesus.

11. Participate in a live nativity.

12. Spend at least 100 hours placing exactly 6 colored stars on tree cookies made of green tasteless dough which you will sell to the nearest Christmas Tree Farm to make $$ for Christmas gifts. (This was for you, Laurie.)

13. Go Christmas caroling.

14. Be surprised when someone kisses you under the mistletoe.

15. Attend a candlelight service with your family.

16. Incur some kind of injury Christmas afternoon as you play with your new toy. (“You’ll shoot your eye out kid.”)

17. Give a memory to someone. Experience something together.

18. Unwrap “the ball” with your family. (It’s a tape ball with small gifts wrapped inside. The ball gets passed around a circle and you get to keep what you unwrap. You keep unwrapping until the next person rolls a 6 with a pair of dice.)

19. Leave cookies out for Santa.

20. Eat cookies left for Santa.

21. Dress up as Santa Claus so that a child believes at least one more year.

22. Instead of buying gifts, give $$ to your favorite charity.

23. Go to the trouble (in spite of the traffic) to take the kids to see some spectacular Christmas lights.

24. Go on a hayride.

25. Sustain an injury and get frustrated as you ignore the instructions and attempt to assemble the things Santa left your kids.

26. Take family pictures.

27. Re-gift. Or use gift cards to buy gifts for others.

28. Watch the eyes of someone you love as they open a special gift.

29. Play football in the yard with the whole family Christmas afternoon.

30. Put pumpkin pie on your shoe, pretend you came in from outside, and then when someone notices the “poop,” wipe it off with your finger and eat it. (My brother’s idea – and it was hilarious! My grandma is the one who noticed.)

31. Use an advent calendar where you get to do something (Ex: eat a chocolate, hang an ornament, etc.) each day leading up to Christmas.

32. See Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb” Christmas production (or at least listen to the recording each year.)

33. Display a nativity scene in your house and teach your children about the characters. (Last night, my 2-yr-old son Kasen, took “baby Jesus” to bed with him.)

34. Arrange for your children to play “Jesus” in some sort of local Christmas production. Bonus if you are Mary and Joseph.

35. Wake up way too early as your kids anticipation gets the best of them.

36. Secretly open a gift, seal it back up, and then act surprised on Christmas morning.

37. Watch the “Nativity Story” movie.

38. Use baby powder to leave footprints from the fireplace to the place where Santa left the gifts. (But make sure you make the footprints go back too – my parents missed that last part.)

39. Count the number of Jesus figurines you can find at grandma’s house.

40. Ask your grandma/grandpa about how they remember spending Christmas as kids.

41. Eat monkey bread.

42. Enjoy a “White Christmas” and do some sledding, have a snowball fight, or build a snowman.

43. Take the family skiing in Colorado over the Christmas break.

44. Take the family to an old barn and read the Christmas story there among the animals and smells.

45. Bluebell Peppermint Ice Cream – it’s only made during the holidays.

46. Search the sky for Santa’s sleigh.

47. Get stranded due to icy/closed roads in some random west Texas town on the way to a ski trip. End up having to sleep with the animals ’cause there is “no room at the inn.” (It was Quanah, TX and the people of First Baptist Church were very gracious with their gym. They even let traveling pets sleep there.)

48. Drive all over the country trying to see all your relatives and in-laws on Christmas Day.

49. Snack on Chex Mix and Peppermint Bark.

50. Celebrate Emmanuel!!! (Jesus = Emmanuel = “God with Us”)

Things not to do:

1. Get so busy trying to do the things on this list that you forget #50.

Inspired by a trip down a staircase which descended into ancient catacombs, Mark Batterson encourages Christians to be great at the Great Commandment! There, beneath the layers of 2000 years of Christianity and tradition, he imagined the ancient primal form of the Christian faith. In Primal, he takes the reader back in time and reminds him/her of the essentials of the faith. Centering on the Great Commandment (Mk 12:30), Batterson acts as a tour guide exploring the depths of genuine compassion, infinite wonder, insatiable curiosity, and boundless energy – the very ideas that sparked the first-century movement and exploded into the modern Christian faith. Hidden by 2000 years of tradition, Batterson leads the reader to rediscover and reclaim the power within them. Primal uncovers the greatness of the Great Commandment and calls the reader to join the primal force which is revealed by it’s convictions.

Primal is a very interesting read. Batterson has become a great writer and is a master at weaving together personal stories, Scriptural examples, psychological research, and scientific evidence. He also knows how to turn a phrase. Here are some of my favorites:

We’re not great at the Great Commandment.

It’s much easier to act like a Christian than it is to react like one.

You can give without loving, but you can not love without giving.

The mind is educated with facts, but the soul is educated with beauty and mystery. And the curriculum is creation.

Conclusion: I would recommend this book to anyone interested in reclaiming the Christian faith and pursuing with abandon the Great Commandment. Primal is absolutely the first book you should read in 2010.

More info: www.theprimalmovement.com

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PS: Reading Mark Batterson’s book “In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day” was truly a life-changing moment for me. Therefore, it’s an incredible joy and honor to have been selected to be a part of his blog tour for this book. I was sent a pre-released copy and asked to post a book review.

• wonders why it's so hard to get your own college transcripts – they're mine right?? #
• has a new (probably temporary) favorite book to read to Kasen before bed: I Knew You Could. http://bit.ly/8nysWA #
• is disappointed – we were supposed to go see a movie for staff meeting, but now it's canceled & we have a normal staff meeting. #
• slipped on the wet tile (Kesleigh likes to play w/the dog bowls) & took a nasty fall in the kitchen this morning. I must be getting old. #
• could see both feet in the air. Have a nice scar on my back too. #
• is excited – God has us in His hands & I'm imagining what He's planning on doing w/us…well, I'm a bit anxious too. Faith & Fear together. #
• had to take a "Critical Thinking" test during his lunch hour. Looking into alternative teacher certification. #
• enjoyed small group tonight. Christmas "Scene It" is always fun!! #
• is putting old vhs clips on dvd. #
• is going to enjoy being with students and teaching tonight. #
• gets to go home to his beautiful bride and children now. #
• is sitting alone in a silent living room while Miranda & the kids sleep – thinking, wondering, lamenting, praying, breathing. . .praying. #
• "I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a dozen [Bible] verses all day than rinse my hand in several chapters." – Charles H. Spurgeon #
• is prayin'. #
• stayed up way too late talking w/good friends – looking forward to a great day tomorrow – prayin God will multiply 5 hrs sleep into 10. #
• is having a good day but is hungry. #
• loved being back home with his amazing family again tonight. #
• thinks rolling/wrestling on the floor with his kids might very well be the greatest thing in the world. #
• is reading "Primal" – great book!!! Check it out Amazon – http://bit.ly/75j5el or Primal Book Website – http://bit.ly/1R7q7H @MarkBatterson #
• is excited about the youth progressive dinner Christmas party tonight. #