well, we've been rushing around for the past week like those crazy people you never thought you'd grow up to be. trying to get out the *cino newsletter before christmas (check), trying to get all of the gifts for our families (check), trying to keep everything running smoothly at the store (uh . . . check) and trying to develop the new cultureVision site (yeah, definitely no check there).

thankfully, though, we've made it through to christmas eve. at one o'clock today, we're heading to the place we used to live (is there a name for such a place?) to spend time with family and friends--mostly family. we'll be there for about a week and, due to that last unchecked item on the list above, we'll be working while we're there.

the store has had an amazing holiday season. i simply cannot believe how well it has done and how well the community has accepted what we're doing here. it's all terribly exciting. in fact, we've had a difficult time ordering fast enough to keep merchandise in the store. wonderful!

of course, we fully realize that the beginning of 2004 will be slow. we're trying to brace for it, though i'm not sure we'll be entirely ready. we shall see . . .

along with the beginning of winter, we're enjoying watching the beginning of a project to construct a new (and much-needed) parking lot behind our store. all day long the dump truck dumps the sand, the bulldozer pushes the sand around, and the something-or-other rolls over and over the sand with a heavy metal cylinder. they're basically dumping two stories' worth of sand to raise the back level up to the front street level, but it should be good for the businesses here and it will certainly address the current overgrown eyesore. the coming of the long-awaited construction certainly mimics, in a small way, the anticipation of Advent.

in the process of working with our small group to create an Advent calendar for our church, i've been doing more thinking about the nature of our celebration of Christmas. feasting is certainly encouraged in the Bible for certain occasions, so i have no problem with a little ritualistic indulgence. however, i am disturbed by our tendency to celebrate at the expense of the earth and other people.

there's a Wal-Mart commercial (is advertising successful when the advertised becomes an icon of evil?) that shows a classroom of teen-agers doing odd jobs to raise money for gifts for underprivileged kids. it's a great idea and i'm sure the students learn a lot about giving through the exercise. however, they take their money and go shopping at Wal-Mart where they can get the most for their money, in the process contributing to a cycle of poverty and abuse for millions of children (and parents of children) around the world. i realize that Wal-Mart is certainly not the only offender, but they do make themselves vulnerable to criticism by expecting us to accept the message of their frequent commercials.

when will we tire of a system that asks us to uncritically accept contradictions? when will the community of believers be outraged to the point that we raise our collective voice in a cry of "Enough is enough!"? when will we be able to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world without contributing to poverty, pollution, and injustice?

i guess it's all a part of longing for the Kingdom that is here, but not yet fully realized. we have a lot of work to do...

This article in The Detroit News is an indicator of why we enjoy running this small business in this small town.