Wednesday Link List

If you missed it, be sure to check out the special-edition link list that appeared here on Saturday.

• When President Obama time-shifted the Hanukkah celebrations at the White House to fit his Christmas vacation, one observer notes something also shifted with the Menorah that he used.
  
• Ivar at News That Matters reports on the implications of the appointment of the first Hindu chaplain in the U.S. military.
  
• If you purchase the 2012 Masterpeace Calendar, you might notice a painting by Pennsylvania artist C. Michael Dudash.  If art is your thing, take some time to check out his blog.
• Donald Miller quotes a letter Beethoven wrote to his brothers …which of course reminded me of this classic “you decide the ending” story.
• For the third week in a row, a Rachel Held Evans link.  This one suggests that while some stop women from become preachers, they might instead become prophets.
  
• How about a link list within a link list? Brian LePort assembles a collection of Christian writers reflecting on the death of Christopher Hitchens.
• Scott Hilburn’s comic, The Argyle Sweater is new to me, but I spotted the panel at right over at the blog A Different Story and couldn’t resist.
  
• Not so amusing to people in New Zealand is this billboard showing Mary reading the results of a home pregnancy test.  Worse, the large sign was erected by a “progressive Anglican church known for its provocative advertisements.”
  
• Michael Hyatt believes that our vocabulary shapes our attitude. Sample: “I don’t have to stop by the grocery store on my way home; I get to stop by the grocery store. What a privilege to live in a place and at a time where we don’t have to forage for food.”
  
• In Saturday’s list there was a reference to a forthcoming book by author Matt Mikalatos. Here’s a review at Mark Braye’s blog of one that’s available right now: Night of the Living Dead Christian.
  
• In the last decade the definition of church has been rocked.  Check out the Kansas City Boiler Room, a community of artists, a community of prayer, a community of the disadvantaged.
  
• Christmas can be a painful time if you’ve lost a loved one; especially when that loved one is the very person you want to tell how you’re feeling.
  
• After 9.5 years at Blogger, Joe Boyd of Rebel Pilgrim joins us here at WordPress.  Here’s a good one to start with, where Joe looks at Christianity as improv.
  
• Canadian singer/songwriter Ali Matthews has a huge following, but this is the first time I’ve seen a trailer for a music video.  Guess we’ll have to wait 24 hours for the finished product.
  
• Some people claim to have seen an image of Jesus or Mary in food, but others are deliberately burning an image of Jesus on their toast, as CBS News reports.