I took the chance to watch ‘Shrek the Halls’ last week and while it was terribly entertaining I can’t help but be upset every time I watch a TV Christmas special and they insist that the “real reason for Christmas” is anything but Christ.

Shrek even went as far to say that “Twas the night before Christmas” is the best Christmas story.  I watch the story of the British teacher being put in jail for allowing the children in her class to name a teddy bear ‘Muhammad’ I think they are extreme but at least they take their God and their religion seriously.  I suppose it just bothers me and there is very little I can do about it but make sure my family honor Jesus above all but I hate to watch Jesus be systematically removed from CHRISTmas and replaced by the spirit of commercialism.

Many of us have time that is wasted, like the drive to work sitting and waiting for something. I have done my best to redeem this time by always having a book with me to read (while waiting not driving) and now I have really grabbed onto the idea of podcasts to help me out. I listed to several on a regular basis, while I work, while I drive, before I sleep, while I do chores around the house.

If you don’t know what a podcast is you can read about it here on Wikipedia. But the short of it is a Podcast is a series of audio files that you can subscribe with the right software, which will be automatically loaded to you listening device ie iPod. Heather and I got an iPod video for our family for Christmas last year and I think it is the best investment we have ever made. Here are a list of good podcasts I have found maybe you will find them helpful as well:

• http://theresurgence.com/podcast/feed — TheResurgence.com is a Missional Theology Cooperative. This podcast is funded and lead by Mars Hill Seattle, if you are interested in theology or Christianity then this is a great place to visit and an essential podcast to have.

• http://rss.marshillchurch.org/mhcsermonaudio — Mars Hill is a great church in Seattle it is cutting edge without compromising the gospel of Jesus Christ. Their teaching Pastor is a little rough around the edges (many people find him offensive) but he is a great teacher.

• http://www.bibleonradio.com/podcast.xml — This is the bible in a year every day on your iPod. What else do I need to say?

• http://feartheboot.libsyn.com/rss — This one is strictly for gamers but if you are a gamer you have to hear this.

• Podiobooks — While not a single podcast this site supports authors in their effort to get their work out, you can download serialized books a chapter at a time or all at once if the book is finished. I have found some to good and some to be bad.