It's "Merry Christmas", not just "happy holidays"

Maybe you celebrate Christmas, or Hanukah, or Kwanzaa, or winter solstice, or maybe nothing at all except for some time off work or school. With the commercialization of the holiday season, all some know of the birth of Christ is what little bit appears in the Peanuts cartoons that air.

Just for clarity, I want you to know that Christmas is about Christ.

Common responses to the question "Who is Jesus Christ?" typically fall along these lines: a good man, a wise teacher, an outstanding example, an influential leader. I could probably name 20 historical figures, if not more, that fit this description. Those descriptions do fit my Lord, but He's more.

I celebrate Christmas, the remembrance of the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. More accurately I should say we celebrate the incarnation of God in human form, born of a virgin and fully human just as you and I but without sin as He did not inherit the sin nature of Adam, the fallen first man.

He didn't take on human form just to be a good man or a moral example. He came to be a sacrifice, to take on the sins of the whole world. No other method of atonement would do. No other sacrifice for sin would suffice. Since the wages of sin is death, when a man without Christ dies, he is bearing his own punishment for sin in two ways. The body dies; everyone's bodies die because of the curse of sin. More than that, the souls of unsaved man suffer an eternal death in hell, separated from God and all that is good. Christ, as a perfect man, did not have to die for His sin. He was executed in order to pay for all those that would and will accept His payment for their sins.

In this season of gift-giving, remember that God gave the greatest gift in sending His Son. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Six New Clients Welcomed to the Fold

ATHLETICSITE.COM would like to take a minute and recognize its new clients picked up over the summer. Some have launched and the rest will within the next few months.

• Lincoln Memorial University (Harrogate, Tenn.) became the third South Atlantic Conference member to sign with ATHLETICSITE.COM, joining Newberry, Catawba, and the conference itself on the client list.
• Brevard College (N.C.) is the fourth SAC school and fifth SAC client overall. Brevard was a provisional member in 2007-08 and became a full member this summer.
• The Piggly Wiggly Roundball Classic is a Christmas holiday basketball tournament based in Charleston, S.C. The Roundball Classic is sponsored by Communities in Schools and the Rotary Club of North Charleston to provide educational opportunities for disadvantaged youth. The PWRC signed on this spring.
• Calvary Day School (Savannah, Ga.) will be the first high school client and will be launching in September. CDS has a strong tradition across the board and have brought home several state titles in this decade.
• The University of West Florida is the first Gulf South Conference school to sign on with ATHLETICSITE.COM. The new website will launch in the latter part of October.
• Florida Southern College, a member of the powerful Sunshine State Conference, will launch its new site with us as the calendar turns over to the new year. The Mocs have a proud tradition and national championships in their trophy case. FSC will make four schools plus the conference itself that are part of the family.

Major Program, the parent company of ATHLETICSITE.COM, powers 29 athletic websites across ten states and all three divisions of the NCAA.

Another season in the books

Yesterday I wrapped up my stint as Northside's assistant varsity girls' basketball coach. We did make it to state playoffs, which is something of itself, being one of the best four in your division. Once we got to state, we ran into a team that was destined to win the state title, and I feel like the girls didn't really play with enough passion and discipline to prove that third place was really that much better than fourth. The consolation game was one of the worst officiating jobs I've seen ever -- the second worst this season. I just really have a bad taste in my mouth about basketball at the moment, and if I let my emotions talk right now, they would say that I'm giving up basketball for good. But I don't know.

Spending time in the garage yesterday and today was therapeutic, finishing up my workbench and repairing this and that. The garage finally looks presentable too, now that I have most everything off the floor and mounted on the walls. I sure wish there were a coat of white paint on the wall though :)

I'm happy to announce that my 23rd college client, Palm Beach Atlantic, will be launching in the next couple of weeks. I look forward to working with the good folks down there.