A Charlie Brown Christmas

 

Christmastime is here … almost!

In just a couple of nights, it’ll be time once again for one of the most important Christmas traditions in our family: the annual live viewing of Charles Shultz’s A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Notice I specified “live” viewing. Therein lies the tradition.

Ever since CBS premiered this program in 1965, every single year – without exception – I’ve been blessed to see at least a portion of the broadcast live.

By my calculations, this will be my 48^th consecutive year. I've watched it "live," every single year it's ever been broadcast. How’s that for a “tradition”?!

I’ve watched this program over the decades in numerous states, in all sorts of places, under all sorts of conditions. But so far, God has been good to me and permitted me to see some of it live, every single year.

One year, in the 1970s, I almost didn’t make it. The community choir in Enterprise, Ala., had been rehearing the full Handel’s Messiah (all three parts) for months, with the goal of presenting it one time and one time only to the entire city at the local community college. We’d even contracted with a symphony orchestra to come from Florida to accompany us!

As luck would have it, CBS decided to air A Charlie Brown Christmas the exact night of our performance – and at the exact same time! Arrgh! What to do?! I wasn’t about to miss the opportunity to sing the entire Messiah, but I couldn’t miss the Peanuts gang!

Fortunately, the community choir was directed by my friend and director of our local church choir, John Leland. I had spotted a television in the lounge of the student union where we singers were donning our robes. I tuned the TV to CBS (WTVY out of Dothan, Ala.), and with John's cooperation, I “suggested” to a couple of the ladies in the choir that a hairdo or two might need a bit of adjustment before we went to the auditorium.

It worked! Several of the females in the choir insisted on one last look-see at the mirror, and I was able to catch the few opening minutes of the show. Success – and an unbroken streak!

Why is this special such an important part of our holiday around here? It’s virtually the only thing you’ll see on secular television every year that touches on the crass commercialization and secularism of Christmas -- and serves as a beautiful reminder of the TRUE meaning of Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ.

In its purity and simplicity, the program is touching, heartwarming, and truthful. What more could you ask?

Yes, the show has been butchered and vandalized and hacked up over the years, but its soul and heart somehow remain intact. It hasn’t been shown in its original form since 1967, yet it still tugs at the heartstrings of most all who watch it. It is truly amazing.

So, if you watch this year (and I truly hope you do), think of me, sitting in front of my TV set with a Coca-Cola in hand (the original sponsor of the program), reciting my favorite lines, and still getting emotional when little Linus reads us the Christmas story in the auditorium.

Be blessed, and to you and yours, a very Merry Christmas.

 

 

(Updated, 28 Nov., 2012: made it for that 48th consecutive year! Huzzah! And we enjoyed it as much as always!)

The Vast Wasteland of Television

 

I’ve grown frustrated and lately, truly annoyed, at the constant stream of immorality and crud on “network” television (for those among you who grew up with cable and satellite, I’m referring to national “broadcast” networks: ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC).

My wife and I are Christians. Our faith is not something we pull out of a drawer and use now and then; our spirituality defines the way we conduct ourselves and live our lives.

As believers, we simply have no interest in viewing what we believe to be immoral behavior in sit-coms and dramas on television.

We believe that the Bible defines marriage clearly as an institution ordained by God, a union between one man and one woman. Period. End of statement!

We further believe that sexual relations should be enjoyed (and yes, God wants to enjoy intimacy!) strictly within the confines of marriage. Period. Again, end of statement!

And lastly, we do not condone homosexuality as “normal” or “mainstream” behavior.

Pretty simple, right?

It’s amazing at the television programs that we’ve quit watching because the producers, networks, writers, etc., insist on portraying all sorts of lewd behavior. We’re just SO fed up!

We’ve abandoned some GREAT programs, such as Army Wives (homosexual “marriage” between two lesbians, The Big Bang Theory (ongoing sexual relationship between Penny and Leonard), Mike and Molly (ongoing sexual relationship between Mike and Molly), Hart of Dixie, (ongoing sexual relationship between Zoe and Wade), Modern Family (probably THE funniest show on television, but unwatchable because of the so-called “marriage” between two homosexuals), etc., etc., etc.

And the really frustrating thing about these practices? In most cases, the immoral behavior adds nothing to the content of the program! Zippo! That just drives me nuts. A recent episode of a favorite crime drama included two lesbians as the victims of that week’s crime. Lesbians who were “married.” Give me a break! This homosexual element added nothing to the program whatsoever – it was merely another example of Hollywood’s ongoing effort to convince me that homosexuality is normal and acceptable. I wrote the network and asked them to never do that again, and made it very clear that if they did, they would lose viewers in this household for good!

Each time we’ve made the mutual decision to drop a program from our lineup, I write (politely) to the network of origin, and explain that we simply cannot continue watching behavior that is immoral to us. I ask them to stop it, clean it up, get rid of it, etc. And to date I’ve only gotten one reply from one network.

No, my wife and I are not prudes. Not by any means. But when we sit down to relax with a little television in the evening, why should we be force-fed constant scenes of behavior that are contrary to what we believe?

“Oh, it’s just a quick sex scene, no biggie,” you tell yourself. Okay, believe that if you wish. But we believe that if you watch things that are objectionable to you? You become numb to the offensive behavior. It starts to appear less offensive. You dismiss it. And in time, it becomes acceptable.

Sorry, we’re just not interested in lowering our personal standards in exchange for a few minutes of entertainment.

God teaches us to embrace those things that are right and pure, and to shun and stay away from those things which are immoral and sinful – AND, to pray fervently for those who continue to commit offenses unto Him. Believe me, we do that.

Yes, we miss these and other shows. We liked them. Truly. And I wish we could enjoy them. But again, we’re not lowering our standards.

Please: consider what you spend your time watching. Do the programs you regularly view reflect your real values and beliefs? Or are you compromising, telling yourself it’s okay to watch a little perversion now and then?

Think about it … please. That’s all I ask.

Gratitude

(Thanks to my talented friend, Susan Cannon, for this awesome image!)

I read an amazing article a couple of weeks ago about adopting an attitude of being grateful. I'm trying to let the lady's words change my life, but hey, it's difficult some days to be especially grateful, right?! ;)

Today (Thanksgiving), I'm doing my best to implement her suggestions.

It would have been easy yesterday to be annoyed when I got in my truck and discovered that my rearview mirror had fallen and was on the dashboard! Apparently, after all these years, the glue that held it on the glass gave way and failed. :(

Instead, I talked to God, then to myself, and decided instead to be grateful that my truck still worked just fine, and I was indeed able to drive to see Heather for a haircut -- and to hear her good news that she was anxious to share! I was further grateful that I was able to drive to Buster's house to get a huge pan of fresh-picked collards he had for my wife.

Get the idea? ;)

I was grateful that AutoZone had a kit to re-install my mirror on the windshield, for only $5.49 (I'm anxious to go outside this morning and see if it's still attached!!!)

Yes, life is full of challenges, big and small. I can't do much to prevent them. But I dang sure can modify my attitude about those challenges as I encounter them!

I'll keep you updated on how this transformation is working ... or perhaps you'll see it reflected in my writing, I dunno.

Anyway ... to anyone reading this on a fourth Thursday in November: God bless you, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Broccoli-Cheese Casserole ... Or the Lack Thereof

There are long-favored “goodies” that our family typically enjoys only on certain holidays. Recipes we only pull out once a year. If you’ve ever created a family feast, you probably are familiar with the genre.

One of my all-time favorites has been (for decades, mind you) my Mom’s broccoli-cheese casserole. (Ever wonder how many “favorite” recipes begin with the word, “Mom’s…” ?!?) She turned it over to me eons ago; she says Tanya and I have improved it to the point where it’s better than hers. (She can’t recall the original source of the recipe, sadly!)

We make it only for Thanksgiving dinner. Never for any other occasion. Well, until a couple of years ago. And there lies the problem.

As Mom and Dad have moved graciously into their 80s, we can’t permit Mom to cook much anymore, especially a big holiday meal. Tanya and I have more or less taken over Thanksgiving dinner, but with her typically working most years right up until 6:00pm the evening before Thanksgiving, time to prepare a full meal is practically non-existant.

Soooo (and yes, I’m getting to the point), we’ve started to dine out as a family on Thanksgiving.

So far, our restaurant choices have been superb; none of us has been disappointed with the food we’ve been served, and none of us have ever gone home hungry!

However … there are those casseroles that we (used to) make only once per revolution around the sun: broccoli-cheese, scalloped tomatoes, sweet potato, etc.

Oh gosh, how I miss those. I long for them.

But, things change. Times change. People change. Nothing really remains the same, no matter how hard we wish and pray it to always be as it was before. Such is the rhythm of life, correct?

A time or two, we’ve made a “holiday dinner” somewhere between Thanksgiving and Christmas; Mom and Dad typically purchase a cooked turkey, and Mom will make dressing and pies. Mmmm! Tanya and I will crank out three or four casseroles, and perhaps a fancy fruit salad. When we’ve done this, for a glorious late-autumn weekend we feast and dine on a meal that still feels like Thanksgiving in many ways. And there are leftovers! Yes, yes, wonderful leftovers! (I personally think casseroles get better with each re-heating, don’t you?)

I truly miss the broccoli-cheese casserole the years that we don’t make it. Honestly, I do. Yes, we could prepare it for Resurrection Sunday. Or for someone’s birthday. But to me? It just wouldn’t be the same. This recipe needs to be devoured on Thanksgiving, trust me!

For any of you who would like to give this a try sometime, I present to you the definitive, all-time champion of broccoli-cheese casseroles, courtesy of Mom:



30 ounces frozen chopped broccoli*
2 rolls Ritz crackers
1 medium onion, chopped
ground black pepper
16 ounces cheese**
½ lb butter
1 teaspoon rubbed sage


Cook frozen broccoli according to package directions and drain.

Melt cheese in saucepan with half of the butter. Toss and mix broccoli and chopped onion with cheese.

Melt the remaining butter, mix in the crumbled crackers, put on top of casserole. Top with pepper & sage. (No salt required -- there's plenty in the cheese!)

Bake 20-30 minutes at 350F degrees or until bubbly.
_____


*When this recipe was written it was fairly simple to find 10-ounce boxes of frozen chopped broccoli in your grocer’s freezer case. Poof: those days are gone! We now end up buying plastic bags of chopped broccoli and trying to get as close to 30 ounces as we can.

**The original recipe called for American cheese, but a half-and-half mixture of American and cheddar works well...even Swiss will work, and adds an interesting flavor.