I am sitting here at my in-laws home after a night of opening presents. The greatest joy tonight was seeing my little boy interact with amazing excitement over each unwrapped gift. In fact, he looked more excited than my wife discovering there is a sale at Ann Taylor Loft…I believe our Lord loves to give us good gifts and I believe he watches us receive them with great anticipation and excitement…
Here are some other thoughts and happenings in the Brammer household.
1) Update on the surprise I was going to reveal…Laura is pregnant again! We heard the heartbeat today and we praise the Lord the heartbeat was quite healthy. We will discover whether the baby is a boy/girl sometime in Feb.
2) Dissertation update: Dr. Akin has almost approved the whole thing. I should have it approved over the next couple of days. I want to defend it before Feb is over so please pray for me.
3) I headed off to Israel on Friday and I am stoked. I am going with some great people who will make the trip a lot of fun. My brother-in-law will be going with me. He is an awesome guy who God has done some wonderful things with.
4) My father-in-law met with President Bush last week and the President gave me a tie clip thingy (I do not know what it is). Me and the President are tight.
5) Last year about this time, my grandfather died. He was a wonderful man who lived a full 86 years. A decorated war veteran, he dropped out of school when he was in eighth grade (at least he made it that far 
), but he was surely one of the wittiest men I have ever known.
6) My Redskins are surprising me! What a win last night! If they beat the Cowgirls and Jessica Simpson, they are in the playoffs.
7) Speaking of playoffs, I have made it to the championship game in one of my fantasy football leagues! I can’t believe it. The final game is this coming weekend. I will surely get crushed.
Last night I reminded my congregation that it is far too easy to become numb over what Jesus has done for us. In other words, too many of us have “gotten over Jesus.” The motto in the academic world is “Publish or Perish.” According to John Piper, the motto for the Church should be “Cherish or Perish.” We must remember and cherish Christ and His works lest we lose our spiritual vitality and succumb to death.
