It's a sunny and warm Christmas here at my parents' house in Virginia. Standing on their porch, you'd think it was Easter if not for the wreaths and lights up and down the street. My family's not quite all together, as my recently engaged brother is spending Christmas with his fiancee's family in Pittsburg. Nonetheless, there's plenty of love, warmth, fellowship and gratitude to go around.

Most days I'll log into FPL's blog with something to say about politics, activism, current events, or the media. One of the many beautiful things about Christmas is the widespread inclination to set all of that aside for a time and focus on more timeless, important things: loved ones and family, tradition and ceremony, celebrating and emulating God's incomprehensible love for us.

In a few hours we're going to my parents' best friends' house for an afternoon of fellowship and feast. Nothing will matter besides the joy of being together. Politics, conflicts, and the irritations of daily life won't be relegated to background noise, they'll be silenced altogether.

Well, except for the incongruous nuisance of this damned warm weather.